The Hottie Billionaire Series: Romancing A Banking Magnate (The Billionaire Meets The Damsel In Distress) by Sharon Rose Page B

thoughts.
    He didn’t like the way Nikolas peered at him
with his inquisitive eyes. He happened to be one of his best
buddies, but no, he wouldn’t tell him his dreaded
problem.
    He pressed his lips together as he
remained mum. He didn't dare answer Nikolas’ question. Instead, he
took another bottle of beer and drank it like a thirsty mammal,
consuming the content in one, long shot.
    “ Looks like you have one hell of a
problem there, brother,” Nikolas commented seriously. “You are not
your usual self tonight. Did you have a squabble with Janine, or
something like that? You know...” He shrugged his
shoulders.
    Damn! His muscles tensed as his
friend reminded him of his nasty tiff with his girlfriend. How
could Nikolas have a clue? Was he really that transparent? One of
the things that he liked about his pal was that he could easily
read his mind, but he hated it some other times. Just like
now.
    “ Oh, come on, buddy,” Nikolas
sounded as if he wouldn’t let the topic just slip away.
    He sighed softly, then, gently nodded his head
in confirmation. His eyes sparkled with animosity as he opened his
lips to speak. “That bitch just dropped a bomb on me hours ago as
if World War III is coming.”
    “ Why?”
    Xavier swallowed hard. The
monosyllabic question of Nikolas drilled inside him like a hammer,
taunting his already bruised male ego. He sighed again. “Well…” his
voice trailed off. He struggled to verbalize the embarrassing words
at the tip of his tongue. Shit!
    He was shy to confess his silly problem to his
friend. He knew that Nikolas would just laugh at him. And if he
would get unluckier, his struggle would be the subject of his
friends’ annoying jokes for until God knows when! It was funny,
alright, but not to him. And he wouldn’t want to be the subject of
such a demeaning joke.
    “ Well? I’m waiting, Xavier,” Nikolas
spoke after some time. His eyes became sharper as he waited for him
to spill the beans out.
    “ Oh, never mind!” he answered in
haste. He wasn’t ready yet to embarrass himself in front of his
friend.
    Nikolas shrugged his shoulders. “You know,
Xavier, I don’t wana see you looking like this. You look miserable,
man. What’s going on?”
    Nikolas sounded really so sincere,
but he wouldn’t buy that. His bloody ego was more important to him
than to have a friend whom he could share his problem
with.
    “ Maybe I can help you?” Nikolas
continued to goad him to speak up. “You’re one of my best buddies,
along with Kiehl, Tristan and Benjamin, Xavier. The five of us were
like brothers already. We will always be here for each other,
right? You know, I won’t hesitate helping you to the best of my
abilities should you need so. I hope you know that,
bud...”
    What Nikolas said made a poke in
his conscience. He knew that he was a friend, and that he could
count on him. But he was suffering from something embarrassing, and
it wouldn’t be easy for him to share it with his friends. “Thanks,
bro, but this is just,” he shrugged his shoulders, “a petty
problem, you know.” He pulled a laugh, but it was
hollow.
    “ You won’t be affected like this if
it’s not a big deal, Xavier. I know you.” But Nikolas did not buy
his alibi.
    Well, he should try harder, but
convincing him wouldn’t be that easy, especially now that he
couldn’t hide his frustration anymore. He pulled a sigh, harder
this time around.
    He called Nikolas after his
explosive, but humiliating argument with Janine. It ended in a
disaster. Right at that moment, Janine bade goodbye to him, and put
an end to their relationship.
    He was devastated. His sex goddess of a
girlfriend ditched him in the most degrading way. His own body
defied him after so many years. It was too much for him to
bear.
    He knew that he needed to go out
and unwind. He had to find a way to momentarily forget about his
ordeal, or else he might go mad. So he phoned his friend, Nikolas,
and almost begged for him to be with him