The Billionaire’s Secret

CHAPTER 3

“I’m serious! That’s all there is to it,” Esmeralda stressed at every word, while Julie just laughed.

“I don’t believe you. As your friend since… forever, I know a sparkle in your eye when I see one. And even if your eye’s kinda blurry with this stupid phone and shitty network, I can still tell that you’re in love.”

“What are you even ta…”

“... In love! ” Julie teased even louder while her puffy golden bun covered most of the phone screen.

“Whatever, Jul. You win, okay? Besides, I don’t even know how we went from your divorce matters to the rude man I saw yesterday,” Esmeralda said back while lifting her phone over her head so that the camera could find her face. “So, tell me. Did you finally get a lawyer? What did he say?”

“Er…”

“Don’t tell me…”

“I was going to get one, but… no one said lawyers are expensive! If only you married Kyle, then maybe I would have had a family lawyer for a discount.”

“Don’t go there,” Esmeralda gruffed, getting up from her couch to the kitchen. “Besides, Kyle was not a lawyer. He was a law businessman. There’s a difference.”

“Still… I don’t get it. You guys were in love. I thought you were in love. Why did you leave him at the altar like that?”

“I said don’t go there,” Esmeralda replied to Julie while she pulled a bowl from the shelf.

“Look, if he cheated…”

“He didn’t. He didn’t do anything. I just… look, it’s complicated.”

“Essie…”

“Stop it, Jul,” she responded sternly as she banged the cereal box on the kitchen counter.

Sensing the tension in Esmeralda’s furrowed brows, Julie sighed and softened her tone. “Look, you have your reasons. I might not know what they are, but I sense that it’s partly why you took on this detective news person job.”

Esmeralda raised her brows in sarcasm over the weird name-calling, and Julie continued with half a smile.

“Okay, investigative journalism. Whatever. But your boss is right. You’re not you anymore. The Essie I knew back in school was cheerful, sassy, and one of the meanest, most popular men’s ladies in the world.”

“I’m still sassy…”

“No, you’re not,” Julie countered again while Esmeralda filled up her cereal with milk. “Look at you! It’s a f*****g Sunday evening, and you’re at home, soaking rice.”

“It’s Rice Krispies.”

“That’s not the f*****g point, Essie. Essie, before she walked out on Kyle or learned of my marriage problems, was a club girl. She could get any man or woman she wanted. She didn’t usually talk to me about a guy she found cute in a clothing store. She’d gist me about how he was swooning over her. You were a classy flirt — a seducer. You used to call yourself the meanest of the meanest, the heartbreaker. Now, you look like the heart-broken.”

Esmeralda laughed, but Julie’s straight expression snapped her back into seriousness, and she sighed tiredly. She looked into the bowl of soaked cereal before her and rested her phone against the cereal box, so she could see Julie’s bright Latina face better.

“Okay, you’re right,” Esmeralda confessed, shoving the bowl to the side before she leaned on the counter. “But… I can’t be that girl anymore. Things are…different.”

“How, Essie? How? Look, I’ll tell you this. When I got married, I forgot how fun I used to be. Remember how I'd spend hours in the bathroom getting my eyeliner right? I stopped doing that. I stopped dressing up, and I stopped going out. I started becoming all those housewives that we used to laugh at back in college…”

“Your point?”

“I thought things were different when I got married. But it turns out that Tommy left me because I changed. He married me because he loved who I was, and when I changed…”

“No,” Esmeralda cut in, snatching her phone as she carried her bowl back to the living room. “He cheated on you with three girls… at the same time. That’s not on you.”

“I know, I know. But… I can’t deny the fact that I sort of lost myself. And I don’t want that to happen to you.”

“Look,” Julie continued, stopping Esmeralda from saying anything while she plopped on her couch and dropped the bowl on a stool. “You are not you again. And if you lose yourself now… even if it’s to work, being truly happy will become a distant memory.”

“Jul…”

“When was the last time you laughed?”

“I…”

“When was the last time you moaned?”

Before Esmeralda could respond, Julie cut in. “You said your boss gave you an invitation to some masquerade party… go… for yourself. Maybe you don’t need to get laid, but I think you do. But even more importantly, you need to prove to yourself… and to me that you have not lost your inner fire.”

Esmeralda heaved a deep sigh of reflection and looked back at Julie, who was already repacking her golden, puffy bun with her perfect eyeliner in the view.

“I’ll admit that you have a point. But…” she said sharply, calling Julie’s absolute attention. “I’m not getting laid. Remember that I’m a virgin, and I’d still like to keep my virtue till I get married.”

Julie rolled her eyes, and Esmeralda caught it.

“Really, Jul?” she said and shot her a sarcastic look before continuing. “Anyway... I’ll have fun. I won’t talk about work, and I won’t think about the possibility that I could run into an actual murderer at that party.”

Julie returned the ‘really’ look, and Esmeralda shoved her cereal to the side before responding. “In fact,” she said, standing up. “I’ll go get dressed now!”

“Good for you. Now, get off my FaceTime. I need to use my rosé.”

“What’s that?”

“Let’s just say it’s my substitute Tommy,” Julie replied, winked, and ran her tongue over her upper lip.

“Eww, get out of here,” Esmeralda cringed and hit the red button.

“I don’t even know how she’s my friend,” she added as she stood up and made her way to her wardrobe.

******

Three hours later, Esmeralda stepped out of her Uber ride and into the building.

It was grand, well-lighted, beautiful, but most of all, crowded.

The entrance was littered with photographers and masked celebrities posing to take media photos.

‘Franklin really meant high-societal folks,’ Esmeralda thought to herself as she trod the red carpet in her lace mask and glittery, red, backless, plunging neckline dress.

Though her wavy, brown hair was let down to her waist, her feminine waist was still visible and more taunting to the camera than she had thought.

“Hey, sexy thang… let’s see you rock that waist,” one of the photographers called out, raising the fumes for the others.

“Come on, show it to us. Give us some poses,” another one said loudly.

“Yes, red pepper, show us some poses.”

With her head down, she continued on the carpet, which now seemed longer than she’d seen at first.

As one of the cameramen reached over the line to touch her skin, she cringed, but the photographer didn’t touch her.

He couldn’t.

Esmeralda looked up and saw her savior. He was suited and had a dark, metallic mask on his face with dragon designs at the top and sides —almost making him look like a modern knight.

He was smiling down at her, but she was both grateful and bothered by his proximity, so she cleared her throat to kill the awkward silence while dusting off her dress, which had no dust on it.

“Now that you’re wearing this, I might actually be contemplating having s*x with you,” the man teased her, and she recognized his deep, husky baritone and slight British accent.

“Beck?” Esmeralda exclaimed, slightly relieved to find a familiar face… or a familiar voice.

“Let’s get out of here, shall we?” he said, leading her into the building, taking her up the stairs, away from the lobby where most guests were.

“Where are you taking me?” she asked while following him.

“Where the fun lies,” he replied to her and continued until he reached the door. Opening it, Esmeralda rounded her lips in awe.

“You like it?” He asked her.

“Are you kidding me?” she gasped as she looked around the open space. It was a balcony with lounge chairs, stools, and curtains, aiding the magnificent decor of the area.

The lights were dim, and low music played in the background. The breeze was also cool and refreshing, great enough to blow her long, brown strands out of place. “This place is awesome!”

“Well, I’m flattered that you like this place,” he said as he strode to the bar to pour a drink. “It was supposed to be Mary Jane and me, but she stood me up. So… all I have is you.”

“Yeah,” Esmeralda smiled wryly and joined him. “All you have is me.”

“So, lady that I can have s*x with,” he turned to her and handed her a glass of champagne. “Will you be my date for tonight?”