Rock Star Billionaire

Holding on very tightly to my stress ball, I said, “Your ex.”

“Yes, my ex,” she snapped. “Ex. Meaning in the past. I don’t know if you were paying attention, but that guy hurt me quite a lot. He cheated on me on our anniversary and it took me forever to get over it. I spent the majority of the year hating him.”

“Oh really? How often do you go out for coffee with someone you hate,” I challenged, my fingernails digging through the palm of my hands. The pain was oddly soothing.

“Not very often. But you know what? Before you came along, I would never ever have agreed to be friends with him. Because in some part of me, I still cared. Now I don’t. Because I care about you. And I have no reason to hate him. He almost did me a favor. In some ways, I am grateful… if he hadn’t cheated on me, you and I would have never…”

She stopped, perhaps realizing that she had said more than she intended.

“You can’t talk to him anymore.”

“What do you mean?”

“You are not allowed to go anywhere near that guy.”

She flared her nostrils. “You can’t tell me who I can or cannot talk to. You think you own me?”

“Actually I kind of do,” I spat. “In this regard anyway. It’s in the contract. Section 9. You’re not allowed to engage in any sort of relationship – platonic or otherwise – with a man I disapprove of. And I assure you, I disapprove of this guy.”

She opened her mouth in anger and closed it again. Tears were now freely streaming down her face, her mascara running down her cheeks. I didn’t want her to cry. But more importantly, I didn’t want her talking to that guy.

She looked like she wanted to say something a few times but changed her mind. After standing there in silence for a few minutes, she stormed out of the office.

People had definitely witnessed the production, and I worried about being insulted by my own employees. I did not need this kind of attention. Why did I care who she spoke to anyway? She was just some girl I had contracted to win a challenge in my own head, yet this whole ordeal made me feel extremely vulnerable. So much so that I had ended up creating a scene at work; something that had never, ever happened, in my entire career.

Aria Roberts was turning out to be more trouble than I needed in my life. Yet I knew just then that I would not be able to rest peacefully until I knew for sure that no one else shared her attention. She was to be – for whatever duration she had signed up for – completely and utterly mine.

I didn’t care how that made me seem. I wanted what I wanted, and I always got what I wanted. If she didn’t stop talking to him, I’d have him shipped off the state in no time. Money talks.

She would then hate me if she found out. I felt an uncomfortable knot in my chest. I didn’t want her to hate me. I would have to find a better tactic. What happened today could not be repeated. If I wanted to enjoy the remainder of these few months, it was in my best interest to learn to keep my emotions in check.

The trouble was, I had never before had trouble keeping my emotions in check, and I really did not know how.

Chapter 7

Aria

“Not now Stace!” I yelled from my room after Stacey’s fourteenth attempt to knock on my door.

“I come bearing cookies. With huge chocolate chunks. Don’t tell me your mouth isn’t watering smelling all the freshly baked goods.”

I sighed. She was right; Stacey knew me too well. The aroma of the cookies baking had definitely attracted my attention, but if I knew one thing about myself, it was to not allow binging on sugar while I was upset. It usually started with one cookie or just a spoonful of ice-cream, and next thing I knew I would be laying amidst a mountain of wrappers and empty tubs of ice-cream. I was such a freaking stereotype sometimes. Since I literally had no time for the gym in my schedule between work and classes, this always ended up being a horrible idea.

“Thank you, but I honestly just need to continue stuffing my head in this pillow and ignoring humanity for a little bit longer.”

“What if I promise not to make you talk about whatever it is that’s bothering you?” Stacey offered patiently. “Though I assume it’s Zayden related. You can talk to me when you’re ready, but don’t take it out on yummy sugary deliciousness.”

“How delicious?” I couldn’t help but ask. Stacey was a master baker, so it was a stupid question, in any case.

“Better than Halloween.”

I gasped and jumped to open the door. Damn it, Stacey.

“It can’t be better than Halloween. You had peaked. That’s physically impossible,” I said reaching for one giant cookie, while Stacey made herself comfortable in my bed.

One large bite and I was ready to collapse, all my troubles temporarily evaporating. The cookie seemed to be ninety percent chocolate and just the right amount of crunchy, with buttery sweetness and the tiniest hint of vanilla. I closed my eyes and ate the rest of the cookie in slow bites, savoring every aspect of the immaculate taste and texture. For a moment I completely forgot why I had myself locked in my room for the last few days.

“Good?” Stacey was grinning at me, all prideful, when I opened my eyes.