Page 36 of The Billionaire Mismatch

“Yeah, but that’s not the same. So, fill me in. You went out with Olivia again. Is it Olivia? Not just Livv?” he asks.

“It’s Olivia,” I say.

“So she was lying about her name,” he shakes his head.

“Livv is short for Olivia. That’s not a lie,” I say. “And where are you going with this?”

“I’m just saying, boss. You’ve been going out with the host of that tacky podcast about dating in the wild. And she knows who you are. She’s messing with you; we’ve established that. She could be lying about more things.”

“Like what?” I growl, but Matt just casually shrugs.

“I don’t know. Maybe we should listen to the podcast and find out,” he says. I just stare at him.

“I’m not listening to her podcast. I have no interest in romance-based theories on how to make relationships last,” I say.

“And yet you continue to go out with her,” he says. “So what happened?”

And while I’m not really in the mood to entertain this, I have to admit…last night’s date was pretty well executed.

“I took her to Lanturns,” I start in.

“Swanky. I bet she ate that up,” he grins.

“She did,” I say. “We ate. Drank. Talked. She’s witty; I’ll give her that.”

“Of course she is; she talks to people for a living. She’s used to being persuasive and getting what she wants. So then what?” he asks, popping a pretzel in his mouth.

“So then I drove her home. And she was very eager to get home. Smiling, leaning in, batting her eyes,” I go on.

“Listen, if she looks in person anything like those photos…”

“Even better,” I say, and he chuckles. My lips curl at the memory. “She wore this satin gown,”

“A gown?” His eyebrows jet up to his still thick hairline.

“Yeah. Black. Backless. No bra…”

“Damn,” he whistles. “I bet that was fun to tear apart.”

“I wouldn’t know,” I say as I take another sip, and Matt’s jaw drops.

“You mean you didn’t…what?” he asks, and I just shake my head. “Why the hell not? Did she turn you down?”

“Nope,” I say, leaning back comfortably. Meanwhile, Matt is hanging on my words. “She wanted it. She invited me inside. Twice. But I kissed her, said goodnight, and left.”

“Holy…shit…” he chuckles, and my lips curl again. “You’re an asshole.”

“Yeah, well…that’s the point, isn’t it?” I ask.

“Alright, so let’s just…summarize the scenario here. A little recap,” he says. “So she’s leading you on with the intention of screwing you over because you rejected her friend? But you figured it out, so you are leading her on too because you’re onto her, but she doesn’t know that you know.”

“Pretty much, yeah,” I say.

“This is…” Matt trails off, wiping his hand down his face with a grin. “It’s hilarious. And brilliant. Her face must have been priceless when you walked off.”

“It was,” I say. Then…and only because I am talking to Matt and no one else. “Do you think it’s too much?”

Matt nearly chokes on his beer. “Too much? Luca, she’s using you. Trying to pull one over on you so she can use it as researchto back her wacky beliefs for her little radio show. A radio show that could damage our reputation if she put enough effort into it. No. I don’t think it’s too much.”