Page 108 of The Billionaire Mismatch

“I knew they had to,” she says, biting her lip. “I kind of…got really upset after our fight and told him about the podcast.”

“I know,” I tell her.

“How do you know?” she asks.

“He told me,” I say. “And then he broke it off,”

“I know,” she says. “It’s all over social media. Speculations, anyway. But also, you look like hell. And I feel like it’s my fault.”

“It’s not your fault,” I insist. “I mean…it kind of is. But it isn’t. I should have told him about the podcast. Honestly, I should have never fallen in love with him at all. None of this would have happened if I had just stuck to the plan and…and… followed–”

“His lead?” she asks with a smirk.

“Yeah…”

“It’s not your fault that you fell in love with him,” she says. “Especially considering he obviously fell in love with you.”

I don’t know what to say. But my eyes are filling with tears.

“Olivia, if it’s real, you’ve got to fix it.”

“How?” I ask, my voice cracking with the question. “He won’t talk to me.”

Sadie bites her lip in thought. And I know that look. Sadie is nothing if not determined. And if I didn’t know any better, I’dsay she’s coming up with something. A new plan. Hopefully, this one doesn’t backfire.

Chapter 39

Luca

Drinking alone is an underrated sport.

I know there’s a stigma around it. I know it can look desperate or depressing, but sometimes the world is too crowded, and it’s what you need to clear your brain. I chose a good ole boy bar called Torpedo’s. It’s Boston’s version of a biker bar, but instead of men with Harleys, it’s retired Navy men with anchor tattoos.

I know what you’re thinking. Not my kind of place. I mean the floor is sticky with no less than thirty years of spilled beer, for fuck’s sake. But that is exactly the point. Nobody here uses dating apps. Nobody here is looking for an organic connection unless it’s a connection to five-dollar pitchers.

I order the oldest whiskey they have, a double barrel aged bourbon, and sip on it while my muscles slowly loosen, praying the tension in my brain will follow suit.

Matt’s words were both annoying and enlightening. Despite everything that’s happened, I can’t deny that I don’t like the way I acted at the office. I never scream for no reason. Hell, I neverscream. It’s unhinged and shows a lack of control. And when it comes to my business, I never lose control.

Of course, I’ve always said that about my personal life too. I don’t want to be that person. It’s why I’ve never allowed myself to fall in love.

Yet here I am, drinking whiskey at a bar with submarines on the wall so I can escape whatever my life has become. I feel like I am spiraling down a rabbit hole and wondering if I’m too far gone to climb back out.

“Well, isn’t this charming…”

I know the voice before I even turn around. It’s Sadie. And all I can think is you have to be fucking kidding me.

I grit and set my drink down on the bar before slowly turning to face her. “Sadie, this whole you showing up where I am thing is starting to get really–” I stop, wondering for a moment just how strong this whiskey is. “...annoying. What the hell are you doing here?”

“I was about to ask you the same thing,” Matt says, taking a seat next to me at the bar. Sadie reluctantly sits on the other side of him, ignoring the seedy, yellow-eyed grins coming from guys across the bar.

“Couldn’t you have found a better place to drown your sorrows?” she asks, leaning towards Matt. “If anyone asks, we’re together.”

“I came here so no one would recognize or find me,” I say. “Speaking of which, how did you find me?”

“Your work phone shares its location with your laptop. And your laptop password is five hundred mill strong, all lowercase, one word.”

Motherfucker.