Lahat ng Kabanata ng Billionaire Alpha: Kabanata 381 - Kabanata 390

MattThere should have been peace, sitting outside on the patio of my dad's house, working on the sketch of Erica, but there was none to be found. Everything inside of me screamed for me to call her, but fear held me at bay. No, it locked me up, tied me down, forced me into a place of numbness. Where logically I could point to all of it being a bullshit scheme to keep myself from getting hurt, I hated it. Hated myself.Erica belonged to me, and yet she would become someone else's if I let my fears over not being enough 'man' for her stop me from moving forward, and fast. She was my brother, Damon, in female form. Perfect. Smart and strong, educated and successful. She was everything anyone could want and beyond anything I expected to have, but I was fucking it up completely.I reached down and brushed my thumb along the sketch, catching the side of her face and smearing the line a little to soften her."Much better," I whispered softly as the sun warmed my chilled skin. The weather in

EricaI had to breathe. Just breathe.My job, my life, everything was built around my career at M&B. I loved working for Kent and Damon, and both of them had been beyond good to me. To be the director of anything at twenty-eight was huge. I'd worked my ass off to get it, but they'd been more than generous in bestowing the title, the salary and the freedom that went with being in charge.I refused to let something as stupid as another failed, almost-happened relationship mess that up. Matt wasn't suffering from the sound of things. Why should I be?"Because I love him." I glanced up from staring at my hands and let my eyes move around the small park where I sat on a lone bench. The weather had turned cold, and damn if I'd forgotten my coat when I ran out of the office like a scalded child.Damon wanted to talk about all the reasons why I shouldn't be upset with Matt, why we were so good together, but he was bias. His little brother had a shot at love, a sustaining, serious, abiding lov

Matt"Matt," Damon called after me as I walked down the hall, away from the conference room. I ignored him. "Matt. Come on, dude. Stop."I jerked around as I reached the elevator and poked him in the chest. "Fuck you for that. What did you and Dad think would happen? Hm?""Look. I know you're-""You don't know anything. You have your life planned out in front of you, the woman you love beside you and everyone else to worship the ground you walk on. You don't know shit." I got in the elevator and watched him with the fury that burned deep inside of me. Of all people for my brother and my father to make me look like a weak child in front of, it had to be Erica Hall.The one woman I'd consider hitting my knees for. As if she would have anything to do with me after leaving without a word, and now this..."Fuck all of it. Why do I even bother?" I moved toward the door as it opened and barreled past a group of monkeys in suits. The scream beating against my teeth was held in by a smidgen of

Erica"Hi." I got into the passenger's side of Mitch's black Lexus and reached for my seatbelt as Lewis and Mandy got in the back."Hey. Day go okay?" He glanced back and extended his hand. "I'm Mitch Roberson.""He's our new Director of Advisory." I glanced back at my staff as they shook Mitch's hand. "It was all right. Long to be honest.""Well, thanks for joining me for dinner. I hope it doesn't impose on you too much." He pulled the car away from the curb and smiled over at me.Handsome wouldn't begin to describe him. How the hell was he not wearing a wedding ring? Seemed like a travesty. Not that it mattered. I was lost to the asshole who left without a word. If I wasn't, I'd have offered to host the dinner at my house and left my staff out of it."Not at all. Kent seems too proud of himself for getting you to join the firm." I pulled down the mirror above my head and checked my face."He's an old friend of my brother, Jack's. They went to school together." He turned and pulled u

MattEvery mess up from the last two weeks rolled through my mind as if on a carousal as I sat on the plane on Wednesday morning. I'd jacked things up with Erica royally, and damn if I didn't try and call her several times after talking to Sophie on Monday only to hang up when her voicemail picked up. There was no way I was apologizing in a message on her phone. It would have been easy, but she and I both knew that was the chicken-shit way of doing things.Damon and I worked out our differences the day before, and I was glad to be back on even playing ground with him. It wasn't his fault that I was perpetually dicking up my life, but it sure felt good to push it off onto him.I groaned and pressed my palms to my eyes. Erica has to forgive me. She has to understand."No... she doesn't." I ran my fingers down my face as the flight attendant at the front of the private jet gave me an odd look. "I talk to myself all the time." I smiled. "Mostly because I'm the only one that doesn't argue