My Grumpy Billionaire Enemy: An Opposites Attract Forced Proximity Romance (Grumpy Boss), page 1
My Grumpy Billionaire Enemy
An Opposites Attract Forced Proximity Romance
Aimee Bronson
Copyright © 2023 by Aimee Bronson
All rights reserved.
No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher or author, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.
Contents
Prologue: 15 years ago Amy
Chapter 1 Daniel
Chapter 2 Amy
Chapter 3 Daniel
Chapter 4 Amy
Chapter 5 Daniel
Chapter 6 Amy
Chapter 7 Daniel
Chapter 8 Amy
Chapter 9 Daniel
Chapter 10 Amy
Chapter 11 Daniel
Chapter 12 Amy
Chapter 13 Daniel
Chapter 14 Amy
Chapter 15 Daniel
Chapter 16 Amy
Chapter 17 Amy
Chapter 18 Daniel
Chapter 19 Amy
Chapter 20 Daniel
Chapter 21 Amy
Chapter 22 Daniel
Chapter 23 Amy
Chapter 24 Daniel
Chapter 25 Amy
Chapter 26 Daniel
Chapter 27 Daniel
Chapter 28 Amy
Chapter 29 Daniel
Chapter 30 Amy
Chapter 31 Amy
Chapter 32 Daniel
Chapter 33 Amy
Chapter 34 Daniel
Chapter 35 Amy
Chapter 36 Daniel
Chapter 37 Amy
Chapter 38 Daniel
Chapter 39 Amy
Chapter 40 Daniel
Chapter 41 Amy
Chapter 42 Daniel
Chapter 43 Amy
Prologue: 15 years ago
Amy
I stared at the blank whiteboard to the left of Mrs. Sanderson. My eyes twitched as figures danced across the space. That tended to happen when I stared into space, going a little cross-eyed from the boredom. The boredom showed up whenever I got a “pep talk” from some adult.
I wasn’t trying to be disrespectful. I just wanted to be anywhere but sitting at a desk in front of a frustrated-looking Mrs. Sanderson.
“Amy,” she snapped, pushing up her eyeglasses with one finger. I turned my attention from the board to the mole on the side of her cheek. “Are you still with me?”
“Yes, I’m still here. Right in front of you,” I said with a long-suffering sigh only a high schooler could expel.
I smiled wryly, urging her to carry on so we could be done with this and I could move on with my day.
Mrs. Sanderson had been on my case ever since I started her science class. It was my senior year and I was her best student. By far. Even though I was clearly putting in the minimum effort. I wasn’t lazy. I just didn’t want to be called a nerd. My physical appearance–curly hair that often bordered on frizzy, average height, average build–was already not doing me any favors in that department. I did well enough in class and keeping my grades up. I just wasn’t interested in doing anything extra.
Unfortunately, Mrs. Sanderson saw too much “potential” to let me slide through the year.
“You should put in more effort. You're a very talented young woman,” she said with a ridiculously positive smile. I hated it. “You could really do so much, Amy.”
“Duly noted. Can I go now?”
“Where are you applying for college?” she said, leaning against the table at the front of the room and completely ignoring my exasperated eye roll.
“No idea yet,” I said, standing up and slinging my backpack on my shoulders. “I’ll figure it out later.”
I shut the classroom door behind me before Mrs. Sanderson could continue to grill me. How the hell was I supposed to go to college, anyway? There was no chance for me. I closed my eyes and leaned against the bank of lockers to the right of the door.
That was all too much.
“In trouble again?” Lila’s bright laugh filled the hallway as she gave me a friendly pat on the shoulder. I looked up at her, since she was easily a head taller than me.
Lila was… Lila. She was the most popular girl in school but, oddly enough, she was friends with everyone. Lila didn’t hold her popularity status over anyone’s head. She just had a way of blending in with students, no matter how different they may seem from one another.
To say I was jealous of that skill was an understatement.
“What do you want, Lila?” I couldn’t help the deep sigh that escaped my lips. I immediately felt bad when I saw a flash of something in her caramel brown eyes. It wasn’t hard to figure out why she had almost every guy in this school at her beck and call. To put it blandly, Lila was gorgeous. Stunning, really.
“Come on,” she said, hip bumping me lightly. “Don’t be like that. I’m sorry about whatever happened in there,” she nodded toward the classroom. “We can talk about it, if you want?”
“No, it’s okay. What’s up?”
“Well,” she drawled out the word, clearly hoping to amp up the suspense. “I just wanted to invite you to the biggest party of the year.” Her smile was infectious and I couldn’t help but feel my heavy mood lighten just a bit. “We’re graduating high school soon. Let’s make some memories before then.” Her brown eyes pleaded with me to say yes.
“Okay, sure. That sounds like fun. I’m in.”
Lila practically squealed.
“Awesome! It’s at my place, around eight. I’ll see you there!”
I watched as Lila bounced down the hallway, landing with another group of students, giving one of them a friendly hug. I tried to shake off my bad mood and turned to leave school.
Jennifer’s house was a ten-minute walk from school. I opened the door to find a heavily pregnant Jennifer laying on the couch.
“Jesus, it gets bigger every day,” I teased.
She laughed as she adjusted herself on the couch, reaching for my hand when she failed.
“Mark said he would be back tomorrow, so your jail time of taking care of me is soon going to be over.”
“No worries, I enjoy being in your jail,” I said, laughing, as I hoisted her up.
“You really are a sweet girl, Amy,” she said with a voice filled with compassion and the shimmer of unshed tears in her eyes. I had almost gotten used to Jennifer’s extra weepiness.
“I know, I know.” I feigned a sigh before bursting into a laugh.
“There’s food in the fridge for you. Help yourself to anything in there. We got take out and I ordered extra just for you.”
“Oh, just for me, huh?”
Jennifer looked sheepish.
“Okay, it’s possible I got a little hangry and my eyes were bigger than my stomach.”
I laughed again. Spending this time with Jennifer was exactly what I needed after a weird end to the day.
“Any exciting plans tonight?” she asked. “I’m living vicariously through you, you know.”
“Nah, not really. Lila cornered me after school and invited me to a party at her house.”
“Oh,” Jennifer said, sitting up straighter and looking excited. Ugh, I knew where this was headed. “So will you-know-who be there? Could this be a special night?”
“Oh, please,” I said, waving my hand like she was ridiculous. “I’m so over him.”
“Are you now? But he might be at the party?”
“Yes, Jennifer. He might be at the party. Actually, he probably will be at the party.”
I marched into the kitchen, hoping that would be the end of that conversation. But like every person I talked to this afternoon, I had no such luck.
“You should wear something nice,” Jennifer said, following me slowly. “I have some fun dresses in my closet. You know, from when I used to be young and cool.”
I couldn’t help the face I pulled.
“I don’t know, Jennifer. They’re probably a little too sexy for me.”
Jennifer was a knockout and never shy about showing that off. She also had very different proportions than my much more subdued curves.
“Oh, stop,” she said, waving away my concern and starting to waddle up the stairs. Reluctantly, I followed her into the closet in her room. “This will be perfect.”
Jennifer pulled out a gorgeous–and surprisingly simple–lilac spaghetti strap dress. The neck was more square and actually not all that low cut at all. The back, though, was low cut with thin straps that delicately criss-crossed each other. There were subtle strands of silver running through the fabric that made the dress shimmer.
“What size shoe are you?” Jennifer’s head was fully buried under the rack as she was sifting through boxes. “I have a pair of matching heels.”
She pulled out a pair of low block heel sandals with two thin straps across the foot. I simply shrugged and stuffed my feet inside them and was as surprised as Jennifer when they fit.
“Can I do your hair and makeup?” Jennifer was practically bouncing with excitement as the knot of dread gathered larger and larger at the top of my stomach. What was I doing? Everyone would think I was ridiculous for trying so hard.
My throat felt like sandpaper and I couldn’t get my vocal chords to work, so I just slowly nodded instead. Jennifer jumped up a
Almost two hours later, Jennifer had my dark brown curls tamed and looking glossy. Light makeup made my skin glowy and the dark mascara had my eyes popping. The light wash of nude gloss made my lips appear just a little bigger. Jennifer tucked gloss and makeup in a small bag for “touch ups,” she said.
Slipping into the knee-length dress and the shoes, I couldn’t help but feel like the “after” in a high school makeover movie. Was this really all it took? A little conditioner, styling cream, and makeup?
“One more thing,” Jennifer said, digging in a drawer. She pulled out a small travel-size perfume and spritzed my pulse points before slipping it in the bag.
“Amy,” she said, hands clasped in front of me. “You have always been beautiful, sweet girl. But you look stunning.”
“Really?” I couldn’t help the smile and the little twirl in the dress. Truly, I had never felt as good as I did at that moment.
Jennifer cleared her throat and put on her best Mom face.
“Okay. Have fun, but not too much fun, right?”
I nodded.
“Thank you, Jennifer. I love you.” I gave her a big hug and sighed. What would I do without Jennifer?
Jennifer called me a taxi, saying, when I argued, that there was no way I was destroying her shoes by walking all that way from the bus stop. I couldn’t help but notice she slipped double the cash into my purse for a ride home.
When the cab pulled up to Lila’s house a few minutes later, I was taken aback by just how massive her house was–it wasn’t even a house; it was an estate. It wasn’t my first time here, but it seemed to grow larger every time I visited. I gave the driver some money and hopped out in front of the gates, which were open. I walked up the driveway, which glittered gold in the dark with lights lining the driveway and shining on the front porch. More lights sparkled in the distance, tucked away in the beautiful gardens that I knew surrounded the property.
My steps stuttered a bit as I wondered if I should even be here. I didn’t have many friends in school and I couldn’t help but feel a little vulnerable just walking up to Lila’s house. Her family was obviously important, and I was sure that everyone inside those walls was wealthy. Enough cars lined the driveway that I was sure I was the only one who had to take a cab.
“You can do this, Amy,” I was embarrassed to realize I said that out loud as I reached the front door. Before I could ring the bell, the door swung open, revealing Lila’s wide, ever-present smile.
“Amy!” She pulled me into a hug and then stood back. “Oh, my God! You look amazing.” Her warm hands clasped mine and squealed.
“Thank you,” I said, my voice sounding a little thin in my ears.
“The party’s this way,” she practically sang as she closed the door behind me. She led me deeper into the house and I felt my heartbeat ratchet up. I hoped I wasn’t sweating off all the makeup Jennifer carefully applied.
But then I was introduced to the world of fun, created by Lila and her friends. She handed me a heavy cocktail glass–none of those red plastic cups from the movies here–and I couldn’t even taste the alcohol.
A refill or two later and I felt so light and carefree. My legs were a little wobbly, but that only added to the excitement.
One of Lila’s friends–Sarah? Sasha? Something with an “s”–called me outside to the patio to play flip cup. As I was headed in that direction, I noticed a tall, dark-haired figure slouched against the wall. Clearly, he didn't have nearly as much fun as I was having at Lila’s party. He looked completely unapproachable and fired off major fuck-off vibes, but something about his long, lean body sent shivers skittering up my spine.
It might have been the alcohol that gave me a little extra boldness, but I didn’t care. I set my glass down and walked over to him.
“Hi,” I said, and waved my hand lamely. Great first impression, Amy.
He raised his head and every muscle in my body tightened, coiled with awareness and want. It was Daniel Reed. My crush since I started at this stupid school. He was the star of many, many dreams and the one person I had looked for every day. Not that I ever actually, you know, talked to him.
“Hey,” he said. His voice was deep, vibrating through my core, with just a hint of gravel and…sadness?
“I’m Amy,” I said, completely unsure of how to continue this conversation. I never really considered what I would actually say to him. “I think we’re in the same English class.”
“Oh,” he said, looking down at the ground. “I don’t think I’ve seen you before, Amy. But it’s nice to meet you.”
I nodded dumbly, searching for something else to say.
“Are you enjoying the party?” My brain was trying to send my mouth warning bells to shut the hell up and just go away. But my mouth refused to listen to the smarter part of me.
“No,” he snapped tersely.
“Well, we have got to do something about that.” What the hell was I doing? Was I trying to flirt with Daniel Reed?
He said nothing and the music stopped playing abruptly, eliciting groans from inside. Probably some drunk idiot bumped into something important.
“We could get a drink,” I suggested hopefully. I refused to see his ambivalence in this conversation as rejection. I had no idea where this confidence was coming from–well, it was definitely coming from the cocktails Lila made–but it felt good. I had to at least try my luck. The worst he could do was say no, right?
“Amy, can I be honest with you?” Uh oh, that didn’t sound good. His dark eyes stared directly into mine and I felt the dark cloud of his rejection pour over my skin, sending less pleasant shivers than earlier.
“Okay,” I said slowly, plastering a bright smile on my face, knowing this wasn’t going to end well.
He cleared his throat, almost hesitating. Like maybe he knew saying this next part wasn’t a great idea.
“You don’t belong here,” he said finally, and it felt like a blow to my stomach. I actually reeled so much from his words I took a half-step back from him. “Staying within your own…people would be better for you.”
Well, shit. He said people, but I knew he meant class. “You should stay with the poor people,” was what he wanted to say.
Shit. Shit. Shit. This was so much worse than a simple rejection. Who the hell did he think he was?
His words pierced my heart, and I immediately sobered, a large block of ice settling in my chest. What was I supposed to do with that? I looked down so he wouldn’t see the tears threatening. When I composed myself and looked back up, he was gone.
I swallowed the tears which burned in my throat like a hot poker. I went to the kitchen where I found a phone and called for a cab. As I walked to the front door, I made sure no one saw me leave. I sat on the step to wait.
The party was over for me.
Worse yet, the fantasy that I could ever belong, was over for me.
