Page 25 of Fake Dating Mr. Prince

“Awesome. We stopped by the bar downstairs from your penthouse. Have something to eat and a few drinks with us before you go up.” The “we” was probably my closest friends from college. If Noah was there, that meant so was Kyle, Jaxon, and Ben. The four of us had met our freshman year. All except Jaxon worked in Boston, and between our busy work schedules, I didn’t get to see them often enough.

They knew how stressed I’d been before I left about my dad’s health and the company. Even as tired as I was, I couldn’t bail on them.

“Sure. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”

“Cool,” he said before hanging up. Noah wasn’t the type to wait for me to respond.

I was glad to have them to bounce a few things off of. Things had gotten weird in Paris, and I wasn’t sure what to make of it. Talking to trusted friends who knew my life situation would be a huge help.

Within minutes, the cab parked in front of the downtown hotel where I lived. A few years back, they renovated and decided to sell the penthouses on the upper floors. It had the best view of the city, and I was the first to bid on one.

I made my way through the lobby and asked the concierge to have my bags brought up before heading into the restaurant. The moment I entered, I knew which direction to go. Even without Noah telling me they were at the bar, I would have known. Kyle’s loud laugh rang out.

I strode in that direction, walking past a group of girls who held their gaze steady on me while I headed to the bar. One in particular’s eyes confidently roamed my body, clearly eye fucking me. Another licked her lips and smiled suggestively.

Not for the first time since the ball, I wondered if something was wrong with me. There was nothing about them that piqued my interest.

The only person to capture my attention since that night was the hot blonde who cleaned my office. I hadn’t been able to get her, or the mystery woman from the ball, out of my mind. Something about those two women struck me on a deeper level.

The woman in blue was lost forever, but now that a week had passed, I was already imagining what it might be like to see the blonde again. My instincts were telling me to confront her and see if she felt that same burning attraction I did. If she was willing, I wouldn’t have hesitated to act on our desire for a night or two. The only things holding me back was my father’s decree that I change my ways. And more importantly, she worked in our building and I didn’t want to make her uncomfortable.

When the guys saw me they yelled out to get my attention. I grinned. These were my ride-or-die friends. I approached the bar and bro-hugged Noah and Kyle while Jaxon and Ben lifted their drinks in greeting. Even though I asked how they were, I already knew this impromptu visit was for me.

“Yo, how’s Henri?” Ben asked.

Henri had been part of our crew too before he took off for France.

“He’s good. You know, livin’ his dream life. I didn’t get a chance to see him for long. He did mention we all have to go spend a week with him soon. He’s missing his friends.”

“I’m up for that,” Kyle said and high-fived Jaxon.

“So Paris ... did it work out like you needed it to?” Noah asked. He always got right to the point.

I waved over the bartender who brought my usual. I frequented this bar often enough, they knew what I drank. I took a swig before responding, “Not in any way imaginable.”

“What happened?” Ben asked, concern shadowing his words.

“Besides not being able to convince D’Amboise that my playboy ways have nothing to do with how well I can run PI and his company, fucking Simone showed up.”

“What the fuck, dude. Did she know you were there?” Kyle asked.

“No, she was there wrapping up a film. We ran into each other at a restaurant. It was a total fluke thing, but shit—”

“Dude, that bitch annihilated you. I hope you returned the favor.” Noah growled.

“Seriously, and risk having another scandal on my hands? The last thing I need is for the tabloids in Paris to catch Simone and me in a fight. It would bring the past up all over again.”

“But she lied about you,” Kyle grumbled. He’d never been a fan of Simone’s to begin with.

“You and I know that, but no one else believed it. It took me years before that story was buried enough that reporters stopped asking me about it.”

“What did the bitch want?” Jaxon asked.

“Can you believe she wanted a second chance?” Which was completely laughable. I was still shocked she thought I would consider it.

“No, fucking way!” Kyle’s astonishment rivaled my own.

“Yeah, she said she’dgrown up. Whatever the fuck that means. And that she made a horrible mistake under the influence of a bad manager.” It still hurt, but no one needed to know that, even these guys.