Page 11 of My Best Friend’s Billionaire Brother (Billionaire Brothers #4)
Josie
“I’ll take a vodka cranberry,” I yell over the loud music.
The bartender nods and turns away to fix my drink.
I lean on the bar as I wait, glancing over to the table on the far side of the room where Owen and a group of his friends are hanging out.
It’s a high top with only a few chairs, so some of the guys are sitting, and others are standing around.
One of Owen’s friends, Luke, had gotten some great promotion at work, so he’d invited all the guys out to celebrate. It’s a Friday night, and Owen and I’d had plans for a date night, but I didn’t mind rescheduling it to celebrate his friend .
This bar is a bit on the rowdy side. Loud music, bright lights. It kind of reminds me of the bars we went to in Vegas.
“Here you go,” the bartender calls, handing me my drink. I give him my card, opting to not leave a tab open. I don’t know how much I really want to drink tonight. After the hangover in Vegas after that night at the strip club, I don’t want to venture anywhere near that again.
I take my card and my drink and head back over to the table of guys. Owen is sitting, so I sidle up next to the two guys standing, one of them Luke.
“Congratulations on your promotion,” I tell him with a smile.
“Oh thanks,” he replies, turning toward me. “Yeah, I’d been gunning for it for quite a while. Can’t believe I actually got it. And the workload is going to be so different. I’m nervous but excited.”
“That’s amazing,” I tell him .
“How about you? How’s work going?” he asks me. “Owen says you’re in graphic design?”
I nod. “Yep. Designing logos, websites, marketing materials, things like that. I’ve got a super fun project I’m working on right now. A rebrand for a bakery. Really cute stuff.”
“Nice,” Luke says.
Our conversation fizzles out and turns into a larger conversation with the group.
Rick starts telling stories about the weird guy he works with, getting the whole group laughing along.
After about half an hour, I shuffle my feet a bit, feeling a bit tired from standing.
I glance around, hoping to see an abandoned chair somewhere.
“Hey, Josie,” Owen’s voice pulls me from my perusal. He’s standing next to me now. At first, I think he’s going to offer me his chair, but the look on his face seems … serious.
I quirk an eyebrow at him. “Yeah? ”
He grabs my arm, pulling me away from the group. They’re deep in some conversation about football, so they don’t seem to notice or care about our departure. Owen leads us to the corner where there are less people and it’s a bit quieter.
His grip still tight on my upper arm, he turns to me. “What the fuck?”
I stare at him like a deer in headlights. “Uh … what?” I sputter.
He rolls his eyes, letting go of my arm in exasperation. “What was that back there with Luke?” he demands.
“With Luke …?” I glance back at the guys in bewilderment. “What are you talking about?”
He levels me with a glare. “You were flirting with him right in front of my face.” There’s venom in his voice, an anger I’ve never seen from him before.
I pause, staring at him in shock for a few heartbeats, in disbelief that this is an actual conversation we’re having. “I wasn’t flirting with Luke, we were talking,” I finally reply.
Owen shakes his head. “Yeah, whatever. I saw the way he looked at you. And who can blame him—I mean, look at what you decided to wear tonight.” He gestures at my outfit. A pair of jeans and a V-neck top. Sure, the top is slightly low-cut, but what the actual hell?
“Excuse me?”
Owen shakes his head again. “I can’t believe you, Josie. I really can’t. You dress like that , you act like a flirt, and you pretend to be completely oblivious to the consequences.”
My mouth drops open. Silence stretches between us as my brain struggles to comprehend the words that just came out of his mouth. What the hell has gotten into him? I’ve never seen this side of Owen.
Well … maybe that’s not true. I think back to our fight over the weekend of the bachelorette party.
How he’d been so angry about that stupid outfit.
How I’d li ed and told him I hadn’t worn it just so he’d shut the hell up about it.
How he always wanted to be a part of my plans but never wanted to include me in his.
How he never wanted me going anywhere without him—even out to drinks with friends.
“You’re not serious,” I say, almost as a final plea. That this is all just a stupid joke. That Owen isn’t actually the asshole he’s pretending to be.
He raises his eyebrows at me incredulously. “Knock it off, Josie,” he snaps.
And that’s when it hits me. Like a slap in the face. That this pattern is only going to continue. And get worse.
I shake my head, suddenly angry. Furious. “We’re done, Owen,” I snap. I wait just long enough to see his expression morph from irritation to shock. And then I turn on my heel and leave the bar.