Romance: The Billionaire's Choice - Contemporary Romance (Romance, Contemporary Romance Book 1) (6 page)

Isabel jumped as she heard the door close behind her.

“Hello there, gorgeous,” Cara said as she walked into the design studio.

“Oh, hi,” Isabel replied without turning around.

“Are you busy?” she asked.

“I’m just going over some designs,” she said as she stared forward at her computer.

Cara nodded. “I brought some coffee,” she said. “And I grabbed the mail on my way up.”

“Thanks,” Isabel said as she turned around and grabbed the coffee.

“Wow, look at you,” she said. “Your eyes are glowing red. You need to get away from the computer for a while.”

“Yeah, I suppose,” Isabel replied. “I think that I just need to put my glasses on for a bit.”

Cara nodded as she set a stack of envelopes down on Isabel’s desk.

Isabel reached forward and picked up the mail. “Maybe one of the Chinese restaurants sent us coupons. I could really go for some takeout tonight,” she said.

“Oh, definitely,” Cara replied. “That sounds really good.”

Isabel smiled tiredly as she flipped through the envelopes. “How is it even possible for us to get this many bills?” she asked.

Cara chuckled. “I think it’s because we aren’t paying all of them. They like to remind us that they exist,” she said.

Isabel smiled and nodded. “Ooh la la,” she said as she pulled out a thick linen envelope. “It looks like we have gotten a fancy invite.”

“It is probably from Vogue. They are desperate for us to come down to their office,” she replied.

“I don’t know about that,” she said. “I think they just message you online these days. Linen envelopes seem to be a thing of the past.”

Cara smiled and shrugged.

Isabel ripped open the envelope quickly and unfolded the invitation. Her face fell.

“What’s up?” Cara asked. “Has someone invited you to a funeral?”

She shook her head and didn’t reply. They sat in silence for a moment. Isabel stared down at the thick linen piece of paper in her hands.

“Are you alright?” Cara asked.

“Yeah,” she said quietly as she closed the invitation.

Cara twisted her face. “No,” she said. “You don’t seem fine. Come on. What was inside of the envelope?”

“It was an invitation to a gala,” she replied.

“Alright. Then why are you acting like someone died?” she asked.

“It’s from Andrew,” Isabel said.

Cara sighed and closed her eyes for a moment. She looked over at her friend and said nothing.

“Are you okay?” Cara asked finally.

“Yeah. I am fine,” Isabel said quietly.

“Well, you know, you don’t have to go,” she said.

Isabel nodded. “Yeah, I know,” she said.

“So, what is it that he invited you to?” she asked.

“It’s a charity event for orphans,” she replied. “It is supposed to benefit that new charity that he started working for a few months back.”

“Oh, well, that’s nice. He was really excited about that so it’s good to hear that he is making some process,” Cara said.

Isabel shrugged. “I am glad to hear about his great career. I am sure that his gorgeous girlfriend is thrilled to have such an amazing guy,” she said.

Cara scowled. “Are you still on about that?” she asked.

“No,” Isabel replied.

“Oh really?” she asked. “Because you seem pretty upset about it.”

“No, I’m really not,” she said. “Like I told you before, I am just a little annoyed that he moved on so quickly. He made it sound like he wasn’t interested in dating anyone then the next thing I know he is out with this woman.”

“But you have no idea what is going on between them. You don’t know what he is up to or who he is dating,” she said.

Isabel shrugged. “I suppose,” she said.

“And you shouldn’t be wasting your time thinking about it,” Cara said as she walked over to her.

“I’m not,” she said as she looked up from the invitation. “I am over it. It’s not even a big deal.”

“Good,” she replied.

Isabel nodded.

“Alright, it’s back to work for me then,” Cara said.

Isabel turned away and looked back at her computer while Cara walked across the room to her desk.

“But I do think that I’ll go,” Isabel said.

“Huh?” Cara shouted from across the room.

“I am going to go to the gala,” she replied. “I think it sound fun.”

Cara stood up and walked back over to Isabel’s desk. “Are you just trying to make yourself miserable?” she asked.

“No, not at all,” Isabel replied. “I do think it would be fun. I know that I probably overreacted a couple of weeks ago when I saw him out at the coffee.”

“Indeed you did,” Cara said. “And you were upset for quite a while after that.”

She shrugged.

“And then you seemed upset again just now when you opened that envelope and saw the invitation from Andrew,” Cara continued.

“Well, I wasn’t exactly upset,” Isabel said. “I was just surprised more so.”

“Why?” she asked.

“I guess I had just thought that he would have gotten in touch with me after the whole coffee shop incident,” she said. “And then when I didn’t hear from him I suppose I just thought that maybe he had written me off.”

“Why would you have thought that?” Cara asked. “I know that things have changed in a pretty major way between you two but why do you think that he would have just stopped speaking to you forever? You have known each other your entire lives.”

“If he wanted to see me clearly he could have called me. Frankly, I find this a bit odd. What is the point of inviting me to this through a formal invitation?” she asked.

“I have no idea really,” she replied. “Maybe he is just busy. It’s hard to say. He has been being so strange lately.”

Isabel nodded. “I used to feel like I knew him so well,” she said. “Now every single thing is just a mystery.”

“So, you are really going to go?” she asked.

“Yeah, I am,” Isabel replied. “And you should come with me.”

“Oh, no. This whole thing sounds like it will be one big dramatic mess,” Cara said.

“No, it won’t. I can promise you that. It will be a chance for me to finally get some closure. On top of it all, it’s a masquerade ball. You love masquerades. We’ll have a great time,” she said.

“It’s going to be a huge event and Andrew will be incredibly busy,” she replied. “Who knows if you will even get to see him? It’s going to be packed and it’s a business event for him so surely he will need to talk to his colleagues. He might not even have time for us.”

“Well, there is only one way to find out,” Isabel said.

Cara sighed. “Are we just going so that you can see how much effort he puts into talking to you?” she asked.

“No, of course not,” Isabel replied. “We are going to go there to have a good time and see an old friend.”

Cara shook her head. “I have some serious doubts about how fun this will actually be,” she said flatly.

Andrew sighed. “I hate it,” he muttered.

He turned around and looked at his neighbors. David and Beth were sitting next to each other on the wide leather couch in Andrew’s hotel room.

“You look great,” Beth said.

They sat in silence as Andrew stared into the mirror.

Beth looked over at her husband. He shrugged. She kicked his foot.

“Yeah, I agree,” David said as he looked over at his wife. “Come on, man, it’s a masquerade ball. You look exactly how one should look at a masquerade ball.”

Andrew shook his head as he pulled at his tux.

“What’s up?” Beth asked. “Don’t you like the mask?”

He shook her head. “I don’t know,” he replied.

David sighed. “Hell, Andy, you are acting like a teenage girl before her prom night,” he said. “What’s going on with you?”

“Do you want us to grab another mask?” Beth asked. “There are a ton of them downstairs in the lobby. They are spares but they are quite elegant.”

Andrew shook his head. “No, it’s fine,” he replied.

Beth and David exchanged a glance.

“When is Katy going to get here?” she asked.

“I don’t know,” Andrew said. “I haven’t talked to her today.”

“Oh,” she said quietly. “Is everything okay between you two? You haven’t mentioned her much lately.”

“She’s fine,” he replied. “We have just both been busy.”

Beth nodded. “Good. I am looking forward to seeing her,” she said.

Andrew looked away from the mirror. He slowly walked over and sat down in the lounge chair next to Beth and David.

“Honestly, I am just looking forward to having tonight over with,” he said as he plopped down into the chair.

David scrunched up his face. “Oh, really?” he asked. “I am a little surprised to hear that. I thought you had been looking forward to tonight.”

“Yeah, me too,” Beth said. “What are you worried about? Everything looks great downstairs. There were already photographers lined up outside earlier this afternoon. It’s going to be a massive event.”

Andrew shrugged.

“Don’t even worry about it,” David said. “You have all of the hard work done at this point. All you need to do now is just get down there, make some chit chat and have a few hors d'oeuvres. The night will be over in no time. Just try to relax.”

“Yeah, Andy. It’s not like you to be so nervous,”  Beth said. “You have been going to these sort of galas your entire life.”

“Yep,” Andrew said as he stood up. He walked over to the mini bar in the corner of the presidential suite. “Do either of you want a glass of champagne?” he asked.

“That would be great,” Beth said as she stood up and walked over to where Andrew was standing.

David stood up and followed behind her. “You are starting a little early tonight, aren’t you?” he asked.

Andrew shrugged. “Let’s just have a little glass to get our night started,” he said as he grabbed two more glasses from the bar. “It’s always good luck to have a pre-party toast.”

Beth smiled as she watched Andrew pop the cork of the pricey champagne bottle. “You hardly need luck,” she said. “Tonight is going to be fabulous. I can’t believe that you were able to get the chef from Karman. He is the hottest chef in New York City right now. He was just featured in the
New York Times
last week. 

Andrew stared forward. Beth looked at him for a moment.

“Earth to Andy,” she said.

He jumped as if he were startled to see that he wasn’t alone. “Sorry,” Andrew said. “My head is just somewhere else tonight.”

David shook his head. “Alright, it’s time for a chat,” he said. “Come clean with us. What’s going on tonight? YOu have been acting a little strange all week.”

Andrew sighed. “Isabel is coming tonight.”

Beth frown. “Isabel,” she repeated.

“Yeah, Isabel,” he said. “Remember, we are childhood friends. She has the fashion line in Brooklyn.”

She laughed. “Of course I remember who Isabel is,” she said. “I am just surprise to hear you talking about her right now.”

“Well, we are close friends,” he said.

“Yep, I know that,” she replied. “But if you are close friends then why are you so bothered by the idea of her coming to the gala tonight?”

“I don’t know,” he replied. “Our relationship is really complicated right now.”

“How so?” David asked.

“Well, I haven’t seen her since we went out of town  together,” he said.

“Yeah, I know,” Beth said. “And I thought you told her that you don’t want to be friends anymore. What happened with all of that?”

Andrew looked down at the ground. “I didn’t mean that we would stop speaking forever,” he said.

“Okay, what exactly did you mean then?” Beth asked.

He paused. “Honestly, I don’t know,” he replied. “I have no idea what I was thinking.”

She nodded. “Fair enough,” she said. “So now you are having some second thoughts about the whole thing?”

“I suppose that I am,” he said.

“I don’t really get you,” David said. “You told us last time that she didn’t fit into your life anymore. I don’t see what has changed.”

“Well, nothing has changed in my life,” Andrew replied. “I guess I was just feeling overwhelmed with all of the changes that were going on for me earlier. You know, I had never actually had a career before.”

“Right,” Beth said. “A lot has definitely changed for you over the past year.”

Andrew nodded. “Indeed, it has,” he said. “And I just wasn’t feeling sure about how she would fit into it all.”

“And now you see that?” David asked.

He paused. “I don’t think it’s really about my lifestyle,” Andrew said. “My day to day life has definitely changed a lot. It’s not about that though.”

“So, what is it about?” Beth asked impatiently.

“The issue is that I haven’t changed. I miss my old friends. I miss Isabel and all of the things that we used to do together,” Andrew said. “I’m afraid that I really messed things up. I guess, all of the sudden, I felt like I was too good for her. It sounds so awful now when I think about it that way.”

David patted Andrew on the shoulder. “Everyone makes mistakes. I’m sure she will understand,” he said.

“I hope so,” Andrew said. “That’s why I invited her tonight. I want to apologize to her. I know that things will be different for a while but I’m hoping that we can reconnect.”

“Well, I don’t know why you couldn’t. I am sure that it's not as big of a deal as you think it is,” David said.

Andrew shrugged. “I don’t know about that,” he said. “I really hurt her feelings. I was pretty cold on the last weekend and then I sent her a text message rather than actually be upfront and talking to her in person. I was a jerk. I really do feel terrible about the whole thing. I just want to pick up where we left off.”

“Have you really thought this through?” Beth asked. “You do know that she wants a relationship, right?”

“Yeah, I know that,” he said.

“Well, what about Katy?” she asked.

Andrew sighed. “I don’t know,” he said. “For now, I just want to focus on getting through tonight.”