A Billionaire With Benefits

ant designer brand pillowcases?

He saw the look on her face. “You can walk around, you know. This place only has two floors. Go on,” he prodded.

“I can?”

“Yeah.” He knew she wouldn’t steal anything, remembering her looking around for him in the penthouse. It was something he had taken into consideration, which was why he put the $1,000 there just in case she got the greedy eye.

He heard Mikaela’s footsteps on the hardwood floors his father had exported from Malaysia, and he smiled. He had never invited anyone that wasn’t his girlfriend to this place. It was too personal for him, even if his sisters held summer parties here once in a while, he considered this house a little escapade from the pressures that life so willingly gave to him. Mikaela got back down after ten minutes, as soon as he had drained the pasta and rinsed it in cold, running water.

“I didn’t know you could cook,” she commented.

“There are a lot of things you don’t know about me,” he said.

“That’s because you don’t talk much. It’s not part of the contract,” Mikaela told him.

“Try me.”

She blinked. “All right,” she said, looking up at the ceiling. “When’s your birthday?”

“The day before we met.”

“I didn’t get to greet you.” She sounded disappointed.

“I didn’t throw a party, I just stayed at home. Talked to my family.”

“That was it? I expected something more spectacular, a grand house party filled with booze and women.”

He huffed. “What have you been reading? Media likes to sensationalize. Why do you think they’ve survived for so long?”

“Whatever is newsworthy?”

“Yes, whatever is newsworthy. Like dating models and celebrities and whatnot. Half is true, half is exaggerated, and majority of it is false. I happen to like my quiet time.”

“What happened to your last girlfriend?” she suddenly asked as he deftly added olive oil to sundried tomatoes.

He shook the pan around, then he looked up. “She and I ended on bad terms.”

“You’re actually answering my questions tonight.”

“I’m feeling pretty magnanimous.”

“Deep word, but I feel like it means you’d like to share.”

“Bingo.”

“How bad was it?”

“She was jealous about everything. Jealous about the attention I gave my mother and sisters.”

Mikaela couldn’t help but make a face. That was just plain weird. Family was everything, she knew this because she had none. “You couldn’t talk her out of it?”

“That was who she was, and we had to part ways.”

“Where is she now?”

“You’ve seen her around. She’s the new Hawaiian Tropics model.”

“Her,” Mikaela breathed out. That model’s legs were a million miles long. She was gorgeously blonde and tan, she had to admit.