Chapter 5 – The Billionaire’s Obsession

The following week I only focused on school and work and I had no more encounters with Mr. Woods or Nick as I called him now. It was supposed to be a blessing, but being honest with myself I had to admit that I kind of missed him. His cool gaze which could freeze people and that arrogant smirk which told the world he knew he was good to look at. Just remembering that smirk made me roll my eyes, but at the same time smile as I pictured his face. I’m sure that if I flipped open a magazine or went on Social Media I’d find pictures if, he’d grace me with his cool gaze and arrogant smirk. But that was also the reason why I tried really hard to avoid those things.

Brandon who was being overprotective of me wasn’t a pleasant presence to have in my life right now. And adding Nick’s rash behavior from the other night to the mix just made him invade my space and stick to me like glue. At first, I didn’t mind it that much, but seeing his behavior wasn’t changing anytime soon made me anxious and long for some privacy. I also didn’t quite understand his dislike toward Nick, he never met the guy in person, but apparently, Nick was his least favorite person on the planet. I didn’t question him about it because it would probably only add fuel to the burning hatred he had for the guy.

“Please stop glaring at a photo of him.” I mumbled, pushing the magazine down Brandon was supposed to be reading, “I’ve told you a hundred times already, nothing happened!”

He slammed the magazine down but still looked pissed, “You’re lying. I’ve seen that look in women’s eyes before. You want him.”

I tried hard not to react to that, “You’re delusional.” I mumbled, grabbing the magazine he was reading.

Scanning through the pages I nearly choked on my coffee when I spotted a photo of him together with the superhot model from the night before. Just looking at her hurt my eyes, she was shining brighter than a diamond, only making me feel worse. The words Giselle threw in my face kept echoing through my mind. At first I was able to brush it off, but lately, it nagged on me. Making me doubt myself a lot more. I’m guessing that was why Giselle said those words to me in the first place. Observing the photo I checked the date and felt another wave of anger wash over me as I realized that it was a recent photo of the couple. Nick was definitely messing with me. He wasn’t keeping his words so I wouldn’t keep mine either.

I pushed the magazine toward Brandon and pointed at the picture, “You see, he is together with that woman. There is nothing going on between us.” I was only upsetting myself more by saying those words, but I needed to convince both Brandon and myself that I meant nothing to Nick.

“I told you, rich guys think they can get away with anything.” Brandon spat, slamming the magazine shut, “He doesn’t care if he has a girlfriend, he has a thing for you and he’d do anything to have you.”

I clutched my coffee cup tightly, “Well he can’t have me.” I said firmly, “So let’s stop assuming I’m Nick’s new plaything, alright? I have more self-respect than that.”

My words seemed to have the effect on Brandon I had wanted to have minutes ago. Finally, he let go of his ridiculous fantasies about me and Nick.

“That’s right, my girl doesn’t let assholes like that get to her.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. His attitude completely changed, this is why I loved Brandon. When he was in a good mood it radiated off him, affecting the people around him with his charming smile and sparkling eyes. Grabbing the magazine I threw it at his head, he ducked just before it landed on his head, but still glared at me anyway.

I pretended nothing had happened at all and sipped from my coffee, “You shouldn’t have doubted me in the first place!” I mumbled, “I admit that I know why women like him, he is an attractive guy.” I held up my finger when Brandon wanted to say something again, “But his attitude is crappy and I don’t like men who order me around but don’t keep their word in the process.”

“He ordered you around and gave you his word?” He asked, his good mood faltering right before me, “His word about what? What did you two discuss in the employees’ room?” He looked ready to pick a fight with someone and I felt the need to softly rub his arm to calm him down, just like you’d do with a pet.

“You’re getting the wrong idea again.” I sighed, “Nothing sexual…” I knew it wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t exactly the truth either, “He just reminded me of the no dating policy but he was confused. He thought we were dating and he told me not to do it.”

Brandon narrowed his eyes at me, for a minute I feared that he saw through my half lie. I did tell Brandon the truth, but I left out the fact that we both turned each other on in the employees’ room. I had played around with Nick and he liked it.

“Like I would ever date a brat like you.” Brandon mumbled, a smirk spreading across his face, “You’re trouble.”

I glanced at the book in front of Brandon and rolled my eyes, “You are supposed to be helping me study, yet here you are insulting me and not focusing on the subject whatsoever. Great help you are.”

“I have to entertain myself, okay!” Brandon chuckled and grabbed the book in front of him, “Okay, let’s go back to this.”

After thirty minutes of actually studying for my exams, Brandon left for the bathroom. I grabbed my phone to check my mail and texts. I was really into keeping up with my social life that I got annoyed when a shadow suddenly hovered over me. Glancing up from my phone I smiled when I met Mike’s gaze.

“It’s Mike the lawyer.” I said with a small laugh, “Didn’t think I’d see you again.”

He held up his cup of coffee, “I needed a pick me up before going back to these files.” I glanced at the huge pile of papers he was holding in his other hand.

“Nick should hire more lawyers.”

Mike narrowed his eyes at me, “It’s Nick now?” He asked curiously, “Because last time we met you kept calling him Mr. woods which was endearing.”

I blushed, realizing how this might look to him, “No! Last time we met was that night at the club. He was there with his model girlfriend and we talked. I haven’t seen him since! We’re not on a friendly basis or anything, but keeping up with the politeness is tiring when you met each other a few times already, you know.”

Mike threw his head back and laughed, “I forgot, you forget about your brain to mouth filter when you’re nervous.” He quieted down, shaking his head, “His model girlfriend, you mean Estelle?” He rolled his eyes as he mentioned this woman, “Trust me, Nick is not serious about women like that. They more or less use each other to get more publicity, that’s how those things work.”

It made me hate myself all the more when I realized how this piece of information lightened my mood. I tried to play it cool, because I didn’t want Mike the lawyer to catch onto my on and off again feelings for Nick. I first had to understand my own feelings before I’d share them with others. Right now we were in a gray area, it was safe but could sway either way. For now, it was best to brush him off like he meant nothing to me whatsoever.

“I don’t care about the women in Nick’s life.” I shrugged, flipping through my flashcards, “I think that with you closing this case Nick and I have no reason to be meeting up again.”

The look on Mike’s face told me he wasn’t convinced at all, I could actually see the calculating look in his eyes when I shifted nervously in my seat. If he didn’t break the awkward silence soon, I would and I’d be embarrassing the two of us with my usual awkward rambling.

“I think that Nick quite enjoyed your company that day, even if you two met up briefly.”

I bit my lip trying to make sure I wouldn’t say anything which Mike could use against me. His smirk told me that he knew exactly what I was doing. Thankfully he was a nice enough guy not to mention it out loud.

He held his paper cup up again and glanced at the door, “It was really nice to see you again, Miss Pierce, good luck with the studying.”

I watched Mike leave, waving him off and sighed in relief once he was out of sight. Brandon lifted an eyebrow at me when he noticed the look on my face. I knew it must look weird for him to see me like this after his bathroom visit.

“What’s with that look on your face?” He asked as he took a seat in his chair again.

I waved my flashcards at him, “Nothing. I just met Nick’s lawyer.”

He sipped his water, “So again, what’s with that look? You don’t like the guy?”

I frowned, “No, I like him a lot, he is a very nice guy.” I mumbled, “He just reminded me of that night you know,” I knew that was a lie but I didn’t want to talk about Nick with Brandon, I knew Brandon did not like Nick and the feeling was mutual.

Brandon placed his hand on my arm, his eyes full of concern, “I’m here for you, Em. You don’t have to go through this alone. If you want I can stay with you till you get over it-“

I shook my head, “No, I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me.”

He snorted as he leaned back in his chair again, “I’ll always worry about you. You’re like a sister to me. “

I was glad Brandon felt the same way about me as I felt about him. He was quite attractive and he could be so charming around women, but thankfully I was not attracted to him. I needed someone in my life who would look out for me, and Brandon was the perfect big brother. Unfortunately, I was not honest with him and it left a path open for Nicolas Woods. Damn, arrogant womanizer.

After studying Brandon and I went to the club to start our shift. I bumped into my locker when Victor suddenly burst through the door of the employees’ room and stalked toward me with a determined look in his eyes. I was worried I had insulted someone without knowing and he was here to preach to me, or at least call me out on it and tell me to never do it again. Either way, I was mentally preparing myself for it.

“What did I do?” I mumbled, pushing myself away from my locker.

He didn’t seem sure as he titled his head to the side and observed me for a minute, “Mr. Woods and his business associate are here with a few friends. He wants you up in the VIP room, as a guest.”

I had been mentally preparing myself for an hour-long preach, this was something else though and I had no idea how to respond to Victor. I stared at him for a minute, trying to process what he just told me. I turned to my locker, opened it and grabbed my water bottle out of my bag, quickly gulping it down. My nervous behavior didn’t worry Victor at all, it seemed like he could use a drink as well, only something stronger than water. Once my bottle was half empty I closed it and turned to Victor again.

“A guest? What does that mean?” I asked quietly, somehow this has made me lose my voice which did not happen often. I was the talkative type whenever I was nervous after all.

Victor made gestures with his hands, but nothing made sense. I only could conclude that he had no idea as well.

“You have no choice though, he more or less ordered me to send you upstairs.”

Of course, the arrogant billionaire was giving orders left and right, ordering me around once again, because he thought he could get away with it. The guy knew very well how I felt about that. Nick was testing my patience here, but what I wanted to know was what his end goal was. What was he trying to achieve by pissing me off? Tightening my hand around my water bottle I flashed Victor a small smile. Instead of feeling at ease around me, I could tell the guy was ready to dash out of the room. I guess I didn’t hide the murderous intent well behind my smile.

“Watch yourself, Em, remember that he owns this place. And a lot more businesses. He can make sure you’ll be miserable for the rest of your life. Don’t make him your enemy.”

“No need to remind me, Victor, I know how powerful this guy is. I’ll be a good girl and keep my mouth shut while I entertain him and his friends.”

Victor wanted to say more but I had no interest in listening to his preaching. I placed the water bottle on the table next to the door before I left. I headed straight for the stairs which led to the VIP room and smiled when the security guard pulled the rope away to let me up.

“Good luck, Em.” He whispered to me.

I winked at him, “Thanks, Alex.”

I saw the worried look in his eyes but chose to ignore it. I walked past him and headed upstairs, smiling when I met Nick’s dark gaze. The guy next to him whispered something to him which caused Nick to laugh and shake his head. He beckoned me over with his hand. I wanted to grab a drink and throw it in his arrogant face but used all my willpower to stay calm and head over to him, just like he asked of me.

“Emily.”

I greeted him in the same arrogant way, “Nicolas.”

I noticed immediately how his eyes darkened as I called him by his full name. He was surprisingly amused by my reaction to his taunting. His behavior confused me, but I refused to show any sign of weakness in front of this irritating man. For a minute everyone around us disappeared and I totally forgot about the guy who sat next to him. The guy, however, didn’t let himself be put in the background.

“Nice to meet you, Emily.” He stood up and held his hand out to me.

I finally looked away from Nick and grabbed the guy’s hand to shake it. He had other plans though, he pulled me forward and kissed my cheek.

“Stop flirting, Evan.” Nick sounded impatient, “Leave the poor girl alone so she can get a drink.”

I blinked when Evan suddenly pulled away with a chuckle, “My, my someone sounds angry,” He smirked. “I’ll stay away from your girl. What do you want to drink, Emily?”

I turned to Nick, “You asked me up here to have a drink?” I pointed to my name tag, “I’m working, Nick, I can’t drink. It’s your policy, remember, Nick?”

“I asked you up here as my guest, remember, Emily?” He used my own words against me once again, this man was so freaking frustrating, “Don’t worry this won’t affect your paycheck. Take off the name tag and have a seat, enjoy a drink and just relax.”

I wanted to yell at him but I knew he was just trying to get that reaction from me. I had no idea why Nick made it his mission to annoy me, but he would not win this game he was playing. I took off the name tag, even though I hated it and placed it on the table in front of me. I smiled as I took a seat across him and let my hair down, trying to look as comfortable as possible. I was far from comfortable right now, and the amused looks both Nick and Evan were giving me were not helping at all.

“So now that you’ve let your hair down it’s time for you drink. What’s your poison?” Evan asked again, his smirk almost matching Nick’s.

I glanced at the glasses in front of them. Nick was having a whiskey and Evan was actually drinking red wine. I nodded at Evan’s glass, feeling the need to sip the rich flavored drink while I tried to keep my face straight and pretended I was way more comfortable than I was actually feeling.

“I’d like a red wine as well.”

Evan nodded, “Good choice, I’ll get you a glass.” He got up, wrapping his arm around the waitress who just passed us by and started flirting with her.

“Evan is always like that, with everyone.” Nick mumbled, “You’ll get used to it.”

“With everyone?” I asked curiously, “That includes you?”

Nick’s eyes glimmered amusingly, “I don’t think we know each other well enough to share that kind of information.”

I leaned forward and smirked when he did the same. I could almost taste his lips and forced myself not to look down and actually stare his full kissable lips.

“You’ve seen my breasts two times already now, but we still are not comfortable enough to share personal information?”

“They’re nice breasts.” Nick whispered, making me snort, “But you’ll be surprised how many women flash me on our first meeting. I’d like to get to know a woman before I share any kind of information with her.”

I actually didn’t doubt him. I was convinced that there were a lot of women out there who’d strip for this sexy, irritating man. I glanced down at his lips and cursed myself when his lips curled up into a smirk. I quickly leaned back in my chair and glared at him.

“Where is your date?” I asked, trying to change the subject.

Nick reached for his glass and slowly raised it to his lips, “I thought I wasn’t allowed to date her. “

“You were dating her, so what’s stopping you now?”

He lifted his eyebrow at me, “I was dating her?” He asked confused, “Oh, I’m assuming you’re talking about the pictures of us?”

My heart froze when he mentioned the pictures. Now he thought I was stalking him with keeping track of his life. I wanted to protest but he didn’t give me time.

“I thought we had a deal,” He continued, “I wouldn’t date the model and you wouldn’t date the tool.”

“Brandon has more character than your model!” I snapped at him.

Evan placed a glass of red wine in front of me, “Emily is right. I don’t know this Brandon guy, but I bet he has more character than Estelle. Anyone else has more character than Estelle.” He sat back down in his seat and raised his glass at me, “To the lovely Emily, who’ll make my night.”

Nick’s friends were all dressed the same way he was, all in fancy expansive looking clothes. It made me feel like an outsider, but I tried to ignore that feeling. I noticed that our friend Giselle was one of Nick’s guests. Nick followed my gaze toward his assistant, and turned his look to me, his eyes sparkling with amusement.

I sipped my wine, almost choking on my first sip when I felt Nick’s leg brush against mine. By the intense look, he gave me I knew he did it on purpose. He was once again playing around with me and once again I was quite affected by it. This man made me feel things I didn’t want to feel and made me react a way I didn’t want to react. I’m sure I left the gray area a long time ago but didn’t want to admit it.

“So I assume you met this beautiful girl here?” Evan asked, breaking my staring contest with Nick.

Nick pulled his leg away from mine and turned to Evan, “I met Emily at her apartment for the first time.” He answered in a way which made it sound like we met for another reason than just the lawsuit.

“Nick almost got sued because of me, so that’s why we met up.” I quickly added, making sure Evan didn’t get the wrong idea about us.

Nick emptied his glass in one gulp and placed it on the table. Evan glanced from Nick to me when realization flashed through his eyes.

“Oh, so she was the important meeting you had.” He nodded as he thought about whatever he was talking about, “You made me wait because you were meeting Emily that day.”

“For business, as Emily just told you.” Nick sounded calm, but his cool gaze told me that he was anything but calm right now, “No need to get all worked up, Evan.”

“I’m not.” Evan reassured him, “I would totally blow you off if I had a meeting with a beautiful girl like Emily.”

Nick chuckled, holding up his glass to the waitress who had asked them if they needed anything else, “Stop calling her beautiful, we shouldn’t encourage her to get cocky on us.”

I had a feeling that even though Nick and Evan were friends they were also quite competitive. I noticed the looks they gave each other. It was quite interesting to observe them, but I couldn’t focus, not when I felt a pair of eyes on me. Piercing right through me, and I knew exactly who was glaring at me right now. Our lovely Giselle whose heels were clicking toward us.

“Nick, Miss Swan would like to speak to you for a minute. It’s about the casino.”

I didn’t turn to look at her, but I could feel her eyes on me though. I held tightly to my glass and sipped quietly from my drink, needing the liquid courage right now.

“Thanks, Giselle.” Nick got to his feet and held his hand out to me, “Emily and I will greet Marissa and tell her to make an appointment since I don’t discuss business on my night out.”

I could tell by the icy glance Giselle received that Nick was not happy with her. His tone also told me that Nick didn’t think Giselle had done her job. I was actually starting to like how my night was going. If Giselle was unhappy, I was happy, and I knew that made me kind of a b***h.

I took Nick’s hand and let him help me up. He placed his hand on my lower back and guided me to the woman who he referred to as Marissa Swan. I noticed immediately that this woman would not like me. She was probably a friend of Giselle’s and also looked at Nick like she was ready to pounce him, like all the women in his life. It was entertaining, but at the same time also very terrifying.

“Marissa.” Nick greeted coldly.

What surprised me was the fact that Marissa Swan didn’t even hide it when she let her eye shamelessly wander over Nick’s body. I had no idea how she could be friends with Giselle when she was openly checking Nick out and figured she could get away with it. Didn’t Giselle arrogantly put a claim on Nick and tried to keep other women out of his life? Or was it just me who she didn’t want in his life? Shifting my gaze to nick I noticed that I was the one who held his attention.

“Nick, I see you’re quite distracted by your employee. What did the young lady do?”

The woman was trying to make me feel bad about myself, but seeing I had Nick’s attention she couldn’t drag me down. I think she was close to stomping her feet down like a child. This night was even more fun than watching a comedy.

“The young lady is my date for tonight.” Nick said firmly as he finally glanced at Marissa, “So please mind your manners, Marissa. Also, you know very well how I feel about doing business if you have more questions about the casino make an appointment with Giselle and she’ll schedule a time for us to meet.” Nick pulled me closer to him and flashed Marissa the same cold look as he did to Giselle, “Have a nice evening, Marissa.”

I leaned toward Nick when we were out of hearing distance from Marissa, “She looked at you like she wanted to undress you right there.” I whispered to him.

Nick’s hand traveled lower, resting just above my butt, “Too bad for Marissa I already have a date who is far more capable of undressing me.”

I wanted to say that I felt offended by his remark, but I didn’t. I bit my lip with a smile when I felt his hand now resting on my butt. I figured that Nick was just paying me back for the show I gave him last time, in the employees’ room. If he thought this would upset me he was so wrong, he had quite the opposite effect on me.

“Too bad for Marissa your date isn’t into sharing so she’ll only undress you behind closed doors.”

Nick’s lips brushed against my ear, “Now I’m tempted to take you to the employees’ room.” His husky tone only heated my body up more.

We took a seat at the table where Evan was still at, but this time I sat down next to Nick. I had his attention the entire night and actually did have a good time. At the end of the night, Nick offered me a ride home, but I refused. My explanation cooled his good mood down in a split second.

“Thought you would stay away from Brandon.” He mumbled as he guided me to the employees’ room.

I turned to him, pressing my back against the door and smiled, “No I promised I wouldn’t date him if you wouldn’t date the model. I didn’t promise I wouldn’t stay friends with him. Brandon is my friend and my friend is giving me a ride home.”

Nick didn’t seem pleased with me right now, but he couldn’t order me around which annoyed him to no end. We had a fun night together, but he was not my boyfriend and even if he was, I would still refuse to follow orders like a pet.

“Fine, your friend is taking you home.” He sounded gruff and annoyed again, “She wasn’t my date though.” He mumbled, probably referring to the pictures I mentioned before, “She suddenly showed up and the press loves taking pictures of us together. I’m not into her like that.”

Him thinking he owed me an explanation of his behavior made me smile, it also eased my mind knowing nothing happened between him and the superhot model. I’d never admitted it to him, but I was glad he did take the time the explain himself.

“Trust me, Nick, I’m not interested in Brandon that way,” I told him casually.

And like that Nick’s cool gaze heated up again. He grabbed a white piece of paper out of the inner pocket of his jacket and handed it to me. I smiled seeing Nick’s name in elegant letters written on the business card. I flipped it around and saw his personal number written down on it.

“I think that we’re on personal phone number basis since you did flash me two times already.”

I smirked and leaned my head against the door, “I’ve shown you mine now it’s time you showed me yours.”

The dark look that flashed through his eyes made my core tighten. So much promise just passed through his eyes, that it had me shivering. Damn Nicolas Woods.

He brushed my hair out of my eyes, his fingers lingering on my neck, “I’ll keep that in mind when we meet again. Good night, Emily.”

“Good night, Nick.”

I quickly changed into my clothes again and met Brandon in front of his car. He drove me home safely, but I could tell that he was not happy the entire ride home. He was upset and I knew Nick was the one who upset him.

After a long, while he asked the question which probably had been nagging at him the entire night, “So, are you two seeing each other now?”

I shrugged my shoulder, “Nick and I have an understanding. We’re not sleeping together, Brandon. I guess we both like to play whatever game we’re playing right now. That’s all.”

“You’re playing a game which will get you hurt in the end, Em.” Brandon warned me, “I know he is like prince charming in a sports car, but don’t let the charming smile fool you, Em. He is the big bad wolf who wants to eat you alive.”

I couldn’t help but burst out in laughter, “If he is the wolf I’m red riding hood?” I asked confused, “Trust me, Brandon, I’m not the innocent girl you portrayed me to be.”

He groaned, “No, I know! I’ve seen you in action, you’re actually playing the seductress.”

“I’m not getting hurt, Brandon!” I sighed, not wanting to hear his preaching anymore, “I know what I’m doing.”

He looked at me, a sad smile spreading across his face, “For your sake, I hope you’re right.”

I knew I needed to be careful around Nicolas, but I couldn’t control my emotions when I was close to him. My body just had a mind of its own. Hopefully, I could back up my own big words and make sure Nicolas Woods would not hurt me.

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