The Billionaire's Personal Shopper

The Promise

There were no words to describe how awkward our date had become. Mr. Blackwood ruined the perfect date with his stupid words filled with implication. Lucas and I finished our hot drinks and walked back to the car. We weren’t in that mood which was between sugar high and completely zen.

It was an addictive feeling.

Yet when the feeling wore off it felt like I had run a marathon and couldn't catch my breath. We sat in silence, Lucas turning on the radio to break the tension. Once the soft voice of a woman singing about people being lost stars we both settled down.

“Is there history between you two?”

What happened between us was too recent to be called history, yet I didn’t want to talk about it. Lucas was a nice guy but I doubted he wanted to explore things if he knew just how conflicted I was when it came to Mr. Blackwood. I knew very well there was no future between us.

That man was something else.

I don't know why he exchanged girlfriends almost every month and I wasn't sure if I wanted to know. The truth might be so f*****g ugly I could never sleep again. But it was obvious that there was something going on. It was in the way that man said things. I couldn't help but wonder he intentionally said it to ruin my date.

Fucking asshole.

“We have no history.” I answered, “But like I said things between us are weird at the moment.”

“Weird how?”

"Weird as in I witnessed the mess his ex-girlfriend left behind. I got the job to replace the mess. Our communication as always going via email. Then at the launch party, we saw each other in person again. It had been months since we met face to face. We talked. I needed an escape because I hadn't done the public family thing in a while and he needed an escape because people were curious about the next woman he may or may not date."

“I’ve seen theories online.” Lucas admitted, “They are going for that actress who just had her first big role in that action movie. Something about explosions and car chases.”

I laughed, “So basically the average action movie?”

He nodded, “Basically, but I heard she was damn good in it.”

“Did she look hot in a tight dress while escaping the bad guys?”

He grinned at me, “Heard she looked so f*****g hot women turn gay for her.”

I shook my head, grinning from ear to ear. The tension was broken. Whatever Mr. Blackwood tried to do tonight didn’t work. I was glad Lucas was a nice guy. I needed someone like him in my life. As a person who easily got lost Mr. Blackwood was definitely not the safe choice. He’d tear me apart emotionally. Lucas would keep me together. Next time I saw that man I’d give him a piece of my mind. Without trying to dry hump him, of course. That could never happen again.

“So anyway he told me about his night being pretty bad and I tried to cheer him up. I kissed him and left.”

“You kissed him?”

“It wasn’t the best decision I made but it happened. I can’t take it back. He emailed me to let me know we needed to talk. I assumed he wanted to talk about what happened. I prepared a speech about that kiss but when I talked about it he brushed it off. He said you couldn’t even call it a kiss.”

I left out the part where I made out with him in his office and then ran away. That wasn’t supposed to happen. It just felt like Mr. Blackwood challenged me or better yet mocked me and I felt the need to prove him wrong. If he hadn’t said those words surely that little make-out session never would have happened. I blame it all on him and his smug attitude. Me running away said a lot, I thought. If I wanted things to escalate between Mr. Blackwood and me, I would have stayed. I chose Lucas so he didn't need to know about what could have happened.

“I ran away and didn’t look back. You could say things are awkward between us now.”

Lucas glanced at me. His green eyes scanned my face quickly, maybe he was trying to see if I was lying. He didn’t look upset when I met his gaze so I assumed I passed the test. He focused back on the road, his smooth driving was definitely a plus. He knew these streets like the back of his hand. Surely it was due to him driving that fabulous woman around.

“He didn’t sound upset with you.” Lucas told me, “But considering he tried to stir things up between us I’d he was trying to get back at you.”

“I won’t let that slide.” I promised myself more than Lucas, “If he was upset with me or whatever he should have taken it out on me. He shouldn’t have made a comment in that uppity tone of his.”

Lucas grinned, “You’re cute when you’re pissed.”

I glared at him, “I’m not!” I pointed out.

He held his tongue but the words lingered between us. He hadn't changed his mind despite me telling him that I'm not cute when I'm pissed. He changed the station, the one he settled on played more upbeat music. He made me smile by singing along. He was an average singer. Sometimes he sounded pretty good other times he barely passed. It made me smile though. The awkwardness faded away and we both started singing. We sounded pretty decent too. By the time we reached my apartment building, we were laughing and joking around.

Now I was scared.

The fantasy about us getting serious and starting something might not come true. I didn’t want to leave his car because I was afraid the minute I left it things would be over.

Forever.

He placed his hand on my head and gently lowered it, resting his hand on my cheek. It was a soft touch, barely there yet so warm and comfortable. His lips curled up to a smile, a gentle smile. He leaned in and kissed me. The kiss was soft and lasted which felt like an eternity. I never wanted it to end. When he pulled away he brushed his thumb over my cheek. A smile still spread across his face.

“You are going to confront Jacob, right?”

I nodded, “I feel like I should.”

“Then you should do it.” He pulled away from me, “But when you do confront of him you better not kiss him.” I raised an eyebrow at him, “I’d like to think that your kisses are now only for the guy that you are dating.”

I stared at him as I let the words process.

“Official? I asked.

“Official.” He agreed.

I smiled in return, “Then I’ll keep these lips safe.”

He chuckled, “Good, I’ll keep my lips safe too.”

I leaned in pressed a kiss to his cheek and grabbed my bag, “I’ll see you soon?”

“Second official date.” He let me know with an excited look in his eyes.

“Second date.” I agreed.

Leaving the car I walked into my apartment building and headed upstairs. When I was in the safety of my own home I grabbed my phone and called Nick. It was almost midnight but I knew my brother wasn’t asleep yet. I didn’t know how he did it but he always slept around one or two A.M and then he woke up at the crack of dawn to start his day at work. I was pretty sure he was more or less in a coma during his time off to catch up on sleep.

“It’s late.” Nick muttered when he answered, “Or early. Take your pick.”

“Mr. Blackwood almost ruined my date.”

“What?”

“Lucas and I were strolling around after the movies and we ran into Mr. Blackwood. He made a weird comment about Lucas needing to hold onto me. It was the way he said it which could have ruined everything-“

“Did he ruin everything?” Nick asked.

I kicked my shoes off and sat down on the couch, “Well, no.” I shook my head, not that Nick could see me, “We’re now kind of dating I suppose.”

“What?”

That were a lot of whats in one conversation. I smiled at Nick's confusion, maybe he did sleep at a decent time today and I ruined that. I felt guilty but at the same time I couldn't help but laugh. It was hilarious to hear my brother sound like a zombie.

"I'm coming over," Nick announced.

That made me say the magical word, “What?”

"I'm doing it," Nick announced, shuffling was heard in the background which made me get to my feet.

“Nick!”

“You can’t stop me now.”

With that my brother ended the call. I tossed my phone on the coffee table and headed to the bedroom. If there was no stopping Nick now I might as well change into my PJs and wait for him to get here. I was sure my brother had a thing or two to say about my new relationship. Things he couldn’t say over the phone. I needed to get ready for it.

***

Nick didn't lie he came over, I held the door open for him as he made himself comfortable in my living room. I closed the door and put Nick's jacket away. He spotted the overnight bag he took with him. He was going to stay with me for the night. I didn't have a spare room though.

“You can take the bed if you like.”

“This couch is fine.” Nick glanced over his shoulder, “You got some wine?”

“I’ll go grab it.”

I headed to the kitchen, grabbed the bottle of white and two glasses. I sat down beside my brother on the couch, poured us some wine and settled in.

“I don’t want to say this but do you think this is the right time to start a relationship, Nina?” He asked me, getting straight to the point, “Things are weird between Blackwood and you. Aren’t you supposed to figure that out before you commit to something more serious?”

“I did tell Lucas about the launch party.” I told Nick, “But I left out what happened at Mr. Blackwood’s office.”

“Because you know it was wrong but might happen again because there is this weird attraction between you two.”

“I have made up my mind.” I told Nick, sipping my wine, “Nothing will happen between Mr. Blackwood and me, ever again. Lucas makes me laugh, he makes me smile. He also makes me feel comfortable and just really good. I want to hold onto that. Whatever was happening between Mr. Blackwood and me, that’s over.”

Nick’s eyes told me he didn’t believe me. I wouldn’t believe me either. I have proven to myself and Nick that I couldn’t resist that vampire man. There was just something about him which lured me in. I made a promise to Nick though. If I did find myself alone with Mr. Blackwood I just had to remind myself of that promise.

“I hope you’re right about this.” Nick sounded genuine about it, but he still sounded unsure.

We finished our drink together. I headed to my room, grabbed a pillow and blankets for Nick and let my brother settle on the couch. Once he was fine and I switched off the lights and locked up the apartment I headed back to my room and crawled into bed. I had to admit that I felt a lot better with Nick closeby. It was nice to have someone around.

***

Nick was still asleep on my couch. I grabbed my phone to check the time, it was a little over eight. It was nice to have my brother over. We were definitely becoming closer these days, the kind of sibling relationship I had wanted for years. I was glad we got that now. I was about to make myself some coffee when my phone beeped, letting me know I had a message. I turned the coffeemaker on and unlocked my phone to read the message.

Morning Miss Merigold,

Hope you had a great time last night.

I do believe we need to meet up.

Our last meeting got cut short.

Does Monday ten A.M work for you?

I hope to hear from you soon.

Mr. Blackwood

I didn’t respond immediately, you could say I was freaking out. I jogged back to my room, shut the door behind me and crawled back into bed. It was too early for this s**t.