The Player + The Pact = I Do (New York City Billionaires #2)

Chapter 21

TWENTY-ONE

Leo

Monday nights are sacrosanct, spent chewing the fat with my best friends. It’s a night dedicated to the five people I trust with my life and who trust me with theirs. As my success has grown, I’ve realized how important my inner circle truly is. I’m friendly with a lot of people, but friends with just a few.

This Monday, everyone’s meeting at my place. Often we’re out at a bar or a restaurant, but when someone’s got something private they want to discuss, we congregate at one of our apartments. This week, Worth suggested we gather at my place so they can all meet Jules in a low-key way before the awards. He rightly pointed out that introducing my fiancée to my best friends that night would be suspicious.

Jules gave me a hard time when I told her the guys know she’s not my real fiancée. I get that it feels inequitable because I’ve asked her not to tell her friends or family. The difference is, this fake engagement was their idea. And I have more than enough secrets of theirs to ensure they definitely won’t tell a soul—in particular, Fisher, who has to do everything I tell him, now that I have that shot on my phone of him with the two cucumbers.

I haven’t hosted a Monday night since Nadia, and I feel a little weird about it. Luckily, Jules doesn’t feel weird at all. She even helped me pick out the snacks we ordered.

“This is basically our engagement party,” she says, uncovering a plate of roasted vegetables. “And I get to wear sweats because I’m not trying to impress anyone, because they all know it’s fake.”

She doesn’t need to try to impress anyone. She always looks gorgeous, no matter what she’s wearing.

“I don’t mean to be a pedant, but you’re not wearing sweats,” I say.

“Good observation,” she says. “The point is, I could if I wanted to.”

I chuckle because I can’t follow her logic. “You look great,” I say. Her hair is down and it hits her waist. I’ve learned Jules’ hair is a barometer for how comfortable she feels. When it’s down, she’s her most authentic self.

“You okay?” she asks, catching me staring at her.

“I pay you a compliment and you ask me if I’m okay?”

She laughs. “I mean, you seem a little tense.”

“I am a little tense.”

She takes the cover off another platter. “Why? Aren’t these people your best friends?” She pauses, turning to face me. “Are you worried about me being here? I can head down to the gym if that would be easier.”

I shake my head. “No, that’s not it. It’s just…”

“What?” she asks. “You can tell me anything. It’s not like I’m your actual fiancée who will hold it against you for the rest of our marriage.”

Now isn’t the time to unpack that grim view of marriage, but I’ve heard the stories about her dad, so I get it. “It’s a boring story, and it will pass. I’m just a little freaked out.”

“I live for a boring story,” she says. “I want every detail. Tell me everything.” She continues to organize the food and arrange plates and cutlery. I should help, but watching her has induced me into some kind of trance. I can’t take my eyes off her.

“Over the summer, I spent a little time with someone. She was kinda pushy about being in my space, but I was more relaxed about it than I’d normally be. She told me she was leaving New York at the end of the summer, so I figured we had a natural end date and she wasn’t expecting anything from me, so I just went with it.”

“Riiight,” Jules says. “You went along with her being pushy. What does that mean exactly?”

“She wanted to spend a lot of time here. At my place. And then she wanted to meet my friends. Hang out. Looking back, she was very blatant about it.”

“Blatant about what? Wanting to spend time with you?” Her tone has an irritated edge to it.

I sigh. She clearly thinks I was being a dick. I still feel like such a fool for taking Nadia at face value. “Turns out, it wasn’t me she wanted to get to know. She was trying to hack into Bennett’s IT system.”

“I don’t follow.” She sets down the last piece of cutlery and looks at me.

“She targeted me as a way to get to Bennett. He owns an IT company doing really cutting-edge stuff. She was a hacker—possibly representing a foreign government—using me to get physically close enough to Bennett to access his systems. ”

“Wow,” she says, crossing her arms and leaning against the counter. “That officially sucks. Did you really like her?”

A tricky question that’s impossible to answer truthfully, now that I know what she was trying to do. “I don’t know. I think she was, deliberately, very easy company.”

“Well, that’s how you know you can trust me . No one’s ever accused me of being easy company.”

I chuckle and don’t say, I like you a lot better .

The buzzer goes. Jules straightens and turns back to the counter. “What about drinks? Should I have made cocktails? I have no idea what I’m doing as a fake fiancée. Will someone please write a book on that?”

I head to the door and meet Worth coming toward me.

“You need to get better about your security,” he says, pulling me into a hug.

“I left it open for you.” Probably not the best idea in New York City.

“This is Jules,” I say.

She’s a little stiff and awkward, but why do I find it low-key adorable? It’s like she’s my actual girlfriend meeting my friends for the first time.

I slip my hand to her back, trying to offer some reassurance, even though she doesn’t need it. My friends will make her feel comfortable. “Worth is as good as it gets, so if you don’t like him, you’re in for a shitty evening.”

“If you can put up with him ,” Worth says, nodding in my direction, “I’m going to be like a dream come true.”

Jules grins and pulls Worth in for a hug. “So nice to meet you,” she says.

“And you. Thank you for doing this for Leo. It’s a big ask.”

She turns to me, her head tilting in consideration. “Oh, it’s not so bad,” she says .

“I beg to differ,” Worth says. “Leo says you’ve taken over at The Mayfair. You need to make sure he’s not underpaying you.”

She laughs. “Oh, I’m all over that, don’t you worry.”

The door buzzer goes again and this time it’s Bennett and Efa. I asked him to bring her, partly because I thought it would be nice for Jules to have a little female company, and I’m pretty sure the two of them will get on. But also… Efa sussed out Nadia quicker than I did. It’s not like I don’t trust Jules, I do. But… I don’t know. I don’t one hundred percent trust myself, either.

Fisher and Jack arrive just after Bennett, and Byron sends his last-minute apologies, so we’re all here but the vibe is very different than usual. I’ve turned on ESPN, but no one’s even glancing in that direction. Everyone’s chatting and picking at the food and talking to Jules like this is a party.

“Does anyone want water?” Jules asks. “I need to stay hydrated.”

“Yes, please,” Worth says. Turns out, Fisher wants water too. I cross the kitchen and reach for a jug, which I place in Jules’ hands just as she’s about to ask me where she can find one.

She smiles wide, and I can’t help but mirror her. “Just what I was after.” Our voices are low, the two of us carving out a private space in the crowded kitchen. It’s nice.

“Thought so,” I say. “I think I have some lemon too, if you want to be really fancy.”

“I know you have lemons, because I bought them.”

“What is happening to my life that I don’t even know what’s in my fridge anymore?”

“Me,” she says, beaming up at me. “I’m happening to your life. ”

“Don’t I know it.” And I don’t mind it. Not at all. She’s good company, funny and thoughtful and kind. The sex is great. She’s?—

“You two look good together,” Worth says, interrupting my thoughts.

“The light in this apartment makes everyone look good,” Jules says. “And the views make your friend bearable.”

I can’t believe I ever thought she was furious most of the time. I can’t remember the last time Jules wasn’t smiling or making me laugh or just generally happy. I find myself craving her company when she’s not around, wondering what she’s doing and when I’ll see her next.

“So you’re managing The Mayfair?” Fisher asks Jules.

“I am,” she replies. “Best job ever.”

“It’s a shift for that place to have someone at the helm who actually gives a shit, unlike Leo here,” Fisher says.

“Hey,” I say. “I give a shit.”

“No you don’t,” Jules says, poking me in the ribs.

I’m about to contradict her, but what’s the point? I sigh. “You’re right, I don’t. Not that I wouldn’t like for Bennett to lose.”

“Bennett to lose what?” Her gaze flits from him to me.

Of course, Fisher is the one to fill her in. “We each own a hotel and hold a yearly competition of sorts. Mainly based on percentage of net revenue increase. But we also look at gross revenue.”

“Huh,” she says. “You each have a hotel. Is that a coincidence?”

“They bought them so they could bond and compete in equal measure,” Efa says. “It’s basically a dick-measuring contest. But for billionaires. Some guys simply would buy and trade Star Wars memorabilia…”

“Or maybe race muscle cars?” Jules says on a laugh. I’m not sure if she’s laughing at the idea of me in a muscle car or the sheer ridiculousness of the hotel contest. Both maybe. “I can’t believe you bought The Mayfair just so you could fit in with your gang.” She elbows me.

“That’s not it,” I say. “It’s about…” I can’t finish my sentence. Because it is ridiculous. But it’s also not. Even though I’m not truly invested in The Mayfair, I wouldn’t sell it. Doing so would give up a connection to my best friends.

“It explains why you put up with Louis for so long,” she says.

Fisher groans. “I begged him to fire that guy. I knew he was useless.”

“He was running the place into the ground,” she says, “but keeping net profit relatively stable because of underinvestment.”

Bennett laughs. “So what you’re saying is that Leo is going to take an absolute bath when it comes to net profit this financial year.”

She nods. “Got it in one.” What does it say about me that I like how no-holds-barred she is? She doesn’t sugarcoat anything. It’s refreshing. “It’s going to take a while to get us out of the hole Louis got us in.”

If anyone can do it, she can.

I turn my attention from Jules and realize my friends are all staring at me. “I get it,” I say. “Louis was crap. Should have gotten rid of him earlier.”

“How is it having a roommate?” Worth asks, changing the subject completely.

It’s like I’ve been slammed into a brick wall of thoughts about my last roommate, Nadia. It’s a stark reminder that for all the jovial banter and relative comfort between us, I really don’t know Jules that well. I thought Nadia was a certain type of person and she turned out to be another. I thought Caroline was in love with me and wanted to be with me forever; that turned out to be a lie, too. I have to be careful who I trust.

“Better than the last one,” I say. Nadia basically moved in, given the amount of time she spent here.

Jules skims her palm over my back and the muscles in my jaw lock tight. “Can I get you anything?”

I shake my head, and I see her register my shift in attitude. I’m being a dick. She’s never done anything to make me the slightest bit suspicious. Things are different with Jules. To start, I know she’s using me. We’re using each other. I want a fiancée; she wants a job. All our cards are on the table. I think.

I hope.