Page 32 of Grumpy Billionaire Seeking Wife (Billionaires Seeking Wives Club #1)

Chapter Eighteen

W es

"Hey, there, Playboy." Miles walks into my office, a wide smile on his face.

"I'm the one who reminded you fifteen minutes ago. Just checking in about the phone calls. How are the women? How does it feel to be the most eligible bachelor in the city?"

“Not funny. I don’t want anyone thinking of me as an eligible bachelor. I’m going to kill you right after I kill Sabrina.”

“So what does Ms. Sabrina Fillmore have to say for herself?” He laughs.

"She said she's sorry, and she didn't mean it," I say, rolling my eyes and jumping up.

"But we both know that that means nothing at this point. I will say she chose a nice photograph of you." He winks at me.

"Shut up. You want to grab a coffee from the break room before we head down to the conference room?" I ask him, and he nods. "I think one of the secretaries brought in donuts, as well, so you're not having a donut."

"Are you telling me I can't have a donut?"

"Miles, we both know you work out far too much and watch your sugar intake. You're not having a donut."

"I will have you know that I love donuts, and I feel like I may have one today," he says, looking me up and down.

"So what are you going to do about this problem? Because I will say, Grandma told me she called you several times and you haven't picked up, nor called her back, and she's quite upset."

“I'm not even looking at my phone right now. It's just ridiculous." As I say that, my phone starts ringing again.

"Hey, I'll get it for you." Miles grabs it from my hand, and I roll my eyes.

"Hello," he says. "No, this isn't Wes, but I can take a message." He starts laughing. "Oh yeah, the position is definitely still open. How sexy are you? Wes is my brother, actually," he says.

"Miles, give me the phone." I reach over, and he swats my hand away.

"He's still single, and he's still a billionaire, and he's still looking for a wifey. Yes, he is. Yes, he is. Aren't you, Wessie Dessie?"

I grab the phone from Miles and hang up. "What the fuck was that, bro?"

"What? I just think it's funny. Sabrina has pulled off the most epic prank known to mankind. You have to hand it to her. When she decides to go big, she goes big."

"Well, she's not going to be laughing when she's working for me," I say, staring into his eyes.

“Working for you? What do you mean?”

“I mean that she’s going to be staying with me, and her sole job is to answer the phone for me and ensure I don't miss phone calls from people like Grandma."

"Okay. And she's okay with this?"

"Yes, she is," I say, nodding. "I mean, she kind of has to be right now because it's her fault that I am unable to."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. You just want to bang her," Miles says. And I glare at him.

"Excuse me. Watch your language."

"Watch my language? Dude, you've wanted to bang her for years. Don't think I haven't seen the way you follow her when she would come over."

"That sounds creepy. I'm not a stalker."

"I am not saying you're a stalker, but trust me, I know something went down last year, and it was more than her going for a kiss, if you know what I mean."

"No, I don't know what you mean."

"I mean, I saw her wearing a tiny little negligee, hurrying down the corridor and entering your room." He smirks.

"So, did you send her away before or after you banged the living daylights out of her?"

"Excuse me?" I stare at him. "Are you out of your mind?"

"So I'm taking it you sent her away before you banged her, and she was embarrassed, and that's why she stopped talking to you. Holy shit. I should be a detective. Look how quickly I got that."

"Very funny, Miles."

"So, you did bang her?"

"No, I did not," I say, glaring at him. "Not that it's any of your business."

"Ah, so she's up for the taking then. I mean, I'm not going to lie. I've definitely noticed that she has blossomed into a beautiful woman."

I grab his shoulder and push him up against the wall. "Watch your mouth, Miles."

"What?" He stares at me in confusion. "You didn't want her. Wait, you're acting really possessive right now. You didn't want her, right? Or did you want her, but you were actually being a gentleman for the first time in your life?"

I step back. "Come on, let's get our coffee."

"Fuck, you were being a gentleman. I didn't know you had it in you."

"You didn't know I had it in me? Shut the fuck up, Miles. Listen to how you sound. Do you bang every woman that wants it from you?"

"No, but if they're cute like Sabrina, I'd have a hard time saying no. I mean, Wes, even you have to admit, she looks gorgeous.”

“She's a very beautiful young woman, and you better not even think about it." I will punch my brother if he even looks at Sabrina for too long.

"So is that why you're having her stay at your place to answer your calls? Because you want a second chance?" He starts laughing. "She's totally not going to hook up with you now. You turned her down last year." His eyes narrow as he takes in my face. I avert my gaze from him.

"Holy, fuck, you've banged her."

"Stop using those terms. I have not banged her."

"You tell me right now you've not slept with her."

I stare at him. "I plead the fifth."

"We're not in court, dude. I'm not a police officer. You don't need to plead the fifth."

"We hooked up."

"Wait, what? When?"

"It doesn't matter. But, yeah."

"So, are you guys an item?"

"We're not. We're just, I don't know, friends with benefits or whatever."

He blinks. "Dang, dude. I didn't know you had it in you. So she's playing hot and cold instead of you, and now you're having her stay at your place. What's the end goal here, dude?"

"What do you mean, what's the end goal?"

"I mean, the woman you've been banging as a friend with benefits is going to be moving in with you.”

“I wouldn't say ‘moving in with me.’ She's going to be my live-in assistant, and we're not going to be sleeping together once she gets to my place. She's already made that very clear."

"Oh, okay. So she said y'all are not going to hook up again, and you're just fine with that."

"I am. I respect her as a woman."

"Bullshit detected, bullshit detected," he says, repeating himself.

"Miles, grow up."

"I am grown, but I'm also self-aware. You really think you guys are going to hook up again? Do you really think this is a good idea, Wes?"

"What does that mean?"

"I mean, she's Erica's best friend. She's really sweet. She's innocent. She's got daddy issues."

"Don't say that about her."

"I mean, it's true. Her dad abandoned her, and it's obvious that she carries a chip on her shoulder.

I mean, don't get me wrong. I love her. She's my sister.

She's awesome. But she is definitely carrying some baggage.

And now you've gone and slept with her. I mean, what does she think about all this? "

"I don't know, but I didn't just sleep with her to sleep with her. I like her."

"You like her? Obviously, you like her. Wait."

"What?"

"Are you saying, you like her, like her?" He rubs his forehead. "Oh, my gosh. Are you in love with her, Wes?" I just stare at him and shrug. "Oh, my gosh. Does she know? Does Erica know?"

"No one knows. You're not even supposed to know. She's not in a place right now where?—"

"What woman doesn't want to be told that they're loved, even by someone like you?" he says.

"Thanks, bro."

"I mean, you're a good-looking guy. You're rich. Why wouldn't she? Ah, we go back to the daddy issues, don't we?"

"What does that mean?"

"We both know what it means. You're rich. She's going to feel like you're trying to take care of her. She doesn't want a man to take care of her because her dad took care of her mom. It's Freud 101."

"I don't think that's Freud."

"But we both know it's true. So, what are you going to do?”

“I’m just going to bide my time and be patient."

"I know you've got a plan. You're Wes Carrington. You've made hundreds of millions of dollars in your sleep. Your brain is always, always working. What's your plan?"

"Fine. I hired a private detective to see if they could locate her dad."

"What? Why?"

"Because closure begins with him, don't you think?" I stare at Miles and see understanding flooding his eyes as he nods slowly.

"You're playing with fire here, Wes."

"What fire?"

"I mean you, her, and who knows what she thinks about you? I mean, you're you. Ew."

"Thank you, Miles."

"I'm just saying, she's about to graduate from college.

She's starting the podcast with Erica. She still works at that senior citizen's home, right?

Her mom is busting her ass. She's never really been in a serious relationship.

I mean, do you really think she's going to want to connect with her dad? "

"I don't know. And I didn't say that they're definitely going to connect.

I just said I've contacted a private detective to see if they can locate him.

Once I figure out what's going on there, then I will decide whether or not to tell her. Then, I’ll decide whether I think it's going to give her the closure she needs and make her feel better and make her understand that I love her and want to be with her.

That I do want to spoil her and give her everything in the world because she deserves it. There. I said it."

"Oh, boy. Why do I feel like I'm on a train and it's heading directly into a wall?"

"Thanks, Miles. That makes me feel great to hear."

"I'm just saying, maybe you should have tried to woo her before you slept with her. You know women, once they have sex, their brains go crazy."

"I don't think you want women to hear you say that, Miles. I mean, I would never say it to a woman. I'm saying it to you as my brother that you're starting to sound like a little bit of a sexist pig."

"The truth hurts, huh?"

"What truth? And I'm not a woman, so whatever you have to say wouldn't be hurting me. But we have a sister and a mom and a grandma, and hopefully one day, we will have wives and daughters. And I don't know that any one of them will be happy with you saying that."