My Billionaire Fake Fiance: A Romantic Comedy (Beaky Tiki Series Book 1)

by Elyse Riggs

  I freeze, trying to process. For a few seconds, I’m quite sure that I stop breathing completely. What the actual fuck? Is she talking about me? No, it can’t be. I shake my head to lose the negative thoughts, even though my heart is still pounding, and my hand squeezes the vase of flowers so hard I hope it doesn’t burst.

  Kaylee continues. “How does he not see that his money doesn’t shield him from being an asshole? I know. You’re absolutely right, they only suck up to him because of his money.”

  My head swims. I move away from the door. As far away as I can get. I’m not holding my breath anymore, I’m hyperventilating.

  How could I have been so wrong about her all this time? Was it all an act and I was just too blind to see it? And I thought I was falling for her.

  I should have known better, every woman I ever thought about settling down with turned out to be after my money, not me. I cross to the other side of the suite to put as much distance between the two of us as I can.

  Breathing heavy, I realize I’m still holding the flowers. I drop the vase quietly into the trash can. I wish it weren’t true. I wish the last few minutes never happened, but I heard it all firsthand.

  I set up my couch bed and try to sleep, but I toss and turn. I guess her words are fair, we made a deal. A deal I asked for. And she delivered on her end and helped me.

  And the money is already in her account. Fair is fair. But I never expected to feel this awful about it.

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  Kaylee

  It’s a beautiful morning. I can’t believe this is the last time I’ll wake up in these silky soft sheets and comfy pillows.

  Stretching, I look around the room as the early morning light streams into the windows through the partially drawn curtains and it reminds me of my first night with Chase.

  It brings a smile to my lips as I roll out of bed and head into the kitchen wondering what Chase has in store for this morning. Coffee? Room service breakfast?

  Last night’s dessert was wonderful. And if nothing else, the man is full of surprises. Maybe he has something special planned for our last morning together.

  When I wander into the living area, I see him lying on the couch and still wrapped in his blankets despite the sun streaming in. Okay, I guess I’ll make the coffee.

  Grabbing the mugs, I push the button on the Nespresso machine. It’s something else I’m going to miss. I’ll wake him when I have a piping hot mug to hand to him. That’s how I like to wake up.

  When the coffee’s done, I mosey toward the couch and sit on the empty part where his legs are bent. “Morning, sleepyhead.”

  He groans.

  “I made coffee.”

  Another groan. So much for coffee and conversation. Since when is he a grumpy pants in the morning?

  I turn to head into the bedroom. If he’s going to sleep in, that means I have time for a shower. Fifteen glorious, unhurried minutes later, I stroll out of the bedroom wearing the clothes I picked out last night.

  Chase is awake and sitting on the couch drinking his coffee. He’s reading something on his phone. I guess no room service today. That’s fine, I’ll grab food downstairs when I go to work. Except he doesn’t ever look up from his phone. What the hell is with him this morning? “You okay?” I ask him.

  “I’m fine,” he says gruffly. “You?”

  “I’m good, I guess.” I don’t know what else to say, since I have no earthly idea what crawled up his ass. I decide to engage him in his favorite subject. “Do you have any idea when the final vote is?”

  He shrugs. “Sometime this afternoon, that’s all Liam told me.”

  I look around and wait, but he’s not going to expand on the sentence. “Alright then, I guess I’ll get out of your hair for now and check on you when I take my lunch break.” I head back to the bedroom to grab my purse.

  “You might as well go,” I hear his voice, although it’s low, like he’s muttering. “You got what you wanted.”

  I turn right back around and march up to him, hand on my hip. “What did you just say?”

  For the first time this morning, he actually turns to face me. There is no dimple, no sea-green eyes flashing at me, no smile. The one thing I know for damn sure is that he’s not kidding right now. I wonder if this is some kind of fucking psychotic break on his part. Or a sick joke.

  “I said, you got what you wanted, so now you’re ready to go.” He says it slowly, evenly, deliberately.

  I want to slap him in the face. My heart is thumping out of my chest and I realize that my fists are clenched. I must be the biggest idiot in the world to think I meant something, anything, to him.

  Chase Covington, billionaire, has obviously played me for a fool. Of course he did. And whatever. But for him to imply that I’m the one using him is just too much for me to hear.

  “Are you fucking kidding me with this, Chase? This is your deal. I helped you. Yes, you transferred the equivalent of a day’s tip for your caddy to help with my business, but I’m sure you’ll survive financially.” Of course, the minute he gets what he wants, he turns as cold as ice.

  “So you’re going to be nice now, to my face? I can’t believe it was all an act, Kaylee.” He shakes his head. “And to think, I almost fell for it.”

  “Fell for what?” I ask, although I’m not listening anymore. I’m at the rage level where I can’t feel my arms or my legs or think clearly. I have no idea what I did to make him angry, all I know is he has turned on me like a rabid barracuda. I’m out of here.

  “You know what I’m talking about, Kaylee,” he yells from the couch.

  I really don’t. I don’t have a clue. And I no longer care. “All I know is that you’re an asshole,” I yell back. Then I grab my purse while I fight back tears of frustration and anger and confusion.

  “It doesn’t matter anyway,” I hear him say, “it’s all just a tax write-off to me. Good luck with your business.”

  I can’t believe the words that he’s spitting at me this morning. Anger rises in my chest and I make my way out into the living area to confront him, to see him with my own eyes. “Is that what I am to you, a charity case?”

  He stands up and faces me. “And what am I to you? Just a jerk rich guy you’re playing games with?”

  “If you say so.” There are a million thoughts going through my head right now, but in truth I can’t put them together in time to even make an argument. The only thing I know for sure is I have to get the hell out of here. Now.

  When I stride through the living area, past the kitchen and to the door, he never stands up. Well, that’s simply perfect.

  I thought the morning would bring breakfast and coffee and the two of us reminiscing over the last couple of days. Maybe even continuing to celebrate our victory. His victory. Anything except whatever the hell this is.

  The sound of the door slamming behind me reverberates in my ears.

  Chapter Forty-Eight

  Kaylee

  I can’t believe how much the events of this morning sting as I get on the elevator. After a few deep breaths, I realize that I have two options. One, I can run off into a corner somewhere and cry. Or two, I can go to work early and get a head start on the day. I choose option two.

  When I finally get downstairs, I go straight to the kitchen. I have to admit it feels strange after all that’s happened to throw on my pastry chef coat. I know I have a half hour or so until Ralph’s morning meeting, so I throw myself into my work.

  The comforting familiarity of falling into my work routine helps. A croissant and a cup of coffee also help, and before I know it, I’m feeling a little bit better.

  After all, I knew this was coming. Well, not Chase turning into an asshole at the last minute, but the end of our arrangement.

  In a cruel twist of irony, the arrangement leaves just as bad a taste in my mouth as it did in the beginning. A pity, because somewhere in the middle of all of this I started to enjoy myself. I started to enjoy him. What a fool I was.


  The time passes quickly, too quickly. Before I know it, my work alarm beeps, and I make my way into the kitchen to face Ralph and my coworkers.

  The crowd gathers around, and there are a couple of noticeable absences. One is Ralph. Rude. It’s his meeting, after all. The other is Vivian. And that’s the exact moment I get worried.

  Considering the morning I have had already, it’s hard to not feel impending doom. I glance around, hoping that another shoe doesn’t drop. Or that if it does, it’s not on me. I should know better.

  Ralph and Vivian enter the room together, Vivian a step behind. The look on both of their faces is all business. Ralph carries a rolled-up newspaper in his hand.

  He stops in front of me and unrolls the paper. It’s a tabloid. And I’m on the cover. The date is yesterday. Oh no. My worst fears are doing a victory dance. I can hardly believe it’s possible, but I do, in fact, feel even worse. “I can explain,” I begin.

  Ralph shakes his head. “I don’t think you can, Kaylee. You lied to all of us. To run around on the beach with some guy. Right here?”

  “Right under our noses,” Vivian chimes in. “I’ll bet you don’t even need an operation, do you?”

  I sigh. “I told you I don’t need an operation, Vivian. The other night, remember?”

  “Well, I raised almost twenty-seven dollars for you,” she chirps. “That’s fraud.”

  “It’s not fraud because I don’t need it and you never gave it to me,” I snap. And just like that, I’m tired of it. All of it. All of the sneaking around for Chase and what did it get me?

  “Don’t bother firing me,” I say, feeling the eyes of all my co-workers on me, “I’m firing myself.” I take off my coat and toss it in the used linen bag. “For the record, I didn’t mean to lie or to hurt any of you. He asked me to help him with a work thing. I helped him. And trust me, I regret it.”

  I turn and walk away from them all. Away from the one job I really needed to dig myself out of the financial hole I’m in. Then I remember the money Chase gave me and instead of feeling better, I feel worse.

  And I know for a fact that I have to get out of here now. As soon as possible. Away from all the eyes and the judging and the losing my job feeling in the pit of my stomach. Because there will be no holding the tears back now.

  As soon as I turn the corner toward the lobby of the resort, I break into a run. I barely make it outside before I burst into tears.

  Chapter Forty-Nine

  Chase

  As soon as I hear the door slam, I feel bad. Why should I feel bad? She’s the two-faced woman who almost had me fooled. And yet, I’m filled with conflicting emotions. Mostly, it’s that the suite just feels empty when she’s gone.

  When my phone rings, my eyes snap down to the caller id, hoping it’s Kaylee. Then I get mad at myself for hoping. Then I’m disappointed. It’s Liam.

  I answer.

  “Hey, the meeting’s set for three-thirty. A little birdie told me Mark’s throwing in the towel.”

  “What did you hear?” I ask.

  “You sound like hell, brother,” Liam sounds surprised. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing,” I lie. What else am I supposed to say? The irony of it all hits me. This is the victory I’ve been waiting for all weekend. Game over, I win. What the hell is wrong with me?

  “Seriously, dude. Did you go on a bender or something after I left last night?”

  I ignore him. “What was that bit about Mark throwing in the towel?” I ask.

  “Oh yeah, he’s going to withdraw from the board. Just ahead of the vote. If my sources are correct, you’re in the clear. Last night was very convincing. You and Kaylee have something special. Everybody can see it, even the board.”

  My throat goes dry. I don’t even know how to respond to that. There’s a knot in my stomach that won’t go away. And it surprises me because this news should make everything better. Victory usually does.

  “You okay, Chase?” Liam asks.

  “Yeah,” I answer. “Hey, thanks for the heads up.”

  “Okay, I’ll let you know when the official vote comes in. Later.”

  He hangs up and then I’m left with my thoughts. I realize that’s a bad thing. In fact, it’s the last thing I need. I decide to go down and get a massage while I wait for the board’s final decision.

  Chapter Fifty

  Kaylee

  I finish my cry behind the Sabal Palm Tree. Now I’m ready to face the world. Maybe.

  When I get to the parking lot, I remember that I’m out of gas. Ugh. I sigh, of course I’m out of gas. And also, my car’s around the corner. It’s just going to be that kind of day.

  Determined to make the best of it, I look on the bright side. A nice walk is exactly what I need. Despite today being the crappiest day ever as far as the Kaylee ledger of awful things happening, the sun is out. It’s actually a pretty day.

  A nice walk, that’s the perfect thing to clear my head. I jog around the corner to my car after I remember where I left it. Because of Vivian. I can’t really be mad at her though, I got myself into this mess.

  I open the car door and rummage around in the trunk for the gas can. If life thinks this is the first time I’ve been hung out to dry and left on the side of the road with an empty gas tank, life is wrong, baby. I’ve got this.

  I find the gas can and a few minutes later I’m doing the auto fuel walk of shame down the beach front avenue. I may have been temporarily fake engaged to an asshole billionaire, but I’m as low rent as they come, and I know it.

  I know it to the bottom of my soul. I was a fool to ever think otherwise, for sure. Today Chase would be on a private jet back to the northeast with his victory. And I’m out of gas on the side of the road. And to top it all off, I just got fired.

  Sure, I have the money he gave me to soften the blow. But something is gnawing at my insides. I hate it. His money feels dirty somehow, and this arrangement has brought me nothing but trouble.

  Being low-rent, out-of-gas desperate feels right somehow, at least righter than being his charity case. The cruel words he spoke this morning seemed to come out of nowhere, but they hurt just the same.

  Finally, I get to the nearest gas station, a Sunoco with a red and white building. Beads of sweat are making their way down my face and I’m glad to go into the store to pre-pay the gas can.

  I’m third in line, but again it’s all good because air-conditioning. In fact, I’m eyeing the Slurpee machine when it’s finally my turn.

  The twenty-something, bearded guy behind the counter stares at me. I look down at my shirt to make sure I didn’t put it on backward or something before I meet his eyes again. “What?”

  The name tag on his shirt says Ted. Ted points to a television in the back of the room. “You’re that woman, the one all over the news.” He squints at me like I’m suspicious. “The news people say you’re engaged to that billionaire Covington.”

  I sigh and roll my eyes, setting the gas can down and putting the cash on the counter. “So?”

  “So what the fuck are you doing in here by yourself with an empty gas can, paying cash, and sweating like an elephant in the…”

  “Careful,” I say, holding up a finger for him to stop. I’m in no mood. You can insult me for being poor or a bad judge of character, but there’s not a damn thing one can do about perspiring when walking any distance in the heat of the sun in the middle of summer.

  He takes the hint and stops talking. Then he leans in and softens his expression and his voice. “Girl, what are you doing in here?”

  “Buying gas.”

  “Okay,” he says like he still thinks I’m up to something. “At least you’re not wearing that stupid hat.”

  “Believe it or not,” I jump in, “the rich people made me wear it. To keep the paparazzi off of our backs.”

  “Huh,” he says, “I guess that makes sense. But why, if they have all of that money, can’t they get cool hats to do it with?”

  He scoops up the mon
ey and I take the can. “Excellent question. If I ever get a decent answer, I’ll come back and let you know.”

  A quick fill up later, and I’m on the hot, humid road again. Only this time I’m lugging a full gas can. I switch from one hand to the other trying to get into a rhythm. I catch the ring out of the corner of my eye. It makes me sad. Just another reminder of the disappointment this day has been.

  Did I really convince myself that he had feelings for me? There was no denying that despite my best efforts I have feelings for him. And that makes all of this so much worse.

  By the time I get back to my car, I’m even hotter and sweatier. I fire up the old Civic and crank up the air conditioning. It feels so good.

  Now that I’ve got gas, a functioning automobile, and air conditioning, I have to figure out what to do next. What I don’t have is a job. There’s Chase’s money but I’m not ready to deal with that right now. And the last thing I want to do is nothing.

  I don’t have to think long. I only have one contingency plan and that’s Banana Burger. I put the car into drive and pull away from the resort.

  I turn back to get one last look, because it feels awful and symbolic all at the same time. Like I’m driving away from a phase of my life that’s over forever. I guess that’s because it is. That job meant a lot to me. I told Chase that from the very beginning, but here I am.

  I should have known that he’d get everything he wanted and then he’d just walk away. Or jet away as the case may be. But not before leaving my life in flaming ruins. And the worst part is he doesn’t even care. He made that pretty clear.

  Chapter Fifty-One

  Kaylee

  An hour later, I’m pulling out of Banana Burger. I’ll give it to Sally, she’s a woman of her word. And now that I’ve filled out all of my paperwork and have my uniform, I’m officially employed. Thank goodness. It feels like a weight has been lifted off my back.