Billionaire Romance Boxed Set (9 Book Bundle) (50 page)

Chapter Two

Deborah

Shortly
after receiving my diploma, the steady drizzle became a downpour. I spotted
Ashley near the walkway just beyond the graduation arch, kissing Jacob on the
forehead as she handed him to a smiling Xander who held an umbrella.

Xander
was the perfect handsome complement to Ashley. Together they looked like they
stepped out of a magazine. With his perfectly trimmed beard and hair a little
on the longer side, I could see why Ashley fell for him. And to watch how he
looked at her, you could see the intense love in his eyes. In both their eyes
really.

I
waved to them as I headed towards my car. They looked so happy. I couldn’t help
it, for a brief second I was jealous. It wasn’t that I wanted a family, or even
a husband. I didn’t even want to be bothered with a boyfriend right now. The
last thing I needed was that kind of distraction. Its just sometimes since
Grandma died I felt really alone.

“That
was a beautiful ceremony, Deb,” Ashley said once she caught up with me.

“Yeah
I guess it wasn’t that bad. Thankfully the rain made them cut it short.”

“We
can take my car. It’s in the lot across the street, are you there too?”

“Ha,
no. I popped all the money I had into the meter and hoped I wouldn’t get a
ticket,” I said as I pointed to the navy four-door piece of shit that used
to be my grandmother’s car. “I need to take my car, I’m sure the meter’s
up. How about if I follow you to Joshua’s?”

“Sure,
I’ll pull around to meet you,” she said before heading towards the parking
lot.

I
unlocked my car and slipped in behind the steering wheel, throwing the cap and
gown onto the seat beside me. Turning the key in the ignition I felt my stomach
drop when nothing happened. The car was silent.

“Shit!
Not now! No, not now!” I yelled as I turned the key again. But the only
sound I heard was the click of my keys against the console. “Please,
please please start!” As Ashley pulled up next to me in her beautiful,
expensive SUV, I shook my head and begged. “Not in front of her, please
start. Don’t make her feel sorry for me.”

Pulling
the key out then shoving it back into the ignition hard, the car suddenly came
to life. I breathed a sigh of relief before pulling out into traffic behind
Ashley.

After
a quick drive on the freeway, we got off an exit that brought us closer to the
center of the city of Canyon Cove. As we stopped at a red light, I looked over
at the car stopped beside mine in the next lane. It was a shiny, black sports
coupe and I slowly realized I knew the car.
Doug? It couldn’t be…could it?

Doug
Murray was my last boyfriend and at almost a year, my longest relationship. We
met the first year of college and had an immediate attraction. He played
lacrosse and had a laid back style I found irresistible. With spiky brown hair
and dimples in his cheeks when he smiled, every girl turned their head to look
when Doug entered the room.

Surprised
to see him, I stared until Doug turned and looked back at me. I smiled and
waved, but I could see by his face that he didn’t know who I was. As
recognition slowly filled his face, he covered his mouth with one hand, pointed
at me with the other, and laughed.

The
traffic light couldn’t change fast enough. I knew I was heavier than the last
time he saw me, but his laughter felt like he reached into my chest and yanked
my heart out and stomped on it. Wishing I could say something to him and put
him in his place, I lifted my hand up and extended my middle finger at him as
the light turned green.

When
Ashley and I reached the parking lot at Fashion Plaza, I stepped out of my car
still shaken up by Doug’s mocking.

“You
alright? You don’t look so good.” Ashley said as we followed the
path from the parking lot into the shopping area.

“Yes,
I’m fine,” I said then sighed. “No, I’m really not. Its just my ex. I
just saw him.”

“When?
Now? What happened?”

“Yeah,
just now. At the traffic light before. Its just so odd because he was just such
an ass, but when we were together he really wasn’t. He was actually really
sweet. We even stayed friends for a while afterwards, but I guess we lost
touch.”

“Sounds
like you’re leaving something out.”

“Yeah,
I guess I ignored the obvious. I feel bad about that,” I said as I thought
about the past. “Doug went to college full time so he graduated a couple
of years ago. It was around that time that my grandmother took a turn for the
worse. Between that and all the time I was spending with Doug while he decided
what to do with his degree, my grades started to suffer.

“I
guess I should’ve been more honest with Doug, but I was so upset about my
grandma that I shut down. I broke up with Doug and we decided to stay friends.
He’d invite me over and we’d hang out, it was nice.

“I
should’ve seen the signs though. I don’t think he was over me. Maybe he thought
if we stayed friends we’d get back together. I really don’t know, he never said
anything.” I thought quietly for a moment before continuing. “I
remember one day he played a song and told me to listen to the end, that those
lyrics really made him think of me. Maybe I should’ve paid more
attention.”

“What
did it say?”

“Something
about how he knew I would be the star in another person’s sky and why couldn’t
it be his.” I shook my head as I realized what he was saying then.
“Eventually he stopped returning my calls. That was about a year
ago.” My voice trailed off as I mentally kicked myself. “Boy am I
dense.”

“No
Deb, you said it yourself, you were going through a lot. Don’t be so hard on
yourself. He was an asshole for what he just did. Forget about him and just
focus on now and meeting Joshua. You’ll love him, he’s great.”

Entering
the store, all my worries slipped away. Ashley continued to talk, but I barely
heard her. Mannequins modeled some of the most fashion-forward styles I had
seen not only in Canyon Cove, but even on the cover of Vogue.
Joyeux
was everything I dreamed about for myself.

Ashley’s
touching my arm brought me back to reality and I followed her gaze towards the
back of the store where she exchanged waves with an attractive man I recognized
as Joshua Cane. With his brown hair perfectly slicked back, just a hint of
stubble on his cheek, and his welcoming smile, he looked just as perfect as he
did when featured in magazines.

Standing
beside him was a nervous young woman with flaxen hair who looked like she
hadn’t eaten in years. After giving instructions to her, he then snapped his
fingers at her twin. It wasn’t until the two women were running around doing
his bidding that he sauntered over to us wearing a dark pair of almost too
tight jeans and a tucked-in button shirt in a bronze print that accentuated his
tanned skin.

“Ashley,
you gorgeous thing you,” he said before kissing her on both cheeks.
“I have some fabulous new items for you. My assistant Corrie will escort
you to the dressing room where everything’s waiting. If you need anything, she
will be at your beck and call.”

“Well
aren’t you just all business?” Ashley teased him. “Joshua, this is
Deborah—”

“Of
course it is darling,” he extended his hand in my direction and I shook
it. “I recognize her from the University newspaper. Did you know she took
first place in ready-to-wear?”

“Really?
I had no idea! Why didn’t you tell me?” Ashley asked me.

“Its
not a big deal. I mean of course I was thrilled to win, but…” I didn’t
know what else to say without talking about how it was just a school
competition with so many categories that everyone won something. Even if I did
think I won the best category, I thought there were others with more creative
designs.

“But
you don’t think you really deserved it, do you?” Joshua said.

“No,
I…I worked hard for it. I knew my work spoke for itself and did deserve to
win, I just…”
Didn’t think I
should win
is
what I thought, but those words I knew were best kept to myself.

“Corrie,
please take Mrs. Boone to try on my fall collection,” Joshua called out to
one of the women he spoke to before then turned to Ashley. “We need to
catch up sometime and I’d love to see that adorable baby of yours, but today is
business. I want to focus my attention on this talented designer you’ve brought
me.”

“Sure,
just call me whenever you want to come by,” she said before following
Corrie to the dressing rooms.

“Come
with me, I’m sure Carrie has everything under control in the store.”

“Carrie?
I thought her name was Corrie,” I said.

“Carrie
is my other assistant. They’re twins. Because you know, my life isn’t
complicated enough without having to figure out whether I’m seeing double or
just looking at them.”

He
laughed as I followed him to a quiet corner of the store, blocked from direct
view by Asian inspired silk screens depicting a serene water garden. His work
area consisted of a long work table, a sewing machine, a high end HP
tablet/laptop combo that sat on a small desk, a dress form for fittings and a
corner filled with yards upon yards of fabric.

“Wow,
this is exactly the kind of place I want to have one day,” I said as I
looked at his sketches that were pinned on the wall.

“I’m
sure you will one day. From what I’ve seen you are very talented.”

“Thanks
but—”

“But
nothing. Own that. You are talented young lady, don’t ever forget that. If you
have a dream, you have to go for it. Remember, no one is going to just give you
what you want, you have to make your dreams happen.”

I
nodded as his words sunk into me. “You’re right. That’s why I pushed to
finish school and graduate. I could’ve stopped so many times and just given
up.”

“Listen,
Deborah. I never do this, but I loved what I saw and we do share an alma mater.
There’s a lot I can teach you about running your own brand. I’d like to offer
you a job here as my assistant.”

“Assistant?
Like Corrie and Carrie? Thanks, but I really don’t think so.”

“No,
no, no. Trust me, I know what you’re thinking. Those two are assistants in that
they help me take care of customers. I’m offering you the chance to design with
me.”

“Wow,
Joshua. I didn’t expect this. But I really don’t know, I need to think about it
and I want to weigh all my options now that I’ve graduated. I’m not saying I
wouldn’t want to work with you, the experience would be amazing. I just don’t
want to jump into anything and right now my head is spinning. I need time to
think.”

“Of
course. I don’t want you to rush into it either. Listen, speaking of options, I
have a friend who works over in HR at Hargrove’s.”

“The
high-end department store? I really don’t want to work retail. I don’t see how
that’ll help me become a designer.”

“Hear
me out. In Canyon Cove there aren’t many options and this is a good one.
Hargrove’s has an employee only fashion design contest every year. The winner
gets to feature their collection in the store. If Hargrove’s feels the
collection is strong enough, they’ll even send the designer to Fashion Week.”

“For
real? How did I not know about this?”

“Its
one of their best kept secrets. I wish they had something like this when I
graduated,” he said as he smiled at me. “You take your time and think
about my offer. If you break my heart I’ll understand, but at least consider
Hargrove’s. I’ll put in a good word and make sure you’re not just stocking
shelves all day. Think about it and give me a call, ok sweetheart? And here’s
LuAnne’s number if you decide to go that route,” he said as he wrote down
a phone number on a small piece of paper.

“Thanks
Joshua, you’ll hear from me one way or the other. Thank you for
everything.”

“Anytime.
Us designers have to stick together you know. I’m more than happy to
help.”

***

Finally
getting home, I felt the day catch up with me as I collapsed onto the old brown
and tan polyester couch that doubled as my bed. I dropped my stack of mail onto
the kitchen table without looking at it. I didn’t have to sort through them to
know they were bills. If it had my name on it, they were looking for money.

As
I kicked off my shoes one of the envelopes caught my eye. It was a little
longer than my credit card bills and thin. I picked it up and held it up to the
light afraid to open it.