FALLING IN LOVE WITH A BAD BILLIONAIRE
Aoife Griffin
Jonathan Bailey stared at the men sitting around him, a small smile on his face. They were all friends, had known each other since their college days and managed to keep that friendship even while each of them had gone on to make billions in their various business. Of course, people like him, and Jesse Williams, had gotten a head start on that front considering they came from old money. Still, he didn’t mind patting himself on his back every now and again since he had managed to take his family retail outlet store franchise to new levels and in the process more than quadrupled the family’s worth.
Jesse had taken over his family’s textile and fashion business and branched it out until it was hard to say exactly what he did. But there was no disputing the fact that he had made the Williams name into a powerhouse. A very intense man, he had a dry sense of humor that he rarely showed and was a ruthless businessman who was as feared as he was respected in his business circles. But Jonathan had known him for a long time, their two families close enough that he would have wagered that he had once shared nannies with the other man. He knew Jesse, knew why he was what he was now and didn’t blame him once. His friend had not been the same since his wife’s death five years ago.
Calvin Bishop had made his money in the internet craze of the early 2000s’. A bit of a geek, he hid his intelligence behind a façade of social antipathy and very rarely ventured into the outside the world, having decided long ago that he had no need for the connection of other people. As it was, the only reason why Jonathan had managed to become his friends was because Jonathan had needed his help to pass a course in college and in return had promised to invest in Calvin’s idea, an investment that was still reaping dividends today.
Damon Anderson, the last man in the group had a sullen expression in his face as he stared at the drink in his glass. Considering the fact that the bottle that drink had come from could put a kid through high school, Jonathan knew his displeasure was not because of the drink. A civil engineer, he had risen to the top of his company by sheer grits and personal effort, displaying a ruthlessness that was at odds with his soft demeanor. And when the top dogs in the company he worked for decided he was too ambitious for their comfort and fired him, he had taken out a loan and in five years bought out that company. Jonathan would have made it his first order of business to fire everyone who had had a hand in his firing. But not Damon. He had retained those he said still had value to the company and set about revamping the company until it was a powerhouse both in the US and overseas. Jonathan wanted to tell him it was this soft attitude that made his wife of seven years decide to divorce him out of the blue. And you can trust Damon. The Boy Scout still refused to stick to the terms of the pre-nup his friends had forced him to take out when he was getting married seeing as none of them trusted his snake eyes wife. Now instead of walking away with next to nothing, she was leaving with millions. A drop in the bucket for Damon, sure. But Jonathan liked to think it was the principle of things.
As for him, he was the fun guy in the group. The life of the party and a self-professed playboy. He didn’t mind the label, he had worked hard enough to prove himself to the only person he needed to do that to. Himself. Anyone else who liked to think of him as a spoiled rich trust fund could come and kiss his keister.
Taking a sip of his drink, he smiled around the room. “So did I tell you guys about this girl I picked up in Milan last week?”
“Not another story of your debauched lifestyle,” Calvin groaned and Jonathan just smiled as he saw the look on interest in their faces. He was the life of the party after all, and the most interesting thing in their lives.
“So. I’m in the lobby of The Ritz, right…?”
The Wall was a new club that had just opened last week and was still posh enough to warrant a visit from Jonathan. Two, three months and he considered it old and stale, no longer in vogue and hence not worth his attention. He walked into the club without any fuss. Just a small nod at the door to the bouncer and a quick shake that ended up with five crisp hundred dollar bills in the hand of the bouncer. It was not a bribery. He just believed in tipping well, and especially well for good service.
As he walked in, he couldn’t resist the smile on his face as he saw the writhing bodies on the floor, those seated on the chairs at the edge. Then he glanced at his final destination, the VIP section and frowned. There were some people there and Jonathan did not really like to mix with others of his kind. Or others who felt being able to afford the price of the VIP tickets placed them in the same bracket as he. Taking a detour, he headed for the bar instead.
When he got there, he ordered scotch, thanking the bartender when he was promptly served. Then he turned around and looked at the crowd in the club, his eyes slowly scanning for the lucky girl that would catch his interest that night. He liked to think that this was the hardest part of the whole process, choosing who to approach. After that, it was all a matter of formality. He had never had a woman turn him down. Not after Jenny in high school at least, and even she had eventually succumbed to his wiles. He saw one woman dancing in the middle of the dance floor, a flirtatious gaze on her face as she writhed in tune to the music. Two men danced in front of her, trying to impress her. Jonathan just smiled, knowing he could easily walk up there and walk off the floor with her in seconds. He had seen the look in her eyes, she was primed and ready, not much of a challenge for him and he liked to think there was something more to his hunts than just finding a pair of heated thighs he could slide into.
Looking away from the dance floor, his eyes scanned the rest of the club, alighting on the seating area just further away from the dance floor. Most of them were already paired up. Women who had come with their partners, those who were being courted right then, and some who were trying to ward off unwanted interests. And some women who sat, hoping to get someone interested. But none of them caught his eye and Jonathan was beginning to feel a little bored.
Then he saw her.
She was not alone. She was sitting at a table with another woman. But Jonathan knew they were not a couple. It was hard to see her features. All he could tell was that her hair was long enough that he could see it went past her neck. He could not tell what color it was though. She was attractive, or at least he thought so. None of these was what captured his attention though. It was the way she sat, almost as if she did not want to be here. And yet, there was an excited energy about her he could almost tell from where he sat. He saw one man walk up to her, then another, and yet another. And he watched her shut them down in minutes, and in one case second. From where he sat, he saw the last man mutter something as he walked away from the table and from the way her lips tightened figured he had said something insulting. Then he saw her lips suddenly curved in a smile as she turned back to her friend, and this time, Jonathan was more than intrigued. He was downright captivated now. Giving a few instructions to the bartender, he got up from his stool and slowly made his way across the room.
Zoe smiled, taking note of the exasperated look on Sam’s face.
“Hey, even you can’t say that was my fault. That guy was a douche.”
Sam sighed. “Of course he was, you didn’t even allow him get the first sentence out before you shut him down.”
“Have you thought about the fact that I recognized him for what he was and made moves to shut it down before he could waste both our times?” Zoe had a smile on her lips as she talked, admitting that even though she did not want to come to the club with her best friend before, she was kind of enjoying herself.
“We talked about this Zoe. You can’t just keep driving any man who shows the smallest bit of interest in you away. You can’t keep allowing…”
“Don’t say his name.”