Billionaire's Kiss

by Sloan Storm

  Billionaire’s Kiss

  Never Never Man Series

  (Book #3)

  By Sloan Storm

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, businesses, characters and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, actual events or locales is purely coincidental.

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  The Next Release in the Serial

  May 20, 2015 - Billionaire's Trust (Never Never Man Series: Book #5 - Final Installment)

  MADDIE

  A few days later, Katy and I met up at a martini bar near my office after work.

  I’d been drinking a bit more than I cared to admit recently. Grey wasn’t around often enough to notice and I saw Katy on such an infrequent basis anymore, she wouldn’t have anything to say about it either. I wouldn’t say it was out-of-control or anything like that, but the last time I drank this much was when Trevor and I broke up.

  Oh, well. We all have our vices I suppose.

  Sure, I had to find a better way to cope, but for the time being, a handful of blue cheese stuffed olives floating around my dirty martini were far preferable, not to mention cheaper, than spending hours a week blabbing to a therapist.

  Not great. I know.

  Anyway, after a bit of chit chat, Katy finished a sip of her apple martini and said, “So, how are things between you and Grey?”

  I swallowed another sip of my cocktail. The kick of the vodka and the saltiness of the olive juice caused my lips to smack together in unconscious reaction before I replied.

  “It’s up and down,” I began with a rasp. “When it’s good, it’s great. When it’s not, well, you know…”

  Katy squeezed my forearm and smiled.

  “I’m sure things will smooth out, Maddie. I’m glad you two are making a go of it,” she replied. Without moving her hand from my arm, she raised her free one to her chest and crossed her heart. “I can’t tell you how worried I’ve been.”

  “Worried?” I asked, as I wrinkled my brow in confusion. “About what?”

  Breaking eye contact with me, Katy picked up her drink again and just before she took another sip, replied, “Hmm? Oh, you know, just that you were going nowhere with acting. Now that this has come along, you’re finally going in the right direction.”

  I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

  Incredulous, I did a half-turn back towards my best friend. “What? What is that supposed to mean?”

  Katy scoffed and shrugged at the same time. “Well, I mean, come on, Maddie. Acting? Seriously?”

  “Uh! Katy!” I exclaimed. Still in shock over this sudden confession, I continued, “How come you never said anything about this to me before?”

  “Well, Maddie honey, I’m your friend. I didn’t want to hurt your feelings.”

  “What do you think you’re doing right now?”

  “What difference does it make, Maddie? You aren’t acting anymore so who cares?”

  I’ll tell you. I hadn’t intended to tell her about my call with Harvey or about my argument with Grey on the subject. But after this ridiculous confession, I was close to it.

  “I care, Katy,” I said, as I shook my head. “God, I can’t believe it. You know how important acting was to me.”

  Katy reached in my direction once again but before she could touch me, I snatched my arm away. She shook her head as I closed myself off from her grasp.

  “I don’t know why you’re upset with me, Maddie. You just said yourself acting ‘was’ important to you as in, ‘used to be’.”

  “It still is,” I grumbled.

  Katy scoffed and took another sip of her drink. After placing it back down on the bar, she glanced at me.

  “Now, that is ridiculous, Maddie. Seriously.”

  “No, Katy!” I snapped as I turned towards her again. “What’s ridiculous is you pretended to support me, when the whole time you thought I was being a fool.”

  “I never said that,” she replied with an exhale. “That’s the booze talking. Calm down. Maddie, I don’t understand why you are even discussing this any longer. You told me you’d made up your mind — no more acting talk, you were focused on the business. Does Grey know you’ve been thinking about this?”

  As she spoke, I propped my elbows up on the bar and rested my chin in my palms. My hair hung down over my eyes, nearly touching the rim of the glass. At last, I reached up and sliding my fingers through it, I pulled my hair away from my eyes and looked straight ahead. I sat in silence for several moments without responding, or even blinking.

  I felt Katy’s hand move to the center of my back. She began to caress me and as she did, I exhaled.

  “I don’t think I’m qualified to run the business the way Grey wants it done. I’ve been trying so hard, but it’s like… it’s never good enough.”

  “What do you mean?” Katy asked.

  “Ugh, never mind,” I groaned. “You wouldn’t understand.”

  “Cut the crap, Maddie. I’m probably the only person who does. I deal with him all the time—you know that.”

  I took another sip of my drink then replied, “If I turn my back on this to go back to acting, or anything else, I’ll lose…”

  Katy raised her eyebrows and motioned for me to continue speaking. “You’ll lose? What, exactly?”

  “It’s nothing.”

  “Don’t be a fool, Maddie. The chances of making anywhere near what you’d make as an actress compared to what you’re pulling in here after such a short time in business… Well, it’s not even worth talking about.”

  I reached down in the glass and popped one of the olives in my mouth. The tanginess of the blue cheese lingered as I shook my head.

  “I don’t care about the money, Katy.”

  “Well you should! How are you going to support yourself, Maddie?”

  I didn’t respond but instead popped another olive in my mouth as she continued.

  “Honey, listen. I am not trying to crush your dreams. I’m just saying you gave it a good five years, you know? At some point, you have to know when enough is enough.”

  I sighed. “I don’t feel like this business is my thing, Katy. After all, if it weren’t for Grey, there wouldn’t be a business to begin with and that’s the problem. This is his business. Not mine. Don’t you get that?”

  “No, Maddie. What I get is you don’t understand how business works. It takes more than one person to do it. Look around. How many people do you have underneath you now? A dozen?”

  I shrugged.

  “And someone like Grey. The truth is that at some point, almost every business needs investors. It just so happens you were able to get yours from the very beginning. You should never put yourself in a situation where you are completely reliant on a man to provide for you.”

  “Uh! Katy! I’m completely reliant on Grey as it is. You just said so yourself.”

  Katy nodded. “For now, Maddie. But remember, Grey only loaned you money. He doesn’t own the business. That makes all the difference.”

  “I don’t know,” I began, as I finished chewing the last of my olives. “I just don’t know anymore.”

  “You need to be patient, Maddie. Look, just promise me you w
on’t do anything to put the business in jeopardy.”

  This conversation was going nowhere. As much as I appreciated what Katy said, I didn’t have the energy for it any longer.

  “I won’t,” I replied.

  Katy nodded. A soft smile came to her lips as she stood from her barstool and slipped her purse over her shoulder. After tossing a twenty on the bar, she hugged me and prepared to walk away. But just before she did, she stopped.

  “Listen, Maddie. Everyone struggles with this stuff. If your mind starts to wander off in search of greener pastures and you find yourself thinking it’s a good idea, ask yourself if would you tell your employees or Grey what you were up to? If so, then what you’re considering is safe. If not, well, I’d say you need to strongly consider whether it’s worth the trouble. You’re twenty-three years old now, Maddie. Like it or not, you asked for the situation you’re in. No one forced it on to you.”

  I shouldn’t have expected Katy to understand. Not after what she’d revealed to me about how she felt about my acting career.

  And so, we said our goodbyes and a few moments later she walked out of the bar and I paid my tab.

  I just needed a break.

  In all the years I’d tried, that’s the one thing I’d never gotten. If I could get one, then I could show them all how wrong they are.

  Just a break.

  One goddamn break.

  Was that too much to ask?

  MADDIE

  I walked into the apartment that night and dropped my purse on the couch. As it bounced, I heard my phone ring from inside it.

  “Ugh,” I groaned. “Please don’t let anyone be in jail. Please God.”

  Grabbing my bag, I slid my hand down inside it. I flicked my tongue across my lips as I groped for the offensive noisemaker until at last, I grabbed hold of it. I pulled it out and flipped it over.

  Trevor. Just great.

  I thinned my lips as my mind flashed through all the possible reasons he might call. None of the ones I conjured up were appealing, but with a bit of alcohol on the brain, I decided I could live through whatever it was. After a deep inhale, I swiped my finger across the smooth surface and pressed the phone to my ear.

  “What?”

  “Well, hello to you, too.”

  It looked like I was wrong. Five words in and he’d already pissed me off.

  “Trevor,” I said, as I plopped back into the sofa. “I am so fucking tired. I really don’t have the energy to get into a fight with you.”

  “Who said I want to fight? That’s the furthest thing from my mind.”

  Holding the phone up to my ear, I rubbed my face with my other hand and replied, “Okay, what do you want?”

  “To say I’m sorry.”

  I froze. Even in my semi-stupor, I had enough presence of mind to hear him. Believing him? That was a completely different issue. The reason was simple. In all the years we’d been together, including the breakup, I’d never heard Trevor utter those words.

  Not once.

  Though suspicious, I decided to play along. Maybe it was my buzz making me feel invincible about feeling any emotion in the wake of what he’d say. Or, maybe not. I didn’t really care. However, if he called me ‘‘Madds’ even once, I’d chew him out and hang up on his ass.

  I cleared my throat.

  “Sorry for what?” I asked.

  “What do you mean?” he replied. “For hurting you, of course. What else?”

  I chewed the inside of my lip as my stomach began to churn. Faded feelings suddenly surged back through my body. A charge of adrenaline caused my hand to grow moist against the surface of my phone.

  “Okay,” I said, as I tried to keep my budding hormones in check. “Well. Thank you, I guess. Is that all?”

  “No, that’s not all,” he said. His voice trailed off at the end. “Um, I don’t know how to tell you this.”

  “Okay?” I replied. “Why don’t you just say it?”

  “I miss you, Maddie.”

  “What?” I replied, as I shot to a standing position. “What is that supposed to mean, Trevor?”

  “Oh Christ, Maddie. Don’t make this any harder for me than it already is.”

  Before I realized it, I found myself pacing back and forth across the living room.

  “Make what harder, Trevor? Am I supposed to know what this is about?”

  He hesitated for a moment. “Us. Maddie. It’s about us.”

  I stopped in front of the huge sliding glass doors and looked out over the city lights below. In every direction they twinkled, winking at me in silence behind the two inch thick soundproof glass. The word ‘us’ bounced around in my brain until at last, it rattled to a stop like a ping pong ball coming to rest.

  After several seconds, Trevor filled the silence.

  “Maddie? You there?”

  “Yes,” I whispered. A hard lump formed in the center of my throat. Moisture pooled along the edges of my eyes, threatening to betray me.

  “You okay?”

  I lost the battle. A tear slid down my cheek, completing my defeat. Wiping it away, I sniffled, “What do you think, Trevor? Am I okay? What kind of question is that?”

  He released a deep exhale. “Maddie, man. I’m sorry. Look I just want you know I’m different now. Things are different.”

  I inhaled and strengthened my resolve. “What does that mean? Different?”

  “Well, it’s my new job. At the studio. You know—the one I mentioned to you when I saw you out the other night?”

  “Yeah,” I replied as I regained my composure for a moment. “What about it?”

  “Well I’ve got pull there, Maddie, for a new project. And I think you’d be perfect for a part. No, I know you’re perfect for it.”

  Indignation washed over me. “Jesus Christ, Trevor. Don’t do this to me. Not right now.”

  “Don’t do what?” he began. “I thought you’d be happy, well, about the audition at least. I want another chance with you, Maddie. Seeing you at Chef Claude’s. I realized how big a mistake I made.”

  A sudden awareness hit me. Now it all made sense.

  “I’m not with him, Trevor,” I hissed. “If that’s what this is all about.”

  “Who?” Trevor replied.

  I’d known Trevor Billings since I was a kid. The only thing easier than spotting a lie on his face was hearing one in his voice.

  “Cut the bull, Trevor. You saw me out the other night and got jealous. I’m not stupid.”

  “Hell yes, of course I did. But if anything, it made me realize how foolish I’d been for breaking it off with you to begin with.”

  “Trevor,” I exhaled. “I already told you. We’re not together. And anyway, what about the girl you were with that night?”

  No sooner had I finished speaking than he replied, “She means nothing to me.”

  I groaned. “I don’t know what you want from me, Trevor.”

  “I just want to talk, Maddie. Come to the studio. Audition for the part. Then afterward, we can see what happens next.”

  I rolled my eyes as I ran my hand through my hair. Shaking my fingers free of it, I exhaled into the receiver.

  Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

  “Fine. I’ll come for the audition,” I said. “As for the rest, I… I’m not promising anything.”

  “Thank you, Maddie. Thank you.”

  I spent the next minute or so getting the details for the audition before finally disconnecting the call. By the time we hung up, whatever fuzziness the alcohol had caused in my mind when the call started completed dissipated by the end of it.

  I collapsed into the couch and stared up at the ceiling.

  Nothing is ever free or fair in life. Is it?

  By all rights, I should be thrilled to have the chance to audition. If Trevor was to be believed, I stood a fair chance of getting the part. Yet, I had no idea what he wanted from me when it came to us or whether he’d prevent me from getting the part if I rejected his overtures.

  Which, uh,
as much as I hated the idea of getting back with him, I’d be lying if I said a really, really, really stupid part of me didn’t want to be with someone.

  Anyone. Even Trevor.

  This was Hollywood after all.

  Where was my happily ever after?

  MADDIE

  I’d been a nervous wreck the entire day leading up to the audition. Not so much because things at the office would keep me from doing it. Rather, I hadn’t been to one in so long, it was almost as if I was starting over from scratch. To make matters worse, I didn’t have anyone I could talk to about the way I felt.

  Since I was still on the outs with my family back home, that wasn’t going to happen. And Grey? Hah, I mean, forget it. Under ordinary circumstances, I would be able to talk about it with Katy, but uh, she’d made her feelings about my desire to keep acting crystal clear at the bar the other night. And of all people to help me, I still couldn’t believe it was Trevor. If I didn’t think he’d get the wrong idea, I might kiss him on the spot when I saw him.

  Once again, I found myself relying on the only person I could.

  Me.

  The good news, if you could call it that, was things were busy at the office. However, it wasn’t the sort of busy that required my immediate attention. There weren’t any emergencies. In fact, there hadn’t been for a couple of weeks now, so I felt confident Carmen could handle anything that came up while I happened to be at the audition.

  I hoped it was something she could keep doing if I happened to get the part. Probably a crazy idea, but if I did land the role, someone would have to be in charge besides me. Grey wouldn’t be able to disagree with that and who better than Carmen to step in and take over while I was busy acting? About the only thing she didn’t do around the office was sign paychecks and that could be automated as well.

  The more I considered the possibilities, the more reasonable such a scenario, or something like it, seemed. And say what you like about Grey, but he puts the success of his businesses above all else. With a well-reasoned defense, I was convinced I could persuade him to see things my way. He would have to, because if I did land a big role, I’d take it and run with it.

  Shameful though it was, I did something I promised Katy, Grey and of course myself, I wouldn’t. I lied about where I was during the day so I could sneak out for the audition.