"Sounds fun," I said, echoing his deadpan tone.
His fingers rapped on the wood. "It's okay, but what I really want is to become CEO. My dad is retiring soon. Luke's dad is safely out of the way, so that goody-goody bore definitely won't get the job. It's a fight between me and my four siblings."
My mouth hung open in shock. Safely out of the way? "He's dead, not safely out of the way!"
He merely shrugged at my indignation. "Yeah, so?" he said defensively. "He was a jerk. Even Luke admits it." Will suddenly sniggered to himself in the darkness and I jumped at the noise.
A savage grin filled his face as he looked at me. "I couldn't believe that he hired that girl just to fool his dad-spent tens of thousands on her and even after all that, his dad only left him five hundred grand. What an idiot."
The backyard rang with his laughter. It was such an infectious, loud laugh that I couldn't help but smile. The shock of something so rude being said out loud and the layer of truth within it softened how offensive it was. A small giggle escaped my mouth.
"I just assumed that it was something rich people did. Don't have a girlfriend? Go out and buy one!"
His lip curled. "Not this skinny Guinea." He shook his head. "But I guess it gives you insight on how screwed up some rich people are."
Like you? I rolled my eyes and blushed hard when he caught me.
The black eyes zeroed in on me. "You're jealous."
Guilt stabbed my insides. "I am not!"
"You so are. You're practically seething with jealousy. It's okay. I mean, I know Luke is jealous of my brothers and me, even though he's a rich bastard."
Luke was many things, but he was not a bastard. The charm of his crazy, offensive behavior was starting to wear off. "Luke's my best friend's boyfriend."
William looked at me. "Oh, sorry," he said, sounding completely insincere as if he said it thousands of times a day. "That explains it, though. I was wondering why a chick like you would be here."
Did he just insult me? "What does that mean?"
He smiled at my outrage. "You've never been to one of these parties. I can tell because of how nervous you looked when you were in there. That means you don't work for us. Hot girl alone at a party, it raises questions."
Hot girl? He was watching me? The compliments flooded my chest with warmth, but at the same time I wanted to run away from him. He was so … forward. We were standing close enough to kiss and I could smell the magnetism from his body. The loose tie dangled in front of my face and I took it in my hands. I slid the blue silk up and readjusted it so that the knot was back on his throat. I couldn't look away from him. Not even as I took his collar and folded it over his tie. His eyes burned like coals, shifting and falling.
"Sorry," I said quickly, going a bit pink. I stepped back from him, starting to feel a bit suffocated by his presence.
"So, you're one of those OCD types?"
My face flushed. "What?"
"You just seem like the type to get overly upset when you see a stain on someone's shirt. And the type to draw needless attention to it in a desperate attempt to shame them so that they would change clothes."
Will cocked his head slightly as he watched me, waiting for me to answer.
My face burned at this very negative assessment. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you."
He let out a laugh that made me feel confused.
"Relax, Natalie. I was just messing around."
I looked at him curiously. He was probably the strangest man I ever met. I wasn't sure if I liked him much. He was handsome, but he was a bit too strange and kind of insulting. Why is he staring at me?
"We should get coffee sometime."
The abrupt change in conversation made my head spin. Is he joking? From his behavior, I didn't think he was remotely interested in me. Either it was a poor joke or he was socially stunted. I sniggered at his serious face and the deadpan delivery. This has been such a weird evening.
William frowned at me. "Well, that's rude," he said, turning pink.
"I'm sorry," I gasped, clutching the rail to stay upright. "Are you serious? You've been insulting me this entire time. Why would I want to go anywhere with you?"
His mouth parted and for a moment he looked abashed. Perhaps he wasn't used to being rejected. "I don't really have a filter. I don't mean to come off like an asshole."
Well, now what should I say? "I see."
"You know that I'm rich, right?" He was staring at me like I was a sea urchin.
"Well, I assumed so, yes. And?"
Will closed in on me, eyes narrowed. I saw the question in his eyes: Why doesn't she want to go out with me? "Usually women jump at the chance to go out with me."
"You think a lot of yourself, don't you?"
A smile lit up his face as if I paid him a compliment. "You're a bit cheeky. I like that."
I'm normally never like this. I shrugged. "Well, whatever. I have everything I want. Anyways, I'm not really looking for a relationship."
A part of me knew that I was incredibly stupid for saying that. Even if I wasn't looking for a relationship, wouldn't it be worth it to give it a shot? Just to say that I was young once and I did something wild-I went out with a billionaire.
Suddenly, he closed in on me, trapping me against the rail. Whoa, this is too close. My heart hammered fiercely when I looked up at his smiling face. He wore a faint sprinkling of cologne that made my skin flush with heat, or perhaps it was his pretty dark eyes looking down at me as if I were a particularly delicious dessert that he was dying to taste.
No one ever looked at me like that.
"Ah, I get it now. You're still getting over some guy. I can make you feel better, Natalie. Come home with me." He looked immensely satisfied that he had finally pinned me. I was recovering from a breakup. Finally, I made sense to him.
A stroke of his finger against my cheek set my nerves ablaze. Jesus, he's forward. It was insanely hot, but I had no desire for a one-night stand. I wasn't ready for this. He's just going to throw me away as soon as he's done with me. Men like him don't want me.
I ducked under his arm before he could tempt me any more, his laughter making me cringe as I fled back to the party. I glanced back and he was standing confidently with his arms crossed, still smiling.
"I'll see you again, Natalie."
His eyes licked up and down my body like flames.
He's just an asshole who wants to get laid.
Forcing myself to turn around, I fled back inside the warmth of the house, and realized with a hot blush that I still had Will's jacket draped around my shoulders. I'll see you again, Natalie.
Damn it.
"Natalie, there you are!"
I recognized Jessica's voice and fixed a cheery grin on my face. A soup of emotions mixed inside me as she walked over with a beaming smile on her face. Her golden hair, normally straight, bounced on her shoulders.
"Are you having fun? Whose jacket is that?"
My cheeks burned. "Oh, it's some guy's." I pointed towards the dark figure brooding outside. "Yeah, great party. Really great."
I took in the white glove waiters offering trays of obscure hors d'oeuvres, the live jazz band playing in the living room, the flowers, and the balloons.
She rolled her eyes at it all. "I know. It's a bit much. I'm still getting used to all this." She gave me a knowing grin. "Who's that?"
My heart knocked on my ribs. "Well, he says he's Luke's cousin. Pretty weird guy. His name is William."
Jessica's eyes went round. "Oh, him. Yeah, Luke talks about him a lot. He's the youngest of his brothers. Apparently, he's a bit of a dick."
Yeah, I think that I got that impression.
I didn't want to tell her what happened outside. It had been such a strange conversation.
"Come say hi to Luke. He's been wanting to see you."
I was dragged back into the suffocating crowd. I really doubted that Luke cared whether he saw me. He looked immaculate in his pinstripe suit. An involuntary wave of heat flushed my skin when he smiled at me. Jessica raced forward into his arms and I realized with a sickening feeling that he was smiling at her-not me.
Don't fucking crush on your best friend's boyfriend.
"Natalie, how've you been?"
I hated the undertone of concern, the wrinkles creasing around his eyes.
"Fine." I knew that Jessica probably told her boyfriend all about how I spent my nights sobbing into my pillow. "Congratulations on your deal."
His face lit up. "Thanks. I never thought that it would take off like this. We're expanding the campaign worldwide, you know."
"No, I didn't!" I said in a horribly cheery voice.
Jessica squeezed Luke's waist and he looked at her with an adoring expression that made me cringe.
He had a sad look on his face. "I just wish my dad could have seen this."
"Your dad wouldn't have given a rat's ass."