Romance: One Night With A Billionaire (3 page)

Chapter 5

Over the other side of the city, Bella was still trying to worm her way out of Julia's suggestion.

"I can't do it, Julia. Really, I can't."

Julia was on her treadmill and was brooking no argument, "You are and if he comes into the coffee shop tomorrow, then you are doing it."

"But…"

"Nope. That is the only way you can repay me," Julia smiled.

"And…"

"Nope," Julia flung her hand up as a stop sign.

There was no use arguing - Julia was not one that could be argued with. In true New Yorker style, she loved a good argument and Bella had struggled to ever win an argument in her life.

All Bella could do was pray that he wouldn't never come into the coffee shop ever again.

She recoiled at the idea of asking a man out on a date.

She had only ever slept with Gerard and once upon a time she had never ever considered sleeping with anyone else.

Then she thought about Gerard and Sophie being together.

They were probably making hot sweaty love right now.

Bella felt a shift inside at the thought of her ex with her stepsister.

If Gerard could just dump her and sleep with someone else then why shouldn't she be getting a bit of bedroom action?

Images of Mr. Ten-out-of-Ten entered her mind and she felt a thrill inside, also she suddenly had the desire to prove to Julia that she could do something as exciting as this, it was time for her to try and dump the conservative side of her nature.

Owen awoke and shifted in his bed - he felt out of sorts again and it was all down to Priscilla and he was pissed off because he had awoken with a rock hard cock thinking about her.

Turning over, Owen wanted to stop the ardor that was pulsing through his veins.

He had a heavy schedule ahead of him and to let his personal life start infiltrating his mind on such an important day was, to him, like torture.

Swiftly he pulled back his black silk sheets and got out of bed.

The other thing that was confusing him was his feelings and thoughts about the shy girl in the coffee shop.

He had started to look forward to seeing her and that again was not in keeping with how he usually felt.

In fact, going to the coffee shop for some time out had started to feel like a ritual he needed to uphold.

As he looked at his reflection in the mirror, he started to wonder if he knew who he was at all.

So much had changed and shifted over the past couple of months and as he studied the lines that had seemed to appear on his face over night, he wondered if he really knew what life was about at all.

Owen had always been the type of guy to believe in destiny and all of his business decisions were made on his gut instinct and he hadn’t faired too badly up to now.

Maybe he needed to do the same with his love life.

Maybe Priscilla ending their relationship was allowing another door to open.

With a hard cock and those thoughts in his mind, he started his day and again images of the shy girl appeared in his mind.

As Bella rode in Julia’s car to the coffee shop the next day, she was really hoping that Julia had forgotten all about the Mr. Ten-out-of-Ten situation.

However, rather than forgetting, it seemed it was the only thing Julia could think about.

In fact she was raving so much over Mr. Ten-out-of-Ten that Bella almost suggested that she went on a date with him instead.

“I’m telling you, this will change your life. It will be like a rite of passage, off with the old and on with the new when you finally get to sleep with this guy. I still can’t believe you have only ever slept with Gerard.”

Julia indicated and parked the car up.

Turning off the engine, she turned and gave Bella a big smile before throwing her arms around her in a tight hug.

“I will be so pleased with you once you have done this. It’s so exciting.”

Chapter 6

Last night it had been fine to just go along with everything that Julia had suggested but in the cold light of day, Bella cold feel her stomach knotting with apprehension and for the first time since she arrived, she was actually dreading work that day.

All day as she served customers, she said her prayers to God, praying that Mr. Ten-out-of-Ten had fallen out with The Lemon Tree and had found himself some other coffee house to frequent.

The dread of him showing up stayed with her all morning and into the mid-afternoon.

As the clock turned to 3.30pm, Bella felt herself exhale, her whole body finally relaxing and the knots of tension untying.

“Looks like he isn’t going to show,” Julia said as she covered up their unsold cakes with a plastic lid. “So you can finally relax, your shoulders have been hunched so high into your neck you must need a massage by now.”

Bella laughed, “That obvious, huh?”

Julia nodded, “Most definitely but don’t think you are going to be let off the hook.”

Julia made her way to the back of the shop. “If he comes in tomorrow, you’re asking him out and then you’re going to hopefully let him give you the best sex of your life.”

As she turned round, Julia’s voice trailed away as her eyes met those of Mr. Ten-out-of-Ten who stood at the counter with a bemused look on his face.

Bella however was so red she looked like a tomato that was ready to explode.  Mr. Ten-out-of-Ten raised his eyebrows.

“Sounds like someone is going to be a very lucky guy.”

A flush came over Bella and she felt like she was going to faint on the spot.

She could almost feel her legs buckling just at this guy’s very presence.

Her mouth had dried up and her heart felt like it was trying to escape her chest.

“I was referring to you, actually,” Julia said, finally finding her voice.  “Do you have a name? Because we have just been calling you Mr. Ten-out-of-Ten.”

   “My name is Owen and yours?”

   “I’m Julia and she’s Bella.”

Owen looked at Bella and smiled, “Go on then, ask me out on a date.”

Chapter 7

Bella could almost see stars in front of her eyes.

This had to be the most embarrassing moment of her life, even worse than when she fell down a load of steps on a school trip to Philadelphia.

However, despite her shyness, she knew she had made a promise to Julia and Bella always kept her promises and she could hardly back out because Owen had backed her into a corner too.

“Okay, I was wondering if you would like to go out some time?”

Owen folded his arms and rocked back on his heels. “I’d love to go out some time. Where are you thinking of taking me?”

Despite her embarrassment, Bella couldn’t help but smile. “We could try the new bar down town, the one that has a resident jazz band?”

Owen nodded. “I've been wanting to go there for a while.”

Now it was Bella’s turn to raise her eyebrows. “Really?”

Owen nodded. “Yes, really.”

Bella smiled at him, “Great so when do you want to go?”

Owen looked straight at her, his eyes were so intense Bella felt her stomach flutter.

“I’m free tonight if you are?”

Bella paused and before she could decline, Julia stepped in.

“Tonight is fine. Bella doesn’t do anything on Thursdays; it’s the only night of the week, in fact, that she is free,” Julia seamlessly lied.

Owen looked suitably impressed at Bella’s make believe heavy social schedule. “Well, I need to grab the chance while I can then. Shall we meet at the bar, say about eight?”

Bella nodded in a way that she hoped looked casual and not desperate. “That would be great, see you then.”

Owen nodded, “In the meantime, can I have my usual?”

Bella looked at him blankly… and Owen pointed to the coffee machine behind her.

“My drink. Can I have my usual?”

Nervously, Bella laughed, “Um… of course.”

Julia looked on and had a feeling that she was witnessing the start of something special.

Chapter 8

As he walked back to the office, Owen couldn’t stop smiling to himself and he felt like he had the proverbial spring back in his step.

The coffee shop girl was cute in a wholesome kind of way and was very different from the women he usually dated, but maybe that was a good thing.

Maybe it was time that he had a change from the pneumatic blondes and the bolshie brunettes.

Walking past the main reception, Glenda called out to him, “Owen, can I have a word, please?”

Owen walked over, “Yes Glenda?”

Glenda blushed like she always did whenever she had to speak to Owen directly face to face.

He was so gorgeous - he literally made her feel weak and today she was even more flustered than usual. 

“Priscilla is upstairs waiting for you in your office. I asked her to wait in reception, but she refused. I couldn’t stop her.”

Owen patted Glenda’s arm reassuringly oblivious to the fact that such a simple action sent a shiver of excitement through his receptionist’s body.

“Glenda, it's okay. It’s not your fault. Thanks for the warning.”

He flashed a smile before walking away, but the smile disappeared as he entered the elevator and a frown appeared in its place.

He really wasn’t in the mood for Priscilla - he was in no mood for her at all.

****

“I made a mistake,” Priscilla said as she casually looked at her manicured nails that were painted a bright pink to match her fuchsia lipstick that adorned her collaged pumped lips.

She spun round on Owen’s chair, “It was a spare of the moment thing. I wasn’t thinking straight.”

She waved her hand in the air in dismissal, “I was hormonal, Owen, and this morning I realized I’d made a mistake.”

Owen turned his back to her and hung his jacket on his coat stand in the corner of his vast office.

Turning to look at her, Owen saw her in a whole new light.

It was as if someone had sliced away some form of cataracts from the front of his eyes.

Priscilla continued to spin round in his chair. Dressed in a purple juicy couture tracksuit, she reminded him of the spoilt little girl in Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory who wanted a golden goose.

“I think it's better that we stay as we are now,” Owen said. “We hadn’t been getting along of late and you wanted more than I could give.”

Owen’s voice trailed away as he realized that he’d delivered the biggest cliché known to man.”

Priscilla pouted, “You don’t mean that. You love me. You told me you loved me more than you’ve ever loved anyone else.”

Owen had forgotten that he’d said that and he didn’t want to hurt Priscilla’s feelings by commenting and saying that when he had said that he’d been in the throes of post-coital bliss and they’d just had the best sex he’d had in a long time.

“I know but it just isn’t working out and you were so unhappy. We need to end it now before one of us gets really hurt,” he smiled.

Priscilla stopped spinning the chair and jumped up. Striding over to him like a purposeful gazelle, she placed her hands on his chest and stood on her tiptoes and kissed him tenderly on the lips.

“You know it makes sense for us to stay together, Owen. We belong together.” She traced her finger across his cheek and he could see she was putting on her most innocent of looks and making the most of her baby blue eyes. Her hand moved down his chest and towards his crotch.  “You know you want me,” she whispered as her fingers caressed the outline of his cock through his pants in a bid to get him aroused.

Gently he removed her hand and gently pushed her away before walking over to his desk and sitting down.

“I have a meeting in ten minutes and this isn't very helpful,” he told her, trying his best to be as gentle as possible.

“I’ll go. I’ll go back to your apartment and make you something to eat and then we can spend the rest of the evening chilling. I’ll even suck your cock until you come in a bid to make it up to you.”

“No. Don’t,” the words flew out of Owen’s mouth louder and snappier than he’d intended.  “Priscilla, leave it.  I don’t want you to make me food, I don’t want you to suck my cock and I don’t want you in my apartment again. It's over and there isn’t much point in us discussing it any further.”

Priscilla’s eyes narrowed, “Have you met someone else?”

Then as quickly as she said it, she started laughing, “See you’re making me paranoid already; that’s how much I love you.”

Owen grabbed his briefcase off the floor and started to dramatically put papers into it in a mock attempt to look like he was preparing for what actually was a non-existent meeting.

“I have to go. Shut the door on your way out and before you go leave the key you have to my appointment on my desk.”

“Give you your door key?” Priscilla looked at him incredulously. “You have got to be joking.”

“No. I’m not.”

Owen stood up and shut his briefcase, “In fact, just leave it either on my desk or with Glenda.”

Before she could protest any further, Owen picked up his briefcase and walked out of his office.

Striding down the office corridor, he felt as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders and into his mind an image of the girl from the coffee shop.

Then he realized that he’d agreed to go on a date and he didn’t even know her name.