Billionaire Next Door
Aoife Griffin
Jesse forced a smile on his face as he greeted yet another guest, endured the three minutes of chitchat he limited himself to, and then move on to the next guest who had shown up for the opening party of his new house. He was not really a big fan of throwing parties. Turns out when a billionaire spend a lot of money buying a house, he had to spend even more on throwing a party to celebrate that. He didn’t mind the money so much. What he minded was the people and the social expectation on him, which funny enough was one more reason why he was throwing the party in the first place. This was supposed to mark the end of his unofficial mourning of his wife death five years ago, and rejoin society.
So far, he was not really enjoying his comeback. Mostly because people still took the time to mention his wife in some way, talk about how they missed her or how great she was. It was, frankly, annoying. Since the whole point was to show that he had put the grief behind him. He made his way towards Calvin and his new girlfriend. She was a fashion designer, or something like that. And if the dress she was wearing was her design, then she was really good. Actually, it was quite refreshing to see Calvin with someone other than that leech, Estefan. He knew Estefan was no good for Calvin the moment he laid eyes on her. It was clear she was with him only for his money. But Calvin had been too besotted with her for him to do anything other than congratulate him. He liked the new girl though. Mostly because of the way she looked at him, like he hung the sun and moon in the sky. And he, hadn’t taken his eyes, or hand off her all night.
Even now as he approached them, they separated with guilty looks on their face.
“Jesse,” Calvin brightened when he saw it was just him.
“Great party, Mr. Williams,” Zara chimed in, her cheeks tinged with red and the rumple in her dress proof that they had been fooling around.
“Thanks, and you can call me Jesse.” He turned around to look at the guests talking and laughing. “With the money I paid for it, of course it is a great party.”
“Doesn’t seem like you are having much fun in it though,” ** commented, his gaze steady on his friend.
“It’s that obvious?”
“Not really.” Calvin shrugged. “But I know you very well. And I also know you don’t really like parties.”
“No I don’t.” Jesse didn’t bother denying it. He took another look around. “Where is Damon?”
“I don’t know.” Calvin also looked around for their friend. Although knowing Damon, it would not be too surprising if they found out he had left the party.
“I think I saw him head towards the kitchen,” Zara chimed in.
Jesse didn’t need to ask where Jonathan was. He was aware of his reputation and would have bet his bottom dollar he and his girlfriend were in one of the room upstairs doing something naughty. Actually, fiancé, since they had announced their engagement at the beginning of the party when all four friends had gathered first in the library upstairs, along with Zara and Zoe. It was kinda scary, and refreshing at the same time to see the Lothario of their group get engaged. It was downright shocking to ever imagine he would ever find a woman that could hold him down.
“Hey, is that Michel Sole from Versace?” Zara asked and Calvin rolled his eyes.
“You always think everyone you see is from one magazine or the other.” Then he sighed when she just stared at him. “Alright, I’ll introduce you.”
Jesse watched the both of them leave. After a few seconds of just standing around without an interest in talking to anyone in the party, he sneaked up the stairs and to the library, hoping he was going to have some peace and quiet.
He thought of calling his mother to check up on Emma and Stefan. Then remembered she said she was taking them to the movies that night and they would be coming in late. Sighing, he couldn’t believe he missed his kids with all the headache that came with making sure they were fed, safe and happy. He pushed the door of the library open and came to a stop as he realized his plan to spend the night in the library alone was going to be disrupted by a beautiful redhead in a dazzling white gown. He knew her. Ella, the recently divorced woman that stayed in the mansion next to him. His realtor had told him a few things about her. Like how her husband had been cheating on her for years, before she finally decided enough was enough and pulled the plug on their marriage.
The realtor hadn’t told him the husband was a fool though, because Jesse could never imagine in the life for him why anyone would find a reason to cheat on someone as stunning as her. She was sitting in the chair by the fireplace with a book in her lap and a glass of scotch in her hand. Her hair framed one of the most beautiful face he had ever laid his eyes on. He remembered she used to be a model before she got married. He wondered why she stopped. God knows he wouldn’t hesitate to buy anything they slapped her face on.
Then she raised her head up and saw him standing at the door and quickly got up, distress on her face. “Sorry, I just came in to…”
“Escape the bedlam outside?” he finished for her. “Don’t worry, I won’t judge you if you don’t judge me.”
Her lips curved in a small smile. “I don’t know. I mean I am not the one who’s throwing the party so I think you have more to answer for if we were judging. Hi, I’m Ella. I live next door.”