The Virgin and the Billionaires: The Complete Series

by K. J. Diamond

  Alexander showed her the great room, the living room, the wine cellar, the game room, and his indoor pool before taking her out to the wrap-around deck.

  “It’s great for entertaining out here,” he said, pointing to a second swimming pool on the ground level patio below them. People have to come a long way, but they usually don’t regret it.”

  “How could they?” Dana replied, in awe. “It’s so beautiful here.”

  “It is.” Alexander pointed to an equally large house on an adjacent hill. “William lives over there.”

  “Oh, really? How funny that you two live so close to each other.”

  “It’s certainly not an accident. I’d like to be as close to my business partner as I can. If we need to meet outside of the office, neither of us has to drive all the way across town.”

  Dana nodded. “That makes sense.” She closed her eyes and enjoyed the ocean breeze.

  “Come,” Alexander said. “Let’s go back inside.”

  They stepped back into the great room, where Sebastian stood waiting with three garment bags.

  “Your dresses, ma’am.” He handed Dana the hangers.

  Alexander pointed out the nearest spare bedroom for Dana to change. He followed her as she made her way back.

  Dana unzipped each garment bag, revealing three dresses of different colors and cuts, all in her correct size – 18. Dana was very impressed with Sebastian’s haste and acuity.

  Alexander stood by the mirror and watched Dana as she changed.

  The first dress she tried on, a loose fitting, sheer scoop neck dress with a lively, Missoni-like pattern, fit Dana perfectly. She liked it so much that she didn’t bother to try on the other two dresses, though they were both things she would have loved to have in her closet.

  Alexander flashed a grin of approval. “You look great,” he said, walking back out into the main area of the house.

  Sebastian approached them as they made their way back out, ready to show Dana to her ride, which had parked itself in front of the double doors.

  Alexander walked with her to the car. He kissed her on the cheek before she got inside. Dana blushed.

  “I’ll be seeing you,” he said.

  “Goodbye, Alexander.” Dana smiled as the driver shut the door.

  As the black Town Car rolled down the hill, Dana watched Alexander disappear into his giant home.

  Wow, Dana thought, reliving the last 12 hours in her mind.

  The car made its way down the Pacific Coast Highway. Dana was applying makeup in the back seat when her phone began to ring. When she saw ‘Blocked’ appear on the screen, she assumed it was Alexander calling to tell her that she forgot something. She answered with the smooth, familiar voice she’d used with him earlier.

  “Hi, this is William.”

  Embarrassed, Dana took on a more cordial tone. “Hi, William. What can I do for you?”

  “I have a proposition for you.”

  Dana was intrigued. “Go on,” she replied playfully.

  She could feel William smiling on the other end of the phone. “I’m going to a party on Saturday night. A lot of local fashion types will be there – modes, editors, designers - it would be a great chance for you do some networking.”

  “Wow, that sounds great.”

  “Come with me. It’ll be a lot of fun.”

  “Absolutely. Count me in.”

  “I have to warn you, though. This won’t be like any party you’ve ever been to. Just be prepared, okay?” He paused for a moment. “Oh, and wear something cute.”

  “Uh –“

  “I’m sorry, Dana, I have to go! I’ll see you on Saturday.” William hung up the phone.

  “What was that?” Dana exclaimed out loud, to no one in particular.

  ---

  Part 3: Indulging Alexander

  It was Thursday morning at the SoCal style offices and Dana had just arrived. Her head was swimming as she prepared for the day’s shooting. She was still in a blissful state of shock from her evening with Alexander earlier in the week.

  I lost my virginity to the most gorgeous man I’ve ever seen. I lost my virginity in a mansion on the beach. I lost my virginity to a billionaire!

  The other people in the office had noticed Dana’s new spring in her step and the many moments she took to blush and giggle to herself. Graciela had noticed Dana spacing out while she was briefing Dana on the important shoot she was scheduled to lead tomorrow. Dana received a sharp reprimand when she couldn’t recall the name of the model she was to shoot (or her agent, who was scheduled to attend the shoot).

  Amy and Emily were also giving Dana some cheeky grief over her lackadaisical affect.

  “What happened to you last night?” they snickered from their desks.

  Dana could only smile.

  She was doubly dazed because she was going to a party with William that Saturday, and it was apparently going to be a little crazy. What was her life becoming? Hot sex with a billionaire and wild, star-studded parties? Dana was inching closer to the conclusion that moving to LA was the best decision she had ever made.

  And yet, there was still something unsettling about her situation. Somebody was lying to her about that awkward encounter the last time she and William had gone out, and she was pretty sure it was William. Alexander and Jessica had both said or implied that William hadn’t told them about the dinner at the Poisson d’Or.

  While staring at the ceiling from the comfort of her desk chair, Dana’s phone began to ring. She wasn’t fazed by the now-familiar ‘Blocked’ notification on the screen.

  “Hello?”

  “It’s Alexander. Can you meet me on Saturday for drinks? I have something I want to discuss with you.” What did that mean?

  Dana’s heart sank. She knew that she couldn’t bail out on this party. It was too good of an opportunity.

  “I’m really sorry –” She stopped herself from saying Alexander’s name, knowing that Amy and Emily were probably eavesdropping. “I already have plans that night.”

  Dana thought she sensed a hint of dejection in the sigh that escaped from Alexander. “I thought that if I asked you early enough that you’d be free.”

  “I appreciate the advance notice, really – but I already made plans earlier this week to go out with some old friends, and I can’t change them.” Dana immediately felt bad for smudging the truth.

  “Alright. I guess I can’t do anything about it.”

  Dana was surprised at Alexander’s reaction. He really seemed a little upset.

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “I really can’t change them. How about Sunday instead?”

  Alexander was silent for a moment. “I suppose that will work. I’ll move around my appointments to schedule you in for some drinks.” Alexander let out another irritated sigh and hung up.

  ***

  The next day, Dana arrived at the office early to prepare for her shoot. She ran around the studio like a maniac, making sure that the makeup artist, hair stylist, and wardrobe people were all prepared for the subject’s imminent arrival. The model and her agent showed up ten minutes early, looking remarkably put together and cheerful for being up at 7:45 in the morning. Dana greeted them at the office door after buzzing them into the building.

  “Francesca Gray, Fashion One Models. So nice to meet you. This is Bela,” the agent said, pointing to the lovely brunette at her side.

  Bela extended her hand. “It’s nice to meet you,” she said, with a hint of a Russian accent.

  Dana found Bela’s warm smile infectious. She led them back to the studio, motioning to the idle interns to fetch the guests some water and coffee as they walked by.

  Setting up the shoot, Dana got the chance to talk with Bela, who was very chatty. Dana found out that the young model had moved from the Russian city of St. Petersburg to the United States three years earlier to begin her modeling career, and had been quite successful. She explained how she had traditionally split time between New York and Los Angeles, but tha
t work had been picking up for her in LA recently.

  “That’s okay with me,” she had said. “I like the LA weather much more!”

  “I’ve never even been to New York,” Dana realized out loud. “But if it’s as noisy and crowded as everyone says it is, I’ll take LA over New York any day! I would really like to visit sometime, though.”

  “And you should,” Bela replied. “It’s a wonderful place to visit. It’s a lot of fun. But I prefer LA lifestyle.” Her Russian accent poked through as she spoke.

  As Dana presented her with the first outfit she was to wear, a conservative, puff-sleeved shirt with an autumnal print and straight-leg khaki slacks, Bela laughed.

  “This looks like something a housewife would wear!” she exclaimed.

  “Yes,” Dana replied. “You’re going to have to stretch your imagination for this one.” They both laughed.

  The shoot went smoothly and Dana and Bela continued to chatter back and forth for the next few hours. After shooting had wrapped, they walked over to the editor’s table and examined the shots together.

  “These look great!” Dana exclaimed. “You did an excellent job.”

  Bela smiled. “Yes, these are very nice shots. You have a great team working here.”

  Bela gathered her things and headed toward the door with Ms. Gray, her agent, who had spent the shoot standing in the corner and nodding with approval.

  “I’m very pleased with the shots we got today,” Dana said, looking toward Ms. Gray. “I’ll talk to Graciela about you guys, and hopefully I’ll see you back in here soon.”

  Ms. Gray shook Dana’s hand vigorously. “Yes, great job. We’d be happy to bring Bela and some of our other models back to SoCal Style. Until next time.”

  Dana smiled and gave each of them a quick hug before they exited the office.

  That went well, she thought. Graciela will be super happy.

  The next day, Dana was at her desk reviewing the edits from her shoot with Bela. The girl looked beautiful, even in the matronly outfit she’d made fun of. Dana experienced a small pang of jealousy as she wished that she could look that good in something so unflattering.

  Her focus was cut short when a man in a suit and tie entered the back office from the reception area. He approached Dana’s desk with a garment bag.

  “Dana Jacobs?” He asked, looking up from a notepad.

  “Yes, that’s me.”

  “For you,” he said, handing her the garment bag. Dana reached over the desk to grab it and hang it on the coat rack behind her. She noticed a card taped to the bag. She opened it as the delivery man turned and left the office.

  Keep them. –A.P.

  She smiled and peeked inside, where she found both of the dresses Alexander’s concierge had brought her on Wednesday morning.

  “Amazing,” she sighed, exasperated.

  Amy and Emily looked over from their desks. Dana could see the awe on their faces. Though they seemed continually amazed at Alexander’s efforts, Dana wasn’t quite sure that they know exactly who it was that was making such a grandiose display of admiration. She decided that she’d rather keep it that way. She didn’t need anybody else to find out, especially not Graciela. Dana doubted that that would be the case if Amy and Emily knew anything.

  Good thing it’s so ridiculous that they’ll probably never guess, she thought.

  ***

  Later in the afternoon, Dana’s phone buzzed and lit up. She looked down and saw a text from William:

  I’ll pick you up at 10:30 tomorrow. Dress cute and casual. – William

  That seemed an awfully late start for a party that was supposedly for ‘networking’. She could only imagine that this party would be a little more fun than other business parties she’d been to.

  ***

  Dana spent most of Saturday fixing up her apartment, painting over all of the chipped paint in the kitchen, putting up new shower curtains (she had found a really cute one with a rubber ducky print), and setting up a new desk she had bought. By the time 8 o’clock rolled around, she was hot, sweaty, and exhausted. She didn’t know how she was going to make it through this party, let alone stay awake until William arrived to pick her up in a few hours.

  Deciding that her only hope was a strong cup of coffee, Dana put on a pot before she hopped into the shower. She alternated the temperature between near-scalding hot and skin-prickling cold in an attempt to wake herself up.

  With her hair twisted up in a towel, Dana emerged from the bathroom feeling somewhat invigorated. After pouring herself a large mug of sugared coffee, she began the long process of blow drying, spraying, and setting her hair in tight curlers. After she had loaded her hair with rollers, she applied makeup to match her dress and make her eyes pop out from the rest of her soft face. She let the curlers sit for a while, using the time to eat some tortilla chips and watch a Grey’s Anatomy rerun.

  Sitting on her couch, Dana began to think about how she had had to decline Alexander’s invitation to go out that night. She wondered what he ended up doing, unable to admit to herself that she hoped he wasn’t doing anything exciting. Dana wanted to think that she had some small bit of sway over him, even though he was still clearly the alpha in their ambiguous relationship. She was encouraged that he had sounded a little upset – or at least miffed – when he had called her earlier.

  She pondered how she wanted to handle William’s dishonest behavior. He invited her out alone to dinner, but why? Dana could think of only one reason why William would have wanted to be alone with her, but refused to acknowledge it as a possibility. All of their interactions had been under the pretense of business. Even if he did just want to be alone with her, how could she be upset about that when her first instinct was to feel incredibly flattered? Dana decided that she wasn’t going to bring it up with William tonight. It wasn’t as big of a deal as she was making it out to be.

  After removing her rollers and styling her hair, Dana began to dig in her closet for the dress she knew she was going to wear to this party. She fished around through piles of dresses she hadn’t had the motivation to hang, finally emerging with a polka dot halter dress she had bought at a vintage store. The burgundy and black knee-length dress fit snugly around her waist, accenting Dana’s ample chest and round hips. She adorned her décolletage with a vintage gold pendant and slipped on a pair of black peep toe heels made of soft, buttery leather. Dana hoped that she looked cute, stylish, and professional. She didn’t want to show up and stick out like a sore thumb, especially when her number one goal was to network.

  Dana had only had about ten spare minutes before she hear the honk of a car horn outside her window. She looked out and saw a black Town Car waiting at the curb. She couldn’t see William, but she assumed that the car was honking for her anyway. She grabbed her handbag and ran down to meet it.

  The driver greeted her as she came down the stairs, ushering her into the backseat. Dana noticed William sitting to her left, looking even more put together than she had seen him before. His blonde hair was combed into the static shape of a soft wave. He extended his arms and they exchanged a quick hug and kiss on each cheek. Dana had noticed that most of the people she had met in LA were really into the French-style ‘kiss’ greeting.

  “Hello, Dana. How are you doing?”

  “Great!” Dana exclaimed. She felt a lot better than she did before the coffee and shower. She felt ready for what could become a late night. “Thank you so much for inviting me.”

  William smiled warmly at her, flashing his bright white, perfectly aligned teeth. “It’s my pleasure. There will be many people there of interest to you.”

  They shared a moment of silence as the car sped off. Even uncomfortable silences had an air of grace in William’s presence.

  He was the first to break the silence. “You look lovely tonight.”

  Dana smiled sweetly. “Thank you. So do you. I mean – you look good –”

  “Thanks,” William chuckled. “I get what you mean. But who�
��s to say a man can’t look lovely? A man may never tell his male friend as much, but it’s certainly pleasant coming from a woman’s mouth.”

  Dana blushed meekly. “So what’s the deal with this party?”

  “Well, it’s at Chris Stone’s house. He’s the editor-in-chief of Dart magazine.”

  Dana tried to conceal a gasp. Dart was a national magazine on par with Cosmopolitan and Marie Claire.

  “After seeing our shoot with you, he invited Alexander and me to model for the September issue.”

  “That’s amazing,” Dana replied. She wasn’t really surprised, considering both men’s incredible looks.

  “A bunch of his colleagues will be there, and I’m betting that the LA fashion people will make up the majority of the party. It’s not really my scene – I’m a business guy, after all – but you should really be able to come out with some great contacts.”

  Dana was speechless. “Wow, thank you so much. This will be such a great opportunity.”

  “I will warn you that Mr. Stone likes to go all out with his parties. If you feel uncomfortable, you can absolutely leave. I won’t hold it against you.”

  “What do you mean, ‘all out’?” Dana inquired.

  “You’ll see what I mean.”

  “I’m in an adventurous mood tonight. Things will have to get pretty crazy to scare me away.” Dana chuckled.

  Dana noticed the scenery change as they entered Brentwood. Tall palms, gorgeous landscaping, and illuminated mansions crept by out the window. They turned onto a winding, wooded road and stopped at a dead end, where Dana could see the lights of a house peeking through the dense landscaping abutting the road. The driver came around to let them out, and together Dana and William followed the narrow, paved stone driveway back to an ivy-covered front entrance, where a small group of people were standing and chatting. They smiled at William and Dana as they walked inside.