27. Naina
Chapter Twenty-Seven
NAINA
The hottest sexual experience of my life was two nights ago.
Same.
Perks of marrying a billionaire:
1. He got you an engagement ring designed specifically for you with a big, heavy rock.
2. He sent a designer to curate a wardrobe for you.
3. He had someone fill your room with luxury items the night before your wedding.
4. He had a private jet to take you to New York on a random Tuesday.
5. He apparently had apartments all over the world.
“Kash is like rich rich,” Sami had said, looking around the jet we had just entered. The white and cream interior screamed money and luxury. There was an entertainment room and two bedrooms.
According to Grayson, it was one of the smaller jet owned by the Sutherlands. They had another bigger one they used for ‘entertainment’ and ‘business meetings’, whatever the hell that meant.
Who had business meetings on a plane?
Kash was already in New York, having left the day before. I hadn’t messaged Kat that I was coming because I wanted to surprise her. And boy was she going to be surprised when she found out I got married.
There was no best way to tell your friend that you got married without her. There was definitely no way to tell her that said marriage was of convenience. Especially when I had signed an NDA.
Funny how Kash made me sign an NDA, but not a prenup. That would have been my first concern had I been the billionaire in this relationship. Kash was surprisingly unconcerned.
Now in his apartment, I looked down at Central Park laid out below me. I’d never been this high before and all I could think was how much the fall was going to hurt.
“Mrs. Sutherland.”
I turned to find Rosa behind me. She was a middle-aged Hispanic woman, and Kash’s new assistant. We’d met briefly when Sami and I got to the apartment before she had disappeared into Kash’s office with him. I still hadn’t seen him.
“I just wanted to say it was a pleasure to meet you.” She smiled at me softly. “If you need anything and the staff can’t provide, please let me know.”
“Thank you, Rosa. I don’t think there’s anything I could possibly need, but I appreciate the offer.”
“You’re very welcome,” she said. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I’d only just turned back to the window, restlessness clawing up my spine when I heard another, “Mrs. Sutherland” behind me.
This time, I found the housekeeper, Bridget, behind me. She must have been in her fifties, her blonde hair pulled into a bun, kind brown eyes smiling at me.
“Is there anything specific you would like me to prepare for dinner? Mr. Sutherland mentioned you are a vegetarian, do you have any other dietary restrictions?”
“No, thank you. I’m not picky. And please, you don’t have to do anything special for me, I’m fine.”
“Well, the other Mrs. Sutherlands are very specific about their needs,” Bridget said, smiling kindly.
The other Mrs. Sutherlands weren’t in a fake marriage. They had authority so they asserted it. Not that I would assert authority even if it was a real marriage. I wouldn’t know the first thing to do with a household staff. I barely knew what to do with the Inn’s staff.
As soon as we landed in New York, all the eager anticipation had fled my body, leaving only dread behind. What if we ran into someone I used to work with? I doubted anyone at the firm had figured out that I was the one responsible for the Sutherlands losing the lawsuit, not if they dug deep.
I wasn’t even technically part of the team working on the lawsuit , I thought bitterly. My boss had insisted that my expertise was needed to ‘help’ the team yet failed to give my name to the partners when they asked about the work.
I was entangling myself with Kash, even though I knew better. I always knew better, and I was still blindsided. That’s what had happened with my boss.
I couldn’t hide my fear, my vulnerabilities well enough, and he had taken advantage of it. Lulled me into a false sense of security and it took me far too long to realize that he didn’t have the best intentions for me at heart.
At first, I thought he genuinely cared for me, romantically and professionally. That all those times he helped me at the firm and told me tales of how much grunt work he had done before the partners respected him meant that he was looking out for me.
Except I found myself only doing the grunt work, doing the job of a paralegal instead of a lawyer. I did the research, and his boys got the credit. I did the work, and he chose his boys to assist him with the Sutherland lawsuit. I let him convince me that it was for my benefit.
My fears wanted to tell me that I was making the same mistakes with Kash. It was easy, wasn’t it? If I let the fear talk than I didn’t need to take the risk of getting my heart broken by a man who told me he never wanted a relationship.
Did I want a relationship?
Well, yes. Where had that gotten me, though? I was twenty-nine and I’d never had a long-term relationship because I was afraid to trust people. I got too lost in my own head.
Sami came bounding down the steps and I turned to face her. She pointed out the window, her eyes side and mouth open.
“That’s a pool. On the thirtieth floor. There’s a gym, a media room, five guest rooms. We need to become rich.”
I laughed. Leave it to my sister to lighten my mood.
“Being rich does have its perks.”
“I’m actually afraid to touch anything,” Sami said.
“It’s a whole different world, Sami. You should see the house his father lives in. Two Windfields could fit into it.”
I only imagined Kash being rich in concept. Now that I was actually around his kind of money, I couldn’t even fathom it. This man never had to worry about anything in life and in exchange for it, he got a cruel father. I wondered if he would give it up for having a loving family.
“Where is your husband, anyway?”
“In his office, I think.”
Sami looked at me, brow arched.
“Why don’t you go find him?”
“I don’t want to bother him. He’s probably busy.”
Groaning, Sami threw her head back.
“Didi, when are you going to realize that man will be glad to be interrupted by you? He probably fantasizes about it.”
I thought about our video call from two nights ago, how quickly he answered my messages and then video called me. He hadn’t minded me interrupting him then.
Maybe I would go find my husband.