Running From the Billionaire Book 2
Autore
Kimi L. Davis
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Amanda Lawson's life takes a dramatic turn when she accepts a modeling opportunity with a new fashion company, only to discover that her boss is the infuriating Trent Benson. As Amanda navigates the complexities of her career and her tumultuous relationship with Trent, she finds herself entangled in a web of power, control, and unexpected emotions. With her best friend José by her side, Amanda must confront her feelings and decide if she can trust Trent, who is determined to make her his own, no matter the cost.
Chapter 1
Book 2: Evading the Billionaire
The most difficult thing for me to do was to pick out a dress. I mean, for an aspiring model, dressing up was not easy, at least in regular life. But for me, picking out the perfect outfit required a lot of time.
“Maybe I should wear the green dress,” I muttered to myself. As soon as I plucked it out of my closet, I put it back in.
“No.” I ran my eyes over my dresses hanging on the metal rail. “Maybe the blue one?” When I removed the blue dress, it took everything in me not to groan out loud. Damn it, I needed to go shopping, none of these dresses were perfect for today, nothing.
It was in times like this when I missed Hailey the most, my best friend. She always helped me pick out the right dress, and now, I had no one to help me with my clothing dilemma. Hailey was happily married to Theodore, and even though I was happy for my best friend, I missed her and couldn’t help but feel a tiny bit jealous. She had the perfect man—crazy and dominating but perfect.
Sighing, I gave up on searching for the perfect dress. Maybe I should find a new best friend since Hailey was now busy with her husband and her soon-to-be-born twins. But I knew no one would be able to replace Hailey. She had always stayed with me, always helped me, and there was no one like her.
Before I could dwell more on my best friend and her new life, my cell phone rang. Checking the caller ID, I accepted the call when I saw it was José. He was a photographer who I hooked up with once. Sex with José proved to be a scary experience for me because I thought I was pregnant with his baby, but thank the Lord, it was just a false alarm.
“Hello José, what’s up?” I asked, making myself comfortable on the couch.
“Hi Amanda, I got good news for you?” José sounded cheerful, which meant that whatever he wanted to tell me was really good.
“Oh, what is it?” I asked.
“Well, a new fashion company wants you to model their dresses, and let me tell you, Amanda, the dresses are amazing,” José replied.
My heart started pounding with excitement. Oh my God, a company wanted me to model for them; I couldn’t believe my dream was about to come true.
“What is the name of the clothing brand?” I questioned.
“Uh, it’s a weird French name. It’s not a big brand, but the dresses are amazing. You can meet me in a few days, and I’ll take you to them, then you can decide if you want to model for them,” he said.
“Yeah, of course. Definitely. Are you free after three days?” I enquired.
“Yes I am. We can meet at a cafe, and go from there. But Amanda, the dresses are truly beautiful, and I’m a guy!” I had never heard José complimenting any clothing brand before, and now, he couldn’t stop talking about this one. Now, I really wanted to model for this brand and I had no idea what it was.
“Yeah, all right. I’ll see you in three days. Thanks José.” With that, I hung up with a smile on my face. Since the moment José and I hooked up, he and I had become pretty good friends. Both of us just needed a night of casual sex, no strings attached, and I was glad that José and I were friends now.
Feeling happier than I had been all day, I decided to go shopping. I was addicted to shopping, and it was my source of comfort no matter what the situation was. I was glad that I had started to earn money. Maybe one day, some famous designer would want me to model their dresses.
Grabbing my purse from my closet, I checked my wallet and counted my money, and only when I was satisfied that I had enough to buy a dress or two did I put my wallet in my purse. I grabbed my cell phone and was about to leave my room when it started ringing again.
“Hello, boss man,” I said to Theodore with a grin on my face. I had no idea why Theodore was calling me, but whatever it was, I would listen to him, for Hailey.
“Hello Amanda, how are you?” Theodore asked me politely.
“I’m great, boss man. How are you?” I had never stopped calling Theodore boss man, and I never would.
“I’m good, thank you. Listen, I wanted to invite you to dinner. My whole family is going to be there, and I would love it if you can come,” he told me.
My heart sank when he mentioned that his whole family would be there. I never did well around families. For some reason, I thought that families judged me a lot, and I hated that. If Theodore had told me he was inviting me to dinner with only him and Hailey, I would’ve agreed in a heartbeat, but now, I wasn’t so eager.
“Uh, boss man, I don’t know your family. What am I going to do there?” I queried.
“I’ve invited Ingrid and April as well, you know, Hailey’s cousins, so you’ll know somebody there,” he replied.
“Yeah, but it’s your family. Won’t I be intruding?” I really didn’t want to go.
“No, you won’t be intruding at all. Look, the reason I want you to be there is because I am going to propose to Hailey, and I want her family and my family to be there, so please don’t think about declining. Hailey will be happy if you’re there.”
“All right, I’ll be there. When is it?” I finally relented, only because I wanted to be there for my best friend. And I kinda fell in love with Theodore when he told me he was going to propose to Hailey. The man really loved her.
“Tonight.” The word had my heart stopping. I glanced at the clock to see it was already 5:30 p.m.
“What?!” I nearly shrieked. Shit! I had no dress. What the hell was I going to wear?!
“I know it’s short notice, but please, Amanda, you have to be there. You are important to Hailey, and she won’t be happy if you’re not there,” Theodore pleaded.
“Fine.” I heaved an exaggerated sigh. “Where is the dinner going to be held?” I asked, eyeing my closet as if it was my life saver.
“I’ll text you the name and address of the restaurant right now.”
“Fine, I’ll be there at 7:30,” I muttered.
“Great, thank you so much. Hailey will be happy to see you.” With that, Theodore hung up, leaving me to worry about the perfect dress.
Dropping my phone and purse on the bed, I headed toward my closet. “Okay, now please give me the perfect dress to wear for this dinner,” I pleaded to my closet. I wished I had magic so I could conjure up the perfect outfit for this occasion.
Flinging the doors of my closet open, I grabbed a bunch of dresses, took them out, and threw them on the bed. I did this until my closet was empty, and all my clothes were strewn on the bed. Then, I began to inspect each and every dress I owned thoroughly, and the outfits that were a definite “no” were flung to the other corner, while the dresses that could be worn to a formal dinner remained on the bed.
At the end, I was left with ten dresses. And after another round of thorough inspection, I finally settled on a blue dress.
It was a blue gradient dress made up of sheer chiffon. It was strapless with a sweetheart neckline and fell just a few inches above my knee. The upper part of the dress was a beautiful dark blue, and the color lightened as it flowed south, forming a beautiful gradient. And since I could pair the dress with my jeweled heels, I thought it would be perfect for this dinner. With a silent “thank you” to God above, I quickly went to change.
***
I arrived at the restaurant at 7:15 p.m. The restaurant was beautiful and looked expensive. I could tell that it was the perfect place for a proposal. I eyed a grand table with glasses and other utensils before my eyes fell upon Ingrid. Sighing in relief, I headed in her direction.
“Hi, Ingrid,” I said with a smile. She was talking to a beautiful redhead.
Ingrid turned to face me with a smile. “Hey Amanda, I’m glad you’re here. Listen, do me a favor and go talk to April. She looks like she needs a savior.” Ingrid gently shoved me in the direction of April, who was standing in a corner while a guy who strongly resembled Theodore was trying to talk to her.
“Hi, April,” I said, hoping she wouldn’t tell me to go away.
When April’s eyes found mine, instant relief shone in those vibrant green eyes. She smiled at me. God, she was adorable.
“Hi Amanda, it’s nice to see you. You look beautiful,” she complimented.
“Thank you,” I said.
“Uh, this is Harry, Theodore’s younger brother.” She introduced me to the man who was talking to her. He looked exactly like Theodore, only leaner. He looked amazing in his suit.
“Hi, I’m Amanda, Hailey’s best friend,” I said to Harry, who nodded.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Harry said, but his gaze was fixated on April, who looked like a real version of Snow White.
“Where are Theodore and Hailey?” I inquired, wanting to make conversation.
“They haven’t arrived yet. They’ll come around 8:30. You should sit down and relax,” Harry suggested.
“I need some water.” Harry pointed at the table where a crystal jug stood proudly, water glimmering against the light. Excusing myself, I went to the grand table, grabbed the jug and a glass, and poured water into it. Placing the jug back, I brought the glass to my lips, but the sound of a throat clearing had me stopping.
I turned to my left to see another handsome man standing, wearing a navy suit. He had dark hair like Theodore, charcoal gray eyes, and lips that begged to be kissed. He was not only handsome, he was downright sexy. He rivaled Theodore in the looks department.
“Hi, I’m Trent, Theodore’s cousin, and you are?” he asked. His voice had my knees trembling.
“I’m Amanda, Hailey’s best friend,” I introduced myself.
Trent arched his eyebrow in an arrogant manner. “I see. You are the crazy best friend,” he stated.
My temper ignited. “Excuse me?” Why on earth was he calling me crazy? He didn’t know anything about me.
“You heard me,” he said simply.
“I’m not crazy. And since you don’t know me, I suggest you keep your comments and opinions to yourself,” I snapped. I had a short temper, and when people judged me without knowing me, they automatically went on my hate list.
“See, like I said, totally crazy.” This man had no manners. And why was he calling me crazy when he didn’t even know me? Did Hailey tell him about me? No, Hailey would never bad-mouth me in front of anyone.
I slammed the glass on the table, not loud enough for people to hear. I moved forward until I was standing inches away from Trent and gave him my most deadly glare. He had no idea who he was dealing with.
“Listen you arrogant pig, you don’t know me, so keep your mouth shut before I actually staple your lips together. And no matter how much I love the visual of your sealed lips, I am going to be a considerate human and let you off this once, so get the hell away from me,” I spat.
Trent ran his eyes over my body, making me feel exposed, before stepping forward until his minty breath fanned my face. However, I did not let him intimidate me. Men like Trent just wanted to feel superior, and I knew exactly how to deal with people like him.
“I know enough to say that you are crazy, stubborn, and a pain in the ass. I am pretty good at reading people, shady,” he muttered.
“It looks like your reading skills can use some polishing, because your interpretation of me is far from accurate,” I hissed.
“Whatever you say, shady,” he stated.
“And don’t call me shady! What does that even mean?!” This guy was an utter prick.
Once again, Trent ran his eyes over me. “I’ll call you shady because you are shady.” He eyed my dress as he said this.
I frowned and followed his gaze, and realization finally dawned upon me. “Are you serious?! You are calling me shady because of my dress?! My dress has shades of blue. It doesn’t mean I’m shady,” I snarled. How was this guy even related to Theodore, he was an ass!
“It’s not just your dress, although, I did get the name from there, but it’s also you, shady,” he remarked.
“Keep your stupid interpretations about me to yourself. I'm not interested in hearing about them,” I stated, feeling my blood beginning to simmer.
“Look shady, I don’t care if you’re interested or not; I'll call you whatever I want.”
I had a really good comeback for that, but before I could utter a word, all of Theodore’s family along with April and Ingrid sat down at the table. Narrowing my eyes at Trent, I turned and pulled out a chair for me to sit.
I huffed as I sat down, trying my best to calm down, but I wasn’t succeeding. Grabbing the glass of water, which I had neglected earlier because of Trent, I quickly gulped the refreshing liquid down. After taking a couple of deep breaths, I sighed in relief when I saw April sitting next to me and Harry sitting next to her. Ingrid sat next to the redhead, both of them engrossed in conversation.
The empty chair next to me was pulled out, and down sat the man who was quickly making himself number one on my hate list. Trent sat down next to me, and my temper flared once more. I had a feeling that I only had to look at Trent to have my temper exploding.
“Go sit somewhere else. I'd like to eat my dinner in peace,” I snarled.
Trent chuckled before fixing his dark gaze on me. “Trust me, shady, I did not expect my evening to be ruined by a crazy woman, but you don’t always get what you want.”
Suddenly, I was itching to slap him. “Go sit somewhere else,” I repeated.
“Can’t, no empty seat left.”
I would’ve gotten up to switch seats with someone, but I didn’t know anyone. Ingrid and April were both busy talking to the people next to them, and I didn’t want to be rude. So I stayed put; I’d endure Trent’s nasty presence, for Hailey.
“So shady, what do you do?” Trent asked, mirth dripping from his words.
I ignored him, at least I tried to, but the man was worse than bed bugs. When I did not respond, he began clinking his fork against the glass, the noise blinding me with rage.
“Would you stop that?!” I hissed, glaring at him. I looked around to see if anyone else would scold Trent for creating such a racket, but no one seemed to notice.
“You should keep your temper in check, shady. People can do bad things to you.” Why did I feel like he was threatening me?
“Why don’t you mind your goddamn business for once and stop worrying about my temper. And for the last time, stop calling me shady!”
“I should do something about that temper, don’t you think so, shady?”
All right, I had enough of him. I opened my mouth to tell him exactly what I thought but I saw Hailey and Theodore coming toward us. Forcing my venomous words back, I stood up and went to meet Hailey. I shouldn’t waste my breath on Trent. I had to be there for my best friend.
So with a smile on my face, I stood up and went to meet my best friend.
