Without Warning: A Billionaire Romance (Playboys of New York Book 5) JA Low (e textbook reader .TXT) 📖

I don’t trust men around my sister. She’s a beautiful woman but highly naïve due to the gilded cage we’ve surrounded her in, which is our fault entirely. And as much as I trust Stirling with business, around a beautiful woman, I do not.

“We should head to the event. Would look bad if the hostess was not there on time.” Mom ushers us out of the apartment and down to the limousine. We all hop in and head out into the traffic.

“I heard you had a meeting with your father?” Mom asks as we settle in for the ride.

“Yeah. He heard I bought the old marina in Montauk, and he wants it.”

She smiles and nods her head knowingly. “I’m assuming you won’t give it to him?” She turns to look at me with a smirk on her face.

“I have no desire to.”

She chuckles. “You know he’s probably going to retaliate when you make your decision,” Mom warns me. “You know he bid on the property.” No, I didn’t know that. “Seems you have deeper pockets than him.” She grins.

“Dad must be fuming,” Audrey muses.

“He most certainly was… as was Stanford,” I tell them.

They all nod their heads in understanding.

“Just watch them, sweetheart,” Mom warns me. “You know the kind of man your father is.”

I can handle dear old Dad.

Eventually, we arrive. I help my mother step out onto the red carpet. This is my first event in a long time. I’m hoping everyone has forgotten me by now. I link arms with my mother as we begin to walk down the aisle. Photographers go into a frenzy, and then the reporters start shouting questions at me, but I ignore them all. Mom gives my arm a reassuring squeeze as she waves and smiles.

Finally, we make it into the foyer of the old building, where my mom runs into her society friends. She gives me a kiss on the cheek and walks off into the ballroom to attend to her duties.

“Drinks?” I ask, turning around to Audrey and Stirling, who walked the carpet together.

“Yeah, I could do with one,” Stirling agrees.

Then I look at my sister, who waves me off. “I’ve got friends to catch up with.” My eyes narrow, but she gives me a megawatt smile, and I leave it.

Stirling and I walk over to the bar, which is relatively empty at the moment.

“Please tell me nothing is going on between my sister and you?” Looking over at my best friend, his face blanches, and he chokes on his scotch.

“What? Why would you think that?” Stirling’s voice raises as he quickly defends himself while his eyes flare with discomfort.

Maybe something hasn’t happened yet, but I think something might be brewing.

“Just making sure, that’s all.” Turning, I take a sip of my drink.

“Your sister is a wonderful person, but there’s nothing going on,” he explains.

“Good.”

“Do you think I’m not good enough?”

Well, that question throws me off.

“No.” Shaking my head and continue, “But it’s my sister, man. You have a reputation. And don’t forget the obvious… I know you.”

“I would never hurt her,” he tells me, which makes me pause.

I spin around and look at my friend. “You like her?” I push.

“Of course. She’s a good girl,” he adds, then takes a large gulp of his scotch. “We’ve hung out a bit since you’ve been away. That’s all. I was simply a replacement for you.” He shrugs his shoulders. I see a different side to my best friend, and I’m just not sure what it is he’s showing me. “But I can assure you nothing is going on, other than I really enjoy her company… as a friend.”

“So, you’re asking my permission to be friends with my sister?”

“Yeah, in essence. We like going to the Sunday markets, amongst other things,” he confesses.

I’m stunned.

I had no idea.

I have been away too long.

“And you seriously like hanging out with her?” I question, just to be clear about what he’s asking.

“You know I don’t have female friends as such…” he looks up at me, “… but Audrey’s different, and we like… hang out. Nothing more.”

This conversation is very weird.

“You’re both adults. I can’t stop you,” I tell him.

With those few words, he looks a little relieved.

“Just don’t break her heart if something happens. Okay?” Slapping my friend on the shoulder, I smile at him.

“Nothing will happen. She sees me as a friend,” he tells me.

Right. Good. Glad we’ve cleared that all up.

“Come on, let’s walk into the lions’ den.”

Stirling nods.

So, we head off and into the main ballroom.

12

Ariana

Emma opens her apartment door to me with a huge smile on her face. “Did you do it?” I nod my head sadly. “Oh, no… what happened?” She ushers me into her living space.

“Hey, Ari.” Anderson greets me with a smile, but Emma shoos him away. He turns on his heel and heads back into his office.

“Now, tell me what the hell happened?”

“I went into the office and handed in my two weeks’ notice. They said… thanks, but they don’t need two weeks, and I could go pack my stuff and leave now.”

“What fuckheads,” Emma categorically states, which makes me smile.

“They told me that I would never make it in the industry because my plans are subpar.” Tears begin to well in my eyes. For some reason, I can’t help it as one slips down my cheek.

“No. No. No.” Emma angrily shakes her head. “Please don’t listen to them. They are full of shit and have tiny dicks.” Emma wraps her arms around me tightly. “They are butt-hurt because they have just lost their most brilliant architect, and now their business is going to suck.”

Letting out a heavy sigh, maybe Emma’s right. They are simply angry because I’m leaving and won’t catch their mistakes before they go to clients like I do. Or maybe because they won’t have someone to go fetch coffee or look pretty around the office like I’ve heard referenced multiple times.

“I’m happy to have left.”