“So, you’re not getting serious?” One of John’s brows quirked up. “This is just another booty call for like the sixth weekend in a row? You’re just taking time off and flying across the country to scratch the itch?”
“My itches aren’t your concern.”
It was true though. She was always in a state of ready to be turned on-ness that was new, and she didn’t know what to do with it. She didn’t want to admit, even to herself, that her clit always seemed to be throbbing, her panties in a permanently moist state, her nipples always hard. Because she was always thinking about Rhett. Even when she shouldn’t be. Which was pretty much all the time.
She literally felt her right eye start to twitch.
“Okay, well, I just hope you know what you’re getting yourself into. Guys that have a lot of money can be… well- you know what they can be. They think they’re entitled to the world just because they can buy it. Don’t let him buy you. You’re worth more than anything he could offer.”
“I’m not being bribed,” Bella spluttered. Her jaw dropped open before her brain could catch up. When it did, she pressed her lips shut for a second, thinking about what John had just said. “Wait… what?” She unfolded her hands and dropped them to her sides, quickly wiping away the moisture on her jeans. “How do you know that he has money?”
“I looked him up.” John didn’t bat an eye, as though looking up his roommate’s boy-er lover- er… whatever Rhett happened to be, was an everyday occurrence.
“I didn’t hire you to do security for me. I didn’t need you to run a background check.”
“No, I know. I just did it anyway. It just happens to be what I do for a living.”
“You don’t do that kind of security.”
John’s eyes danced with humor and he actually cracked a bit of a smile. “Okay, so I do security a grocery store but hell. You should see some of the shit that goes down there at night.”
“I wouldn’t doubt it,” Bella responded dryly. Actually, she didn’t. She couldn’t imagine. John was really tight-lipped about his job, but she’d heard a few things over the past months that were totally bizarre. One of them involved a pizza and a guy getting arrested for indecent exposure.
“Well, I was just farting around on my laptop a few weeks ago and I thought I should look him up. Make sure he wasn’t into anything sketchy or a pervert or something. You’re my friend. I wanted to keep you safe.”
“So, you actually know how much money he has? How the heck would you find something like that out anyway?”
“Uh- online. The most basic search produces a person’s net worth when they’re that rich.”
Something cold and shivery slithered up Bella’s spine and simultaneously lodged in her chest. “What do you mean, that rich?”
“Dude, the guy’s a billionaire. So yeah, you can figure out pretty fast what he’s worth.”
The world ground to a halt in record breaking time. Bella’s legs threatened to give out and she actually took a step and lowered herself onto her overflowing bed. “A- a billionaire?” she whispered.
“Yeah.” John looked at her strangely. “I mean, you knew that, right?”
There wasn’t any use pretending. John knew her too well. “No,” she admitted, voice thin and reedy. “I mean- I knew that he was rich. My sister was actually engaged to him and uh- it’s a long story, but remember when I went down for her wedding?”
“Yeah, of course.”
“She didn’t actually get married. Rhett was her fiancé.”
“Damn!” John shook his head, surprise written all over his face. “You’re dating your sister’s ex-fiancé. That’s messed up.”
“Not as messed up as you think. I was the one who found him at the church. He found out my sister was actually cheating on him and had been for a while. He was a mess. I gave him a ride out of there. I- uh- we went back to my hotel room and got shitfaced, kind of by accident and uh- things happened.”
“Things happened? Shift faced by accident? How does that even go down?”
“I don’t know.” Bella shook her head. She dropped her eyes. She couldn’t even look at John for a second longer. He wasn’t judging her, she was doing it to herself.
“So, you knew that the guy’s super rich, right?”
“No,” she whispered. “I mean, my sister was with him. It was for the money. I’ve never really told you why I never go back home. That’s why. My parents are just- well, they’re different than I am. So are my sisters. They all think it’s perfectly fine to marry a rich guy for the money and not love him. She probably treated Rhett so bad. He would never say, but she was cheating on him and that’s bad enough. I don’t even know how he could have been with her. She must have been a really good actress.”