Billionaire Beast

“Head up to the bar; I’ll grab you a cold one.” He rose from his seat, and I placed a hand on his arm to stop him.

“No hurry, man. I mostly came to visit, and I’ve got nowhere to be.” Another thing I’d learned on the way over was how much I missed my friend. Glen hadn’t even signed up for the job as much as I’d recruited him.

“I’m glad you did; business is slow.” He waved his hand around the room, and there were only five others in the whole place, including Smitty, whose eyes were glued to the TV.

“I’ll be sure to have a beer or two before I leave. I only finished my workout a bit ago.” I leaned back in my chair and brought my arms up to rest behind my head.

“So what’s on your mind? You’ve never wanted to talk before I could get a beer or two down your throat.” He took a rag and polished the silver dispenser.

“I can’t get my mind off Lexa. She’s got me pondering life and relationships. I might need you to kill me if it gets any worse.” A soft chortle escaped my mouth as I realized how much I missed her at that moment.

“The sexy nurse? She might be just what the doctor ordered.” He looked up from his chore and winked.

“Very funny…though that’s what I’m afraid of. She’s almost too good to be true. Banging body, adventurous spirit, and she’s made me open up more than have for anyone — even you.” We shared a laugh, and I handed him another stack of napkins. “Not only that, but like I’ve told you, she’s not after my money.”

He tucked the stack in place. “Have you met her family? Are they from around here?”

“Yeah, she’s from around here, works here, but no, I haven’t met them.” I thought about her dad and how he didn’t like her fast car, but then I froze, suddenly realizing something that had escaped me. My face must have gone pale because Glen stopped what he was doing and stared.

“You okay, man?” He leaned back in his seat and gave me a strange look.

“No, I suddenly feel like shit. Lexa’s never really talked much about her family. I mean, I’ve talked about mine, right? The accident and Olde House, you know, how I fired all my staff. But I don’t think she’s ever even told me her last name, and I’ve never bothered to ask. Damn, I’ve slept with her twice already.”

“You are a shit, man. You’ve got to ask her about

herself, find out where she comes from. If you keep it one sided, it won’t matter what you want, she’ll lose interest. Women like to know a man’s interested in them for more than a lay.”

I had seemed to be getting so close to her sexually that I hadn’t bothered to learn anything else, but suddenly, I wanted to know. What makes her tick? What makes her comfortable being so intimate with me? The girl could be a porn star, and I’d never know it. She could come from a bad family or someone my father had defended in a murder case. It seemed a stretch for that one to happen again.

The possibilities were endless, though, and as a Walker, I shouldn’t have been so careless.

I glanced down at the time on my phone. “Thanks for the lesson in women, Glen. It’s not like I don’t know all that.” I sighed and hit her name in my contacts. “She’s at work, but I’ll leave her a message. Maybe she won’t give me the silent treatment like last time.”

“Maybe she did that because you didn’t show enough interest in her. Don’t be that guy, Aiden.” He chuckled, and I knew he was kidding with me. “Seriously, though, you need to communicate — and I’m not talking about whispering sweet nothings while you’ve got her bent over. Sit down without sex and see if she can still hold your interest.”

“We’ve had great conversations. She’s the one who takes the lead, but I know. I’ll text her now.” I picked up my phone and typed out a simple message: I miss you, call me.

Before I hit send, I shook my head and hit the backspace button until the message deleted. I couldn’t say that I missed her like some sap, so I thought of something else to say. Thinking of you. Call me. I hit send and held the phone a moment to see if she’d respond. “Done.”

“So, what does she think of that big house of yours?” He stood, picked up several of the dispensers, and walked then to the bar and then to a few tables where he kept them.

“She had me take her on a tour. She likes my mother’s art. I think my mother would like her. She’s a good listener, like Mom.”

He glanced up at me. “Which is why you don’t know a damned thing about her, remember.”

“Right, but no, I took her to the garage.” I smiled thinking of her spread out for me, but I wasn’t about to tell Glen that little tidbit.

“Wow, you shared the wheels? Nice. So, what did she think of that?”

“I drove my father’s Shelby for the first time ever. Can you believe the thing still cranked? She encouraged it. She called my dad a dick and everything. That’s a girl I could fall in love with.”

Glen walked behind the bar and poured a drink placing it in my usual spot, and I took my stool in front of it. He smiled as I took a sip. “Are you sure you’re not already?”

I contemplated the question. He knew me as a hard ass, and I had been really terrible for a while, but she softened me in ways no one else could. The way I’d talked to Tana in the gym had been the way I’d tried to talk to Lexa in the beginning, but she hadn’t stood for it. She’d stood her ground and had challenged me.

“You’re thinking about that one a little too long, my friend. That’s why that drink’s on me.” He went to tend Smitty’s request and then a few others while I sat alone in my thoughts.

I wasn’t sure if I was falling in love with her, but I was damned sure interested enough to find out.