Page 43 of Billionaire Enemy's Baby
“Err, right.” Shit, I haven’t been listening at all. I could punch myself for that. The amount of time I spent desperately wanting this meeting, and now here I am fucking it up.
“I like everything that you’re saying…” I respond vaguely.
“But you need some time,” Brian laughs understandingly. “You need convincing. Well, why don’t we go out for some drinks? Manhattan has some of the best bars in the world. Until you’ve drank at these bars, you can never know how great New York is.” I shrug and nod, because why not? I could use a drink.
“Great, that sounds awesome.”
As he rises to his feet, I do the same thing.
Booze is just about the only thing that will shut my brain off right now. Maybe without these thoughts of Lexi and everything that I have left behind in Beaufort plaguing me, I’ll be able toreallyconsider New York City. Because this is supposed to be the greatest place in this world, isn’t it? The city everyone dreams of living in, because it’s the center of everything,
Yeah, I need to give it a chance. I don’t have any choice.
A small smile spreads across my face as I follow Brian out of the building. Already my feet feel lighter on the floor because I don’t have to deal with the weight of everything back home pressing down on me.
Everything else can come later. I can make all my life changing decisions after I’ve slid a bit of booze down my throat. That’s the best time for me to work everything out. Because I’m not doing very well while I’m sober, am I? My sober decisions are shitty and panicky, as proven by the way I jumped on a plane the moment I found out the truth.
One phone call from Brian Johnson and I was out of there. That’s not great, is it?
* * *
My vision is blurry, this bar might be spinning around me, but I’m having a blast. Brian is not only an astute businessman with a smart mind, he’s also a lot of fun. I can imagine us having an incredible time if I were to move here. This is just what I want, it’s in the palm of my hand, and I can reach out and grab it if I want to…
That makes my ego really swell. I feel great, like the confident man who came back from London, knowing that he could take over the world.
I want to be him again.
“Hey there, handsome.” A hand rests on my shoulder and spins me around. I found myself looking at a woman with fiery red hair, dressed in a midnight blue dress. That’s about all I can see. She’s very blurry aside from that.
“I have a drink for you here, I thought we could talk.”
I glance over to Brian, but he’s deep in a conversation with another woman. One who’s as beautiful as the one talking to me.
Huh, interesting. “You want to talk?”
“I sure do.” She takes my hand and pulls me closer to her. “Come and sit with me?”
Yeah, I do need to sit down so I let her lead me to the nearest table. It’s a relief to take a rest because it’s been a long day and is turning into an even longer night.
“So, you’re friends with Brian?” she asks as she slides a drink to me. “That’s awesome. Tell me about yourself. I like meeting Brian’s friends, they are always fun.”
Is this weird? I don’t know if it’s weird or not, but it kinda feels like it is. But I’m going to go along with it anyway, because maybe this is what’s normal in New York. I haven’t exactly seen the dating scene here yet.
This could all just be what happens.
“I’m from Beaufort,” I tell her. “In South Caroline. But I spent a lot of time in London before that, studying and working in the IT sector there.”
“Oh wow, cool.” I don’t know if she can even hear me over the loud, thumping music. “So, you’re coming to New York now? That’s interesting as well…”
“IthinkI’m coming to New York,” I remind her, not that she knows anything about me. “I don’t know what I’m going to do as yet. I haven’t made any decisions.”
“Oh, how can younotwant to be in New York, it’s the best city on the planet.”
I smile thinly at her. “Well, it isn’t quite as simple as that. There is more to consider.”
“Like what?” she leans in a little closer and rests her head on my shoulder. Something about this makes me feel very uncomfortable and I don’t know why. I try to shift away from her, but she isn’t allowing that to happen.
She wants to keep me right beside her.
