THE BILLIONAIRE'S CRYBABY
Chapter 66: A MESSENGER?

Chapter 66: A MESSENGER?

Ace pushed the strange girl away, and rose to his feet. "What do you think you’re doing?" He asked in a cold threatening voice.

"Oops," she covered her mouth and giggled, clearly drunk. "My friends. A dare. But it’s true what they say." She laughed again, and sashayed out of their presence.

"Hey, calm man. Calm." Landon standing up, helped Ace back to his seat.

"This is crazy, man! No one wants to take a fucking hint. Do I need to print an I’m not interested and on my fucking forehead?" He hissed, and dropped to his seat.

Landon leaned to the side on his chair, carefully observing his friend.

"What?" Ace asked when he noticed him staring.

He opened his mouth to answer when the waiter returned with their whiskey.

"I’m so sorry for the delay, sirs. There was a slight holdup at the inventory."

"Just give me that." Ace snatched a bottle out of his hands, while the waiter placed the other bottle on the table.

He excused himself, and walked away.

"I don’t need a glass," Ace said as Landon stretched out a glass to him.

He drank directly from the bottle, scrunching his face as the hotness of the whiskey squeezed his chest.

"Would you like to explain why you keep looking at me like that?" He asked after catching Landon from the corner of his eyes, staring again.

"You’ve always been picky about the women you sleep with, but never had any issue flirting with them. Something about you is different. Perhaps, the wife effect?"

Ace was about to take another swig, when he dropped the bottle on the table, and faced Landon.

"If you’re even remotely suggesting that I’m turning down sex from strange women because I’m married, then you’ve never been more wrong in your entire life."

"Explain your behavior then," an amused grin stretched his mouth.

Ace sighed, as his hands circled the bottle of whiskey. He wanted it close. If he wasn’t drinking it, he wanted to feel it.

"Aunt Celine has gotten even craftier. Any of these women could be from her. I’m not going to make the mistake of falling for their tricks, and risk ruining my plans. Fay is just a means to an end. She’s the bridge between my fortune and me. Naturally, I’ll protect her, but it’s never going to be more than that," he explained.

"So you’re okay with being celibate throughout the duration of your marriage?" He quizzed, his amusement tripling by the second.

He shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly, but deep down, it was a question to ponder on.

At first, he thought it should be pretty easy. Fay wasn’t Reign King. She didn’t project sensuality in the way Reign did.

He had underestimated the power of innocence trapped in a frame like hers.

The next few weeks were going to be interesting to say the least. He already couldn’t get enough of Fay’s lips. Her bare legs had him heating up. If things continued the way it did, he would be mixing business with pleasure.

His number one rule he’d rather not break.

"Why can’t I do it?"

Landon laughed. "Give it up, man. You’re simply not staying a year without sex. I know you, and you know you."

"Why are you talking like I’m some sort of sex freak?" Ace squinted his eyes.

"Because you once told me, ’Landon, when things get blurry, come. I swear to God Lan, you’ll gain clarity,’ remember?" He chuckled.

"I was drunk. We were teens. Do you never forget things?" He snickered, and took a swig from the bottle.

"And now you’re a man who drinks whiskey straight from its bottle without flinching. How far we’ve come."

"Silly!" Ace rolled his eyes, but the corner of his lips twitched.

They had been two naughty kids with a shit ton of money, and a desire to spend it. Nights spent with women old enough to be their mothers. Alcohol, a little drug experiment, but nothing too crazy.

Yeah, they had lived even before they reached the age where those things would be seen as normal.

"I still think you won’t last. The question is who would make you break? My bet is on your wife. There’s something so—"

"Do you like walking around with a jaw, Landon?" His voice was subtle, but the threat was visible.

"Hey, don’t be like that. I’m just saying your wife is hot, okay? We’re men that have eyes. She’s not even flashy and she already looks like a goddess. Imagine if she actually steps into her rich husband, bag. Damn!" He whistled.

Ace had never thought of it that way. Fay was undeniably poor. From the little he knew, she didn’t grow up in the healthiest situation.

Yet, her skin didn’t hold any visible scars. Her hands which worked hard were not strong, rather, soft and delicate.

"Let’s make a bet," he suddenly said.

"Bets with Ace? Should I be scared?" Landon lifted a curious brow.

"You’re the one who has strong opinions about my sex life. If I break it before the one year mark, I’ll give you anything you want. But if I don’t, you’ll give me anything I want. Deal?"

"Wait!" Landon’s eyes narrowed accusingly. "What could you possibly want from me? I know a lot I want from you, but what would you want from me?"

"Why? Are you suddenly scared? If you’re sure I can’t last a year, why not make the bet? Easy victory for you, right?" He smirked.

Landon placed his hand on his chin, and stroked. He wanted to believe in his belief that Ace wouldn’t go a year without doing it.

Fay was too irresistible for that to happen. Sooner or later, he’d want a piece of that.

But there was also the possibility that he’d purposely stay away just to win a bet. Everything was possible where Ace was concerned.

There wasn’t any risk without reward, right? He thought.

"You know what, Ace? I’ll take that bet."

"Don’t go backtracking when I prove you wrong." He warned.

"I’ll be here to tell you I told you so, while collecting whatever I’d want from you."

"That’s settled then." He grinned, and drank from the whiskey.

He was playing with fire. He knew it. His doctor had warned about the fragility of his heart. There was a long history of chronic heart conditions in his ancestry.

It had skipped his father, but killed his grandfather. He was at risk of having it, but he could never drop the alcohol.

When his father died, it became an escape for him. If Landon was wiser, he would have placed the bet on alcohol.

"Do you really plan on announcing the new company soon, Ace?"

"I don’t want to talk about work. All I see is Aunt Celine’s face, and I don’t want such a hideous image in my head."

He could feel the alcohol settling into his system now. With much more stamina than when he was a kid, he could drink a lot without getting drunk. But he had been drinking practically all day.

His eyes went to the window, and it was raining. Somehow, the rain made him think of Fay.

She was an elemental kind of woman. The sun, rain, earth, all resonated with her.

He closed his eyes, as her haunting image consumed his mind. Landon was right. He would never admit it out loud, but he was.

She was simply stunning. It would be a difficult fight, but a fight it must be. And victory was sure for him. He could not let the girl he swore he would never be attracted to, bring him to his knees.

He just couldn’t.

His phone rang, drawing him out of his head. He retrieved it from his pockets, and his eyes flicked a little.

"Who’s that? And why’s your phone that shitty?"

Ignoring Landon, Ace answered the call.

"Hey, grandma."

Usually, he would go to a quieter place to answer, but he was pissed with her. That she’d doubt him for even a second, pissed him off.

"Ace, where are you?" She asked.

"Out."

"Don’t take that tone with me young man."

He rolled his eyes. "What do you want, grandma?" He asked more testily.

She sighed."I want a do over. I want us to have another dinner with your wife."

"Why? So Aunt Celine can bring her Aunt to hound her? Do you know the crazy woman was in the house today, trying to hurt Fay? That’s the kind of family she has. The kind she had to put up with. But I’m not surprised. Considering who we have in ours, it’s safe to say it’s a universal experience."

"Ace! I know you’re pissed, but you absolutely have to be fair. I’m sorry about Fay. Come to dinner tomorrow. The whole family, including my other kids, would be present. You don’t have to deal with Celine if it’s just going to result in a fight."

"I’m not promising anything, but we’ll see how it goes." He ended the call, and rose to his feet.

"Where to, man? Can’t you see it’s raining?"

"Relax, I’ll just use the restroom quickly."

He moved away before he could hear Landon’s rebuttal. As he approached the restroom, the girl from earlier slid through, and came to a halt in front of him.

"Hi baby," she said, and was going to kiss him again, when his hand grabbed the back of her head, and pulled her with him.

"Ouch! You’re hurting me!" She cried as he diverted his steps to the balcony.

There, he let her go.

"Who sent you?" He asked calmly, leaning against the railings.