The Billionaire's Revenge

Tea lights

Jade stumbled into the penthouse after having dinner with her mother and the lovely Sophie and her lovely daughter Tessa. It was so exhausting Jade just wanted to take a bath and crawl into bed. Forget about how her mother tried to make Tessa see green with jealousy. It worked, the entire night Tessa was sulking. Her mother wasn't doing any better either.
Jade was about to kick her heels off when she met the stormy gaze of Mark, the man Tessa wanted to put her claws in. Also the man her mother forced her to fight for.

"Why don't you throw your heels right beside this pair here." Mark gestured to the heels she had left at the couch last night, "I think they could use the company."

She raised an eyebrow at him, "Are you telling me to clean up after myself?"

He raised his beer bottle to his lips and took a sip, "I wouldn't dare."

She rolled her eyes at him, "Like you wouldn't dare lie to me?"

She pressed her lips together, realizing those words actually spilled from her mouth. The way his gray eyes darkened told her he caught every word.

"Excuse me?"

She could either pretend she didn't say anything or own up to it. She figured things would go smoother if she just told him the truth.

"Oh, you heard me." She kicked her heels off right beside the ones she left yesterday, "Please, tell me about your meeting last night. The annoying one, because I think I've met her at my parents' house tonight."

If she didn't remind herself of his lie she'd be laughing her ass off seeing the shocked look on Mark's face. He sat up straight and emptied his bottle quickly, probably needing the liquid courage.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Are you serious?" She didn't think he'd be that stubborn, "Let me remind you. Blonde woman who wore a red dress which I suggested she'd wear so she could seduce my future husband." She took a seat next to Mark who looked ready to run for the hills, "Ring any bells?"

"Jade, I really don't have a clue what you're talking about."

She narrowed her eyes on him, "Then why look so guilty?"

"Because you look ready to bite my head off." He got to his feet and headed to the kitchen, she followed him without a word, "I already had Betty preaching to me till she left like ten minutes ago. And even though I enjoy sparring with you, I can't tonight. So I'm sorry I brought up the shoes, you can leave them all over the place. I'm sure Betty won't mind cleaning up after you." He reached for another bottle of beer and turned to look at her, "So who is this blonde woman you dressed to seduce me?" He sounded amused.

"You seriously don't know?"

He took a sip from his beer, "I seriously don't know."

"That's odd, Tessa convinced everyone she was meeting you for dinner last night." She leaned against the counter, "You weren't having dinner with her?"

"No." He didn't look amused anymore, if anything he looked ready to kill someone, "Tessa was present at the restaurant where I was meeting my investor, but no, I wasn't having dinner with her." He reached for her, causing her to freeze, "I assure you, Jade, that woman is in my past. And I would like to keep her there more than anyone else."

She ignored the fact that it made her body shiver when he gently brushed his knuckles over her cheek and focused on his words instead. Something wasn't right about Tessa.

"Mark, that worries me."

"That I want to keep that woman in my past?" He asked confused, "Thought it would comfort you."