Page 5 of Billionaire’s Game

An hour later,I found myself entering the warehouse that housed Ophelia’s Angels. It occupied about three-quarters of a mile of warehouse space. As expected, it was pretty dark on the inside and a little bit too warm for my taste. I knew it was going to take some time to get used to South Florida’s weather. My hair definitely didn’t like the humidity and had instantly puffed up into a giant ball of fizz when I’d walked out the loft with Lacey earlier. I had promptly tied it into a ponytail. Apparently, even the weather was against me changing my hair.

The warehouse was alive with activity. It was full of people busily packing and unloading trucks and boxes. No one paid any attention as we walked in and I attributed this to the fact that everyone was super busy and conscientious.

“Do they always work this hard?” I asked Lacey.

She nodded. “They love it here.”

We turned the corner and Lacey led me to a hallway where several office spaces were located. She opened one of them and I realized it was a conference room. “I’ll be back. I need to find Jude because I’m not sure who you’re training with today. Go ahead and take a seat. I’ll be right back.”

She disappeared around a corner and I sat down and waited for her. As I did, someone entered the conference room and I looked up with a smile, ready to greet them.

My smile froze as I stared at the man staring back at me. He was a tall, imposing figure. Everything about him was just… well… big. His shoulders were wide and his hands were huge. He was wearing jeans that fit him so well, it didn’t leave much to the imagination. And he wore a plain t-shirt that didn’t hide his gorgeous, expansive chest.

His muscular arms were long, and I wondered if he were a famous basketball player and before I knew it, that’s exactly what I was asking.

“Are you famous?”

“Excuse me?”

I blushed realizing how stupid I sounded. “I mean, are you an athlete?”

He laughed. “Far from it.”

I blushed again. “Oh, I’m sorry... I just thought, never mind. So, do you work here?”

“Not quite,” he said again. “I’m sorry to be rude, but we’re having a private meeting in here in a minute. Would you mind coming back after we’re done?”

I felt embarrassed as I didn’t have a reason to be there and stood up to leave.

I glanced back at the attractive stranger as I made my way to the door. And I caught him staring at my legs. I blushed for the hundredth time and he said suddenly, stopping me, “What’s your name?”

“Lesli Cabot.”

“I’m Magnus Deacon. Maybe I’ll see you around, Ms. Cabot.”

Gratefully, I didn’t have to respond because at that moment, the mysterious stranger’s cell phone rang.

“This is Deacon,” he answered swiftly.

I turned away from him and walked past the conference room windows. I dared to glance back and caught his eyes watching me as he chatted on the phone. His eyes gave nothing away, but from the way he watched me, I almost felt naked.

I didn’t know how to react or what to do. I hadn’t ever been the subject of anyone’s gaze as far as I knew. I’d never been in a “real” boyfriend-girlfriend relationship. I’d never been hit on. I’d only lost my virginity because I’d felt it was a burden to keep it. I’d seduced some guy in college who’d started to look pretty good after a few beers. His performance, to say the least, hadn’t been inspiring, but at least I accomplished my goal. I’d figured I’d get lots of practice with someone who actually knew what he was doing later in life, but that hadn’t happened. I hadn’t attracted the attention of another man since... until now.

“There’s my favorite cousin,” I heard Jude say before he ambushed me as I walked into the warehouse area. He picked me up in a giant bear hug. He squeezed me tight and then dropped me down.

“Seriously, Jude. You almost gave me a heart attack.”

“You’re young. You’ll recover.”

I laughed, and he tossed an arm around my shoulder. Ever since we’d first met, Jude treated me like the little sister he always wished he’d had. It felt good to be so readily accepted.

He looked a little embarrassed as he said, “So, I’m sorry about the couch situation, but we’re going to get you set up at my dad’s in no time. We’re just waiting for him to get back from vacation. I think he’s in Egypt or Turkey. I forgot which. Anyway, I’m really sorry for your current living arrangements. We turned the guest room into a nursery, obviously. Not that Sebastian even uses it anymore. He tries to climb into bed with us every other night.”

“That’s adorable.”

Jude shook his head, “Not at four in the morning when you’re exhausted, and some little kid sticks his finger in your nose or hits you in the head with a pacifier.”

I smiled. “Still adorable. And no worries. I don’t want to impose,” I added quickly. “Whether I’m on the couch at your place or hanging out in your dad’s guesthouse, I’m flexible.”