Money Man (King Maker 1)

Not that I thought Kalen was nice. He was demanding and sexy all wrapped into one. A word like “nice” didn’t come into play.

“For me, no,” she said emphatically. “For you, yes. You deserve a guy who thinks about your needs and not his own like that jackass Scott.”

I thought back to my dinner with Kalen the night before when he’d gotten me off without asking for me to take care of him.

“He didn’t leave his number,” I said.

Lizzy pointed to the bottom of the note. There was an email address printed above my home address.

“I bet that’s his. He must have ordered online.”

“Yeah, and what am I supposed to do with that?”

My tech skills were limited.

She snagged the paper from my hand. “Does he have an iPhone?”

I shrugged, not knowing the answer. I didn’t remember ever seeing his phone.

“Where’s your phone?” she asked.

I did have one, though it was two generations old. Scott had bought it for me a couple of Christmases ago.

“What are you going to do with it?” I asked.

Remembering that Scott bought the device made me want to hurl it across the room until I remembered my bank account balance. I’d have to check my budget and see if I could afford a new phone. It wasn’t like I cared if I had the latest and greatest. But I would upgrade if it meant I didn’t have to keep something the jerk had given me.

“You could text him,” she said, breaking into my thoughts.

“How?”

I only used mine for the basic features. Which was probably the reason Scott hadn’t gotten me a new one.

“If he has an iPhone, you can use an email address like a phone number,” she said.

“Why would I want to do that?”

My stomach growled, reminding me I hadn’t eaten dinner.

“So,” she began exaggeratedly, “You can take control of this relationship.”

“It’s not a relationship.”

Her eye roll hit the ceiling before landing on me again.

“Not the point. He’s dictated everything so far. Texting him will give you an advantage.”

“Why?”

After two failed ones, it was clear I had no idea how relationships worked.

“Because he won’t expect it,” she said.

I pulled out my phone and stared at it. Did I really want to do this? Maybe I should leave well enough alone.

“Not yet,” she said. “Eat first. Then you can tell him thank you for the delicious meal.”

I didn’t question her. I was starving anyway. Plus, what would the unflappable Kalen do if I texted him?

The meal, in fact, was delectable. It was like the man could read my mind and knew what I would like. And maybe he could. He already knew how to get me off like no man before.

Even though there had been more than enough to share, Lizzy had turned down the food. She’d gotten a text from Hans and had gone to her room. Knowing her, they were on a video call ogling each other.

After eating, I took the plunge and sent Kalen a text. If it didn’t go through, Lizzy had suggested sending an email. But my thanks for dinner message appeared to have been sent. I set the phone down when I went to take a shower, trying not to worry if he would text back.

Twelve

I let out a shriek when I walked into the bedroom with only a towel around me.

Matt stood there with a sexy grin on his face.

Footsteps thundered in my direction, and before I could ask him what he was doing, Lizzy appeared in the doorway with a gun in her hands.

I almost raised both of mine, but remembered that I was gripping the towel. I held up the other.

“What the hell is going on?” Lizzy cried, lowering the gun.

I let out a long, deep breath as my heart raced from the shock of seeing Matt and then seeing Lizzy with a gun.

“I was going to grab a shower,” Matt said, feigning innocence.

“I was in the shower,” I said, glowering at him.

His smile only grew wider. “I know, darling. That’s why I’m standing here and not there,” he said, pointing to the bathroom.

“Matt, give it up. Bails isn’t interested.”

“How do you know?” he said, winking at me.

I bit my lip, because he was so stinking cute. And if I were any other girl, I might have taken him up on his offer. But I wasn’t.

Matt was a player with a capital P. For as long as I’d known him, he hadn’t had a girlfriend. He didn’t, however, lack for company in his bed. He could have been my one mistake, but that honor I’d given Kalen. I wouldn’t repeat that experience again.

Ignoring Matt’s seductive gaze, I turned my attention to Lizzy.

“What’s with the gun?”

I wasn’t afraid of them. My father had a few. But we lived in the country where occasionally wild animals if hungry enough would sneak into our camp for scraps.