The Billionaire's Rumor

Chapter 3: A Billionaire

Most men were proud of their sons who participated in sports; but for Levi, he was under the successful business category. His father took pride and joy in his son taking over the family business. Bennett was the name; Real Estate was the game. Specifically in the swanky parts of LA; Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, selling mansions to celebrities and high-end people. Roger Bennett was the man they all called when purchasing a home and now the day the torch would be passed onto Levi was getting closer and closer.

From the day Levi was born, his life was planned out for him. It seemed perfect to his father, but for Levi, he didn't like it. Sure, after college the real estate bug bit him and he truly enjoyed it. That made it easier to prepare to take over the family business when Roger retired. Levi was set up to become the wealthiest man in LA, but everything came at a price, no matter how much money you had, the prices didn't always take from the wallet.

The phone rang in Levi's pocket after his early morning run and after he had seen the newsstands, he didn't have to look at his phone to know it was his father. “Hello, Dad."

“Don't hello me Levi, come to my office as soon as possible."

“My sweaty ass and all?"

“Watch your mouth, son. Just get here."

Levi hung up and ran home to take a quick shower and put on some casual clothes. He slid into his Porsche and peeled down the road to the mansion he grew up in. He stepped into the house and knocked on the door to Roger's office.

“Come in," responded a gruff tone. Levi walked in to see Roger sitting in his seat, the morning paper in front of him. “Sit down."

Levi nodded and plopped in the chair across from his father. “Who pissed in your Wheaties?"

Roger slammed his fist on the paper and shoved it toward his son. “What is this?"

He looked at the picture and intentionally furrowed his brows and rubbed the five-o'clock shadow on his chin to look as though he was really trying to figure out what the picture was. “That's me, with a pretty girl."

Roger rolled his eyes, “Don't be a smart*ss, boy. Tell me what this is, are you seeing that woman? What has the tabloids going so crazy?"

Levi heaved a sigh and leaned back in the chair. “No, yesterday when I was doing the shoot for the magazine, there was a woman on the beach. Where she sat had an incredible view and my manager wanted to get some pictures there. I figured walking the girl home was the least I could do."

“This picture looks like you're about to kiss her."

“Well, I wanted to." Levi smirked. He wished he could say that was a lie, but the woman truly was a special kind of beautiful that he felt drawn to.

Roger's jaw dropped and his face was slightly drained of color. “D*mnit son! Do you know how much damage control I have had to do since every paper and tabloid magazine in LA are printing this picture and telling God and everyone that Levi Bennett has a secret mistress?"

“You know they're full of sh*t, dad. Calm down, all I did was help her get some sand out of her hair."

“You can't be doing things like this. You have a responsibility and if you don't hold up your end, we could lose everything."

“Who says I'm not holding up my end?"

“Every paper and tabloid magazine in LA right now."

“As I said, they're full of s**t. They'll take something as simple as me scraping dirt off my shoe and make a story out of it. I promise you; this was nothing. I don't even remember her name."

“You best start minding who you bring yourself around."

Levi felt his muscles tense with anger. He didn't even want this arrangement. Now he had to watch what he did around people? “Suppose I don't want to hold up my end."

“We've been through this; it was set in stone on your eighth birthday. You will marry that girl, you signed the dotted line."

Levi slammed his fist on the desk, “I was eight-years-old! I thought she was cute. I thought marrying her would mean we eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and color together. It was your problem that you put such a heavy contract on an eight-year-old, not mine."

Roger didn't even flinch at his son's reaction, “You're old enough to make choices at that age. I held you to it. You consented. That was on you."

“Yeah? Well s**t happens, dad. I changed my mind a long time ago."

“You don't get to do that."

“I don't love her."

“You think it's always about love? You think loving someone you marry should be enough? I made an arrangement to set you up for life. Don't piss this away."

Levi sat there silently a long moment. He was always a bit of a rebel. Maybe that's why he walked that woman home yesterday. What was her name again? It didn't matter anyway. He knew it would cause a stir and that was exactly what he wanted. How could a man who supposedly loved his son have him sign an agreement to marry a girl at such a young age? The only thing that he had in common with his dad is the love of selling homes. The money was a perk. Not many get to swipe their credit card and not think twice about it. He grew up privileged and he knew that.

It was as though there was nothing more to life than money. As much as he enjoyed his luxurious life, what was money worth if he couldn't be truly happy? Amanda Langley was cute when they were eight, but the fame and fortune got to her head. Bullying people beneath her wasn't attractive. At least not to Levi. He'd been wanting a way out of the arrangement for a while. He loved the business and the money, but he wanted a woman by his side that could be a partner. Not some selfish b*tch who just wanted to spend it. There were better things to do with money that not many possessed than buying designer bags and shoes.

He looked up at his father, those stern blue eyes still angry with him. “Can I get a copy of the document?"

“Why do you need a copy of the document?"

“To keep me in line, I guess."

Roger printed a copy of the document that baby Levi signed and gave it to him. Levi spent the night going through the five pages, single spaced, of everything the contract ordered with a fine-toothed comb. He came across a couple of sentences that gave him some hope.

It was then, Levi knew what to do and the next day, her name came to him, and he did a bit of research and waltzed into Sweet Pastries.

Felicity looked surprised by his presence as he approached the counter with a charming smile on his face. “I would like to ask you out on a date."