Alpha Billionaire Series

MANDY

“Are you ready to leave yet? What time are you going? It's a long drive, are you sure you don’t want to get a hotel room and come back in the morning?” Mom barraged us with questions over our breakfast. Granted we were eating rather late in the morning, but it was still only breakfast and Vivica's bus wasn't scheduled to leave until four thirty. And Pewaukee wasn't all that far away.

If I got a hotel room, Vivica would be home in Chicago before I got back to the lake.

“Mom,” I whined. “It's not that far of a drive.”

“I just don't want you out if it starts getting dark.”

Ilooked at her funny. Her statement was fair enough if we were on the winter side of the equinox when it started getting dark at four-thirty. This was the middle of summer, it didn't even start getting dark until eight, or later. Hours after I would b home.

“I'll make sure she’s safe Mrs. W. I'll make sure she calls you before she leaves," Vivica volunteered.

I glared in her direction. How would she even know when I was ready to drive back to the lake? She would be on a bus headed in one direction, while I was driving off in the opposite direction.

“It's 0 nice up here. I wish I could stay with you all summer, Vivica said.

“You are welcome back at any time, dear,’ Mom said.

“I might have to take you up on it if I don't land one of these jobs. Dylan pulled some strings with his contacts. I've got five interviews set up next week. Five!”

“That's impressive” I said. When I started interviewing, I was lucky to get one a week.

“Yeah, but didn't you get a job offer during your second interview?"

I shrugged. “Yeah, I did’

“So, shut up. You only need one interview, right? But it's a game of chance. I mean how many interviews until I get the one that comes with a job offer?”

“That sounds entirely too much like dating," I said.

Vivica pointed at me from across the table. Her eyes darted across the sunshine bright yellow and white kitchen, tracking m, mom's movements. She mouthed another “shut up’ at me but didn't say anything until Mom left the room. Leaning across th table she whisper-yelled at me. “Dating? You hooked up with Grant after a single “hi. You got a job offer after a single interview. Don't talk to me about sounds like dating.”

“Don’t make it sound like I have some kind of crazy good luck, or something.”

“I'm not. The universe owes you some seriously f*****g good karma. But you don't date, you get boyfriends. You don't interview, you get jobs.”

“I don't get a summer vacation; I have to rescue my family's business because my dad died." I surged to my feet and crashed out the back door and stormed down to the dock. I wiped at tears that appeared out of nowhere along with a heavy dose of unexpected anger. Vivica was making it sound like I had all kinds of instant success, while she had to struggle. She still had both of her parents, and still Lived in the house she grew up in.

“I'm sorry, 'm sorry, I'm sorry.” Her arms were around me before I had too much opportunity to spiral out of control. I cried against her thin shoulder.

“I know you don't have it easy. You deserve the good things and good luck you do get. I wasn't trying to make it sound like you don't. Okay?"

I nodded and sniffled, unable to speak yet.

“I might be a little bit more than jealous that you get to hang out here at this lovely lake and not deal with the unbearable heat of the city. And I know I'm jealous you got a perfect summer hook up, while I got stuck trying to hit on the flameless wonder. Mandy that man had like zero clue at all. I could have been standing naked in front of him and he would have moved me out of the way."

Vivica mimicked the actions of a seemingly clueless gorilla picking up and moving someone out of their way so they could flip burgers.

I wiped at my tears and laughed at her mocking Craig.

“I'm sorry," I said.

“Pfft, don't be. Remember your emotions are allowed,” Vivica said.

“Not around Mom. I have to be perfect and strong around her"

“Mandy, you are setting yourself up for a fall if you do that. I'm sure of all the people you know, your mother would be the one to understand the most. Come on, I need to pack. Lets get out early and go shopping or something in Pewaukee."

“I thought you wanted maximum lake time. You know, one more swim, one more paddle around.”

Vivica sighed and looked out over the water. “Okay, maybe one last swim?”

Itwas a good thing she packed early. Getting Vivica out of the lake was like pulling teeth. It was hard, it took some manipulation, but it eventually worked.

“My hair is so stringy,” she complained as soon as we were in the car and driving away from the house. “Watch, I'll meet the man of my dreams, and my hair looks like shit”

“You're going to meet the man of your dreams on the bus to Chicago?”

“Why not? Stranger things have happened. I am casting my intentions out into the universe,” she said with a bit of a giggle. “Well I sighed. “If he's the man of your dreams he's not going to care that you have lake hair."

“This is a fact. He'll think I'm beautiful this way, so when he sees me all cleaned up for the first time he will think he has wor the girlfriend lottery.”

“He will have won the girlfriend lottery. You are awesome.”

“Says the woman who landed her dream man without any makeup and after a crying jag!” She pointed out.

I bit my lip. “He is kind of... oh I don't know."

“You're kidding me, right? Mandy, he is everything you have ever wanted. Make a checklist and Grant is the answer. You have got to be careful not to fall in love with him right away.”

“Right away?” I felt so called out. I didn’t want to admit it, but I was probably more than halfway in love with him already. “Do me a favor, get to know him. Sure, he’s good looking in that chiseled jawline high cheekbones kind of way. And I know how you are about dark hair and dark eyes. Hell,” she paused. “I'm getting all worked up, and he’s not even my type.”Nôvel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner.

“I know. I know."

Vivica cataloged his assets nicely. She had left out the muscular thighs, the ripped abs, the bulging biceps. Grant had the type of physique that looked amazing naked, but would look really hot in a suit. He wasn't so bulky that a suit would look weird on him the way they did on body builders.

She also failed to mention how every time I saw him a riot of butterflies took over my entire body. Or that his kisses left my brain a puddle of melted butter.

“He's got money,” she continued with the list of all the reasons she knew I was going to fall for him.

“I'm not like that,” I whined.

“Everybody is like that,” she said. “No one wants to date someone who can't get their act together. You wouldn't notice him i he was flipping burgers at a fast-food joint.”

“Excuse me, but you noticed Craig, and he was literally flipping burgers.”

Vivica groaned. “Don't remind me. Okay, so maybe you would date him knowing he wasn't rich. It doesn’t hurt.”

“Truth,” I agreed.

“My point is, be careful. He's older. You're a pretty little fling for him. I don't want you to get hurt. You have so much on your plate, heartbreak is the last thing you need right now.”

We had arrived at the bus station, and sat in the car waiting until it was time to drag her bag inside the station and get checked in.

Vivica turned to face me. “Have fun with him. God knows you deserve it. But don't let him hurt you. Don't fall in love with hin until you really know him."

Isighed and pressed back into my seat. “If I can see him on weekends, I'll be lucky. He said he was only up for a few days.’ “We've seen him practically every other day, like he’s following you around.”

“Chicago isn't that far away. He could have driven back and forth with us knowing. I mean I haven't been stalking him." “Well, damn,” Vivica huffed. “If he's driving back and forth to Chicago, I should have hitched a ride."

I'shoved against her shoulder, and we both started laughing.

Putting Grant in a car with Vivica would be the ultimate boyfriend test. If he could survive that is. Maybe it was best that wasn't even an option.

“If you want to get to know him, go see him tonight. I mean I know you are already thinking about it. But I mean go and don’ leave. Call your mom, tell her you're going to spend the night in Pewaukee.”

“But go spend it with him?” I almost couldn't believe Vivica was suggesting this.

“Find out what you are getting yourself into. Sneaking kisses behind my back at the drug store isn't exactly getting to know someone. Figure out how he fits into your plan,” she said.

“What about how I fit into his plan?” I asked.

“Only if he leaves room for you to be you and do your thing. He has to understand you are working while at the lake, he has to understand why you are as stressed as you are, and he has to be willing to support you."

“Oh, that's why you mentioned the money," I pointed out a hole in her logic.

“I don't mean financially,” she corrected, “Il mean emotionally. He's got to be there for you when the weight of the world presses down too hard, and you get tackled by your emotions like this morning”

Ilet out a deep breath. She was right. If I wanted to really be with Grant for more than a summer booty call, he was going to have to understand a few things about me. I was going to have to learn about him.

I followed Vivica into the station and hugged her tightly before she walked out the back double doors and onto her bus. I had a text from her by the time I was back in the car.

“Call your mom."

I stared at my phone. Vivica was right, I needed to find out more about him before I completely fell in love with him.

I hit the call button on the phone. “Hey Mom, I thought about what you were saying. I'm a little tired, so 'm gonna get a room.’

“The sun was still high in the sky when I pulled up to Grant's house. I didn't think he would be inside, not on a day like today. walked around the side of the house to the front. I spied him on the dock mooring his jet ski.

“Hey,” I said, catching his attention.