His Favourite distraction

Chapter6

May and I left the café the second our shift ended. It was already dark, and because I’m the world’s best friend, I offered her a sleepover at my place. I also knew Teriel would sniff it out eventually and blow up my phone, so I set it to silent.

We walked slowly, talking about dumb little things, until May decided to drop the nuclear bomb.

"So, I see you managed to find a guy not in your family tree," she said, eyebrow raised.

"Yeah. He’s the billionaire I told you about on the phone," I said, refusing to look at her.

"What?!" May grabbed my shoulders and spun me around like I was about to announce my engagement. Her mouth hung open. "But how?"

I shrugged. "Harassment and willpower."

Her eyes bulged. "You must be the craziest b***h I know. Are you two dating yet?"

"He called me a w***e. Does that count?"

"What?!" she shrieked again, way too loud. People turned. I pulled out of her grip and kept walking, letting her scramble to catch up.

"It’s fine. I’ve got a plan B."

"Plan B to what? Get arrested? Alice, listen—he clearly doesn’t like you. Can’t you just find another guy? What about Matthew?"

I made a face like I’d licked a lemon. "You do realize he’s a pervert, right?"

"True," she admitted. "But I don’t like this Ian guy either if he’s calling you a w***e when you look like you could still pass for a virgin."

My head snapped around. "Excuse me? I am not a virgin."

She stopped dead on the sidewalk. So did I. Pedestrians groaned, weaving around us. May planted her hands on her hips, mirroring me.

"You act like it," she said.

"How the f**k do I act like it?"

"You don’t do anything!"

"So that automatically makes me a virgin?"

"In your case? Yeah."

"That makes no sense!"

May squinted, then frowned. "...You’re right."

I threw my hands up. "Of course I’m right. There is no ‘acting like a virgin.’ Duh."

We stared at each other, then burst out laughing. I grabbed her wrist and dragged her toward my building. We stumbled into the elevator, giggling like drunks.

But the second I opened my apartment door, the laughter died in my throat.

It didn’t look trashed. In fact, it looked... normal. Too normal. But I knew my place. The lamp was slightly off-center. A cupboard stood ajar. My stomach dropped.

Only one man had the kind of power to get in here without a key.

I bolted to my bedroom, dropped to my knees, and tore through my hiding spot. The paper was gone.

"f**k. f**k. f**k HIM!" I shouted, ripping through drawers, slamming them shut again.

May poked her head in, confused. "What—"

"Not now!" I snapped, yanking my phone out. I dialed Cross Enterprises.

After getting passed around from one useless department to the next, I finally landed on his secretary.

"Good evening. Who may I ask is calling?"

"This is Alice. Ian’s girlfriend."

A sharp gasp crackled through the line. "H-his girlfriend?"

"Yes. Now, put the son of a b***h on the phone."

"He’s not here, but I can book you an appointment."

"Fine. Tomorrow. One p.m." I hung up before she could argue.

Emergency outfit time. Black heels. Black bodycon dress. Thin straps. My so-called "use-in-case-of-bullshit" dress. Suit jacket on top for fake professionalism. Purse stuffed with everything I needed to ruin him.

I slid into a cab, rehearsing my speech under my breath.

"I’d like to make a deal with you, or I’ll f*****g expose you."

The driver side-eyed me like I was plotting a murder. I smiled sweetly. He sped up, probably to get me out of his car faster.

When we pulled up to Cross Enterprises, I nearly broke my neck staring up at the building. Black marble, gold lettering, people in thousand-dollar suits striding in and out like they owned the world.

Inside was worse. Everything screamed money, power, and pretentious assholes.

By the time I reached Ian’s floor, I was already vibrating with nerves. His secretary sat at her desk, effortlessly gorgeous, taking calls with her perfect manicure.

"I’d like to see Ian," I announced.

She gave me the same icy once-over Ian had. "You don’t have an appointment."

"How would you know?"

"Name."

"Alice."

Click. Scroll. Eye-roll. "You don’t have one."

"I called yesterday."

Her lips curved. "Oh. You’re that girl. Mr. Cross told me to ignore it. Said you weren’t his girlfriend." The smugness in her tone made me want to launch her computer out the window.

I slammed my hands down on her desk. "Unless you want me to start screaming, you’re going to tell me where he is."

Her eyes widened with fear. She pointed a shaky finger toward the corner office.

I smirked and strutted down

the hall, knocking once before the door swung open.

Ian stood there. Towering. Immaculate. Arrogant as f**k.