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Where Do We Stand?
Last Updated:
2024-02-04 02:59:45Related chapters
Billion Dollar Man Not Now
Ben“Mila, this isn’t the right time.”“When will be the right time? You’re leaving, and I have a feeling it might be another seven years before I see you. If not more. Are you going to wait that long?”I stifled a groan. I had to cut the cord right now if I was going to walk away from this in one piece. Otherwise, this woman—this wonderful human being and everything I felt for her—was only going to tear me apart.“Just tell me how you feel about me, Ben,” Mila said. “I just want to know where we stand. I just want you to put it into words for me. Whatever it is.”Fuck, fuck, fuck. I could tell her right now that I was in love with her. She stood before me, her big brown eyes pleading even though her face showed nothing, and she was everything I ever wanted in a woman. But I couldn’t do this to her. I wouldn’t.“You know you’ve always meant so much to me,” I started. “You’re Jerrod’s little sister. You will always have a special place in my heart.”“A special place?” she said incredul
Last Updated : 2024-02-04Billion Dollar Man Attitude
MilaAfter my shift on Monday, I went back to The Cottage. It had become my safe haven the last while. I liked spending time there because it reminded me of the days when I hadn’t had anything to worry about when my parents had still been there to fend for me and my biggest concern had been that Jerrod would tease me about things I was shy about.Life had been so much simpler then.That was in retrospect, of course. Back then, the small problems I missed had been the only problems I’d known so they had felt big. It was only now that I had bigger things to worry about that those problems seemed better.I guess that would always be that way.Still, I liked being at The Cottage. It was warm and cozy and smelled like the food of my childhood.Work had been going well. It was very busy with a lot of new patients who had needed medical attention. There had been so much to focus on. But it hadn’t been enough. Nothing would be enough. My heart was broken, and I needed more.I knew exactly wha
Last Updated : 2024-02-04Billion Dollar Man Nothing To Say
MilaI couldn’t tell her. She wouldn’t approve of a relationship with Ben any more than Jerrod would—for Jerrod’s friendship’s sake—and there wasn’t anything to talk about anyway. There was no relationship, and I couldn’t tell her what was upsetting me.My mom shook her head. “I’m going to get you some of Manny’s chocolate cake. He always makes extra.”She disappeared into the kitchen. I loved Manny’s chocolate cake. The pastry chef had made it since I could remember, and he’d been working for us for years. I would never say no to the cake, although it would do nothing to make me feel better. I wished it was as simple as eating cake and all my troubles would disappear.My mom brought me the cake, and even though it wouldn’t fix anything and probably go straight to my hips, I ate it. I wanted to drink myself into a stupor, but I didn’t do that. With the mood I was in, I would only do something stupid.Instead, I took out my phone and dialed Ben’s number. I pressed the phone to my ear a
Last Updated : 2024-02-04Billion Dollar Man Was It An Accident?
BenThe big board meeting had been yesterday, and I was relieved it was over. Even though I had known every protocol and every employee, it had been nerve-racking to step up there and talk to them all. It had been heartbreaking to take care of all the paperwork and to address the people who had loved Uncle Dean as much as I had.Most of them had come to the funeral, but the loss was still raw. I had been able to see it in everyone’s eyes, my own pain reflected on their faces. I realized I wasn’t the only one who had lost someone. Not even close.At least, everyone had welcomed me back. I didn’t want to be here, but it was good for the employees to have someone step in that they knew. We had worked together for the past seven years, after all. And they had made me feel like I was a part of their company. They had pledged their loyalty to me as their CEO, and in this difficult time, there was nothing better than feeling like they were all rooting for me.Today, I had a meeting with the
Last Updated : 2024-02-04Billion Dollar Man Too Late Now
Ben“I don’t think that’s going to happen anytime soon.”Ms. Houghton carried on talking, rambling off suggestions for furniture and room allocations but I wasn’t really listening. The house was beautiful, to be sure. But buying a place seemed so permanent. I wanted to get out of the penthouse I had stayed in for seven years. I wanted to start a new chapter and get a place that was warmer, a place I could call my own. This place could be it, I thought. But how much warmth was there really between these walls when I felt so cold and empty?I wasn’t sure how permanent I wanted it all to be here. Everything felt so uncertain. I didn’t know what to make of the plane crashes. After talking to David, I was sure there was something more to it. What if something went wrong? What if I was in danger? Maybe I shouldn’t put down roots here.But I didn’t trust anyone to take over the position. Certainly not if someone was really trying to kill whoever was in charge. I could put someone else in dan
Last Updated : 2024-02-04Billion Dollar Man Family Connections
BenDavid Thomas arrived at my office in New York fifteen minutes earlier than we had agreed. Amy, my Personal Assistant, showed him into my office. He looked casual and out of place in my sleek, organized building. He wore jeans and a t-shirt with an old blazer over it and shoes that looked like they came from a thrift store.It was a part of his disguise, I had learned. David did everything he could to be non-descript. It was the best way to get all the information he needed as a Private Investigator.“Have you found anything yet?” I asked.“I have,” David said. I let out a breath I didn’t know I’d been holding.David was helping me investigate the death of both business partners that had owned the company before me. My dad and his partner, Uncle Dean, had died seven years apart, but the plane crashes had been so eerily similar that a murder investigation had been opened. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust the police, but I had wanted to get involved in some way. So I had hired David to
Last Updated : 2024-02-04Billion Dollar Man Permenant
Ben“I’m going to keep digging and see what I can find,” David said. “In the meantime, keep your eyes and ears open for anything suspicious in the company.”“I will. The moment I find something, you’ll know about it.”David stood up, tugging his belt up higher on his hips. If he was in character, he was extremely good at it. I wouldn’t have pegged him for someone serious if I’d seen him on the streets. David extended his hand to me, and I shook it.“Thanks for coming,” I said.“Hey, you pay me,” David said and flashed me a cocky grin before he left my office.When he was gone, I sat back in my chair and let out a deep breath. This was all a very big mess. A part of me wished that I could go back to when it had only been an accident that had killed my dad. But if it was more, if someone had murdered my dad and Uncle Dean, I wanted to know what was going on. There was no going back.After I had taken care of all the calls and meetings for the day – the transition to new management was t
Last Updated : 2024-02-04Billion Dollar Man Not Important
MilaBy the time I got off work on Friday, I was dead on my feet. I’d had a hell of a week. Sometimes it felt like the bad things that happened in threes to everyone else, piled up in infinite amounts for us at the ICU.I drove home on autopilot, barely remembering how I got there. Despite the comfortable shoes I wore because I was always on my feet, my feet were sore, and I sat on my bed and gave myself a foot massage. It hurt more to work the knots out of my feet than it was relaxing.I ran a bath instead of standing in the shower. I had to sit down. I couldn’t tolerate another minute on my feet without feeling like it was torture.When I lay back in the hot water, I closed my eyes. The bath was deep, and the water lapped up to my neck, everything else submerged. This was the break my body needed.But for my mind, there was no rest. The moment I closed my eyes, images flooded into my mind. The patients’ faces flashed before my eyes, and I groaned.Yesterday, there had been a four-ca
Last Updated : 2024-02-04
Latest chapter
Billion Dollar Man Epilogue Part 2
BenI had sold the company as Jerrod had suggested. I had thought about it long and hard and decided it was what I wanted. I hadn’t wanted to be the CEO of the company in the first place. Not when my father had left it to me and not when Uncle Dean had, either. I had put in the work and found someone worthy of the company. I heard it was thriving, now.The money received for the company sale had been enough to pay Brantley, and I still had enough left to give Penny an amount. I felt Uncle Dean’s widow had deserved a bit of an allowance after everything she had been through because of my father.After Brantley and Penny, I had bought a large house in Portland for me, Mila and Landon, and I had put the rest away as an investment for the future. We had so much money we would never struggle, even if we both stopped working.Mila and I were both working because we loved what we did. Mila didn’t want to stop nursing after she had Landon, and I understood. She asked for fewer shifts so that
Billion Dollar Man Epilogue Part 1
BenSeven Months LaterWhen I unlocked the door to the house I had bought six months ago, I was stepping over the threshold as a father. It was the first time, and I was very aware of it. A lump rose in my throat, but I swallowed it down.“Ready?” I asked Mila. She nodded and climbed out of the car. She moved comfortably. It was amazing how women bounced back from giving birth in no more than a day or two. It would have been different if she had had a C-section or something, but Mila had given birth naturally.She opened the car door and lifted the carrier out of its brace.“I’m coming,” I said, running to her. I took the carrier from her so she didn’t have to strain herself and put my arm around her as I carried little Landon in the other hand.Mila had given birth to a beautiful baby boy twenty-four hours ago. It had been a beautiful surprise. I would have been just as proud if it was a girl, but I was so happy it was a boy. Landon Atwood had a great ring to it.We walked together t
Billion Dollar Man Aching For Him
MilaAgain, he didn’t touch my pussy even though he came so close. Instead, he moved up my hip bones and kissed my stomach, my ribs, moving past my breasts to my shoulders and working his way down one arm. When he reached my fingers, he sucked them into his mouth and played with his tongue around them. It was a strange feeling, ticklish and such a turn on.Ben let go of my hand and moved across my chest, avoiding my breasts, moving over my shoulder and down my other arm. When he reached my fingers, I was just about losing my mind with lust. I wanted him inside me so badly, and he’d been teasing me by not touching any of the areas I so desperately wanted him to touch.When Ben pressed his fingers against my pussy, I jumped. I had wanted it so badly, now that I had it, it was like a jolt of electricity shooting into my body. Ben pressed his thumb against my clit and pushed two fingers into me. He moved his thumb while curling his fingers over my G-spot, and it didn’t take long at all be
Billion Dollar Man All Figured Out
MilaLate on Friday night, my phone rang. I was already sleeping, and it took me a while to find my phone on my nightstand.“Are you awake?” Ben asked.I smiled. “I am, now.”“Can I come over? I have great news.”I looked at the alarm clock next to my lamp. The red numbers said it was well after midnight.“Of course,” I said.Half an hour later, a cab pulled up and dropped Ben off in front of my apartment building. I had been looking out for him. I buzzed him up before he rang my apartment, and I smiled when he stumbled up the step to the front door. He had been drinking.When I opened the front door to him, he stepped forward and folded me against his body.“I missed you,” he said.I laughed. “It’s been two days.”“Two days too many,” Ben said. He smelled like beer and cigarette smoke.“Where were you?” I asked.“I was at the bar, having drinks with Jerrod.”I raised my eyebrows. It was good news. Unexpected, and good. I led Ben into my apartment and closed the door.“Get back in bed
Billion Dollar Man Lessons Learned
BenI shook my head. “I won’t. I know I haven’t treated her right, but I thought I was doing the right thing. I’m sticking around, now. I’m not going anywhere. I’m madly in love with her. Mila is one of a kind.”Jerrod nodded. “She is. And I can see how you feel about her. I have no doubt that you care for her. It just pissed me off so much that I was the last to know.”“I get that,” I said. I really did feel bad for what we’d done. But there was only so many times I could say I was sorry. I knew that this time, Jerrod had accepted my apology.Jerrod nodded again. We both drank our beers, listening to the music and watching the crowds shuffle in. As the night dragged on, the bar filled up with patrons who were done with their work week and looking for a way to unwind.“It’s just all so unexpected,” Jerrod said after a while. “Your relationship with her when I still see her as a kid is one thing. But now she’s pregnant. Man.” He scrubbed his face with his hands. “I don’t know what to m
Billion Dollar Man Have to Fix It
BenOn Friday I walked into the bar where Mila and I had gone with Jerrod and Skylar. We hadn’t been careful enough that night, and Jerrod had seen us together. That was when the trouble had all started between me and Jerrod, and I was hoping this was where it would all end.I had texted him, telling him I was going to be at the bar tonight. I wanted to talk to him, but I was tired of running after him when he wasn’t interested. I had asked him to come to meet me. He hadn’t replied. I had told him what time I was going to be there, and now that I was here, time would tell if Jerrod was going to show up to talk to me.My wristwatch told me it was eight o’clock. I would give him half an hour before I left again.Until now, everything had been about Jerrod. He had been the one who had been wronged. Mila and I had kept our relationship secret from him when it was already a no-no that his best friend and younger sister were dating. It had been wrong not to tell him and even worse that he h
Billion Dollar Man There For You
Mila“I love you, too.”There was nothing else to say. Words couldn’t describe how we both felt at that moment.After I changed back into my clothes, we met Dr. Holt in her office again. She gave me a prescription for prenatal supplements and an eating plan with do’s and don’ts for the next seven months.“I’ll see you back here in about eight weeks,” Dr. Holt said. “Then we’ll find out what you’re having.”When Ben and I walked back to the car, I felt like I was walking on air. Everything felt different, now. I felt more ready to be a mother, to have this baby and to raise it, than I had before. Now that I had seen the baby, I knew that I wanted all of this.Did Ben feel the same?“You know, you still have time to back out of this,” I said to Ben. He stopped dead in his tracks and looked at me.“What makes you think I would want that?” he asked.I pulled up my shoulder. I couldn’t guarantee that this feeling of amazement was mutual. Ben took a step closer to me and kissed me long and
Billion Dollar Man Seeing The Baby
MilaOn Wednesday I had the day off again and had scheduled an ultrasound. Now that everyone knew about me being pregnant, it was time to meet the baby.Ben was with me. It made me less nervous, but only a little. It was crazy how tense I was about the appointment, even though everything was out in the open now. The idea that I was pregnant, that we were having a baby, was terrifying.It had all happened so fast. It had been mere weeks since Ben had come back to Portland for the first time and now we were starting a family together. There were nights when I was sleepless and in a fit of panic, wondering how the hell we were going to get through this. We had been a part of each other’s lives for years, but when it came down to knowing each other, we were practically strangers.When I was with Ben, like now, all my worries melted away. We were great together. He was so attentive now that I was pregnant, and since he had told me he was going to stay, our relationship was stronger than ev
Billion Dollar Man Spreading The Word
BenI let go of Jerrod’s shirt. He stumbled back, his expression surprised. Maybe he had expected me to throw the first punch. He had been ready to fight me. But I wasn’t here for that. I hadn’t come to beat up my best friend. I had only come to set the record straight.“She’s a great person, Jerrod. You know that. She doesn’t deserve this shit.”I turned around and left the office. Jerrod stayed behind, gaping. I had never been one to back down from a fight. There had been enough fights in high school that had shown Jerrod that. But this wasn’t high school, and Jerrod was like a brother to me. If I ended up with Mila, he would be a brother-in-law, in fact.So, I wasn’t going to go there.Instead, I headed back home like a good boy to seethe in private.After I had taken the time to calm down, I phoned Mila.“How are you doing?” I asked.“Better,” she said, and I was relieved. “I came off my shift just now. I’m going to crawl into bed for a few hours.“Have you told your parents yet?”
