The Billionaire Deception

  I went out to dinner with Grant that evening. I did my best to avoid the subject of Seth at all costs. We went to a cute little Basque French restaurant in SoHo and as they brought out way too much food one course at a time, we talked about Grant’s new love interest. Yes, it had only been a week since he’d broken up with the last girl, but that was my Grant.

  “So what is this girls’ name?” I asked him between spicy bites of my curry chicken.

  “I don’t want to tell you.”

  I laughed, “Is it that bad?”

  “You’re going to poke fun, but I really like this girl.”

  “Okay, so we’ll put the name aside until I know more about her. What does she do?”

  “She’s a waitress at La Boulogne.”

  “You did not!”

  “I did not, what?”

  “You did not meet this girl the night that you took Bethany to that restaurant?”

  “I may or may not have gotten her number after I tucked dear Bethany into a cab. I had to go back in for my jacket.”

  “She saw you there with Bethany and she went ahead and gave you her number?”

  “I told her it was a first date and it didn’t work out.”

  “Oh my goodness. You are such a player.”

  He grinned. For some reason that term didn’t hold negative connotations for men the way it did for women. “I really like her.”

  “So you’ve been out… twice?”

  “Sort of. The first “date” was just a cup of coffee on Sunday afternoon, and then on Thursday we had dinner.”

  “Thursday? Wasn’t that the night you were… never mind.”

  “The night I was giving you a hard time about Seth? Yes, that was the same night. I got home right before you did.”

  “Oh, so how old is she?”

  He grinned again. “You’re trying to steer me away from him. That means that you didn’t break it off, doesn’t it.”

  “We were talking about… What was her name again?”

  “I haven’t said.”

  “Oh that’s right.”

  “What is going on with you and the CEO?”

  “Nothing. We haven’t been out since Thursday.”

  “But, you’ve seen him at work. Did you tell him that you couldn’t see him?”

  “I tried,” I said. It was true. It was a half-assed effort, but I had tried.

  “You tried? What does that mean?”

  “I told him it wasn’t a good idea that we saw each other.”

  “And?”

  “And he stated a very strong case in favor of it… sealing it with the most incredible kiss I’ve ever experienced.”

  Grant rolled his eyes, “OMG!”

  “Stop it. I like him, Grant.”

  “And what happens when you crush his father to dust?”

  “I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. What if he’s the one?”

  “Wouldn’t that be ironic? You wait half your life for the chance to get your revenge on these people and you end up in love with one of them.”

  “I’m not in love with him.”

  “Yet. What happens if you are in love with him when all of your plans to take this company back come to fruition?”

  “Once again, I’ll cross that bridge if and when I come to it. Besides, I’m not finding anything worthwhile the way I’m going about it. Maybe if I get close to Seth, I can find something out that way.”

  “Ay yi yi,” he said, rolling his eyes. “I love you.”

  I smiled. “I love you too. Thank you for letting it go.”

  With a heavy sigh he ladled more vegetables onto his plate and said, “I can’t promise to let it go forever. If I see it affecting you in a negative way…”

  I reached out and covered his hand with mine. “We’ll deal with that if and when we come to it, okay?” He nodded and I said, “So what’s her name?”

  “Juniper.”

  I tried not to smile. I know it was juvenile of me and it was just plain mean. A person can’t really help what their name is… of course I did change mine, so I’m assuming she could too… “Isn’t a Juniper like a bug or something?”

  “It’s a plant!”

  I lost my battle, I laughed. Grant gave in and laughed with me. I love spending time with him. Sometimes I worried when we both do get into relationships that I’d lose my best friend. I really hope not. I wouldn’t know what to do without him.

  ***