What the Billionaire Wants

by Lila Lacroix

  The bus pulled up in the main town, and Tina stepped down, bidding goodbye to the driver and making her way down Main Street. It was busy, not unusual for a Friday afternoon, and she was grateful that she had a destination in mind as it always made it easier to navigate the crowds when you were certain where you were going.

  The meeting with the bank went well, and Tina came out confident and sure that everything was going to be fine, even it meant she was going to be a little short on money for a while, but none of that really mattered. She was happy and she was finally doing what she wanted to be doing, so anything from here on out would be worth it in the long run.

  She decided the day was nice enough for a coffee, but not hot enough that she could drink it outside, so she chose a café she had been to once or twice off of one of the side streets. It was a lesser known coffee shop, which meant it was never overly busy, which Tina had liked when she first found it.

  It wasn't until she had finished paying and was trying to find a booth to sit in that she came to a halt in the middle of the aisle, staring in dual horror and anticipation at the guy sitting in the corner booth.

  “I thought it was you,” Ryan said, holding her gaze.

  Tina had to fight the impulse to run. She might have been a coward in the past, but she was doing her best to move past that and actually be a decent human being, so she nodded, giving him a tight smile. “Hi, Ryan.”

  It was awkward, and that probably had more to do with her than with Ryan. She had been the one who had abandoned him and then ignored all of his calls, after all. She swallowed thickly, and then decided to bite the bullet and sat down, placing her coffee on the table.

  “You don't mind me joining you, do you?”

  “You know I don't,” Ryan said, his voice softer. He looked good; better than she remembered, actually, and she didn't know if that was reality, or just her traitorous mind playing tricks on her. There was an awkward silence, and no matter how much Tina might have wanted this subconsciously, that didn't mean she knew how to handle it when it happened.

  “How have you been?” Tina sipped her coffee, making eye contact with Ryan over the top of her cup, but not entirely sure that she wanted to see the expressions that would be crossing Ryan's face.

  Ryan paused, not sure how to quite start. “Well, it took me a while to figure out why you did what you did.”

  Tina's cheeks were burning, but she didn't feel too guilty about it. She had done what she thought was right at the time, and if she had done anything else at the time, it wouldn't have felt like she was doing herself justice. “I'm sorry about the way I did it, not that I did it.”

  Ryan nodded. “I know that now.” He smiled wryly. “Not that I was as charitable at the time.”

  Pushing her coffee cup across the table, Tina nodded. “I know, and I understand why you felt that way.” She made a face at herself. “I have thought about you from time to time.”

  “Yeah,” Ryan said. He gave her the winning smile she remembered from far too many times. “I've thought about you as well. How has work at the hospital been?”

  “Great,” Tina said, grateful for a chance to talk her job. Unlike Duncan, Ryan actually paid attention to her and looked interested – genuinely – to know what was going on with her. It was a heady feeling, and she was reminded of the many reasons she had loved both spending time with, and dating, Ryan. “-and now most of them have been discharged, so I'm just waiting for the new influx of kids to come in. Of course at the same time I always hope we’ll never get another child again ever. I hope you're enjoying yourself as much as I am.”

  “I tried to stay away from the hospital,” Ryan said, with a shrug. “I wasn't sure if I would be mad at you, upset at you, or just want you to take me back.”

  He was being so forthright about his feelings – and about wanting Tina when she had treated him the way she had, no matter how justified – that she didn't quite know how to deal with it. It was certainly a surprise; she wasn't used to any man that had been with her being so willing to tell her about how he really felt about that situation, and she didn't quite know how to tell him how she felt in return. She felt she had to be candid; it wouldn't be as fair if she refused to let him know, but it had been complex enough telling her mom and Maria how she was feeling – and she hadn't even done that.

  “I don't know what I would have said to you in return,” Tina admitted, after a long silence. “I wasn't even sure I had done the right thing when I was saying it, let alone after that.”

  She smiled softly. When she had seen him, she had been sure that she wanted to run away and never look back, but now that she was sitting her and speaking with him, she didn't want to leave. Ryan was more attentive than she remembered, and she hoped that it wasn't just because she was here and she had missed him, but she wasn't even sure that would matter.

  They kept talking, mostly about things that didn't relate to the two of them together, but then Tina brought up one of the dates they had had, and the woman who couldn't stop staring at how out of place she looked. She realised she was laughing – happy – and that she wasn't worried about bringing it up, or Ryan's reaction, or guilty about what had happened. It seemed the right thing to do, and even Ryan was laughing, the tension around his eyes all but gone now that she was looking closely.

  Tina had forgotten how at ease she felt when she was in Ryan's company. “I missed this,” she said, shuffling a napkin around the table.

  Ryan didn't say anything, just smiled at her. His eyes were as fascinating as she remembered. Her body was quickly starting to remember what it had been like to be the sole focus of his attention. She felt flushed all over and fidgety, like she wasn't quite sure what to do with her hands, legs, or even where to look.

  Silence descended on them once again, but this time Tina had no compunctions to break it. She was quite happy to sit, watching Ryan and trying to get her thoughts in order. This was not what she had expected when she woke up that morning, but it also went some way to explain the weird feelings that she had been having all day. She didn't think that she knew exactly what was going to happen, but it was nice to find that everything was finally settling down within her.

  “So,” Ryan said. He was raising his eyebrows, and Tina didn't even have to ask to know the thoughts that were running through his head. It reminded her of that first time in the hospital so long ago, when Ryan had seen her crying in the family room, and the next minute, they had been going at it. She felt flushed and hot just thinking about it and nodded, not even really sure what she was agreeing to.

  Tina smiled and tapped her fingers on the table, raising her eyebrows. “You want-”

  “Yeah,” Ryan said, standing. Tina was only too eager to join him, and stood, following him towards the café bathroom. She wasn't thinking clearly, and knew that in some deep recess of her mind, but that didn't stop her from shutting herself in the bathroom with Ryan and relishing his hands on her body, whether or not it was the right thing to be doing.

  It didn't take long for the two of them to get completely wrapped up in each other and forget the outside world existed, even if that was only while they were locked in the coffee shop bathroom. Through it all, with Ryan's hands on her waist, and his breath hot on her face, and his body covering hers, she couldn't think about anything else at all.

  It took them a long time to actually come out of the bathroom, and Tina was surprised that someone hadn't tried to come in and get them out. Not that either of them would have heard if someone had knocked, mostly because Ryan seemed to know all the ways to elicit noise from her. She was flushed and embarrassed when the two of them slunk out of the bathroom. She made her way over to the table and grabbed her bag, pretending to fumble with it. Ryan was reaching for his wallet to pay for his coffee and Tina barely remembered politeness enough to say, “I'll see you later?”

  “Uh,” Ryan said, flushing in a similar way to the heat Tina could feel on her face. “Yeah. You have-”

  “I do,
” Tina said, knowing he was talking about his phone number. “I'll call you.”

  She didn't know whether or not she would at all, but it didn't really matter to her; she hoped that in time she would either come to regret what had happened, or want to call Ryan just to put an end to whatever it was that was happening here.

  “I have to leave,” she said, not waiting for a reply, but shouldering her bag and rushing out of the cafe. She couldn't believe she had even done that! When she had left the apartment that morning, she couldn't have imagined running into Ryan, and now she had slept with him. Maria was never going to let her hear the end of this.

  She hurried to the bus, making sure that it was the one around the corner from her apartment, mostly because she didn't want to have to face Ryan again, and it was the furthest out from the main street. She huddled against the shelter, digging through her bag for her phone. She had to tell Maria, even though she knew she was going to get grief and ridicule, because she needed to tell someone.

  Not that she had to call Maria. I slept with Ryan.

  She didn't expect Maria to reply straight away – there was always the chance that she was working, but even if she wasn't, it didn't mean that she wanted to be at Tina's beck and call forever. She was climbing onto the bus, catching a seat towards the back, when she felt her phone chime with a text message.

  WHAT?!

  Tina snorted. I don't even know how it happened.

  Maria didn't reply for a while, and Tina closed her eyes, resting her head against the back of the seat. She could well imagine what must have been going through Maria's mind. After all the complaining Tina had done – and the mocking and anger Maria had shown Ryan – Maria was probably cursing Tina in her head. Not that Tina blamed her.

  You and I are going to have a serious talk about this. Gtg. At work.

  Tina rolled her eyes and slipped the phone back into her bag. She would take whatever Maria threw at her, but for now she was going to have to deal with the immediate knowledge that she had slept with Ryan. Again.

  She was such an idiot.

  * * *

  “You are such an idiot,” Maria said, banging through the door and kicking it shut behind her. “What possessed you to even do it?”

  “Um,” Tina shrugged, peering around the couch to see Maria dump her work bag by the door. She looked frazzled, hair out of place and uniform crumpled. She had obviously been in a hurry to get over to Tina's, and Tina would have been apologetic, but Maria's moaning and complaining would more than cover any apologies. “It just happened?”

  Maria sighed. “Girl, you know that's not going to cut it.”

  “Fine.” Tina shifted uncomfortably on the couch. “I went to a café after the bank today. I just – he was sitting there. I thought, what could be the harm in talking to him?”

  Maria let out an ironic laugh, but curled her legs underneath her on the chair.

  “Anyway, we talked and laughed and it was like nothing had ever happened.”

  Frowning, Maria ran a hand through her hair. “And then he nailed you in a cafe bathroom.”

  “Yeah, well, I wasn't exactly passive,” Tina said. It sounded stupid to her own ears, pointless sniping where there didn't need to be any, but it was true; Ryan hadn't been the only one involved in that bathroom. “Besides, it's too late now.”

  Maria pulled off her scrubs, revealing a tank top underneath. She looked beat, and Tina was sorry that she had come around when she probably had better things to be doing. “Look, things could be worse, I guess. This is something that can be dealt with.”

  “Yeah, I guess,” Tina said, though she couldn't think how. “He said to call him.”

  Maria gave Tina a look that she had learned well. “I hope you're not going to follow through.”

  “Maria-”

  “Tina.” Maria frowned. “Are you serious right now? I thought you were getting over him! You know, dealing with whatever it is you've got going on inside that head.”

  Tina frowned, but didn't really know how to reply. She had thought she was over him too, but when she had been sitting in that café across from him, watching his face and knowing his attention was all on her – she hadn't known what to do about it. She couldn't just bury her head in the sand about it any longer; she was going to have to come to a decision one way or the other. “I don't know what to do.”

  “I know,” Maria told her, smiling. “That's why you have me around – so that I can tell you what to do to make everything work out.”

  “Yeah?” Tina raised her eyebrows, lips quirking up into a smile. If there was one thing that she could count on Maria for, it was making her feel better. “And how are you going to do that?”

  “First,” Maria said, “we have to figure out just where Ryan stands in all of this; is he looking to get back with you?”

  Tina frowned. She wasn't sure she wanted to start talking about that, but she supposed it would help. “He told me that he missed me, but we didn't really talk about anything. He wanted to make sure I had his number just before I left, but both of us were a little embarrassed, so he could have just been trying to get rid of me.”

  Maria's thoughtful expression seemed to tell a different story. “I don't know. It sounds like he might still be a little hung up on you. After all, he wasn't exactly telling you no in that bathroom.”

  Tina smiled, remembering just how attentive Ryan had been, both in the café and the bathroom. “God, he was just as amazing as the first time.”

  Looking a little bit envious, Maria snorted. “Tell me more.”

  “Nope,” Tina said, grinning with teeth. “I don't think I like to kiss and tell.”

  “You spoil all my fun.” Maria hung upside down on the couch. “I don't think I like you anymore.”

  “You'll get over it,” Tina said. She softened her tone and gave her a small smile. “I mean, not everyone can have someone as amazing as Ryan.”

  “Oh?” Maria said, raising an eyebrow. “I don't think you actually have him anymore, do you?”

  “No,” Tina said, drawing it out. “But that doesn't mean I couldn't have him again if I wanted to.”

  Maria groaned, burying her face in her hands. “Are you kidding me? Tina, please don't go there again.”

  “You don't want to pick up the pieces?”

  “Shut up, you know I will.” Maria slipped further down into the chair. “Still, someone has to be the voice of reason here, and it clearly isn't you.”

  Silence descended on the two of them, and Tina frowned, pulling down the blanket thrown over the couch on top of her and curling into it. “I just – don't know what to do here, Tina. It felt so right when we were sleeping together again, and I was the one who ended things. Would it be so terrible if we did get back together again?”

  “Are you being serious right now?” Maria said. “You know this would be a bad idea. What if you suddenly decide that being with him is getting in the way of work again? You'll be right back where you started.”

  “But I would be more comfortable in my own skin, now.” Tina tipped her head back. “And I know what I would be getting in to. My head isn't so confused.”

  “Please,” Maria scoffed. “The fact that you're even asking me if you should be doing it, means you're still confused. You should not be with him.”

  “Yeah, well,” Tina said, stubborn. It was what she wanted, and if it ruined her life, so be it. Either way, she was the one that had to make the ultimate choice.

  Maria kept glancing over at her, even when Tina flicked on the television so they wouldn't have to talk about it anymore. She wasn't angry, but she also didn't want to take out her growing frustration out on Maria; after all, she was only here because Tina was her best friend.

  * * *

  The hospital was pretty busy over the next few weeks. Tina didn't have a lot of time to herself to worry about anything, much less Ryan. She had been feeling a little sick and she didn't know if she was coming down with something, or just stressed out. Sh
e had been trying to shake it off, but that was easier said than done.

  “Are you okay?” Rose opened the door to the toilets, frowning down at Tina.

  Tina was sitting on the floor of the bathroom stall, holding her stomach. She had just thrown up and didn't know what was wrong with her. “I've been feeling terrible for the past few days. I don't know what's wrong with me.”

  Rosie came forward, pressing her hand to Tina's forehead. “You're not hot.”

  Once the brush of nausea passed, Tina felt fine. She just had to get over it first. “It doesn't happen all the time. Just certain smells. Like the disinfectant on the wards.”

  There was a pointed look on Rosie's face, but Tina didn't want to acknowledge it. “Look, Tina-”

  “I'll be fine,” Tina said, struggling to her feet. I'll just have to steer clear of cleaning times.”

  Unlike Maria, Rosie wasn't cowed by Tina's deflecting, and she stood in the doorway of the bathroom, hands on her hips. “Look, we both know what you should be testing for.”

  Tina leaned against the basin, splashing water on her face and rubbing her chin. “It's impossible.”

  “I don't think that's true,” Rosie said.

  Straightening up, Tina fixed her uniform. “I'm going to get sent home, aren't I?”

  “Yes.” Rosie caught hold of Tina's arm as she turned to leave the bathroom. “Check it out, Tina. Just to be safe.”