Best Friend Billionaire: Billionaire Bachelors, #3

By Lexi Banks

Madison and Parker have been best friends since they were in High School. Parker has always had the hots for her but she was scared dating would ruin their friendship. But it all changes when Madison gets jealous of a girl Parker goes on date with.

• Language: English
• Publisher: DM
• Release date: May 19, 2019
• ISBN: 9781393025498

Book preview

—Get My FREE Billionaire Book—

Chapter 1 – Parker

Friday

Yo, Parker, Buster declared in a very unprofessional tone which didn’t match the look of his sleek office at all. But he saved that only for me, so it was okay. How’s it going, buddy?

He leaned back in his chair and wiggled his thick black eyebrows at me. They still retained the color even though his hair was starting to show flecks of gray, giving away his thirty-two years of age. Still, it didn’t harm him; he was very well known for being a desirable bachelor. He would be a silver fox for sure.

Yeah, all good. I slumped into the chair opposite him and gave him a wink. Then I used my middle finger to push my black-rimmed glasses back up to the top of my nose. Just come to see how my investments are doing? I’ve trusted you with my fortune, you know, I teased. I want to check you’re doing good things with it.

Buster rolled his eyes and me and snickered. "Dude, I always make you richer than you already are. He hit some buttons on his computer, causing a report to print out. But I can prove that to you, don’t worry."

As he handed me the first few sheets of paper, I looked over them, checking all the details. I didn’t come from much, I wasn’t poor growing up, but we certainly weren’t wealthy either, so when I started up my own technology business as soon as I completed my computer science degree, I relied on the help of venture capitalists. Luckily, because I had some great people behind me and I made some wise choices, my company exploded, and I made a lot of money from it. Even more when I sold it, so now I wanted to use my money to help out others. I chose wisely with the help of Buster and had been at the starting ground of a lot of success. It helped me to build up my cash flow, not that it needed a lot of help, and give life to others too. It felt awesome.

Yep, okay, so it all looks good, I told him with a wink. I’m happy with how things are going.

Buster snorted and shook his head at me. You’re a bit of an asshole, aren’t you?

I know, I replied. But you love it.

Yeah, yeah, whatever. Buster took the report from me and put it in a folder for me. He knew that while I was good at a lot of things, I did need some assistance with organizing. So, what are your weekend plans.

I smiled to myself as I thought about what I had lined up for the weekend. So, I’m actually spending some time with Madison this weekend. We’re going to the cancer center to do some volunteering.

Buster tossed his head back and laughed loudly. You say that like you aren’t with Madison Avia all the freaking time. Honestly, I don’t believe that you two aren’t screwing. It doesn’t make any sense.

I rolled my eyes; he really couldn’t let this subject go. Just because he was a smooth bachelor who had women throwing themselves at him all the time, didn’t mean I was the same. I just wasn’t as cool.

Well, believe it because we aren’t. We never have been. We’ve just been friends for too long.

I thought about Madison and smiled to myself. She was an awesome girl and beautiful too. I loved her long red hair that made her look like a certain cartoon mermaid, and her deep green eyes were incredible too, as was her slim curvy body, but we really had been friends for as long as I could remember. I couldn’t imagine us ever being anything more. It would be too weird by this point. We would always be friends and nothing more.

Hmm, I just don’t buy it. Buster shook his head. I don’t know why you wouldn’t want to be with her; not only is she smoking hot but she’s really nice too. And she’s funny. You should want to be with her.

I could hear the words that he refused to say. He had told me before, and I knew that he didn’t want to keep going on about it, but he didn’t like the women I usually dated. To be fair to him, he was right. I did seem to be attracted to the women who didn’t really like me for anything other than my money, but I couldn’t seem to help it. I just wasn’t great with that sort of stuff. As I told Buster once, I never got any female attention in high school, I was seen as far too nerdy to be attractive then, so this was all new for me. Sometimes I got wrapped up women just because they showered me with affection. I couldn’t help it.

Maddie wouldn’t be that way, I just knew it. She had absolutely no interest in cash at all. She didn’t treat me any differently now that I was wealthy than she did when I was just the normal kid who lived down the road from her, and I loved her for that. But friendship love, nothing more. It never, ever would be.

Well, I don’t want to be with her, I announced as I scraped my chair back. So, that’s that.

Me thinks thou dost protest too much! Buster teased, still not letting it go. But that’s just my opinion.

You can keep your opinion to yourself. I’ll see you later on in the week, okay?

I waved goodbye to Buster and left. He was still giving me an intense look, almost as if he believed that he could see right through me and he knew things that I didn’t. It did infuriate me a little bit that he thought there was more to mine and Maddie’s relationship than there was because it made me a little uncomfortable. That girl was the steadiest thing in my life. It felt like she’d been around for the whole twenty-eight years of my life, even though she moved next door when I was about seven. I didn’t want to wreck things over something that could easily to only turn out to be a fling. It wasn’t worth it.

I didn’t want to think about it anymore; I could already feel my stomach churning with confusion. I needed to speak to Maddie right now so she could put me back on the even keel. I grabbed my cell phone out of my pocket and dialed her number quickly. It wasn’t hard to find since she was always on my last call list.

Hello there, Parker! she answered in her usual bubbly tone. How’s it going?

My heart warmed up in my chest. I always felt better after speaking to her. Good, I’m okay. And you?

I’m all good too, you know me. I could almost hear her shuffling papers in the background. I’m just getting organized for tomorrow; you know what I’m like: I have to have everything in place. You are coming right?

Of course, I am! I couldn’t miss it for the world! I’m looking forward to it.

Good, good. I could hear her tone softening, and it made me cradle my cell phone closer to my ear, almost as if I was hugging her. My mom would be happy to know that you’re still helping me out with this.

If I really thought about it, that was the moment I realized that me and Maddie would only ever be friends. I was there for her when her mother died of cancer, I helped her through the most difficult time of her life, and I knew then that I always wanted to be there for her to be her shoulder to cry on. It was horrible, she was so close to her mom and watching that vivacious woman turn into a shell of her former self was so hard. It led her to also spend her life’s work in a nonprofit cancer organization. Her mom still very much affected her life.

Well, your mom would be proud of you too, you do realize that? You’ve probably saved lots of lives.

Oh, no, she immediately shot back. I don’t know about that. I do what I can.

Maddie was a confident and bubbly woman, but she always played her achievements down. She seemed to genuinely not understand how much of an amazing person she was. I found it crazy. All I wanted to do was crow about how incredible she was. I wanted to let her know that her smile lit up a room and her laugh was so infectious no one could help but join in. I also wanted her to understand that she was the best friend I could ask for... only I didn’t know how to find the words. I guess I wasn’t confident enough to know that it’d come off well.

Well, you do an amazing job, honestly, I said instead. I’m proud of you.

She talked for a while at a hundred miles an hour, making sure that I only grasped the odd word here and there, but I didn’t care. Just being able to listen to her was enough. I would do it all day long.

For a moment, I remembered the day that I pretty much did that. She had just broken up with the only long-term boyfriend that she’d ever had, Lawrence. Urgh, I hated that guy, I had a feeling that he was going to turn out to be a cheat way before he did, but of course, in my usual much too quiet way I never said anything. Anyway, I spent most of the day on and off just talking to her until my then-girlfriend, Tatiana, stormed off, seemingly with the same opinion as Buster. She thought that I loved Maddie too, which was just nuts. That broke us up too, not that I was anywhere near as upset about it as Maddie was for Lawrence. I guess I never really liked her.

Right, I really do have to go, she finally said with a smirk in her voice. But I’ll see you tomorrow.

Yeah, good luck with everything and let me know if you need any help. If not, I’ll see you then.

Long after she hung up the phone, I left it to my ear while I just thought. I wasn’t even thinking about anything in particular, just drifting off into dream land. I guess a part of me was thinking about the weekend and what it would be like to hang out with my best friend once more. It would be fun, for sure.

I could still recall the day she moved in down the road from me, really clearly, as if it happened only yesterday. Immediately it struck me that she was different from the rest of the girls I knew, none of whom appealed to me in any way. She was spunky, fun, ready to get her knees dirty... I liked her so much that I actually pulled up enough confidence to speak to her first. She was probably the only female that had ever happened with. I knew she would be different, and I could also tell that she was going to be important, but I didn’t know how much.

Hey! I called across to her as I rode my bike in front of her driveway while her mom unpacked, acting like she couldn’t hear us even though she blatantly could. She was probably just glad for her daughter to find a friend right away. Want to come and play?

She did, of course, and nothing had ever been the same since. It had been so much better.

Chapter 2 – Madison

Friday

I hit the end call button on my cell phone with a giant grin on my face. I couldn’t help but smile after speaking with Parker; he had this funny way about him which I adored.

Oh, been on the phone to your boyfriend again? Tina sneered as she saw me. Honestly, no guy I’ve ever dated has made me smile like that. They usually just piss me off with their stupid ways.

I shoved her playfully, refusing to get sucked into a conversation about her terrible choice in men, which we both knew my opinion on. You know that was just Parker, and he’s only my friend. Don’t be nuts.

Tina wiggled her eyebrows at me. Yeah, sure and that’s why you spend most of your life talking to him. Because he’s ‘just your friend.’ She shook her head, clearly bemused. You two are, like, destiny.

You spend far too long watching terrible rom-com movies, I replied wryly. Friends don’t ever really turn into lovers, not without it becoming far too complicated. If they ever overstep that line it becomes stale and weird, then the friendship is done forever.

I expected another sly remark from Tina, but one doesn’t come right away. The next time she spoke, it was much softer, as if she really cared about what she was saying. Is that why you haven’t gone there yet? She cocked her head curiously at me. Because you’re afraid of what it’ll do to your friendship?

I could feel a heat filling my cheeks, which was ridiculous. I guess it was because I’d been fielding questions about Parker and me ever since we first hit our teenage years. As soon as I forced myself to wear a bra (which was pointless in the end, much too baggy around my chest, always bunching up because I didn’t really need it), I started getting asked if me and Parker were dating. Sometimes from our parents, often from girls with pinched noses in school, occasionally from people we hardly knew. People couldn’t get that it was just friendship.

My mom wanted it, I could tell. She never really said much, but there was always this little smile on her face when she saw us together, one that I didn’t see her make at any other time. I guess that was at the time that she hoped she would be around to see me and Parker get married; she didn’t know she would end up sick.

I gulped back the thick ball of emotion that always lodged itself in my throat when I thought about my mom, and I shook my head to rid my brain of thoughts of her. I could only think of her at certain times when I could hack it. Still, even now after all these years, it stung me a lot to think of her, knowing that she was gone.

It isn’t that at all, I bristled. I just can’t see him in that way. I don’t like him like that.

"So, you’re telling me that you don’t get a weird twist in your gut that you can’t quite explain every time you see him with another woman? You’ve never wondered what it’s like to kiss him? It’s never, ever happened? Not even on a really drunken night when both of you have been acting wild and free?"

Just because she said that, an image popped into my brain of me cascading my lips against his and me running my fingers through those thick, shaggy black locks of his. It sent an involuntary shiver running up and down my spine, but only because it was so strange, that was all. Not because I liked the idea at all!

No, as I’ve told you before, nothing has ever happened. Maybe my tone was a little sharp and snippy then, but I couldn’t help it. It never has and it never will. We’re friends, that’s all.

That was the moment Tina seemed to sense that she’d pushed me too far, so she stopped. She flipped her blonde cropped hair out of her face and shoved her hand onto her hip. Alright, alright, whatever you say.

I loved her sassiness when it was being directed at other people. That was one of the things which drew me to her. I always tried to find the upbeat, positive side of things and she just went straight to sarcasm. Thank God she was a nurse at the cancer clinic. We might not have met had she not been. When I began my position as a researcher, inspired by my mother, of course, everything always was, she was one of the first people who spoke to me, and I hadn’t looked back since. Maybe she had three years on me, but that gap felt like nothing.

So, what are all these notes about anyway? She raised her eyes at me as she changed the subject. The hazelnut color of her irises shone in the light, making it look like there was a naughty twinkle there. She did have a terrible side. When we were on a night out having fun, she could be a terrible influence on me. You planning?

I gathered them up and held them close to my chest. I didn’t want anyone to see the plans until they were in place, not even the closest people in my life. I was funny like that; I wasn’t sure why.

I’m thinking about getting another fundraiser on the go. We could all use one, couldn’t we? She nodded, agreeing with me. There was not ever enough money for us to get everything that we wanted to do done. So, I’m trying to think outside the box, you know? Do something a little different this time. We need a bigger reach.

Ah, okay. Any ideas you want to share with me yet? I shook my head no. No worries. You just let me know. As she started to walk, I could sense something flooding off her, and it intrigued me. I wanted to know what thoughts were going through her mind because there were times when Tina was a creative genius.

What are you thinking? I pleaded with her as we made our way out from the break room, into the ward. "You have an idea, don’t you? I could do with you spilling it because I’ll be honest, I’m not showing you the notebook because it’s nothing. I have nothing. I need some inspiration."

Those were the keywords; they grabbed her attention just like I hoped they would. She turned to face me and gave me a wide grin. "Then why not have an eligible bachelor auction? That is something different."

I remained frozen where I was, stunned by her suggestion. I wasn’t expecting that to come out of her mouth at all. What the hell is that?

You know. She shrugged her shoulders in a blasé manner. Get some hot guys to auction themselves out for a date, all the money to go to charity, that sort of thing. It could be fun, right?

I screwed up my nose, a little bummed out by the idea. Like a prostitution thing? An escort thing?

They won’t be having sex with anyone; it isn’t like that at all. It’s just for fun.

I drank that idea in, knowing that it probably could be a lot of fun. It would certainly attract the attention of wealthy women looking for a good time. It could make a lot of money. It would be different, and I could imagine that the other staff here would totally love it. Hmm, I suppose it could be okay. But who would we get?

Tina chuckled. You think it’ll be hard to get guys? They’ll be clawing at the door. You can even get Parker to come along and join in... you know, if it won’t kill you to see him up there, dating other people.

Instantly, I got that twist in my gut: the one I wanted to act like wasn’t there. But it had only come along because Tina had put it there by talking about it a lot. It wasn’t real, and I needed to prove that to her.

Sure. I smiled inanely. I’ll get Parker involved. I’ll see if he has some friends too.

Ooh, yeah, that’s a good plan. And obviously, I’ll find some people too.

I let out a breath that I didn’t even realize I was holding as she changed the subject away from Parker at last. I couldn’t stand to have that chat any longer; it was driving me around the bend. The less I thought about Parker, the better. Especially when my head was all twisted up in knots for no reason.

Yeah well, maybe we should... I’ll have a think about it.

Right at that moment, I spotted a young girl crying in the hallway as she stood behind a gentleman who looked completely and utterly shell-shocked. I recognized the situation well. Maybe I didn’t have my father around when I learned of my mother’s sickness, but I’d now seen enough to know that it turned adults into statues, unable to even speak through shock, and it turned kids into sobbing messes. Not that everyone ever reacted the same, but that was the general rule of thumb. The word ‘cancer’ just had this effect.

Hold on a moment, I said quietly to Tina as I walked over to the girl. I understood her; I had been through it myself. I bent down to my knees and rested one hand gently on her back. She appeared to be about eight, old enough to understand the situation, but not at an age where she could fully grasp things. It was an overwhelming thing to deal with, and I could see that in her sky blue eyes. Are you okay, sweetie?

No, she replied thickly while shaking her head. I’m not. My mom is sick.

She fell against me, leaning her body weight against me. At that moment, I wished that I could take away her pain. I could almost feel it rushing hotly through her body at a million miles an hour.

You are in a very good hospital, I reassured her in the best way that I could. The doctors here will look after her. I pulled back to stare at the young girl in the eyes. I wanted her to really hear me. And there are always people here to talk to here. You must know that. We understand that it’s hard.

I wanted to tell her that I had been through something similar myself, but I had made that mistake before, and it never turned out well. Since my mother didn’t survive when she had the disease, it wasn’t a good, reassuring story. Instead, the best thing that I could do was simply be a listening ear and maybe use my experience for knowledge rather than actually stating that I had been through it myself.

We are all here for you; you are never alone. There will always be someone.

At that moment, her father seemed to snap out of his daze for long enough to take his daughter’s hand, which effectively moved her away from me. I rose up into a standing position, and I sent Tina a helpless look. She knew more about how to treat the illness due to her medical education, but she wasn’t the best at talking to people, so there wasn’t any point in calling her over. There wasn’t anything else I could say anyway. Unfortunately, that was it.

We needed this fundraiser. We needed money to keep our research going. I didn’t want anyone else to die from this horrible illness. I hated seeing more families torn apart by the ‘c’ word.

Chapter 3 – Parker

Saturday

Standing outside the cancer ward of the hospital building always filled me with an odd sense of dread. I suppose I should have been desensitized to it by now. I’d been coming to visit Madison on her volunteering days when she wasn’t busy working with the research team for as long as I could remember, but it still left me cold and anxious. It was the unknown, I suppose. I didn’t even