Page 63 of Billionaire’s Game

Misha held her hands up and said, “Alright, alright. I get it. Ok. Cool. Whatever. Let’s change the subject. Lesli’s in love with Magnus.”

I opened my mouth, closed it and then opened it again. “Thanks for telling the world, Misha.”

“I knew love was in the air!” Oliver said giddily. “I’m so happy for you. Magnus is a great guy. Hard worker. You know he single-handedly rebuilt his family’s wealth. His mom, Jenny, gave away the entire family fortune to some charlatan in Sri Lanka, I think it was.” He shrugged. “But Magnus didn’t feel entitled to her wealth like his father did. He couldn’t have cared less, but his dad was always looking for a handout. I sort of got the feeling that’s why he married Jenny. They never really had much in common. Anyway, Magnus made it his mission to build back the family fortune. Been working hard at it for nearly a decade. I have nothing but good things to say about him. You chose a real winner, Lesli.”

I knew he was right. Magnus was a great guy. I wouldn’t have fallen for him if he wasn’t.

“So are you guys going to tie the knot?” Oliver asked.

“Woah, hold on Oliver,” Lacey said. “He doesn’t even know how she feels yet.”

He looked at me in confusion. “But why?”

“It’s a long story, Oliver, and he kind of has a girlfriend—”

“What?” Now he was frowning.

I filled them all in, leaving out any X-rated parts.

“Wow, the situation does sound pretty complicated,” Kat said, looking concerned.

“It is.” I felt forlorn suddenly. Why had I let things spiral out of control? If I hadn’t been so stubborn and insecure, my relationship with Magnus would have progressed like all other normal people, but nooo, I had to make things difficult.

I was trying to find something to say when suddenly the music came to a sudden stop and we all turned in the direction of the DJ who was looking a little bit afraid. Standing next to him, waving a microphone threateningly at the security guards was a familiar looking man. I just couldn’t place him. He was young, tall, blonde.

And then it hit me. “That’s Violet’s boyfriend!”

“Violet’s dating Magnus and has a boyfriend. How does she find the time?” Kat wondered out loud.

“I mean ex. That’s her ex-boyfriend.”

“What’s he doing here? And why is he fighting the security guard over the microphone?”

“Leave me alone. I have something to say and I’m going to say it,” Violet’s ex-boyfriend shouted into the mike.

The security guards grabbed him and he ducked around them, disappearing under the table with the mike.

“Violet, sweetie,” he said while kicking at the security guards’ hands as they dragged him from underneath the table. “I only want to be with you!” he crooned.

I looked around for Violet who was standing there in shock. Magnus was by her side looking bewildered. The others and I moved closer, not wanting to miss a moment of this show.

The security guards now had Violet’s ex-boyfriend by his underarms and were trying to drag him out.

“Oh wait, wait. Don’t hurt him. He’s the love of my life!”

There was an audible gasp from the audience, myself included. Magnus continued to look bewildered, turning from Violet’s ex-boyfriend to Violet.

With much fanfare, Violet reached up and kissed Magnus on the cheek. “You’re great. You really are but, you know, I just don’t really feel anything between us.”

Magnus opened his mouth to say something when Violet pressed her finger against his lips and said, “Shhh. Don’t say anything. I know you’re in shock. I know you’ll never meet anyone else like me in your entire life and I’m sorry for you about that.” She stood back and took his hands, continuing, “But trust me that I’ll always have a special place in my heart for you. And you can always follow me on Instagram.”

She happily reached for her ex-boyfriend’s hand who took one last parting jab at Magnus. “Yo’ man, you better not follow my girl on Instagram, got that?”

Violet giggled. “Oh, Steve. You’re so virile and protective. I always loved that about you.”

“Anything for you, girl. You know you’re my girl, right? I love you so much. I messed up. I’ll never kiss another woman again unless that other woman is you.” His eyes were red as he started to tear up and his lips trembled.

“I love you, too,” Violet said as her eyes began to water. That was the end of the sweetness as they started slobbering on each other while the rest of us watched in shock.