The Billionaire's Gamble

Nolan and I didn’t exactly talk about how long I would be staying. I didn’t bring it up on purpose. I’m not really sure I want an expiration date on this adventure just yet, and I don’t think that Nolan does either. I mean, it won’t last forever. It can’t. But what’s the harm in living in this world for a little while?

We’re driving through the heart of the city now, and I’m not even embarrassed to say that I nearly lose my shit when we drive through Times Square. Times freaking Square. Nolan chuckles. “It’s funny, people who live here almost never come here.”

“Why not?”

He casts his gaze past mine out the window. “Because it’s crowded and noisy, and usually full of tourists. Especially in the summer time.”

“So,” I ask him, ripping my eyes away from the sights outside, “where is your favorite place in the city?”

“You’ll see. We’re going there tonight.”

“Really? Where?”

Nolan’s lips slide into a smirk. “It’s a surprise.”

I narrow my eyes at him. I’ve never been one for surprises—meeting him notwithstanding—I’ve always found much more comfort in begin totally prepared for anything and everything. “How will I know what to wear?”

He leans across the seat to me, stealing a kiss. It’s a tiny gesture, but it takes my breath away. I’ve known this man for only a few days, and it seems impossible that we could be sharing sweet and intimate moments like this. There is a quivering in my stomach, and for the first time in my life I think I understand what people mean when they say that they have butterflies. Nolan pulls away too soon. “Sage knows all about the plans. She’ll make sure you have everything you need.”

“Not fair.”

His smile is blinding. “I never said I was playing fair.”

I look out the window again, watching the streets go by. There’s a giant purple billboard that catches my eye, and I gasp. It’s an advertisement for I Love You, Eva Grey. It’s a new musical that everyone and their mother has been saying is amazing, from celebrities to people I know I never thought of as liking musicals. It’s supposed to be the tearjerker of the century.

“What is it?” Nolan asks.

I point to the billboard. “I Love You, Eva Grey. I didn’t even think about the fact that it’s here. I’ve wanted to see it ever since it was announced.”

“We could go,” he says without hesitation, and I laugh.

“Yeah, right. Kelly and I looked up the tickets a couple months back. We had a crazy idea that we’d make a trip up to see it. The tickets are almost impossible to get, and the ones that are available are so ludicrously expensive.” Nolan has a funny little smile on his face, and I realize how silly that must sound to a guy like Nolan. This is a man with his own private jet and who bet ten thousand dollars on one spin of roulette. Especially given that I agreed to let him pay for everything on the plane. Our worlds are so far apart it’s hard to even comprehend it. Thankfully, I don’t have time to think about that because the car pulls up to the curb beside a building.

Nolan gets out of the car and helps me out. I look up and am confronted with a skyscraper. It’s steel and glass and on the front of it is emblazoned the blue, curving ‘C’ that is Coldwater Bank’s logo. The logo itself must be fifty feet tall, and I immediately feel tiny. Nolan said New York was full of contradictions, and I see why. I feel both surrounded and alone, one of the crowd and someone standing apart from it.

I see Derek get out of the second car. That’s going to take some getting used to.

Nolan gestures ahead of us, and we head into the giant building together. The door is opened for him, the people at the security desk greet him warmly and by name. There aren’t any photographers that I can see. I’m hoping that’s because no one knows that I’m here with Nolan. Yet. I can’t imagine people that hungry for a story won’t find out soon.

Derek stays in the lobby while Nolan and I ride the elevator all the way up to the top of the building. He’s been quiet since the car. “Are you okay?” I ask.

“Yeah,” he says, voice a little rough. It doesn’t convince me.

As soon as the doors open he pulls me out of them and to the side. There’s a little alcove with a window that shields us from anyone looking at the elevator. His arms are around me and he’s kissing me. It’s nothing like it was in the car. “I’m more than okay,” he says. “I’m just trying to figure out how I’m going to be able to sit through a three-hour meeting with some of the most boring people in the world when I could be doing this.”