The Billionaire’s Pawn

LONDON

I was furious at Dad. He was always one step ahead of me. He did not even ask my permission to announce my relationship to his millions of followers on Twitter. Why did he have to do that before I could?

I mean, yeah, he was my father, the billionaire, investor, philanthropist, capitalist, the chairman of the Vanderford Group, compared to me, just the daughter. I wouldn’t even have a job and a clothing line in my name if it was not because of him and his influence.

Then my day turned out to be great. I just got engaged. I still couldn’t believe it was happening. I should have been terrified by the drastic change in my life, but I was inwardly giggling. And my ring was gorgeous. If I were to choose my own engagement ring, without a doubt, I would choose this one-a four-carat radiant cut with blue diamond side stones which fit perfectly.

Right now, I was starving, and we just got down to the lobby for the late lunch. Earlier, Striker patiently awaited me and did another design-a dress. He had an incredible talent, but the downside was he didn’t want to work for me, which was a bummer.

The elevator door slid open, and we almost bumped into Magnus.

“Wow. So it’s true then,” he said, mocking me with his disgust and arrogant look that made me want to punch his face. “Your bodyguard? Seriously, I am surprised that you actually have terrible taste in men. I mean, why him?”Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!

Despite Magnus being egotistic and belittling my fiance, I heard nothing from Striker, and this was what I liked about him. He remained calm beside me and just stuffed his hands in his pockets.

“What do you want, Magnus?”

“You broke up with me for him.” He pointed at Striker.

“If I remember right, you left, and the next thing I knew, you went to the club and posted something on your Instagram instead of coming and talking to me like a man. And what were you expecting? Me crawling back in your arms? Well, let me tell you this. I would still choose him over you.”

“Can he ever provide your tasteful luxury? I mean, you’re a CEO, and he’s what?”

“An idealistic and loyal man. His job is honorable, and it doesn’t matter if he sweeps the street. That’s still a job. Why are you really here, Magnus?” I didn’t know why I still wasted my time explaining to him. I guessed I needed closure.

He shook his head in disappointment. “I can’t fucking believe this.”

“You should leave, Tucker,” Striker said calmly.

“Now he talks. London deserves better than you.”

I rolled my eyes. Even if it were the end of the world, we would never get back together. I realized now why Dad never liked him. He was a major dick, controlling, and egotistic.

“I couldn’t agree more. She certainly deserves better than us.”

“Who do you think you are?”

“My son is the one you are belittling, young man. You should leave them alone and move on.”

My face lit up to see Tate walking in our direction.

“Now, even better. Your son? You’re gay. A gay father.” He laughed out loud and poked fun at Tate.

“That’s enough, Tucker.” Striker’s voice just boomed in the lobby. “You can insult me all you want, but I would never let you do that to my dad. You should leave.” Magnus just pissed him. If Striker wanted to punch Magnus, I would never stop him because he just went a little too far.

“Homophobic much? Go ahead, insult me. At least I raised my son to have humility, to be respectful and humble.” He then faced us, smiling from ear to ear. “Congratulations!” He pulled me into a hug. “Welcome to the family, and I can’t wait to be your father-in-law, dear London.”

When I hugged Tate back, Magnus just noticed the ring on my finger, and I bet he couldn’t even afford to give me an engagement ring like this. When I pulled away, Tate hugged and congratulated his son, and Magnus was nowhere to be found-that served him right.

“What are you doing here, Dad?”

Tate was still wearing that proud smile. “To congratulate both of you. Going somewhere?”

“We were supposed to have late lunch when that asshole interrupted us,” Striker replied.

“Go. Go ahead.”

“Now that you’re here, please join us, Tate.”

“Oh, no, dear. I’m not going to be the third wheel. Go, and enjoy your lunch.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.” Tate looked at his son with so much pride. “I’m happy and proud of you.”

“I love you, Dad.”

“I love you, my boy.”

Once we were in the car, Striker went silent.

“Where’s the Bond car?” I knew he was still upset with the unwanted intrusion done by Magnus. I wanted to lessen the silence and tension.

“At home.”

“So you just drove that to impress me?”

“Are you?” The humor in his voice was audible. Glad that jerk didn’t ruin his mood.

“Kind of.”

When he sighed, that was the time that I realized he knew how to hide his emotion.

“I’m sorry.”

He looked at me for a second. “What for? Your ex? You don’t have to apologize, Vanderford. It’s not your fault. If you were not there, I would have broken his face. He could insult me, but not my dad. That’s below the belt.”

“That’s what I was sorry for.”

“Don’t apologize for others’ behavior. He’s your ex and shouldn’t have come to you.”

“I’m gonna inform the security to restrict him from entering the premises.”

“I’ll update Reed.”

“Thanks.”

“Anytime.”

This guy loved good food. He chose the Michelin-star restaurant. Just the omelet this morning was terrific.

“You have a reservation?”

“No, but I happen to know the owner.”

“Really?” I held the hand he offered. Now we were like a real couple. My heart just skipped a bit, and I felt butterflies in my stomach.

“Yup.” We went upstairs, and a beautiful woman in her fifties welcomed us.

“Oh, honey. When you called, I jumped with joy. Literally.” She had the most brilliant smile.

“Hello, Celeste. Thanks for giving us a table on such short notice.” He kissed her on the cheek.

“You’re a family, honey. And I couldn’t wait to tell Rome about this.” She turned her attention to me. “Hi, dear. You must be London.”

“Yes, I am.” We kissed on the cheek.

“He’s a good man. Don’t break his heart.”

“I won’t.” I smiled.

“Good. Well, take a seat. The wine is on the house. And just a little trivia. This is the table where my son first brought the woman, now his wife.” She meaningfully smiled before walking away.

“Wew. No pressure.”

While we were waiting for our order, we had white wine.

“I’m gonna be working with Dad as Product Design Director.”

“Really? Congratulations! When are you gonna start?” I was holding his hands as I beamed at him. I was happy for him because he had an amazing talent and would be a good and passionate director.

“Thank you. I haven’t told Dad that I’m accepting the position.”

I took my glass. “To the new director.”

We sipped wine, and our meal arrived. The presentation alone looked gorgeous and Instagram-able.

“Would you take the position if your dad resigns?”

“If I have no choice, yes.”

“Thanks for the honesty.”

“I will always be honest with you. What’s your dream job?”

“Not a dream job anymore. I always want to design my own dress.”

“Do you wanna design your own wedding dress?” His question made me stop.

“No.” I shook my head. “I don’t think I wanna do it. I might share some ideas, but that’s the only thing I wouldn’t do.”

“I think it would be great, Vanderford, but it’s your dress, and you can pick the designer.”

“I love the ring.” I couldn’t help but smile as I showed it to him. “It’s beautiful. And the blue stones, the color of your eyes.”

“I know it would look great on your finger.” He held my hand and planted it on his lips. “That’s the story behind it.”

After our late lunch, he sent me back to my office. I worked the whole time. I stayed for a while to finalize the final dress design. I was on the last piece when Neke left.

Later on, Reed knocked and came to my office.

“London, are you ready?” He wasn’t comfortable calling me by my name, but I insisted. Reed was like the big brother I never had, just like Linden, who called me sweetheart.

When I checked my watch, it was late. “Oh, my God.”

“I came when I couldn’t reach your number.”

“Oh, no. I think I forgot to charge it.” I checked my phone, and I was right. The battery was drained. I got to my feet and gathered my things.

“I think so. Your father and Mr. Cade just called me asking about you.”

“What did they say?”

“Your father was just checking on you, and Mr. Cade-”

“Stop with Mr. Cade. I heard you called each other by Reed and Cade.”

“He’s your fiance now, London.”

“Just Cade. What did he say?”

“He asked me to check on you when he couldn’t reach you.”

We went to the elevator, and I asked if I could borrow his phone. I re-dial Striker’s number.

“Reed?” He picked up right away.

“It’s Ezekiala,” I joked.

“Why I couldn’t reach your number, Vanderford?” He sounded annoyed.

“I was caught up with work and forgot to charge my phone.”

“You made me worried.”

“Magnus can’t come to the building if you’re worried about that. Should I buy another phone just for you?” The last sentence came a little bit harsh and sarcastic. Okay, my reply was filled with sarcasm.

I heard him breathe deeply from the other line. “Can I speak with Reed?”

“About? You can tell me, and I will relay your message.”

“Tell him to drive you to my house.”

“I’m tired, Cade. I wanna go home and soak in the tub.”

“You can soak here.”

“No. I wanna stay at home tonight.”

“Fine. As you like.”

“Thank you.” I hang up the call.

When I got in the car, my stomach twisted. I felt terrible. He was checking on me, and he just invited me to stay at his house, and I turned him down.

Reed somehow noticed it. He looked at me through the rearview once and a while. Maybe I looked guilty.

“Can you send me to Cade?”

“Of course.”

An hour later, Reef opened the door for me. “Good evening, London.”

“Good evening. Is he here?”

“Yes, ma’am. In his office. At the end corner.”

“I’m gonna go check on him.”

“Let me know if you need anything.”

“Thanks.” I went directly to the door at the corner and knocked.

“Come in.”

I entered his office in a somewhat awkward manner because I felt awful. “Hi.”

He stopped whatever he was doing on the iPad. “Hey. I thought you wanna go home.” He rose from the chair and walked in my direction.

I met him in the middle and hugged him. “Sorry about earlier.”

“It’s alright. It had been a long day.”

“I was still bitchy.”

He didn’t seem to care. He was even smiling. “I was preparing dinner.”

Now I wanted to cry. I covered my face with my hand. “Oh, my God.”

He cupped my face and kissed me on my forehead. “It’s on me. I should have told you earlier. I just wanted to surprise you. I realized that it was a bad idea.” Despite my behavior, he was so considerate and still managed to smile. I didn’t know if I deserved him.

I was grateful. God, I was beginning to fall for this man.

“I’m so sorry. I’m actually starving. Do you still have leftovers?”

He took my bag. “Let’s go to the dining, and then you can soak in the bathtub later.”

“Thank you.”