Travis kept talking and his speech was interrupted by frequent outbursts of laughter from the audience, but Lia couldn’t concentrate on a word of it. She just kept staring at Travis, all sounds muted by the thumping of her heart.
Chapter Two
It happened about a month ago. She was at an opening at her friend Julian’s art gallery. It was a nice evening, the promise of spring was already in the air. The gallery was packed and Lia was chatting with Julian, the gallery’s founder and main artist when the low hum of general chatter was interrupted by loud laughter coming from the back corner. She turned to see what the commotion was all about. A group of young men was standing in front of a painting (a semi-nude) and one of them pretended he was helping the woman undress completely.
Lia rolled her eyes. “Men,” she said dismissively, turning back to Julian.
“I beg to differ,” he said.
Lia laughed. “Sorry. Present company excluded, of course.”
“I’m not saying I wouldn’t do the same, provided it was a semi-nude of him,” Julian said jokingly, nodding toward one of the laughing young men appreciatively. “Let’s just say, I wouldn’t kick him out of bed for eating crackers.”
Lia chuckled. “Well, he certainly does have his merits,” she lifted an eyebrow as she examined the man from the corner of her eye. He was tall and ruggedly handsome with an unruly mop of dirty blond hair and ocean blue eyes. His boyish grin suggested mischief.
Julian snorted. “You could say that. And you haven’t even seen his wallet yet!”
Lia raised an eyebrow. “Why, is it even more remarkable than his looks? Do you know him?”
Another young man in their group, the one who made the joke about the painting, pretended to get undressed and simulated a sex act with the woman in the painting amid a fresh outburst of laughter. For a split second, the blond guy rolled his eyes at his friends before joining in on the gag. Lia frowned. “That’s Travis Paulson,” Julian said meaningfully, as if it explained everything.
Lia regarded her friend with a blank expression. “So?”
Julian gasped. “What? You don’t know Travis Paulson? Heir to the Paulson empire?”
Something scratched at the edge of Lia’s consciousness. “Paulson empire? As in, Paulson Technology?”
“Duh!” Julian gestured dramatically. “It’s quite likely that just by turning on your computer this morning, you’ve already made him richer.”
Lia snorted. “Cool. I work and he gets richer.”
“Well, to be fair, he has to work to get that computer onto your desk,” Julian pointed out.
Lia raised an eyebrow. “Him or his father? Or rather, their millions of unnamed workers slaving away for peanuts at their company?”
“Yeah, well, you may have a point.” Julian sighed dreamily. “And on top of that, he gets to look like that. Life is so unfair.”
Lia rolled her eyes. “Whatever. I’d much rather be doing what I love all day than be a shallow jerk spending my father’s money on meaningless things.”
“Hey! Like my paintings? Watch your tongue!”
“No, silly. I meant other things. Being a patron of the arts is actually one of the few good things immensely rich people can do with their money. Instead of buying another yacht or spending it on cheap wine and even cheaper women. C’mon Julian, you know what I mean…”
“Did I hear someone’s buying a yacht? a female voice squealed from behind them. “Count me in! I love yachts!” Julian and Lia shared a meaningful look before they turned to greet the newcomer. It was Trudy, self-proclaimed art critic and social climber. Lia nodded in Trudy’s direction.
“Hello, Trudy,” Julian said politely. “How do you like tonight’s event?”
“Oh, it’s marvellous,” Trudy quipped, eyeing the crowd. “You have quite a good turnout. Wait, is that Travis Paulson?” She pointed at the sexy young billionaire in the corner.
Lia sneaked another glance at Travis. There was no denying that he was hot. She watched as he detached himself from the group to examine another painting. It was an abstract expressionist piece with lines crisscrossing over an unfinished circle.
Trudy didn’t wait for an answer. “Oh, Julian, I love that painting!” she gushed, pointing to the one Travis was admiring from across the room. “Would you please tell me more about it?” Before Julian could protest, Trudy grabbed his arm and dragged him in Travis’ direction. She expertly navigated a path through the crowd of people that stood between them and the handsome billionaire. She was clearly a woman on a mission.
Julian looked at Lia pleadingly and silently mouthed “Help me!” Lia suppressed a smile and followed them across the room.
Trudy cleared her throat. “Oh, Julian, this is such a wonderful work of art,” she exclaimed loudly even before they came to a halt in front of the painting next to Travis. “I simply adore how you deconstruct reality and configure the parallel lines of eternity into a finite time and space.”
Lia could barely stop herself from laughing as Trudy knocked into Travis startling him out of his reverie.
“Thank you, Trudy, but it’s actually…” Julian started.
“Oh, darling, you must tell me at once how you come up with such genius ideas!” Trudy interrupted. Then she made a great show of noticing Travis for the first time. “Oh, hi, I’m sorry. I hope I didn’t disturb you. I just love art so much I can’t stop myself from expressing my appreciation. I’m Trudy, by the way.”
Travis gave her a polite smile. “I’m Travis.” He turned back toward the painting, a look of concentration on his face.
But Trudy wasn’t one to give up so easily. She leaned in closer to Travis and pressed herself against him. “Have we met before? You look so familiar.”
Travis took a step back and shook his head, still smiling politely. “I don’t think so.”
“Oh,” Trudy exclaimed, feigning surprise. “You’re Travis Paulson, right? I’ve seen you before. I think it was at the modern art museum fundraiser with your father last month. Such a wonderful event, don’t you think? It’s so generous of your family to support young struggling artists. You give back so much to the community.”
For a short second, what looked like could’ve been a pained expression shot over Travis’ face, but before it could take hold, a self-confident smile curled on his lips as he turned his full attention to Trudy. “Oh yes. I was there. I loved the show.” He winked. “Although the after-party was even better and much more fun.” Lia found herself intensely disliking and resentful of his cocky self-assuredness.
“Isn’t that what after-parties are for?” Lia remarked dryly.
Travis turned toward her, grinning even wider. “You got that right, lovely lady.” His gaze traveled over Lia’s body with a wolfish grin. She hated it when men looked at her like that. She thought it was demeaning. She felt the color rise in her cheeks, both from embarrassment and anger.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t quite catch your name,” he said to her.
“I’m Lia.” She stretched out her hand for a handshake.
Travis took her hand and raised it to his lips with a seductive gaze. “It is very nice to meet you, Lia.” She jerked her hand away from him but not before the touch of his lips against her skin sent a small shiver of excitement through her body. She self-consciously wrapped her arms around her waist and felt a nudge at her side. It was Julian. “Oh, and this is Julian. He’s responsible for all of these stunning works of art.” She gestured toward her friend who flashed a shy smile at the rich billionaire.
A sparkle of interest appeared in Travis’ eyes. “Wow! It’s wonderful to meet you.” He shook Julian’s hand enthusiastically who was blushing up to his ears. “I wanted to ask you about this one. What is the idea behind…”
Trudy cackled loudly in Travis’ ear and placed a hand on his arm. “Oh, yes, after parties are great for getting to meet new people, make new friends and really let loose if you know what I mean.” She flipped her peroxide blonde hair over
her shoulders and batted her eyes suggestively at Travis. He turned toward her with a provocative smile of his own. Travis radiated the kind of confidence and control that made women swoon. Julian opened and closed his mouth, unsure of what to do and Lia squeezed his hand reassuringly.
“Exactly my way of thinking,” Travis said. His gaze returned to Lia again. “I assume you lovely ladies wouldn’t say no to an after party tonight?”
“Of course not! After party, here we come!” Trudy giggled and tightened her grip on his arm.
“How about you?” Travis asked, looking straight at Lia. His eyes bore into her, but she looked away.
“I’m sorry, I have plans,” Lia answered curtly.
“Oh. Are you sure those plans can’t be stretched and modified in a way that our little party could fit in?” Travis asked, flashing her his best boyish smile. “We’ll be at Crash. You should really come. The boys will love you. You won’t be disappointed; I guarantee it’s going to be a wild time.”
“Oh, it’s the hippest place in town,” Trudy squealed.
“Only the best for me and my friends,” Travis boasted. “There’s no need to settle for bridge and tunnel fare when you can have champagne and caviar.”
What a self-satisfied, self-important, and self-entitled prick, Lia thought to herself as she felt anger welling up inside of her. “Well, thanks for the invite, but considering that my origins are probably much too pedestrian for your refined tastes and that I actually have to earn the money I spend, I should probably call it a night. Anyway, I’d much rather spend my money on something more meaningful like a painting and do something worthwhile with my time than indulge in overpriced drinks with wasted frat boys. Come on, Julian.” With that, she stormed off, dragging Julian behind her. A hush fell over the small crowd that surrounded them. She’d just insulted the heir to the Paulson family fortune. The words came out of her mouth louder and meaner than she’d meant them to. Maybe it was a reaction to the alcohol, the crowd, the over-the-top obnoxiousness of Trudy, or her own preoccupation with the theater’s financial struggles. Whatever it was, there was no taking back what she’d said and the damage had been done. Travis stared after her, his mouth half-open.
“Did you really have to insult him like that? You know he can make or break either one of us,” Julian hissed at her once they were out of earshot.
Lia was still fuming. “I’m sorry, Julian. I just can’t stand self-centered stupid people who’ve never had to do a day’s work in their lives. Who cares anyways? I doubt I’ll ever have to see him again.” The next day, Lia’s public reprimand of Travis and his playboy posse was plastered all over the gossip columns.
***
Now, standing center stage and listening to Travis’ victory speech, Lia sighed loudly at the memory of that night. In hindsight, she knew she was in the wrong, she just didn’t expect that it would come back to haunt her like this. Travis was still talking into the microphone, speaking about his appreciation for bold new art and up and coming artists. She felt a nudge in her side. It was Maggie standing beside her, beaming.
“You lucky girl,” she whispered. “You get to go out with Travis Paulson! How are you going to thank me for arranging it?”
Lia rolled her eyes. “I think it might rather be revenge than a date.”
Maggie raised an eyebrow. “Revenge? How so?”
Lia quickly recounted the events at Julian’s fundraiser. Maggie threw her hands in the air. “Are you crazy? Paulson Tech is one of our biggest sponsors! We’re lucky they didn’t stop backing us after your little tantrum.”
“I know, I’m sorry,” Lia replied. “Though, in my defense, I didn’t know at the time that PT was our sponsor.”
“Still, you should know better than to insult rich people.”
Lia nodded. “You’re completely right. It was really unprofessional of me. But I just couldn’t help it. His self-satisfied, privileged boasting got under my skin.”
“Well, get ready to endure a whole lot more of it.” Maggie rolled her eyes at her friend.
Applause broke out and Travis handed the microphone back to the techie. Lia plastered a polite smile on her face and thanked the audience once again for attending the gala. Then the lights went up and the auditorium was filled with the sound of five hundred people shuffling to their feet. The noise was intensified by the excited chatter of the actors and the crew behind Lia. Maggie joined their colleagues while Lia remained in her spot, still collecting her thoughts.
“We should go celebrate,” Lia heard one of the actors suggest. “How about an after party?”
The doors to the auditorium opened and the audience started filing out of the hall. A gust of cool air rushed in from outside. Lia felt it on her hot cheek as she looked around the auditorium. Somewhere in the region of the VIP seats, there was a slight disturbance in the steady flow of people. Lia strained her eyes to see what was happening and felt her stomach sink when she saw a tall blond man trying to break through the moving wall of bodies and get to the stage. Travis.
Lia watched his progress worriedly. What should she say? Was she supposed to apologize for her rude behavior from that night at the gallery? Thank him for his generous donation? Or both?
He arrived at the front of the theater and with an energetic leap, he hopped onto the stage. He gave her a lopsided grin. “Hello.”
Lia straightened her back. “Good evening. Thank you for the generous donation. It really means a lot to us.”
Travis winked at her. “See? I can spend my money on meaningful things.”
Lia blushed. “I apologize for my comments from before. I was completely out of line.”
Travis gave her a sheepish smile. “Don’t worry about it. In fact, I owe you an apology as well. I didn’t mean to offend you that night. I don’t know why I made that stupid comment. I’m sorry.”
They regarded each other in silence for a moment. Lia couldn’t help but notice his strong jawline and the way that his unruly hair fell rather charmingly into his eyes. She smoothed the front of her dress self-consciously.
There was a polite cough coming from behind Lia. They both turned toward the sound. It was Maggie.
“Hi, Travis. I’m Maggie Mains, Pages’ financial director.” She shook Travis’ hand. “Thank you for your donation.”
“The pleasure is mine,” Travis replied gallantly. Behind them, the crew started disappearing backstage.
“Would you like to join us for the after-party? We’re heading to Red, a little club around the block.” Maggie gestured at the retreating backs of their colleagues.
Lia opened her mouth to protest but Travis rubbed his hands together. “Excellent. I love after parties. Thanks for the invite.” He winked at Lia. “It will give us a perfect chance to discuss our big night.”
With that, he took Lia’s arm and followed the crew to the stage door.
To be continued…
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Heart Racer: A Billionaire Love Story Page 17
