Page 12 of The Billionaire Invitation

“I’m coming over. Do you want tacos or pasta?” Gabby had asked the same question when Honesty’s brother had been gone a month. It’d been Gabby who’d shown up, bags of food in hand, to help Honesty eat her feelings.

“Tacos.”

“Excellent choice.”

Forty minutes later, they had closed the lids on three foam takeout containers, only leaving the bag of chips and the bowl of white queso cheese open to snack on.

“Tell me everything,” Gabby said as she dragged a fat, salty chip through the cheese. “Where did you meet a billionaire?”

“A coffee shop.” Honesty brushed the excess salt off a chip. “I was talking to my friend about how expensive the lattes were, and I said, ‘you have to be a billionaire to afford one.’ Dante was in line behind me.”

“What did he say?”

Honesty lowered her voice to impersonate him. “‘In that case, your order’s on me.’”

“Stop! Did you believe him?” Gabby had hearts in her eyes.

“No, but it also wasn’t true then. Dante’s father had the net worth. Dante is probably worth at least a billion now.”

“Cranes, am I right?” Gabby quirked her lips. “How did it end?”

“He dropped out of college when his mom’s father died. Then he became a world-famous philanthropist.”

“He chose money over love.” The twinkle in Gabby’s eyes flickered out. “Men are jerks.”

“He invited me to go with him, but I knew California wasn’t the right move for me.”

“We never would have met.” Gabby put her hand on her chest, her expression pained.

“Which would have been a real tragedy.” Honesty crumbled the napkin in her hand and threw it onto the table. “Anyway, that was forever ago.”

“Well, since you two are reacquainted, and able to tolerate each other in public, I suggest you use the luncheon with Beatrice as an excuse to ask for his help.”

She opened her mouth to argue.

“I know. It took everything in you to hire me. But look what an asset I’ve been!” Gabby fluttered her eyelashes. “I was the one who suggested hiring contract employees. I’m a genius!”

“You are that.” Honesty had footed the bill for every expansion made, and each one had paid off. It had been from that hubris that the charity idea had sprouted.

“Do you have his number?”

“I have his business card, and there’s a number on it.” Whether or not it was his private number remained to be seen. Honesty moved a container on her tiny dining table and found the clutch she’d carried at the event. She still hadn’t unpacked it. She handed over the card, “You might get his assistant.”

“Ohh, nice card stock.” Gabby tucked the card into her own purse. “What we need is a schmoozer. An elegant, knowledgeable smooth-talker. I mean, you’re a good talker, and God knows I’m an amazing talker…”

Honesty laughed at Gabby’s confidence—it was one of things she loved most about her, and why she’d hired her.

“…but neither of us know what the hell we’re talking about with this stuff. And Dante’s had years of experience.”

She wasn’t wrong.

“I have to know one thing…” Gabby dipped her chin, giving Honesty a meaningful look. “Was he as good as I am guessing he was at…you know? The other stuff?”

Maybe it was because she was full of tacos, or because Honesty knew Gabby was a safe space, but she answered with the truth. “Better.”

Dante was exiting the Crane Hotel the next morning with a cup of coffee in hand. He was bound for J’s apartment, though he’d have to lie and tell her he hadn’t had coffee yet. She’d invited him over for coffee and croissants, and she wouldn’t like that he’d “cheated.”

Surprisingly, and in spite of the interrogation at dinner the other night, he was enjoying being close to his siblings again.