Free Boxed Set: Dominated by a Billionaire - Part 10-12: Irresistible Billionaire by Emma M. Green Page B

lucky, I know," I admit, embarrassed. "But that hasn’t always been the case. The wheel turns, Sophie. Your dreams will come true, you’ll see."
    "Well, then tell them to get moving! Because I don’t know if I’m going to be able to hang on for much longer…"
    "Surprise!" my sister and cousin scream in unison, showing up at our table… decked out in identical flashy dresses.
    "We fell for it at the same time, we tossed a coin to see who was going to get it and then we wound up giving it to each other as a present!" Pippa tells us in her very British accent, collapsing next to me.
    Lily gives me a glowing smile. She isn’t mad at me anymore, she seems to have digested the “Alec” episode and we’ve made a deal: never talk about him ever again. Act as if he had never existed, had never broken my sister’s heart to get a scoop about the mysterious and elusive Vadim King.
    Damn deceitful reporter!
    The two zany women greet my colleague warmly – at least their ridiculous outfits make her smile again – then order the first round. Raspberry
mojitos
for everyone, non-alcoholic for Sophie.
    "All right, I wanted to wait until the end of the evening to make my announcement, but I’ll never make it," my flawlessly tie-and-dye British cousin confesses.
    A detail worthy of note…
    "I knew it…" Lily teases flippantly, sipping her drink.
    My eyes go slightly wild, flitting from my sister to my cousin. I don’t want to come across as a party-pooper but I’m expecting the worst…
    "I’m moving to Paris! I'm going to live with Lily!" my cousin blurts out, raising her arms in a V for victory. "I found an internship in an awesome gallery, near Beaubourg."
    Oh, fu**…
    "When do you start?" I say, barely able to swallow.
    "Well... theoretically, two days ago!" Pippa giggles. "I told them I hadn’t found a flat yet, so they agreed to give me another week before working me to the bone. I asked for a raise too, but they didn’t go for that. They didn't go for the company car idea either – the answer was
nada
. They even told me I should come by bike. Because of the pollution or something… Since I’m going to be so underpaid, I should be able to pick the days I work and my hours, right?"
    "I’m not so sure it works like that in the working world…" Sophie laughs, dumbstruck by my crazy cousin’s spontaneity.
    "Are you sure this spur-of-the-moment roommate deal is a good idea?" I ask, nonchalantly.
    "We won’t know until we’ve tried," Lily smiles at me, clearly understanding my concerns.
    I don’t want Pippa to drag Lily into her downward spiral and she knows it. That happened a few years ago and Lily was unrecognizable, after going out every night, drinking, smoking illegal drugs, and hanging out with fairly disreputable guys in seedy places. I should trust her, I tell myself, that this time my little sister won’t fall into the trap.
    My gut instinct remains the same: Pippa is more dangerous than she looks…
    At the end of the evening, the two inseparable girls (for now, anyway...) jump into a cab and I drive Sophie home. My coworker thanks me again and again and when we say goodbye, there's still a smile on her face. Small victory.
    Vadim is on the phone when I get back to the penthouse. I hear his deep, bewitching voice coming from the kitchen. Looking forward to being back in my fiancé’s arms, I drop my purse in the entryway, clumsily remove my Spartan sandals, throw my sweater on the couch and skip towards him. He hangs up when I appear in his field of vision. I stop and look at him. His eyes are preoccupied, his lips pinched, his brow frowning. He runs his hand nervously through his hair, without taking a single step towards me. None of his body language tells me anything…
    "Did you have a nice evening?" I ask tentatively. "I missed you…"
    "Nothing special. You, on the other hand, really let loose, huh? Did you drive in that condition?"
    "What condition?"
    "Alma, you’ve obviously had too much to