Escorting the Billionaire (The Escort Collection 1)

“I know,” Cole said. He lazily leaned up against the wall next to me. “He told me about you, you know.”

My heart stopped. But I didn’t let my face betray me.

“Really? What did he say?”

“I know why you’re here,” Cole said. “I know he hired you. He never could stand to be alone with his family. But he also told me things aren’t physical between you two. That’s why you should come home with me tonight. And I’m not saying this to be an asshole—I’m saying it to help.”

I felt sick, but I looked up at him with as much indignation as I could manage. “You’re not saying it to be an asshole, Cole? Are you sure?”

“I’m sure,” he said, smiling at me. “It’s a business proposition. You fill my need, I’ll fill yours. You come home with me tonight, and I’ll pay you your regular fee. And James will still be paying you. You’ll make a tidy profit. It’s like a twofer.”

He leaned over me, looking triumphant—as if he had just solved all our problems. He was ready for his shish kebab. Cole Bryson was a successful, gorgeous man, and he was used to getting what he wanted. I had the feeling “no” wasn’t a word he often heard. He smiled down at me, and I winced. The problem was, I didn’t know if James wanted me to say no to him.

“Don’t say no to a tidy profit,” he said. “You’ll break my venture-capitalist heart.”

I felt as though I was going to throw up. “Did James say this was okay?” I asked, my voice small. I held my breath until he answered.

“No,” Cole admitted. “I didn’t run it by him yet. But James isn’t exactly sentimental.”

My heart was pounding in my chest, hard, when I heard the door open behind me.

“It’s true, I’m not sentimental,” James said, coming toward us.

I held my breath a little longer and felt the blood drain from my face. I had a feeling this was about to go very, very badly.

He reached me, and to my complete surprise, he took my hand. I looked at our hands linked together like that. I just stared at them as if they belonged to other people, and then I looked up at his gorgeous face.

He was glaring at Cole. “That was a dick move,” he said. “By the way, I heard almost everything you said.”

“It’s not like I was trying to hide it,” Cole said easily.

James looked at my face. “Are you okay?” he asked.

I nodded, biting my lip.

He turned back to Cole. “You are on my shit list.”

His friend looked at him and snorted, unfazed. “I’m an entrepreneur—you know that,” he said. “I see an opportunity and I move for it, fast.”

James smiled at him tightly. “You’re my best friend,” he said, “which is why I haven’t punched you in the face. Yet. But for the record, Audrey is a person, not an opportunity. So please do not approach her with any more business propositions in the future.”

Cole studied his friend’s face and let his glance trail down to our interlocked fingers. “Why James, I didn’t know you cared.”

I felt James stiffen for a second but only slightly. “I care that you find someone else to put your entrepreneurial hands on tonight. Audrey has agreed to be exclusive with me for the next two weeks. Please don’t get her into trouble—not with me, and not with her employer.”

A look passed between the two friends, and Cole nodded at James.

“Call me tomorrow,” James said. “If I answer, it means I’m speaking to you again.”

Cole smiled at the both of us, unabashed, and then he winked at me. “See ya,” he said. “It’s too bad James can’t share—I’m much more fun than he is.”

James gave him one final disapproving glare and then hustled me out to the car. I was shaking a little, still biting my lip. I nodded at Kai and got into the car silently. James climbed in after me and sat close by.

“That was unfortunate,” he said.

“Is that how all your friends treat you?” I asked.

“Cole is my only friend. And he would never do anything to hurt me,” James said carefully. “He must have thought it was okay.”