Mr. Big Shot (Mr. Big 1)

And when I mean take, I mean take, as in abduct.

I turned down Harvard and moved to Manhattan to get as far away from Portland as I could and as far away from Blaine as I could. I figured New York City was big enough that he could never find me.

* * *

The next day, Candy and I went to meet our friends from Columbia for a girl's brunch at Luigi's, a deli in the upper east side. It was busy as usual and we managed to snag a table in the corner so we could talk without any interruption as the servers practically ran down the aisles to deliver plates of food to hungry patrons. We all had our usual meals and each one of us related the latest horror to befall us in terms of romance. When my turn came, I had the best story, of course, but couldn't really tell anyone any specifics because of the non-disclosure agreement.

"Who is he?" Mara asked, punching me lightly on the arm. "You can tell us. We won't spill, right?" She glanced at Jan and Jan shook her head vehemently.

"Of course we won't tell," Jan said. "Spill, sister. Who is this hunk of a billionaire who hired you as an escort to send a message to his cheating brother-in-law?"

"I honestly can't say more," I said, shaking my head. "I signed an NDA. There's no way I want this story to get out and get sued because of it."

"Aww," Mara said, pouting. "I want to know who this guy is. He's really rich?"

"Super-rich," Candy said, and made a face. "Like billionaire rich. Comes from a rich family. Big fortune."

"Wow," Jan said, her eyes dreamy. "How come nothing exciting ever happens to me?"

"Believe me," I said and shrugged. "It's not like it was anything great. I mean, the guy isn't into relationships, and I spent about an hour meeting his creepy family and their wealthy friends. The rich really are different," I said with a nod.

"Do you have a pic of him?" Mara asked, ever hopeful.

"You might recognize him if I showed you."

"Take my word, he's gorgeous," Candace said.

"You saw him?" Mara asked, glancing at me with a look of disapproval. "How come she gets to see a pic of him and we don't?"

"That was before I signed the NDA," I said and shrugged helplessly. "Sorry."

"If Candy gets to see him, we should in all fairness."

"Sorry," I said again, and shook my head firmly. "No can do. But he's about six foot three, built, with a great body and dark brown hair, blue eyes, square alpha male jaw."

"He's totally drool-worthy," Candace said, excitedly. "I told Alexa to sleep with him, but she's being old-fashioned."

"Are you going to see him again?" Mara asked, leaning forward, eager for more.

"He wants her to come out to their family beach house in Westhampton for a weekend," Candy answered for me, "but she said no."

“What?” she asked and looked at me. "Why not?"

I exhaled in frustration. "Because he's got this really fucked-up family and there's all this tension between them. I liked his sister and his friend John, but the rest of them are kind of hoity-toity."

"Hoity-toity? What are you – from Jolly Old England?"

We all laughed.

"Seriously, though, he's really down on relationships. I don’t blame him, but he has no interest in getting serious about anyone so it would be a waste of my time."

"But if he's hot, why not? Get some. You deserve it, girl."

I smiled at Mara. She always felt bad for me that I had to escape a potential – or should I say – actual nutcase of an ex.

Then I thought maybe Luke and I were two peas in a pod. Both of us had been hurt by exes. He was betrayed by a cheat, and I was threatened by a creep.

Two suckers, in other words.