Page 37 of Forbidden Billionaires, Vol. 9

I opened up my laptop and scrolled through the list of remaining applicants. Any one of these girls could be a serial killer. Or a man. A knock on the door brought me out of my trance.

I slid off the stool and headed to the door. I took a deep breath before opening it. Please just be a normal girl. I opened the door and smiled. "Hi, you must be Piper." I extended my hand to her.

She shifted uneasily before shaking my hand. As soon as her hand fell from mine, she grabbed hand sanitizer from her purse and squirted a large glob in her hand.

"I just washed my hands," I said.

"I'm sure you did." Her tone was accusatory.

"Did you want to come in?" I asked as politely as I could muster.

The girl nodded and walked past me. "This doesn't really look like the pictures."

"Lots of the furniture belonged to my previous roommate. I was hoping to split the cost of some new stuff with whoever takes her place."

"The price is a little high then, don't you think?"

"It's just half of what the rent is. It's the same that I pay."

"Does it at least include utilities?"

"No." This girl wasn't very nice.

"How often do you clean?"

"Whenever anything needs to be cleaned."

"My last roommate was really sloppy. I don't want to live with someone like that again."

"I really do clean a lot. I just vacuumed the living room and cleaned the bathroom. And I never leave dishes in the sink. That's actually a pet peeve of mine too."

"It doesn't look clean."

"Excuse me?"

Piper looked around the room. "Can I see your bedroom?"

"Why?" My answer was a little snappy, but I couldn't help it. Who was she to come into my apartment and criticize me? Besides, I was supposed to be conducting the interview, not her.

"To see if you're sloppy or not."

"Why don't you just believe me?" I thought about the clothes strewn around my room, which now included the hideous bridesmaid dress. I was sloppy. It was like this stranger could see right through me.

"Because you have shoes in the middle of your kitchen floor. That's a cooking hazard, surely."

"What?" I tilted my head and looked over her shoulder.

Sure enough, my high heels from the wedding were still on the floor.

"Oh, I got home late last night from a wedding.

I must have just overlooked them. I promise that I don't usually leave shoes laying around.

I keep all my personal stuff in my room. "

"And why can't I see your room?" she countered.

"Well...um...like I said, I just got back from a wedding. And I didn't really have time to tidy up my room..."

"Thanks, but no thanks." Piper walked past me and out the door.

What the hell?

***

Seven interviews and seven duds. And Piper hadn't even been the worst. I put my face in my hands. There were only two days until the end of the month. If I didn't choose someone soon, I'd have to pay next month's rent solo. I could afford it, but I'd have to take the money out of my savings.

I bit my lip. In the back of my mind, I was thinking about Rory.

Actually, I couldn't seem to stop thinking about him.

He had been the nicest one. But I couldn't live with someone I was attracted to.

That would be uncomfortable. And I had only asked him half of my questions because I had been too embarrassed. I barely knew anything about him.

He really was the best option, though. I picked up Rory's business card from the counter. His restaurant was open until three. I glanced at my computer screen. It was only 2 o'clock. Maybe if I went down there, I could get to know him better before rashly asking him to be my roommate.

Before I could chicken out, I grabbed my purse and hurried out of my apartment.

I made my way down the street, searching for the restaurant.

It was nestled between a Starbucks and a pizza place.

I had never noticed it before. I pushed the door open and a bell rang to announce my arrival.

The small restaurant was deserted. It was past lunchtime, though, so maybe their usual crowd had already left.

I looked around. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to sit down or wait for a hostess.

There was a man at a counter in the back staring at me.

"Can I help you, miss?"

Oh, I'm supposed to order back there. I wound my way between the small bistro tables to the back of the restaurant. There was a chalkboard behind the counter. All the menu items were in French, but the descriptions were in English.

"I'm sorry, I don't really know how to pronounce anything. Can I just have a turkey sandwich on a croissant?"

"Sure thing. Did you get that, Rory?" The man looked over his shoulder.

"Got it!" Rory said from somewhere I couldn't see.

"That will be $7.50, miss."

"Okay." I grabbed my wallet out of my purse. Just as I pulled out a ten dollar bill, Rory walked up to the counter. An apron was tied around his waist and his hair was mussed up. He looked even sexier than he had earlier. There was a dot of flour on his cheek. And he was smiling at me.

"This one's on me, Jerry."

Jerry looked at Rory and then back at me. "I actually need to use the restroom. I'll be back." He winked at Rory and walked away.

Rory put his elbows on the counter and leaned forward slightly. "I hope you're bringing me good news, Keira. You saw how short of a walk it is from your apartment to here."

"I actually haven't made up my mind yet." I put the money on the counter and slid it toward him.

"Lots of good contenders, huh?" He slid the bill back toward me and put the plate with the sandwich on it down on top of the money.

"There were a few." I laughed, remembering Piper storming out of the apartment. "Actually most of them were horrible. There was this one girl who thought I was too sloppy to live with. She was super rude."

Rory leaned forward on the counter. "I don't mind if you're a little dirty."

The way he said it made my heart race. I could feel my face blushing. "I don't mind paying, Rory. I didn't come here to get free food. You just mentioned it, and I've never been here..." I shrugged my shoulders. I couldn't seem to control my rambling around him.

"It's on me. I insist."

"Are you trying to bribe me?"

"I'm just being nice. But if you're accepting bribes, then yes, it is a bribe."

"Well, thank you." I grabbed the sandwich and my money and made my way over to one of the tables. Geez, could I be any more awkward?