Romance: The Billionaire Alpha Collection (9 page)

Chapter 2

I didn’t quite hear what he said the first time. 

“Pardon?” 

I wasn't giving much attention to what he is saying. I was focused on my problems and trying to think of how I was going to come up with the money for that month’s rent. 

But I knew by the way that he was looking at me that he had given me an odd request and was awaiting an answer.

He fidgeted a little and then repeated himself again. 

“I will pay for all your debts if you will spend just two nights with me…” 

I couldn’t believe my ears. 

Was this man really saying what I thought he was saying?

I stuttered, feeling awkward. 

“Um, I’m sorry…. I mean… No!” 

I felt utterly offended by his offer. 

Where does this guy get off trying to get some strange girl to come back to his place?

Wow.

I didn’t expect that. 

At first, I wondered if he did this all the time.  I guess he was a playboy like most men were.  He obviously had money and thought he could buy anything. 

He probably thought everyone bowed to the seduction of money.

And he was probably a womanizer like my ex-boyfriend Richard. 

I was something that he wanted that he just couldn’t have, so he thought he could buy me.  But the offer deeply embarrassed me. 

Was that the vibe I was giving? 

That I could be bought?

He accepted my answer, but then gave me another option. “Here is my number.” 

He thrust a business card into my hand, and before I knew it, he was gone back to his expensive limousine, where the driver opened the door for him.

I stared at the car as it drove, still in shock about the offer.

Did he think he could buy me?

Just because I had a lot of debts didn’t mean I was willing to sell my body.

Even thinking about it made me feel dirty.

Eventually, my shock turned to anger.  How dare he offer me that? 

Who did he think he was?

Men.

They only gave me trouble.

But if I thought that it was a bad start to my night, I was about to find out it was going to get even worse.  

I went back to the parking lot at work to see that my car had been broken into.  Glass was lying across the seat and the GPS I bought as a Christmas present for myself was missing. 

I sighed in defeat as I brushed the glass off the backseat.

Why did I leave the GPS in the car? 

I should have taken it out. 

I was so stupid.

I knew this was a bad parking lot and I knew that things got stolen out of cars here.  I shouldn’t have left the GPS in the car. 

Stupid me.

I called the police department but they weren’t interested in fingerprinting the car.  They asked me to come in to file a report next week but said it was very unlikely that they would find the GPS. 

And of course, my car wasn’t insured.  I couldn’t afford insurance.

I gently sobbed in the car before driving home in complete discomfort, the shards poking my stocking legs.

When I arrived at my apartment, I tried to flip on the kitchen light but it didn’t come on. 

In fact, nothing came on. 

Not the lights.  Not the television.  Nothing.

Not even the digital time readout on the face of the microwave, which was always on and blinking ‘12:00’ to light my nightly trip to the bathroom. 

I rolled my eyes and walked across the hallway of the apartment complex to the neighbor’s door.

I hate this place. 

I hate the fact that Richard broke our lease at the same time he broke our relationship, and he left me in this rat hole scrambling to pay the rent all alone. 

I was almost tempted to call him back to grovel, just so he would move back in and help me financially.  He had gotten a job since we broke up but refused to pay back anything I loaned him.  I was so close to calling him.

But I decided against it.

He was no good for me. 

And after all, he had been cheating on me with a hot blonde from across the road.  They were living together now, and if I looked out my apartment window, I could see hers.

That hurt.

Even the thought of those two living directly across the road made me upset. 

Why couldn’t she have been in another suburb? 

Why did they have to live across the road?

I knew I should call my parents and ask them for financial help. 

But that wasn’t a great idea either. 

I would rather struggle at my crummy job than listen to my dad say ‘I told you so’.  He didn’t really care anyway.  He always grumbles about how much of a pain I was. 

The last time I asked Dad to loan some money, he gave me an hour-long lecture about how bad I was at being an adult and how disappointed he was in me.

My parents disliked Richard from the moment they met him. 

They saw that he was a womanizer but I didn’t want to believe them.  His sexy body and his boyish smile distracted me from the real truth. 

I quickly found out for myself that Richard was a slime ball.  He cheated on me numerous times, verbally abused me and sucked me dry of any confidence I had ever had.

I never had much luck with men. 

I figured that I would be better off as a crazy cat lady.

“Was there a power outage, Caroline?”  I knock on my neighbor’s door. 

“No, I'm afraid it's just your place, Abbey.”

Great. 

I missed paying the electricity bill again. 

I was utterly disgusted. 

Is this my miserable plight in life?

“Coffee?” Caroline popped her head into the hallway.

“Considering I can’t boil water without electricity, I think that is a mighty fine idea.”

Caroline opened the door to her apartment to let me into the warmth. 

We have become good friends over the past few months, living across the hallway from one another.

“You look like you’ve had a rough day,” Caroline stated.

“You wouldn’t believe it if I told you.”

“What you need,” she continued, “Is to win big in the lotto.  Or better still, you need a billionaire to come in and sweep you off your feet.  That way you could have money and the perfect man.  Sounds like a perfect deal.”

I stared at her. 

It’s as if she read my mind.

“What?” she questioned my stare.

“Like I said, you wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

“Try me.”

“A man offered me money for sex today.”

“Really?” Caroline became intrigued, “Just any man or one you know?”

“I served him in the restaurant but he’s obviously got a lot of money.”

“How much did he offer?”

“Does it matter?” I questioned.

Caroline shakes her head, “Perhaps.  Was he sleazy?”

“Not at all.  He was the most handsome man I have ever laid eyes on.  He was stunningly gorgeous and when he talked to me, he took my breath away.  He was truly stunning.”

“So what’s the problem?” Caroline asked.

Caroline was five years older, and a lifetime more experienced, than I was.  She was open to what the world had to offer and was always seeking out new opportunities to excite her.

I always wished I were as adventurous as her. 

But she is also very non-judgmental.  That’s why I like her so much.

When I was going through the break-up with Richard, she was my shoulder to lean on.  She never once judged my reactions to the break-up – but she listened intently.

“The problem is that a man I don’t know offered me money for sex,” I responded as she handed across a warm of coffee.

“If he asked you out on a date, would you say yes?”

I smiled, “I suppose.”

“And would you sleep with him after a few dates?”

“Maybe,” I shrugged my shoulders, a little embarrassed by the question.

“Then what’s the problem?  If he’s good looking and not dangerous, then I don’t see the problem.  I would jump at the chance.”

“It’s not morally right to take money for sex.”

“Screw morals.  You’ve been stuffed over enough to forget about morals.  This is what you need.  How much did he offer?”

“He offered to pay all my debts.”

“All of them?”

I nod.

“And how many times did he want to have sex?”

“He wanted two nights with me.”

“Oh wow.  That’s good.  Take it,” Caroline stated to me, “You shouldn’t worry about morals.  You’ve had enough go wrong in your life to worry about.  This is your chance, your turn.  When opportunities like this present themselves, you have to take them.  If you spend one weekend with this man, then you get to start your life again.  You have to take this chance.  After one weekend, you can start again.  Don’t run away from a chance to start your life again.”

“But I don’t know if I could go through with it.”

“Don’t think about the money.  Think about the lust.  It is just sex.”

“It might be just sex to you, but sex means a lot more to me.”

“Don’t be so immature,” Caroline laughed, “Sex is sex.  It can be the most wonderful experience of your life, if you let it.  I know you still hold onto your country life values, but here in New York, you can be whoever you want to be.  If you want to have a one-night stand, do it.  Nobody will ever find out, if you don’t tell them.  Only you will know.”

“Is it really that easy?” I questioned.

“Of course it is.  You should go to his place and check the place out.  And if it gets too much, you can always leave.  But you should at least go and check it out.”

“I’ve never done anything like that before.”

“All the more reason to do it,” she laughed again, “Be free.  Let your life be free of any hang-ups.  One day you’ll look back on your life and wish you took the opportunities.  This is an opportunity you don’t want to regret missing.  Did he leave you his phone number?”

“He left a business card.”

“Call it.  Do something wild… but also set yourself up for the future.”

“What if my parents find out that I slept with someone for money?”

“Stuff them,” Caroline laughed again, “This is your life, not theirs.  You are free to make your own decisions without thinking about them.  And they would never find out if you didn’t tell them.  This isn’t a small country town like the one you grew up in.  This is New York, baby!”

“I don’t know,” I shrugged my shoulders.

As convincing as Caroline could be, I really didn’t know if I could go through with Damon’s offer.

“Look, if I was to give my younger self any advice, it would be – Don’t let opportunities pass you by.  No matter how crazy they sound.”

I smiled to Caroline’s advice and changed the subject.  I looked up to Caroline like an older sister and I really respected her opinions, but I didn’t know if I could personally go through with it. 

It just wasn’t something I ever did.

After the warm coffee and warm chat, I returned to my blacked out apartment but my luck just continued to spiral downwards.

I tripped over the cat as I made my way through my dark apartment to the bathroom.

I checked the kitchen to see if I had any flashlights but the batteries were dead in all of them. 

I opened the refrigerator and felt that the little bit of food that is left in it was slowly spoiling.

Damn.

My sigh only became louder when I realized I couldn’t take the hot shower I wanted.

Life couldn’t fall apart any further.

Alone in the dark, I sobbed quietly into my hands.

This was the pits.

I was alone, cold and dirty.

I was vulnerable.

In my moment of deep despair, I pondered Damon’s offer.  I couldn't accept his offer, but I couldn't refuse it, either. 

Maybe we could do something in between…

With no choices left, I dialed the number on my mobile phone.  The phone trembled in my hand as I listened to it ring.

To my astonishment, Damon answered on the first ring in a business-like voice.  He must have thought I was a client. 

“Hi… it’s… um… Abbey.  The girl you met today.”

“Hello Abbey.  It’s a pleasure to hear from you.  How can I help you?”

“Um… your offer today?”

“Yes.”

“May I ask what exactly can I do for you?”

“I think if you come with me to my place for two nights, that should suffice.”