Page 343 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol. 3

City of Sin - Epilogue

Mason

My best friend was finally getting hitched. I still wasn't sure why James hadn't asked me to be his best man though. The best man was supposed to be a bestfriend. Not a little brother. I took another sip of my scotch as we waited for Rob to arrive. Another reason why Rob shouldn't be the best man...he didn't value the functionality of a watch.

"We should already be on the way to James' office," Matt said, checking his Rolex.

See.Matt understood the concept of time. "This is why I should have been the best man."

Matt laughed. "You gotta let that go. James isn't going to change his mind."

I ignored him and took another sip of scotch.

"Look at it this way," Matt said. "When you marry Bee, who are you going to ask to be your best man?" He pointed to his chest.

"But that's different."

He laughed. "How is that different? Rob's my best friend, but I'm still going to ask you to be my best man. You're going to ask me, just like I'm going to ask you. Just like James asked Rob and Rob will ask James. You're just butthurt that you don't get to host the bachelor party at your new club."

"I'm not butthurt." What the hell was he talking about? My ass was fine. "But yeah, I pushed up the opening date so that we could celebrate there. And now not only did Rob finalize the bachelor party plans without me, but he also didn't give me enough notice to cancel the opening night of Club Onyx. I'm going to miss it." I was the king of bachelor parties.Ask any male on the Upper East Side.I'd had this party planned to a T, despite James and Bee's concerns. If I wasn't allowed to be the best man, I could at least throw the best damned bachelor party ever. And I thought Rob and I were on the same page...until he finalized the itinerary at the last moment.

"There will be plenty of parties there. No worries."

He didn't get it. Bee Inspired Media Group was doing amazing. But Club Onyx was a fun side project Bee and I were doing together. A top-secret, exclusive club. Not even Matt knew all the particulars. He also didn't know that Bee was involved with the planning. After I called it quits on my underground dealings, we thought it would be fun to start something on the up and up. Together. Just...hushed.

"Will Bee be attending the grand opening without you this weekend?"

I almost spit out my scotch. "What? No. She doesn't..."

"I know that she knows. Obviously she knows. The two of you are glued to the hip."

I opened my mouth and then closed it again. There was no point in lying to him if he already knew. "No, she won't be going without me."

"Are you sure about that? Maybe she's planning Penny's bachelorette party there. I can't even imagine all the crazy stuff they could get into."

I laughed. "No. She definitely wouldn't tell Penny about Club Onyx."

Matt shrugged. "Yeah, probably not. Penny's too innocent for something like that." He looked down at his glass.

Recently Matt had been saying weird shit like that. Smart remarks about Penny and James. He was giving me a lot of shit when it seemed like he was upset about something too. Maybe he was pissed he wasn't James' best man either. Before I could ask him about it, he started talking again.

"So who's holding down the fort for opening weekend if you two aren't attending?"

"Our business partner, Tanner Rhodes."

"Tanner Rhodes?" Rob asked and clapped me on the back.

I glanced at my watch to verify that Rob was over twenty minutes late.Turd.Okay, fine. Maybe I was a little jealous that he was the best man.

"I don't trust that guy," Rob said. "He seems...off."

"Tanner?" I shook my head. "You just have to get to know him. He's cool. And I'm pretty sure he has infinite funds, which means he's a great business partner."

"Maybe so. But I swear I saw him wearing elf shaped Crocs the other day outside that new sex club you're starting with Bee."

Rob knows too? How the hell does everyone know Bee's involved in this?"Bee isn't part of..."

Rob pretended to crack a whip and made the accompanying whooshing noise. "Of course she is. You do everything together."