Page 5 of My Big, Fat, Hot Billionaire Enemy

He nods. “My assistant, Tatiana, will be in touch to schedule something.” He pauses, leaning over the counter, close enough that I can feel the warmth radiating off him. “But be warned,” he murmurs, his voice holding a low, dangerous promise. “You’ll have to be very,veryconvincing to make me change my mind about taking exactly what I want.”

My fingers tremble slightly as I nod. “Th-thank you,” I stammer. “And again, I’m so sorry…”

“Don’t worry about it,” he says, though his eyes linger on the rip in his pants for a beat. He turns back towards the interior of his booth.

My legs feel like jelly as I walk away. The mortification is a physical weight, literally crushing me. Onlookers subtly glance my way, trying to hide their smiles. I can feel my face burning.

I spot Amir, still wiping tears of laughter from his eyes at his booth.

Fury, hot and burning, momentarily eclipses the humiliation.

I storm towards him.

“Amir Khan, you absolutebastard!” I hiss.

“Oh, come on, Lulu, admit it was funny!” he says, still chuckling. “The look on that corporate stiff’s face!”

“Funny?!” My voice cracks. “That was Christopher Blackwell! The guy I told you about! That meeting wascriticalfor my family’s company, and you sicced humping robots on us! He probably thinks I’m a complete lunatic!”

“Hey, you said he was an asshole,” Amir counters, sobering slightly at the intensity of my glare. “Thought I’d help break the ice. Or, you know, trip him up a little.”

“Break the ice? You tore his pants!” Ipractically screech, then lower my voice again. “I could have lost any chance I had!”

“So, did you? Lose the chance?” he asks, tilting his head.

I deflate slightly. “No,” I admit grudgingly. “He… he took my number. Said his assistant would schedule a meeting.”

Amir beams. “See? Mission accomplished! You got the meeting!”

“Yeah, probably so he can send me the tailor bill!” I snap, the humiliation flooding back. “God, Amir, I don’t think I’ve ever been so mortified in my entire life.” The image of that dog relentlessly humping not just my leg, but Blackwell’s, therippingsound, the amused onlookers… it’s seared into my brain. “This isn’t high school anymore! This is mylife!”

Amir’s smile finally fades completely. “Okay, okay, maybe I went too far. I’m sorry. I didn’t realize it wasthatimportant.”

“Yeah, well, it is,” I mutter. I look at him, the anger warring with years of friendship. “I’m probably not going to be talking to you for a while.”

His face falls. “I understand…”

Maybe I’m being too hard on him. It’s not like we talked all that much anyway, but still, what he did, it was totally unacceptable. He crossed a line.

I turn away before he can say anything else and walk quickly towards the exit, needing fresh air, needing to escape the scene of my utter humiliation.

I got the meeting, yes. But at what cost to my dignity?

How on earth am I going to face Christopher Blackwell again afterthat?

2

Christopher

The tinted windows of the Maybach glide silently upward as Victor pulls away from the curb, leaving the glittering chaos of the tech expo behind.

Fucking circus.

Necessary evil but a circus nonetheless.

I lean my head back against the cool leather, letting the city blur past. Skyscrapers stab at the bruised evening sky. Monuments to ambition and ego. Mine included.

Lucy Hammond.