Billionaire by Design (A BWWM Romance) by Tiana Cole, BWWM United Page A

She invited him into the modest apartment and introduced him to Leigh.
    “Hi, you’re really hot,” she blurted as he leaned in to shake her hand. Her hazel eyes were wide with awe, clearly taken with how handsome this man actually was. Zane laughed heartily at her unexpected comment.
    “Leigh!” Jenna smiled in nervous embarrassment.
    “Hey, I like a woman who speaks her mind,” Zane smirked, unfazed by Leigh’s remark.
    Dragging him away from her uncouth friend, Jenna gave him a brief tour of the apartment and hesitantly showed him the small workstation she’d set up in her bedroom. Her computer was outdated, her desk cluttered, and her software largely bootleg, but Zane looked at it with affection while recounting how similar his setup looked when his business was in its nascent stages.
    Heading back to the living room, Zane said a polite goodbye to Leigh as Jenna grabbed her purse. She guided Zane out the front door and turned to tell her friend not to wait up. With Zane just out of sight, Leigh signaled her approval of him by using her hand to fan her face while mouthing the words “holy shit.” Jenna smiled, rolled her eyes, and headed out the door.
    “Your roommate’s quite the character,” Zane chuckled as the town car rolled out of the parking lot, the two seated closely in its familiar back seat.
    “That girl says whatever she’s thinking, but she means well,” Jenna explained apologetically.
    “I should set her up with Phil Miller,” Zane joked.
    “Yeah…” she replied flatly, unamused by his quip.
    “No?” he asked, raising his brow in curiosity.
    “About that,” she began apprehensively. “I’m not so sure that guy means well.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “Eh, forget it,” she waved dismissively, suddenly unsure if now was the right time to mention Phil’s abhorrent behavior.
    “No, tell me,” Zane persisted as he reassuringly placed his hand on her knee.
    There was a long pause as Jenna debated how to approach the subject. She didn’t want to cause trouble within the firm and opted to downplay the incident in Phil Miller’s office.
    “Let’s just say he doesn’t seem to understand the concept of ‘personal space,’” she finally answered with a forced chuckle.
    “What do you mean by that?” Zane prodded.
    “The guy just gives me the creeps is all,” she shrugged.
    “I told you he’s kind of a schmuck,” Zane sighed. “I’ve had trouble with him before.”
    “Oh?”
    “Yeah, I had to shell out quite a bit of dough to avoid a hefty sexual harassment suit thanks to him,” he divulged. “That was a few years ago, but he seems to have cleaned up his act since then.”
    “Let’s just forget it for now,” she smiled, “and enjoy our evening.”
    She moved her hand to his cheek to guide his mouth to hers, kissing him deeply and feeling her anger vanish.
    “I could get used to that,” he breathed.
    “Is that so?” she giggled as their lips met again.
    As the car sped across town for over twenty-five minutes, Jenna couldn’t help but notice they’d made way into the Catalina Foothills, one of Tucson’s most affluent communities. She held Zane’s hand as she watched Arizona’s beautiful pastel sunset through the window while also taking note of the gorgeous homes they were cruising past.
    “This is it,” Zane announced as he helped her out of the car and motioned towards his home. Jenna’s jaw dropped at the sight of his sprawling estate.
    She’d never seen such beautiful architecture in person before, and gasped while processing the sheer size of the sprawling adobe estate. Its four towering columns looked as though they were guarding the large, solid oak double doors they stood in front of.
    An elegant illuminated fountain, located in the middle of the circular driveway, was situated behind them; the water spurting from its top forming a pool in the first tier and trickling its way down to the larger second tier and even larger third.
    “Jesus