Single Dad Billionaire

by B. B. Hamel

  Why shouldn’t I kiss him? So far, I’ve been thinking about him as the arrogant asshole boss that I remember from before the night that changed everything. But he’s changing, or at least he is toward me. He’s kinder, more thoughtful, and he’s learning to be such a good dad that I’m actually really impressed. He was so happy when he found out about Alexa, and he’s going the extra mile to try and win me over.

  So why keep resisting him? Maybe I just want to make sure that I don’t let myself forget what we’re really doing. This is a job, after all, and I should try and keep it professional if I can. Logan of all people should understand that, and yet I don’t see anything professional about the way he looks at me.

  I can’t decide what I really want as the workday ends. I head back to my own apartment to pick up a few things that I forgot, more importantly my personal laptop. I usually Skype with my mom, but I haven’t had my laptop with me, so I haven’t been in touch with her really.

  Which is pretty bad, considering what’s going on. It takes me about twenty minutes to get across town to my apartment. It’s a little tiny studio on the fourth floor of an old building on the west side of the city. I head up the stairs and unlock my door, pushing my way inside.

  It looks just like I left it. For some reason though, I don’t really miss it.

  I guess that’s not surprising. Logan’s apartment is much, much nicer. I don’t have to worry about it getting too hot at night because my building doesn’t have air conditioning. I don’t have to listen to my neighbors having sex late into the night, or to the sound of police cars whizzing by outside at all hours. I haven’t seen a single cockroach since I started staying at Logan’s.

  I drop my keys on the counter and grab a bag from my closet. It takes me just a few minutes to grab a few things, hair products, makeup, that sort of stuff. I pack it all into a backpack before finally grabbing my laptop and flipping open the lid.

  I log in and check out my Skype app. I sigh and shake my head at the five missed calls from my mother.

  I’m such an asshole. On a whim, I decide to give her a call, just in case she happens to be around.

  Her image pops up after the second ring, almost like she was waiting for me to call. She’s wearing her glasses with her short brown hair tucked back behind her ears. She smiles when she sees me and I can’t help but smile back.

  “Hey, Mom,” I say to her.

  “Hey, yourself. Where have you been? I thought you were dead.”

  “Not dead yet,” I say. “Just been really busy with, uh, work.”

  I realize that my mom knows nothing about my arrangement. I got married recently and she has no clue. My own mother doesn’t know that I’m married to one of the richest men in the world. I consciously keep my left hand out of the frame. I don’t want her to see the ring.

  “Too busy to call your mother, huh,” she says. “Look at you. Big city girl.”

  “Mom, you know it’s not like that.”

  “I know, sweetie. I just worry.”

  “You don’t have to.” I sigh and frown at her. “I’m totally safe.”

  “Nobody’s safe living in that city.” She makes a face.

  I can’t help but smile. She has no clue where I’m living now. Naturally, she hates my tiny little apartment in a bad neighborhood, even though it’s perfectly safe and I’ve been fine here. I can’t really blame her. She’s from a small town and raised me in a small town, and doesn’t understand why I wouldn’t want to live there my whole life.

  I feel so guilty about not telling her sooner. I don’t even know if I want to tell her now, but I know I’ll only feel worse if I keep it from her. I can’t tell her the whole story, and I know she’s going to be so disappointed in me, but I have to deal with that. I don’t want to be a sneaky person who hides this stuff from my mom.

  “Listen, I need to tell you something,” I say.

  “Sounds ominous.”

  “It’s not. I mean, it is, a little bit.” I take a deep breath. “Mom, I got married.”

  She stares at me blankly. “What?”

  “I got married. To a man.”

  She laughs, clearly not believing me. “No, you didn’t.”

  “Yes, I did. It was a small ceremony in front of a judge.”

  I can see the realization slowly dawn on her face. I’m not joking, not at all. “When?” she asks.

  “Not long ago,” I say. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.”

  “Is this what you were busy with?” she asks.

  “I guess so, yeah,” I say.

  “Who is it? Who did you marry? Oh, Everly.”

  “Mom, he’s a good guy. You’d like him.”

  “Well, can I meet him?” she asks.

  I shake my head. “Not yet. Soon though.”

  “Everly. You got married to someone and I don’t even know what his name is.”

  “His name is Logan,” I say. “Look, I’m sorry, it all happened so fast. I have to go.”

  “Everly,” she says. “Are you in trouble?”

  “No, Mom,” I say, sighing. “I’m perfectly okay.”

  “You just got married without telling me, to a man I don’t know. I’m worried. And a little disappointed. Why wouldn’t you tell me?”

  “Mom.” I say softly. “Please, I promise it’s okay. I’ll tell you more soon, okay?”

  “Please, I really hope you’re being safe.”

  “I am. I’ll talk to you soon.”

  I close the lid and end the call before she can reply. I know she’ll keep me on Skype for hours if I let her.

  I feel so freaking guilty. I hate myself just a little bit. The look on her face was pure hurt and disappointment, and I hate that I’m letting her down. My parents have such a small-town mentality and they’re very conservative, I know they’ll never understand this. They probably won’t forgive me for it. I just hope my relationship with my mother doesn’t suffer too much.

  I lean back on my crappy old couch when my phone vibrates. I check it, afraid that it’s my mother, but it’s a text from Logan.

  “Car’s waiting for you outside.”

  I frown at it. “What?” I send back.

  “We’re going to dinner. I sent a car to pick you up.”

  “I’m at my apartment,” I type.

  “I know. It’s waiting. Take your time.”

  I get up and walk over to the window. Sure enough, there’s a black town car waiting out front. I think I can recognize the driver.

  “You didn’thave to do that,” I send him.

  “Sure I did. Now get in that car and come meet me.”

  I can’t help but smile a little bit. He didn’t know that I was going to tell my mom about him and that it was going to be really hard. And yet he’s doing this nice thing for me anyway.

  I gather my stuff and carry it to the door. I hesitate for a second, looking at the small apartment in this dirty, broken-down building, and I know I don’t miss it.

  I hurry downstairs, excited to see my rich and famous husband, even if he’s not my real husband. Sometimes, faking it is better than the real thing.

  11

  Logan

  I lean back in my seat at the bar, sipping my whisky on the rocks. The nanny is back at the apartment, watching Alexa, and I can’t wait to see Everly.

  I know maybe I shouldn’t be so excited, but I can’t help myself. I could see the desire in her at the ice skating rink, and I’m starting to get impatient. I want to take this to the next level, and I want to do it sooner rather than later.

  Everly shows up not long after I messaged her. She smiles when she spots me and I motion for her to sit in the empty stool to my left.

  “What’s the occasion?” she asks as she leans up against the bar.

  “Nothing,” I say. “Just wanted to do something, and I wanted you to come with me.”

  She smiles slightly. “Were you feeling lonely?”

  I grin. “Never.”

  “Well, one of us is
busy, you know.”

  “Don’t forget that I’m your boss,” I say to her. “I know exactly what you do all day.”

  “Are you spying on me?”

  I lean toward her and wink. “I’m spying on everyone.”

  “Creepy.”

  I laugh and lean back. “Want to get a table?”

  She frowns and looks around. “It’s packed. And this place is really nice.”

  “You’re with me. Come on.” I stand up, grab my drink, and head over to the hostess’s table. She spots me coming, smiles, and instantly picks up two menus.

  “Right this way, Mr. Ray,” she says.

  I grin at Everly and she rolls her eyes. Apparently blatant displays of wealth and power aren’t going to impress her, but I don’t care. The hostess takes us into the back of the restaurant and seats us at a little table tucked into a corner. It’s perfectly private.

  We sit down and Everly shakes her head. “How do you do it?”

  “Friends with the chef,” I say. “They know me here.”

  “Of course they do.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  She grins at me and shrugs. “You’re just from a different world than me, is all.”

  “Not true,” I say. “I wasn’t always this rich and powerful.”

  She rolls her eyes at that. “Oh, come on, Logan. You exist in a whole different stratosphere.”

  I sigh. “I can’t deny that. But it’s not like I haven’t earned it.”

  “I know. That’s true. I’m just not used to this kind of treatment.”

  “Well, you’re with me, Everly. So get used to it.”

  She can’t help but smile as I sip my drink and look at the menu. I already know what I want, but I’m giving Everly a chance to take a look and decide.

  The waitress comes by and takes our orders not long later. I always get the pasta with mussels here, and Everly orders the chicken breast. It sounds boring, but nothing here is boring.

  I sip my drink and watch her as she looks around. “I don’t think I’ve ever eaten in a place like this,” she says.

  “A place like what?” I ask.

  “You know what I mean. Expensive.”

  “Is it expensive?” I ask, pretending. “I guess I hadn’t noticed.”

  She rolls her eyes again. “You’re infuriating.”

  “Sometimes, you have to pay for quality.” I lean toward her. “Like with you.”

  She narrows her eyes. “What’s that mean?”

  “You’re an expensive investment, but you’re worth it.”

  “Please don’t talk about me like I’m some car.”

  “Not just any car. An expensive, beautiful car.”

  “Do you want me to leave?”

  “No, no, stay.” I laugh and lean back. “I’ll behave.”

  She sighs. “It’s fine. I just had a stressful day. Well, really just a stressful Skype call.”

  I raise an eyebrow. “What happened?”

  “I told my mother.”

  It takes me a second to understand what she’s talking about. “Oh shit. How did she take it?”

  “Not well, but not too bad, either,” Everly says. “I think I cut the call off before she could really freak out too much.”

  “I’m sorry. That must be hard.”

  “No, it’s okay. I could have avoided it entirely, since this isn’t going to last forever. But I just felt bad not telling her.”

  For some reason, it bothers me when she says that this won’t last forever. I know that we have a literal contract stating that this relationship is going to end after Chester signs the land sale paperwork, but even still. I don’t know what’s fucking happening with me, but I like having Everly around, and I don’t want her to have to go back to her shitty little apartment over on the west side.

  Our food comes not long later and the conversation naturally drifts toward Alexa and the shelter project. Everly is still the main person in charge of marketing for the whole endeavor, so we still have a lot of work to do together. The strain seems to have gone out of it, though, and the planning feels like it’s easier now that we have this arrangement.

  Dinner goes smoothly, and although we’re talking business most of the night, I still have a good time. I don’t know what it is about her, but I like just having a conversation with her, even if it’s about business. She has this laugh that’s infectious, and little habits that drive me wild, like the way she bites her lower lip when she’s thinking.

  Eventually I pay the check and we head out. “Let’s walk a bit,” I say to her. “It’s nice out.”

  “Okay.” She seems like she’s in a good mood as we head out onto the sidewalk.

  The apartment isn’t far from here, but I’m in the mood to go the long way. I cut down a side street and we head through the park, winding our way down the tree-lined paths.

  “I was told never to go in here after dark,” she says to me.

  I laugh. “Don’t worry. You’re with me.”

  “Do you have some magical mugger repellent?”

  “Of course I do,” he says. “All the rich people have it.”

  She laughs and moves closer to me as we round a bend. I take the opportunity to grab her hand and pull her closer to me. She doesn’t seem to mind it as we continue walking.

  “You know, I used to be afraid of this city,” she says.

  “Really?” I grin at her a little bit. “Why?”

  “I’m from a small town, and everyone back home thinks that the city is full of drugs and thieves and disease. Everyone thinks it’s like the worst place in the world to live.”

  “Why’d you come here, then?”

  She bites her lower lip, sending a shiver of desire down my spine.

  “I guess for all the reasons anyone moves away from home.”

  I nod my head slowly. “You wanted to get away. Start your own life.”

  “And back home, I would never have had my own life,” she says. “It would always have been the life my parents wanted for me.”

  “So you came to the big scary city.”

  “That’s right. Packed up my bags and ran away.” She laughs softly. “I had big dreams, you know.”

  “Look at you now. Married to a billionaire. Lucky girl.”

  She gives me a look. “You’re the lucky one.”

  “Please. You know how many women tried to lock me down over the years?”

  “Gold diggers, every one of them.”

  I laugh and smirk at her. “And you’re not?”

  That makes her pause. “I mean, we don’t have a real relationship,” she says finally. “It’s a business transaction. So it’s okay if I’m only in it for the money.”

  “I guess that’s true,” I say, but I stop walking.

  She turns and faces me. “What?”

  “You keep saying that you’re only in this for the money.” I cock my head.

  She bites her lip again. “I know.”

  “It’s not just that, though, is it?”

  She hesitates. “I don’t know what you mean.”

  I reach forward and pull her toward me. She doesn’t resist at all as I grab her and pull her body against mine. She puts her hands on my chest and looks up into my eyes as I smirk down at her.

  “Pretend like it’s just a business thing all you want, little wife, but it’s more than that for you. I can see it every time you look at me.”

  She glances away from my gaze, but I reach up and take her chin, pulling her back toward me.

  “You don’t know anything,” she says.

  “I know everything. And I always get what I want.”

  “You’re arrogant.”

  “You make me want to strip your clothes off right here and now.”

  “Logan,” she says softly, eyes wide.

  “You make me so fucking hard, Everly. Since the moment I met you, I’ve been wondering what it would be like to wind my fingers through that thick dark hair of yours while I fuck your
tight little cunt from behind. I want to hear your moans as I slide my thick cock between your legs. Fuck, Everly. I know you want it, too.”

  Her lips are hanging open, but she doesn’t say a word. I reach up and take her hair, grabbing it in my fist, and I kiss her hard and deep.

  She kisses me back, melting against my embrace. Instantly I’m hard and I sink into the kiss like an iceberg. I need this so badly, and I can’t get enough of her incredible taste. I want to taste every single inch of her, I need every single inch of her, and she has no clue how badly.

  Her tongue rolls against mine, and this is far from professional, but I don’t care. I need this girl. I want to fuck her right here, take her up against a tree, fuck her rough and right. Make her feel the way I need her to feel.

  But just as the kiss begins, it comes to an end. Nearby, there’s a noise in the forest, a cracking of sticks. Everly pulls away, eyes wide.

  “Did you hear that?” she asks.

  I look around. “Not really,” I say, not wanting that kiss to end.

  “Logan.” She hits my chest. “Someone’s coming.”

  There’s another cracking twig, closer now, just off the path. Everly steps around behind me, gripping my arm, clearly afraid.

  But as she steps behind me, a raccoon emerges from the trees. It looks up at us, moonlight reflecting off its eyes, and then scuttles away back into the underbrush.

  “Told you I had mugger repellent,” I say.

  “Asshole,” Everly says, laughing, clearly relieved. “I thought someone was coming.”

  “Just a raccoon.” I take her hand. “Come on, let’s get back. Alexa is waiting.”

  “Yeah, okay.”

  We walk quickly back down the path, the moment over for now.

  I can’t stop thinking about that kiss as we go back to the apartment. Even when we relieve the nanny and I check on little Alexa sleeping in her crib, I still keep thinking about that kiss.

  I don’t know what Everly wants from this. But it’s becoming clear to me what I want: Everly’s body, pressed against mine, as she moans into my ear. And I won’t stop until I get what I want.

  I head back into my bedroom to take off my work clothes and to change into something a little more comfortable. Once I’m finished, I go pour myself another drink in the kitchen. Everly is in her room, though I don’t know what she’s doing. Part of me wants to burst in there and take her right now, but I know better than that.