The Billionaire’s Pawn

STRIKER

“What the f-?” I stared at them one by one when the cake arrived. I was surprised that I even forgot my own birthday. I mean, I knew it was my birthday month, but I usually celebrated it with my friends at the bar and a cake with Dad.

“I thought you could celebrate it with us today and tomorrow with your Dad,” Moses said.

I was even more surprised when my friends came to join us. Sax, Kye, Reed, Reef, Cenric, Beck, and Mykel were around. The only person missing was Rome. He was far. I understood why he couldn’t make it.

“Wow. Guys, I don’t know what to say.” I sighed in contentment, and I thought I had gotten teary-eyed.

Emory placed the cake on the table and lit the candle, and they started singing for me.

“Happy birthday, dear Striker. Happy birthday to you.” They ended with applause.

“Make a wish, son,” Dad said.

I drew a deep breath and made a wish internally. I wish eternal happiness, love, and good health to those I care about. Then I blew out the candle.

“Happy birthday, sweetheart.” London smiled before she kissed me on the cheek.

“Thank you, baby.” I looked around. My heart was filled with love from these guys. “Please take a seat before you make me all cry.”

They chuckled and took a seat one by one-the dinner filled with delight and laughter. The tension between me, Moses, and Dad was gone. This was a family dinner, indeed, a special family dinner.

“So, whose idea is this?” I asked, but none of them admitted.NôvelD(ram)a.ôrg owns this content.

“Mine, Striker.” Moses raised his hand. “I had help from your dad.”

“Thank you both. This means everything to me.” I looked at them. “And Moses, I’d officially like to introduce you to the people I care about. These are my friends, my family. And guys, this is Moses, my father.”

They just stared at me in silence with funny looks on their faces, except for Mykel and Linden.

I gave them a questioning look.

“You’re serious,” Sax said. “I mean, when I got here, I thought something big was going on, and the last time we celebrated your birthday was in the pub in Winterbourn. But I now see the resemblance. Is he really your- you know?”

“Long story short, but yes. He’s my biological father.”

“Oh,” Kye reacted first. “Sir, nice to meet you,” he said warily before everyone followed.

“Now, let’s have dinner.” Dad seemed to enjoy sitting around with everyone.

“Sir, I apologize for the interruption, but someone wants to talk to you.” Emory came with an iPad in his hand. He then pressed the button.

The face of Princess Carlott with Prince Caeden came to the screen first. “Hey, Striker.”

“Your Highness?” My eyes widened as I watched Rome join them on the couch.

“Hey, Cade.” Rome waved his hand. “Happy birthday!” they chorused.

“Caed says happy birthday, SC.” Princess Carlott held the little Prince’s hand.

“Thank you, guys. Your Highness.”

“And from the Royal family and my family here, congratulations. I’m happy for you. We are happy for you.”

“Thank you, Princess.”

“You have everything, Cade. Treasure them, and always follow your heart. It can’t go wrong. I may not be with you, but you will always be my brother. Happy birthday, man.”

“Thank you, Langston.”

“I won’t take much of your time. I know you are celebrating with your family. Enjoy your day. Say hi to everyone.”

“They’re listening.”

“Bye, birthday boy.”

“Bye.” I waved my hand. Then the video call ended.

I sighed as Emory left. I faced the table again. I felt lucky to have met such incredible people. I was surrounded by my friends and the people I loved. I met my father, and we started to get along. What could I ask for more? I had a woman beside me who meant a lot to me. “I’m immensely grateful.”

“Are you okay, son?” Dad asked.

“I am.” I was speechless. I seemed to have lost words. “I am extremely happy.”

I heard my two old men sigh.

The dinner went well and was delightful.

“You’ve never been this speechless, brother,” Cenric said.

“Yeah, I guess. I never had.” I laughed softly. “Seeing you all here for me, I’m overwhelmed with the love and support.”

“That’s real happiness. You don’t have to say anything. You just feel it,” Beck spoke out.

“I can’t wait for another celebration.”

I smiled at Reef.

“From my family, happy birthday, Cade,” Mykel said.

“Thank you. Well, since you are all here.” I looked at London, and she smiled at me. “I’m taking this opportunity to invite you all to our wedding this Saturday at Beck’s farm. We have decided to have a micro intimate wedding. Just be there. You don’t need to bring anything.” I turned to my Dad and Moses. “And no wedding is going to happen without you both. So be there, please?”

“Are you kidding us? This is our son’s special day. We’ll be there, Striker.” Moses affirmed.

After dinner, Cenric and Mykel left early. The rest stayed. We gathered in the backyard that could fit football fields. Moses and Dad began playing golf.

“How does it feel watching them get along?”

I turned my head at Sax. “They talked since before. It was just me who wasn’t ready to face Moses.”

“So you’re extremely fucking rich.”

“No.” I shook my head. “His wealth is not mine. I won’t be turning into one of those nepo kids. I work to get what I want. I will work hard to get to the top.”

“So you think I’m a nepo kid, too?”

I turned my head to my right. “Baby, you have real talent. You earned that degree. You’ve repeatedly proven that you don’t need a Vanderford attached to your name to earn people’s respect. I don’t see nepotism when you have created your own brand from scratch.”

“He’s right, sweetheart.” Linden stood up. “I’m going to take this opportunity to ride one of these carts. Beck, come with me.”

“I’m going too,” Reef seconded.

London chuckled. “Reed, this is Cade’s birthday. Loosen up and get some drinks or go play football.” Just as London finished talking, the lights in the backyard lit on, reminding me of a football match-the real football. “You don’t have to sit with me, Cade. Go and have fun with your friends.”

“I can’t play in this.” My excuse was to sit with her. I looked at my outfit.

“That won’t stop you from having fun.”

“I wanna be with you, baby. This is me having fun. Suck it up. And besides, I’m still living this moment.”

She playfully hit me on my thigh. We watched them play golf for a while in silence.

“What other surprises you have on your sleeves, Vanderford?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Cade.” She leaned in, resting her head on my shoulder. “So, we’re getting married, huh?”

“Unless you will change your mind before Saturday.”

“Suck it up.” She gave my word back. “I’m gonna be your wife on Saturday.”

“I can’t wait.” I looked down at her, and she lifted her gaze, meeting mine.

We stared at each other for a while until I leaned toward to kiss her. She sighed as her lips brushed against mine. Our kiss was light and slow, just what I wanted, a feather-light kiss, no dick coming our way or grip-filled lust, just pure gentleness. Completely wonderful.

My heart beat steady thumps.

I touched her cheek and kissed her one more time. We straightened in our seats as we watched the guys playing.

“How many rooms are there?”

“Wanna get one?” I smirked.

“I wasn’t thinking about that when I asked.”

“Thinking about what exactly, baby?” I teased her.

She paused for a moment. “Oh.”

I chuckled as I teased her further. “We can stay if you want to.”

“He didn’t invite us, Cade.”

“But if he will?”

“Do you wanna stay?” She looked at me with interest.

“Not a bad idea. I mean, we could use a room.”

She laughed out loud, covering her mouth instantly with her hand. A rosy blush blossomed on her cheek.

“Did you just think something naughty, Vanderford?”

“I wasn’t. It’s just we never spent a night in the hotel room.”

“Is it on your bucket list? We’re gonna have a suite to ourselves on our wedding night.”

“No. After our wedding, where are we planning to go?”

“That’s a surprise.”

“Should I bring my passport with me?”

I smirked. “Keep it with you in case we need it.” We definitely needed it.

“Alright.” She held my wrist. “You should tell me, so I will have ideas on what to put in my suitcase.”

“I’ll take care of that. Don’t worry. I’ll take care of you, baby.”

London rose to her feet.

Emory appeared at the same time. “Sir, I’ve prepared a room for you if you decide to stay, and of course, your friends are welcome.”

“Does my- Moses know?”

“Yes, sir. He has the helpers readied rooms for everyone.”

“Okay, Emory. Thanks for letting me know.”

“Your room is on the third floor, the last door to the right.”

“And her room?”

Emory looked confused.

“I’m messing with you, Emory.” I shook to laugh. “Thank you.”

“That’s what I thought, sir. You and Miss Vanderford will share the room.”

“Moses doesn’t have a problem with that, does he?”

“No, sir.”

“Good.”

We went up. This time we used the elevator.

“I like this house, big but welcoming. You feel uneasiness when you enter a house sometimes?”

“Yeah.” I wrapped my arm around her, but I noticed a camera inside. “Moses is paranoid.”

“What made you say that?”

I pointed to the camera in the elevator.

“Understandable, considering he’s one of the richest men on earth.”

We entered the room. The double king-size four-poster well-made bed in beige velvet matched the bench at the bottom.

“Well, we had a long day,” London announced, kicking off her shoes before she went and threw herself in bed.

I followed her as I took off my jacket. “It was fun.”

She grabbed me in the tie as I crawled to bed with her. “We could have more fun. What do you say, fiance?”

“I was thinking the same thing.” I smashed my mouth against her in a brutally hard and possessive kiss. The first time I saw her wearing the emerald dress, I wanted to rip it off her body and fuck her, but I gathered all my strength because we were both invested in this dinner. But right now, there was no stopping me from doing what I wanted to do hours ago.

Our kiss turned demanding, coaxing, and rough. And I craved for her for hours. My erection pressed against her lower belly, and my hand zipped down her dress, the other kneading her tit. She was also busy loosening my tie and unbuttoning my shirt.

I broke the kiss, panting. “Our clothes are getting in the middle, and I didn’t like them very much.” I rose to my feet, fumbling to get rid of my clothes. She did the same with a broad smile on her face.

“Why are you smiling?”

“Why are we in a rush when we have all the time in the world?”

“Because I wanted to fuck you the moment you wore that dress. It took every strength I had to play cool when all I could think was rip that thing off you.”

“Okay. You don’t have to rip this off.” She showed me the dress in her hand before dramatically dropping it to the floor. She was now wearing black lace strapless bra and tiny lace panties.

“For the love of- Fuck. Me.” I stared at her just like the first time I saw her naked in my bed. She looked incredibly hot, beautiful, and sexy.

“Are you just gonna stare at me?” She gestured her finger to call me.

“God, baby.” I found my hand around my dick, stroking it. “You’re fucking hot.”

“This fucking hot can change her mind in five seconds if I won’t see you in bed, kissing me.”

Before she could finish her words, I was already in bed, on top of her.

“It’s past midnight. Happy birthday, sweetheart.”

Ten seconds later, I was inside her, groaning in ecstasy.

Definitely the best birthday ever.