Page 34 of Chosen By a Billionaire (Rags to Romance #24)

His father’s butler escorted them down the longest hall to the drawing room, a term Jayda thought had long since passed. But to stately homes like Harrison’s family home, it seemed to fit perfectly.

She didn’t mean to do it but she spent most of that walk looking up. Because she’d never seen ceilings so high. Nor ceilings with so many painted designs on them as if they were in the Sistine Chapel.

But when they turned a corner and the drawing room doors opened, she squeezed Harrison’s hand.

They were about to enter into a chamber, but it felt more like a gas chamber to Jayda.

Harrison, knowing exactly how she felt because he felt it too, placed his arm around her waist, squeezed her to remind her that she was in good hands with him, and escorted her inside.

The drawing room was as big as a large living room and had that similar big, colorful furniture that Harrison had in his Manhattan penthouse. Which gave it a familiarity she liked. But to her surprise, she already recognized three of the men that were there.

Carter she knew would be there. He flew over on Harrison’s plane with her.

But what she didn’t expect to see was not only his wife, the annoying Phyllis, but those other two businessmen that were at that table at Sandhurst restaurant that night with Harrison and Carter.

They had women with them, too, presumably their wives – which she didn’t know.

And there were two other couples she didn’t know either.

But there was no older man in the room to signify Harrison’s father’s presence, so she was able to at least relax her nerves for a few minutes.

But the man she’d never seen before, along with the woman with him, apparently was Harrison’s brother.

The one he was in competition with. And although he was younger than Harrison, and they favored heavily with their thick brown hair and grassy-green eyes, his looks didn’t come together as attractively as Harrison’s looks did.

His eyes were further apart. His lips weren’t fully formed like Harrison’s, but were so thin that they were barely noticeable on his mouth.

Although his wife, if she was his wife, had that plastic surgery duck-lip look white women seemed to favor, but he had hardly any lips at all.

And his facial features gave him a sharp, rat-like look rather than the smooth, rounded look Harrison had.

But what he lacked in looks, he made up in gab.

He was a talker. When they walked in, he seemed to be the center of attention where nobody seemed able to get a word in edgewise.

But by the way they were laughing at his jokes and seemed genuinely happy, Jayda guessed that they didn’t want to get a word in edgewise. He was their entertainment.

It took a few beats for those in that drawing room to realize they had entered, but when Carter looked over and saw his boss, he rose to his feet.

And so did the other men that worked for Harrison, along with all of their wives including Phyllis.

Harrison’s brother was already standing by the fireplace, along with his wife, and he didn’t stop talking even after he saw that his big brother had entered the room.

A brother he hadn’t seen in nearly four years.

Harrison’s CEO, Archie Endicott, and his wife, seemed the happiest to see him. “Harrison, you made it!” Archie said. “Carter and Dalton bet you would be late. I said not a chance.”

Harrison smiled and pointed at Archie.

But while Archie seemed the happiest to see Harrison because he won a bet, it was Jayda’s view that Harrison’s brother seemed the least-happiest to see him.

Which was understandable. Their father’s guess who gets to take over my company game automatically pitted them against each other.

Which Jayda found in many ways disgusting.

Harrison escorted her over to the couples and introduced them one by one. From his CEO and wife, to his COO Dalton Spurington and wife, they all seemed pleased to see her. Primarily because she was still the “fake” fiancée to them and they needed her to perform her best.

But Harrison knew it went deeper than that.

They all were serious stakeholders in BCT stocks and needed Harrison to end up the winner tonight so that their own personal fortunes could grow exponentially.

But the other two couples Harrison introduced her to appeared to be in league with his brother because their reception, though pleasant enough, was laced with chilliness.

But not nearly as chilly as his brother’s reception.

Harrison went over and shook his brother’s hand and chitchatted with him in a very superficial way.

How’s the kids ? How’s the weather in Palm Springs ?

That kind of conversation. Then he moved Jayda slightly forward.

“And this is my fiancée Jayda Robinson. Jayda, this is my kid brother Felix, and his wife Kitty.”

When Jayda heard their names she couldn’t help it. She grinned.

Which Felix didn’t appreciate. “What’s so funny?” he asked her.

Jayda knew she had made a mistake by grinning, but it couldn’t be helped. She was going to be honest. “The cat reference,” she said.

Felix and Kitty looked at her as if they were clueless. “Whatever do you mean?” Kitty asked her.

“He’s Felix and you’re Kitty. The cat reference. I just thought that was cute, that’s all.”

Although everybody in that room had to know what she meant, everybody pretended as if she was the one out to sea.

Except for Harrison. Who laughed. “You know exactly what she means,” he said to his brother and sister-in-law. And that gave permission for all the other guests to laugh too. Felix and Kitty, however, rolled their eyes at Jayda.

Since she expected viciousness, she let it roll off her back as Harrison escorted her to one of three settees in the room.

They both sat down. Then all the others, except for Felix and Kitty, sat down too.

It was obvious to Jayda that Harrison held more power in that room than his kid brother, but that didn’t stop Felix.

He continued his talking and joking as if he was the power center.

When in actuality, if you asked Jayda, he was nothing more than the entertainment.

But when the drawing room doors opened again, Jayda assumed it was the main man entering. She stiffened up again. And because they were seated so close together that part of her back was leaned over onto Harrison’s chest, she could tell that he tensed-up too.

But it wasn’t Harrison’s father. It was a woman.

A very gorgeous redheaded woman. And when the redhead walked in, Jayda could see Harrison give Carter and his other two employees a super-hard look.

An I’ll be damn look. A what the fuck look.

Which immediately let Jayda know that Harrison wasn’t the only one with competition in that room. Suddenly she had competition too.