Page 8 of The Billionaire's Obsession

I bridled at his tone. “Like what?”

“Rebellious?” His voice seemed to stroke over the words. Now, that dark look in his eyes took on a glint of something that made my stomach drop and my skin feel tight.

“You can only rebel against someone in a position of power over you, and you aren’t, so…’ I trailed off as he stepped closer. He studied my face so long that I felt my skin heat. “What?”

His eyes moved to my lips and then back up. “No one speaks to me like this.”

“Yeah, well, if you just do us both a favor and leave me alone, you don’t have to hear it again.” I pasted a smile on my face and raised an arm toward the door.

Cole chuckled and then shook his head. “Leaving you alone doesn’t interest me at all,” he said, puzzling me and the same time as sending heat tearing across my skin. “Shouldn’t you be wondering why I’m here?”

“Why are you here?”

“I want to hire you.”

That confession knocked the air out of my chest. I had been completely unprepared for it.

“Hire me?”

“You act like a fake girlfriend for events, don’t you? I need your services.”

“I’m retiring,” I said faintly. “And why would you need a fake girlfriend? Not that I want to add to the ego clogging up this room, but you don’t seem hard up for dating options.”

Cole nodded slightly. My eyes lingered on his face, from his stubble to his full lips. Christ, this man was attractive.

“Real girlfriends need attention and time spent on them. I’m not interested in that, at this moment in my life. I want a simple transaction, and I want to put the least amount of time and effort into it as possible.”

His cold, business-like words were at odds with the heated look in his eyes. Something in my chest warned me that fake dating this man was dangerous.

“I’m fully booked.” I lied, trying to figure a fast way out of this mess. If he’d intrigued me and given me the tiniest crush before this encounter, then going on a fake date with him and pretending to be his girlfriend in front of others would only make it worse.

“I thought you were retiring?” he reminded me. Shoot.

“I am, once I finish my bookings,” I rambled. “I have a show, and I need to get ready for it.”

“Don’t waste your time, then. Tell me how much your other bookings will earn you in total and I’ll match it. More money for less time.”

I stared at him, shocked. “That’s crazy. There are lots of other women who do the same who’d charge much less.”

“I don’t want other women. I want you,” he said, and surprised me by suddenly stepped closer. “And Riley, you should know now that I’m a man who always gets what he wants, so don’t waste time here and agree.”

I thought furiously about his proposal. Was he really going to double my other bookings?

“How many dates?”

“Just the one, plus one get-to-know you meeting, since my uncle will smell a rat a hundred miles away.”

“It’ll cost you a lot for one and a half dates,” I warned. “You’re throwing your money away.”

“My uncle knows my type. I can’t take just anyone. It has to be you,” he said simply.

I blew out a breath, wanting to argue more, but really, I could use the money and the freed up time. I shrugged. “Well, it’s your money to waste, I guess. Ok, we have a deal. When is this date?”

“On Saturday, oh, and didn’t I mention? It’s in Napa.”

CHAPTER5

Cole

---