Falling for the Arrogant Billionaire Doctor

CHAPTER TWO

VICTOR'S POV

She tried to explain, but I wasn’t in the mood to listen, to engage with her flimsy excuse. I was sick of it. Moving to the mahogany cabinet nearby, I opened it and grabbed a packet of cigarettes. Without hesitation, I lit one, the sharp burn of smoke filling my lungs.

My temper was rising faster than I could control, and I hated it—hated how her actions clawed at my nerves. I already had enough to be angry about.

“I'm sorry,” she blurted for the umpteenth time.

I pulled out an ashtray from the same cabinet and crushed the gray cigarette end on it. Then I glanced into her pleading blue eyes, and painfully imagined her sitting across from my biggest rival, my enemy—Alan Collins in one of the fine restaurants in the city.

“There's nothing between me and him. I only agreed to the meeting because I wanted to get a story. You already know the demands of my job. Besides, he's married.”

She inched closer to me, pulled out the cigarette from my mouth and put it in hers. I watched her blow out smoke. She was the only one who understood me. We'd grown up together—battling rejection from our parents, raised by a foster family.

Like me, she’d been tossed to different foster homes after that. My fate changed when Henry Dale adopted me and gave me a better life. Then, we met again—me, a successful doctor and sole heir to a billion dollar fortune and she, a successful journalist. I caught a strand of her blonde hair and fiddled with it.

“You know I don't like him, Jessica. You know I can't stand him. ”

“I do. And I'm sorry, my love. Like I said, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. But you won't like what I have to say about my meeting with him.”

“I don't want to hear it.”

I blew out smoke, moving away from her. I sank into one of the plush velvet sofas nearby, still trying to calm my temper. I'd been ignoring her since I found out about her meeting with Alan Collins. I knew that sooner or later, she'd come over to my house to explain.

“What I have to say is important, my love,” she said, drawing close to where I sat.

“I'd rather not hear it. It's bad enough you went out with him.”

I didn't like being angry with her. I loved her deeply, more than words could describe.

“Even when it concerns your desire to run for governor in the coming months?”

My interest was piqued, but I didn't want to let her off the hook so easily.

“What does your date with him have to do with my political ambition?” I said nonchalantly.

“He intends to run for governor, too.”

I wasn't surprised. Alan had always been very ambitious. Jessica leaned towards me and smashed her lips on mine. I sucked in the warmth, allowing her tongue to comb my mouth. Weak in the knee, I just had to let it go.

***

The door to my office burst open, startling me out of my thoughts. Jack strode in with a troubling expression on his face. It got me worried. He was the only one aside Jessica that could dare walk into my office without knocking. I never tolerated it from others.

He didn’t speak right away. Instead, he closed the door behind him with a firm click and inched towards my desk.

“Change of plans, Victor,” he announced with a hint of worry in his tone.

I leaned back in my chair, narrowing my eyes. “About?”

Jack hesitated, his gaze flicking briefly to the floor before settling back on me. I knew that look—he was trying to assess how I’d react to something I wouldn’t like.

Finally, he said, “Your plan to publicize your affair with Jessica.”

I blinked, caught off guard by his words. “You make it sound like I’m a married man sneaking around. Jessica and I have been together since we were teenagers. I’ve known her almost my whole life. The only reason we’ve kept our relationship private is to protect it. Now that I intend to run for governor, I intend to make it public.”

Jack shook his head, his expression unreadable. “You can’t.”

I frowned. “Why not?”

His voice dropped a notch, the weight of his words heavy. “You already know Alan Collins intends to run for governor, too. In the eyes of the public, he’s as perfect as you—maybe even more. He has a near-perfect wife and an excellent running mate. Unlike yours, Alan’s relationship has been out in the open for years, and people love his marriage. They see it as a symbol of stability and trust. He’ll use that to his advantage. We need to counter that, and I don’t see how going public with Jessica will help your campaign.”

My jaw tightened. “Why not?”

Jack hesitated again, his eyes scanning my face as if preparing for a blowback. “Jessica doesn’t exactly have the cleanest reputation as a journalist. There have been… whispers. Rumors about secret s****l affairs with powerful men in the city.”

“That’s nonsense,” I snapped. “Lies and baseless gossip.”

“Maybe,” he conceded, raising his hands in a placating gesture. “But it doesn’t matter. Alan’s team will weaponize it. They’ll dig up every ugly story about her. And then there’s how the media portrays her—ruthless, cunning, willing to do anything to get a story. That’s not what people picture when they think of a future first lady, Victor. You know that.”

“She has always been true to herself,” I said firmly. “No lies. No pretense.”

Jack sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “And that’s admirable. But it’s not enough. I know she’s beautiful, sure, but she has that ‘bad girl’ aura. She doesn’t come across as someone the public would embrace as a governor's wife, as your wife. Victor, the people see you as flawless—the ideal man. You need someone who fits the mold of their ideal, too. The girl-next-door type. Someone relatable. I intend to craft your love story into a fairytale, something fresh and inspiring—something Alan can’t compete with. But if Jessica is by your side, the public might start questioning the image they’ve built of you.”

Shit! I said, my fingers drumming against the desk. Frustration simmered just below the surface. Did Jack have any idea what Jessica meant to me? Did he know how much we’d been through together?

“I don’t know if I can do what you’re asking, Jack,” I said, my voice laced with weariness.

Jack’s gaze hardened. “That’s your call, Victor. But if you choose to go public with Jessica and marry her, you’ll need to find another campaign manager. I can’t be part of something that’s more likely to fail than succeed.”