Page 22 of The Billionaire's Obsession

My heart fell as I took in the message. It was a reminder from one of my regular clients that we had a date tonight. He booked me once a month to take me out to eat at his corporate dinners, since the love of his life, the ex he couldn’t get over, worked at the same company.

I seriously considered replying that I couldn’t come, but a quick check on my banking app changed my mind. Crap. I was really low on funds. Cole hadn’t paid me for the weekend, which made sense, considering our argument last night. He probably thought it would offend me if he paid me, considering what had happened on our date. I’d been relying on that money, however.

Since I wasn’t going to be calling him and asking for him to pay me, the only alternative was to get off my ass and work, like I always had. Cole thought it was a pride thing that made me wary about taking money from others, but it wasn’t. Other people could be flaky and you could only rely on yourself. I’d learned that as a kid.

I might have been a passing fancy, a walk on the other side of the tracks for a billionaire like Cole but I was the one who’d have to pick up the pieces after, if I leaned too much on someone else, and they changed their mind about me.

* * *

The fucking Camelia.Were there no other restaurants in LA? I perused the fancy menu, every entry reminding me of Cole and the cheeseburger. It hurt my heart now to remember how I’d acted. I hadn’t known I was sitting opposite that man who would come to mean so much to me.

I listened to the boring business babble of the other people around the table. There were so many attendees that their company had split the booking into smaller tables. I was sitting at a four-seater with my client, and opposite us were two business bros I’d never seen before. My god, it was dull. I picked at my fancy food and fought tears. I was being pathetic, and it wasn’t a good look. My client kept glancing at me, no doubt wondering why I was a second away from crying into my salmon en croute. I forced a smile. He wasn’t paying me to look like I wanted to kill myself, and I needed the money. This was our last date. I hadn’t been joking to Cole. I really wanted to retire. I needed a different side hustle. This one was too stressful, and after meeting Cole, it felt horrible.

I was on the dessert course when I saw him.

He entered the restaurant with a couple of other men. His blonde hair glowed under the lights, and most of the female diners followed him with their hungry eyes. Of course, they did. He moved with confidence and power. Even if I didn’t know him, I’d stare. He was magnetic.

He sat at a table right across from me, and like terrible luck, or fate fucking with me, he looked up and met my eyes right away. He jolted, surprised to see me. His look of surprise faded as he took in my company at the table. His powerful jaw clenched, and he ignored whatever the men with him were saying. He stared at me, his eyes drilling into me. My mouth went dry.

Suddenly, unwanted tears pricked at my eyes.

“Excuse me, I’ll just be right back,” I muttered to my company and client, and made for the restrooms at a pace just short of a run. Well, run was generous, considering my painful ankle. Hobble was more realistic.

Inside was empty, and I could lean on the vanity mirror and stare at my reflection, willing my tears to disappear into thin air and not mess with my make-up.

I had about two seconds to compose myself before the door banged open.

Cole stalked into the room, looking like an angry god.

He studied me for a long moment without speaking. It felt like waiting for a verdict that I might never recover from.

“Wow, you must really like this restaurant,” I ventured, when the tense silence became too much for me to bear.

“I might say the same. Are you seriously working your side hustle right now, after flouncing out the car the other night once you were done ripping my fucking heart from my chest?”

His words made my pulse quicken.

“Are you seriously barging into the women’s bathroom to call me into account for working? Rent is due. I don’t have the luxury of canceling paying jobs.”

I couldn’t focus on his bleeding heart admission. It made me feel things I didn’t know how to cope with. It made me want to throw myself into his strong arms and just agree to whatever he had planned, for however long he wanted me. But the practical, fearful part of me had a firm grip.

“What do you want from me?”

He stalked toward me and hauled me into his arms. “Everything. I want everything from you, Riley, and I want to give you everything in return.”

His hand slid up to my face, and he cupped it like it was something precious.

“Can you not be so extra right now? I’m serious. I like you, as you probably figured out, but I can’t just explode my life after one date.”

Cole’s thumbs pushed along my jaw, back and forth. “I’m not a patient man. When I’ve wanted something in my life, I’ve gone after it relentlessly until I’ve achieved it.”

“I’m not a thing to achieve,” I pointed out.

Cole studied me a moment longer and nodded to himself. “No, you’re not, but you are mine, Riley, whether you’re ready to admit it. I’ll give you time to realize that. I can try to do that.” He leaned in and kissed me and it felt like breathing again after a day of suffocating. I swayed into him, heat blossoming in my belly as he stroked his tongue against mine. All too soon, he was pulling back.

Then, with one last kiss to my forehead, he pulled back, turned on his heel and strode out the restroom, leaving me breathless and more confused than ever in his wake.

CHAPTER16

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