Page 31 of Billionaire’s Game

“I’ll meet you at Lacey and Jude’s house tonight. How’s that?”

“Sounds... fun.” I could hear the sarcasm dripping from his tone. I bit back a smile.

“Hey, you wanted to meet up and it’s not going to be a date, right? So what’s wrong with Jude and Lacey’s loft?” I was baiting him and he knew it.

“You win... I’ll meet you there at six. See you soon, Lesli.”

And with that, he hung up.

“Hey, Jude,” I said wandering into his office where he was frowning over a pile of spreadsheets, “Mind if I hang out with Magnus at your loft tonight?” I handed his phone back to him and he stuck it in his pocket.

He didn’t even look up as he answered me. He seemed to be completely engrossed in whatever numbers he was looking at. “My house is your house. Not a problem. I’ll call Lacey to tell her. She’s sleeping in today. All day it seems,” he mumbled to himself as he glanced at the clock and then back down at the spreadsheets.

“Thanks a million.”

“No problem, kid.”

I turned around and ran smack into Maya. “Did I just hear you correctly? You had the opportunity to spend the evening alone with a billionaire and you arrange to meet him at your cousin’s house? Tell me it ain’t so, Lesli. You’re breaking my poor single heart.”

“Single? You have like ten boyfriends,” Jude interjected, finally looking up.

“Thanks for your input, Jude.”

I could tell from her face that she meant the opposite. Jude flashed a smile and gestured for us to get out. I complied but Maya glowered at him before leaving with a huff.

“You have ten boyfriends?”

“I haven’t had multiple boyfriends since last year. I’ve lost my touch,” she said with a pout. “But that’s beside the point.” Suddenly, she got this dreamy look in her eye. “If a billionaire wanted to take me out and dazzle me, I would jump at the chance.”

I didn’t have a rebuttal and so I just let her continue talking.

“You need to stop overanalyzing everything, Lesli. Have some fun. Isn’t that why you moved here? To have an adventure... To do something you’ve never done before.”

“This job and living in Florida was my idea of an adventure, not hanging out with a billionaire.”

“And why not?”

“Well, because... It’s just not.”

“Take a chance. You never know, you might relax and actually find yourself having fun.” She mockingly gave me a surprised look. “Imagine that!”

“Ok, ok... I get it. Well, if he asks again, maybe I’ll say yes.”

“Oh, he’ll ask again. That’s a guarantee. Men love the chase.”

And with that, she limped back to her desk and sat down. I stared at her back for a second deep in thought and then sat down at my desk. I had no plans to take Magnus up on his offer, but I was intrigued by the possibility.

When five o’clock rolled around,I quickly found Jude and pulled him away from his desk. “I have to meet Magnus at six. Come on, come on.”

“Ok, ok, just one more sec—”

“Jude,” I whined.

“Fine. I’m coming.” He shut off his computer and reached for his wallet and keys. “Someone’s suddenly enthusiastic about this partnership.”

“What? I’ve always been enthusiastic.”

He had the grace not to call me out on my fib.