The Billionaire Game (7 page)

“We just want to see you
settled,” Dad said, and it took me a second to mentally rejoin
the conversation that was going on in the present. Probably because
it was so identical to so many conversations we’d had in the
past. “Comfortable. Don’t see why you had to break up
with that nice Steven boy. He would have seen to you.”

“Yes, Steven was delightful,”
my mother added. “Are you sure he won’t take you back?
Perhaps if you explained things and apologized—the male ego is
a fragile one, and you aren’t always most delicate, dear, with
your words…”

I couldn’t believe this; I had
explained the break-up with Stevie to them a hundred times. “Uh,
he was fucking terrible. He showed up yelling at me at work!”

“Language, dear.”

“He was the worst!” I
edited. “He didn’t trust me around other guys, he whined
constantly about his thesis, and he blew up over the smallest
things!”

“Oh, surely it wasn’t that
bad,” my mother said lightly. “If you really look back at
it, I’m sure—”

“And he lied! When we first
started dating, he said he admired my passion for design and my
ambition to start a business, but five months later he was making fun
of me to my face and pressuring me to quit so I could work more hours
to support him!” And that was what had really stung. That not
only didn’t he trust my heart, but he didn’t trust my
mind—didn’t believe that I could really make a go of it
with my lingerie. “He called it—” I spat the
word—“my
hobby
.”

“Right, you’re definitely
about to put Victoria’s Secret out of business,” Brian
began with a chuckle, but my mother shot him a look. I would have
been more mollified if that look had been more
don’t mock
your sister
and less
Brian, honey, remember what Kate did to
the good china last time you made a joke.

“So how is your little
‘business?’” my dad asked, trying but failing to
keep from pronouncing the little quote marks. “People,
uh…liking it?”

“Yes, Dad,” I said, trying
not to clench my jaw. “I have several return customers, and
word of mouth is increasing them.”

“Still,” he grunted. “Can’t
really meet a man that way. Not the right kind of man.”

“Now, now, Fred,” my mother
interjected. “This will all make a nice story someday.
Katherine’s always been rebellious—oh, I remember when I
used to dress her up so nicely for church on Sunday, in those little
pink frocks with all the ribbons, and she would rip them right off
and go streaking through the park in her birthday suit!”

“Thanks, Mom,” I said
sarcastically. “I really appreciate you putting my grown-up
business venture on the same level as embarrassing stories from when
I was four. That really makes me feel like you believe in me.”

“I’m so sorry,” my
mom said, drawing herself up and trying to look serious. “Do
tell me all about your latest—Brian, what on Earth are you
doing? You’ll get whiplash.”

And just like that, we were off the
topic of me and my life, and back to Brian. Not that I’d
particularly enjoyed being condescended to about all my life choices,
but honestly, some days that’s all the attention I can get from
my parents. And doesn’t every kid crave their parents’
attention?

“That’s
Asher Young
,”
Brian was saying, and I snapped back to attention. Brian was craning
his neck to watch Asher, who was crossing the room with Brody to
their own table. “I heard he comes here sometimes, but I didn’t
think we’d really get to see him!”

Meanwhile, my parents were hanging on
Brian’s every word, as if Brian were a naturalist who had
spotted a very rare eagle in its natural habitat, and was doing a
David Attenborough style narration of its habits.

“Name sounds familiar,” my
father grunted around a mouthful of mashed potatoes. “Didn’t
that fella invest in some computer thing? Make millions before he
could legally drink?”

“
Billions,”
Brian
corrected in the awe-filled voice he usually reserved for Bill Gates
profiles in Time Magazine. “And he just keeps doing it! They say
he has a golden eye; you remember that Schumacher debacle? Nobody
thought that company would go anywhere after the investors bailed,
but Asher Young had a couple of meetings with the founder and before
you know it, he’s invested ten billion and the sales figures
are off the charts. Any company he touches, you know it’s going
to be a success!”

“It’s funny you should say
that,” I said, turning back to Brian so it didn’t look
like our whole table was gawking at Asher like tourists at the zoo.
“Because Asher offered to invest in
my
business.”

I don’t think anyone has been the
focus of such intent looks of disbelief since Moses came down from
the mountain with some rocks and said,
hey, guys, I’ve got
some new rules.

“Uh, Kate,” Brian said with
an amount of fake pity you usually only saw in celebrity photo ops
with starving children, “that’s Asher Young. If you’re
going to be desperate enough to lie about your business, maybe set
your sights a little lower so it’s actually believable.”

I saw red, every single shade and
variation of it. “Excuse me?” I asked, a jagged buzzsaw
edge working its way into my voice. “Did you just accuse me of
lying? I’ll have you know, Asher has been in my studio twice in
the last week offering me business advice.”

“Business advice?” Brian
asked. “Actual advice, really. Or did he see your silly little
lingerie line and offer you ‘business advice?’ The kind
that comes with a bottle of red wine and an invitation to his
penthouse suite?”

That stung, mostly because it was true.

“I’ll have you know,”
I began in a hot rage, “that some people actually think I show
some promise!”

I didn’t care about the truth
anymore, I just cared about wiping that smug little smirk off my
asshole brother’s face, and wiping the matching looks of pity
and disappointment off the faces of my parents.

“Asher offered to invest a half
million in my ‘silly little lingerie line!’ He thinks I
can be in stores within a month, and making a profit within another
month! We’re having a meeting this week to see if our goals
line up and to work out stock options, so you can take your
condescending attitude and shove it so far up your ass it comes out
your nose when you blow it!”

My family’s eyes had been getting
wider and wider as I delivered this stirring speech; I assumed
because of the combination of wild claims I was pitching out like
baseballs and my increasingly unladylike language. But then—

“Speaking of that meeting, Kate,
I’m going to have to reschedule.”

Asher’s voice, coming directly
from behind my shoulder.

I felt all the blood in my body drain
into my feet.

Shit. Shit. Shit. I’m so
screwed. I am more screwed than a cheerleader on prom night.

There was a scraping sound as Asher
pulled up a chair next to me. “Yes, silly me, it turns out that
the annual wine-tasting for charity is this Thursday, and I do hate
to disappoint Grant, he’s been going on about it for ages. I
don’t suppose you could do tomorrow instead?”

“Tomorrow?” I echoed
blankly.

“Yes, if it’s not too
inconvenient. I suppose I could reschedule for the week after, but
I’m just so excited about this venture; I don’t want to
wait longer than I really have to. After all, if I do, you might find
another investor!”

I felt him kick me under the table, and
then he turned to my parents, felling my mother instantly with a
megawatt smile as he brushed his dark locks out of his eyes.

“Have you seen Kate’s work?
She’s a real artist.”

Wait, was he…playing along with
this?

“I—ah—I, yes, I
suppose Kate has always been artistic,” my mother said, really
flustered for the first time that I could ever remember. The words
came out slowly, as if she was having to carefully piece together a
new worldview, one in which I was not a complete fuck-up, and it was
coming hard. “She is always drawing…”

“I think she could be a major
player on the world fashion scene,” Asher said, simultaneously
taking the wine bottle and refilling Brian’s glass, thus making
Brian close his mouth before he could interrupt and sip the wine
instead to be polite. “She has real vision.”

“Vision doesn’t pay the
bills, though,” my father harrumphed. “I still don’t
see how frilly little fripperies are enough for a business.”

“Often in these cases all that’s
needed is sufficient capital to get the ball rolling,” Asher
said smoothly. “Once Kate and I have established her brand, its
reputation will keep it in demand without new infusions of capital
needed. Thankfully, Kate has in many ways already set up the
framework for what needs to be done. I’m sure you agree,
setting up the framework is vital?” he added, turning to Brian.

Brian was staring at Asher like he had
flown down from the heavens on the back of a pure white horse with
wings. “Yeah,” he said. “Totally. I agree. Can I
just say how much I admire the work you did with Louise Alexovich and
her digitization technique?”

“Thank you,” Asher said,
clapping Brian on the shoulder as he stood. “I’ll be
doing much the same thing with Kate and her company, so I’m
glad you understand how these things go. It’s can be a bit
dicey at first, which is why the support of friends and family is so
very crucial in these early stages.”

“Kate’s got our full
support,” my dad put in eagerly. “Sounds like things are
really picking up for her.” He gave me a sideways hug, still
seated. “I’m proud of you, kiddo. This couldn’t be
greater news.”

I felt a burst of warmth in my heart
for my whole family, who were looking at me now as if I had swept the
Olympics. God, this was all I ever wanted. This approval and pride,
just a moment of it, just for me.

I smiled at Asher, and I tried to let
that smile show how grateful I was. In this moment, I didn’t
care if he was an unfaithful dick with an entourage of ditzy blondes
so vast they could have formed a volleyball team. He’d given me
this moment even though I’d blown him off the other day, even
though I’d been sitting here lying through my teeth to impress
my parents, even though he didn’t have to. For some reason, he
was on my team. I could have hugged him.

He smiled back, that dimple in his
cheek winking. His electrifying eyes seemed to simmer with unspoken
words. He took my hand, and there was just the slightest bit of extra
pressure as he squeezed it in a firm, businesslike shake that
practically set my brother swooning with jealousy. “I do have
to get back to my previous appointment, but I’m glad we ran
into each other. I’d hate to pass up this business opportunity.
I look forward to our meeting.”

I stammered some kind of goodbye as he
released my hand, trying hard not to blush red enough to match my
hair. I also tried—though maybe not as hard as I could have—not
to blatantly ogle that ass as he walked away, or think about how I’d
like to grip it tightly to me as he thrust into my—

Family time! Family time! Keep those
thoughts G-rated, Katie!

Thankfully, said family was too busy
sitting around the table stunned and gobsmacked to notice my odd
demeanor.

“What a nice man,” my
mother eventually said in a slightly dazed voice. “Kate, do you
know if that’s his natural eye color…”

A whole sentence without her expressing
any disappointment in me. Damn, but this man had just played my
entire family like a three string quartet, and I loved it.

And now I had to go apologize for it
being necessary in the first place.

#

“Asher. Hi, Brody. Sorry, can I
interrupt for a second?”

Asher stood quickly, taking my arm and
guiding me out to the balcony. “Of course. Is there a problem?
Do you need me to go take the piss out of your brother again?”

“Ha, no. Actually, I just—”
I pulled my arm away with an apologetic grimace; I didn’t want
to seem rude, but it was suddenly hard to concentrate on what he was
saying when he was touching me. I could feel the heat of his hands
through my sleeve. “I just wanted to say thank you, and sorry.
I don’t usually go around lie-bragging about how great I am,
but my brother was being King of the Dickwads and I guess he pushed
one button too many.”

“You don’t have to
apologize,” Asher said with a laugh, lounging back against one
of the balcony’s columns. “I have five older siblings. I
know what it’s like to always be in competition. My oldest
brother—he was the golden child for as long as I can remember.”

“Bet you don’t have that
problem anymore, though,” I said, matching his posture and
trying not to let my breath catch at the way the top two pearl
buttons of his shirt were undone, exposing smooth, deeply tanned
skin. “A few billionaire dollars has got to shut him up,
right?”

Asher’s expression darkened, and
I felt my heart quicken.

“You’d be surprised,”
he said, and didn’t expand further.

It was just starting to get dark out,
and the balcony’s torches and the colored lights of the street
still left us half in shadows. We were only on the balcony of a
steakhouse, less than twenty feet away from a dozen other customers,
and yet the gloomy half-light made it feel…exciting. Illicit.

I wondered idly if he’d broken up
with the latest blonde yet. I did
need
a pick-me-up, and Asher
apparently wasn’t as big of a jerk as I’d thought. What
would it hurt if I just took one step forward and kissed him? Gripped
those firm shoulders and let him press against me, slid my hand down
those tight trousers to stroke his firm cock, let him pull me into
the shadows and fuck me quick and hard and dirty up against the wall,
biting his shoulders to muffle my screams as I came—