All Chapters of Deceiving A Billionaire: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

76 Chapters

Dated tricks

The immaculate chandeliers hung from the ceiling, creating a golden glow together with other light fixtures. Soft jazz music played in the background, slightly swallowed by people’s chatter.I was wearing a long, white silk slip dress and a draped scarf around my neck. I matched the dress with white stilettoes and soft makeup. I hated white. I wouldn’t wear it unless I had to, and my brother all but demanded I wear it.I was at yet another boring charity gala. We were saving indigenous animals this time. I wasn’t even sure the money we spent at events like those even went to the poor animals. I wouldn’t be surprised if it didn’t.The rich crowd had more scammers than the people who actually needed the money. They skimmed large amounts of money, and they weren’t punished for it.I socialized with a few people before I decided to take a break. I stepped outside to get some fresh air and maybe have a cigarette. The air was chilly outside, and it calmed me. The banquet hall was suffocatin

Early meeting

My ankle was still sprained a day later, but I had to pull myself together and put on some heels so I could meet with an important client that morning. After I finished getting ready, I brewed a cup of coffee.I was wearing a peach-colored cotton dress that fell a few inches below my ankles, paired with matching Christian Louboutin pumps. My files were on my kitchen counter, ready to go. I had a bad habit of bringing work home.I walked over to where my brother was sleeping on the couch.I sighed as I looked at him. He had come to my penthouse late the previous night, high and drunk out of his mind. I didn’t like how he had been handling himself of late.He and I had been through a lot growing up, him more than me, because he had to protect me from a lot of things, so I understood the need to depend on drugs. But it didn’t mean I was okay with it.“I’m leaving, Jesse, and you need to go to work,” I said as I lightly tapped him, “Here is your coffee."He groaned and pulled himself awak

Confused

You didn’t have to look that hard to realize the couple wasn’t in a real relationship. I had done my homework, and I knew that they were in an arranged partnership. That wasn’t information I got easily.I got it from years of cultivating connections everywhere.Only one of them was in love with the other, and it wasn’t Seth. They had been sleeping together since college, and Celeste was working as a marketing director for Seth. Her feelings went beyond the bedroom, and Seth’s didn’t.Not to mention Seth’s family hated her. She was nothing more than a tool Seth used to enrage them. You couldn’t even tell they were sleeping together by looking at them.“How long is your contract marriage set to last?” I asked.“A year,” Seth replied at the same time Celeste said, “It’s not a contract marriage.”I could see a flash of hurt over her features at Seth’s answer, but I couldn’t bring myself to feel sorry for her. She was just as vile and terrible as he was.Celeste shifted her gaze towards me

Art exhibition

I wore a chic off-the-shoulder mini dress in the colors black and white. It had sleeves that widened at the wrists dramatically, and a bow detail in the centre that extended to the waist.Most of the dress was white, except for the bow detail and around the off-shoulder piece. Those were black. I wore white stilettos to match the look and carried a white purse. I chose a bare neck, but I had on pearl earrings.My hair was in a low bun to accentuate my bare back and neck.“You look gorgeous,” May said. “But I wish you had let me style you.”She was my best friend and the best stylist and designer I had ever met. She was the one I had assigned to Celeste so she could make a fashion statement and get people talking about her and Seth.“I didn’t want to outdo the woman of the night,” I said to her.We were at the art exhibition, and Seth had still not arrived with Celeste. I wasn’t looking forward to seeing him after the interaction we had. I didn’t know why I felt something so strong for

The next phase

I couldn’t remember the last time I cried. I had grown strong over the years, and very little could hurt me. I had already been hurt enough throughout the years, and there was nothing I hadn’t seen.But I was going to have to summon some waterworks for the next phase of my plan. I couldn’t deny that seeing Nikolai had thrown me off my game. But I wouldn’t allow seeing him again to mess me up.I couldn’t lose my cool and my composure when I had come so far.It was true that Seth couldn’t take his eyes off of me, so I made sure to look as distressed as I could. I made a face every single time I looked at my phone and then smiled at every guest who came to speak to me.I had already made a name for myself in the inner circle of rich people. Everyone who was beloved by the public knew my name, and every person who had a bad reputation wanted me to represent them.But I was already as busy as one could get, and I wasn’t ready to take on a new clientele. The only reason I took on Seth was b

Better the devil you know

“I don’t think this is appropriate,” I said as I tried to pull away, but he had an iron grip on my arm. I was never a nervous person, but when it came to Seth, I became a different version of myself.“Why? Because your little boyfriend will not like this?” He asked.I knew he had been staring at me the night we met, and it felt somewhat good to know I had been right. He sounded bitter about the fact that I had a boyfriend.“Let me go, Mr. Ashford. You’re my client, and you shouldn’t be holding me like this.” I said as I tried to pull away again.He scoffed and finally let me go. I turned away from him and started making more calls.“Let me take you home,” he said.“No, thank you. I’m fine.”“We both know you’re stranded. And you look cold. Like you said, I am your client and I will not allow you to be left here in the cold.”I turned and narrowed my eyes at him.“As far as I know, you don’t like me, and you think I’m a gold digger. Why are you even here? Go home to your fiancé, Mr. As

I thought wrong

I was holding my breath because I had to take a risk that my brother would scold me for taking. The last thing I should have done was set off someone like Seth. He was only way into his friend group.It wasn’t just because I looked like his first love. It was also because getting close to a sadist like Nikolai West was like a death sentence. Asher Quinn was married, Michael Montgomery had an on-and-off relationship from high school with a girl named Callie, and Beckett Matthews was always high or drunk.Seth was the best target because he hated his fiancée, and Celeste was also someone I wanted revenge against. It was like killing two birds with one stone. I had no beef with Callie Brown of Asher’s wife, Elizabeth Quinn, so it made no sense to try to get closer to their men.“That’s actually a rumor. She was my sister’s best friend. I was sleeping with her, but so was half the football team. I wasn’t in love with her, but she was my first. She taught me a lot.”To say I was shocked wo

Backed into a wall

I knew he was a murderer and he worked with various mafia organizations, designing systems to transfer money and store it without being flagged by the IRS, but I had still underestimated him.The attraction I had for him had clouded my judgment. For the first time, I had allowed a man to cloud my thoughts and play me like a violin. I thought I had him by the balls, but he had mine in his hands.“Talk!” He yelled, making me jump.My emotions may have been a little slow to show, but that didn’t mean I didn’t feel them. The fear I felt was threatening to make my heart jump right out of my chest. I could have sworn I saw my life flash before my eyes.I recognized that it wasn’t the time to act strong. I needed to be weak. So I started crying, the fake tears rolling down my face. I was used to using crocodile tears so I could get what I wanted.That situation wasn’t any different.“Please, don’t kill me,” I begged. “I didn’t do anything.”I sobbed and buried my face in my hands. I knew tha

Angry

The next day, there was a slight purple bruising around my neck, but luckily for me, it was a little bit chilly since it was April, which meant I could wear a scarf. I wore a gray suit with baggy pants, a blue long-sleeved shirt, and a tight gray vest.I put on a trench coat on top and a scarf to mask the bruising around my neck. There was a little pain there, and my voice was a little bit raspy. I only took coffee and refrained from speaking to anyone.When I was in my office, I got to work to take my mind off of everything. I had a lot on my mind, and I kept going back to the moment I almost died at the hands of a man who I thought liked me.I kept replaying every second we were together over and over again in my mind to try and figure out at what point I miscalculated and started to think he liked me when he didn’t but I couldn’t find it.I kept coming back to the conclusion that he was simply an unpredictable man whose emotions you couldn’t read. He was unapologetically himself, w

Amends?

By the time the day was over, I had almost forgotten about the incident, and it was the furthest thing from my mind. I had to meet lots of clients and even make a presentation for my boss.He called me to his office before I went home, and I already knew what he wanted to talk to me about. Mark was an old man who was planning to retire. He never failed to talk to me about how he had started his company from a garage and grown it until it made billions every year.He was sweet too, as he poured me a cup of tea. I already knew he needed a favor, based on the china set he chose. It was his favorite one.“I knew from the moment I saw you that you were a rare talent—one in a kind,” he said, in an effort to flatter me.“Oh, come on, Mark. We both know you had no faith in me when I started working here as a secretary. Back then, you saw me as nothing more than a college dropout with bigger dreams than I could achieve.”He laughed because he knew it was true. I had to prove myself to Mark, an

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