Rock Star Billionaire

I sighed. “I don’t know where

to start, Ned. Everything is a fucking mess. You know my mother. She’s decided to extend her stay indefinitely and invited Gina too. She keeps threatening to off herself. It’s frustrating. And then there is Aria…”

“So that’s the real issue. You can usually handle your mother without seeming to collapse with the stress. But your lady friend seems to have done a number on you.”

“She’s frustrating, yet I can’t stop thinking about her. I am supposed to be taking my ex-wife out for dinner and pretending to attempt reconciliation, yet I can’t stop thinking about Aria. How was she? When you picked her up the other day?” I asked, suddenly remembering Ned had seen her more recently than I had.

“Very intoxicated,” he said cheerfully. “She seemed to be having a good time, but definitely a lot of trouble speaking. She was shocked to see me and kept muttering words of what sounded like gratitude, but I can’t be sure.”

“Did she—” I cleared my throat. “Did she say anything about me?”

He looked back and gave me a doleful look. “Do you really want to know?”

“Is it that bad?” I actually felt fear at the possibilities of his answer. What if she had said she hated me?

“No, it wasn’t. I couldn’t make out most of what she was saying but she kept repeating that she wasn’t an object and you didn’t own her.”

“But I do,” I said, confused. “For now, anyway.”

“Well, if you want an old man’s advice: don’t let her feel that way. The best way to win her over is probably to let her feel her independence. If she feels like she is losing that, it will be much harder to keep her around.”

“But she doesn’t have a choice. She signed a contract. She has to be around.”

“Would you rather her just be around or would you rather she be around and enjoy being with you?”

Before I could answer, Gina showed up, wearing a long green dress with the neck so low cut, her breasts were almost popping out.

“Hi Ned,” she said pleasantly.

Ned just nodded curtly. He hated her for what she had done to me, perhaps more than I hated her for it. So the drive to the restaurant was particularly quiet. I asked her if she wanted a drink, to which she politely declined. Probably thought her scheme to win me – and money – over would fail if she didn’t have her wits about her. I resumed to quietly sipping my whiskey and only looked at her when she finally spoke again.

“You look very nice,” she said, still trying to sound annoyingly pleasant.

“Thanks,” I said and looked back out the window. Gina had interrupted my conversation with Ned about Aria, and that alone was enough to make me irritated by her.

“I hope you will be a little chattier at the restaurant. It will make for a lot less uncomfortable of a meal.” She smiled serenely at me, as though she wasn’t just complaining.

“I just don’t have anything to say.” I shrugged.

“I’m sure we can find something to talk about,” she said, putting her hand over mine. “There is a lot of history.”

“Oh, you would like to discuss history, huh? How did it feel fucking someone else behind my back?”

She went red, all attempts at pleasantness in her face vanished. “I meant the rest of our history. The good parts. Don’t you remember any of the good parts, Zay?”

“No,” I spat as Ned parked outside the restaurant. “Now let’s get this date that my mother forced upon us over with, so that she can stop threatening to kill herself.”

She raised her eyes wider. “What are you talking about?”

We hopped out of the car and Ned went off to park. “Don’t play innocent. I’m sure you put her up to it.”

“I honestly don’t know what you are talking about. I know your mamma really wants us to get back together, but I didn’t know she had been pressuring you like that…I thought you wanted to give us another shot. I thought—”

“Whatever you thought, you thought wrong. But we are here now and we might as well enjoy the evening, yeah?”

“Zay, I really want us to work,” she said, reaching out for my hand again but I yanked it away this time. “You’re the love of my life.”

That made me snort. “I have no idea what people mean when they use that word, but based on mother’s ‘love’ for my dad and your ‘love’ for me, I am pretty sure I am not interested in that shallow fucking emotion.”