Page 42 of Billionaire’s Game

Chapter Eight

I was taking a sick day.By sick day, I meant I was hiding out at Oliver’s house while he was still on vacation and I was avoiding all calls from a certain sexy billionaire.

I felt like a coward, but that was understandable because I was a coward. I didn’t want to go to work because I was sure I’d run into Magnus there.

He had called me over and over while I was in the car with the driver. I’d ignored the calls, but then I started getting text messages. Most of them wanted to know what was wrong, where I was and what was going on. I answered none of them and promptly deleted all the voicemails.

When I’d arrived home, I received another text that said, “Please respond. I just want to make sure you’re ok.”

The text made me feel instantly guilty, so I responded with: “I’m fine. Just got home.”

He texted me again. “Why did you leave?”

I pointedly ignored that text.

I’d felt grumpy and confused this morning, so I’d been ecstatic when Violet texted me asking me if I had plans today. I had said no, and so she and I agreed to meet at Oliver’s house.

She came trekking up Oliver’s property fanning herself and breathing heavily. For some reason that no one knew or understood, Oliver did not allow other people’s cars on his property. He was a quirky old man, so we didn’t understand his reasoning for most of the things he did.

Violet was wearing a white mini dress and sneakers. She looked adorable. If I walked around in a mini dress and sneakers, I would look like a fashion disaster. She stopped fanning herself and gave me a huge smile when she spotted me.

“What’s up, buddy?” she said making me smile.

“Hey there... sorry for the hike.” I stood up to meet her.

“Whatever, it’s like being Cinderella or whichever the rich one was. This place is freaking amazing. I can’t believe I’m hanging out at a billionaire’s house. This is freaking awesome.”

Her excitement was contagious as she asked me to show her around. We went from room to room with her gasping, oohing and ahhing, and taking selfies in various rooms of the house. I just hoped she didn’t put them on Facebook. I didn’t think Oliver would be ok with that.

We finally ended up back in one of the living rooms toward the back of Oliver’s house that overlooked the pool.

“Man, I never figured you for the type to skip out on work. Do you hate it?” she asked, catching me off guard again with her bluntness.

“No. I don’t hate it. I just needed a break.”

She sat down next to me and tossed her feet up on the coffee table that was probably more expensive than all my student loans combined.

“Is it one of those nonprofits where everyone thinks they work harder than the other person? And so everyone has some sort of savior complex?”

“No. Definitely not. They’re great. I love working there.”

She sighed. “I haven’t found a job yet. And I desperately need one. Mom and Dad are driving me crazy.” She looked at me with a hopeful expression. “Do you think maybe you could put in a good word for me at your job... maybe they might be interested in hiring me?”

“Of course. I meant to do that ages ago, but I got… distracted.” I didn’t tell her that the distraction had been in the form of a certain very good-looking billionaire.

She smiled brightly, “Thanks, Les. I’d really appreciate it.”

We spent the rest of the day lounging around Oliver’s pool. It was nice having a friend to talk to about nothing of importance. I hadn’t made any lasting friendships while in school and I realized that at that moment in my life, Violet was my only friend.

We were both silently sitting around daydreaming, just enjoying the weather, when she announced, “I heard on TV that Magnus Deacon is in town.”

I wrinkled my nose. It was like I just couldn’t win. “Really?”

“Yeah. I heard he’s in town for some charity event. You do know who Magnus Deacon is, right?”

“Of course, I do.” I grudgingly added, “We’ve met.”

“No way… what?” she sputtered, sitting up dramatically. She ripped her sunglasses off. “You met Magnus Deacon and you didn’t tell me? How? Where? Oh my gosh, is he as sexy in person as he is on television?”