Romance: One Night With A Billionaire (5 page)

Chapter 12

Walking along the lobby, Bella’s feelings were as mixed up as a bag of popcorn.

She had admittedly had a great evening but as she reached the foyer and walked out of the double doors onto the high street, she wasn’t sure that she was going to repeat the experience.

It had been fun, but there was something about Owen that made her feel inherently scared. 

As she hailed a cab, she was proud she had kept her side of the bargain with Julia.

Sitting on the back seat of the cab, she gave the driver Julia’s address and watched the New York landscape pass her by.

She had come a long way in seven months and as she hugged her handbag to her chest, she hoped that Owen wouldn’t be too perturbed by her sudden disappearance.

After she had paid the cab driver, Bella looked up and saw the stars twinkling in the sky. 

Momentarily, she stood and marveled at their beauty before running across the road to Julia’s apartment.

Letting herself in, Bella tiptoed across the lounge, wanting to just throw herself in bed and catch a few hours sleep before work the next day.

As she maneuvered herself past the coffee table, a lamp was suddenly switched on, infusing the apartment with an amber glow.

Bella turned and saw Julia huddled on the sofa beneath her Egyptian cotton duvet cover. Her eyes squinted to re-adjust to the light as she sat up and lazily yawned.

“Soooo… how did it go?” Julia looked at her watch, “I am guessing by the time it went well.”

Bella stood in the middle of the room then sat beside Julia. “You know it went well.”

“Did he fuck you?” Julia yawned and reached across to the coffee table and took a glass of water, taking a massive gulp before replacing it.

Bella shuffled into a comfy position and pulled the duvet under her chin, “Yes… yes, he did.”

Julia suddenly burst to life and jumped off the sofa.

“This is a time when coffee is needed. He fucked you hard, didn’t he?” Julia giggled as she switched on the kettle and pushed two waffles into the toaster.

Turning, she looked at Bella, whose hair was now disheveled, her lipstick smeared over her face.

Bella rummaged her hands through her hair, “Yes, he did. Wow, I need a shower.”

Julia watched as Bella left the room and turning back to the toaster, she grinned.

As the blades of water assaulted Bella’s body, she found herself thinking back to the night before.

In the cold light of day, it was like it had never happened.

But as Bella washed herself, she found herself touching her pussy and the rawness reminded her of the erotic decadence she had experienced.

As she washed herself, she wondered if Owen had seen her note and if she was ever going to see him again.

An hour later, Julia’s mouth was still agape as she shook her head at what Bella had told her.

“Well, I know I said go for it but that story even puts me to shame. In fact, it’s made me feel so hot, I feel like trying him out for myself.

Bella shrugged, “You can if you like.”

Julia playfully smacked her knee. “You don’t mean that. This is your perfect opportunity to bag the perfect guy for you and not only is he horny, he’s rich.”

“I don’t think so,” said Bella sadly.

Julia turned to her. “Hey, what do you mean you don’t think so?”

Bella gave Julia a small smile, “It was an experience, but it's left me feeling, oh, I don’t know… a bit grubby.”

Julia put an arm around her friend’s shoulder.

“It’s natural to feel a little guilt after a one night stand. A lot of women do. Hell, believe it or not even I have felt guilty at times but this was just what you needed. You arrived here a little Alabama kitten and you are being an NYC sexy chick.”

Bella sighed. “I suppose you are right.”

“I’m always right. Come on, it’s our day off. Let’s go and do some shopping.” Standing up, Julia took hold of Bella’s hands and pulled her to her feet. “And maybe I will treat you to lunch if you’re lucky.”

Chapter 13

Owen awoke with the New York sun streaming through the window and the beep of horns from the busy traffic on the street below.

Momentarily, he was confused as to where he was but then his eyes adjusted and he realized exactly where he was.

He reached out to the side of him, expecting to feel the warm curves that were Bella’s but instead all he felt was a cold empty space.

Sitting up, he scanned the room as if he was half expecting Bella to be hiding somewhere.

“Bella?” Owen tentatively shouted but after a few moments, he knew he wasn’t going to get a reply.

Owen had noticed that the clothes that had been tossed on the floor in a moment of passion had disappeared along with Bella’s purse.

Laying his head back on the pillows, Owen closed his eyes.

He’d never been the one to be abandoned after a one-night stand.

Indeed, on occasion he’d been frequently stalked for weeks after a sexual tryst.

But this time, he was the one to feel abandoned.

One minute, Bella had been lay there curled around his body making him feel safe and now she was gone.

Owen was a tough cookie—hell, he had all the money a man could ever wish for, but he hated waking up alone.

He particularly hated waking up alone in one of the most expensive hotels that New York had to offer.

Owen put his hands behind his head and mused over the night before.

Looking at his watch by habit, Owen’s first thought was that he needed to go to the office, then he realized it was the weekend.

Not only had he been left alone, but now he had two days to kill. 

As he padded across his hotel suite he saw Bella’s note.

Plucking it from its confines between a teapot and a hotel china cup, Owen read it and felt his heart sink.

It was evident that Bella didn’t want to see him again and as he made his way to the bathroom, he couldn’t help but wonder how she had ever entered his life and left such an effect.

Owen reached for the telephone at the side of the bed and called room service.

He may as well spend a little time relaxing seeing as it was in front of him with nothing to do unless of course he worked, which was what he did nine times out of ten.

Priscilla had always complained that he never took time out.

She’d frequently pointed out all the things other couples did together.

“Normal couples,” she would add in a scathing manner.

She’d wanted to go on picnics, go to the cinema and she’d even ordered them a bike each so they could go cycling.

Owen couldn’t think of anything worse but today now Priscilla was out of his life with her overbearing demands, Owen wondered if he could do all those normal things with someone else?

His thoughts drifted to Bella.

She’d been really cute as well as giving him mind-blowing sex.

However, Owen had slept with enough women to know when someone had run round the sexual block several times.

Bella, although not unaccomplished, had possessed an innocence about her that made him so horny he’d thought he was going to combust.

Chapter 14

For Bella and Julia, the weekend flew by.

They’d spent Saturday shopping and had headed to Papa Lunges, Julia’s favorite Italian restaurant, in the evening. Sunday they had gone for a walk and thankfully Julia hadn’t brought up the subject of Owen.

All weekend, thoughts of him had jumped into Bella’s mind.

Had she done the right thing just leaving him a note?

She’d lay awake in the early hours of Monday morning wrestling with that.

She turned on her side and realized that the start of the week had arrived all too quickly, mainly because Bella was worried about whether or not Owen was going to come to the coffee shop.

One part of her wanted him to; the other didn’t.

In comparison, Owen’s weekend had dragged.

However, like Bella, he too had replayed the events of the weekend.

He really didn’t know what to do. He didn’t want to send her an elaborate bunch of flowers because it just didn’t seem like an original thing to do.

All morning, he had wrestled with what to do to the point where he was really distracted in his regular morning meeting, which was unlike him and hadn’t gone unnoticed by his personal assistant, Penelope.

“Are you okay, Owen?” she asked as she brought him his mail.

Owen leaned back in his seat and played with his pen. “I’m fine Penelope, just affairs of the heart, that’s all.”

Penelope sat down at the desk facing him.

“She wasn’t good enough for you anyway,” she murmured sympathetically.

For a moment Owen was lost - Penelope hadn’t even seen Bella - then he realized that she was referring to Priscilla.

Owen waved his hand, “Oh, not that affair. That one is well and truly over.  Penelope, what act would impress you from a guy? A bunch of flowers delivered with a hand-written card? A piece of jewelry? What is it that women want?”

Penelope chewed on her top lip as she contemplated his question and then her eyes lit up.

“I have always wanted this to happen to me, I saw it in a film once. Now don’t judge me, Owen,” she said raising her eyebrows. “I don’t want you to think bad of me; it’s just a fantasy really.”

Owen smirked. “I won’t think bad of you Penelope. Of course not. However, I never thought I would see the day where I am discussing my trusted PA’s fantasies on a Monday morning.”

Penelope giggled, “I know. Anyway, I watched this film where there was this rich guy and he was fascinated by this girl who worked in the local pizza parlor. I mean this guy could have anyone. All of his exes were beautiful. Some of them had been actresses, but it was the girl in the pizza parlor that he liked.”

Owen watched as Penelope’s eyes misted over as she thought of the film. She shook her blonde curls and smiled at him as if she was bringing herself back to reality.

“Anyway, this girl in the pizza parlor, she likes the guy but she is shy you know. Then one day, when she gets in work her boss gives her this business card and on the back is just a message asking her to meet at room 306 at 2 pm at this hotel. She says she isn’t going, but her friend makes her. She gets there and the rich guy opens the door and he has filled the hotel room with flowers and has ordered them a meal. It’s so romantic. Then they obviously end up in bed, she leaves the pizza parlor and they live happily ever after. It’s a bit like the film Pretty Woman but a bit raunchier if you know what I mean.”

Owen nodded. “Sounds good, thanks Penelope.”

Penelope stood up and straightened down her skirt. “Why? Are you thinking of doing that?”

Owen smiled at her, “No,” he lied.

The last thing he wanted was Penelope knowing anything about his personal life; that conversation for him had crossed a big line as it was.

That afternoon Owen made his way to the coffee shop.

He was beginning to think that he could make the journey blindfolded, he had done it so often over the last couple of weeks.

At the thought of blindfolds, Owen felt his groin stir.

That was another thing he had been missing ever since he’d got with Priscilla, adventurous sex.

Priscilla had definitely been a missionary kind of woman who gave blowjobs like they were one of Willy Wonka’s golden tickets.

Turning the corner Owen gave a homeless guy all the loose change he had in his pocket, the random act of kindness making him feel good and in the hope that the Gods will look on him favorably and let things go well between him and Bella.

Walking into the coffee shop, Owen felt suddenly awkward as Julia bustled in from the back of the shop, a mop in one hand a bucket in the other.

She looked at Owen and smiled, what he could actually describe as a knowing smile.

“Well, hello there,” Julia put down the bucket and placed the mop inside. “Your usual?”

Owen nodded noticing that Bella was conspicuous by her absence. Julia prepared his order and handed it to him.

“Is umm…is she here?” Owen finally managed to ask. Julia shook her head. “No she had an appointment.”

Momentarily Owen looked alarmed and Julia started laughing, “Oh, don’t worry. Nothing to do with you but she has had trouble walking since meeting up with you… if you get my drift?”

Owen gulped. “Right. Well, umm I guess I better be off.”

Julia walked round the counter, “Why don’t you stay, eat your sandwich and drink your drink here. You always seem in such a rush. I’m shutting up now so we have the place all to ourselves.”

Before Owen could protest, Julia had moved around him and locked the door turning the sign to closed, she turned and grinned at him. “There, we have all the privacy we need.”

Julia sat at a table in the far corner and Owen couldn’t really do anything else but sit facing her. Tentatively he opened the bag that housed his sandwich and took it out.

“You made a real impression on our Bella,” Julia said.

Owen smiled tentatively, “Really?”

Julia nodded. “Yup. However, there are a few things you need to know about our Bella before you jump to conclusions in terms of what happened the other night. She has lived a sheltered life in Alabama. She had this flash of guilt about what had happened the other night but trust me, that was just a flash of conscience, nothing more. She isn’t used to living on the edge.”

“Ok…” Owen couldn’t help but feel like he was getting a lecture.

“Do you like her?”

Owen looked at Julia over his sandwich, one piece of ham in his mouth, another threatening to fall out. He nodded, “Of course I like her. I was a bit pissed that she had disappeared, to be honest.”

Julia leaned forward as if the walls could hear her and she was going to impart the biggest secret of the decade. “She likes you, but you need to know how to play this right. It’s no good to keep coming in here for your ginger latte and your sandwich. You need to take action.”

Owen thought back to his conversation earlier with Penelope.

“I am going to take action. That’s why I am here.”

He finished the last of his sandwich and screwed up the paper it had been wrapped in along with the bag. He handed it to Julia who took it from him and folded her arms.

“Well, go on then, what have you got planned?”

Owen hadn’t really planned to do it, but Julia had out him on the spot.

He took out his silver case that housed his business cards and his black Mont-Blanc pen. On the back, he wrote:

Lotus Hotel

Be there tomorrow evening at 7 pm.

Then he handed the card to Julia.

“There, if you could give Bella that, I would be really grateful.”

Julia turned over the card and read the message on the back and raised her eyebrows, she looked at Owen and smiled.

“Yes sir.”