Romance: The Billionaire's Choice - Contemporary Romance (Romance, Contemporary Romance Book 1) (5 page)

“I’m absolutely exhausted,” Isabel said. “I feel like it’s midnight.”

“Ugh, I know. We have been at this forever,” Cara said as she threw a small piece of fabric down into a massive heap of textile samples. “Didn’t we just do all of this?”

Isabel looked up from the fabric swatch that she was holding and laughed. “Well, I guess that is the business of fashion. There is always another season coming up,” she said.

Cara stood up and stretched. “Let’s become swimwear designers,” she said.

Isabel yawned then chuckled. “That’s probably the best idea that anyone has had all day,” she said.

“No,” she replied. “You know what the best idea is? Let’s get some coffee in us.”

“Ah, yeah, that would be great,” she said. “I am starving though.”

“Well, let’s go get some coffee and lunch,” Cara said.

“From where?” she asked.

“Let’s have some pizza,” she replied. “I have been craving it all week.”

“Yeah, that sounds good but it will take forever. That place down the street is so slow and we do need to get back to work. Plus they don’t even have coffee,” Isabel said.

Cara sighed. “Alright. Let’s get takeout and then we can keep working, you slave driver,” she said.

She laughed. “So extreme. How about if you pick up some pizza and I go get some coffee?” she asked.

“Fine,” she replied. “You have got yourself a deal. What do you want?”

“Something low calorie. Don’t they do those cheeseless pizzas there?” she asked.

“Cheeseless pizza?” Cara repeated. “Bread without cheese on it is not a pizza. Come on, why don’t you enjoy yourself for once?”

“Fine, fine,” Isabel said. “Get whatever looks good. I’m going to run down and grab some coffee.”

“That place down the street does deliver,” she said.

“Delivery fees,” Isabel said impatiently.

Cara shook her head.

Isabel smiled. “Anyway, we could use some time out of the studio. I don’t even remember what the sun looks like anymore,” she said.

“True enough,” she replied. “Alright, I’ll meet you back here in a half an hour or so.”

“Perfect,” Isabel said as she walked toward the door.

Isabel scrolled through the messages on her phone as she walked down the stairs and out onto the street. She searched through her inbox anxiously to see if anyone was getting back to her about coming to their upcoming trunk show. Her eyes were burning by the time she reached the counter of the coffee shop.

“Hey, Isabel,” the woman behind the counter said as she approached.

“Hi, Lily,” she replied. “Can I get a couple of the usuals to go?”

“Sure, coming right up,” she said as she reached over to get cups. “You look gorgeous as always today. Is that dress from your new line?”

“Oh, thanks,” Isabel said. “This one is from the summer collection.”

“Well, it’s seriously stunning,” she said as she poured milk into their coffees.

“I’m glad that you like it. You know where we are. You should come up sometime. I’d love to show you around the studio and I sure we can give you a deal on something,” she said.

The woman smiled at her. “I might just take you up on that,” she replied.

“Good,” Isabel said.

She reached forward and took the two coffees off of the counter. She was about to walk out of the door with them when heard Andrew’s voice. She spun around on her heels and spotted him sitting at a counter in front of the window. A tall, stunning redhead was sitting next to him. She was laughing at something that he had said then she carelessly threw her arm around him. Isabel stared as she left her arm lingering on his shoulder.

“Excuse me, miss,” a man said as he tried to walk around her in the doorway.

“Oh, sorry,” she said.

She moved to the side as he passed. She clutched on to the coffee cups and stretch out two fingers to pull the door open. She didn’t take her eyes off of him as she grasped at the handle. Her coffee cup crushed against the door and went pouring down her dress. She yelped as the hot liquid poured over her leg. She saw Andrew look up at her then she quickly looked away. She grabbed the coffee cup with her other hand then pulled the door open as fast as she could. Her cheeks were burning with embarrassment as she raced through the door and past the window. She stared down at the sidewalk until she finally recognized the street outside of her studio door. She ran upstairs and threw herself down on the couch. She started to sob as soon as her face hit the cushion. She cried until she heard Cara opening the door.

Cara walked in then stopped in front of the doorway. “Did you decide to take a nap?” she asked.

Isabel didn’t reply.

“Hey, are you alright?” she asked.

She sat up from the couch. Mascara was smeared down the length of her face.

“Oh my God,” Cara said. “What happened?”

“Andrew was at the coffee shop,” she replied.

“Well, okay, but we know that he drinks coffee,” she said.

Isabel scowled. “He was there with another woman,” she continued. “They were clearly together.”

Cara didn’t reply.

Isabel’s eyes welled up with tears again.

“You know that I always want to be here for you,” Cara said. “But enough is enough. You two weren’t even together and now it’s been months since you’ve spoken. It’s hardly a betrayal for him to start dating a woman.”

She stared at the ground. “What do you want me to do?” she asked. “I’m upset.”

“I know you are but it’s time to move on. Clearly he has and there is no reason why you shouldn’t have by now,” Cara said.

Isabel shrugged.

“What about that media manager guy?” she asked. “He seemed great.”

“You know what happened. I told him that I wasn’t ready to be in a relationship. He was fine with it and told me to give him a call later,” she said.

“And why didn’t you?” Cara asked.

“I guess I thought maybe Andrew would come around,” she replied. “Maybe he’ll give me a pity call now that he sees what a disaster I am.”

“Stop it. Just don’t even start thinking about that. It is seriously time for you to move on. Call that guy. Forget about Andrew. Forget about his girlfriend. You really need to start focusing on you and taking care of yourself before you go completely crazy,” she said.

Isabel nodded. “I know that you are right,” she said.

Cara sat down on the couch beside her. She put her arm around her. “So, listen to me then,” she said.

“Alright,” Isabel said. “I really will.”

“Great. Let me see your phone,” she said.

Isabel handed her the phone. “So, I am deleting Andrew’s number and you are going to talk to media guy,” she said.

Isabel reached forward to try to grab her phone. Cara stood up and pulled the phone out of reach.

“You know I am right,” she said. “Just go with it.”

Isabel sighed.

“So, Andrew’s number had been deleted and now I’m sending a new message out,” she said as she typed. “Here’s what you are saying: Hey, it’s been too long! Are you free on Friday?”

“Are you still sleeping?” she whispered.

Andrew moaned.

“Sorry,” she said quietly as she pulled the blanket closer to her.

He slowly opened his eyes. He looked over at her and smiled. “It’s okay,” he murmured. “I’m just waking up slowly today.”

“Good,” she replied. “You need a little rest. This is the first day that you have slept in for weeks.”

Andrew nodded. “Indeed. It feels good. I felt like I was about to drop dead,” he said.

She leaned forward in bed and pulled herself closer to him. He wrapped his arm around her and kissed her forehead. She nestled her head into his chest and smiled.

“I’m so glad you’re here, Katy,” he said. “I feel like we haven’t gotten to spend any time together lately. I’ve really missed you.”

“I have missed you too. I wish that we could spend all day together in bed,” she said.

Andrew sighed. “Me too,” he said.

She closed her eyes and smiled as she nestled her face deeper into his bare chest.

“If you were here every night I don’t think I’d ever get out of bed,” Andrew said.

“Awww, aren’t you sweet today? It definitely is nice,” she said. “I did think that we were going to have the day together though. What happened to your day off?”

“Yeah, I know,” he replied. “I feel bad that you took the day off of work and now I can’t spend the afternoon with you.”

“It’s not a big deal. I really needed a day off myself. It’s been crazy at the office lately,” she said.

He smiled. “We will still have plenty of time together today,” he said. “I just have the one interview to do so it won’t take long.”

“Couldn’t they have scheduled it for another day?” she asked.

“I asked them but there wasn’t another time that we could make it work. That big gala is coming up soon so I really need to do as much press as possible. We are hoping to get some more high powered movers and shakers involved. We have been loaded down with low sum donations but we’d love to finally get a few serious checks sent our way,” he said.

“Yeah, I know,” she said. “And I do think that a few more interviews could make a major difference. New York loves you. The more they see your handsome face in the news, the more likely they are to send you their hard earned cash.”

Andrew chuckled. “Let’s hope so,” he said. “Well, I suppose it’s that time.”

He reluctantly kicked his legs out of bed. She watched him as he walked to the closet naked. He could feel her eyes on him. He turned around and smiled at her.

“Why don’t you come with me?” he asked. “The interview will take less than an hour. We can grab some coffee beforehand then have a day out.”

She sat up in bed and smiled. “That sounds good. Where are you going for the interview?” she asked.

“They want to meet in Brooklyn,” he replied.

She made a sour face. “Alright, I guess,” she said. “I might as well come along.”

He pulled on his charcoal grey slacks as she stepped out of bed.

“It’ll take me about an hour to get ready,” she said.

“Oh, come on,” he replied. “Couldn’t you just slip on some jeans and head out the door?”

She laughed.

Andrew raised his eyebrows. “I am serious. If we are going to have time to stop for coffee, we really should leave soon. Traffic is going to be insane at this time of day,” he said.

She sighed and searched around the room. “Well, yeah, okay,” she said. “I guess I can just put my hair up. What do I have for clothes here?”

“Look in the bottom drawer there,” he said as he gestured to a set of drawers on the other side of the massive bedroom. “I have been putting all of your stuff in there.”

“Oh,” she said with a smile. “I have my own drawer here now, do I?”

He smiled and nodded. “Yep, you do,” he said. “Hopefully there is something in there that you can wear. I had all of them washed for you too so they are ready to go.”

“You are the best,” she said as she crouched down to look inside of the drawer.

“I do what I can,” he said. “Now try to make it snappy.”

Andrew buttoned up his shirt and walked over to the bed. He pulled out his phone and began to look through his email as he waited.

“I will be really in five minutes,” she said.

“Uh Huh,’ he replied.

“Seriously,” she said as she zipped up her jeans. “I am nearly ready to go.”

“Alright, thanks. I just need to check a few messages then I’ll be ready to hit the road,” he said.

“Did you call the driver?” she asked.

“No,” he replied. “I’m in a driving mood today so we can just head over there on our own.”

She raised her eyebrows. “Are you sure?” she asked.

“Yep, you know that I like to drive,” he said. “Anyway, there isn’t room for three. The new Porsche only fits two and I’ve barely gotten a chance to drive it since it arrived.”

She shrugged. “Alright, whatever,” she said. “I am ready to go.”

Andrew looked up at her. “Wow, I’ve never seen you go out with no makeup,” he said.

She laughed. “Well, I might fix myself up a bit in the car,” she replied.

“You hardly need it,” he said as they walked to the garage.

She looked over at him and smiled as she sat down in the passenger’s side.

They sat in silence as he crossed the bridge over into Brooklyn. Katy tapped her nails nervously against the armrest.

“I was sort of hoping that we might get a chance to talk today,” she said quietly.

“Oh, really?” he asked. “What did you want to talk about?”

Her eyes widened. “Really?” she asked with frustration. “What do you think that I want to talk about?”

“Hey, don’t get annoyed with me because I can’t read your mind,” he replied.

She took a deep breath. “Sorry,” she said quietly.

“What’s up?” he asked.

“Well, I was hoping that we would talk more about the move,” she said.

“I was too,” he replied. “I know this is a big decision for us.”

“Yeah. And we keep putting off the conversation,” she said. “But it isn’t forever. You might just end up spending a few months in San Francisco so it’s not like we have to commit to a lifetime there.”

“For sure. I know that,” he said. “Moving in together is a big decision though.”

“Well, moving in together temporarily,” she said.

He nodded. Andrew’s heart dropped as he looked up and saw Isabel’s studio.

“That looks like a cute cafe,” Katy said as she pointed to the coffeehouse a few doors down from the Isabel's place.

“Alright,” he said as he scanned the street for a parking spot.

“So, anyway,” she continued. “It’s not a huge deal. I think it could be great for us to spend a few months together in San Francisco.

Andrew nodded as he parked beside Isabel’s studio.