A Game With The Billionaire

Chapter 21:

Emma:

If anything, Nicole does not certainly look pleased after I narrated everything that happened in the event in which Jeremy and I played a game across a room and that car scenario! Whew.

The only person that has dreamy eyes is Emily and that is totally expected considering she’s a total romantic and won’t pass up any opportunity for a good love story so she probably sees this as a good thing. Like always, we are in Imperial Restaurant having lunch.

“There’s nothing for you to panic about.” Arya informs me, flashing her eyes.

“I know my cousin, he’s charming.” Nicole’s voice drips with accusation. “He’s trying to lure you back with his charm. Don’t fall for it.” She jabs her knife into the chicken. The displeasure is written all over her face, in all her thirty years of life, Nicole has never fallen in love. Hell, I don’t think she gets attracted to anyone so this is easy for her to say.

Because how do I stay away from him when we literally live under the same roof and I need him to act like my fake boyfriend outside? The options are pretty slim.

Arya catches on to what I am thinking, and she scrunches her nose. “Why don’t you just hire a fake boyfriend? That doesn’t sound like a bad idea, right?” She stares at Nicole who frowns deeply.

“It’s too late for that. Also, I have been getting tons of new investors for our upcoming games ever since I said I was dating Jeremy. So a lot of perks come with being with him.” I explain, I don’t like relying on people, they are incompetent and unreliable but being with Jeremy comes with all these cool benefits that surely, no one can pass off.

“We know how this works.” Nicole says. “He’s going to flash you those boyish lopsided grins, remind you of the good ol’ days and next thing you know, you wake up in his bed. You fall in love with him and what does he end up doing? He ends up leaving you high and dry.” I wince at the extent of her words; Nicole is honestly blunt at times it hurts.

“Last time, you told me to sleep with me. Now, you don’t want me to?” I direct the question at Nicole, she was so supportive about me getting laid so why is she against the whole idea now?

“Oh dear.” Nicole’s face softens. “You can’t just sleep with men like Jeremy and not catch feelings, it doesn’t work that way.” For someone who doesn’t seem to be interested in love, she sure knows a lot of romantic advice.

We all stare at her in surprise and she shrugs, taking a sip of water from the glass. “What’s the look for? Emily lent me a romance novel, it wasn’t that bad.”

Emily giggles. Arya and I stare at her in shock. Nicole acts oblivious and continues eating her chicken salad.

“Maybe he just wants to make amends.” Emily threads gently. “He’s our cousin, Nicole.”

“He just wants to make amends? Isn’t that what happens in movies and books? It doesn’t work in real life.” Nicole is snippy, her anger rarely surfaces but today, she’s boiling hot. “I know my cousin. I know that everyone loves him and soon enough, you’re going to end up on that train. Again.”

Anger flashes through my face, I get that Nicole is just being honest and she wants what’s good for me but I don’t need her pointing it in my face. I love my best-friends and I tell them everything but sometimes, it’s suffocating.

“I think I can handle my feelings right.” My voice is snappy as I stand up and slap hundreds of dollar notes on the table. Arya looks at me stunned, calling gently for me but I am blinded with anger to even hear.

Thankfully, my schedule for the day is clear as I drive home. Nicole is right, if I am not careful, the cycle is sure to repeat itself. They were there for me when everything happened, they were supporting and encouraging and I don’t want to put them through that again so all I have to do is avoid him, right?

Easy as that, except that the moment I walk through the door, Jeremy’s draped lazily on the chair, eating out of a bowl of....ice-cream?

“Hey,” he flashes me one of the lopsided grins which makes my stomach drop. Nicole was right, this man oozes charm. Jeremy’s like this, always smiling, always lending a helpful hand. Sometimes, I wonder if he was too good to be mine. “You’re home early.”

I stand rooted by the door. “Uh, yeah. My schedule was cleared.” There’s no mistaking the way his gaze drags over me, it’s like he is taking his time and the mere intensity of his gaze makes heat rush up my neck.

“So did I.” His voice drops, reminding me of nights we would stay up, cuddled in a thick blanket, playing games and shoving doughnuts into our mouth. Goodness, I missed that. “There’s a bowl for you.” He gestures at the table where a bowl of untouched ice-cream sits, “do you want to have some?”

‘Abort, abort, abort.’ A voice that undoubtedly sounds like Nicole says in the back of my end. ‘It’s dangerous, get out of there!’

“I can’t.” I keep a straight face. “Yeah, I am really tired.” Jeremy parts his mouth to say something but he doesn’t. Instead, he stands, shifting his weight.

Damn it, he’s so tall, has he been hitting the gym lately? The blue shirt stretches across his broad chest outlining each and every one of those toned muscles, and those sweatpants hang loosely on his waist.

He walks towards me, stops in front of me and stares down at me. He’s too close, why in the hell is he so close? From here, I can see those golden brown eyes gleaming against the light, strands of his golden hair falling on his forehead and I have a sudden urge to brush it away.

‘Don’t do it.’ Nicole says. Why is she everywhere? ‘Push him away and leave. You’re going to regret this, la, la, la, la, la!’

“I get it already, Nicole.” I hiss slowly and Jeremy stares at me in confusion.

“What was that?”

“Nothing.” I shake my head so hard. “Anyways, I am going to rest. I am really tired and my ankle hurts.” The truth is I am nowhere near weak. In fact, I am probably going to code a bit and play games. Yup, that’s how I am going to spend my evening upstairs.

But my ankle has been aching a lot lately. Yup, that’s how I am spending my evening upstairs.

“Come here.” He says, grabbing my hand and leading me to the sofa. Numbly, I follow, unsure of what is happening. “Sit.” He orders and I do exactly as told. He sits too and places my ankle on his lap.

“What is happening?” I ask, panic laced in my voice.

“Giving you a massage.” He replies simply, and his soft hand threads on the side of my knuckles, pressing gently. I don’t even know when I release a sigh of relief. Damn, that is good. “Okay?”

“Yes.” I reply, leaning on the couch. He gives me a grin and continues massaging the side of my ankle. This feels intimate and closely familiar, Jeremy used to give me massages all the time, he is good with his hands no doubt.

Images of what he can also do with his hand snaps in my memory and my eyes widen. Jeremy stares at me. “Anything wrong?”

“No.” Yes, very much. This is getting too familiar. It needs to stop and yet I can’t bring myself to tell him not to continue.

He just gives me a small smile and continues. “How’s the upcoming launch for your game?”

I am stunned that he’s asking me about my game but the whole reason I am doing this fake dating stuff is because of my game. “Yeah, Mr. Hilton wants us to have dinner with him very soon.”

He nods, looking like he wants to ask more but he debates against it and doesn’t thread. Just like that, we descend into a comfortable silence and after extensive ankle massaging; I thank Jeremy and rush upstairs, and try to stop the beating of my heart.

“Why are you betraying me now?” I place a hand on my chest and collapse on the bed, staring at the ceiling. “He does one nice thing for you and you are already stumbling? That’s what made you fall for him in the first place!”

Going forward, I have to be careful around Jeremy. I can’t let what happened this afternoon repeat itself. Easier said than done, right?

--

Driving to work while blasting music sets me in a good mood. Nicole texted me this morning to apologize for her snarky attitude, and to be honest, it’s hard to stay mad at her especially when she sent me a long apology note. This part of the street is eerily quiet; it somehow sends shivers down my spine. I park just to stare at my phone.

My heart jumps when I hear a rap against my car window. Rolling my window down, I stare at a man that seems to be in his late twenties, he has tattoos inked in every part of his body. Everything about him just screams dangerous.

“Can I help you?” I ask. My eyes fly to the baseball bat he is holding and something feels so wrong. Before I can say a word, the baseball bat connects with the back of my skull and darkness envelops me.