The Billionaire From Portland: A Sexy BWWM Billionaire Romance (United States Of Billionaires Book 10)

by Simply BWWM

  Gabriella made her mind up right then that no matter what happened with Julian, there was no way she was going to sleep with him, not only to prove Kathy wrong, but because Gabriella had never resorted to anything as low and underhanded as a casting couch to further her career.

  She had worked hard to get where she was; honestly and with strong morals and integrity, and she was determined to continue to do just that for the rest of her career. She would be able to get the cover and tell Kathy that she hadn’t slept with Julian to get it.

  She sank down on her sofa that afternoon with a worry in the back of her mind as she bit her lip and carefully considered everything that had happened with Julian and Kathy. She felt uneasy about it, and she knew that she needed to get some outside perspective on it, as she was looking at the whole thing with a biased perspective. She picked up her phone and dialed her best friend Lila.

  The phone didn’t ring twice before Lila answered it. “Hey girl! How’s it going in LA today?” she asked in her light and happy voice. Lila was nearly always like sunshine on a cloudy day, warming things up and gently pushing away problems and worries. They had been friends since the fourth grade when they had both lived in San Francisco, but Lila still lived there and Gabriella had moved to Los Angeles to pursue her modeling dreams.

  “It’s good! I just needed to call you… I need to talk with you about something.” Gabriella sighed and ran her fingernail back and forth over the seam of her jeans.

  “Sure honey. What’s up?” Lila asked curiously.

  Gabriella looked out of her window and drew in a deep breath. “Well, you know how I’ve really been trying for the cover of the April issue?”

  “Yeah.” Gabriella could hear hesitation in Lila’s voice.

  “Well,” she rolled her eyes, “something happened today that might affect it, and I’m not sure if it’s good or not.”

  “What happened?” Lila asked with trepidation.

  Gabriella took a deep breath and explained everything. “Well, we were doing a shoot for the March issue, and when it was over I went to Kathy to talk to her about being on the April cover and she was her normal grouchy self—”

  “Ugh. That woman.” Lila hadn’t liked Kathy from anything she had heard and she liked her even less after she met her during one of Gabriella’s shoots in San Francisco one time.

  “Well, she wasn’t really receptive to the idea or even discussing it, of course, but while we were talking about it, this guy came in and walked up to her to talk to her. I realized that he was someone in charge, although at first I didn’t know who he was. I thought since I hadn’t gotten anywhere with her, that I might as well talk to him to see if he couldn’t maybe help me. He seemed to really like me right off. He was watching me closely.

  Anyway, I told him that I was after the cover and he told me he wants to meet with me tomorrow night to talk about it, and he told Kathy that she has to wait to make a decision on it until after he’s talked to me.” She bit her lip.

  Lila sounded thrilled. “Well, that’s great news! Why would you be concerned about that? Are you worried about Kathy?”

  Gabriella sighed. “Kind of. Kathy really likes him. I mean, she didn’t say anything of course, but I could see it as clear as anything; she really likes him. He wrote his number on my hand and he winked at me before he left; it was like high school.

  Anyway, after he left, Kathy got nasty and she told me that he was the owner of the magazine. She said he likes to sleep with the models and she accused me of already knowing that and of going after him to seduce him so I can have the cover. Kind of like a casting couch.” She grew angry and furrowed her brow as she spoke. “I’d never do that!”

  “I know you wouldn’t… I know. Don’t you fret, honey.” It was clear by her voice that Lila was completely annoyed.

  “Well, it made me wonder what might happen at our meeting, the owner and me. He asked that it be later tomorrow night. What if he thinks I was coming on to him so I could get the cover of the magazine?” She rubbed her hands over her forehead. Thinking about it gave her a headache.

  “I mean, I don’t want him thinking that I’m meeting with him to seduce him, because I’m not, but I also don’t want to pass up the chance that I might get the cover because I met with someone who isn’t Kathy and who could tell her to put me on the cover and give me my chance.”

  Lila hummed thoughtfully. “Mmm. Yes, I see what you mean. Well, you already know this, but it sounds like you need a little encouragement. Just be yourself. Go in with the morals and values that you have, talk to him and tell him how much you want the cover and how hard you’ve worked for it. Take your portfolio with you and the work you’ve done for the magazine so that he can see it in case he isn’t familiar with it, and plead your case.

  Ask him for the cover. If he really is the owner, you could probably win him over and get what you’re after. God knows how much you’ve done and how hard you’ve worked to get to it. You do deserve it.

  So, go meet with him. Make it a public place like a restaurant or something so it isn’t in the office… You know, somewhere where he won’t get the wrong impression, and just tell him what you want. See if he will help you. This might be the best thing that ever happened to you.”

  Gabriella smiled and sighed. “That’s the most perfect thing that you could have said to me. Thank you so much. You always know just what to say!” Her heart swelled with gratitude.

  “That’s because I’ve been saying it to you for years. Ever since we hit middle school.” Lila laughed and Gabriella’s laugh mingled with hers.

  “Well, I think this is some good advice. I’ll just be completely honest with him and tell him what I want. There doesn’t have to be anything unseemly about it at all. I’ll just hope that he agrees with me that the cover should be mine, and we’ll see what happens. It’s worth a shot anyway.” She shrugged and thought to herself that it was possible she was worrying more about it than she needed to.

  Lila’s voice was filled with the sunshine that Gabriella loved so much in her. “You’re going to do just fine. Just go talk to him and see what happens. At worst, he will say no, at best, he will say yes and you’ll get what you want. In any event, good luck with it, and I will wait for a call back from you to tell me all about what happened with it!”

  “Of course I’ll call you and tell you.” Gabriella grinned. “Thank you so much!” She sighed with relief. “So what have you been up to?” she asked, turning the focus of the conversation back to her friend.

  “Oh my word, well… there are two new startup companies that I’m considering investing in, and I swear to all that is holy, I have no idea what I’m going to do with Sophie. That girl is just about the wildest thing in the world.” Lila laughed and groaned almost simultaneously.

  Gabriella grew curious. “What is your sister up to now? I don’t know how in the world you ever keep up with her!”

  “I don’t keep up with her. I stay out of her way and cover my eyes when she goes flying past at the speed of light. No one can keep up with her, though I think just about everyone who knows her wants to try. We were on a BART train the other day, going from Oakland to San Francisco, right under the bay, mind you, so it’s dark and everyone on the train was quiet and bored and ignoring each other, and she had talked some guy on the street out of a helium balloon.

  Well, there we are, sitting on that train and she bit the end of the balloon and sucked all of the helium out of it and started singing ‘Blue Moon’!” Lila was incredulous as she shared the story.

  “She did not!” Gabriella laughed out loud and covered her mouth in surprise, though after all of the years she had known Sophie, she knew that nothing the woman did should surprise her.

  “You know she did! She sang the whole song! Everyone on the train tried to ignore it at first, but then everyone started looking and giggling, and then they began to laugh, and by the time we all got back to the city, everyone was singing along and talking, and it was so fun
. I have no idea where she gets her wild streak from. God knows I’m never going to be that wild and crazy.” Lila sighed with a laugh, and Gabriella could imagine her shaking her head.

  “No one is as crazy and fun as your sister is. Nobody.” Gabriella chuckled as she thought over years of Sophie’s antics.

  They talked a while longer about work and old friends and family, and after a good long conversation, Gabriella said goodbye and ended the call. She smiled to herself, grateful that she had such a wonderful best friend, knowing how lucky she was to have her. Her mind went back to her meeting with Julian Medici, and she felt more confident about it. She knew that if she showed him how serious she was about her career and his magazine, and if she conveyed to him just how much it meant to her to have the cover, she might just get it, and then her career would be on the fast track to an international level. She had sweet dreams that night, and in her dreams, she reached her goals.

  Chapter2

  Gabriella called Julian, and when she suggested a restaurant that she knew would be a good quiet place to talk, he agreed to meet her there. She dressed in a soft periwinkle colored suit and skirt that she knew would bring out her eyes and her dark skin, and give her an air of professionalism, which she definitely wanted to portray to him. She added low heels and pearls around her neck and in her ears, and knew that she looked every bit the way she wanted to. Classy, glamorous, sophisticated, and elegant. She wished that she felt that way just a little bit more inside.

  The closer she drew to the restaurant, the more nervous and excited she became, hoping and praying that it would be a successful meeting with Mr. Medici. She walked in and saw him waiting for her in the foyer of the restaurant. He smiled at her and rose up from the chair he was sitting in when she walked through the door. She was glad to see that he had been even earlier than she was. It showed her responsibility and reliability, and that was encouraging to her.

  Julian took one look at her as she came through the door with her long braids behind her and her slender figure silhouetted in her blue suit, her sexy legs and her light silvery blue eyes captivating, and he decided that one night with her in his bed just for the cover of the magazine was not going to be enough. He knew he was going to want to take her three or four times before he let her go.

  He flashed his most charming smile at her and reached for her hand, bringing the back of it up to his lips as he kissed it softly, and then tucked her hand into the crook of his arm. He knew that she was going to be incredibly easy to win over. He could probably have her riding him in the back seat of the limo on the way home.

  He thought about how hot she’d be, pushing her skirt up, pulling her panties off, and sliding her down onto him, and he grew hard imagining it. He was careful to hide it when he sat with her in the private booth he had reserved.

  “Thank you so much for meeting with me, Mr. Medici.” She smiled at him and watched his eyes as they narrowed at her slightly. He was incredibly handsome, but there was something in his demeanor that told her that he knew it and used it.

  There was something else in his eyes, something that she couldn’t quite place, and though it made her feel slightly uneasy somewhere deep in her, she ignored it, certain that it was nothing more than nerves arresting her as she tried to plead her case to him.

  “Please, call me Julian.” He winked at her and gave her a little smile.

  Gabriella smiled back and folded her hands in her lap. “Well, Julian, I just wanted to thank you for meeting me here this evening. I realize you must be very busy and it means a great deal to me that you took the time out of your schedule to talk with me about my work and the possibility of me being on the cover of the April issue.”

  He nodded and watched her as she spoke. “I can see that it means a lot to you, as it should. Getting the cover is a big deal; it’s something that every model on our staff wants, and all of them are willing to compete adamantly for it. You have some stiff competition, but I’m willing to hear you out and see if there’s anything you can do to convince me that you’re the right girl for the position.”

  Julian was pleased with himself that he had chosen his words carefully enough that the subtle innuendoes would begin to start sinking in for her and even on a subliminal level, she would begin to start thinking of what she could do to him to convince him. His gaze dropped momentarily to her full, soft, glossy lips and he imagined them moving up and down his erection, which was hardening even more as moments passed.

  He glanced down when she turned away from him to reach for a folder in her bag, and he stared at the gentle curves of her breasts, thinking of covering them with his hands and his mouth shortly after dinner. When she turned back to face him, his eyes were looking at hers again, but his groin was growing hot and tight, and his mind was deep in fantasy about everything he was going to do with her in the backseat of his limo after their meal. She would be a deliciously sweet dessert for him.

  “I brought this portfolio for you so that you could see some of the work I’ve done for your magazine. It’s really extensive, and it’s all excellent quality. I have this organized chronologically,” she said, leaning closer to him to show him the folder, and as she did, her eyes and hands on the contents of the folder, his eyes were peering straight down her blouse, searching for a glimpse of her breasts and her bra.

  Baby blue. Her bra was baby blue, and a demi-cup. He grew harder staring at the upper half of her breast uncovered just inside the opening of her blouse and all he could think of was moving his mouth all over it.

  “…so I think you’ll notice that every shoot has gotten better, and even the most recent work is really improved from the work I was doing when I first started.” She looked up at him and found him looking into her eyes deeply.

  She was caught offguard a moment by his intense gaze and she blinked. “I mean… just looking through this is enough to show anyone how hard I’ve worked, how much I’ve grown, and how ready I am for the cover of the magazine. Don’t you think?” she asked hopefully, her heart beginning to beat even faster in her chest.

  He nodded and looked down at the portfolio, flipping through some of the pages. She was a good model, and he could see that right away. She had done some excellent work over her time with the magazine. He knew that regardless of the fact that he couldn’t care less, she would be good for the cover, but he wasn’t willing to give it up to her for free.

  No, he thought, she’s going to have to work for it. She would have to give him a few good orgasms and swallow at least one of them before he said yes to her. He knew he was going to thoroughly enjoy screwing her for a week or so before he let her go and found another plaything.

  She watched him going through her portfolio and it felt like her heart was in her chest. Everything she had ever worked for had somehow come to that moment, sitting there with him, asking for what she wanted so desperately. Asking for a chance at her dream and at furthering her career to a level that she had wanted all of her life.

  “So, what do you think, Julian?” she asked, her heart right on the edge of hope.

  He shrugged and gave her a small smile as he closed the portfolio and looked back at her. “I think I want to see a little more of you, a little more of what you can do, see how hard you are willing to work for it, and what you’re really willing to do to get to your goals. I can’t just hand out the cover to every pretty face who asks me, can I?” He leaned closer to her and his eyes dropped to her lips for a moment as his groin tightened again, and then he looked back into her silvery-blue eyes. “You’re going to have to work a little harder to convince me. Be creative. Show me how much you really want it. Make me want to give it to you.”

  He already wanted to give it to her, but he wasn’t thinking about the cover of the magazine.

  She watched him and nodded, wondering to herself if he was talking about work at the office or not. She hoped that she had misunderstood the innuendos that he seemed to be was hinting at, but she couldn’t be sure if he was flirting with h
er or if she was just reading too much into it.

  “I want it more than anything. It’s what I’ve worked toward for years; my whole modeling career,” she began, hoping she could find the right words to say to help him see how much it truly meant to her.

  Julian held up his hand and paused her in her thoughts. “Listen, I’ve just seen your portfolio, and I am aware of how much you say you want it, but I’m hungry, so let’s eat and you can tell me more about yourself. That will give me some insight into who you are and I’ll just give you a little hint; letting me see more of you is going to be a big help in convincing me that you should be on the cover.” He looked at her intently and saw the confusion in her eyes. It filled him with a feeling of power and control, and it turned him on even more.

  Gabriella tried to discern whether he was flirting with her or being straight; his words were so ambiguous that there was no real way for her to tell. She nodded and picked up the menu, searching it as she tried to focus on the words describing their dinner offerings.

  Her mind was so focused on what she wanted to hear from him that she read through the selections three times before any of them made any sense to her. She took a deep breath, trying to steady her heart and calm her nerves, and she told herself that she had all of dinner with him to convey just how important it was to her to reach her dreams.

  They ordered their meals and drinks, and Julian kept his watchful gaze on her, asking her about her life, her hobbies, her friends and family, and she answered all of his questions, not quite certain what any of them had to do with her getting the cover of the magazine, but willing to let him get to know her a little better.

  She tried to ask him questions in return, but every time she did, he would circumnavigate them and bring the discussion and focus back to her. His methods were so subtle that she didn’t realize that she still knew next to nothing about him by the time the evening was coming to a close.