Chapter 11
It’s Billionaire—with a B
? Someone to Stay - Vancouver Sleep Clinic
Ruby
It’s been almost a week since Liam and I…
To be honest, I’m not sure what to call it, but it’s not lost on me that in everything we did, Liam never touched me intimately.
He didn’t even kiss me, and I’ve been spiraling over every possible reason ever since.
Was this a game? A way for him to take what he wanted without crossing the line we’ve been on opposite sides of for years?
In the grand scheme of things, I suppose it doesn’t matter what it was.
I have a job to do, an album to write, and my priorities are elsewhere.
But fuck—it was hot. Like so fucking hot.
He didn’t have to touch me to make me come harder than anything I’ve ever experienced before. Will it ever be that good again?
In any case, I still need to write seven more songs if I want to have a full album, so I don’t have time to spiral over two mind-blowing orgasms and one emotionally unavailable bachelor.
On top of that, I’m in limbo with my former label, wondering whether they’re going to sue for breach of contract or let me go quietly.
I have a feeling it’s the former, and I’m preparing for the worst.
I haven’t heard much from my team. Now that I’ve parted ways with the label, my inner circle consists of my publicist/personal assistant and all-around bestie, Abby, and my lawyer, Adam.
The silence doesn’t trouble me; I trust them to keep things running smoothly in my absence.
I’d be more concerned if they were being cagey.
As if I summoned her with my thoughts, my phone chimes on the coffee table in the music room. I've been holing up here for the better part of the day while Aiden is at school.
Abby: The label wants to settle out of court.
Ruby: How much?
Abby: $10M
No. I can’t believe they have the audacity to demand that much money from me when they’ve spent years exploiting my talents. I dial Abby’s number, anger coursing through my veins.
The line clicks over, and before I can even utter a word, Abby speaks. “Deep breath, babe. It’s not as bad as it sounds.”
“Ten million dollars?” I shout. “How is that not as bad as it sounds?”
“Have you looked at your net worth lately?” she deadpans.
“That’s irrelevant. They treated me like shit for five fucking years, and I’m supposed to what? Hand over a check and thank them for it? Maybe I should let them spank me, too.”
“Nobody is saying you have to do this gracefully, but if you want to make this easy, I think we should settle.”
“What does Adam think?”
There’s a strange sound on the other end of the line before my lawyer’s voice echoes through the speaker. “We’re all on board, but the final decision is yours to make.”
“Wait, what are you two doing together?”
He clears his throat. “Team meeting.”
I frown. Abby and Adam have never had a team meeting before. At least, not in person. Maybe I’m overthinking it. “Um, ok. I’ll think about it.”
I hear what sounds like shuffling papers before Abby speaks again. “Business aside, how are you doing?”
“I’m good. It’s been nice to take a break from the limelight. God, that sounds so cliche.”
“And how's the hot single dad doing?” I can hear the smile in her voice when she says it.
I shake my head. “He’s good. Busy.”
“Busy between your thighs, I hope. We had to close down an entire tattoo parlor just to get your clit pierced; it’d be a shame if no one ever got to see it.”
“Abby!”
“What? You’re taking a break. That should include getting down and dirty with a tattooed hottie.”
I snort. “Did you also forget the part where he’s my ex-boyfriend’s brother?”
“So… you haven’t jumped his bones, then?”
“I think that’s my cue to leave,” Adam says, his voice muffled.
I bite down on my bottom lip, unsure how to respond. “Not exactly.”
“Oh my god, I knew it! Tell me everything.”
I spend the next several minutes relaying everything that happened the previous week, and Abby chimes in whenever she has an opening, mostly communicating in sighs and swoons.
“And nothing else has happened?” she asks.
“Nope.”
“Do you want something else to happen?”
I rake my hands through my hair, splitting it into three strands to form a braid. “I don’t know. I mean, it was great. Ten out of ten dick. Five-star orgasms or whatever, but it’s so complicated. There’s too much history there.”
“Not to mention you’ve been in love with him since you were a teenager.”
“What do you mean?”
“Do you not remember that time you got drunk and spilled the beans about your ex’s hot older brother? You told me all about the prom, and how you wrote that song about him.”
“No. No, I definitely think I would remember doing that.”
“It was after the ACM awards when you lost album of the year.”
My mind travels back to that night, but the memories after the red carpet are hazy. I was nervous as hell to be nominated. “Oh. Oh. Shit.”
“Yeah. You were halfway out of your sequin bell-bottoms at the time, stumbling into the bathroom. I had to hold your hair back.”
I sink back into the sofa, the leather creaking beneath me, and I hope it’ll swallow me whole. “Even if I wanted to pursue something with Liam, he’s not into me like that.”
“Ruby. Everyone is into you like that.”
“Even you?”
She barks out a laugh. “I mean, sure, if you’re offering—but I don’t commit. Best I can do is a one-night stand and an awkward walk of shame the next morning.”
I snort. “I’ll keep that in mind. I should probably get back to working on this album.”
“Have you looked over the offers? There are several labels ready to fall to their knees to sign Ruby Lynn Hayes.”
I tie off the end of the braid and toss it over my shoulder. “I’m still thinking about it.”
Truth is, I’m not ready to make any life-changing decisions. I just got out of one shitty contract, and I’m not in the right headspace to jump into bed with more predatory men. There’s only one man I want to jump into bed with.
It doesn’t even have to be a bed.
“Ok,” she says. “I’ll let you get back to it. And Ruby?”
“Yeah?”
“If that man doesn't make another move, it’s because he’s waiting for you to do it. There’s no way he would do what he did if he wasn’t interested.”
“Thanks, Abby. I’ll let you know what I decide… about the settlement and the contracts, I mean.”
She laughs. “Sure. Talk later. Love you, girl.”
“Love you.”
The call with Abby is exactly what I need to set my mind right.
By dinnertime, it’s starting to feel like I might be getting my shit together.
I’ve written another song for the album and reached out to a few other artists and songwriters for collaborations.
If only I could make up my mind about the legal stuff.
With Liam away at work until morning, dinner is my responsibility, and I loath to admit that I’ve run out of kid-approved meals that are within my wheelhouse.
I’m elbow deep in the fridge when Aiden comes into the kitchen.
“What should we do for dinner?” I ask.
“Froot loops!” he says, eyes wide with a massive smile.
“I think your dad might fire me if I let you have them for breakfast and dinner. Let’s see…” I pull open the freezer and find exactly what I need. “Dino nuggets?”
“Yes! And fries?”
“You got it.”
It takes less than twenty minutes to have dinner on the table.
I debate for a second whether I want to partake in the dino nugget fanfare or make myself something more appealing, but the nuggets sound a lot better than cooking two separate meals.
I grab the hot honey and ranch from the fridge, and settle at the island with my best bud and our prehistoric dinner.
He bites the bottom off what I think is supposed to be a T. rex, and dunks it in the dollop of ketchup, pretending to be a gravely injured and flailing dinosaur while the others around the plate cheer for its demise.
“I had no idea I was in for dinner and a show,” I say.
He pops the injured party into his mouth and beams up at me. “This one is a triceratops, and this one is a brachiosaurus, and that one is a stegosaurus. My favorite. They’re herbivores, but T. rex is a carnivore and he eats other dinosaurs.”
“So, that’s why they’re cheering?”
“Yep.”
“Solid reasoning, my dude.”
When the dinosaurs are, once again, extinct, and the dishwasher is loaded, we relocate to the sofa. I have my guitar; Aiden has Jerry and a package of kale.
“Hey, Ruby? Could you teach me how to play guitar?” Aiden asks.
“Sure. Did you know your dad plays?”
“Yep. That’s why I wanna learn too. Dad’s the coolest. He said he used to play with you.”
“He did. That was a long time ago. Why don’t you get Jerry settled back in his home, and we can go to the music room?”
“Ok.”
I smile wistfully as memories of a much younger Ruby and Liam come flooding back. With those memories comes a deep heartache. While I was quietly falling for Liam, his brother was actively breaking my heart. A girl never forgets her first heartbreak.
I grab my things and head up to the music room to wait for Aiden. He arrives a short while later and sits beside me on the sofa. I hand him my old guitar, covered in all kinds of half-peeling stickers. I still can’t believe Liam kept it all these years.
“It was yours, right?” he asks.
My brow furrows. “Yeah. How did you know?”
“Dad told me.” He shrugs. “He talks about you a lot.”
My heart flips. Liam and I have always had a special connection, but I often wondered if it was one-sided. Moments like this remind me that, even if it’s not romantic affection for his part, Liam cares about me.