Mr. Cocky (London Billionaire #1)

by Nana Malone

  With a cough and a silent strangled cry, Lex bolted upright in bed, panting for air. Sweat clung to his skin, and his sheets were twisted around his legs. He freed himself and dragged his now-wetT-shirt over his head, then tossed it toward the hamper. It used to be months and months between nightmares, now it was days. Any first year psychology student could tell him it was stress. His birthday was coming up, and with it, the anniversary of the one night he never wanted to remember.

  But the impending sale of his small software company meant freedom. Not just financially, but from the oppressive disappointment of his family, especially his father. Though, what he wouldn’t give for a week of dreamless nights.

  Throwing off the sheets, he climbed out of bed and stalked to the dresser. As he dragged on a new T-shirt, he noticed the light coming from underneath the door. He padded into the living room to find the television still on and a lithe brunette huddled in the corner of his couch with a quilted throw slung around her shoulders. “Gemma, what are you still doing up?”

  She turned wide eyes toward him. “I got caught up watching horror movies, and then I couldn’t sleep.”

  “Yeah, well, that makes two of us.” He shrugged.

  She narrowed her gaze and studied him. “Another nightmare?”

  He stiffened. He didn’t like her knowing about his demons. “No big deal. I’m going to get some water and head back to bed.” He glanced at the clock over the television. It was only one thirty. He’d only managed an hour and a half of sleep so far. “I assume you’re staying the night?”

  Gemma nodded. “Yeah. I’m knackered. No point driving back to the house just to go crash in bed at home when I can sleep here.”

  Lex only nodded. Gemma crashing at his place was nothing new. “Should I bother telling you that the guestroom is all made up, or are you planning on sleeping on the couch?”

  She grinned sheepishly. “I could fib and tell you I’m going to bed, but we both know I’m just going to pass out right here.”

  He shook his head. Since University, they’d spent too many nights like this. Neither of them wanting to go home or be alone. To the outside world, they were the perfect couple. No one would believe it if they knew the truth behind the veil. That for years he’d been protecting her, pretending to be her boyfriend. If anyone found out she was into girls, she’d lose everything, and he wasn’t going to let that happen.

  “Your dad at home?”

  She nodded but didn’t meet his gaze. “Yeah, so I figured it best to avoid him as much as possible while he’s here. It’s only for a week, then back to normal.”

  Gemma didn’t have to explain avoiding her father to Lex. The old man traveled on business most of the time and only came home for a week out of the month. While home, he generally made Gemma’s life hell with his bigoted views and domineering attitude. “Stay as long as you like.”

  “Thanks.” She scratched her nose. “Uhm, Lex?”

  “Yeah, Gem?”

  “You’re a really good friend to let me crash and stuff.”

  Lex crossed his arms over his chest. He knew where the meandering path she’d taken would lead, and he was in no mood for sharing. “Stop. It’s what you would do for me.”

  “Yeah. I suppose. Just, you know, after everything we’ve been through, and everything you’ve done for me, you never let me be there for you.”

  He forced a casual smile. “That’s because I don’t need anything. When I do, you’ll be the first I call.” In another life, if things had been different, maybe he and Gemma would have been the perfect couple they portrayed.

  “Lex, I notice, you know. The nightmares. The fact that you talk, sometimes shout in your sleep. I notice.”

  Fuck. What dark and slithering secret had his brain released when he’d been too out of it to control himself?

  “What do I say in my sleep?” He cocked his head and tried for a look that was humored and indifferent. “Am I calling out Giselle Bunchen’s name? Because that’s entirely possible.”

  Gemma flattened her lips. “You never really say anything I can understand, but that’s not the point. I love you, so I worry.” She slid her gaze away. “Maybe you can talk to Xander.”

  He gritted his teeth. He was not going to call his brother. That was the last person he could talk to about any of this shit. He worked hard to school his expression. “I appreciate the concern. Honestly, I do. But you have nothing to worry about. Now get some sleep.”

  Instead of heading for the kitchen, he headed back for the bedroom—he didn’t want her watching him too closely. She thought she wanted to know his secrets, but the darkness inside him would change how she looked at him forever. She wouldn’t love a killer.

  In the morning, Lex was still foggy from lack of sleep, but that didn’t mean he didn’t have work to do.

  “Are you two sure you want to sell this company? With venture capital funding, you can expand the lifestyle brand of Take Back the Night.” Annabel Smith, their solicitor, asked Nick and Lex carefully.

  They glanced at each other briefly before they both nodded.

  Lex spoke first. “Nick and I have given this a good deal of thought. We want to eventually become the venture capitalists for small scrappy companies like this and prepare them either for sale, like we’re doing, or to go public. A lot of people out there have great ideas but don’t know how to follow through. We’ve figured out how. We might do another small company again and sell that to make sure our feet are well and properly sodden, but we’re selling.”

  Nick added, “We want to strike while the iron’s hot. Before someone else comes and tries to copy it with something subpar. First to market is key.”

  She nodded. “And Toshino, Inc. is banking on that with their purchase. But their team has asked again if you won’t both stay on to run it and lend your names to increase the value.”

  “That’s a nonstarter,” Lex said.

  Nick agreed. “Look, Annabelle, we’ve both worked hard to distance ourselves from our pasts. My name might tarnish the brand. While this is meant to be an app for the want-to-be jetsetter, Take Back the Night is still aiming for the elite kind of clientele. That’s the whole point. If you start attaching the name Wexler to it, you’ll get every low level sleaze ball from here to Dubai who wants to party with the big boys. Our business clients bank on the exclusivity and the class. They won’t be thrilled with riff raff joining up. And unfortunately, the Wexler name comes with riff raff.”

  She sighed and swished her red hair over her shoulder. “Any way to change your mind, Lex? The Chase name screams luxury. Hell, even royalty. We’ve already taken the steps to protect you from your father’s corporate raiding.”

  Lex might have different reasons than Nick for keeping his anonymity, but he was still not lending his name. “Sorry, Annabelle, no can do. Even if we do manage to keep the sale quiet until it’s final, when my father does find out, he’s going to make attempts to block it. To try to claim it for CET. I want to be as separate from him as humanly possible.”

  She shook her head, no doubt lamenting the loss of additional commission if she’d garnered them a bigger deal. “Very well. Toshino, Inc. is presenting this as their offer.” She slid the paperwork in their direction. “It’s understandably smaller because of the removed brand recognition. But it should make the two of you happy.”

  The offer was in the ballpark of what Lex had expected. And it meant he could tell his father to shove it. “That’s fair.”

  “That’s a lot of fucking zeros,” Nick mumbled.

  “Well, you fronted the initial capital so you should know the valuation,” Lex said.

  Nick’s eyes bugged. “Yeah, mate, but it’s one thing to know theoretically what it’s worth. It’s another, entirely, to see that number put down in front of you.” He scrubbed a hand over his face. “To be honest, Lex, I thought you were full of bollocks.”

  Lex laughed. “So you sunk your money into something you thought was bullshit?”

&nb
sp; “More like I sunk it because you told me to. I have faith in you, but I couldn’t see what you could see. But fuck, mate. I see it now.”

  Lex wasn’t sure if he should laugh or sucker punch him. “Well, thank you for the glowing endorsement.” He turned his attention to Annabel. “Are they still insisting I sit as CEO?”

  She nodded. “Yes, you’ll see it in line 4 section A. You’re to sit as CEO for a term no shorter than six months following the sale of the company. At the end of that term, they will pay you a generous severance.” Her smile grew broader. “Between now and then, as long as you two don’t receive any undue negative press, you’ll be golden.”

  Lex barely heard what she said the rest of the meeting. All he knew was his freedom was so close he could taste it.

  28

  It’s not exactly like I ran away from home.

  Abbie burrowed deeper under the covers. Packing up all her things and leaving DC behind for London was the right move. Wasn’t it?

  Her phone buzzed on the nightstand once again, and she dragged the duvet cover over her head. Maybe if she blocked out the sound, along with the rare English sunlight, her nightmare would all go away and she could return to her happy dream state.

  The phone buzzed again, insistent that she look at it.

  No.

  It could be her mother, one of her sisters, or maybe her father. Worse, it could be Evan. Her stomach rolled at the memory of the last time she’d seen him. The way he’d looked at her. What she’d done.

  Her brain involuntarily returned to that night. After she’d made her phone calls, she cleaned up and packed while she waited for the locksmith. She fired a quick letter of acceptance off to London, and she planned. She had one goal: be out of the damn house before Evan came back. She’d never packed so quickly in her entire life. She’d left instructions with her sister about what to do about her apartment and car, and she’d been on a plane to London. Thousands of miles from Evan and her old life.

  Her phone buzzed again.

  “Damn it.” She snaked a hand out from under her duvet, and chilly air greeted her flesh. She fumbled around for the side table, eventually banging her wrist on the corner. Ouch. If that wasn’t an omen, she didn’t know what was.

  When her fingers closed around the phone, she dragged it in with her. “Okay, world, what the hell do you want from me?” She mumbled.

  Three text messages. Fantastic.

  The first was from her mother.

  Abena, call me immediately. I want to make sure you’re safe. Make sure you call me.

  Abbie rolled her eyes. She’d already called her mother. And left her a voicemail. But her mother had a way of ignoring things that didn’t specifically fit what she wanted. And Helen Nartey didn’t want a voicemail. She wanted a live convo so she could try to berate Abbie into coming back to DC.

  Next message was from her sister, Akos, the lawyer.

  Abbie, we need to discuss your arrangements with the apartment. I served Evan with documents stating he has to vacate so you can sublet the place. You need to call me to review details.

  Crap. This was the last thing she wanted to deal with.

  Third message was from Evan.

  Call me, we need to talk. Your sister wants me out of our place. I need some time to find somewhere else to go. Where are you? I called your sister, and she said you weren’t there but wouldn’t tell me where you’d gone. Call me!!

  She waited for the slice of pain. But nothing came. Just gray numbness. She felt free to go ahead and delete his message.

  The phone buzzed in her hand again, causing it to tingle. God. Maybe she should have left the stupid thing back home. Started fresh.

  The last text was from her sister, Ama.

  I think you’re brave.

  Abbie smiled. Of course, Ama would support her. Silently, if not out loud to the rest of the family. But still she supported her. And that’s why Abbie loved her.

  Abbie tried to close her eyes again to catch another sliver of elusive sleep, but it was no use. Thanks to her family’s reach out and touch someone campaign, she was awake now. And the sounds from the kitchen told her that Tamsin, her best friend from college and new flatmate, was awake. Good old Tams. When Abbie had called, frantic and blubbering a few days ago, Tams had told her to get her Yankee ass on a plane and insisted she stay with her.

  Abbie dragged her feet out of bed, and her toes immediately cursed her decision to move to London and not a warmer, more tropical locale. She rummaged in her suitcase for thicker socks. Note to self, must unpack.

  Her phone buzzed again. Second note to self—get a different phone or at least a new chip. One that prevented her family from following her around and demanding all her time.

  She shuffled into the living room and kitchen area to assess the damage Tamsin was doing to breakfast.

  “Ah, good morning, love. How’d you sleep? I worried you’d be jetlagged. Then I realized, belatedly, that the room has no drapes. Normally it’s not a problem with the weather and all, but today it was sunny of all things, so of course, the sun was going to disturb your sleep and…”

  That was Tamsin. She had a tendency to ramble and speak at the speed of light. Due to her thick Manchester twang, Abbie missed part of what her friend said, but she got the gist.

  Tamsin bustled around the kitchen, yammering at a hundred miles an hour as Abbie walked over to her. She finally paused when Abbie stepped right in front of her and hugged her tight. Abbie wasn’t big on hugging. Any kind of touching usually made her uncomfortable. But in instances like this, sometimes a hug was called for. Without even knowing it, Tamsin had saved her life. She was the reason Abbie could breathe for the first time in years.

  Tamsin wrapped her arms around Abbie’s waist. “Ah, love. What’s with the hugs? Are there going to be waterworks too? If there are, I’ve got Kleenex in the pantry.”

  Abbie sniffled. “No. No. I’m just really happy to be here. Really happy to have this. I’m excited too.”

  Tamsin smiled, displaying even teeth and dimples in her heart-shaped face. “You should be excited. No one I know has the guts to do what you did. Pack up in a moment’s notice and move out of country. Abbie, I swear.” Tamsin let go of her and handed her a mug of tea.

  Abbie took the tea, even as she winced. “Well, let’s face it, I sort of ran away.”

  “Don’t call it running away. Call it running to a new adventure. I’m so glad you called me the other night.”

  “I’m so glad you’re letting me stay. I know it’s a bit of an imposition.”

  “Shut up. You know that’s bullshit. You saved me from having to get a random stranger for a flatmate. I’m still considering it with Sophie being gone all the time. Maybe she should move in permanently with her boyfriend.”

  Sophie was the third member of their triumvirate. They’d all shared a dorm room at NYU.

  “Let’s not suggest that until I’ve been here for a while, okay? I’ve been looking forward to the three of us getting some girl time.” Abbie wrinkled her nose as it finally occurred to her that it was Monday. “Shit, Tams, am I keeping you from work?”

  Tamsin worked as an Assistant Coordinator for a PR firm. “No, I’m working from home today. I’ve got a pile of calendar stuff I need to pitch, and I’ll never get anything done with the other girls in and out of my office.”

  Abbie took another sip of her tea. “So this is real. I’m really doing this?”

  “Looks that way, doesn’t it? What’s your first move?”

  Abbie exhaled. “Step one is get a job. I have some money saved, but I’ll be needing equipment and stuff. It’ll be easier if I don’t have to deal with the parentals to get it. After that, I need to head to campus and do some administrative stuff. I was lucky they still let me into the course since I was so late accepting.” What she didn’t let on with Tamsin is how dire her money situation was. She had just enough to make it through the semester, but that meant no extras.

  Tamsin nodded.
“I still can’t believe what Evan did. Sophie called it though. She’s always hated him.” Abbie suppressed a shudder. If ONLY Tamsin knew what else he’d done to her.

  “I wish I’d seen this coming. Maybe I wouldn’t have wasted my college years with an asshole.” She squared her shoulders. The sooner she got on with her life, the sooner she’d forget what she’d left behind. It was time to take back some of the control Evan had taken from her. “But I’m here now, and I’m about to start living. Which means I better get ready for class.”

  An hour and a half later, Abbie sat in the back of the small auditorium watching as her classmates took their seats one by one.

  A collective hush fell over the room the moment Xander Chase walked in. Abbie had seen photos, but they were nothing compared to seeing him in the flesh. She’d known he was young, but honestly he could be one of the students.

  “You can call me Xander. Mr. Chase is my father.”

  He was tall. At least six feet, two inches with broad shoulders and playful dark eyes. Shaggy blond hair framed his angled jaw and features. He also had a smile hot enough to make any red-blooded female consider dropping her panties. Self-confidence and sex appeal oozed off of him in waves.

  “So, for those of you who don’t remember, I’ll give you a brief overview. During the course of a week, you’ll have one lecture, two advisory sessions, an assignment, and a critique.”

  A legend like him was going to give her critiques and advice. Bile churned as her stomach flipped. Of course she’d expected that, but still. Theoretically knowing her work was going to be picked apart and actually having it happen were two different things.

  Then there was also the small matter of being stuck in a room with a man, any man, and only one exit. She wrapped her arms around her middle. She’d better learn to steel herself or she wouldn’t survive a day, let alone the whole term. He might be good-looking and in a position of power, but he was not Evan. And she’d faced Evan and hadn’t died. She could deal with this man.