Romance: The Billionaire Alpha Collection (20 page)

Chapter 7

I avoid Mom’s all-knowing stare.

“What’s wrong, dear? I have been looking for you for the past twenty minutes. They are about to start serving the food,” she says as she gives me the once over.

I look away from her because I know she will be able to tell I was up to something so I look at the necklace around her neck.

“Nothing, I just don’t feel good, that’s all. I think I’m going to head home early. The room is starting to spin a little and I think I may be catching a bug. I don’t want to hurl and ruin your meal for you.”

She stares at me to see if she can detect me lying or not and then nods her head. “Well, if you don’t feel well dear, then you can go. Drink some juice and eat some crackers. It will probably help your stomach feel a little bit better. And you know chicken soup heals everything so you may want to buy some of that as well.”

I kiss her on the cheek. “Thanks, Mom, and I’ll pick up some soup on my way home.”

“Take care of yourself. Be sure to get plenty of rest as well. I know you don’t get a lot of sleep, I can see the bags around your eyes.”

“I will Mom. I love you.”

“I love you, too, and don’t forget to call me later to let me know how you’re doing.”

I hug her one last time and head outside.

After I give the valet my ticket, he goes to run around and grab my car.

I tap my foot impatiently, ready to get away from this party and most of all, ready to get away from Grayson.

The valet pulls my car around and I rush to get in and pull off toward my house.

Driving in silence, I mentally beat myself up for yet another slip up.

I don’t understand what was going on with me.

I am usually so level headed and didn’t get caught up in these types of situations but Grayson somehow seems to bring out a different side of me and I wasn’t fond of it one bit.

He brings out this spontaneous, crazy side but I am a cautious woman who likes to plan everything out. He was just trouble and I needed to avoid him like I needed to avoid the plague.

When I arrive home, I open the door, throw my keys on the counter, and head into the kitchen.

Rose is working tonight so I know she won’t be in until late, which meant I would be alone with my thoughts for a while.

I open the refrigerator and grab the container of fudgy brownie ice cream and sit down on the couch in front of the TV.

I haven’t pigged out in a while so tonight will be the perfect night for just that. I sit down on the couch and begin to flip through the channels. Settling on an old romance movie, I start to eat straight out of the ice cream container.

My mind runs back to Grayson but I kept trying to push him as far out of my mind as I possibly can.

He is no good for me.

Toxic.

I used to think the same way about his dad, George, until my Mom softened him up.

The very first time I met George, I had come home for winter break in college and he was there for Christmas dinner.

Mom was blushing over him but he was so serious and all he talked about was his money and job.

I hated it.

I didn’t know what Mom saw in him.

I knew my Mom wasn’t a gold digger so I knew that he would have to have some qualities to attract her to him and, eventually, they showed up.

He had a fun sense of humor and was pretty laid back once he got to know you.

It was as if he were the complete opposite of his arrogant self, who seemed to think he could buy anything or anyone but the truth was, he couldn’t buy me, no matter what.

I hate that life.

I hate the excess of money that they throw around.

Who needs that much money anyway?

Surely, once you have a roof over your head and all the bills are paid, that is enough?

I look at the TV for a little while longer before I decide to head to bed.

Taking a long shower, I wash the scent of him off my body.

I don’t feel as ashamed as I did when he paid me for sex but I still feel disappointed in myself.

How did I let that happen?

I wake early the next morning feeling a little better about myself but not too much. 

My phone has a few missed calls from my Mom and some from a number I don’t know. I ignore it and go into the kitchen to cook Rose and myself some breakfast.

I open the refrigerator and see that we have eggs, bacon, and some pancake mix. As soon as I start to cook breakfast, Rose appears from her room, looking refreshed.

“What time did you get in last night?” I ask her as I place some pancakes on the plate.

“I got in at around three. It was a slow night though. Nothing but drunk idiots who didn’t want to give up any money but annoy every girl in the club,” she says as she grabs a piece of bacon and bites it. “How was your mom’s anniversary party? I wish I could’ve come I like the parties. Plus, I know the food was delicious. We don’t eat that top notch stuff here.”

I fix both our plates and sit them both on the table. “I had sex with Grayson in the kitchen at the party.”

She chokes on her bacon and looks at me. “Are you serious?”

I nod my head.

“And you did this while the party was going on?”

I nod my head again as I bite a piece of bacon.

“Wow, you’re bold. Anyone could’ve walked in and seen you and I know your Mom and Stepdad have kitchen staff. That’s wild.”

“Too wild for me. I’m not that girl.”

“Besides, I thought you hated him. Why would you have sex with him again?”

“I do hate him, but it seems like every time I’m around him, I lose myself in him. The bad part is, he’s not even my type and it’s not like me to get caught up over a handsome guy. I just don’t know what it is. I mean, we were arguing in the corner and the next thing I knew, he was kissing me. Then I argue with him some more and storm off and then he follows me into the kitchen. Next thing I know, he has me up against the wall and we’re having sex.”

“Wow,” Rose ponders her thoughts, “Do you think, deep down inside, you like him?”

“I doubt it. There’s nothing inside of me but deep disgust.”

“You can’t be too much disgust if you’ve slept with him twice.”

“Technically, no sleeping was involved. It’s just strictly sex.”

“So do you want him as a sex buddy?”

“I don’t want him as anything.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’ve never been surer about anything in my life. And to be honest, that’s not even the worst part. When we had sex last night, he didn’t have on any protection and he came right inside of me.”

“Whoa, what? He what? You what? Are you on birth control?”

“No, I wasn’t having sex so I didn’t see the need in taking any.”

“So he could’ve possibly gotten you pregnant?”

“Yes.”

“What did he say?”

“Well, he didn’t say anything about that but when I told him that I was worried, he assumed that it was because I thought that he gave me something and that he should be the one concerned, considering that I have the promiscuous job.”

“He said that?”

“Yes, he did. The guy’s an ass and I just want to forget about him.”

“Well, what if you’re pregnant? You will have to deal with him forever for the sake of your child.”

“I’m just hoping we did it the wrong time of the month because I do not want to be stuck co-parenting with that jerk.”

“Oh dear… Do you work today?”

I shake my head. “No, I don’t go back in until next week. I took a few days off after seeing Grayson that one night, besides, I need to get my head together. No way would I be able to concentrate with all this going on.”

“I don’t blame you. I would take a few days off as well. Okay, maybe a day, because you know I love money. I wish I had some rich guy chasing me.”

“He’s not just some rich guy. He’s my stepbrother.”

“Oh yeah,” Rose smiles.

I pour some syrup on my pancakes and start to eat. Rose eats her food as well but I still can feel her eyes on me. I look up at her and I see her smiling.

“What are you smiling about?”

“I was just thinking Miss Goody Two Shoes and Miss Always Doubts Herself has a handsome, rich guy chasing after her.”

“He’s not chasing me. He’s annoying me.”

“Sure, whatever you say, but if you ask me, he’s chasing you.”

I laugh. “So what are you going to do today?”

“Well, I was going to go get my hair and nails done. Do you want to go? My treat.”

I eat the last little bit of my eggs and look at her. “Sure, anything to get out of this house and get you know who off my mind.”

“Okay, well, get showered and dressed, we’ll be leaving in a little bit.”

“Alright.”

“I got the dishes,” says Rose as she picks up the plates and puts them in the sink.

I get up from the table and go into my room to pick out an outfit to wear out with Rose. I settle on a pair of black shorts and a white shirt. I like dressing simply.

My phone starts to ring from this same number I don’t recognize. I ignore it and grab my keys and purse and head out to the living room. I see Rose sitting on the chair and she is dressed in a cute summer dress with some white sandals on her feet.

“So, you ready?” she asks.

“Yes, I am.”

“Well, let’s head out.”

I smile and link my arm into hers and we head out the door.

We take her car to the nail salon first and we both get French manicures done.

Then we go to the beauty salon and I get my hair highlighted and cut a little shorter than usual.

The style matches my face perfectly and I am really happy with the new look. It always feels nice to refresh a look.

Rose and I got home but as soon as I arrive in my room, my phone starts to ring again. I look at the caller id and see that it’s my Mom.

“Hi, Mom,” I say into the phone.

“I see you are feeling a lot better than last night,” she says.

“Yes, I guess I just had a touch of the bug or something.”

“Or were you just trying to avoid staying long? I could see something there had made you very uncomfortable. Do you want to talk about it?”

“No, Mom, I really wanted to be there. I just got a little sick, that’s all. Nothing was bothering me.  I was actually going to come see you pretty soon. You know, visit outside of a special occasion and get some real mother-daughter time in.”

“That would be nice, dear. I would really like that. We haven’t spent any real time together in a while. I miss my Monica.”

“Me, too, Mom, and I know.”

“Well, I was just calling to see how you were doing. Oh, and by the way, I gave Grayson your number. He wanted to check on you because I told him you were sick. He’s such a nice man.”

So that’s the weird number I didn’t recognize.

Damn it, Mom.

“Uh, well, I didn’t get any phone calls, maybe he’ll call later,” I say, hoping that she doesn’t catch onto my lie.

“Okay, sweetheart, take care of you.”

“I will, Mom.”

“And call me if you need anything.”

“I will, Mom.”

“Okay, I love you.”

“I love you, too, Mom,” I say as I hang up the phone.

I go to the weird number in my phone and add it to my block list.

Grayson Williams would not be getting any more of my time.

No way.

It was time to cut the craziness off and focus back on my life.

He was a distraction and right now, that was the last thing I needed.

If I were to get involved with a guy, I want to have a real relationship, not one where we argue all the time or the guy was a shallow jerk. I don’t need that.

No way.

I need someone who will ask me about my day and actually cares about me as a person.

I want a real man. That’s what I need. A fireman or someone.

Not a billionaire’s son.

I couldn’t go through the heartache of dealing with Grayson. Not him.

I don’t know what his intentions are but I do know they aren’t pure so I needed to leave him alone.

With any luck, I wouldn’t run into him anytime soon because I don’t know how I would handle it.

I don’t need him.

No way.

Chapter 8