Cheating The Billionaire

Chapter 11

Chapter 10 is after this chapter. Sorry but for some reasons the chapters got switched. 

Chapter 11

"Breathe honey, just breathe in and breathe out," Taylor frantically tried to compose herself after seeing Chase.

"Are you having motion sickness?" a young girl enquired seeing her breathing rapidly.

"No, I'm fine....it's just the salt in the wind that's..that's...blocking my nose," She replied and felt awkward the second she realized she actually said that.

The girl gave her an odd look, "Have we met before? Coz I don't remember seeing you in our family excursions..."

"Oh! No we haven't. Apparently I'm her on work visit, I'm the store manager at Camilla Cresto...rather was...she made me the head designer so..." Taylor hadn't finished when the girl squealed in excitement.

"Oh my God! You're from my aunt's designing squad...we should total take a selfie," she exclaimed and pulled out her phone before pouting.

Was it mandatory for every girl to pout in front of the camera? She thought as the girl took a snapchat with the caption "on board with CC's head designer!" and posted it in her story.

"You look shaken in this..." she frowned as she looked at the picture. "By the way I'm Genevieve, no offense but lately the designs are going downhill. Don't tell Camilla, but the dress I received on my birthday was hideous! You didn't design that did you?"

"No...I don't know what you're talking about..."

"It was this really awful dress my brother picked up post my birthday..." she complained.

"Your brother....he gifted you a dress from the boutique...?" Taylor's ear perked up 

"Speak of the devil !" Genevieve raised her brows and waved out to Chase as he approached in their direction.

Taylor froze with her back toward him. Excusing herself she hastily scurried away and snuck inside the lower deck. "Hi care for some champagne?" a man in his mid thirty's offered her a drink, while he distributed it to the rest. Taylor refused and darted her eyes across the deck to find a hiding spot. As weird ideas cropped up her mind to avoid him, Camilla who was seated on the couch, addressed her lovingly, "Don't be shy, go ahead and unwind yourself!"

"Oh I nearly forgot, attention everybody," She held everybody's attention and introduced them to Taylor. "These three are my grand children, and he's Nick, my son and his wife there," she pointed at the one distributing champagne. The old flirt you see there is my father with his girlfriend Jessica and these two are my soul sisters, Sarah Franshaw and Becky Palin," She paused to take a breather while Taylor stared at Sarah.

"Hey! Where's your man? I saw Chase and Genevieve on board but him," Camilla furrowed her brows.

"Oh he's got loosies so he'll be joining in later with Matt and Suzy," Sarah referred to Becky's kids before noticing how intently Taylor observed her.

Realizing she was making it too obvious, Taylor hurriedly broke her silence. "Uh...You're Chase's mom?"

"Yes, that's me...Do I appear too young for a twenty seven years old?" she joked and giggled while Camilla glanced at Taylor suspiciously.

"You've met my nephew before?" She interrupted with a sharp tone.

Before Taylor could clarify, Genevieve and Chase stepped in with Matt, the awkward cousin whom puberty gave a miss. "Look whom we found," Chase introduced Matt and surprised the rest.

"Why do we always end up going to the same place? There's no network either, how am I going to tweet or post pictures on insta?" Genevieve cribbed and slapped her phone.

"That's because the island is convenient to travel to and is private, cut off from the concrete jungle...right my boy?" Camilla explained and smiled at Chase.

"Cut off enough to turn this polished monkey savage..." He teased his sister and undid her hair as she screamed.

"You ruined my hair!" She complained as he sprint ahead and brushed arms with Taylor, who lost her balance and regained it quickly.

Taylor found it more like a deliberate brush by him and gently felt her arm. There was a sense of discomfort as she felt she was being watched from the side. She mustered courage and looked up only to find him looking back at her. With his brows raised in a quizzical manner, he looked at her like he had been aware of her presence all along. With all the awkwardness around her, Taylor sheepishly greeted him with a wave of the hand which was too quick for Camilla to notice.

Much as she had expected, Chase gave her a cold response and ignored her throughout the cruise.

When she finally got off board, she invariably reached for her phone. "Don't bother yourself girl, you're least likely to get any network here," Sarah asserted, as everyone headed straight to the resort that was visible from the shore.

Taylor felt the roughness of the sand granules that pricked between her toes as she cautiously walked ahead with a frown. "It's funny how people live in Florida and yet hate the beach," Taylor overheard Chase talking to his cousin and frowned all the more.

"No, it just that it's been months since I last visited one!" she turned around in response to his taunt.

"And you're talking to whom?" Chase gave her a weird look and glanced at his cousin. "Did you tell her something?" he asked and puzzled him.

Insulted, she turned away and marched to join the rest of the gang ahead. "Why did you do that for? You made her think I passed that comment, when it was clearly you!" Matt complained.

"Don't lose you s**t over it! Unless you had plans of impressing her..." Chase gave him a sarcastic look and made him feel awkward.

"No, I'm not into that stuff! You're getting me wrong," He shied away in embarrassment.

"Whoa, is that my cousin speaking? Really, you're eighteen and you're telling me you haven't done it as yet?" His comment sent him further into a shell. "Never mind, Now that you're here, you will become a pro at this in no time," he added and boosted his spirits.

The gang were welcomed by the caretaker who guided them to their individual rooms. It was a decent resort of six separate cozy log houses, three of which were perched on a massive old tree with a wobbly bridge of ropes, connecting all the houses.

Taylor couldn't contain her excitement seeing the scenic view from her balcony. She recounted the last time she and Zac visited the beach in Miami which was five years ago. As the surreal feeling sunk in, she called Zac over the phone, but couldn't quite get through him. She tried all the corners of the room but failed to get any network connectivity.

Sulking in disappointment, she saw the younger lot stepping out towards the shore and decided to join in. Preferring to take a wash first, she rummaged through her bags and was repulsed seeing nothing but flimsy suggestive beachwear. "Zachery! Why did you mess with my bags?" she cussed and clenched her teeth.

"There must be something worth stepping out in....I'm in no mood to turn heads out here," she sighed and fished out a pair of mini shorts which she planned to pair with a red bikini top and a fishnet shirt.

As usual she couldn't figure out the right faucet and turned on the shower instead. Drenched from the top, she struggled to turn it off when someone knocked on the door.

"Who are you?" she enquired curiously seeing Chase's cousin before her.

"Uhm...I'm Matt...we were on...on the same yacht..." he stammered and noticed the two tiny bulges over her perfectly carved breasts. "You forgot this..." he blushed as their fingers touched.

"Oh thanks for bringing it up here," Taylor smiled and found his eyes fixed over her breast. "Am I really that curvy," she thought and closed the door. It didn't take long to realize what a wet mess she appeared. Seeing how stiff her t**s had turned from all that cold shower, she pressed them in and sulked recalling Matt's intrigued expression. 

"No wonder his eyes were down there," she unzipped her dress and let the hot steam caress her body before slipping into the bathtub. She contemplated how to get her target's attention and looked at her phone. "If only I could get through him..." she sighed at the number of failed attempts at calling Zac.

When she was done, she stepped out in her best and ran into Camilla's father. "Hey there little mouse, you lost?" he asked gingerly as he held a plate of salad.

"No, I know my way sir, thank you," she smiled and noticed how hungrily he gauged on the salad.

"Good for you! I hope you're enjoying the stay," he greeted her and went ahead while Taylor looked for the rest of the members.

Genevieve spotted her from far and invited her to a game of beach volleyball. "I'm not sure about this...I've never played one before," Taylor appeared apprehensive. "Well, there's always a first time," Genevieve commented and threw the ball towards her.

While she struggled to keep an eye on the ball, Matt had eyes only for her. Like any other gawky teenage boy, he observed her carefree movements and admired her figure.

Chase wasn't far from joining the admiration club, since she did look hot in the sweltering heat. Yet every time he glanced in her direction he was reminded of the funny incident which was still fresh in his and Taylor's mind. Unfortunately it overshadowed her hotness quotient which clearly failed in turning him on.

When they broke for a quick bite, Chase noticed Matt's expression and caught him off guard. "I see you're Crushing on Taylor uh-hu..." he commented from behind and startled him.

"I wasn't looking at her....I was looking at the ball!" Matt hurriedly explained in his defence.

"Yeah her assets are quite attractive," Chase asserted.

"I meant the volley ball !" Matt was quick to correct and turned red in embarrassment.

"Really, wow you got some concentration levels," he smirked and curled his arm around Matt's neck. "You don't need to deny it, Matt...it's written all over your face. You like her, don't you?" he smiled and looked at him.

Matt blushed and avoided eye contact as he withdrew from his grip. "Well, how does it matter? I'm no girls' fantasy..." he let out a fake laugh.

Chase glanced at Taylor as she head back to continue the game. Shifting his gaze back at Matt, he smirked at the possibilities of having some fun by letting Matt believe he could win her heart.

"You know I could hook you up with her...I mean I know her likes and dislikes pretty well," He coughed and grabbed his attention.

"Trust me, she's be in your arms in no time,"

"Are you serious? I mean I've never done this before," Matt felt a bit hesitant yet excited.

"Well there's always a first time," He quoted and pulled a chair closer to him before Genevieve called out to them.

"Guys we would like an extra player here!" she shouted as Jessica, her grandfather's girlfriend called it quits.

Much to Taylor's surprise, he gladly replaced Jessica and joined his sister's team. Without further delay, he began where Jessica had left and boasted about his volleyball skills. Though his moves made her nervous, she maintained the consistency she had developed in the game. She played with half concentration as the other half was sorting out ways to rekindle the interest in her that had fizzled out from his end. Taylor could sense he didn't see her the way he had once, she was just another girl next door to him.

"I have to win this!" she said it loud in her mind and stressed her whole energy on to the ball, before it hurtled towards Chase.

Such was the force that before anybody could react, it hit him right across the face, breaking his nose and pushing him to the ground.

"Aww my nose!" he cried in pain while the rest laughed.

Taylor turned jittery and felt extremely guilty for what she had done. "I'm sorry, it was unintentional...I thought you would receive it," she gulped and wiped the sweat off her neck.

"Well, I don't know about him, but his nose did receive it well," Genevieve teased and clicked a picture of him through her phone.

In the midst of all the awkwardness she had invited, she was oddly distracted by a quarrel that could be heard from a distance. Turning around, she happened to spot Chase's grandfather quarrelling with his girlfriend outside their room. 

"You may need a nose job, want me to call a surgeon?" Genevieve teased and grabbed Taylor's attention.

"Yeah! Call the one who did your butt job," Chase retorted and walked back to his cottage.

When dusk set in, everybody met for dinner outdoor. Taylor picked a cozy spot by the edge and towards the far corner of the cliff. She was accompanied by the kids, who shortly left when Camilla joined in. "So how is it going?" she inquired and sipped on her drink.

"It's good, everybody's so friendly and..."

"I was referring to the designs, Ms Taylor..." She interrupted and glared in her direction. "You do know this isn't just a pleasure trip, don't you?" She took off her spectacles.

"Ah..Uhm..Yes I do...." Taylor got pensive.

"Well then how many did you come up with? I would like to have a look at them,"

Taylor clenched the edge of the table in nervousness and explained that she hadn't started as yet. "Today was the first day and I was just looking for...for some inspiration...I was going to start tomorrow..." she cooked up a story having realized she had completely forgotten why Camilla roped her along.

"What more inspiration do you need? It's been 13 hours already!" Camilla said in a stern manner. "You have only three nights and four days more to come up with nine designs," she asserted and rose from the table.

"Nine! How am I supposed to do nine?"

"That's your concern, not mine.." she quoted and left leaving Taylor troubled.

Not far away, Chase trained his cousin with ways and means to woo a girl. "You ready?" He asked excitedly as he brushed off the dust from his shoulders.

"You think I'm ready?" Matt appeared tense and unsure.

"Of course, you are...now go there and make her know you've arrived," he said and pushed him forward when they reached the dining area.

Anxious and nervous, he cautiously walked towards her table and recalled all the lines Chase had taught. "May I have the distinguished honour and privilege of sitting next to you?" he surprised Taylor with a much matured voice and pulled a chair.

"Oh, hi Matt...sure go ahead," she smiled and noticed his odd choice of attire for the evening. Dressed in white grandpa suit and a bright blue tie, Matt's attire definitely didn't go well with the hot weather in the island.

"Aren't you feeling hot in that?" she enquired out of curiosity. 

"I'm good...This is how I usually dress. Not your fault you don't know me well," He wiped the sweat off his forehead and reached for his pockets. Chase watched the two from a distance and smiled in anticipation.

"You know this morning I saw a flower and thoughts it's the most beautiful thing until I met you," he commented and pulled out a lighter.

Taylor found it funny he was using a pickup line and merely laughed it off. 

"No I'm serious! You're very beautiful..." He felt he wasn't convincing enough and struggled to light his cigarette. 

"Well, thank you! I'm flattered..." she smiled and looked at his failed attempt at lighting it for his sweaty fingers didn't co-operate. 

"May I...?" she offered to help, but he refused and kept it on the table in irritation. Neither of them spoke, until the silence became awkward and Taylor made an attempt.

"So what do you do?"

"I..I'm a photographer...I mean I'm still training to ace it..." he replied sheepishly and stared at her. Chase had advised to look deep into her eyes and make her feel like she was the centre of attraction, sadly it made her highly uncomfortable.

Chase noticed how things were getting awkward between the two and laughed from within as Matt made a complete fool of himself before her. Not being able to hold a conversation with her, Matt recalled all the corny pickup lines Chase had infused in his mind.

"Holy s**t!" he screamed all of a sudden and alerted the kids sitting over at the adjacent table.

"What happened?" Taylor was startled and looked around until she spotted Chase looking in Matt's direction.

"Someone spilled gorgeous all over you," Matt replied and smiled creepily.

"Oh...okay. Well I'm not that gorgeous...seems you haven't seen the models on the fashion runway," she looked away and wondered why Matt was behaving strange.

"Nope, you're more gorgeous any day! In fact I'd like to name a multiple orgasm after you," 

Taylor spat the cocktail she just sipped and coughed. She looked at Matt in utter disbelief and studied his expressions. It clearly appeared Matt had no sense what he was blabbering. Annoyed, she decided it was time to burst his bubble and show him the exit, until she glanced at Chase again and found him sniggering like a cunning fox.

No sooner he noticed her looking in his direction, he pretended he was talking to his uncle and looked away. Suspicious, Taylor returned her gaze to Matt and waited for the next cheesy line.

"Oh man, did you sit in a pile of sugar ?Cause you have a pretty sweet...sweet..uh..what was that..."

Matt forgot what followed and felt restless as Taylor stared at him with the least iota of amusement. "Wait a minute...I know this one...it's..." he felt embarrassed and worked up in front of her.

"Ass..."

"Ya that one!....Oh you knew it...I mean its...uh," 

"Yup I've got a sweet ass..." She said it with a straight face and somehow doubted that Chase had a hand in all of this.

"Relax Matt...here have a drink and for God sake take off that heavy coat," she advised and ran her fingers through her hair.

Like an obedient student, Matt wasted no time in heeding her advice and sighed in relief. "Do you like me?" she asked bluntly and surprised him.

Matt was at loss for words and stuttered as he struggled to reply. "I know you do, it's completely fine. You're kind of cute...you didn't have to belt out all those lines from a stupid book," she remarked and glanced at Chase who occasionally looked in their direction.

"I didn't read it from a book..." he paused and seemed pensive.

"Then who made you rehearse all those corny line?"

"Chase did..." he blurted out and looked down awkwardly.

Taylor clenched her fist and controlled her temper, for she had guessed Chase was behind it. By now Taylor realized he wasn't remotely interested in her and was merely having fun at her expense. Things appeared tougher than she had expected. How was she going to entice him back if he had plans of hooking her up with his socially awkward cousin?

"I'm sorry if I offended you in any way...but Chase said girls like these kind of pickup lines...but to be honest I really meant it when I said you're gorgeous," he clarified.

"You know...actually he's right! Girls do like these cheesy kind of stuff," she suddenly smiled and confused him.

"You have any more?" she tilted her head and looked straight into his innocent eyes.

Mat gulped and hesitantly nodded his head. "You sure you'll like it?" he enquired before clearing his throat. Taylor gave him the go ahead sign and quickly glanced at Chase who was now seated at the adjacent table.

"Would you mind giving me a kiss on the cheek , so I can tell my friends I was kissed by a pretty girl?" he said it daringly and wondered what was going on in her mind until she leaned forward, and gently pecked him on the cheek.

Matt's jaw dropped and so did Chase as she pulled back and smiled lovingly at Matt. "You're Cute! I think I would love to know you more," she winked and said it loud so Chase could hear.

Aware of his presence, she walked right past his table and turned around to give a flying kiss. "Good night, Matty...see you tomorrow morning!" she bid him good bye and retired for the night, leaving Matt dazzled and Chase baffled.

"Matty?" He approached Matt with a raised brow.

"Yup, don't be surprised! It is a couple thing?" Matt smirked with confidence and felt on top of the world.

Chase gave him a disapproving look before his phone caught his attention. It was a message from his accountant who texted him that Zac had paid the first instalment as promised. Surprised, he stared at the text and recalled the funeral of his deceased manager. Nobody had found out how he was murdered, and every time he thought about it, he felt disturbed.