The Billionaire Next Door

CHAPTER 03

Bianca

“Did he go after you?” Vivian asked with an amused smile while I arranged the bottles I had just brought back.

I turned toward her and stared.

“How do you know?” I asked, frowning.

“Well, I just connected the dots. He left right after you did, and he went in the exact same direction.”

“He’s very intense,” I confessed. “We almost kissed, and I’ve never wanted anything so badly.”

“Oh my God, Bianca!” Vivian practically vibrated as she moved closer. “Tell me properly, please. Why almost?”

“Arthur showed up right on time.”

“I could kill him. I told him not to go after you. But he lost his mind when he realized the hottie had followed you.”

“So that’s why,” I thought out loud.

“That’s why… what?” she urged me to continue.

“Arthur only opened the door enough to call me, but he didn’t come in.”

“Yes, because he knew you weren’t alone.”

She measured me with her eyes, then gave me an amused smile.

“The hottie isn’t the only one interested. No one told you to be that hot.”

“What? No.”

“Come on, Bianca. Are you really going to tell me you’ve never noticed?” Vivian asked, arching an eyebrow at me.

Vivian was right.

Arthur really did have a certain interest in me, and I knew it. But that was far from what I wanted for myself. I had always thought he was a nice guy, but he wasn’t my type at all. I wouldn’t risk losing his friendship over something that probably wouldn’t work out.

“If I said no, I’d be lying to you,” I replied.

“He wouldn’t hurt you,” Vivian said suggestively.

I let my gaze sweep over the nightclub, searching for Arthur, and found him with his eyes fixed on me while he talked to Patricia, one of the girls who worked the tables.

“No chance,” I answered, turning back to Vivian, who smiled.

Then she nodded her head, signaling for me to look toward Arthur again.

He had ended his conversation with Patricia and was walking in our direction. Vivian and I followed him with our eyes, completely silent.

“Everything okay here?” Arthur asked as he passed by us.

My eyes met his, completely awkward.

“Yes,” I answered, forcing a smile at him.

“That guy from earlier… was he bothering you?” he asked, his attention entirely on me.

Automatically, my eyes went to Vivian, who had one eyebrow arched in my direction. Then I looked back at Arthur.

“No, everything’s fine,” I replied.

Arthur seemed like he wanted to say something, but he didn’t. He only nodded and turned to Vivian.

“Vivian, can you check table seventeen’s tab for me?”

“Yes, of course,” she answered, walking toward the computer.

Arthur followed her.

Luckily for me, a customer appeared right after that, pulling me out of the situation before Arthur gathered the courage to say whatever he had been thinking.

[...]

I disarmed the alarm, then opened the panel and typed in the code to unlock the nightclub’s front door. I was extremely early, and no one had arrived yet.

After going inside, I locked the door again so I could organize a few things before later, when the security guards would open the club.

After cleaning the bar area, I walked between the tables and started arranging the chairs, getting ahead of the girls’ work. I had nothing else to do, and it didn’t cost me anything to help.

“Damn. Look at this.”

I startled when Vivian’s voice suddenly appeared. I had been so distracted I hadn’t even noticed when she arrived.

“One day you’re going to scare me to death,” I said, smiling at her.

“You got here way too early again? Girl, what is going on?”

“Nothing. I just wanted to come in already.”

“Hmm…”

She looked me up and down.

“Well, I’m going to put my bag away, then I’ll come help you.”

“Sounds good,” I replied.

Vivian and I continued getting everything ready, and gradually the other employees started arriving, finishing their own tasks. Then Vivian and I walked to the bar and settled in there, just waiting for them to start letting people inside.

I looked toward the dance floor and started taking in the view.

The place was beautiful.

The windows were all glass, and since we were on the rooftop, we had a panoramic view of the city. That made us different.

The night was beginning to come alive. Little by little, we started serving customers, and, as always, I was in a good mood, dancing and feeling the atmosphere while I attended to each person who came to the bar.

After a few hours, the place was running at full speed, and as time passed, my desire to go home only grew. I refused to drink any energy drinks because I truly wanted to sleep, and those things always got in my way.

Fortunately, it was almost two in the morning, and our shift was nearly coming to an end.

“Hey, babe,” Vivian called, drawing my attention to her as soon as I handed a customer his order.

“Talk to me,” I replied, still alert to anyone approaching the bar.

“So the hottie really didn’t show up? Not even yesterday?” she asked, curious.

She had taken the night off yesterday.

It had been a week since I had been with Raphael in that storage room.

I wouldn’t lie. I was somewhat disappointed by his sudden disappearance. He had seemed interested. He had even suggested we go out, and then he had simply vanished.

“No, Vivian. Not even yesterday.”

“Do you think maybe he’s not from São Paulo? He could be one of those businessmen who come from somewhere else.”

“I have no idea. And honestly, it doesn’t matter. It only showed me he isn’t reliable,” I said seriously.

Vivian made a face at me.

“Girls, I need four draft beers, please,” Aline called, drawing our attention before Vivian could say anything else.

We nodded with smiles on our faces and turned to prepare the drinks for her.

We closed the night a little after three in the morning, and I was relieved that today was Monday. I would take advantage of my day off and rest as much as possible.

I lay down in bed, trying to sleep, but my thoughts ended up drifting back to that man.

He had simply disappeared.

And I had no idea who he was.

I felt tempted to search for him, but I had settled for very little. His name was Raphael.

What were the chances I could find him with only his first name?

That definitely wasn’t a good idea, but I had a habit of doing things I knew weren’t good ideas, so I let my curiosity speak louder.

I picked up my phone from the nightstand and searched “Raphael” on i********:.

And there was no way I expected the first profile to appear in the search results to be his.

I clicked on the profile to look at the photo more closely and confirm whether I was really seeing it right.

The profile had a verified badge and around two hundred thousand followers.

To my disappointment, the account was private.

But through the profile picture, I was certain.

Yes.

That was definitely him.

So the name of the man who had affected me so intensely was Raphael Bellucci.

My God.

Who the hell was this guy?

As if that piece of information alone wasn’t enough, I went on Google and searched his name.

I needed more information.

I was stunned to discover that he was listed as one of the youngest billionaires in the country and was involved in several industries. But his main business was centered around a holding company. The company was highly regarded, and apparently, he was the CEO.

Wow.

I had imagined he had money, but I definitely hadn’t expected anything like that.

What was a man like him doing in that nightclub?

More than that…

What did he want with me?

I clicked on images, only to see pictures of him with several different women. Through the photos, I found articles about him.

Apparently, he was the kind of man who very much enjoyed the company of beautiful women.

Especially models.

I locked my phone screen and tossed it aside, letting everything I had just discovered settle in my mind.

I knew I shouldn’t have searched for him, but I didn’t regret it.

That search had only made me realize that this man was way out of my league.

I needed to stay far away from him at all costs, because I was certain we had completely different goals when it came to relationships.

And I refused to let another man make a fool of me.

I had already reached my quota with my ex-boyfriend.

So even if Raphael showed up again, I would definitely keep my distance.