Resisting the Billionaire Collection (49 page)

"Thanks, bro." He shouted after the long
gone yellow cab.

This is the woman you love, you moron. This
is the one and all you did was give her your number? What the hell
kind of amateur are you?

He was about 15 to 20 minutes away from MJ’s
office and he still had a packed itinerary for the rest of the
afternoon. If he went back, it would seriously throw him off for
the day. And anyway, what would he say to her?

But if he didn’t go back now, he wouldn't be
back this way again until tomorrow. Adam couldn’t wait that long.
What if he never saw her again? What if she opened that stupid
package and it was some fancy rich guy's gift and Blake’s phone
number? I would be too late.

God damn it.

He did a crazy U-turn into the mid-afternoon
traffic and raced back through the streets, ignoring the swearing
drivers and pedestrians.

Hold on Ms. O’Rourke, because I am coming to
get you!

Chapter Four

Twenty minutes later, MJ was back from her
errand.

"Did I miss anything?" She asked.

"Nothing important."

"Thanks, by the way. I appreciate you
covering. If you ever need the same--"

"No need to thank me." Alva cut her off.
"And I won't."

Whatever.

The place was as dead as ever. Two
receptionists for one small legal office was total overkill, only
resulting in mind-numbing boredom. MJ settled in behind her desk
and looked at her phone. She was feeling rebellious.

Personal phone calls were a big no-no so she
decided to call her friend in LA.

"MJ! What's up? Have you picked dates to
come and visit yet?"

"Hey, Ally. No travel plans yet. I just
wanted to hear your voice is all. I miss you so much since you went
to LA."

"You should come out here. Really, you
should. The weather is gorgeous and the restaurants and cafés are
amazing. You'd get managerial work so easily out here, and of
course you know who is still crazy to meet with you."

MJ regretted calling already but she
literally had no one else to talk to.

"It sounds great Ally, really it does. But
you know I love the East Coast; my whole life is out here."

What life is that,
MJ?
The words rang hollow even to her, but
Alison was far too kind to say anything like that.

"Well, anytime you change your mind, you
just let me know. We can totally set you up out here."

‘
We’
. That was the problem.
Alison and
him
.
Sebastian -- or Daniel, as he now called himself -- the stinking
rich egomaniac who had gotten her fired from the job she loved and
stolen her best friend away from her, first to Ohio, and then even
further away to LA.

"MJ, is everything okay with you? You just
don't sound like yourself anymore. I miss you and I don’t mean just
not having you around. I mean I miss the old MJ: the fighter, my
big sister, the crazy girl who always looked out for me."

"Yeah," she sighed, "but I guess you don't
need me for that anymore. Now you have Mr. Loverboy Billionaire for
that."

"He's so not who you think he is MJ. Really,
I wish you would give him a second chance."

"Okay. Who knows? Maybe I’ll do it one day."
She didn't mean it for a second.

"Really? Does that mean you'll give his
little brother a chance too?"

"God, Ally! Will you please stop with that
already? You sound like my damn mother before she died."

"He's so gorgeous MJ, just your type: tall,
dark, handsome, and sweet as hell. A real charmer and he's a
billionaire! You always said you wanted to marry a successful man,
right? A guy who would be a great father figure, a provider --
someone who had achieved something in life -- not some schmoozer
with sweet lips and an empty wallet."

"I just can't--" She bit her tongue. Despite
her phobia against everything Drummond, she didn't want to upset
her last real friend in the world.

"Can't what? Stomach being in the presence
of a Drummond? Any Drummond at all? Not even one you've never met?
Sure MJ, because that sounds completely reasonable."

"It's not that, Ally." She lied, "It's just
the whole crazy idea. He must be nearly five years younger than
me--"

"He’s way more mature than the average 25
year-old. Being CEO of a Fortune 500 company at 23 will do that for
you."

"There’s the problem right there. These
people live in a different world than us. There’s no way me to
relate to him. We’d have nothing in common."

"You do have one thing in common."

"It doesn’t matter. One thing isn’t
enough."

"He’s very passionate about
homelessness."

"So why doesn’t he let some homeless people
live in one of his mansions?"

"He’s doing better than that."

Now Alison had caught her interest.

"Go on then. Tell me, what’s he doing?"

"He’s been volunteering at a homeless
shelter in a big city."

"That’s nice, but anyone can do that. Even
I’m doing that for God’s sake."

"I know, but not everyone can donate a
million dollars to the one they volunteer at."

"Okay, so not everyone can do that. I’ll
give you that. But a million bucks? That just sounds like arrogance
to me."

Alison sighed. "You’re a hard girl to win
over, MJ O’Rourke. That’s a lot of dough, even for a
billionaire."

Something was still making MJ hold back.

"Come on, admit it." Alison pressed her.
"That’s pretty awesome. Don’t tell me that means nothing to you,
after--"

MJ had been briefly homeless with her single
mother when she was little.

"I know, I know. I’m just suspicious of rich
people who try to buy off their own guilty conscience by throwing
money at poor people."

"Christ, you are so judgmental these days.
What is happening to you, MJ?"

"The guy doesn't even know me. I just don’t
get why he wants to meet me."

"That's
why
he wants to meet
you. He wants to get to know you. And he knows you volunteer at a
homeless shelter. When he heard that, he was sold."

"But he's on the West Coast and I’m here in
New York."

"It means nothing to him. He's got his own
private jet for crying out loud."

"I just don't get why Mr. Billionaire Jet
Set Playboy with all his playmates and girlfriends wants to meet
with me. Middle-aged--"

"You are not middle-aged."

"To him I am. And I'm just an average
girl."

"He doesn't think so. I
showed him your picture and his jaw dropped to the floor, I kid you
not. He stared at you for like ten minutes, speechless. The
man
wants
you."
She emphasized the word ‘wants’ to make it sound as dirty and
suggestive as possible.

"He wants a college drop-out, minimum wage,
failed manager and waitress from New York City to be his blind
date? Sure. Who’s sounding crazy now?"

"He wants a drop-dead gorgeous, feisty,
sassy, red-haired, angel-eyed sex-goddess with a heart of gold to
come into his life so he can shower her with gifts, show her the
billionaire lifestyle, and bone her within an inch of her life.
That’s what he wants."

MJ couldn’t help herself; she had to
laugh.

"So what do you say, MJ? Will you just give
the guy a chance?"

How times had changed. It used to be her
trying to run Alison’s love life, but now the tables had
turned.

Outside, Adam propped his bike up against
the wall. He looked in through the glass doors and was relieved to
find MJ still there, but irritated to have his view blocked by some
little gray old guy in front of her, tapping a pen on the desk
while she spoke on the phone.

"Okay, okay, okay." She said. 'I'll think
about it, but I'm not making any promises."

"Do it, baby. You won't be sorry. His ass is
a piece of heaven, I swear to you. If he wasn't my brother-in-law,
I'd eat him alive myself."

MJ was engrossed in the conversation but
finally noticed the peevish tapping on her reception desk. She
looked up to see the pinched face of her boss, Joe Milligan,
principal partner of the law firm.

"Oh shit." She said.

"Quite." He replied.

Chapter Five

"Give her some space, old
man."
Adam muttered outside. "Stop
crowding her for Christ's sake
.
"

"I gotta go." MJ hung up the phone.

Mr. Milligan didn't say much at the best of
times.

He didn't say much now.

"You're fired. You can leave." He walked
past her into his office.

He watched the exchange of words and then
prepared to go in. He still had no idea what he was going to do or
say, but that had never stopped him doing anything before.

MJ looked over at Alva.

Alva looked down at her desk.

Adam was nearly at the
doors now, close enough to see MJ clearly mouth the words
‘
screw this place’.

He stopped dead.

The other woman didn't look up. He stood to
one side. He could hardly go in and romance her if she was in the
middle of some office drama. Adam pressed his ear as close to the
glass as he dared, but still the sounds were muffled and
indistinguishable.

Inside, MJ was getting louder.

"Did you hear me?" She said to Alva.

"Oh, I heard you girl. I did not want to,
but I surely did."

Adam took another quick
look and heard the words
'screw you
too'
through the plate glass
windows.

God, she must be really shouting in
there.

"Now that ain't nice." Alva said. "Maybe
that's how you talk to people where you come from girl, but that
ain't befitting of a lady where I come from."

"Is sucking your 70 year-old boss’s dick
befitting of a lady where you come from?"

Alva turned back to her desk.

"I'm calling security on you!" She
hissed.

"Don't bother, I'm going. There's nothing
here in this dump I need to take with me. You can keep the day-old
egg salad sandwich in the refrigerator. My gift to you." She
gathered up her parcel and left.

 
Adam was glued to
the wall when the fiery redhead of his dreams swooshed out of the
building. He caught her perfume as she passed him and he felt the
crackle of her rage in the air. His skin tingled.

He watched her walk down the street carrying
only her shoulder bag and the parcel he had delivered to her from
Blake.

Had she just been canned? Christ, she had
seemed so professional, so clipped, so neat, so damn fine! She was
everything he wasn’t.

He stepped away from the wall and began to
follow her down the street.

For a few moments, she strutted along
exulting in her freedom, feeling like her old self again. Adam was
mesmerized. Then once the rush of rebellion and liberation faded,
the reality of how totally screwed she was came back with a
vengeance.

Her follower watched her visibly wilt.

She decided to head home. At least at this
hour she wouldn't be crushed and squeezed while fighting to get a
seat on the subway. It was a small consolation.

Adam followed her into the subway station
and sat about four benches down from her. He half hoped she would
see him and save him the clumsiness of an awkward self-intro and
explanation as to why he had been stalking her.

Her train arrived and she climbed in. He got
in one car down from her. Something was holding him back.

God... this isn't like
me.
Something told him the moment wasn't
right.
But she’s just been fired. Is that
good for me? Or is it bad?

He watched her through the narrow train
windows.

There was no one on the other train car,
except for MJ and one old homeless lady he half recognized from the
street. His heart nearly broke as he watched MJ give her the
sweetest saddest smile he had ever seen. The little old lady
shuffled over to sit down beside her. MJ went to move her bag for
her but the old lady said something and she left it where it
was.

Then the craziest thing happened. He saw
MJ's face go dark with sadness and the little old lady put her arm
around her. MJ looked like she was crying and the woman was
comforting her like a mother does a child. 

Chapter Six

"It's okay, sweetie. There's plenty of room." She
said as she lowered herself down. The woman had a kind face
and the kindest eyes MJ had seen since her friends had gone and
left her all alone in the big city. She looked like one of the old
ladies she served food to every Thursday night at the Sacred Heart
Mission soup kitchen downtown.

Tears began to well up inside her as she
thought of Ally and Olivia.

Those damned
Drummonds
.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" The old woman said.
"Don't spoil that pretty face with tears, honey." The sympathy only
made things worse.

"Come here, baby." The woman said as she put
her arm around MJ. It felt just like her mother used to when she
was a little girl.

She let the tears come and sobbed quietly in
the strangers arms. "There, there, baby." The old lady said from
time to time. "It's okay, everything will be alright."

When the tears stopped MJ lifted her head
and smiled again. "You're so kind." She said. "Thank you so much.
Is there anything I can do for you? "

She looked at the threadbare clothes and the
woman’s reed-thin arms and legs.

"Have you eaten today?" She asked.

"Oh no, dearie." The old lady protested.
"Thank you very much. This little old lady sure appreciates the
offer, but I've got plans already for tonight. Here, you take your
bag and your things." She had placed MJ's bag behind her while she
cried and she moved it back between them.