The Billionaire Dating Game: A Romance Novel Read Online Free Page A

said.
    “Yeah. You know what?”
    “What?” Emma mumbled sleepily.
    “Between you guys and a blind date, I’d rather be here with you.”
    “Honestly?”
    “Honestly.”
    Emma smirked, her eyes still closed.
    “That’s so lame.”
    “Yeah. I know.”
    “You’re so lame.”
    “Yeah.” I sighed. “I know.”
    “Love you, lamebutt,” she said.
    “Love you too, dorkface,” I said.
    I propped my pillow behind my head and opened my laptop. Hopefully I could get this article finished before I went to sleep.
    I made the mistake of checking my email. There were three messages from my boss in my inbox, and two of them were labeled URGENT. Neither one of them was really urgent, but I plodded through everything he wanted me to do. By the time midnight rolled around, I hadn’t even written a single word for the new article.
    Mac leapt up onto the couch and sat right on top of my laptop keyboard, purring loudly. If that wasn’t a sign to stop working, I didn’t know what was. I put my laptop away on the floor, and the fat gray cat curled into my lap, kneading his paws on my thigh.
    “Just like a guy,” I murmured, stroking his soft gray fur. “All you want to do is jump straight into bed. No foreplay, huh, buddy?”
    He purred in satisfied agreement. And I thought of the man in the mask, the one whose voice had turned me to Jello on the inside. The one who had kissed me. I let out a small contented sigh. A good kiss was worth it. Even if he was a crazy nut wearing a mask, it was worth it.
    Emma was asleep, her body curled protectively around Arlen. Both of them were snoring softly, and Arlen had her mouth slightly open, her rosebud lips pinker than normal. I let myself drift into slumber alongside them, my thoughts finding again the reflective gaze of two green-blue eyes behind a black mask and the heat of two strong hands pressing against my hips.
    In the darkness, under the ever-present rumblings of the city, you could almost hear the sound of three girls sleeping.

Chapter Four
    “Why haven’t I found Mr. Right yet?” I asked. My pen tapped idly against my knee and I ate another gummi bear. Normally the little sugar rushes would propel me through an article, but this one was proving difficult.
    I leaned backward in my chair and called out the door. “Help me out with this, Jessica!”
    “Um, maybe it’s because Mr. Right is out drinking at the Tavern and you’re still here at work,” Jessica said. She leaned against the door frame, two steaming cups of coffee in her hands. “And before you say anything, Robert is on a double shift today, so we’re both working late. I have an excuse for being a boring workaholic.”
    “I didn’t say anything.”
    She handed me one of the coffees, and I took a sip. Caffeine and sugar. If that didn’t get me writing, nothing would.
    “Daniel told me you didn’t give him a chance,” Jessica said.
    “I gave him plenty of chance. And you told him that I was desperate!”
    “You are desperate! You’re wondering why you haven’t found Mr. Right yet? We’ve been over this.”
    I sighed and pressed my fingers to my temples.
    “No, I mean, that’s the article I have to write,” I said. ‘ Five Reasons You Haven’t Found Mr. Right Yet.’”
    “Oh.” She grimaced. “That’s an awful title.”
    “Tell that to Clarence.”
    “I will.”
    “He’ll take it from you better,” I said. “I don’t even think it’s grammatically correct. ‘Five Reasons You Haven’t Yet Found Mr. Right?’ Does that sound British?”
    “Did he come up with this idea for you?”
    “More like he shoved the idea in my face and told me I needed to get ‘relevant.’”
    “He really ought to do a better job being a manager,” Jessica said. “It’s getting ridiculous how much he pep-talks me.”
    “I think he’s trying to pep-talk your pants off,” I grumbled, popping another gummi bear.
    “Did he tell you he was just trying to give you a helpful suggestion to make Moi