All Chapters of The Billionaire's Part Time Lover: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

He was lying

NOELLEAutumn, winters, thanksgiving or Valentine if that counted weren’t my best moments but I never really had a reason for not loving it, except I was born in the holidays and named after it. Glad I wasn't named Valentine or Valerie, no disrespect there but I'd rather not.It was bad enough to be Noelle and Holly and my old man's dead jokes about decking halls with balls of Holly.None of that mattered now.It was Valentine's Day, our big day. I and the love of my life.I took a good look at my fingers, I had gotten them done earlier in the day and made sure not to smudge the pastel pink polish, the gloss glistened under the yellow candle glow.Clayton loved subtle colors.You know how I said I hated holidays or disliked? Valentine's day didn't count because I always wished to be proposed to on the day of love. Sounds cliche and could get swallowed up with the army of reds and whites in restaurants, people smooching and professing undying love.I know it could get swept under the b

Will you marry me? From the wrong person!

NOELLERumble? He thinks Rumble is our restaurant?Nothing romantic about Rumble, it's more like roommates having a greasy dinner that'd probably kill them in their sleep, their heart suffocating, sizzling on all the cholesterol.There was no fine dining at Rumble, only burgers and oil drenched fries, the only thing nice was their fish cakes and onion rings and those were things he liked.I had introduced him to La Vista and it had since then been a staple when he wasn't complaining about the cost but here he was, bringing some strange woman.My nails dug under the table until it hurt, my heart palpitated heavily. Eyes still trained on them and one hand clutching my chest, I reached for the glass of water but ended up pushing it off the table, calling unwanted attention to where I was sitting in a corner like a neglected puppy.The glass had shattered all over the floor, I felt a sting on my foot but what's a sting when your entire body was cramping.I ducked as soon as Clayton and h

She Said Yes To Me

EMERIC.I didn't work at the restaurant all the time but the few times I stood in for Ben, I had seen Noelle and this man. The same man proposing to another woman.Love was the most glaring thing ever, you could just see it between two people.It didn't hide but with this man, I never for once saw it. Noelle was always the excited one.My stomach churned.I observed her demeanor when she walked in. She was beaming, giddy and as always she walked straight to the counter asking for the chef to remind me of her special order and all that she had planned. She did that all the time and that was how I got to know her name.She always reserved a table in her name. Noelle Holly Roberts. I always thought it was a distinct name.She thought I was like some head waiter or something but I was the head chef on some days and I knew she couldn't eat anything with cloves in it.The few times I watched her converse with Ben, I just knew she was a sweet, kind woman. She smiled and gushed, her little

I Was Point Blank Foolish

NOELLE Holyshit! I said yes.I freaking said yes and I was kissing this man.He tasted like spice and sugar, or was it wine.Who on earth was this guy?First the big rock on my finger , his expensive ocean cologne maybe Dior or some highly exalted brand and then he kisses me?For the love of me!I was beginning to think he was some sort of poser or a robber, or maybe he stole from a pawn shop but then pawn shops don't have these kinds of diamonds these days.Or a con man?Whatever! He kissed well. The best I'd ever had. Clayton didn't kiss me this way.Our kiss came to an abrupt halt when Clayton pushed this gentle waiter who had just given me something to be proud of.He grabbed my arm tightly, the waiter made an attempt to step in but I signalled him not to.“Is this what you do now? You've been cheating on me?” My pulse picked up momentum, I could hear it in my ears, rage came over me, from the depths I didn't even know I had.“Take your filthy hands off me Clayton” I said betwe

Just Not Yet

EMERIC She was looking around the bar while the server poured us our drink, she ordered the strongest scotch in the house and I had a bourbon.I didn't stop her from ordering high content alcohol, I would want to feel nothing but numbness at this time if I was in her shoesI felt like I understood her on a different level.The disappointment, the feeling of not being enough and taken for granted, you could just feel your self worth depreciating.I knew it all too well.I took a sip from my drink. “Are you looking for something?”She was stunned and blinked at me.“You keep looking around and I wonder what for”“No… no” She shook her head, “it's just been a long day.”She was thinking about it, it seemed so.I inched closer to her and our knees touched, she leaned in to sip her drink from the glass, rounding her lips over the rim of the glass and throwing it all back in one gulp. She cleared her throat afterwards.I corked my head, a light bulb had come on. “Tell me about your day.”

Chapter 6: Diamond

NoelleMy head was doing something it had never done before, something between a marching band rehearsal and an incessant bass drop that never fully died out. I opened one eye and immediately regretted the decision. Sunlight, unbothered by my pounding brain, poured through a gap in my curtains personally gloating.I groaned into my pillow. My mouth tasted like stale scotch, metal and something much more bitter.Betrayal.Right.Bits and pieces came back to me in the worst possible order.Clayton's stupid, happy face. Vivian's red nails. A wine glass shattering. My own voice, loud and unhinged, telling an entire restaurant that my ex-best friend knew nothing about being a decent human being.And then, green eyes. A ring. A kiss that tasted like coconut and made my toes curl in a way three years with Clayton never managed.I sat up too fast, and my stomach whooshed violently in disagreement with the motion."Okay," I whispered to no one, "okay, okay, okay."My hand went instincti

Chapter 7: Go and Cash

Noelle Gold and Cash sat wedged between a laundromat and a vape shop, its sign missing the LD in gold so it read GO AND CASH in flickering yellow letters, lopsided, felt about right for where my life currently was. I'd changed out of yesterday's shirt, at least. I showered, swallowed more water than I thought a human stomach could hold, hoping that the nauseating feeling would be drowned out, but bad idea because now my stomach made a sound when I moved too fast. My most nondescript hoodie was the outfit for the day, better to blend in while I attempted to offload evidence of my own personal crime scene. Because that's what this was, wasn't it. A crime scene. Exhibit A: one engagement ring, obtained under false pretenses, currently residing on the ring finger of a woman who had absolutely no business wearing it. Had Emeric stolen it? Or was it a mistake? Exhibit A? Nahhh, more like the victim in all this. A typical example of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The

Chapter 8: Unfortunate Luck

Noelle I sat in my car outside the pawn shop for a full ten minutes before I trusted myself to drive.More than the shop itself, the words of the grumpy man kept looping, an ugly little chorus I couldn't shake. I'd worn, slept while wearing, showered next to, brushed my teeth beside, a ring worth more than my entire apartment building, probably, and I hadn't even had the decency to be nervous about it until now.Classic Noelle always landing herself in trouble.Okay. Fine. New plan. I couldn't sell it, wouldn't sell it, didn't even want it, not really. I wanted my dignity back and Clayton's smug face wiped permanently from existence, and this ring wasn't going to get me either of those things. It was only ever going to get me deeper into whatever this was. Talking about Clayton, I imagined he was all cozied up with his new found love while I had to worry about being arrested for a jewelry heist I had nothing to do with.Clayton was an asshole and I'd been unable to shake off the b

Chapter 9

Noelle The GPS took me down roads that got me progressively less convinced of it ever leading to an office space.First it was the highway, easy. Then it narrowed into a two-lane road with actual trees crowding above it, the further I drove the more I left behind possible locations for an office, my GPS was leading me to one of the porshest residential areas. The tall trees blocked out the sun in patches so the whole drive strobed between light-dark-light-dark until you feel a a little dizzy. Then the houses started spacing out, further and further apart, until there weren't houses at all, no businesses at all, just long stretches of stone wall half-swallowed by ivy, the stonewall game way to a much more modern outlook."Your destination is on the left," my GPS announced, entirely too casual for what I was looking at.I slowed the car to a stop in front of a set of iron gates taller than my apartment building.No buzzer intercom with a company directory, no little sign that read Mil

CHAPTER 10: Noelle

Noelle I parked where a car wasn't supposed to be parked and where someone's father probably mowed every two days, mostly because I couldn't quite find wherever cars were actually supposed to be parked, and sat there for a solid thirty seconds gripping the wheel.I breathed out, slowly.Fine. Okay. In. Ring. Out. That was the plan. Not complicated. Or just drop it at the door as earlier discussed.I got out before I could think myself out of it, ring clutched in my fist like it might make a break for it, and walked up to a front door that was easily twice my height, dark wood with iron detailing that matched the gate, because apparently even the door needed to remind you this wasn't a place that did anything halfway.The suited men all watched me and I felt like an ant under a microscope. I half expected one of them to tackle me to the ground but nope, they all just stared at me while some looked away as though I was not a worthwhile use of their time.The walk up alone took longer t

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