Page 45 of Billionaire’s Promise

“I – um – have a work thing to sort out. I have to go.”

“No, you don’t.” Oops. “Whatever it is, get someone else to sort it out.”

He pulled my face up towards his and I could feel my feet pointing up on my tiptoes as my lips opened for his.

“You’re doing fine.” I whispered.

“I need you.” His hand went up to push a strand of hair away from my face. I closed my eyes trying not to squirm. He reached down and our lips met.

I’m in so much trouble.

* * *

For the first time in my life, I realized that I was a poor sucker for hypnotism. True Blood has been one of my favorite shows of all time. In fact, I binged it all over again when it became available on my streaming service not too long ago. And I told myself that only people with weak mind control would be glamoured by those gorgeous blood suckers. I knew I would be like Sookie Stackhouse, completely immune to them.

Perhaps I don’t know myself as well as I used to.

I wasn’t implying that Kai knew about hypnotism and that he was using that on me. But if he did, then I probably would hand over my bank account details along with the jewelry my granny passed down to me. However, Kai wouldn’t care much about my little treasure chest.

The kiss confused me. I wanted to clarify our relationship, if there even is one. I had been on plenty of quick dates through swiping apps and had a few dates with men who all but had giant red flags waving behind them. None of the dates were anything I would be too proud of. But we were talking about my brother’s best friend here. Clearly, there were rules about humans that were close to your life? Like, some kind of code about that.

A drunken night with a stranger is one thing. Your brother’s best friend is a whole other matter.

I’d known Kai ever since I was a kid. We weren’t best friends or anything. But he had been in my life more than some of my high school friends – during important events of my life anyway. He also kind of saved my life on many occasions. My crush and lust for him had always been there since day one. Unfortunately, he only ever saw me as the little sister that he never had.

Thanks to Lucy, our intimate session was cut short. It was Jenny who had interrupted us, however. She was simply too excited about the shopping event that Lucy had arranged for us.

In about thirty minutes, a crew of staff in tailor-made suits from Gucci arrived. Lucy’s family had an account with Gucci, among other fancy luxury brands – mostly French and Italian. I figured when she meant accounts – or memberships, her words, not mine – she didn’t mean the same lame kind that I get when I signed up to Costco, or Target. None of my memberships would have their staff bring the latest seasons of clothing and accessories for our choosing. They even brought their own sparkling wine.

Lucy said that Gucci was the only one available on such short notice. They weren’t going to come in the beginning, but she had made a call to her guy in Italy to pull some strings. I couldn’t help but wonder, what would it be like to have all these brands available to you at the snap of a finger?

I watched the staff giving us an introduction to their latest products. Lucy decided that every single one of them was made for Jenny. Either they went well with her eyes, or her hair color, or her skin tone. Don’t get me wrong, it was very sweet of her to compliment her best friend. Retail therapy is a thing, and I know a lot of people do find joy in that.

Jenny was mesmerized by the introduction of each of the items. She studied every one of them carefully when they were passed around for us to see. I even saw her sniffing one of the dresses. I thought luxury items would be like everyday items to someone like her. Clearly, she really appreciated the craftsmanship of a good designer item.

Lucy occasionally pointed a few items my way, but I wasn’t planning to shop on impulse. I make terrible choices when I do, and I wasn’t familiar with this kind of shopping. I wouldn’t know how to return an item if I didn’t like it later.

“That gown would be perfect for you.” Kai creeped up behind me a little while after he left us to have our fun. His words.

“I’m not sure.” I gasped. The skintight wine-colored gown didn’t seem like something anyone could just slip on. You would need a helper to get you into it. It was very much like a hold-your-breath tight mermaid wedding dress. That was what Chloe wore at her wedding, and I had helped her whenever she needed the toilet at her wedding.

“Good eye, Mister Li. This is a one-of-a-kind dress. This is the only one in New York.” The brunette lady who seemed to be in-charge explained.

Kai nodded but didn’t say another word.

I felt bad about not buying anything from them. They had brought up their entire collection to show us, minus the sold-out items of course.

“Pick anything you want.” Lucy said nonchalantly, before looking back at the woman in charge. “Just add it to my account.”

I shook my head hard and repeated the words no several times. “I haven’t really seen anything yet.”

“No, honestly. I haven’t even finished my credit from 2019.”

“Forgive me. What do you mean credit?” It might sound like a stupid question to her, but I really wasn’t familiar with what she meant.

“Oh, can you explain Samantha.” Lucy answered. I only realized then that Lucy and the lady in charge were on a first name basis. Though why Samantha couldn’t come to us when Lucy called the first time, was a mystery to me.

Samantha smiled lightly – though I couldn’t tell if she was just being polite or if she was laughing at me. “Miss Zhang’s family currently hold the largest account in the world with Gucci. Every year, Mr. Zhang will top up an amount of store credit for Miss Zhang to use. Members can choose the desirable amount of credit to top up and that will determine the tier of membership they are in. Credits are not refundable and can only be spent with Gucci.”