Falling for the billionaire

Three Weeks Earlier

"A hundred dollars for the night...a hundred dollars for the night." I kept repeating the words to myself over and over again to keep myself from turning my car around and going back home. "A hundred dollars for the night," I said again, this time with a sigh. I looked down at my serving outfit and grimaced. I looked like a maid. A cheap, slutty maid. My black skirt was way too short, my white shirt was too tight and it was also a little see-through, which I hadn't realized until I'd left the house. I was going to show up and be the worst server at the party. Of that I was sure. I might even get fired. And on my first day. Ugh, that would be embarrassing. I had no experience as a waitress and I didn't even really look the part. And as much as I wanted to go home and just forget the job, I needed the money. "This is what you get for trying to make it as a writer, you broke-ass," I chastised myself as I drove up the long driveway to one of the most impressive houses I'd ever seen in my life. I tried to remember where my new boss had said to park, but I completely forgot. I pulled up behind a black Bentley, quickly jumped out of my car, and slammed the door shut. I grabbed my handbag and headed to the front door, even though I vaguely remembered being told to enter via the servants' entrance. I couldn't remember how to get there so I just went through the front door and prayed no one would see me and tell me off.

"Lacey?" A pretty lady with short red hair came rushing up to me with a stack of papers in her hand and a frazzled look on her face. I had no idea how she knew who I was, but I wasn't about to question her.

"That's me." I nodded and cringed as she looked me over and made a face.

"You're late."

"Really?" I looked down at my watch. "Sorry, I didn't realize..." My voice trailed off as I realized the lady wasn't even listening to me anymore and was walking away from me.

"Are you coming?" She turned to look back at me with a disdainful look. "Follow me," she said, looking annoyed as she turned back around and walked quickly out of the room.

"A hundred dollars...a hundred dollars," I muttered to myself as I followed her. I wasn't even sure that a hundred dollars was worth this stress, but some income was better than none. And waitressing private parties at night was the best sort of job for me if I was serious about being a writer. Which I was. I really wanted to make it as a writer, even if the book I wanted to write was on the backburner. I was still excited about writing my romance novel, Play the Player, and I had the support of my best friend, Eliza. She thought it was a brilliant and inspired novel. In fact, she was even letting me stay with her for free, which was why I had gotten this job. I knew she couldn't afford to support me; I had to provide some income to the household as well. I didn't want to take advantage of our friendship and I certainly didn't want to be a burden. Not that she ever made me feel like I was a burden. She'd never done that to me.

"So you'll be in charge of passing out the canapés, okay?" The redhead was talking to me and I had completely spaced out. I nodded quickly as we made our way into one of the most impressive kitchens I'd ever seen in my life. There were seven other servers standing around, looking as overwhelmed as I was, and that made me feel a little bit better. I watched as the redhead grabbed her phone and hurried out of the kitchen. I stood there awkwardly, wondering what I was meant to do now.

"Hey, you must be the new girl." A tall, cute guy, with short blond hair and big blue eyes, came over to me. "I'm Tad." He gave me his hand. "Is this your first time serving at a private party?"

"That obvious, huh?"

He nodded, a huge grin on his face. "You look like a fish out of water."

"Kinda." I laughed and looked around the kitchen. "This is a private house, huh?"

"Yeah, some rich guy." He nodded. "Makes more money in a minute than we make all year, I bet."

"Must be nice." I laughed. "I'm Lacey, by the way."

"Nice to meet you, Lacey." He looked down at me and batted his eyelashes. "Maybe we can get a drink after this?"

"Yeah, sounds good," I said with a small smile as I gazed at his handsome face. He reminded me of a surfer, with his deep tanned skin and golden blond hair. He had a boyish smile and while he looked like he was a little younger than me, I didn't really care. It would be nice to go for a drink with a cute guy. Someone who seemed unassuming. Someone who would take my mind off of the small crush I had on the enigmatic Henry James, a man I barely knew and who, I was fairly certain, didn't even know I existed. Well, he knew I existed. We'd met once and exchanged words and glances. His glance at me had been full of contempt and conceit. Mine had been the same, though my body had been on fire as I'd stared at him. I'd never experienced anything quite like that before. I'd never felt like I was falling for someone just by looking at them once, like I was drowning and flying all at the same time. It was a heady and scary feeling. It was also a weird one. Who felt that way about someone after just looking at them once?

A crazy person, that was who. I was crazy, crazy, crazy.

"Awesome." He did a little dance and I laughed at his goofy moves. Maybe it wasn't going to be so bad working here after all. Tad seemed cool and I couldn't be that bad of a server.

***

I wandered around the periphery of the room, feeling dreadfully out of place. The room was full of distinguished grown-ups, which made me feel very much like a little kid, even though I was in my early twenties. All the men were dressed in classy suits, and the women were in ball gowns that were even more glamorous than the dresses the rich girls at my school had worn to prom. I held the tray carefully as I made my way around the room with the small, delicious snacks. The tray felt heavy and there were several times that I'd nearly dropped it. The first time, I'd been saved by Tad, and the other times, I had managed to catch the tray before it completely fell on the ground.

"Ooh, Peter, you must try the lobster and caviar bites." A tall slinky blonde approached with a handsome man in a dark suit. "They are divine. Absolutely divine." She grabbed two from my tray, without even a hello or thank you, and I tried not to roll my eyes as she made a sound close to an orgasm as she ate one. The man gave me a wink before he took the other one from her hand, and I gave him a small smile. I was about to turn around and go back to the kitchen to refill my supply of canapés when I suddenly felt like someone was staring at me. I turned around quickly and looked behind me, but there was no one there. My body felt warm and I felt slightly uncomfortable as I stood there, staring out at the sea of people.

"You okay, Lacey?" Tad hurried over to me, and I nodded and gave him a quick smile. "Yeah, just going to get more divine lobster and caviar bites." I winked at him and he laughed, his face coming close to mine.

"You're really cute, you know that, right?" he said, his blue eyes gazing into mine with an appreciative smile.

"Thank you," I said, beaming back at him. "That's really nice of you—oh!" I gasped as I felt hands on my waist.

"Come with me," a deep voice said from behind me. "Give him your tray," the voice commanded, and I swallowed hard as I recognized the voice. I handed a confused-looking Tad the tray and found myself being escorted from the room and into a hallway.

"What are you doing?" I said angrily as I looked up at my new companion.

"What do you think?" he said, a sardonic look on his handsome face.

"I have no idea." I glared at him and swallowed hard as he opened a door and pushed me into a room. He followed me and then closed the door shut before turning the light on. I stood there, staring at him, taking him in and trying to remember to breathe.

Dark, silky hair. Light green, teasing eyes. Tanned olive skin. Perfect white teeth. A body that looked muscular and strong without being too built. A smirk that drove me crazy. And hands on my waist that were driving me wild. This was not a good sign. What was he doing here? And how had he found me? My face was a hot mess, and I glared at him as I tried to back away.

"Get your hands off of me," I snarled up at the man who had pulled me into the poorly lit room, his warm hands feeling as if they were burning holes through my shirt.

"Or?" He grinned down at me, his smile wide and teasing. His eyes gazed into mine searchingly and I wondered at how he could be so familiar with me, even though we'd only met once before. "Sir, I may be the hired help, but I was hired to waitress, not to be your own private plaything." I kept my voice steady, though I was starting to feel lightheaded. This man in front of me was entirely too good looking, and I could tell by the look on his face that he knew it. I also had a feeling he wasn't buying my "not interested" story, but I didn't care.

"That's a pity." He laughed as he let go of me. "I'd quite like you to be my plaything." He winked at me and his eyes seemed to sparkle like emeralds as he surveyed me.

"I bet you would," I said and quickly turned around and grabbed the door handle. "If you'll excuse me, please." I opened the door quickly but before I could hurry out of the room, he grabbed me and pulled me toward him. I looked up at him. "Oh," I said softly, my voice dropping as I took in his face properly and saw that his expression was suddenly serious. "Henry," I said as I tried to regain my breath. I stood there for a second and tried to pretend like I hadn't known who he was as soon as he'd grabbed me and pulled me into the room. I knew I wasn't convincing.

"It's me." He laughed mockingly behind me as I walked past him and deeper into the room, and he followed behind me. "You just remembered me?" he said, a huge grin on his face. I stopped and turned around to glare at him. How conceited was he to think I'd remember him after meeting him only once?

"Henry James, right?" I said slowly as if I didn't know his name well. I'd recognize him anywhere. He was too hot to forget, but way too arrogant to let know I remembered him. "Lacey, right? I don't know your last name." He grinned at me and stared down at my outfit. "I didn't know you were a waitress." His eyes surveyed my outfit and I could see from his wicked grin that he was trying to picture me without my clothes on. My body grew hot as he stared at me, and I wanted to groan. Why did he have such an effect on me? I barely knew him, had only met him once before in my life, yet I felt like I'd known him forever and every part of my body wanted to get to know him a whole lot better.

"I'm not really a waitress." I shrugged. "I just took the gig for the night to make some extra money."

"I see," he said and nodded in that way that told me he didn't really believe me. "You're a waitress for the night, huh?"

"Yes, this is my first time." I made a face at him. "I'm really a writer," I continued, stressing the word writer. Though I felt like a bit of a fake saying that. Was I really a writer, if I'd never actually finished a book or had one published?

"I see," he said again with a cocky look. I wanted to ask him what exactly he was seeing and if he was always a condescending jerk, but I didn't. Of course I didn't. I wasn't that crazy.

"I have to get back to work," I said and stepped away from him, my heart racing as I glanced into his light, brightly shining green eyes. I licked my lips nervously as I stared at him. Oh my God, why did he have to be so sexy and handsome?

"So, should I take my pants off now?" He gazed at me with a challenging look.

"What?" I asked him in confusion, swallowing hard as I stared down at his well-fitting black slacks. God, but he had strong, sexy legs.

"You said you wanted to get back to work? I thought you meant you wanted to get back to servicing me.""Get back to?" I raised an eyebrow up at him. "I don't believe I ever started!" I wanted to groan at my words. Why was I encouraging him in this stupidity?

"Then you're not doing your job well, are you?" He licked his lips seductively, and I swallowed hard and took a step back.

"You really are a pig, aren't you?" I asked him, my voice confident even though my insides were weak.

"No. Just honest." He reached over and ran his fingertips across my trembling lips. "I would love to feel your lips on me."

"What?" I almost screeched, and he laughed loudly as I took a quick bite of his fingertip and snarled at him.

"Oh, Lacey." He grinned at me and winked as he pulled his fingers away from my lips. "This is going to be a lot of fun."

"What's going to be a lot of fun?" I asked dumbly, resisting both the urges to slap him and to kiss him. "You'll see." He winked again and then cleared his throat. He pulled me toward him and I felt the warmth of his body pressed against mine for a few seconds. I could feel my heart beating erratically against his chest as we stood there. He leaned his head down and I felt his lips next to my ear, his breath warm as his lips casually touched my skin. "Now you'll have to excuse me, I have guests to attend to," he whispered into my ear. I almost jumped at the feel of his warm breath on my cheek.

"This is your party?" I asked him, my jaw dropping as I pulled away. I'd known he was rich but hadn't known he was this rich. Whoa!

"Yes," he said with a smirk. "Welcome to my humble abode." He gave a small bow and then straightened up again. "It's been a pleasure meeting you again, Lacey. Until next time." He nodded at me and then walked to the door, leaving me standing there, gazing after him like a lost puppy dog as he left the room. I swallowed hard and sighed as I watched after him. I needed to call Eliza to tell her what had just happened. She'd never believe me. I almost didn't believe me. What had just happened? And why did I feel so hot and bothered?

My head felt all a muddle as I stood there, my body shaking. I couldn't believe that my first waitressing job was here, working for Henry James. When I'd met him at a flag football game a couple of weeks before, I'd never really expected to see him again. He was the half-brother of some rich guy named Xander, who was married to Liz, a friend I'd recently made. He'd been sarcastic and cocky and I'd taken an instant dislike to him, maybe because I'd found him to be too attractive and unnerving. And I hadn't appreciated the way he'd looked at me, like I was a piece of meat. It was disconcerting seeing him here tonight. I had to admit that he'd been on my mind—and in my dreams, a couple of times—since meeting him. I swallowed hard as I stood there, wondering what would have happened if I had reached over to take his pants off, instead of acting disgusted and shocked by his comment. I shook my head at myself and my thoughts and hurried out of the room so I could go back to work. My face was burning as I hurried back to the kitchen. I knew exactly what we'd be doing if I had reached over to his pants. A part of me couldn't stop myself from wishing that I had been brave enough to stay in the room and let Henry James do whatever he had wanted to do to me.

A part of me thought I would have really liked it.