Billionaire Romance: Club Billionaire (The Complete Series) by Lexi Duval Page B

send the pit of my stomach dropping
another few inches.
    “ What...why?”
    “ The place was never really official. It doesn't have
permits or anything like that. Some politician trying to make a name
for himself must have got wind of it with all that's been going on.
Now the press are onto it as well. You know the sort of stuff they'll
come up with – underground club for billionaires where the fate of
the world is decided by men sipping brandy and smoking cigars.”
    “ I'll bet conspiracy theorists will be loving it.”
    “ Sure will, and the rest. Long story short though,
Belle, it's over, for now anyway. These guys aren't the sort to take
this lying down. I've already been told by some how much they love
it. I'm sure they'll work something out.”
    There's a short delay on the line before she speaks
again.
    “ In the meantime, though, I suggest you start looking
for another job, painful as that sounds. I've said the same to all
the girls. Sorry, Belle.”
    I tell her it's OK and that good things are never meant
to last, but my mind is primarily taken by Kyle when I do. I still
haven't heard from him for weeks and have no idea where he is or what
he's doing. I don't even know if I'll ever see him again and, with
everything going on at the club, that fear is more real now than
ever.
    The only silver lining is the money I've saved over the
last month or two. My bank account has been suitably replenished, and
that will give me time to seek work without too much pressure on my
shoulders. The thought makes me feel a little sick. Like an NFL
player suddenly being relegated back to Pee Wee football.
    Back to square one again...
    After a week of introspective moping, however, I feel
it's about time to get back out there, find a new job, and move on.
My life has shifted directions plenty of times before. This is just
another string in the bow. In time, I know I'll forge a new path. My
experience has told me that.
    So, I get out there and trudge the streets, canvassing
for work. As expected, few places are hiring, and those that are seem
so unattractive after working at Club Billionaire that I find it hard
to even consider them. It's all depressing, soul destroying stuff,
but I have no choice. I have to move forward.
    It's Friday, and I'm finishing a long week of looking
for work, when a familiar voice sounds behind me. I turn, half
assuming I've heard the voice in my head, and see Kyle standing
behind me.
    “ You look tired, Belle,” he says with a smile,
stepping toward me through the snow on the street near my apartment.
    Above, a light mist swirls, sweeping through the streets
of Brooklyn and bringing it a heavy chill. It's that chill, as well
as the sight of Kyle, that sends my body shaking within my coat.
    “ Job hunting will do that,” I say, trying to keep a
downcast, sullen look to my face. It's almost impossible though.
Seeing him here is sending my heart leaping behind my ribs.
    “ Job hunting?” He steps closer to me, until I can
smell his scent wafting off his neck.
    I nod. “You must have heard – the club's shut down.”
    “ It's only temporary,” he says with conviction. “You
don't think the police can stop us for long, do you?” He speaks
with such confidence, such power, as if nothing is beyond his grasp.
    “ I suppose not. But, I can't take that risk...”
    “ Well it's a good thing I've run into you then isn't
it.”
    “ Why?”
    “ Because I've come to make you an offer, Belle.”
    My body freezes, waiting for him to continue. He smirks,
casually, and leans in toward me. Then he kisses me on the lips, warm
and full and sending that familiar electric shock through me. When he
pulls back he leaves me hanging in midair, my lisp cast back out into
the cold.
    But his smile, the look in his eyes, is enough to warm
me. Like a fire has been stoked within, the dying embers beginning to
spark back to life.
    “ Offer?” I whisper, and he smiles wider, his teeth
as white as the snow beneath our