Billionaires Runaway Bride (A Standalone British Billionaire Romance Novel)

by Claire Adams

  His eyes lit up.

  “But I don’t want to be rude and leave you here alone.”

  “I’ll be fine! I promise. I came here to dance, and I got to do that, and I have my drink to keep me company until those two are ready to go. I just have too much on my mind right now to think of doing anything else. Besides, something tells me that even though you might feel like sticking around here for quite a bit longer, those two are gonna be ready to leave pronto.” I motioned back toward Grace and his friend.

  He laughed, then asked one more time if I was sure. I nodded and watched him get up and talk to the other chick. She gave him a wide, inviting smile and placed her hand on his chest as she laughed at something he said. Oh yeah, that girl would be much more appreciative of his efforts tonight than I would.

  Twenty minutes later, Grace came up and grabbed my arm, the guy she’d been sucking face with behind her, arms wrapped around her waist. “This is Jackson, by the way.” She had a giddy look on her face that I had to fight not to laugh at. It was clear her mission had been accomplished. She’d found an acceptable suitor to keep her company for the night and was ready to get out of there and take care of business. “You ready to go?”

  “Yep, let’s go.”

  “Where’d Devin go?” Jackson asked. I nodded toward him and the other girl, already kissing on the dance floor.

  “I think he’ll be fine,” I said as he glanced in our direction. I gave him a thumbs up, and he grinned. “Oh yeah, he’ll be just fine.”

  Jackson made his way over to Devin and had a few quick words before the three of us headed out of the club, this time walking down the beach to our hotel. Grace and I took off our heels because walking in the sand in heels was a terrible idea. I could just see one of us tripping and going face first in the sand in our tipsy states.

  Jackson seemed like a decent enough guy, even for a one-night stand, goofing off and making us laugh on the way back, at one point actually tripping himself by not paying attention. Grace and I giggled at him before she helped him back up and dusted the sand from his ass.

  When we reached the hotel, all three of us went up to the room. I went into the bathroom and changed into a comfy t-shirt and a pair of pajama pants then grabbed my iPad. “I think I’m going to head to the lounge area, give you two some alone time,” I told them, slipping on some flip flops.

  Grace mouthed a “thank you” and winked at me. I only nodded my head, grabbing my door key on the way out. There were some comfy-looking red couches in a little lounging area on our floor, and I made myself comfortable on one, popping in my earbuds and putting on a movie.

  Despite the distraction, my mind wandered to the job possibilities Grace and I had talked about earlier, and I couldn't help but smile. I had a good feeling about it. I wracked my brain, trying to remember the name of the agency Grace had mentioned earlier while we were getting ready, but my mind was still a little foggy from drinking.

  It took a few minutes, but I finally remembered: North Star Entertainment Staffing Agency. I Googled their site and clicked the link, looking it over, and found a place to apply for more administrative type roles with musicians and bands. I couldn’t believe I hadn't known before know that jobs like this were an option. I doubted I would get the job, but it couldn’t hurt to apply, and maybe Grace would be able to give me an extra boost to get me noticed. Either way, I decided to apply then and there. After all, I had plenty of time to kill while I was hanging out in the hallway lounge.

  Since I was most interested in the positions they offered in tour management, I bluffed here and there on the application, adding a few things to my resume that, if checked out, would fall right through. But I didn’t care. I had to do everything in my power to ensure that they would at least give my resume a second look. Either they would call me or they wouldn’t.

  It also had a spot for me to add a headshot. So, I found a good picture one of Grace’s photographer friends had taken of me and uploaded it. It was decent enough.

  Once I finished applying, I curled up on the couch, watching the movie and waiting for Grace to give me the all clear. Instead, at some point I drifted off to sleep, thinking about how amazing things could be. A new career, a few connections in the world of music, hell, maybe even a new, rock star boyfriend… Who knew? All things were possible at that moment.

  Chapter Five

  Owen

  Talon and Jay sat on one side of the table, both looking like hell. I wished I could have said I was surprised that they’d drank themselves into a stupor again last night. I wasn’t though, not even a little bit, unfortunately.

  So here we were, sitting in a nice restaurant, and they still had their sunglasses on, with their hair strewn all crazily about like some drugged-out ’80s rock stars. Well, come to think of it, they weren’t too far off the mark; they just happened to be in the wrong decade. Seeing Talon drink, I admit, did make me a little wary, but he promised me he was doing nothing else and that he wouldn’t take it to the extreme. All I could do was trust him.

  “So you get any leads on assistants yet?” Talon asked, taking a sip of soda. “And, why do you insist on going out for brunch? We are not high society debutants, ya know. Hell, I'm normally still sleeping at this hour.”

  The others laughed and chimed in with similar jibes. I merely shrugged in response. “Since when is it a crime to like breakfast food close to lunch time?”

  Talon smirked across the table at me and took a bite from his eggs. “It’s not. It’s just weird that you called it 'brunch' when you set it up. I mean, come on, dude, who uses words like that?”

  I ignored him, shaking my head. “No guys, no leads just yet. However, I do intend to check some online later that Mike sent me. So, we might have someone soon. And then I can quit worrying about all this crap!”

  “You gonna find a hot assistant?” Talon waggled an eyebrow, peeking over his sunglasses. “She'd better be easy on the eyes, dude. Seriously, don't let me down on this; I'm looking forward to it.”

  I frowned at him. “I’m going to find a good assistant, Tal. Whether she happens to be hot or not is irrelevant. Whether she can keep her cool and do her job in spite of you dumbasses will be the real question.”

  “I definitely think you need a hot assistant,” Jay added. Talon nodded his agreement, taking a few more bites.

  “Why? So you can harass her and show her your ‘giant’ dick?” I narrowed my eyes at him.

  The others snorted into their drinks. Talon’s grin only widened. “No. I was thinking so you can show her yours. I think you seriously need to get laid, bro. It might go a long way toward helping you lighten up a little.”

  I sighed, rubbing the bridge of my nose. “How about nobody shows her their dick, guys? How about that?”

  They all laughed, but my expression didn’t change. “I’m serious. No fucking around with the assistant. Any of us. Deal? Let’s do things right and not fuck this up. The last thing I need is for our assistant to quit halfway through the tour because she was harassed to a point of no return or she got burned by one of you idiots. We can't afford to have that happen, we really can't.

  “We're gonna be on a crazy schedule, and any fuck ups could make the entire thing crash and burn. And you all know this as well as I do. So can we please agree to just leave the assistant alone and let her get on with her job?”

  “Deal,” Jeremiah piped in immediately.

  “Deal,” Jay said. The look on my face convinced him that I was serious, and he knew from years of experience when to quit messing around and when to back down.

  Talon, on the other hand, hesitated. After a moment, which I am certain he waited for just for dramatic effect, he agreed. “All right then. It's a deal. I promise I won't show her my anaconda—even though she's the one who's gonna be missing out.”

  All three of them agreed to the no sex with the tour assistant pact, and I felt somewhat relieved. My brother could be quite the horn dog, but if he made a promise, he did always keep
it. We finished off brunch, chatting a little more about the tour, as well as adding a few more things to our to-do list. The other guys left, and I drove Talon and me back to my place.

  “I’m really excited about this tour,” he said as he stared out the window.

  “I know, man. I told you we’d do this if you got clean last year,” I smiled. “I’m pretty excited about it, too. I can hardly believe we’re actually doing it. I've got such a great feeling about this. Just feels right. Ya know? Just like the old days, before we hit it big. It's almost like going back in time, in a way.”

  Talon smiled, pulling out a cigarette and rolling down the window. “I just really needed this. The band back together, us all hanging out again. Thanks, Owen. I really mean that.”

  “Love you, man.” I patted his shoulder.

  I did love my baby brother. We’d always been close and, to a certain degree, I knew he still looked up to me. He always had, especially when we were kids. When I started a band, he wanted in. He’d slaved over the drums, learning how to play just so he could be a part of it, and in the process, had turned into an amazing drummer.

  And last year when he overdosed, it had really scared the hell out of me. The thought of losing him had almost killed me. I couldn't imagine a life without my kid brother in it, and that had come so close to being a reality.

  That was the point at which I begged him to get into treatment and get clean, and I realized he was missing things in his life and hurting to the degree of trying to fill those voids with drugs. Without the music, he'd simply found another outlet for his pain. So that was another factor in my decision to get the band back together.

  Of course, I was happy about getting back together with the other guys in the band, but I really brought the band back together for Talon because when he had a sense of purpose and direction like that, he didn't need to get high out of his skull on drugs or spend time with the wrong crowd.

  Talon went straight for my living room couch the moment we got to my house, whipping his sunglasses off and diving into the pillows.

  “Ya know, those late nights and fast women are going to get the better of you one of these days,” I jabbed.

  “God, I hope so,” he chimed back, his voice muffled through the pillows.

  I laughed at him and headed up the stairs to my office. My intention was to check out some of the applicants Mike had sent information on because I really needed to lock down someone as soon as possible so that I could stop worrying about the admin side of the tour and focus on the music and rehearsing with the band. I shut the door behind me and opened up my laptop, looking for the email he said he’d sent so that we could set up interviews for the following day.

  It didn’t take long to find it, and within a few minutes, I was reading over the first applicant’s qualifications. The girl looked nice enough, and her resume was decently impressive—she could definitely be a possibility. I went through two others who were not as impressive, but not bad. The fourth one was cute and had a resume like the first girl, so I earmarked her for an interview, as well.

  I got to the last one, though, and was blown away. Her resume was not only good, but the picture attached was fucking hot. Hot enough that I looked up her name on Google and managed to find more pictures of her. One, in particular, stood out. She was standing on the beach in a bikini, holding a surfboard.

  I actually mumbled an “Oh, my God,” while staring at it. She was tanned and curvy with hips for days and full breasts. She had long, brown hair and honey-colored eyes that I could get lost in, even through a computer screen. She was totally my type. “Nalia,” I said to myself, re-reading her name. I liked that. Oh yes, I’d definitely have to interview her. Leaning back, I couldn’t help just thinking about what I could do with her.

  I was already a little hard just from looking at a picture of her. Looking around the room, I undid my jeans. It wasn’t as if my brother would wake up anytime soon. I grabbed my dick, gently rubbing it as I stared at her breasts and face, imagining those full lips kissing me, those breasts pressed against my chest. I thought of squeezing that full ass as she bounced on my lap, and thrusting myself deep inside her.

  My dick began to ache and harden just at the thought of her, and I let out a groan, rubbing it harder, thinking of her mouth on my cock, sucking and licking. I thought of bending her over my desk right there, taking her doggy style after knocking everything off and onto the floor. I came quickly, groaned, and scrambled for napkins in my desk to clean up the mess.

  When my mind was a little clearer, I considered the “no sex with the assistant” pact I’d made the guys agree to and felt a little guilty. Just for a moment, I thought about not marking her for an interview. But between her impressive resume and those eyes…yeah, I definitely wanted to interview her. In fact, there was no way I couldn't.

  “Nalia,” I said aloud as I stared at her picture. “You and I are definitely gonna meet. And I have to say, part of me hopes you blow me away in this interview and part of me hopes you totally bomb it. So, what’s it going to be?”

  Chapter Six

  Nalia

  I was starving. And since I hadn’t had any breakfast, I decided to make myself an early lunch. I put some music on in the kitchen and started chopping up stuff for a big, chef salad, which would go a long way toward satiating my hunger. Grace strolled downstairs just as I was pouring dressing over the monster creation and grabbed a fork from a drawer, taking a bite out of the salad as she plopped onto a tall chair at the counter.

  “Mmm, this is good, Nay. You make yummy salads.” She grinned, her hair in a messy bun on top of her head, bits of it sticking out all over the place.

  “I can’t believe how late we slept in,” I said, grabbing each of us a water from the fridge.

  “Well, I don’t think either of us slept too well out in San Diego,” she replied with a mischievous grin on her face.

  “I actually got plenty of sleep, unlike you. Granted, it was on a couch in the lounge, so it wasn't the comfiest night ever,” I joked, stabbing my fork into the salad. “You’re the one that didn’t get much sleep, Missy. You were far too busy with other things, I believe.”

  “Guilty as charged.” Grace held a hand up and smiled before taking another forkful. We both giggled.

  “Seriously, though, I had a fun time at the club, even though we weren't exactly there for too long. I really love Le Venin,” I said. I actually did have fun, despite playing wing woman to Grace while she got some. In spite of that, it had just been really nice to get away for a little while, and I always liked going to the beach down there.

  “It was a fun trip,” she agreed, taking another bite. “God, this salad is so good. You really do have a talent for whipping these things up.”

  “Speaking of 'tossing the salad,' I wonder if that guy knew who he was banging,” I said, snickering. “Grace Nelson, starlet of The Turning Globe.”

  That devious grin came back over her face. “He had no idea at all, girl. None whatsoever! Just imagine if he happens across a commercial for it. I think it's safe to say he'll get quite a shock!”

  We both giggled again, imagining the poor guy’s reaction.

  “Speaking of the show, what’s your new co-star like? Eric Donovan, was it?”

  “Ugh, he’s a total ass,” she groaned as she rolled her eyes, stabbing at the salad again. “He's got a serious attitude problem. But he's really stacked down below, though, if you know what I mean.”

  “Wait, what? You already banged him?” I nearly choked on my salad. Grace gave me a helpless shrug, and I just rolled my eyes and shook my head. The woman was insatiable, it seemed—and far too reckless about it. This was not the first time this had happened, not by a long shot.

  “Come on, Grace; I'm not trying to be judgmental or anything, I’m really not, but isn’t that how you ended up having problems with the last guy? I mean, you do know that old saying about not shitting where you eat, and all that?” I raised an eyebrow at her.

/>   “Maybe. It didn't matter anyway, though. The writers killed him off, and that was that, problem solved,” Grace grinned.

  “Just be careful with that untamable libido of yours, or they might kill you off next,” I warned her. “We don't need you being out of work as well as me. Gosh, imagine that! What a train wreck it would be, the pair of us both unemployed!”

  “The writers wouldn't kill me off. Well, not right now, anyway. I’m the most popular character on the show… But yeah, I get what you’re saying. I know it's best to keep work and play separate, so I’ll try to behave. The keyword there, of course, is try. I'm not about to make promises I can't keep when I'm surrounded by hot guys all the time!” She winked at me and grabbed her water.

  Eventually, we managed to finish off the salad, and thirty minutes later, we decided to go for a long jog. I went upstairs and changed into a sports bra, running shorts, and a tank top. Pulling my hair back into a quick bun, I rushed back downstairs. Grace was already dressed and ready to go and was just busy tying her sneakers. We grabbed our sunglasses before heading out into the heat, ready to work up a good sweat.

  I put in my headphones to block out any catcalls and followed her down the street. L.A. was crowded, as it always was. I both loved and hated living amongst all the people. Sometimes it was inspiring and energizing, but other times I found it downright draining, overwhelming, and exhausting. L.A. definitely hadn't been my first choice in living destinations.

  I’d come out with Grace long ago when she landed her first job as an actress, but the difference between her and I was that I didn’t have to stay like she did. Nothing was holding me to this place. I could go anywhere I wanted, in theory at least. Why I hadn’t, I wasn’t sure. Maybe I’d just gotten comfortable staying in L.A. with my best friend, or maybe I was a little too scared of change. The thought of striking out on my own into unknown territory was more than a little intimidating.