King of Deception: A Secret Billionaire Romance (Billionaire Kings of New York Book 1)

7. Playing Cat and Mouse

seven

Feeling absolutely ridiculous for listening to Alex’s advice and accepting the invitation, I stood in the corner while my eyes scanned the dozens of faces surrounding me.

As if in an alternate universe, everyone around me seemed different. Not only did I not know a single soul, but they didn’t even look like the sort of people with whom I mingled. From head to toe, everyone appeared perfect. Flawless skin, hair, and teeth. Impeccably manicured nails; women and men. Every garment fit like it was tailored specifically for their shapely physiques. The women had legs for miles, and the men’s hairlines were drawn to perfection.

Who were these people, and why was I here?

Sipping on the cocktail I had accepted from a circulating waiter, I thought for a moment that perhaps the invitation had come for or from the company. But then again, nobody from work was here.

Just as I was pondering the option to leave, a handsome red-haired man approached me with a smile. He was wearing an impressive Italian suit, though I didn’t much care for the shimmer in its navy blue fabric.

“It’s a crime that someone would leave you standing here all alone,” he rubbed the tip of his nose.

“No one left me; I’m flying solo tonight,” I grinned.

“Guess it’s my luck, then. Steve Palmer.”

“Ella Rose Boraine.”

“Well,” he chuckled and once again rubbed his nose. “You’re not really a part of this scene, are you? I would’ve recognized you.”

I quickly shook my head, chuckling, “I’m really not.”

“Fresh blood. That’s always good for business. How’d you like the place?”

“Well?” I looked around, examining the modern decoration. “It’s nice.”

“You don’t like it.”

“No, no, I do.” I held up an apologetic hand in case he was the manager. “I’m just really not… what you’d call a… party girl?”

“Then you probably partied with the wrong people.” His hand that kept touching his face was distracting me. But he was still undeniably good-looking and radiated self-assurance.

But then it struck me—those were the very same qualities that had me attracted to Jude.

As I began to mentally formulate an escape, Abel approached with a fresh tray of shots. The look on Steve’s face was nothing short of surprise mixed with confusion, as though he were trying to place the waiter’s face.

And then we had a brief exchange.

“Black pepper. Well done!” Abel responded to my guess, and I chuckled, acknowledging his condescending tone with a meaningful look that only he could understand.

“So, do you wanna go someplace?” Steve offered as if Abel wasn’t standing next to us, and all of the alarms in my head went off. That was exactly the sort of thing that Jude would say if he had wanted to get me alone.

Quickly, I shook my head in an unsure gesture as my eyes went to Abel for help. He must have picked up my vibe because he immediately raised his eyebrows. “Oh, by the way? Mr. Bianchi sends his regards. He said he’s gonna be here in thirty.”

“Bianchi?” Steve dipped his chin, staring at Abel with sharp eyes. “As in… Martin Bianchi?” The finger by his nose began to nervously scratch it as he turned to me. “You know Martin Bianchi.”

Widening my eyes, I twisted the corners of my lips and hastily nodded. “U—Erm—Totally!”

“Okay?” he furrowed his eyebrows, turning to Abel once again and examining him. “Martin fucking Bianchi.” He shifted to leave, shaking his head. “Jeez, and she told me she came alone!” he mumbled.

Acting dumb, Abel shrugged and shook his head as we both watched Steve practically disappear into thin air. In disbelief, I turned to him. “Okay… Thank you, I guess?”

“Yeah,” he squeezed his eyes shut, “you don’t wanna be mixed up with him.”

“I don’t?”

“Too much drama.” He continued to shake his head.

“And who’s Martin—”

“Bianchi? Only rumored to have a connection to a certain Italian family here in New York.” He winked.

I whispered, clearly enunciating, “The mob?”

“Shush!” He playfully held up a finger.

“Oh my God, Abel!” I squealed. “Now he’s gonna go running his mouth all over the place, and everyone will be too intimidated to talk to me!”

He started to chuckle so much that he quaked the tray, spilling colored drinks all over it. When he was finally done, I had my hands on my waist, waiting for an explanation as flames shot out of my eyes.

“Okay, first of all? Steve’s a crackhead. You’d sooner find him in the toilet than ‘running his mouth’ anywhere.”

“Oh,” I gave him a suspicious look.

“Secondly? We’re surrounded by some of New York’s richest, most powerful individuals. Half of them are already in bed with Bianchi, and the other half? They wanna play nice.”

I wrinkled my eyebrows, pointing in the direction Steve had disappeared into. “Then why did he…?”

“Because his ex-fiancée had Bianchi’s favorite stripper attacked. From what I heard? A broken leg and three bruised ribs.”

“Oh my God!” I couldn’t help but hold my hand up to my lips. “Why do you know—No, how do you know all this?”

“Let’s just say that I’ve been running in these circles for what feels like an eternity.”

Taking a step back, I examined his suit from the hems up. It was certainly nicer than the ones worn by all the other waiters, despite the fact that they still matched. “How long exactly? By the way you keep wasting your paid time here, I’m surprised they call you back for work.”

Pulling back in forged shock, he narrowed his eyes. “You’re ruthless!”

“And you talk too much.”

“Are you like that with your accountant friends?”

“Unlike you, I don’t go to work to make friends. I go there to kill it and get promoted.”

His smile widened into a grin as he approvingly nodded, “Way to go, Ella!”

“That’s Ms. Boraine to you,” I wagged a finger in his face.

“Abel, hi!” A gorgeous brunette walked past us, rubbernecking as she hollered, “Great party!”

“Oh yeah!” he hollered back, and I couldn’t hide my surprise.

When I looked again, I recognized that she was a famous social media model. “Okay, how does she even know your name?”

He shrugged with a proud look in his eyes. “I told you. I’ve been in too deep for far too long.” He then handed his dirty tray to another passing waiter, prompting a lip smack from me. He then asked, “Did you always know that you wanted to be an accountant?”

“Totally,” I coyly lifted a shoulder. “Who wouldn’t wanna see those perfectly balanced figures on their screen?”

“I can’t tell if you’re joking.”

“Okay, in all honesty… I’ve always been into numbers. But to me, it’s a job that pays for everything else. And I’m good at it.”

“Good for you!”

While I couldn’t believe that I was spending my time at the city’s hottest event talking to a waiter, something drew me to him. “Did you always wanna be in hospitality?”

He chuckled, “Among other things.”

“Like?”

“Like…” he had a pondering look in his eyes, “I was on the swim team as a teenager and even in college.”

“Impressive!” I raised an eyebrow.

“Don’t patronize me,” he chuckled.

“I’m not, I swear. Do you still do it?”

“College?” He scrunched his nose.

“No, silly! Swimming.”

“I do whenever I get the chance.”

“That explains the tan.”

“You could say that.”

“And what was your major in college?”

“I went to business school.”

“Shit, Abel! You could do so much with that.”

Shrugging, he casually raised a hand. “Hey, it’s New York. Don’t you think it’s pretty competitive?”

“Only if you can’t keep up. You’re a man, which makes it a lot easier.”

“Spoken like a true feminist,” he smirked.

“A realist,” I corrected him. “When was the last time you applied for a job?”

“Never?”

“Jesus!”

A waitress walked past us, and Abel casually picked up a drink. “Thanks, Tara.”

“You got it, dude,” the woman giggled and went on her way.

Widening my eyes, I turned to him. “Wow. You must be really good at your job. Are you, like, their supervisor?”

“You could say that.”

Nodding, I took a sip of my drink. “So, what else do you do?”

“Aside from glamming it up and floating around all these beautiful people?”

I giggled, nodding, “Yes?”

“Uh—I support a couple of animal shelters.”

“You volunteer?”

“Something like that, yeah.” He raked through his lush black hair with his fingers, momentarily distracting me.

My grin grew wider as I looked away for a second. “Are you a cat person or a dog person?”

“Dogs. Definitely dogs. I have Dylan.”

“Oh! How old?”

“Three.”

“What’s he like?”

“A big, slobbery fluffball of love.”

I laughed, “Awww!”

“What about you?”

“Well, I’m hardly at home. I’d feel guilty about locking up a poor soul in my apartment all day.”

“If you could adopt one, then.”

“Probably a cat.”

“They’re a bit detached, don’t you think?”

“They’re misunderstood. Just because they know what they want and aren’t afraid to ask for it, people take that for selfishness.”

“And you cracked the code.”

“Any cat owner would tell you that there’s really no code at all. It’s pretty simple; you give them what they want, and they see it as love.”

“And in return?”

“When that moment comes and they settle in your lap purring?” I looked up, instantly grinning. “It’s the best feeling in the world.”

“So… you had a cat.”

“No, my ex did.”

“Oh. Jude.”

“You remember.”

“How can anyone forget?” he chortled.

“Yeah,” I nodded, aware of the distressed expression on my face. “I would apologize for that, but it wasn’t even my fault.”

Slowly shaking his head, his eyes regarded me with an impressed look. “I am so proud of you for saying that.”

“Now, who’s patronizing who?”

“C’mon, don’t be like that.”

I couldn’t explain it, but in spite of all the wealthy men swarming all around, I wanted to keep talking to Abel, the waiter. A mysterious pull kept me gravitating toward him like a planet orbiting the sun, although if anyone asked me to pinpoint the reason, I couldn’t.

“So, when was your first waiter gig?”

“Gig?” he tittered. “Uh—I’ll have to say college. One summer, I trained at a restaurant. And then I kept returning every break.”

“Always as a waiter?”

“No,” his eyes looked away as if he were trying to remember. “Once, I took phone reservations. Another time, I was the host.”

“Fancy!”

“Right?” His smile was beautiful. “Another time, I was actually in the back keeping the books.”

“You mean,” I dipped my head, “Like… an accountant?”

“That’s right.”

“And you found this to be your favorite?”

Drawing a deep breath, he had a slightly uncomfortable look on his face. It was fleeting for only a moment. “Let’s just say it found me.”

I didn’t know what made me look over his shoulder and into the background, but I did. At first, I thought that the colored lights were playing tricks on my vision, but then I squinted and was sure… Jude was here.

“Oh, fuck me!”

Abel chortled, “It’s not that bad.”

“No, no.” I quickly shifted to hide behind him. “It’s Jude. My ex. He’s here.”

“What?” he was about to turn around and look.

“Don’t!” I grabbed his hand, and his fingers held onto mine, squeezing them gently.

“Okay?” He wrinkled his eyebrows. “Didn’t know he was invited.”

“Why would you?”

“Ah—You’re right.”

“Listen, he can’t see me, okay?” I pleaded. “Let’s just walk slowly together. Keep hiding me.”

“Okay. Where to?”

“I don’t know?” my tone grew nervous. “The bathroom, maybe?”

The look on his face told me that he wasn’t quite convinced, but he still played along, anyway. “Whatever you say.”

While Jude didn’t know that he was partaking in a game of cat and mouse, all I wanted was to get out of there before he found me.