The Billionaire

We were in the foyer when I remembered that I had left my ear monitor in the room. 

“Shit,” I told my roommate. “I forgot my ear monitor.”

“Go back for it, but don’t let Jenny see you. Make sure to return before we go on stage.”

I waited for Jenny to go through the door and quickly ran up the stairs. I was walking along the hallway when I saw two men walking in my direction. My heart skipped a beat when I recognized one of them. Mason Steele, the host of the party. 

The most handsome man I had ever seen was wearing a dark blue suit and strolling casually along the hallway. My heartbeat skyrocketed as I wondered whether to return or continue. Well, he has already seen me so it was better to get on with it.

I stopped moving as they drew closer.

“Good evening, gentlemen.” I said not quite meeting their eyes.

“Who are you?” It was Mason who spoke. His voice was laced with authority.

I managed to snatch a look at his perfect face. His perfect blue eyes were watching me. His dark brown hair was combed back. He had thick eyebrows and very kissable lips. I shook my head when I realized I was staring.

“My name is April, and I’m one of the singers. I forgot my ear monitor in the room so I’m off to retrieve it.”

“Weren’t you given the rules?”

“Let it be, Mason.” His companion said. “The poor girl is shaking so much she might fall. Please go ahead, miss.”

“Thank you so much,” I said before practically running away from them, releasing a breath I didn’t know I was holding.

I began to fear I’d forget the lyrics. It was when I reach the room that I realized the door was locked. Shit. How did I not think of that? Jenny was surely going to kill me. I was ruining everything before we even got to the stage.

Since I had no phone, I had to run back to the garden. I was almost at the stairs when I saw an angry Jenny coming up the stairs.

“You’re going to be the death of me, April.” She said and I took a deep breath.

“I’m very sorry.”

Jenny passed by me and went to open the door. I ran in and grabbed my ear monitor before getting out in the speed of lighting. Jenny and I went outside in silence. I knew she was angry and I understood. At that point, even if she had taken away my role, I wouldn’t have minded. I was a wreck already.

“You mess up and you’re fired,” Jenny warned me as we joined the others.

Except for the stage, the backyard had mostly dull lights. We stepped on the stage and quickly positioned ourselves as music played in the background. Surprisingly, I was feeling quite confident. Maybe it was because of the darkness, and the fact that I could not see those watching us clearly.

Jenny gave me a microphone. 

“Don’t disappoint.”

The others were already. The music stopped as we waited for our song’s beat. The dancers behind me started moving their bodies immediately, while I waited a while before starting to sing. Surprisingly, my voice came out clearly, better than I had expected.

As time went on, I began to enjoy myself, trying to forget that Mason was one of those watching me. I knew I had not made the best first impression so I tried to ensure I didn’t ruin his party. 

There was little cheer but that was expected from snobby rich people. It was after the performance that we received some applause. The second song was easier, and I had more confidence. The crowd got ecstatic as we completed, most likely due to the gallons of alcoholic drinks they’d consumed. I was more than relieved when the performance ended without a mess on our side.

“You did well,” Jenny told us. “Especially you April. I’m pleasantly surprised. That was really great. I won’t be surprised if Mason invites over for his next party.”

Flashes of Mason’s billion dollar face appeared in my mind. The man was so good-looking. I remembered those shouldering eyes and how they focused on me. A sweet feeling swirled all over my body and I sighed. Any woman who got in his arms should consider themselves lucky. The man was a walking wet dream and I knew he dated only the most beautiful women in the world. Since I was not among those, I decided to focus on the food. A ‘foodgasm’ was sufficient for me to forget my loneliness, and I knew I’ll be reaching one soon because the food was totally delicious.

Unfortunately, that did not happen because I was quickly dragged away from the table by Jenny. 

“What song can you sing best for a solo?” she asked once we are out of earshot.

“Rising moon,” That was the title of my favorite song. “Why?”

“Because you have another performance in exactly fifteen minutes.”

“What?”

“Yes, in the study, for Mason and three other gentlemen.”

“What? That was not in the plan.”

“It is now.”

“Why?”

“Mason asked for a solo performance from you.”

My lips hung open. How angry could he be that he wanted to humiliate me?

“Why?”

“Because he wants you to perform, I guess. Look April, I don’t have time for drama so you better chose a song right now and prepare. Mind you, it was an order so you can’t exactly say no.”

“Why not?”

“I know what kind of man he is, and we are in his house. Now if you want all of us to get out of here alive, you better do as told.”

“If he’s that dangerous, why did you bring us here?” My heart was now beating like crazy and I was beginning to feel sweaty.

“Money.” She said like it’s an appropriate answer. I couldn’t believe she was willing to put us in a dangerous situation because of money.

“Now I feel very scared.”

“Get your act together. Let’s go to the room. I don’t like this as much as you but we don’t have many options right now.”

This information did not help with my nerves. When we reached the room assigned to us, Jenny poured me a small glass of brandy and I drank it all in one gulp. Walking to the mirror, I started singing my favorite song.

Jenny sat on the couch, and watched, giving me advice on certain parts that needed improvement. I could barely hear what she was saying.

A few minutes later, she took me to the room where Mason was. There were three men in the room. Two were seated on one couch while Mason had sat on a straight chair behind a desk at the back of the room. He looked like a teacher about to watch one of his students give a presentation for the first time.

“This is April, one of my best singers.” Jenny introduced me before leaving the room. 

“I’m going to perform one of our best songs,” I said. “It’s called Rising Moon. I hope you’ll enjoy it.”

The two men nodded in anticipation while Mason maintained a poker face. Taking a deep breath, I began to sing, making sure to focus more on the gentlemen because Mason’s stare was quite unnerving. I sent a few random glances his way towards the end and noticed he was staring quite intensely. Despite that, I managed to make it all the way to the end. When it was over, the other men clapped.

“That was amazing,” one of them said.

“Right.” His friend agreed and turned. “And she’s very beautiful. What do you think, Mason?”

“It was bearable,” Mason said. “You can leave now.” 

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. I smiled at the two men.

“Thank you so much, gentlemen.” I said and started moving towards the door.

“Wait. I’ll walk you out.” the youngest man in the room said. I smiled and waited for him to catch up. When we were outside, I breathed.

“Is he always like that?”

“Who. Mason?”

“Yes, he is quite intense. But I’m not, which is why we should go and dance. That’s a nice song playing.”

“Sure, why not?” I said. If he was in Mason’s circle, he was probably rich. The handsome young man also seemed like a really nice person and I didn’t want to let that go easily. In that business, building connections and networking is very important. Without that, you are nothing.

I found out his name as Jed, and it suited him well. He was tall, and very handsome, a bit on the cute side but I liked it. He didn’t look as threatening as all the men I had seen in that house so far. Jed was safe, at least he seemed to be. So far he had been the nicest person to me at that party which meant a lot to me. When we got to the dance floor, we started dancing to the amazing songs played by the DJ.

When the party ended, we exchanged numbers. As the limo went through the gate, I sighed in relief and the tension left my body. Finally, I was free again.

The last thing I ever wanted to do is return to Mason’s house for whatever reason. I hoped I never had to.