MATCHMAKER (A Billionaire Bad Boy Romance)

by Bella Grant

  Nope. Instead, she was going to do her damnedest to find the man a wife.

  STERLING

  Back in his side of the penthouse, Sterling spent a few minutes pacing in front of his floor to ceiling windows before he forced himself to settle. He made a drink. Ambrosia, the dog—a ninety-pound, black German shepherd—sat by his foot, leaning against his knee. He stroked her head, noticing the grey around her muzzle. At twelve, she didn’t move as fast as she once had. Her brown eyes were cloudy with age. His phone buzzed in his pocket, and he saw a text from Jenna. He’d given her his real number, the first of the women he’d allowed to know a little piece of the real him.

  I had a nice time tonight. Thank you for the drinks and excellent conversation.

  Jesus, what should he type back? Usually, Cherise did all the messaging. He thought about texting her, but it would be cruel. He actually waffled a bit, reminding himself he was paying her to do a job. She’d looked so sad, though.

  Then his mind showed him what she’d looked like on the bed beneath him, her eyes rolled back in her head as she writhed in ecstasy. Sterling ran his hands over his face. He couldn’t ask Cherise for help. Not tonight, anyway.

  So he texted Jenna back. Me too. Really nice to meet you.

  Now, he waited. The three little dots on the iPhone screen popped up; she was typing back. They disappeared. Re-appeared.

  While he waited for her message, his mind insisted on looping back to Cherise. He hoped she was all right. He could go check on her, but he didn’t want to upset her.

  She’d started it. He was just being friendly when she kissed him. But damn, he was glad she had. She wasn’t in love with him. She needed to blow off some steam, wanted to have some fun, knew he’d be game for it. And that would be it.

  I’d love to go out again sometime.

  Sterling waited a few minutes so it didn’t seem like he was glued to his phone. Cherise told him he shouldn’t appear too anxious, even though everyone knew both parties were sitting and staring at their phones—some weird modern dating ritual of trying to appear busier and more aloof than the other person. He could play the game. He checked his stocks on the phone. Everything doing fine. No new emails.

  He’d waited long enough. How about next week? He started to type ‘Wednesday,’ but that was too far away. How does Monday sound? Dinner?

  Again, he saw the little dots pop up, fade away, and come back. She answered more quickly this time. Monday sounds great. She sent a smiley face with her text.

  Sterling’s pleasure at seeing her enthusiastic acceptance was tempered by the thought of Cherise in the room next door, sleeping alone for the first time in how long? He tried to remember how long she said she’d lived with Ricky. A year? But they’d been together a lot longer than that. He didn’t understand why. It didn’t make sense to him. This was the kind of crap people in love had to put up with.

  Luckily, he was immune.

  He thought about his parents. What his father went through after his mother died. Her death had broken him and left him a shell of a man.

  Ambrosia limped over to him and put her head on his knee. Loving a dog was bad enough. He wasn’t ready for her to go, and as he stroked her head between the ears where she liked it, he longed for more time with her.

  Jenna suggested going to a sushi restaurant on the Upper West Side, one he’d never been to but had heard of. At a place like that he might run into people he knew, but it didn’t matter, he supposed. There was a strong chance this was the woman he’d marry. He’d be charming and friendly, then would let her in on his financial and living situation. She’d never be able to pass it up. Who in their right mind would?

  He got ready for bed, taking Ambrosia up to the grassy rooftop garden to do her nightly business. Despite the city lights, he could still make out some stars. At this time of night, the stream of cars passing reduced to a trickle, and he spent a few moments at the railing, watching the little white headlights and red taillights below. A few cabs passed, with lit-up dome lights. From up here, he didn’t feel like part of the city.

  Sterling made his way around the edge of the roof and paused, knowing he stood roughly above the king-sized bed in the guest apartment. He could call her. Could stop by. He had a key, after all.

  It wasn’t right, though. Let sleeping dogs lie. Besides, he told himself, it was presumptuous to think she wanted anything more than a quick roll in the hay. It was all economics. Just like everything in life. Emotions only managed to complicate things.

  His future held bright things. A second date with Jenna. Ben would like her, Sterling told himself again. And Ben was what mattered. When Sterling got ahold of Bachmann Entertainment Group, he’d truly be unstoppable. He wouldn’t even have to work anymore, as long as he hired people who could make sure the companies ran smoothly.

  Scratching Ambrosia’s ears helped, but he felt like the only person in the whole city.

  CHERISE

  Cherise slept like the dead the first night in Sterling’s guest apartment, which was uncommon for her. She was usually a much lighter sleeper, especially in a new place.

  The stress of the day, combined with the unexpected exertions of her frantic, passionate encounter with Sterling, must have put her out.

  Still, she woke up before dawn, a little groggy and unsure where she was. She hadn’t pulled the blinds on the huge windows overlooking the city before bed. They were up so high, she had no need to worry about someone looking in, but the grey light outside made all the white in the bedroom glow. She felt like she was floating in a foggy sky. She stood and went to the window; all she could see outside were grey clouds. The room felt cold and impersonal. The sooner she left it the better.

  Her body ached gloriously after Sterling had stretched and used her. Unbidden, her mind fantasized about a slower encounter where their two bodies got to know one another better.

  She shut that line of thinking down fast.

  The glass shower stall was about as big as the bathroom in her apartment, and although it had six shower heads, she only used one. Her toiletries looked small and temporary in the bathroom, reminding her she was a transient. She’d start looking for something for herself right away.

  She found several breakfast options in the fridge. Eggs, bacon, and milk for cereal. And there was the fruit bowl Sterling left her. She spent a moment admiring the orchids. On a little table by the door, she found the latest iPhone, still in the box.

  It was too much. He was being too good to her.

  She had a nine o’clock meeting with Sterling to discuss his plan of attack with Jenna. She ate, watched some TV on the giant screen in the living room, and watched the fog roll back from the city, replaced by bright sun and blue skies.

  She rode the elevator down to the 98th floor, where Sterling kept his office suite. After the night in the guest apartment, it didn’t seem quite so ostentatious. She wondered what his penthouse was like.

  His receptionist, Jayne Butler, buzzed her through with a smile. Cherise couldn’t help looking at Jayne in a new light. Had Sterling bedded her as well? Probably. She was in her late twenties and extremely attractive.

  He waited for her on the leather sofa by the window. Cherise noticed how quickly she had gotten used to some of these luxuries. After the view from upstairs, this one seemed only pretty good, whereas before, she’d thought it amazing.

  “Cherise! Good morning. How did you sleep?”

  “Good. Thanks.”

  He sounded warm and genial, perfectly normal, not at all like he’d spent a fair amount of time the night before with his face between her legs. The memory made color rise to her cheeks, and her skin felt hot and too tight. A tingling between her legs reminded her she’d enjoyed his time there.

  “Did you find everything all right? Can my staff get you anything?”

  “No, I’m good. It’s great.”

  “I’m glad.”

  The contradictions in his warm smile made her remember this was a man who di
dn’t feel love. She wasn’t sure she believed that, actually. She chided herself for the thought. It was dangerous to assign other meanings to his affection.

  “I have great news.”

  “Hit me,” she said.

  “Jenna texted back last night. She was into it. I made a date with her for next Monday.”

  Great. Jenna. Yay. The one he was most interested in. And if he gave her his number, what would he need Cherise for?

  “She texted you? You gave her your number?”

  “Isn’t that how it’s supposed to work?”

  “It is. Good job.” She tried very hard to sound happy that the man she’d made love to—no, she reminded herself, the man she’d fucked—the night before was getting along well with the woman he’d kind of creepily decided was going to be his wife.

  “So now what?”

  “You’ve got a second date?”

  “Yeah, in a couple of days.”

  “Who’s up tonight?”

  Sterling had to check his phone. “Helena.”

  “You must be really excited about that one if you can’t even remember her name.”

  “My memory just needed to be jogged.” He paused for a moment, looking at her. “How are you?”

  “Fine.” It came out a little more defensively than she’d meant it to.

  “You sure?”

  What, did she look like she wanted to claw Jenna’s eyes out? Because she totally didn’t. Nope, not at all. “I’m sure.”

  “It’s okay if you’re not. And it’s okay if you need to take a couple of days to sort things out.”

  It dawned on Cherise all at once that Sterling was talking about Ricky and not about the sex last night. She felt like an asshole. It wasn’t that she didn’t care about Ricky, or that she wasn’t upset. It was just that she’d kind of given up on him quite a while ago, and he’d been so distant for so long that now that she was out, the breakup felt like more of a relief. Should she take a few days? What would she do with herself? No, she needed school and this job to keep her busy.

  “Honestly, it was a long time coming. I’m kinda sad, but I’m okay.”

  “I’m here for you, whatever you need. And please don’t worry about getting out of the apartment. I like having you over there. Makes it easy to get work done.”

  Cherise forced a smile. “Great. So now you can pester me day and night with your inane dating questions?”

  Sterling’s smile didn’t look forced at all, and Cherise hated how it made her feel. Not many people got to see the real Sterling smile. “Exactly. I’ll be bugging you about stupid stuff at four a.m.”

  “It wouldn’t be the first time.”

  “I apologized! I got caught up in some work and had no idea it was past ten.” Sterling’s real smile brought out a boyish charm. If he understood the power he could wield when he was being genuine, he didn’t let on. A few hits with that smile, and Jenna would be his, for sure.

  STERLING

  Tonight’s conquest, Helena, sat waiting for him when he walked into McLaren’s, a coffee shop. She’d picked the place. Apparently, she didn’t drink. He didn’t know how he felt about that. If they married, would she insist he get rid of all the booze in his house? He wasn’t a drunk, but he liked to keep it around and had a drawer in his desk that he kept fully stocked, Mad Men style.

  He spotted her at once, sitting over a steaming cup of coffee, when he walked in. Shoulder length auburn hair and a red dress. Like all the women Cherise chose for him, she was beautiful.

  “Helena?” he asked.

  She took his hand, they shook, and she studied him. Her light blue eyes were unexpected against her dark hair and olive skin.

  “Do I know you?” she said.

  “No, I don’t think so. I’d remember you for sure,” he said.

  “You must look like someone I know, then. I swear I’ve seen you before.”

  He and Cherise had talked about this. He’d been on the news a fair amount, but she thought that being out of context in a coffee shop would make it close to impossible for someone to recognize him unless she really paid close attention to financial news. They’d talked about him going into these things with a nickname, maybe using a variation on his middle name, Gabriel, but he didn’t want to be a Gabe and didn’t want to have to explain to the woman who fell for him that he actually preferred Sterling.

  “Let me grab a drink,” he said, setting his light jacket on the chair and heading up to the bar. He ordered a decaf. He wasn’t big into evening coffee if he didn’t have a ton of work to get done. His phone buzzed with a text from Jenna.

  Hey, how’s your night going?

  He stuffed it back in his pocket, but the guy behind the counter was talking with the girl behind the counter, taking an unreasonably long time to pour a cup of coffee. He pulled his phone out again and opened his photos. He lingered on the picture of Cherise from the day they went rock climbing. He should take her again, just the two of them this time. He knew a spot near Cascade Lake that was usually deserted and so beautiful on an autumn afternoon where fallen leaves on the rocks would make a perfect mattress. He wondered if she’d be into that. Lying naked on a rock, the sun shining through the trees and dappling her perfect body.

  His coffee was ready. He thanked the barista, took a final look at Cherise’s picture, and stuffed his phone back into his pocket.

  “You’re smiling,” Helena said. “Why?”

  Like the visor on a motorcycle helmet, he snapped his public persona into place. They started the usual small talk, and he noticed Helena looking around. Finally, he said something.

  “Oh, I’m worried about my ex. He’s really jealous and still doesn’t want me out with anyone.”

  Sterling glanced around the coffee shop. “You don’t see him here, do you?”

  “No, not yet. I don’t actually think he gets out of work until nine. He still lives with me. He brought some girl home last night, but I’m not supposed to go out and get a drink.”

  Whoa. Hadn’t he asked Cherise to screen for drama? He sipped his coffee now that it was cool enough to drink. Helena rattled off the terrible things the ex had done to her.

  “I still think I love him, you know? Not like in love with him, not like I think we’re going to get remarried, but I’m pretty sure I’ll always love him. He’s the one that got away.”

  “So he left you?” She nodded. “But he won’t move out?”

  “He’s hopeless. He couldn’t make it on his own, not without me looking after him. It’s better this way.”

  Her blue eyes bored into him, and he dropped his gaze to his coffee. It was hard not to think of Cherise’s brown eyes. The way she’d looked up at him while they were in her bed. Sterling told himself to stop it, and instead tried to summon a picture of Jenna. His wife-to-be.

  “Are you sure we haven’t met?” Helena asked.

  “Like I said, I’d remember your pretty face.”

  Sterling knew he was done with her and was giving her the business side of his personality. Tell her what she wanted to hear, and extract himself ASAP.

  “What’s your last name?”

  Damn. “I feel like—“

  “You’re Sterling Waters. I knew you were familiar. What are you doing here? Why didn’t I make you pay for my coffee? Oh, my God, you could, like, buy this whole place, couldn’t you?”

  “Probably with the cash I have in my wallet,” he joked.

  She just stared at him. “Do you want to come home with me tonight?”

  “To the house you share with the ex who doesn’t want you seeing other people? No thank you.”

  “He’s not an asshole. He wouldn’t be a dick about it. We could go back to your place. I bet it’s real nice.”

  “It’s been a pleasure, Helena. Something has come up, and I have to run.”

  “You’re leaving just because I realized you’re Sterling Waters?”

  People were looking at them. “Goodnight, Helena.”

  Sterlin
g slipped out into the warm spring night. He told his phone to call Cherise as he walked back to his car. He couldn’t wait to tell her about Helena.

  “I thought I told you no crazy people,” he said to her hello.

  There was a heartbeat of silence while Cherise got on the same page as him. “Helena didn’t work out? Wait, you’re done already? What did she do?”

  “I’ll tell you when I get back. Can I come up? You’re going to love this.”

  She hesitated for a split second. “Sure.” They ended the call.

  He knew he shouldn’t go to her. She’d been distant since they slept together—or had she been distant since she’d broken up with Ricky? He couldn’t tell. Besides, she’d started it. He texted Jenna on the way back to his car.

  CHERISE

  Cherise waited in the living room, anxious for Sterling to arrive. She paced in front of the big windows, wondering what on earth he could possibly be so fired up about, what had gone so wrong with Helena that he needed to tell her. She chewed her lip in anticipation of his arrival.

  She glanced at the clock. 8:45. She didn’t remember what time he’d met Helena, but she thought she remembered eight. It must have been a really rough date.

  Sterling knocked on her door—which seemed weird since he owned the place, though she figured it was the polite thing to do. She opened the door for him. His physical presence affected her, and she hoped he didn’t notice the flush on her cheeks.

  He came into the room like a tropical storm and poured out the whole story of the evening. The crazy ex she still lived with and took care of, plus, she’d recognized him. Cherise thought of the spread where she’d seen all the tattoos on his chest and back, and it didn’t seem all that strange.

  Once he was done, he flopped into a leather chair, draping his legs over one arm. Cherise sat primly on the edge of the sofa. She didn’t think she could relax in his presence.