Her Forbidden Billionaire

Chapter 2

It was truly unbelievable how every busy man thought of Christmas as a desperate time to find a family to nestle with until the holiday lasted. The same was the case of Dean Franklin, who was sitting in an airplane and looking through the window into the vast blueness.

He despised to be left alone, for that meant thinking and over-thinking and analyzing and simply torturing his mind with useless stuff. That was why he had his grim face on, his right leg crossed over his left and his fingers to his lips. He had a glass of Scotch right next to him and he reached for it. His lips touched the rim; the orange liquid entered his mouth, burning his throat and gut. He shook his head a little to take it all in. There wasn’t a billionaire across the whole wide planet Earth who didn’t drink alcohol to escape the risks and the severe daily routines of games and politics and tricks for the billions to stay in their account. Dean, for instance, drank for fun and for the sheer feeling of being alive. As the roaring liquid passed to his stomach, he felt that he existed. That he was there. Wasn’t it a wise man who said, ‘I drink, therefore I am’ or was it something else? Dean couldn’t remember.

He looked at himself in the glass. Raven-black hair that was turned into spikes. Equally-black charming, cunning eyes. Full lips. Chocolate skin. Broad shoulders. Suddenly, his cellphone buzzed in his jacket and he fished it out. He saw it was from his office and pressed the green button. “Yes?”

“Mr. Franklin, I just phoned to say that Ladybug has right now signed the contract.”

A smile instantaneously graced his face. He used code names for the celebrities and successful people he worked with and Ladybug was a code name for a new debut singer who was supposed to record her first single. His team and Dean believed strongly in her and the gut feeling in him told him that she was going to climb high in the charts.

He built an entertainment empire that weighed numbers followed by nine zeros. It was mind-blowing really to be the CEO of all of that and more. His father, Raymond, was also a gigantic figure but was now living abroad with a girlfriend. He was a bitter memory in his son’s notebook. Why did Dean think of him?

As if summoned by his simple will, a woman entered his private space. It was the actress that had signed her contract a year ago and was now coming back from a film festival where she had won the top prize and all thanks to him. She was indeed talented, but needed a bit of a push by a mogul like him. And besides she was incredibly beautiful with a stunning body. He planned her for the new science-fiction blockbuster that would hit the theaters next year.

“Hey, Mr. Franklin,” she spoke slowly closing the door and sitting next to him.

“I think we discussed our first-name basis, didn’t we?” He chuckled.

“Oh, I always forget these things, Dean. I am so sorry.” She stood up now and went to the bar and took a glass of Scotch herself. “Let’s make a toast!”

“For what?”

“For my success and the great team we are,” she spoke proudly, putting the glass in the air. Her long blond hair was put behind her.

“I will drink to that.” Dean sipped again, the strength of the drink overwhelming him. Perhaps it wasn’t right to begin the day with alcohol, but it already happened and it was too late for backing away now.

They remained in silence until the actress shrank the space between them and that was when it dawned on Dean. He was an old dog for these things.

“You know, Dean. I can never thank you enough for recognizing me and doing all of this for me.” Her hand was on his cheek, her thumb fondling his chocolate skin. He closed his eyes at her touch. What could an eligible bachelor do?

“You deserved all of it,” he breathed out and kissed her hand. She took that as a positive sign and placed her hand on his chest.

“Oh, we both know that I would be nothing without you, my Dean.” She went further now and unbuttoned the first button, sliding her hand across his brown skin. Her other hand reached for his crotch, grabbing it firmly.

Suddenly dark thoughts flooded his mind. “I can’t. No. Leave me alone.”

“But?” She asked standing up.

“Go! I want to be at peace.” Dean shooed her out as she straightened her skirt and exited his private chambers.

Sally was straight before his eyes, her almond eyes and her smile flashing right before him. He had had a long relationship with her. Although he hadn’t been a hundred percent into the whole thing, it had been nice to feel her beside him and to simply know that he had had someone at the end of the day when the shadows grew longer and everyone went back home.

Yes. He had no luck in the love department and the wound was still fresh for him to meet new girls or date again. It was something no one could ask of him. Spending the rest of the flight on his phone, checking the entertainment part in the online versions of the American daily newspapers, he was dying of boredom. And the fact that the Christmas holidays were closer and closer, he realized that he would spent them just like that. In boredom. Watching the calendar and counting down the days until work began again and he would dress in his black suit and roam the chaotic streets of the States.

They finally landed and he headed for the white limousine when a thought occurred to him. As a matter of fact, he had someone to spend Christmas with. He had one relative whom he hadn’t had a fight with or distanced from. Yes.

He fumbled with the internal pocket of his jacket to fetch his phone faster. He dialed his secretary’s number.

“Hey, can you please find a person for me?”

“Sure! It depends on the person we are searching for. Do you have a name, sir?”

“Yes, I do. First name Raina. R-A-I-N-A. Last name Barnes,” he said confidently with a wide grin.

*****

“Wow, it has been more than three years, it seems, since the last time we spoke!” Raina was ecstatic to hear from her stepfather’s son. When her mother had married Raymond, Dean had also been welcomed into the family, but due to his busy schedule and ever-growing business he hadn’t had time to visit her or talk to her.

“Yeah, it feels like forever. What’s up with you?”

“The usual stuff really. I am preoccupied with the grocery store and that’s it. Christmas is coming, so it has been absolute chaos there,” she said and scratched her hand.

“I perfectly understand. You know, I am not really on speaking terms with father…”

“Why? What happened?” Raina was taken aback. They had had an amazing father-son relationship. She wondered what had caused the tensions between them.

“It is a story for another time. But I was wondering if I could spend Christmas with you. You are my only family left and the holidays are the time that everyone spends with their closest ones. If you have other plans, it is totally okay,” he said all of it in a breath, ushering the words only to get to the point.

She was utterly shocked. Dean hadn’t called in a decade and now he wanted to spend Christmas with her? It was like a lightning bolt from a clear sky. He? To spend Christmas with her? They didn’t know each other and didn’t even have mutual topics or same interests. They were practically two different worlds that couldn’t collide. Raina remembered that they said hi a few times on some family events, but nothing beside that.