Fuck. Now I wasn’t just worried about Marika finding out I was a billionaire, but that she might fall for Steele, too.
“So, that’s not a problem or is a problem? I’m confused.”
Monty’s dark brown eyes roamed the room, seeking help to get out of this conversation. I made no sense, but I couldn’t help it. My anxiety was on overdrive.
“It’s just . . . Marika doesn’t realize that Rock’s my brother.”
“Okay.”
“And, that I’m not from here. And that I’m a VidTube star with lots of money.”
His head went back in surprise. “Does she live in a cave?”
“No, she doesn’t really use social media. Marika told me last week she just created her first ISnapIt account for her coffee shop, Hard Grind. She has no idea who I am. She thinks I’m some local guy. It’s great.”
My brother rubbed his brow. “You like that she knows nothing about you?”
“She knows me.”
Does she? My brain raced through all the times I visited her at Hard Grind. I told her I had two brothers and that I wanted to run away and live off the land. But that was about it.
My brother was right. She knew nothing about me. And, until several days ago when I went to dinner at her house, I didn’t know much about her. Not that her mother had passed away several years ago, or that she had a dog. Or that her father had once been mayor of the town.
“You want to leave but don’t want her to know why you’re here? Because then she’ll see you leave.”
I nodded but wondered if what I was doing was right. Keeping all this from her. It felt like I was lying. Maybe I was, but I enjoyed being free with her—being myself and not a celebrity.
“I’ll go out there and talk to the contestants. Distract them with their backs turned from the door, then you can sneak past.”
“Right. Thanks for helping.” I gave Monty a light slap on his shoulder.
“Anything for my brother.”
“I owe you.”
“That’s now two things you owe me.”
I frowned, remembering the Jingle Balls holiday charity ball last December. I shouldn’t have played that prank on him.
My brother left, and I cracked open the door to watch. Monty did a brilliant job getting all the women to turn away from the door.
I saw Marika, and she looked amazing. She was wearing a floral dress that hugged her body and showed off her legs. Damn, she had sexy legs.
My mouth watered, wanting to taste her thighs. Her seasoned thighs.
Once they were all focused on my brother, I slowly opened the door and crept out. Thankfully, the conference room was at the end of a hallway in the corner, so all I had to do was turn that corner, and I’d be in the clear.
Right as I turned, I heard, “James?”
Marika saw me. I turned to find her cute little forehead wrinkled with confusion.
“I didn’t want to get you in trouble,” I said in a whisper.
She moved closer and whispered, “Trouble for what?”
I pointed toward my brother, who gave me a lopsided grin and shrug as if to say, “I tried.” “It looked like you needed to be there listening to that man for important information. I didn’t want to interrupt you.”
She waved me off. “He was just telling us about what was in the resort. You know, where the bathrooms are and the restaurant. Nothing important. Why are you here?” Marika hesitated and glanced around. “Do you work here?”
This was my chance. Confess everything to Marika. Her beautiful, sweet face—some would say angelic in its innocence—gazed up at me in wonder.
How could I lie to her? How could I keep who I was from her for so long?
“Me? Uh, what?” I snorted, which I never did before, but my body didn’t know how to handle this situation.
I was always so nonchalant when I got into trouble in the past. Never cared what people thought. It was so exciting to lead someone on during a prank, but I cared about what Marika thought more than anything.
Before I could answer, my other brother, Rock, saved me. The same guy who always bailed me out in the past, but always with a lecture afterward. I didn’t care. Hell, he could lecture me for hours. Sweet relief swept over my body as I was about to get out of this without having to utter a lie.
“I think we’re ready for the contestants,” Rock said to Monty.
Then he glanced over at me. I shook my head as I noticed he was about to say something. If there was such a thing as brother-telepathy, I hoped I had it.
This is not the brother you’re looking for, Rock. I waved my hand in the air, just like Obi-Wan, just in case.
“There he is. Hey, everyone. We have a special visitor. My brother, James. You may know his VidTube channel, Joke’in James.”
A lot of the women gasped, and I heard someone call out my signature tag line, “Stay cool and stay funny!”
Marika’s mouth fell open as she stared at me. Rock and Monty hustled the women inside the conference room, and the last one to go was Marika. I reached out to her just as she headed toward the door.
“Marika, I can explain.”
“Can you, James? Or was this all a joke to you? You know, for your show. Excuse me, I have to take part in a contest with strangers who have yet to lie to me, unlike some people I’ve known for months.”
The door closed, and I stood there like the biggest idiot to stroll into The Blue Spot.
A lying, deceitful idiot.
Chapter 7
MARIKA
“Can you believe we got to meet James Diaz?” the woman with a bright blue ponytail asked as she sat next to me at the conference table.
“Unbelievable,” I muttered through my clenched teeth.
I felt like the biggest idiot. Not only did James have money, but he was famous. And apparently, I was the only moron who didn’t realize it.
“I asked him point-blank if he worked here, and he refused to answer. What a jerk,” I whispered to myself in anger.
“What?” the ponytail woman asked.
“Can I ask you something?”
Her eyes fluttered around the room. “Okay. My name is Belle, by the way.”
“I’m Marika. Nice to meet you.” I shook her hand and smiled. “If you’ve known a guy for almost a year, and he never told you where he worked, would you be suspicious?”
“Oh yes. That usually means drugs or pimping, or maybe some other illegal activity. I once dated a guy who was already married to two different women at the same time. Then he proposed to me when I confronted him.”
“Oh, my God. That’s horrible. Did you tell his wives?”
“They found out on their own when they showed up at our wedding.”
I frowned and turned away from her. Obviously not the best judge of character.
There was some paperwork in front of us, and I noticed most women were signing. I picked up the pen and glanced over it.
The first page explained the process. The contest would take place over three weeks, and they would film us during various times.
There would be an hours' worth of filming of each contestant during their daily life. Another part of filming would take place with a secret task each contestant had to do.
I wondered what that task might be.
The rest of the filming would be when all the contestants were gathered together and used in clips for the show.
Show? I thought this was just a contest.
I read further and discovered The Blue Spot had a VidTube channel. Of course they did. Each video would be put up on their channel like a weekly show.
It sounded a lot like The Bachelor, but instead of roses at the end, it would be a dinner at the Blue Chip.
Also, the dinner with the winner and the billionaire would be filmed for the last episode.
It was simple and nothing weird or unsettling about it. Yet, after what I found out about James, I had some questions. I raised my hand.
A gorgeous guy in a wheelc
hair pointed to me. “Do you have a question?”
“Yes, hi, I’m Marika. I want to make sure that nothing outside of what is listed here will be expected of me.”
I wasn’t one of those people who nitpicked over every detail, but James sort of put me in that mood.
“That’s a great question. You would sign this, which is a legal document. No one can make you do anything you are uncomfortable with doing. If you change your mind at any point, you can always back out. There is a clause in the contract that any of the contestants, at any time, may leave the contest if they choose. This is just for marketing purposes. Some fun and entertainment. We don’t want anyone to feel uncomfortable.”
I glanced at the men in the room one by one and realized they were all gorgeous. When I thought of wealthy men, I didn’t picture models.
All the women in the room nodded and went back to reading the documents. But something still didn’t feel right.
I raised my hand again, and the same guy said, “Yes. You have another question?”
“Not a question. I just need to use the restroom.”
He nodded. “Of course.”
It was time to leave. The only reason I entered was for the prize money, but discovering how James had deceived me made me wonder what else was a lie. His brother ran this resort. Was this contest a lie too?
I stood and made my way to the door. Once I slipped outside, I glanced around. James was nowhere to be found. I felt a little disappointed that he wasn’t here.
Not that I wanted to fight with him, but this showed that he cared so little about me and didn’t bother to stick around so we could talk. He gave up as quickly as all the guys I had fallen for in my past.
One thing went wrong with a guy and I’d never hear from them again. Even the penis fiasco with Doug wasn’t my fault, but I never heard from him again. I found out through a mutual friend that he was fine a few weeks later.
This entire thing was James’ fault. He lied, not me. And like a coward, he left.
I turned the corner and ran straight into something hard, and it smelled of cedar. Looking up, it was James. His usual upbeat smile was less confident than normal.
“Are you okay, Marika?” He stepped back and shoved his hands into his front jeans pockets.
“If you must know, no, I’m not.”
His shoulders slumped. I hated to see him hurt. Despite his usual bravado, I noticed a twinkle of pain behind his eyes.
I had seen that bruised gaze before—it was there whenever he would talk about running away and living off the land. It made me wonder if he was trying to get away from something. Most people would assume James’ bold personality was conceit, but I felt it was born from trouble.
“I’m sorry I hadn’t told you who I was. I never meant to hurt you. I like you, Marika. You’re the first person who wasn’t using me for something in a long time.” He frowned.
There was that hurt James tried to hide.
“Did I give you the impression that I would use you? That I’d want anything but your friendship?”
He dropped his head, watching his foot kick at something on the carpet. “No, but when I met you last year, it surprised me you had never been on VidTube. Most people our age are always on VidTube. And then you seemed to assume I was like you.”
“Like me?”
He finally looked up. “Yes, the opposite of a wealthy, famous person. The thing is, I used to be like that. Just an average guy, and I thought all my problems would be solved if I just had money, and it would be great to be famous.” He shook his head and laughed. “Boy, was I wrong. It caused more problems.”
“But you aren’t like me.”
His face fell. “Right.”
“No, you don’t understand.” I stepped forward and placed my hand on his arm. “You don’t have to worry if you won’t be able to take care of your family. You don’t have to worry if everything you’ve ever known will be taken from you at any moment. Why? Because you have money. Your brother has money. And, while I’m not saying it solves all the problems—because, like you said, it can cause more—it can solve some. That’s why I’m here. I don’t care about the fancy prizes of dinner or the massage. I need the money because customers are coming to Blue Bean and not Hard Grind.”
I hated that I could solve my problems with what James easily had access to, money. His problems felt real and deep—like people using him. I understood why he couldn’t trust me. I’d probably feel the same way if everyone was always after me for money or using me for some gain.
His face lit up, and he took my hand from his shoulder, holding it between his palms. “Then let me help you.”
I watched his dark chocolate eyes sparkle with hope. My heart shifted in my chest. I tried to rub the sensation away, but no matter how much I wanted James to be just a friend to me, I knew he was more than that.
“That’s very sweet, but I can’t take your money.”
“Yes, you can. I have more than enough, and it would make me feel good to invest in a local business. That’s what my brother, Rock, does. He created this place because he knew the locals needed jobs. He could have opened a resort in an already wealthy area of the country, but he chose here because of the people.”
Wow. That was nice of him. I turned my head back, glancing at the door where the contest was being held. Perhaps I was mistaken about James’ brother. Maybe the contest wasn't a lie.
“I know you want to get back, but if we could talk a little more—”
I faced James and said, “Actually, I was leaving. I don’t think the contest is for me. I need the money, but doing it this way isn’t how I want to get it. Maybe I can ask the bank for another loan.” I nibbled at my lips.
I was already paying off a loan I took out for the remodel. One more loan . . . ugh. I couldn’t even think about that without feeling queasy.
“No, don’t leave. You don’t even know who the billionaire is that you’d win a date with.”
I giggled and pulled my hand away from his. “Right. You’re the only billionaire I’d like to date.” I gasped and covered my mouth with my hand. I couldn’t believe that came out of my mouth.
“So . . . you don’t hate me?”
“No, I don’t hate you. I never hated you. I was upset that you didn’t trust me enough to let me know the real you. I get that at first you were wary, but after a while you should have been honest.”
“I know. I liked how you looked at me. When people find out about me, either my channel or that I’m a billionaire, I see the look in their eye . . . It changes. They never see me the same way again. I didn’t want that to happen to you.”
“Billionaire,” I mumbled, trying to get used to the word for James. I figured he had a lot of money, but not that much.
“There you are,” a deep voice said from behind.
I turned to find James’ brother, Rock, walking out of the room.
“Ran into your brother and had a chat. I wanted to tell you I don’t think I can do the contest.”
Rock strolled up to us but stopped short. “Did my brother say anything to make you uncomfortable, Ms. Juggs—”
“Uh, no!” My eyes bulged as I hoped no one else heard my last name.
Glancing behind Rock, I saw the door to the conference room was closed. I let out a breath. As much as I would love to legally change my name, it would break my father’s heart.
“Yes, Rock. Marika is being nice by denying it, but I’m afraid I messed it up.”
Rock’s jaw twitched as he said, “What did you do this time, James?”
“I lied to Marika. I—”
“He told me my coffee was the best.” I stopped James. No more anger. No more blame. It was obvious there was something going on between those two, and the last thing I wanted was to get in the middle of a family. It was a misunderstanding and, yes, James was at fault, but that was no one else’s business but ours.
“But it is.” James reached out and lightly placed his hand on my upper
arm. It was warm, and he was gentle.
“You’ve never tasted the coffee we have here at the Blue Bean, Ms. J—”
“Call me Marika.”
“All right, Marika. Go have a cup on the house and see what you think. I’m sure you’ll keep coming back after you taste it.”
No, I won’t.
“Rock, that’s not what she’s talking about. Marika has her own—”
“It’s okay, James. I’ll try a cup. And after I taste it, then I’ll decide if I should be in the contest.”
Rock’s brow pinched. “If that’s what you need to make your decision . . . all right.”
I had no idea why I offered that up as a deciding factor. I had no intention of moving forward with the contest.
Chapter 8
JAMES
“Two coffees. Black.” I held up two fingers to the server, who nodded and walked off. Then I leaned forward toward Marika and said, “Like my brother’s soul.”
She blushed, and it was beautiful. The fact that I had been lying to her for nearly a year made me realize how much I didn’t deserve her. Yet, somehow, she forgave me.
“Rock doesn’t seem bad. I don’t think he realizes I own a coffee shop.”
I glanced around Blue Beans. It was nice. Dark hardwood flooring. One wall had blue and white hand-painted tiles behind the café counter.
I twisted the golden votive candle holder on our square, dark wooden table with my fingers. The candle wasn’t lit yet because of the rays of sun beaming inside from the wall of windows to my left.
“No, he doesn’t. For a man who likes to control everything, you’d think he knew a little more about a contest he oversaw.”
My brother wasn’t bad, but I was still upset that he outed me in front of everyone, especially Marika.
She waved her hand around the room. “He seems to know what he’s doing. This place is gorgeous. No wonder people in town come here for coffee.”
“What haven’t you told me?” I asked, wanting to know as much as I could about this beautiful woman. Marika’s striking gray eyes hit me, and a lump formed in my throat.
“What do you mean?”
Dating Disaster with a Billionaire (Blue Ridge Mountain Billionaires, #1) Page 5
