The Billionaire & The Barfly (Coming Home) (15 page)

“
No, you don’t. I’ll get started right away. I’ll be upstairs if you need me.”

Mike nodded his head and went back to the pile of papers on the little table in front of his couch. Aubrey left Mike
’s office and headed straight for the elevator. Upstairs was a dusty old office that no one used any longer. It had become her quiet area, and only Mike and Jenna knew about it. No one would bother her, and she could concentrate completely. It helped her get in the zone.

After three hours, she had nothing. And she was starving. Aubrey grabbed her purse, the file, and headed out for lunch. Perhaps food would help her think better.

The sandwich shop down the street was usually pretty quiet. She was able to order her turkey and Swiss on rye and take over the table in the back corner with ease.

A bell jingled
, and a commotion broke Aubrey’s attention away from her work. Henry had come in followed by a horde of young boys holding game cases in their hands, waving them at Henry. They were begging for autographs.

Aubrey couldn
’t help but laugh. Henry had groupies. Just not the ones most men would want. But Henry wasn’t most men, and he smiled and signed, and then asked the kids if he could eat his lunch in peace. They all left with big smiles of their own and hugging their new treasures tightly to their chest.

Henry slumped into the chair about halfway from the front of the shop and sort of hid behind a potted plant. She watched as he took a breath or two then studied the menu that she had memorized. When he stood to order, she listened carefully. She felt that a person could learn a lot from what another ordered, and how they ordered, when they weren
’t trying to impress anyone.

To her surprise, he ordered a turkey and
Swiss on rye. But he said hold the mustard. She shook her head in disappointment. Mustard was key to the sandwich. What was he thinking?

“
You ordered it wrong,” she said loudly, making him jump and spin in her direction. The stress from his face melted away and was replaced by a smile.

“
Oh, I did, did I? And what did I do wrong?”

“
Turkey and Swiss on rye
has
to have mustard. It’s just the way it was meant to be. Like PB&J or bologna and cheese. Anything else is just wrong.”

“
What if I don’t like mustard?”

“
Then I’d say you’ve never had it on turkey and Swiss on rye. I don’t like mustard on anything else, either, but on this sandwich? It’s a must.”

“
Is that so?”

“
Yup.”

“
Excuse me, Could you add mustard to that, after all?” Henry said to the man behind the counter making his sandwich. Then he turned back to Aubrey. “Happy?”

“
Yes, and so will you when you taste it.”

“
And if I don’t like it?”

“
Then I’ll buy you another one without the mustard.”

“
Deal.”

Henry took his sandwich from the counter guy and came to sit at the table with her. Aubrey quickly put her work away, not sure how she should handle the competing company thing between them. Henry watched her but said nothing. Once the table was clear, he opened the wrap around his sandwich and eyed it, almost as if it might turn into a monster and eat him instead.

“Just try it. It’s not going to kill you.” Aubrey took a bite of her own sandwich to prove her point.

“
Here goes,” Henry said before picking his sandwich up and taking a great big bite out of it. Aubrey watched as his contorted face slowly relaxed as he chewed and swallowed. He sat his sandwich back down and stared at her. For three whole minutes. Aubrey counted each agonizing second. Finally, he spoke. “Okay, maybe mustard does belong on this.”

“
YES!” she cheered, punching the air. Henry laughed and took another bite.

“
So is this where you come for lunch every day?” he asked as soon as his mouth was empty. Hot and manners—she was doomed.

“
Not every day. Planning on stalking me?”

“
I wouldn’t call it stalking, just looking for good places to eat. I haven’t lived around here since the end of senior year.”

“
No? Where have you been?”

“
Up until a little bit ago, I lived in New York. Seemed like a good time to come back for good. I had to check in on the branch here in the city and see the parents, and I kind of found what I’ve been missing in New York. It never really felt like home. So many people but not one you could honestly say who the hell they were. I mean, the way we grew up? Mrs. Janner down the street knew everyone, and knew exactly what they were up to. Annoying at times, sure. But at least you knew you were never really alone.”

The weight of his words hit Aubrey. It was true, and it was one of the reasons she wanted out. The city kept her anonymous. She didn
’t have to worry about the looks she got when she went out and about. Poor Aubrey couldn’t cut it at college. Poor Aubrey can’t keep a man. Or what was worse, when she heard them pitying her parents for having such a screw-up as a kid. And there was Henry, longing to go back.

“
Must be nice to not have anything to run from. I’m sure everyone is so proud of you. I’ve got the opposite.”

“
Actually, it’s not like that at all. I wasn’t a favorite, remember? I was the geeky kid with the parents who cleaned the school at night. They knew who I was, but no one really cared much about what we did. Now they try to act as if they’ve always been there. But, the few who really did care back then? They are worth it. My parents. You.”

“
Me?” she asked, completely taken off guard. She knew he was interested, and that they had a connection, but to move on the off chance that she may come around seemed a bit extreme. She knew first hand that moving for someone else was just dumb.

“
Yes, Aubrey, you. I don’t know why that surprises you. I’ve told you that I want you. How can I ever expect this to work if I’m living someplace so far we have to take a plane to see each other? If this never happens, I can always go back if I want to. I didn’t sell the apartment.”

What could she say to that? She didn
’t want to encourage him, but at the same time, as much as she tried to fight it, she didn’t want to send him away either. Not that he would go. He’s proven that a time or two.

“
Well, it was really nice having lunch, but I have to get back to the office. I have a lot of work to do.”

“
Did you get the promotion even after what happened with Mrs. Stine? I really didn’t want to mess your chances up, and I realized after the fact that talking to you right after presenting was probably a stupid move.”

“
I don’t know yet, but it’s probably best if we don’t talk about work. Rival companies and all. I’ll see you around I’m sure. Bye, Henry.” Aubrey picked her things up and walked out the door. She could feel his eyes on her all the way out the door and down the street until she turned at the first street. It wasn’t the way to the office, but she knew if she looked back over her shoulder, Henry’s eyes would be fixed on her.

Aubrey walked back to her building, thoughts of moving boxes and Henry dancing around in her head. He really believed in them. He believed she could let him in and that she would fall for him.
Falling was the easy part, letting him in and opening up to yet another mistake, another heartbreak, wasn’t so easy.

Why couldn
’t he be like other men she knew who were perfectly content to have fun one night, and then be on their way the next morning? Wasn’t no strings attached sex a man’s dream? Apparently, not Henry’s.

~*~

When Aubrey walked back into the office, she was done thinking about Henry.
She would be focused and smart, and she would think of the best damn way to market the old games for the old systems that most kids no longer even knew what they were. She could do it. She just had to think. Really, really damn hard.

As she walked through the office on her way to let Mike know she was back from lunch, she saw Jenna waiting by her old desk. Her arms were crossed
, and her eyes narrowed, looking directly at Aubrey. Apparently, she was waiting for her and not just standing around for the fun of it. Go figure.

“
Okay, what did I do this time?” she asked, exasperated. Placing her bag and her work on her old desk, she just waited for Jenna to speak. She didn’t understand where this person had come from. Jenna used to be so cool and treated her almost friendly. She wanted
that
Jenna back.

“
Where have you been? Mike told me the job he gave you. That could very well make or break this company. Not all of us are lucky enough to live at home without any bills. This isn’t a time to be messing around!”

“
Whoa. I have my own apartment for one, and for two, I was at lunch, and I worked through half of it. I know this is important. I’m not stupid.”

“
Not stupid, just falling for Henry Maximus’s charming ways of getting all the intel on this company to build his and ruin ours.”

“
You don’t even know Henry. Or is that the problem? Did he turn you down?” Aubrey knew she was crossing a line, and as soon as it was out of her mouth, she regretted it. One word from Jenna to Mike, and she could be out of a job completely.

“
Oh, no, honey. I had him over two years ago. But I was trying to find out secrets of his company and kept tight lipped about ours. Shame he wouldn’t give anything up. He is quite talented in bed, isn’t he?”

The news was like a knife to the gut
, ten times over. Aubrey could feel the tears threatening to fall, and for no real reason. It was a long time ago, and she couldn’t even claim Henry as her own. Of course, he had been with other women. But to have one standing right in front of her sucked.

“
Your point is? Well, besides being a cradle robber anyway. Two years ago, Henry was twenty three. That’s what? A twenty year age gap?”

“
He was begging for it,” she said with a smirk and tilt of her head. “My point is, don’t get any ideas. You were my personal assistant, and if you don’t keep your head away from the competition and on those stupid old games, you might as well reacquaint yourself with the coffee machine.”

“
Why don’t you just let me do my work? I don’t know what I did to make you act this way toward me, but I never did anything intentionally.” Even though she was pissed, she wished she could reverse whatever the hell had happened, and make them the great team they were before. Not that she wanted to go back to being a personal assistant. She wanted that market research position. Especially now that she had rent to pay and a brother and soon to be niece or nephew to make sure had a home.

“
Good luck. Mike basically gave you the job no one wanted. It’s impossible, and it will never work.”

“
Then I guess we are all screwed.”

Aubrey didn
’t let Jenna reply. She just picked her things back up and headed for her quiet place. Aubrey spent the next four hours pouring over old data. The problem was—it was old. The games were old and out dated. Sure, adults would feel some nostalgia for the games of their childhood, but those that still played were not the majority. A marketing plan for them wouldn’t be enough to keep the clients at Viola. Aubrey opened her laptop and logged onto one of the most popular gaming forum sites online. With over a million registered users, plus a daily guest count of thirty five thousand, it was a good place to get feedback anonymously.

First, she started a thread asking if users had ever played a handful of the games she was supposed to figure out a plan for. Then she did another post under a thread for
‘cool game ideas’ where she gave a brief summary of a couple others. Then she waited.

As she expected with the first post, she got a lot of
‘when I was a kid’ type of responses. But what she hadn’t expected was the second thread exploding with excitement. She had comments ranging from how amazing the games sounded to asking if anyone knew of any games similar. When the older gamers started commenting on how it sounded like the originals from twenty years prior, she had her idea. It was a long shot, and it would take a lot of funding, but it could work.

Proud of her work for the day, and eager to get home to relax with a glass of wine, pajamas, and a marathon of mindless television for a night, she packed up. No one could sour her mood. She had a solid idea
, and when she went to work the following day, she would make a plan of action that would include the costs and the target market, and she would blow their socks off.

The office was practically empty as she left the building. When she realized it was yet again almost seven at night, she knew why. The front door swung open, allowing the cool night air breeze to chill her bare arms. She hadn
’t worn a jacket that morning and she was wishing she had. While the office was a short walk, it was going to be a chilly one.