A Billionaire With Benefits

“I thought there were certain funds needed.”

His mother laughed. “Darling, you may be the CEO, but I’m the mother of the CEO.”

“I’ll have our lawyers draw up the necessary paperwork.”

“For what?”

“The prenuptial agreements.”

“That’s unnecessary.”

“How can it be unnecessary?”

“Bea wishes for none of it.”

“What?” He was aghast.

Lydia shrugged. “She’ll come to her senses soon enough. Your father and I were mad for each other, yet even we had our prenuptials.”

Justin felt annoyed. This wasn’t a good thing. While they were a private entity, who knows what magic these Murrays could do? Gregory was a star pupil, he

recalled, so his smarts had to amount to something. Beatrice wasn’t scholarly, but she was one of the kindest persons who graced the planet, atop of her loveliness. He hoped Gregory wouldn’t take advantage of it. Justin would push for a prenup, after the engagement party.

Situations like that always called for a contract. Then he thought about Mikaela for a moment. Well, that one—that was a different story. He drank his remaining wine in a single gulp and breathed in the cool air, hoping for something good to come out of all of this.

Chapter9

She woke up with a smile on her face. These bedsheets were the nicest she’d ever slept in since… Justin’s penthouse. She shook her head. Today was going to be a fun day. She had no itinerary, but she thought to explore the nearby areas first. She rang for room service and while she was in her bathrobe, searching for places to explore, a butler came with a traditional British breakfast, tea included. She smiled, thanking the butler and grabbing her camera as soon as he had left. This had to go down in her history as her first all-British breakfast.

She had never tried black pudding before, that with eggs and sausages. She took a bite of the black pudding and nodded to herself while chewing. That was interesting, even if it looked unappetizing. She had planned her itinerary as soon as she had finished most of her breakfast.

Today, it was going to be at the British Museum, the Royal Opera House (what was there? She was almost sure there weren’t any shows in the morning), and a walk along the river Thames. Then she would decide where to eat and maybe shop a little if she wasn’t too tired.

Mikaela was quite excited. The weather app had said it would be a maximum of seventeen degrees today, with the possibility of rain. She was glad she had bought a portable umbrella and a fashionable raincoat. She wore skinny jeans, a loose light pink sweater and brown leather boots. Her trusty backpack from her college years was ready as well, with its frayed straps and distressed look, which definitely wasn’t intentional.

She had just only stepped out of the hotel when she received a message from Justin.

Where are you?

About to go out, she replied.

Did you eat?

Yes.

And that was that. She lingered at the carriageway entrance for a few minutes to wait for his reply, but he didn’t. She sighed and began her solo tour. She had downloaded a few maps, her camera was charged, and she had enough money and credit with her to last her for the day, maybe even a month in London if she could.

She wondered if she could still go to the Stonehenge, but according to some reviews, it wasn’t worth the hours wasted in driving. Well, I have one week here, she thought. England had so much history and she wanted to soak in it. She had been a history fiend in high school, and if her parents hadn’t died, she would have loved to be a historian or archaeologist.

Mikaela wished her family was with her. They would have enjoyed this. Right before they died, they had planned a trip to Hawaii. Planned. Past tense. That trip would have been a month after her brother’s special awards. Well, I’m enjoying this for you guys, she thought two hours later. She hadn’t enjoyed a real vacation in a while which wasn’t within a hundred-mile radius, and wished she could post every picture she took but knew she couldn’t. A job was important after everything had ended.

She felt hungry a little while later and found a quaint little café just feet away from the river Thames. She ate with gusto, despite being alone. She didn’t act too touristy though, stopping herself when she’d be on the verge of taking too many photos. Don’t attract too much attention, she told herself. Her personal guide wasn’t here. He wouldn’t be with her the whole time she was here.

The thought of it suddenly disappointed her. Even if he lived here, she wanted to share these experiences with him. Perhaps now that he was back home, he’d finally laugh. Mikaela had never seen him laugh. Sure he’d smile, crack a joke that was barely funny, but he never laughed. Mikaela thought she had a sense of humor. Apparently, Justin Henderson didn’t. Did it come with being CEO? Perhaps it was a façade he wanted to maintain. Whatever it was, she wished she’d heard him laugh, even just once.

Mikaela realized she wanted to make a connection with Justin. She wanted him to like her in the least. She almost laughed to herself, almost snorted into her cup of tea. Him? Like her? The contract was made for reasons that excluded emotions, yet here she was, liking him. It was abnormal. She felt like she was back in high school again, crushing on some football varsity player she couldn’t get the courage to talk to.

She realized she was veering away from her vacation thoughts. Justin wasn’t a part of her vacation, he just graciously paid for it. I’m only here for six days. I’m only here for six days, she told herself again and again.