In the Billionaires Club Read online

  Glenn drained his drink and placed the empty glass on the table. “Actually, I’m heading home. Gotta prepare for the board meeting.”

  “Ugh. You had to mention the board meeting,” Steve put his full drink on the table. “I’m out, too.”

  Gin looked at Phillip. “You’re not going to prepare for the board meeting?”

  “He’s the chairman. All he has to do is stay awake for the full meeting,” Glenn said, as Phillip smiled.

  “He has trouble enough doing that, to be honest,” Steve added, slapping Phillip on the shoulder. “See you tomorrow.” He looked at Gin. “Nice to meet you, Gin.”

  And a moment later, Gin was alone with Phillip, who just sat and stared at her. “So what’s it like being a Chairman?”

  Phillip shrugged. “Well, Chairman is boring. I just listen to the guys tell me a bunch of stuff I already know.”

  “Guys, hunh? No women?”

  Phillip looked surprised, as if the question had not only never been asked but as if it had never even crossed his mind. “Nope, but, hey, if you want to invest a few hundred mil in the company, I’m sure I can get you on the board.”

  Gin stared at Phillip. He looked annoyed at her line of questioning. It was a moment that she knew would define whatever relationship that they would or could have. Not knowing the context of Phillip’s defensiveness, Gin backed off. She had plenty of time to learn more about him and his attitudes toward women.

  She smiled and shook her head. “I don’t have the spare cash to buy a Starbucks, let alone invest in your company.”

  The tension lifted and Phillip’s smile returned. “Well, the board is boring, like I said. Luckily I’m also the CEO. Now that’s exciting.”

  “Okay, enough of this vague talk of titles. What the hell is the name of the company you run?”

  “Right to the point. Love that. I’m the founder of Inky.” Inky was the hottest new social networking site around, based on short text and video. Gin remembered reading how the brash CEO turned down a two billion dollar acquisition offer from Google, only to raise over four billion dollars in an IPO half a year later.

  Holy shit. Phillip actually was a billionaire.

  “You’ve heard of Inky, I see.” Phillip laughed and drained his glass. “Refill time.” He stood up and grabbed Gin’s half empty glass. Gin stood open jawed as Phillip strode over to the bar.

  She couldn’t help it. Gin imagined dates to Manhattan. Fancy dates to the theater. Casual gifts of expensive cars and jewelry. She looked down at her sundress. Maybe she’d even be able to finally get some fitted clothes that would make her look good without having guys ogle at her. As Phillip returned, Gin imagined what you could buy for a billion dollars. Anything you wanted.

  Phillip slid her rum and Coke in front of her and sat on his chair. He took a long drink from his glass. “So enough about me. Tell me about yourself. What are your hobbies? What’s your favorite movie? Were you wearing underwear at the Orion?" Just as Gin glanced at Phillip he raised his hands. “Kidding!”

  She had to smile. He had the same look as he had at the Orion. Black curly hair, kind of cute in how it was disheveled, an expensive suit, and a young face that was either mischievous or arrogant, depending on what Phillip was saying at the time. At the Orion, it was definitely arrogance, but here at the Billionaires Club, Phillip seemed more at ease, and his comments were mischievous and teasing. She was enjoying her time with him.

  “Well, my hobbies are reading bad romances, watching way too much reality TV, and long drives.”

  “Excellent. I like long drives, too.”

  “Not bad romances?”

  “Afraid not. Not a huge fan of reality TV either.”

  “I have a feeling I’m going to spend more time on this social networking thing called Inky, too.”

  “Nice. You should friend me.”

  “Might help if you gave me your last name.”

  “Holy shit, I can’t believe I didn’t tell you that.” Phillip leaned forward. “Honestly, Gin. It didn’t cross my mind because I feel like I already know you. You have this naturalness about you that I find really attractive. So I apologize for not asking your name or giving you mine. It’s Rogers.”

  “My last name is Langdon.”

  Phillip edged his chair closer, and the two of them spent the next hour talking about little things that they enjoyed and shared. Gin was enjoying their conversation, so when Phillip glanced at his phone for the third time, she asked what was wrong.

  “Well, I was kidding earlier. I actually do have to prepare for the board meeting, but I’ve been enjoying our conversation so much that I didn’t want to just cut things off.”

  “Oh, don’t be silly. We can meet some other time. You should take care of your work stuff.” Gin stood up, and Phillip did the same.

  “Thanks, Gin. I do want to see you again. I’m here pretty much every night. Just come by whenever you have time, and we can pick up where we left off.” Phillip pulled out his wallet as his phone dinged with a text message. He looked through his wallet before closing it with an exclamation of “Shit.” His phone dinged again, and Phillip looked at it.

  “Problem?”

  “Two problems. I need to take a call right now, and I don’t have any cards on me.” Phillip yelled over to the bartender. “Hey, Rich. Give Gin here a card. I don’t have any left. I have to run.” Rich nodded his head as he put a glass and a washcloth down. “Sorry, Gin. I really need to run. Rich will take care of you.” Phillip walked over and before Gin could react, he leaned forward and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. “Bye.”

  As Phillip rushed out, Gin touched her lips with her fingers. The kiss was not so much an invasion of her space as totally unexpected. Phillip had soft lips, and she had to admit that the kiss gave her a little thrill.

  She walked over to the bar. The bartender was talking to the young man in jeans and t-shirt at the end of the bar. She stood next to him and put her hands on the bar. “Phillip said you’d have a card for me.”

  As she spoke, the man sitting at the bar looked at her. She glanced at him and froze. Jesus, he’s fucking gorgeous. With thick wavy brown hair, a firm jaw, and piercing blue eyes, the guy looked like a model from some clothes catalog. He also filled out the t-shirt well. In fact, he looked exactly like the kind of loser blue collar boyfriend she had always gone for. Hot, full of attitude, sexist, with no hope of a future, and only interested in sex.

  “Sure thing. Just had to give Vinnie here a refill.”

  The bartender walked away, and Vinnie raised his glass to Gin. “I like emptying them, and Rich likes filling them. We have a special relationship.” Vinnie smiled, and Gin couldn’t stop staring. He had big dimples and pure white teeth.

  Gin wondered what the guy did. He clearly wasn’t a member. Maybe he was the day bartender. “I guess you can’t really empty them during the day,” she replied.

  “Yeah, that would be bad. I shouldn’t even be emptying them now.” He looked around.

  Gin nodded. “Yeah, they probably aren’t too fond of you hanging at the bar dressed like that for longer than just a bit.”

  “Nah, most of the guys are cool with me. And the others?” Vinnie took a long drink. “Fuck’em.”

  “Couldn’t they get you fired?”

  Vinnie laughed and nodded his head toward Rich, who had just walked back over. “Rich, who here could get me fired?”

  “Most of them are more worried that you’ll get them fired, Vinnie.” Rich held the card out to Gin. Gin imagined the secrets a bartender at the Billionaire’s Club would hear. Yeah, he probably does have a kind of subtle power over the clientele.

  “Still, I guess I could be more respectful.”

  Gin took the card but focused on the conversation between the two bartenders, discussing the political dynamics of a bar full of billionaires.

  “Nah. That would ruin your charm.”

  “Probably.” Vinnie turned to me. “What do you think? Am I charming
or annoying?”

  Gin felt like the question bordered on a come on, so she wanted to nip that in the bud. The last thing she needed was a bartender hitting on her. “Annoying. Definitely annoying.”

  Vinnie shook his head but was smiling, while Rich laughed. “There you have it, Vinnie.”

  “Well, she was hanging out with Phil. I would say she has questionable taste.”

  “Excuse me?” Gin frowned.

  “Sorry. I was just teasing you back. I apparently have no boundaries.”

  “It’s a filter you don’t have, Vinnie. Not boundaries. You have boundaries.”

  Vinnie smiled and looked at Gin. “Well, there you go. I have no filter, so it’s not my fault.”

  Gin kind of liked Vinnie’s goofy enthusiasm, but she didn’t want to get caught in a lengthy conversation with him just to have an awkward talk later about just being friends. It happened way too often with her, and Gin hated it.

  “Well, I have to go. Maybe you can develop a filter between now and the next time I see you.” Gin waved the card.

  “Doubtful,” Vinnie replied, his dimples an exclamation point for his cute smile. “What’s your name, by the way?”

  “Gin.”

  “For Virginia, I assume.”

  Gin nodded but had to turn away to hide her pleasure and shock. He was the first man in her entire life to not joke about her name when he met her.

  chapter three

  Gin had to admit that the visit to the Billionaires Club had gone to her head. All she could think about was dating a billionaire. She kept fantasizing about being with Phillip, who was not only rich but handsome and had the kind of snarky attitude she loved. She desperately wanted things to work with him.

  The next night Lisa handed Gin a glass of cabernet and sat on the couch, pulling her legs up under her. “Okay, tell me everything. What was the club like. What was Phillip like. Did he like you? Were the billionaires jerks? Was it really glamorous?” Lisa took a sip of her wine. “Everything.”

  “Well, there’s not much to say. The club is just this old dark and kind of smoky thing. It’s like one big room with a huge bar on the left and some tables and booths. That’s it.”

  “There aren’t Monets or Rembrandts hanging on the walls?”

  “Seriously, Lisa. It’s not fancy at all. You’d be more likely to find a velvet Elvis on the wall than an old master.” Gin stretched her legs and took a long drink from her glass.

  “That’s so weird. Okay, so it’s kind of a dump, but what were the dudes like? Was it full of really old wrinkled guys or hot new guys with bulging… wallets.” Lisa laughed. “Actually, that’s really all I want to know about—the big wallets and the hot guys.”

  “It was a mix. Most of the guys were kind of older, but there were only a few really old guys, although one of the really old guys was with this beautiful woman in a tight red dress.”

  “Oh yeah, now we’re talking. I bet she is in love with his gentle nature and his rugged yet wrinkly good looks.” Gin laughed and took a drink. “Nah. Who am I kidding? She wants his money!”

  “Well, yeah. But that was the only other woman in the room. It really seemed like a place for them all to just relax more than anything. A couple dudes were on their laptops, but most were just talking. In fact, the day bartender—who was super hot, by the way—was sitting at the bar in his jeans and t-shirt just having a drink and talking to the night bartender.”

  “That actually sounds kind of awesome.”

  “Yeah, it was chill.”

  Lisa pulled her legs out from under her and leaned toward Gin. “Okay, tell me about Phillip. He looked so smarmy at the Orion.”

  Gin explained the short evening with him and Steve and Glenn. “And then they all had to leave for some kind of board meeting preparations thing.”

  Lisa nodded while she refilled their glasses. “Okay, they sound like typical boys with all the sophomoric jokes and posturing.”

  “Pretty much.”

  “Did he ever reveal how much money he makes?”

  “Jesus, Lisa. How was I going to ask that?”

  “I don’t know. It’s the Billionaires Club. Did you ask him if he belonged?” She smiled.

  “No, because I don’t care how much he makes.”

  “Shut up, you liar.”

  “Okay, okay. I did find out one thing.”

  “Ooh, what is that?”

  “His name is Phillip Rogers, and he is the CEO of Inky.”

  Lisa just about dropped her drink. “Inky? The company that just sold for like a kazillion dollars?”

  “It wasn’t sold. It raised four billion dollars in an IPO.”

  “Whatever. The key point being that Phillip is—“

  “A billionaire. Yeah. At least on paper.” Gin couldn’t help but smile as she said it. She still couldn’t quite believe it. She had been on a date with a billionaire, and she knew it was a date, because that’s how he had described it.

  Lisa put her wine down on the coffee table and held her hands together. “Okay, we need to strategize this. How long do you think you have to date him before he’ll propose?”

  “Jesus, Lisa. I’ve had one date with the guy, and for most of the time I didn’t even know his last name.”

  “That’s the point. We need to make sure you don’t fuck this up.”

  “What if he’s an asshole, and I don’t like him?” In response, Lisa gave Gin her best you have to be kidding me look. “Seriously, though. I’m not a whore.”

  “You’re not an idiot, either.”

  That made Gin laugh. “That’s true.”

  “So, Phillip wasn’t a total asshole, and you think he’s kind of cute, and he gave you a kiss. I think wedding bells are in the future. The question is: What’s the next step?”

  Gin drained her glass and held it up for a refill. “I was thinking a second date would probably be a good start.”

  Later that night Gin joined Inky. It was like a stripped down Facebook, with nothing but short text, links, shared images, and videos allowed. No games. No apps. No advertisements. Its main draw was that it allowed for some kind of integration with Facebook, Instagram, and Google Plus, so users didn’t have to abandon their other social networks. In addition to being easy to navigate, Inky’s main selling point was its data policy—It wasn’t going to sell out your behavior to advertisers.

  Gin friended Phillip, apparently along with half the US, as he had a hundred million friends. Less than a minute later she was added to what was something called a “close friends” list. There were over six hundred of those. A message popped up from Phillip:

  Phillip

  Hey, I was hoping to see you tonight. Bummed you didn’t show up. How about tomorrow? Oh, and thanks for joining Inky!

  Virginia

  I was busy! Definitely tomorrow. Six again?

  Phillip

  Yeah, definitely. That works.

  Virginia

  How’d the board meeting go? Were you able to stay awake through the entire thing? And, ugh, how can I change my profile name to “Gin.”

  Phillip

  Ha! Board meeting is tomorrow. I’ll bring extra coffee. And just go into your profile settings and fill in the nickname. It will populate through your whole profile. Oh, and upload photos. Lots of them. That’s 90% of what Inky is all about.

  Gin

  Oh, much better. Okay, I’ll add a photo or two. I don’t have any bikini shots, though, so you’ll have to wait for that. ;)

  Gin cursed herself. Why did I mention me in a bikini? I need to be more subtle! For a long time Gin didn’t really worry about dating and sex. If she was comfortable with a guy that she thought he was hot, she’d happily fuck him. But after one bad relationship after another, she had changed her approach. She had spent the past six months holding off on sex until after the relationship had at least some kind of foundation.

  Yet here she was going back to her old self, flirting with Phillip about her bikini body. As Gin was be
ating herself up, Phillip replied.

  Phillip

  Damn. Okay, looks like I’ll have to see you in a bikini in real life then. Maybe on a beach near Bordeaux! Gotta run. Glad you got your profile straight. See you tomorrow.

  Gin stared at the screen. Did he just say a beach near Bordeaux? Like in France? The entire concept of flying off to France to visit a beach made her legs go weak. Who does that? Billionaires do that, she answered herself.

  She couldn’t resist and looked up “best beaches near Bordeaux.” The results made her shake her head. Apparently the beaches near Bordeaux were mostly topless or nudist.

  You fly me to a French beach, and you can totally see my naked. It helped that Gin knew she looked better naked than in clothes, but she struggled with her thoughts. She loved sex, so she was thrilled at the whole idea of being nude on a French beach with him, but that went entirely against her recent strategy of playing hard to get.

  It was even more important for her to think about these things with Phillip. He was a billionaire and was obviously used to women throwing their bodies at him for trips and presents. She had to build the relationship first.

  She looked up Phillip’s profile. She was now a “close friend,” so she could see all of his posts and videos and photos. She browsed the photos and her stomach clenched.

  There was photo after photo of Phillip with beautiful women—on a red carpet, at parties, on a yacht. Phillip didn’t seem to show up anywhere in public without a beautiful woman at his elbow. It didn’t help that they were all a lot prettier than Gin. Having a pretty face and a body with hot curves and nice tits didn’t seem quite so compelling when the guy you were going out on a date with was used to gorgeous models with perfect figures.

  And they were all dressed in designer gowns and clothes. Gin thought of her wearing a sun dress to an evening date at a club and felt sick. She closed the browser and walked over to turn on the TV. She had to distract herself. The billionaire could have had any woman in the world, and she had the gall to play hard-to-get? Am I crazy?