Chapter 37

My grin faltered, and I had to wrestle with some hard truths quickly. Natalie and I had come a long way in the last week. We’d expressed feelings for each other, kissed, and came close to having sex. We were clearly on the road to something.

I was also regularly fucking my new lawyer Helen. I turned Bobbi Nanford into a sexual pet, and I had received blowjobs from two other women in the last twenty-four hours. No good woman in her right mind would tolerate that behavior from someone she was interested in, and Natalie was the best of women. I needed to navigate this situation carefully.

“Absolutely not,” I said and smiled at her again.

That was true. Nothing about my desire for Natalie had changed.

She cast me a doubtful look and her hold on my face tightened infinitesimally, “Are you sure? There’s a whole lot of women out there who would love to have a good-looking billionaire boyfriend.”

I studied her for a long moment as I tried to make sense of this line of questioning. Had Helen gotten to her? She had told me something very similar on more than one occasion. “Are you sure you’re not having second thoughts?”

“No,” Natalie insisted, “I mean…”

Her eyes wandered from my face as she seemed to search for words. I felt her hands slide down my body, and I let her slip free from my arms. She stepped back and then returned her gaze to my face. “I’m not having second thoughts. It’s just…”

“Just what?”

“You broke up with Jessica.”

“I did,” I confirmed, waiting for her to make sense. We’d already gone over the recency of my breakup, so what was she getting at?

“Did you break up with her after you found out about the money?”

Now I was truly confused. Why did that matter?

“No,” I said, “She told me about her affair that morning, and I told her we were through. Then I went to work. Remember how I was just there for a couple of hours? My lawyers called me while I was there, and I went to see them. That’s when I found out.”

I could see Natalie doing the math. After taking a few moments to digest what I told her, she finally nodded. “Wow… what an unlucky day for her.”

“Yeah,” I agreed, “but lucky for me. We might have still been together if she’d known.”

She studied me with an unreadable expression for several moments; the silence was getting uncomfortable. Something felt off, and I didn’t fully understand why. “What is it?” I asked, breaking the silence.

“I’m just a little scared. You broke up with Jessica, and within a week, you inherited a lot of money, bought out the company, and now… whatever this is with us. I guess I’m just a little afraid that you’re… trying things out. Experimenting.”

“Experimenting?”

“You know… playing the field. Buying companies. Trying out new girls.”

“Oh.” I understood now. She was afraid of becoming a casualty in the billionaire’s journey of corruption.

“And it’s not just you,” she interjected before I could say anything. “Something was different for me after Jessica broke up with you. I mean, I’ve always liked you. I’ve always thought you were cute and a great guy. But my attraction was stronger after your breakup, and I’m a little scared because I don’t know why. Was it because you were available? Was it because something about you changed when you got the money?”

She shrugged and crossed her arms over her chest. “I like you, Marcus. I guess I’m just a little scared of how much I like you. I don’t want to get hurt.”

This wasn’t where I expected the conversation to go when Natalie started speaking this way. I thought she was about to tell me that things were too complicated and that despite how we felt about each other, maybe being involved wasn’t a good idea. My mind was already preparing for her to break things off before they began. Hearing her confess her feelings made it seem like my heart would burst, and I couldn’t help but smile at her. She was simply telling me she was scared.

“I like you too, Natalie. I’ve liked you for a long time, and I don’t want to hurt you either.”

“So what is this?” she asked.

“What do you want it to be?”

She didn’t respond, and I didn’t want to rush her, so I simply waited.

“I’m going out of town for the weekend,” she finally said.

“What?”

“One of my best friends is getting married, and I’m in the wedding party.”

“Oh,” I said. When she didn’t volunteer any information, I fished for more. “Did… you want me to come with you?”

“No,” she said. “I was just thinking maybe this would be some good time apart to think about what we both want. Can we pick up this conversation after I get back?”

“Yeah. That’s fine,” I said as I tried to hide the disappointment in my voice. I already knew what I wanted, and my mind had conjured images of us on the dance floor of a wedding reception.

However, if I were to be completely honest with myself, there was no way I could go to a wedding. I had too much going on here, and I still had some things to work through – namely three other women to consider. Truth be told, if Natalie had asked me to be completely exclusive a week ago, I would have said yes. Now… I would have likely said yes, but there was a growing part of me that wondered if exclusively dating Natalie was the best idea.

I wanted my cake while still having the ability to eat it.

“So… friends until I get back?” she asked, giving me a cautious smile. “Then we’ll talk?”

“Absolutely,” I said, meeting her smile with one of my own. I was disappointed, but I also felt good that Natalie was taking this so seriously. I was also feeling a little guilty at the same time. Natalie wasn’t fucking three guys while we were in talks.

“Good,” she said, closing the distance between us and pressing herself against me. She laid her cheek on my chest as we embraced.

“Thank you,” she said.

You’re welcome,” I replied.

Wednesday, 9:45 pm

Ten minutes had passed and I hadn’t moved as I continued to stare at the phone – more specifically, at the name on the phone.

Jessica.

I’d just finished a thirty-minute phone call with my sister Emily. She’d been very understanding about the fact that I hadn’t said anything to anyone yet, admitting that she wouldn’t have told anyone if she’d inherited that kind of money. She had also commiserated with me that I hadn’t been allowed to keep my privacy longer. I’d always along well with my sister – technically my step-sister. We’d been inseparable when we were young. My mom and dad had met when I was four and she was six, netting me a sister and a best friend.

During the conversation, I’d gotten a call that I’d ignored. After ending the call with Emily, I’d looked to see who it was and had spent the last ten minutes completely dumbfounded at seeing Jessica’s name on the screen.

She’d heard about the money. It had to be that.

I wasn’t sure what to do. Part of me wanted to call her and casually ask how she was doing; it had been nearly a week since I’d seen her, and I was genuinely curious how things were working out for her and her new boyfriend. Part of me just wanted to gloat.

A tiny fraction of me wanted her back. She was a security blanket. An old movie I’d seen five -hundred times. She always smelled like peaches or flowers, and curling up with her had always been a comforting experience. I remembered those strawberry-red lips and silky, soft, ivory skin. I recalled the way she tasted as she would rest her tongue on mine. Her weight as she straddled me and played with my hair. Those always-mirthful eyes. And her tits. God those massive pillows of warm flesh that I could smother myself in while she slowly rode me.

The panel on my desk lit up and shattered the fantasy.

Bobbi was standing in the elevator with her thumb pressed on the button. I glanced at the clock on the wall to see it was nearly ten at night. What was she doing here this late? There was only one way to find out. I pressed the button to approve the floor request.

It would take her a few minutes to get to my office, and by the time I heard her knock on my door, I found myself scrolling through pictures of Jessica on my phone.

“Come in,” I said as I powered off my phone screen and tossed it on the desk. In truth, I was grateful for a distraction that prevented me from calling my ex back, a decision I would have regretted as soon as I hit the call button. Bobbi opened the door and entered. It was the first time she hadn’t barged into an office I was in as if she belonged there.

“Are you busy?” She asked. Her tone still had a sharpness to it, but there was an undercurrent of civility that I had only heard from her a half dozen times.

“Not really,” I said as I waved her in. “Just trying to do damage control.”

“Damage control?” Bobbi asked as she slipped in the door and closed it behind her.

I gestured at my phone, “Literally everyone has called me today asking me about the money. Everyone’s heard by now, I’d imagine.”

“The money?” Bobbi asked, still standing near the door. Something seemed a little off about her. It reminded me of Natalie’s demeanor when she first arrived earlier in the day.

“Yeah,” I said, “The money. I didn’t want it to get out like this. There are people I haven’t heard from in over a year who called today. I can’t say I’m surprised, or offended. More annoyed than anything. I wanted my privacy.”

“And you thought I told someone?”

“Yeah. You were one of three or four people who couldn’t be accounted for since you were at your friend’s house yesterday. You also hate me, so you had a motive. We ruled out the others, so I was sure it was you.”

“It wasn’t.” She said with a tinge of bitterness in her voice.

“Yeah. I know,” I said, suddenly feeling tired.