Bet On It: An Age Gap Billionaire Office Romance(62)

Pierce shook his head. "I’ve got my plate full coaching this bunch of assholes. I'm not going to coach—"

"You don't have to coach. We’ll hire a coach. Or maybe I'll do it."

Pierce looked at me like I'd grown horns on my head. "Just like that? What about your company?"

I shrugged. "I'll find someone else to run it."

And then it struck like lightning that this was the answer. Granted, I'd still own the company, which technically made Analyn my employee, but if I wasn't there on the day-to-day, surely, that would help reduce the idea that she’d fucked her way into the job. Or maybe not. Either way, the idea of doing something different lit a fire inside me. I wondered if there was any conflict of interest for Pierce in owning the minor league team while coaching the major league one.

"What about Paradise Limited?" he asked.

"You mean could I sell it to them? That's not happening. No, I'm going to deal with them and get them out of my life and my company for good."

"How are you going to do that without you or someone you care about ending up at the bottom of Lake Mead?"

"I'll find a way." All of a sudden, I felt a new lift in my spirits that I hadn’t felt since the first time I met Analyn. I was going to take this newfound energy and put everything in my life right. I’d get rid of Paradise Limited, and I would win Analyn's heart. You could bet on it.





32





Analyn





My job, at least with my team and department, was the best thing I had going for me right now. I'd like to say that Reed was too, but our relationship was up in the air. I wanted desperately to take what he was offering, but I just found it too difficult to sacrifice my integrity. What if it didn't work out?

I drove home feeling good about my work, but as I walked in the front door, I was faced with the new mess of my life. My friendship with Betts. I had no clue how she was going to be since I walked out last night.

I walked through the door. "Betts? Are you home?"

There was no response, but I heard movement in the kitchen. I took the shortcut from the door to the kitchen, the one I’d escaped through the night before.

"Betts?"

She had her back to me, pouring macaroni and cheese from a pot into a bowl. She set the pot back on the stove, picked up the bowl, and got a spoon from the drawer. She headed out the other side of the kitchen into the living room.

My heart dropped. She believed Paul and not me, hence the silent treatment. I blew out a breath and retreated to my bedroom. I’d showered at the hotel, but I’d had to wear the same clothes as I had yesterday, so I wanted to change. I put on a pair of sweatpants and an old college sweatshirt.

I took a moment to look at myself in the mirror, giving myself a pep talk. I needed to talk to her. I did it this morning with Reed. I could do it now too.

I walked back into the living room and sat on the overstuffed chair across from the couch where Betts sat watching something on her tablet.

"We need to talk."

"About what?" She kept her gaze on the tablet as she ate her macaroni and cheese.

"Don't be like this, Betts. You know what we need to talk about."

She lifted her gaze at me, and in her eyes I saw anger mixed with despair. "I figured the way you left last night that you were the one who was lying. Paul says you were the one hitting on him."

God, it was even worse than I thought. I should've stayed and stood my ground. But there was no going back, so I needed to make the most of this moment.

"I would never do that, Betts. You know that."

She arched a brow in challenge. "And he says he'd never cheat."

"Well, he's a liar."

"He says you are too. He says you propositioned him."

I shook my head. "Gag."

Her eyes narrowed, becoming even more incensed. "What does that mean?"

I looked her straight in the eyes, hating that I was going to have to hurt her, hating that it was very likely our friendship was over. But she needed to hear it all.

“Paul makes me sick. The night of your engagement, when you went out to get more champagne, he cornered me in the kitchen. He rubbed all over me, telling me how much I would really enjoy being with him. He basically said the same thing the other night, and when I went to get away, he grabbed my ass. He grabbed me and pulled me to him. There isn't enough soap in the world to get him off me."

She stared at me, eyes wide in surprise. But in a blink, she returned to being skeptical of me. "If that's true, why didn't you tell me?"

I sighed as I sat back in the chair. "I wanted to. I started to so many times. But you were so happy, and I couldn't find it in my heart to take that away."

Her jaw tightened. "So you would let me marry someone who tried to hit on you?"

I shook my head. "No. I would've told you. Like I said, I started to, but then we’d get interrupted. Look, I know it's my word against his, but I have no reason to lie to you about this, Betts. Remember how happy I was for you when you told me about you and Paul getting back together? I helped you get dressed the night he was going to propose."

The tension in her body lessened some, but she still wasn't convinced. "Maybe you got jealous after that."