A Billionaire BWWM Romance 2: Jealousy and Trust (7 page)

“Why,
that annoying bitch,” she sniped under her breath before she
cleared her throat loudly enough to catch both Steven and Stephanie’s
attention. “Mother called us to the table,” Amber said.
Steven walked towards Amber and Julie, leaving Stephanie to walk up
to them, staring daggers at Julie. Steven slipped an arm around
Julie’s waist and led her to the dining room.

“There
you are,” Victoria said with a smile. “Steven you will
sit here and Julie, I thought you may want to sit right next to him,”
she said as she pulled out a seat for Julie.

“But
I always sit next to Steven,” Stephanie announced.

“That
was when the two of you were together. Julie’s with Steven
now,” Joanna explained as she looked at Stephanie. Julie
guessed that Joanna and Stephanie didn’t have the best
relationship.

“Fine,
but I hope you don’t mind, I asked my friend to join us. She is
visiting me for the weekend,” Stephanie said as she sat down.

“I
suppose we could always add another place at the table,”
Victoria said as she sat down. Just then they heard the doorbell.
Julie looked at Steven and wondered if this was something unusual at
the Davenport household. They had uninvited guests all the time and
it was never a big deal. All the attention turned to the doorway as
the familiar sound of high heels on the marble flooring got louder
signaling the guest getting closer and closer. When Stephanie’s
guest walked into the dining room, Julie felt the color drain from
her face.

“You’ve
got to be shitting me,” she thought as she looked at the same
person she had termed a difficult client.

“Stephen
you remember my best friend from elementary school, Kelsey Buckner,”
Stephanie said as Kelsey walked into the room. Julie’s heart
was suddenly beating faster again.

“Julie
Parker? This is a small world,” Kelsey said smiling at Julie.

“You
two know each other?” Steven asked. Julie nodded.

“Yeah,
we’ve met,” Julie said, unsure of the emotion she had at
that moment.

Dinner
was uncomfortable to say the least. Not only did Steven have a past
with Stephanie but as it turned out, he had a complicated one with
Kelsey too. This weekend was not at all what Julie had intended. It
was only the first day and she was already dying to go back home. All
through dinner, she endured Stephanie and Kelsey’s subtle hints
at Steven and by the time she and Steven got back to their room, all
she wanted to do was sleep.

“I’m
sorry about…everything,” Steven apologized as he sat on
the bed. Julie was at the dressing mirror slowly taking off her light
jewelry.

“It’s
fine,” she promised as she undid the bun in her hair. “It’s
not like you planned this, right?” she asked as she kicked her
shoes off. Steven rose from the bed and walked over to where she was
and held her waist. “Are you the one who sent Kelsey to me?”
she asked as she looked at their reflection in the mirror.

“What
do you mean?” he asked.

“Yesterday
she came over to the office. She wants a house like Elena and
Carrie’s and since they are your clients, I thought that she
was too,” she said as she turned around. Steven shook his head.

“She
may have been trying to track me down and Elena and Carrie led her to
me,” he said.

“Why
would she try to track you down?” she asked. Steven shrugged.

“Unlike
Stephanie, Kelsey can take break ups a bit too…hard,” he
admitted.

“Was
she the reason you moved to the States?” she asked. Steven
shook his head no.

“I
moved because I was expanding my company,” he explained. Julie
pulled away from him and walked towards the bed. She sat on the edge
and undid her hair bun. “Are you okay?” Steven asked as
he looked at her. She shrugged and lay down on the bed.

“If
I had known meeting your family would be the easy thing, I would have
thought twice about taking this trip,” she said. Steven walked
up to where she was and sat down next to her.

“We
can leave any time you want,” he said. She turned and looked at
him and then shook her head.

“Amber
told me all about what your mother has planned this weekend. It would
break her heart if we left before then,” she sighed.

“Are
you sure? Because the party tomorrow will have a whole lot people,
most of them more annoying than Kelsey and Stephanie combined,”
Steven said. Julie shrugged.

“It’s
just a couple of days. I like to believe that I am that strong,”
she said, trying to force a smile. She looked at him and noticed the
discomfort in his eyes. He was obviously having a hard time being
here, maybe even more than she was.

“Are
you really sure?” he repeated. “Because some of the
events that my parents throw together…they do what you
Americans like to say turn up,” he added with a smile.

“I’m
fine. I will not be the woman who drags you away from a family
event,” Julie said. Steven draped an arm around her shoulders
and planted a kiss on her forehead.

“I
love you,” he said in whisper.

*****

The
following day was just as big as Steven had said it would be. If they
were back home, this would be an old fashioned potluck…or more
like a barbecue. At first, Julie was not sure what outfit would be
appropriate for the day. If she was back home, she would have been
good with jeans and a top but this was different. She didn’t
even think Victoria had ever seen a pair of jeans. Steven had gone
into town to check on his business, leaving Julie all alone. She had
entertained the idea of going with him, but she was too tired after
the weirder than weird dinner party. Steven had left her a note that
he would join in the party later on after he was done. After having a
shower, she laid out the three outfits she had brought with her on
the bed and looked at them. Nothing looked or even felt right. She
was still looking at the outfits laid out on the bed when she heard a
soft knock on the door. She walked over to the door and opened it to
find an all dressed Amber standing at the door.

“Wow,
did I wake you up?” Amber asked as she walked into the room.
Julie smiled nervously and shook her head.

“I
am having a wardrobe crisis,” she said as she pointed at the
bed.

“These
are really cute,” Amber said looking at her. “Why exactly
are you having as wardrobe crisis?” she asked.

“Cute
is not exactly what I am trying to go for. Plus, look at you. You
look ready for the red carpet. Trust me, cute won’t cut it,”
Julie said as she sat down. She looked at Amber and sighed. She was
in a one shoulder green maxi dress and wearing one of the sleeveless
dresses she had brought on the trip would just not work. Amber picked
up one of the dresses and held it against her as she walked to the
dressing mirror.

“I
wish I had the body for this,” she said as she turned to her
side.

“What
do you mean? Your body is perfect,” Julie said.

“It
may be perfect, but I would need an ass like yours if I was to make
this dress work. Otherwise, I would look like an overdressed
mannequin,” Amber said making Julie laugh. “There’s
that smile. Now let’s sort you out,” Amber said as she
put the dress back on the bed and took Julie’s hand in hers.
“Come on,” she said as she led Julie to the door.

“Where
are we going? I have a bathrobe on,” Julie protested.

“My
room is just down the hall and everyone’s outside anyway. It’s
just you and me in here,” Amber said as the two walked out of
Steven and Julie’s room. They walked quickly down the hall to
Amber’s room which looked like a suite at the Hilton or
something. Amber led Julie to a huge walk in closet and Julie noticed
that most of the clothes still had tags on them.

“You
haven’t even worn some of these clothes,” Julie gasped as
she looked through the racks. Amber shrugged.

“I
know. Maybe mother is right. I do have too much clothes,” she
said with a smile as she pulled out two dresses from the racks. “Try
these on,” she said. After half an hour, Julie was dressed and
ready. She settled on a white strapless maxi with a front thigh high
slit. The dress had beautiful black and brown beading that made it
look even more elegant than it already was. Julie had her hair
straightened and worn in a simple side sweep. By the time she stepped
out of the house, Julie was feeling like a million bucks. As she
looked around, she realized that the Davenports were probably a
bigger deal than she thought. The place had a number of celebrity
guests, and to think this was a simple affair.

“Is
this normal for you? All these people?” Julie asked in awe as
she looked around. There were at least a hundred people there and she
found herself wondering whether more were coming.

“Yeah,
every year mother holds this party. She says it’s for business
purposes but I never really get it,” Amber said. Julie
shrugged.

“What
exactly do your parents do?” she asked as she looked at Amber.

“Dad
is a financial adviser and my mother has an events organizing
company. She mostly caters to high rated clients, celebrities and
stuff,” Amber said.

“Wow,
where did Steven get an interest in properties then?” Julie
asked. Amber smiled.

“Steven
has always been a person to make his own way. My father wanted him to
take over Davenport Financial but I guess my brother had something
else on his mind. Plus, he really wanted to be independent of my
parents,” Amber said. Julie nodded and smiled as the two walked
over to a large table that had a generous spread of food. There were
drinks, bites, everything but the main barbecue. Amber excused
herself when Lory walked up to them and said something about Victoria
looking for something …or someone. Julie didn’t really
know what. She had just picked up a couple of skewered beef when
Stephanie and Kelsey walked over to her.

“Julie,
you look great,” she heard Kelsey’s voice. She took a
deep breath and rolled her eyes before she turned around and forced a
smile.

“Thank
you. You too,” Julie said.

“Is
that Versace? You have great taste,” Stephanie said in what was
obviously a fake smile.

“Yes
it is and thanks,” Julie said as she took a bite of her
skewered beef.

“So,
you and Steven….wow,” Kelsey said. Julie was not sure
what she was supposed to say.

“Yeah,”
she said.

“I
would have never thought that this is what you were talking about
when you said you had to take the weekend off,” Kelsey said.
Julie smiled.

“I
thought you were in a hurry to get that property. You know, the way
you were persistent on getting a house before the end of the
weekend,” she said looking at Kelsey who looked at Stephanie.

“I’m
not in a very big hurry so to say,” Kelsey said.

“Okay,
so maybe I’ll call you sometime next week and set up a meet,”
Julie said.

“Sure.
I’ll appreciate that,” Kelsey said.

“So,
Julie, how exactly did you meet Steven? You don’t look like the
kind of person who would run in his circles,” Stephanie said.
Julie looked at her and raised an eyebrow.

“Excuse
me?” she asked as she looked at Stephanie.

“Don’t
get me wrong, you look like an average person and Steven…well,
you can tell by today’s guest list that he is an A-lister. So,
I can’t help but wonder how you met,” Stephanie said
matter-of-factly. Julie took another bite of her skewered beef before
she put the plate down.

“Like
Kelsey said, I am a realtor. So that’s how we met and as far as
whether me and him run in the same circles, that isn’t
something you need to concern yourself with anymore. You lost that
privilege when you broke up or when he dumped you because I find it
hard to believe that he would wait for you to walk out on him,”
she snapped looking at Stephanie.

“You
have quite the tongue on you, don’t you, Julie Parker?”
Stephanie asked smiling. From the corner of her eye, Julie could see
Kelsey smiling. She turned and looked at her and raised an eyebrow.

“Do
you have a question for me too?” she asked. Kelsey smiled and
shook her head.

“I
feel like I know everything that I need to know, but I would want to
know what you did to him to make him bring you all the way out here.
You have been with him for a shorter period than any of us, but we
never got the formal introduction,” she said.

“Speak
for yourself,” Stephanie piped up.

“The
only reason why the family knew you and him had a thing was because
of the family ties,” Kelsey said dismissively. Julie shrugged
and a smile played on her lips. She was as uncomfortable as ever, but
she knew she couldn’t lose her cool. “But you, Julie,
from all the way and here you are meeting the parents. Are you guys
serious?”

“What
do you think?” Julie asked.

“We
were serious and his family knew about me and look what happened?”
Stephanie argued. Julie shook her head and smiled at them.

“I
don’t need this. I’m not going to do this with the two of
you,” she said as she looked around for one of the waitresses.
She really needed a drink at that moment.

“Oh,
you don’t need to. We’re not the ones you have to worry
about,” Kelsey said, pointing to the far left corner of the
pool area where Steven was. Julie turned around and looked at Steven
walking in with a tall dark haired woman. She was surprised when she
saw the woman slip her hand around Steven’s arm. “If it
really was serious, then what is that?” Kelsey asked before she
and Stephanie walked away giggling. Julie was not sure if it showed
on her face, but she was hurting. Her heart was breaking into a
million pieces with every step Steven took. She fought back a tear
when she saw the woman using her spare hand to caress his tight abs.
She suddenly turned around and walked into the house. She quickly
made her way up the stairs to her room. When she got in, she bolted
the door and leaned against the door. She closed her eyes and took
deep, long breaths trying hard to control her breathing, but she just
found her tears were flowing freely down her cheeks. At that moment,
she wanted nothing more than to talk to Meg. She walked over to the
night stand and picked up her phone. She had not used it since the
previous night when she called her dad telling him that they got to
London safely. She picked up her phone and dialed Meg, who answered
on the third ring.