Paris Malady (#1 in The Billionaire Series)

Chapter Five

Chapter Five

Her date was gentle and sweet, the date itself was a lot of fun. He took her to a bowling club, where he taught her how to bowl. By the end of it, ‘Beginners luck’ won. They went to a diner, a favorite of his, where she learned he was quite the charmer. She was starting to like Luke, finally seeing past his looks. Apparently, on one of his escapades as a child, he had fallen off of a tree, escaping with a broken arm and a concussion. The diner was really nice, but she was also quick to notice he seemed to be weary.

“Another one, Luke?” the waiter asked, seeming to despise Luke. He checked out Lisa before walking off. Lisa waited for an explanation, but Luke didn’t give, so she brushed it off.

“So, did you go to college?” she asked, hoping to calm him.

He smiled thankfully at her, “Yes, I did,”

“What did you major in?”

“Medicine, actually,” it explained the yoga class.

“So you are Doctor Luke?” she teased. He chuckled.

“Yes, you could say that,” he said. The bell at the diner dinged and he cautiously checked. But when he noticed it was just another customer, he relaxed.

“What’s going on Luke?” Lisa finally asked. She was done with a politician, sort of with a billionaire, so she didn’t need to start something with… what?

“Uh,” Luke looked nervous. The bell of the diner dinged again, and this time Luke palled. Lisa turned around and found a young woman, probably five months pregnant. She was petite and beautiful, but she was furious. “Let’s go,” Luke gasped.

He got out his wallet and threw some bills on the table as he stood up.

Flabbergasted, Lisa slowly stood as well, picking up her coat in the process. Luke took her hand and began leading them opposite of the woman. She glanced back at the woman, who saw them and was following behind as quickly as her pregnancy could allow.

“Luke,” she called, her high pitched, angry voice carrying through the diner. Lisa didn’t know what was going on, but she had her suspicion. She snatched her hand from Luke’s, forcing them to stop.

He turned to her with wide eyes, but she stood her ground. Behind him, she spotted two waiters covering that door, which meant even if she’d been stupid enough to follow, they wouldn’t have gotten anywhere. Lisa was adamant to never be a follower again.

“Luke,” the woman called again. “How dare you. Do you know how long I’ve been searching for you, you worthless piece of shit.”

“What is going on?” Lisa asked, feeling herself reeling back into reality.

“This jerk face got me pregnant and is running away from his responsibility,” The woman said, grayish blue eyes moistening with unshed tears. Lisa gasped, her gaze turning to Luke. And to think she was starting to like him?

He put up his arms: “Let me explain-”

“Don’t… say anything,” Lisa warned, her anger coming right back. Again, just like with Jack, she knew it was her fault for ignoring the warning signs. Duped by three men in less than a week, ouch! “You just go on with your way, and I will leave. Don’t ever contact me again Luke.”

With that, Lisa walked out. Once she was outside, she felt her eyes prickle, but she blinked back the tears. The cold nipped at her cheeks, causing her to flush. The street was almost empty seeing as how it was very late. With a sigh, she began the long trek to the hotel.

Her anger was directed at herself because it seemed that there was something wrong with her that she couldn’t snag a boyfriend. Adel was engaged to a hot surfer dude, Jenny could have any guy she wanted but she is the one who broke it off with them, Michael could snag a girl, if he wanted, but she…? Who could she get?

Her first serious boyfriend was JackFoster, the whoring politician. Then she captured the attention of her best friend without meaning to. Add to that the fact that a zing had happened between her and one of the top five billionaires in the world, but someone had messed it up for her. Damn, her life was hard! And she felt pathetic.

When she got to her hotel, a man with a gallant array of roses was waiting for her at her door. She tried to go around him, and noticed he was waiting for her.

“Can I help you?” she asked, brows furrowed.

He nodded, “Are you MademoiselleLisaWilliams?” he promptly asked. When she nodded, he smiled in relief. “Ah, these are for you,” he handed the bouquet to her.

Mouth open, Lisa took some time to response. “I’m sorry, but you must be mistaken…”

He furiously shook his head. “I am not,” he said, digging into the fray of bright, white, and red roses to pull out a white card, lined with gold ink. He handed it to her:

With earnest apologies… she turned it around, but that was it. As cryptic as it was, it brought a smile to her lips. How charming… she didn’t really wonder who it was from, either from Daniel or Luke, at least one of them apologized for their atrocities.