Romance: The Billionaire's Choice - Contemporary Romance (Romance, Contemporary Romance Book 1)

by Adams, Nancy

  Isabel shrugged.

  “What about that media manager guy?” she asked. “He seemed great.”

  “You know what happened. I told him that I wasn’t ready to be in a relationship. He was fine with it and told me to give him a call later,” she said.

  “And why didn’t you?” Cara asked.

  “I guess I thought maybe Andrew would come around,” she replied. “Maybe he’ll give me a pity call now that he sees what a disaster I am.”

  “Stop it. Just don’t even start thinking about that. It is seriously time for you to move on. Call that guy. Forget about Andrew. Forget about his girlfriend. You really need to start focusing on you and taking care of yourself before you go completely crazy,” she said.

  Isabel nodded. “I know that you are right,” she said.

  Cara sat down on the couch beside her. She put her arm around her. “So, listen to me then,” she said.

  “Alright,” Isabel said. “I really will.”

  “Great. Let me see your phone,” she said.

  Isabel handed her the phone. “So, I am deleting Andrew’s number and you are going to talk to media guy,” she said.

  Isabel reached forward to try to grab her phone. Cara stood up and pulled the phone out of reach.

  “You know I am right,” she said. “Just go with it.”

  Isabel sighed.

  “So, Andrew’s number had been deleted and now I’m sending a new message out,” she said as she typed. “Here’s what you are saying: Hey, it’s been too long! Are you free on Friday?”

  CHAPTER TEN

  “Are you still sleeping?” she whispered.

  Andrew moaned.

  “Sorry,” she said quietly as she pulled the blanket closer to her.

  He slowly opened his eyes. He looked over at her and smiled. “It’s okay,” he murmured. “I’m just waking up slowly today.”

  “Good,” she replied. “You need a little rest. This is the first day that you have slept in for weeks.”

  Andrew nodded. “Indeed. It feels good. I felt like I was about to drop dead,” he said.

  She leaned forward in bed and pulled herself closer to him. He wrapped his arm around her and kissed her forehead. She nestled her head into his chest and smiled.

  “I’m so glad you’re here, Katy,” he said. “I feel like we haven’t gotten to spend any time together lately. I’ve really missed you.”

  “I have missed you too. I wish that we could spend all day together in bed,” she said.

  Andrew sighed. “Me too,” he said.

  She closed her eyes and smiled as she nestled her face deeper into his bare chest.

  “If you were here every night I don’t think I’d ever get out of bed,” Andrew said.

  “Awww, aren’t you sweet today? It definitely is nice,” she said. “I did think that we were going to have the day together though. What happened to your day off?”

  “Yeah, I know,” he replied. “I feel bad that you took the day off of work and now I can’t spend the afternoon with you.”

  “It’s not a big deal. I really needed a day off myself. It’s been crazy at the office lately,” she said.

  He smiled. “We will still have plenty of time together today,” he said. “I just have the one interview to do so it won’t take long.”

  “Couldn’t they have scheduled it for another day?” she asked.

  “I asked them but there wasn’t another time that we could make it work. That big gala is coming up soon so I really need to do as much press as possible. We are hoping to get some more high powered movers and shakers involved. We have been loaded down with low sum donations but we’d love to finally get a few serious checks sent our way,” he said.

  “Yeah, I know,” she said. “And I do think that a few more interviews could make a major difference. New York loves you. The more they see your handsome face in the news, the more likely they are to send you their hard earned cash.”

  Andrew chuckled. “Let’s hope so,” he said. “Well, I suppose it’s that time.”

  He reluctantly kicked his legs out of bed. She watched him as he walked to the closet naked. He could feel her eyes on him. He turned around and smiled at her.

  “Why don’t you come with me?” he asked. “The interview will take less than an hour. We can grab some coffee beforehand then have a day out.”

  She sat up in bed and smiled. “That sounds good. Where are you going for the interview?” she asked.

  “They want to meet in Brooklyn,” he replied.

  She made a sour face. “Alright, I guess,” she said. “I might as well come along.”

  He pulled on his charcoal grey slacks as she stepped out of bed.

  “It’ll take me about an hour to get ready,” she said.

  “Oh, come on,” he replied. “Couldn’t you just slip on some jeans and head out the door?”

  She laughed.

  Andrew raised his eyebrows. “I am serious. If we are going to have time to stop for coffee, we really should leave soon. Traffic is going to be insane at this time of day,” he said.

  She sighed and searched around the room. “Well, yeah, okay,” she said. “I guess I can just put my hair up. What do I have for clothes here?”

  “Look in the bottom drawer there,” he said as he gestured to a set of drawers on the other side of the massive bedroom. “I have been putting all of your stuff in there.”

  “Oh,” she said with a smile. “I have my own drawer here now, do I?”

  He smiled and nodded. “Yep, you do,” he said. “Hopefully there is something in there that you can wear. I had all of them washed for you too so they are ready to go.”

  “You are the best,” she said as she crouched down to look inside of the drawer.

  “I do what I can,” he said. “Now try to make it snappy.”

  Andrew buttoned up his shirt and walked over to the bed. He pulled out his phone and began to look through his email as he waited.

  “I will be really in five minutes,” she said.

  “Uh Huh,’ he replied.

  “Seriously,” she said as she zipped up her jeans. “I am nearly ready to go.”

  “Alright, thanks. I just need to check a few messages then I’ll be ready to hit the road,” he said.

  “Did you call the driver?” she asked.

  “No,” he replied. “I’m in a driving mood today so we can just head over there on our own.”

  She raised her eyebrows. “Are you sure?” she asked.

  “Yep, you know that I like to drive,” he said. “Anyway, there isn’t room for three. The new Porsche only fits two and I’ve barely gotten a chance to drive it since it arrived.”

  She shrugged. “Alright, whatever,” she said. “I am ready to go.”

  Andrew looked up at her. “Wow, I’ve never seen you go out with no makeup,” he said.

  She laughed. “Well, I might fix myself up a bit in the car,” she replied.

  “You hardly need it,” he said as they walked to the garage.

  She looked over at him and smiled as she sat down in the passenger’s side.

  They sat in silence as he crossed the bridge over into Brooklyn. Katy tapped her nails nervously against the armrest.

  “I was sort of hoping that we might get a chance to talk today,” she said quietly.

  “Oh, really?” he asked. “What did you want to talk about?”

  Her eyes widened. “Really?” she asked with frustration. “What do you think that I want to talk about?”

  “Hey, don’t get annoyed with me because I can’t read your mind,” he replied.

  She took a deep breath. “Sorry,” she said quietly.

  “What’s up?” he asked.

  “Well, I was hoping that we would talk more about the move,” she said.

  “I was too,” he replied. “I know this is a big decision for us.”

  “Yeah. And we keep putting off the conversation,” she said. “But it isn’t forever. You might just end up s
pending a few months in San Francisco so it’s not like we have to commit to a lifetime there.”

  “For sure. I know that,” he said. “Moving in together is a big decision though.”

  “Well, moving in together temporarily,” she said.

  He nodded. Andrew’s heart dropped as he looked up and saw Isabel’s studio.

  “That looks like a cute cafe,” Katy said as she pointed to the coffeehouse a few doors down from the Isabel's place.

  “Alright,” he said as he scanned the street for a parking spot.

  “So, anyway,” she continued. “It’s not a huge deal. I think it could be great for us to spend a few months together in San Francisco.

  Andrew nodded as he parked beside Isabel’s studio.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Isabel jumped as she heard the door close behind her.

  “Hello there, gorgeous,” Cara said as she walked into the design studio.

  “Oh, hi,” Isabel replied without turning around.

  “Are you busy?” she asked.

  “I’m just going over some designs,” she said as she stared forward at her computer.

  Cara nodded. “I brought some coffee,” she said. “And I grabbed the mail on my way up.”

  “Thanks,” Isabel said as she turned around and grabbed the coffee.

  “Wow, look at you,” she said. “Your eyes are glowing red. You need to get away from the computer for a while.”

  “Yeah, I suppose,” Isabel replied. “I think that I just need to put my glasses on for a bit.”

  Cara nodded as she set a stack of envelopes down on Isabel’s desk.

  Isabel reached forward and picked up the mail. “Maybe one of the Chinese restaurants sent us coupons. I could really go for some takeout tonight,” she said.

  “Oh, definitely,” Cara replied. “That sounds really good.”

  Isabel smiled tiredly as she flipped through the envelopes. “How is it even possible for us to get this many bills?” she asked.

  Cara chuckled. “I think it’s because we aren’t paying all of them. They like to remind us that they exist,” she said.

  Isabel smiled and nodded. “Ooh la la,” she said as she pulled out a thick linen envelope. “It looks like we have gotten a fancy invite.”

  “It is probably from Vogue. They are desperate for us to come down to their office,” she replied.

  “I don’t know about that,” she said. “I think they just message you online these days. Linen envelopes seem to be a thing of the past.”

  Cara smiled and shrugged.

  Isabel ripped open the envelope quickly and unfolded the invitation. Her face fell.

  “What’s up?” Cara asked. “Has someone invited you to a funeral?”

  She shook her head and didn’t reply. They sat in silence for a moment. Isabel stared down at the thick linen piece of paper in her hands.

  “Are you alright?” Cara asked.

  “Yeah,” she said quietly as she closed the invitation.

  Cara twisted her face. “No,” she said. “You don’t seem fine. Come on. What was inside of the envelope?”

  “It was an invitation to a gala,” she replied.

  “Alright. Then why are you acting like someone died?” she asked.

  “It’s from Andrew,” Isabel said.

  Cara sighed and closed her eyes for a moment. She looked over at her friend and said nothing.

  “Are you okay?” Cara asked finally.

  “Yeah. I am fine,” Isabel said quietly.

  “Well, you know, you don’t have to go,” she said.

  Isabel nodded. “Yeah, I know,” she said.

  “So, what is it that he invited you to?” she asked.

  “It’s a charity event for orphans,” she replied. “It is supposed to benefit that new charity that he started working for a few months back.”

  “Oh, well, that’s nice. He was really excited about that so it’s good to hear that he is making some process,” Cara said.

  Isabel shrugged. “I am glad to hear about his great career. I am sure that his gorgeous girlfriend is thrilled to have such an amazing guy,” she said.

  Cara scowled. “Are you still on about that?” she asked.

  “No,” Isabel replied.

  “Oh really?” she asked. “Because you seem pretty upset about it.”

  “No, I’m really not,” she said. “Like I told you before, I am just a little annoyed that he moved on so quickly. He made it sound like he wasn’t interested in dating anyone then the next thing I know he is out with this woman.”

  “But you have no idea what is going on between them. You don’t know what he is up to or who he is dating,” she said.

  Isabel shrugged. “I suppose,” she said.

  “And you shouldn’t be wasting your time thinking about it,” Cara said as she walked over to her.

  “I’m not,” she said as she looked up from the invitation. “I am over it. It’s not even a big deal.”

  “Good,” she replied.

  Isabel nodded.

  “Alright, it’s back to work for me then,” Cara said.

  Isabel turned away and looked back at her computer while Cara walked across the room to her desk.

  “But I do think that I’ll go,” Isabel said.

  “Huh?” Cara shouted from across the room.

  “I am going to go to the gala,” she replied. “I think it sound fun.”

  Cara stood up and walked back over to Isabel’s desk. “Are you just trying to make yourself miserable?” she asked.

  “No, not at all,” Isabel replied. “I do think it would be fun. I know that I probably overreacted a couple of weeks ago when I saw him out at the coffee.”

  “Indeed you did,” Cara said. “And you were upset for quite a while after that.”

  She shrugged.

  “And then you seemed upset again just now when you opened that envelope and saw the invitation from Andrew,” Cara continued.

  “Well, I wasn’t exactly upset,” Isabel said. “I was just surprised more so.”

  “Why?” she asked.

  “I guess I had just thought that he would have gotten in touch with me after the whole coffee shop incident,” she said. “And then when I didn’t hear from him I suppose I just thought that maybe he had written me off.”

  “Why would you have thought that?” Cara asked. “I know that things have changed in a pretty major way between you two but why do you think that he would have just stopped speaking to you forever? You have known each other your entire lives.”

  “If he wanted to see me clearly he could have called me. Frankly, I find this a bit odd. What is the point of inviting me to this through a formal invitation?” she asked.

  “I have no idea really,” she replied. “Maybe he is just busy. It’s hard to say. He has been being so strange lately.”

  Isabel nodded. “I used to feel like I knew him so well,” she said. “Now every single thing is just a mystery.”

  “So, you are really going to go?” she asked.

  “Yeah, I am,” Isabel replied. “And you should come with me.”

  “Oh, no. This whole thing sounds like it will be one big dramatic mess,” Cara said.

  “No, it won’t. I can promise you that. It will be a chance for me to finally get some closure. On top of it all, it’s a masquerade ball. You love masquerades. We’ll have a great time,” she said.

  “It’s going to be a huge event and Andrew will be incredibly busy,” she replied. “Who knows if you will even get to see him? It’s going to be packed and it’s a business event for him so surely he will need to talk to his colleagues. He might not even have time for us.”

  “Well, there is only one way to find out,” Isabel said.

  Cara sighed. “Are we just going so that you can see how much effort he puts into talking to you?” she asked.

  “No, of course not,” Isabel replied. “We are going to go there to have a good time and see an old friend.”

 
Cara shook her head. “I have some serious doubts about how fun this will actually be,” she said flatly.