The Billionaire Player (In Too Deep)

CHAPTER31

TANNER

Shopping was the bane of my existence. I had no idea how some people could wander around here in the shopping district day in and day out, perfectly happy to drop their cash on random crap they didn’t need that would only end up gathering dust in the back of a closet somewhere.

The only good thing about it, as far as I was concerned, was that it was a nice district to walk around in. Wide clean streets, interesting displays to look at in the windows, and everything a person might need within walking distance.

That was why I was there. I’d needed somewhere with a variety of options and this was it. If I couldn’t find something around there, I might as well leave it and I didn’t want to.

For the last few days, I’d been playing around with the idea of getting Larisa a gift. We’d spoken after she’d run out on me, but I hadn’t seen her again yet, and I had a feeling that she thought the other night had been nothing more than me falling back into old habits.

Nothing could’ve been further from the truth, though. It had meant something to me—she meant something to me—and I wanted to get her a gift that showed my feelings for her. There was that old adage that actions spoke louder than words, and since she seemed to have trouble believing my words—for obvious reasons—I wanted to do something that showed her I cared.

According to the internet, getting someone a thoughtful gift would do just that. So here I was, trying to get a feel for what sort of gift she might like. The only thing I knew for sure was that she wasn’t like the women I was used to with the dollar signs in their eyes and an affinity for bling that cost an arm and a leg.

Something pointlessly expensive wouldn’t impress her. She seemed like the kind of person who cared more about the intent of the gift than the price tag. If I had to guess, she’d want something meaningful.

The problem was that while I’d taken the internet’s advice in giving some thought to what kind of gift she might like, I didn’t have the slightest clue where to start in terms of actually buying something.

So she’d want something meaningful. Something that said I knew who she was as a person and that I liked that person. But what is that thing?

Giving her an experience might’ve been cool. She had mentioned that weekend at the lake that she hadn’t been out of the city for a long time and had needed a break, so I’d considered calling Jeremiah and renting the place from him for a week or two for her. The reason I hadn’t done it was that I had no idea whether she could take that time off.

It seemed presumptuous to give her a getaway, even one that could be used at any time, without knowing when and even if she’d be able to go on it. It was even possible that having to plan the time she’d need to take off for something like that would only add more stress to her life. I didn’t want it hanging over her head, making her feel like she needed to use it even if she didn’t really have the time to do it.

While I was keeping the idea in the back of my mind as something to possibly give her sometime, what I was after today was a gift that was just a gift. Not something that could stress her out or require her to give anything, even her time, in return.

A few of the other ideas I’d had, I dismissed out of hand. Expensive purses or jewelry were always go-to items for something like this, but while I knew there was definitely jewelry that could be meaningful, it just didn’t feel right to me at the moment.

Eventually, I decided to just start going into stores in the hopes of spotting something that drew me to it. I browsed through a few places, but nothing jumped out at me. Sporting goods were a no, outdoor gear was a no, so was clothing, perfume, accessories, shoes, and chocolates.

When I ended up in an electronics store, I spotted a pricey laptop that was marketed to artists and designers. My heart skipped when my gaze landed on it, and I found myself drifting over without even thinking about it.

The other night when she’d been at my place, she’d commented on her current computer being a piece of junk. I remembered the trouble she’d been having with it and her saying that she needed a new one but never seemed to get around to it.

A lightbulb went off in my head. This could be it.

Sure, it was something for her work instead of something personal, but her work was personal to her. She loved her job. I’d seen the stars in her eyes and heard the passion in her voice when she talked about it.

She was one of the few people I knew who, at our age, was still excited about what she did. Most of us started out that way, but as time went on, whatever it was we did for a living seemed to lose its luster. That didn’t seem to have happened to her, though.

If anything, it seemed like she just got more excited about her work with every project she took on. She certainly seemed over the moon about redoing my place, and I’d been able to tell that while she was proud of the work she’d done before, she looked forward to every new, bigger challenge.

Staring at the sleek silver laptop, I decided it was perfect for her. Meaningful, something she needed instead of something she just wanted, and practical. It was top of the line too, which meant it would last her a long time, and it definitely didn’t qualify as a wasteful expenditure.

It would also show her that I had listened to what she’d said the other night. That my mind hadn’t been firmly focused on trying to get her to sleep with me and that I cared about her needs in the broader sense, not just physically.

A grin broke out across my face as I looked away from the computer and signaled to a sales assistant that I needed help. Twenty minutes later, I walked out with a fully set-up laptop in a beautiful, hand-stitched leather carry bag. I’d also purchased the extra software the salespeople had suggested, and it was all already installed for her.

It was fucking perfect. Now all I need to do is give it to her.

I knew that some people planned these things in advance. They bought gifts and waited months before they actually gave them to the intended recipient, but I wasn’t interested in waiting. I was too excited, and frankly, I knew how much she needed it immediately. To my mind, that was part of my gift—acting with the required urgency since I knew how useful this would be for her day-to-day.

As soon as I got to my car, I pulled my phone out of my pocket and scrolled to her number. If she agreed to get together for dinner tonight, I had also already thought of the perfect place to make reservations.

She didn’t seem too into needlessly fancy food, and there was a restaurant in Little Italy that served delicious, authentic cuisine at decent prices, but it was almost always fully booked. The owner’s son used to play ball with me, though. I was sure I could get us in, even if we had to eat in the kitchen.

In fact, that would be an even more incredible experience. Yeah. I’m going to try for that.