His Needs:Billionaire(2)

"I'm doing it now. I came back out to my apartment and decided to spend  some of the day cleaning things up. I had a message from Krista's dad  that he would be by sometime today to get her stuff." She sighed softly  as if trying to hide just how hard the situation between Jake and Krista  had been on her. Having her closest friend go off her rocker and stab  their other friend over being rejected by him was over the top.         

     



 

Damon shook his head at the thought of anyone dropping off the deep end that bad.

"You need me to come over there to help you out when he gets there?"  Damon nodded at the valet as he got into his black Mercedes and buckled  up.

"No. I'm fine. He's a good guy. A lawyer, actually. Him and Krista used  to get along great, so hearing that they're not speaking, or haven't  been..."

"Things change, right? People change." He knew the minute he said it he shouldn't have.

"Oh yeah? You changing over there, Mr. Bryant?" She was trying to be cheeky, and failing miserably at it.

"Nope. I'm fully dressed, you naughty vixen." He smiled and pulled out into the mid-afternoon traffic.

"I'm only naughty for you."

"This better be true." He glanced over his shoulder and held back the  information about having lunch with Kendal. Bethany was TA'ing for him  over the next semester and already seemed to be a little too interested  in Damon's old friend. He was being overly protective, but couldn't help  it. There hadn't been too much in his life he'd wanted to hang on to,  but Beth seemed to make the cut.

"Are you coming to Kent's now?"

He was grateful she didn't refer to his father as hers. It was an odd  situation, but ignoring it seemed to be the best way to deal with it, at  least in his own mind.

"No. I'm going back to the office, but I'll try and come out there later  tonight. We have a lot of shit to sort through over several large  projects."

"You want me to come in?"

"Nope. I would have told you if I did." He turned on his blinker and  jerked in front of someone. "I gotta go, baby. See you later."

He dropped the call and tossed the phone in the seat next to him as  Kendal's words rushed across his mind. Maybe three weeks was too fast.  His mother and father had gotten married after a few months of dating  and that had been fine for a few years...

Pain laced the center of his chest as the sound of her moaning for  another man filled his ears. He reached up and rubbed his chest as he  growled.

"Stop it. Leave that shit in the past where it belongs." He pressed  harder on the muscle above his heart and made the last turn that would  lead him to the office. His mother's infidelities shouldn't have fucked  up his own love life so much, but they had. He almost expected to find  every woman he dated in bed with another man. It was a sick thought, and  one he hadn't been able to shake until Bethany.

Something about the way she spoke to him, looked up to him, respected  him... She was in it for the long haul, or so he hoped. She had a ring  on her finger that should have made the promise more firm than it was.

"As long as I don't fuck it up," he mumbled and pulled into the large garage next to their building. "Or she doesn't."

The former seemed more likely.





Chapter 2

Bethany





The large diamond sitting on her hand seemed surreal. Had Damon really  proposed after three weeks? Warmth flooded her over the thought, quickly  followed by a million reasons why he might decide his offer was a  mistake. The man was as fickle as any she'd ever met, but so worth the  effort. Having been raised to be independent and fight for everything,  she wasn't used to wanting to belong to anyone or anything, but Damon  was different.

Belonging to him felt good, right. Like he might have the ability to  patch the holes in her past and give her a future that looked far  brighter than the one she was forcing herself into. Work was going to  become her only focus, much as school had been for the last four years.

A knock at the apartment door caused her to jump. Krista was still in  jail, and though Bethany should have visited her close friend, she  simply didn't have much to say to the other girl. Having lived together  for four years and not knowing that Krista was manic bipolar was beyond  concerning. Had she missed the signs or simply ignored them?

Bethany peeked through the peephole in the center of the door and let  out a sigh. Jake and his father. She opened the door and forced a warm  smile on her face. Tears were the alternative, but she refused to make  him uncomfortable.

"Hey! What a great surprise." She moved back as his father wheeled him  into the living room. Seeing him in a wheelchair pulled at her heart  strings even more. "What are you doing over here?"

"We were headed home from the hospital, and this guy wouldn't let up  about stopping by the apartment to get his game system. God forbid he  read or something." His father smiled and moved over to give Bethany a  quick side hug. "Thank you for helping Jake through this."

"Of course." Bethany's vision blurred with hot tears.

"I'm not sitting in a bed for two weeks with nothing but old classics to  read. Someone kill me now." Jake snorted, in far better of a mood than  anyone expected of him. After being stabbed repeatedly in the chest,  Bethany could only imagine what his body looked like. The thought caused  her heart to contract painfully. Love had the power to do crazy, fucked  up things.         

     



 

"So you decided to stop by here because?" Bethany moved over and gave Jake a hug as best she could.

"I saw your car sitting out front. Ain't nobody missing that beat up  piece of shit." He chuckled and grimace as his hands came up to press  against his chest.

"Take it easy, buddy, and watch your language." His father walked to the  door. "I'll give you guys a few minutes while I make a call. Be back in  five."

"Thanks, Dad." Jake waved and turned his attention back to Bethany as  his facade faded. "Damn, I'm glad to see you. I swear it's been a  nightmare having to sit in that hospital bed and have people poke and  prod at me."

Bethany dropped to the couch and motioned for him to move up until their knees touched. She squeezed his legs softly.

"I was terrified that you were-" She lost the volume to her voice.

"It's okay." He reached out as a soft sob left her. "Come here."

Bethany nodded and moved up farther, leaning in and letting him hold  her. "Don't hurt yourself. I'm just being sensitive. It just scared the  shit out of me."

"It's by far the craziest thing I've ever been involved in, or heard  of." He brushed his hand down the back of her head. "I'm okay though.  The tough part is coming up."

Bethany moved back and took his hands in hers. "The court case?"

"Yeah." Jake glanced down at their hands as a sheepish look crossed his  face. "I'm not angry at Krista. I should be, but we've been friends for  so long. I knew she had a few issues, and my mother is bipolar. Getting  off her meds was a stupid thing to do, and I know most of the shit that  happened was caused by her not taking them. I should have read the  warning signs and gotten her help."

"I agree, but the fact still remains that she attacked you and almost  killed you." She squeezed his hands and released him to slump back into  the couch. "I hate the idea of testifying against her, but she's  dangerous. Obviously."

Bethany wiped her eyes and studied Jake's pasty composure. His blond  hair was a little longer than she'd seen him wear it, and his cheeks  were hallowed out.

"That's true, but still... those medications after taken for so long are  a huge part in keeping someone stable." He shrugged and grimaced. "She  needs to be under supervision to take them, and I assume that's what her  attorney is going to push for."

"If her father lets them." Bethany ran her fingers through her hair  before working the long strands into a messy bun. "He's coming over soon  to grab her stuff, or sending someone. You know he's rich as hell. I  doubt he'll come himself."

"I met him a few times. I think she puts an evil spin on him because  he's wealthy and forces her to stay in school, but he seemed like a good  guy." Jake shrugged and winced again before chuckling. "I keep  forgetting that any movement tugs at all these stitches."

"I'm so sorry, Jake. I feel so fucking guilty about not having answered  the phone when you called in a panic. I could have stopped-"

"No, you couldn't have. You'd have been stabbed half to death too. She  was out of her mind." He got a faraway look in his eyes before  shivering. "Anyway. What's going on with this new guy of yours? He  treating you well? The wedding go good?"

"Everything was great. He's a great guy." She slipped her hands under  her legs, grateful that he hadn't said anything about the ring on her  finger. He had to be a little out of it not to notice. The ring was  large, far bigger than anything she would have preferred, but hurting  Damon's feelings over it was out.