Grumpy Billionaire Husband: An Enemies to Lovers Best Friend's Dad Romance, page 1
Grumpy Billionaire Husband
An Enemies to Lovers Best Friend's Dad Romance
Leanna Jones
Copyright © 2023 by Leanna Jones
All rights reserved.
In no way is it legal to reproduce, duplicate, or transmit any part of this document in either electronic means or in printed format. Recording of this publication is strictly prohibited and any storage of this document is not allowed unless with written permission from the publisher.
Respective authors own all copyrights not held by the publisher.
Contents
1. Chapter One
2. Chapter Two
3. Chapter Three
4. Chapter Four
5. Chapter Five
6. Chapter Six
7. Chapter Seven
8. Chapter Eight
9. Chapter Nine
10. Chapter Ten
Chapter 1
Chapter One
Soraya's Perspective
The air held all the magical wonder that was unique to New Orleans. The night sky glowed a faint indigo hovering above the city. Exotic scents drifted from the restaurants of the French Quarter mingling with the smell of spilled liquor and beer from Bourbon Street.
Soraya took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and exhaled. She had chosen well. This was the right place. Deciding to start over in a city she wasn’t familiar with came with a lot of mixed feelings. Often, she’d wondered if she was doing the right thing, but as the hours flew by, there was no doubt that New Orleans was the right choice.
Soraya caught the whiff of the rich lavender perfume her best friend, Jenna was wearing and turned her attention to her. Jenna was the complete opposite of Soraya. Where Soraya was dainty and calm, Jenna was outspoken and wore her heart on her sleeves.
Tonight, Jenna was dressed in a maxi gown with cutoffs and her luxuriant auburn hair was braided to the side and held with a burette. She was the perfect blend between a fairy tale princess and a glorified model. This was why it was hard to believe that Jenna was an accountant who sat behind a desk and punched numbers.
“There’s something different about New Orleans tonight”. Jenna smiled and leaned in. Soraya rolled her eyes in response. She knew exactly what the expression on Jenna’s face meant.
“If you are going to say that it’s because of me, then I need to suggest that you give it a rest, or better still, change careers.” Soraya said with a short laugh.
“You’re mean.” Jenna picked up her glass of wine from the table and held it, not drinking. She had a mischievous glint in her eyes. “It’s high time I take you around the city, don’t you think?”
Soraya raised an eyebrow at her best friend. Jenna was the one who lived life on a spree. It was an adventure to her, no matter what the stakes were. In this case, the stakes were choosing responsibly and refusing Jenna’s offer. It was not the weekend yet.
“You have to work tomorrow, Jenna. So that’ll be a no. Next time, maybe.” Soraya pressed her lips together and sighed.
“Killjoy.” Jenna bit out, her shoulders drooping. “Shit!” Jenna exclaims.
Strolling in their direction with his hands in his pocket and Jean Claude Van-Damme type of shades hanging from his leather jacket, was Jenna’s father. Soraya swore under her breath and looked away. Growing up, Jenna’s father was always the strict workaholic parent that wasn’t around much. But during the few days he was around, he managed to put everyone on their toes.
From the glower on Jenna’s face, she was right. Jenna’s dad, Steven Andrews, hadn’t changed in the last couple of years.
“Not to impose a curfew on you, Jenna but you have to work in the morning. So why are you here?”
Jenna shrugged and gave him one of her famous nonchalant looks. “You never supported my working there, dad. I’m doing you a favor.” Jenna looked up at her dad and smiled.
Mr. Andrews pursed his lips and chose to ignore her. Soraya never understood the relationship between Jenna and her dad, and she never tried to.
“Dad, meet Soraya 5.O.” Jenna waved from her father to Soraya and back again.
Steven cocked his head to the side and regarded Soraya, but only for a split second before deciding she was of no importance and directing his attention back to his daughter.
“I want you back home in an hour,” he said to Jenna and turned to walk away.
Something curled inside Soraya like a snake and yet hot like fire. Her hands suddenly trembled and she found herself wanting to do more than just act invisible to the mighty Mr. Andrews. He had no right to behave that way towards her, it was a lack of simple courtesy.
Just before Mr. Andrews was out of sight, Soraya pushed herself up from her chair and jogged with purpose towards him. Someone had to put him in his place. If there was one thing Soraya hated, it was the oppression of the rich snobs.
“Excuse me!” Soraya yelled as she jogged to keep up with his giant strides. Steven was built like a Greek god and even age could not change that. When she finally reached his side, Steven stood still—too still- and regarded her through the nose. Soraya raised a lone finger in the air and swallowed nervously. “I do not like the way you acted earlier, and I demand an apology,” she said.
One would call this bravery and laud Soraya, but the truth was she wasn’t feeling particularly brave, not with Steven looking at her like she’d committed a crime and was not worth his time. When he finally spoke, his tone was condescending and harsh.
“I see no reason why I must render an apology to you. If I remember correctly, and I do,” Steven gave her a dirty look and continued, “I was in a conversation with my daughter and you butted in. In light of things, you owe me an apology.”
“It’s just like all you rich people to look down on us. I just pointed out a mistake, which you conveniently overlooked, and yet, here you are being all proud and pompous about it. Personally, I would let this incident slide, but I need to be rest assured that this would not repeat itself to another person in the nearest future.” Soraya said.
“What?” Steven looked confused and extremely pissed. Despite her efforts to seem completely unfazed and unaffected by this man, Soraya could not overlook his balled fists and the clenching and unclenching of his jaw.
“Listen, young lady. I don’t care for your drama and unnecessary theatrics. Unlike you, the rest of us have more pressing issues to attend to.” He took a step forward, while Soraya took one backwards. His gaze was intense and hard and under his stare, Soraya’s legs felt like jelly. “You should apologize for wasting my time. Who do you think you are?”
Soraya scoffed and looked away. Over the course of her life, she’d come across people with a lot of personalities, and she’d never been one to cower away in fright.
Soraya crossed her arms over her chest and cocked her head to the side in defiance. “Do not gaslight me sir, you’re older than I am. You can have several versions of the story, that’s on you and your twisted imagination, but all I am asking is for an apology. I am not leaving here otherwise.”
It was Steven’s turn to scoff. “Then I’ll have to leave you first. Have a nice day, Miss?”
“Soraya Henderson.” She replied. “And Jenna’s best friend.” She added for effect. Soraya smiled inwardly when she saw recognition on his face, although it went away as quickly as it’d come.
“I see” was all he said. Then without saying anything else, he turned and walked away.
Soraya watched him go, her heart twisting with irritation. I see. She mimicked him. Maybe he really did see but was too self-righteous to admit he was wrong. Again, Soraya marveled at the difference between Jenna and the other rich people she knew. As she walked back to her friend, she said a grateful prayer.
Jenna Andrews was many things, but one thing she was not, was a snob. With a father like Steven, one could only wonder why Jenna had turned out the way she did and had decided to choose her own path regardless of the fact that her father could have easily pulled strings to get her a job at the White House if she wanted it.
Instead, Jenna had rebelled and had chosen to be an accountant. It was one of the many reasons why Soraya admired Jenna.
Jenna was just about to pay for the drinks they’d had when Soraya rejoined her at the table, looking downcast and pissed all at once.
“What’s wrong? Where’d you run off to?” Jenna asked. Her eyes were trained solely on Soraya’s face so that it would be difficult for Soraya to lie.
“It was your dad.” She threw her hands up in exasperation. “Why does he behave the way he does? He’s so uptight and rude. Some things just can’t be changed.”
Jenna concluded with the waiter and waved him away. Then she pressed her fingertips to each other, end to end and leaned forward so that she was at eye level with Soraya.
“Challenging my father is a road you should never go down.” Jenna’s expression turned serious. “Stay away from my dad, Soraya. One wrong move and he will have you hanging on to the thread of a shredded rope without you knowing.” Jenna paused and took Soraya’s hand in hers. “Please stay away from him.”
“Why does he get to get away with treating people like shit? It just gnaws at me and, Jenna, you know just how invested I am in human rights.” Soraya replied with an animated look.
Back when they were still teenagers, Soraya
Since then, Soraya had developed a strong sense of empathy and always sought to fix the little things she found wrong with the world. Like helping the elderly and the homeless kids, all the way to correcting people whenever they fail to use the words, please and thank you and in this case, sorry.
“Look Soraya. This is New Orleans and there’s only so much you can change here. This is a place rich in culture and food and music and…” Jenna reduced her voice to a whisper and giggled. “And hot men.” The two ladies giggled, and Jenna continued. “My father pulls a lot of gravitas around here and everyone who is worth knowing, knows him.”
Soraya blew a raspberry. “Spare me with all that influential garbage. Your father was clearly in the wrong and he gets to wave that away because he has influence?”
Jenna nodded.
“I can promise you a copy of my weekly skincare magazine or the suede shoes I got off Ebay for half the price or my recipe for those brownies you love so much, but I can’t promise to keep my mouth shut when injustices happen,” Soraya explained.
Jenna face-palmed herself. “You’re always so stubborn. Just call me if you ever happen to get yourself into a situation that’s proving to be more than you can handle. I have a feeling that you will. Welcome to New Orleans my friend.” Jenna raised her glass in the air.
Soraya raised hers as well and smiled.
“So, what is the plan?” Jenna asked before sipping from her glass of wine.
Soraya shrugged. She had a goal, but she still wasn’t confident enough with herself if she could attain it. She was an over-achiever, and her ultimate goal would be to play the lead role in a Broadway musical and win a Tony award for best Broadway actress. She had been well praised in her previous roles, but now she was ready to be the best of the best.
“The most sought-after Broadway actress is my ultimate goal, Jenna. I just need to gain some patience and self-confidence.”
“I can hook you up with a friend who is an established Broadway producer here in New Orleans.”
Soraya smiled and sipped her drink. “Thank you, Jenna.”
A comfortable silence ensued. Jenna was focused on her phone while Soraya soaked up the beautiful skyline of New Orleans at night. She was right. Manifesting the right energy was the secret to getting things to fall in place.
The wind tossed Soraya’s hair in the air, getting some strands of her long black hair in her face. As she pushed the hair away from her face and sipped her drink again, one thought crossed through her mind.
She was going to love New Orleans.
Chapter 2
Chapter Two
Steven's Perspective
Steven, who was known for his short temper and his usual approach to the fast life, was fast losing patience in the situation of things and for one reason alone, the new stranger in town—Soraya Henderson.
He pressed a few buttons on his computer and a news search result popped up. “Gottcha.” He murmured joyfully to himself. For the past hour since he’d woken up that morning, Steven had concerned himself with finding more about the doe-eyed brunette that had accosted him the day before.
Having served in the military and becoming a Navy SEAL, both on and off the field, he knew the best methods to get the desired information he needed and yet here he was, against his better judgment scrolling through Facebook and playing detective.
Steven opened her profile tab and relaxed into his seat as he admired her picture. She was doe-eyed with a smile that showed grace and experience and although Steven would never admit it, he was interested in finding out more about this woman.
All his life, no one had ever made the mistake of talking back to him or pointing out a mistake. But in approximately one minute, this brunette had showed him that she was not scared of him and neither did she care about his status.
Who was this woman? Steven asked himself again as he pulled out his notepad and scribbled her phone number on it. This was one of the mistakes young people often made on social media—posting their numbers.
They did so without thinking too far ahead about the consequences, which was why he’d been strict with his daughter. He had imposed a rule that prohibited her from having social media accounts until she turned 18 and graduated high school.
It had not always worked the way he’d planned.
A small smile crossed his lips as the memories of Jenna’s college days flashed through his mind. Growing up, he was never there for her, and it wasn’t because he never wanted to be there, but because he had a duty and a job.
He’d tried though, to be a good father from afar. He would send her care packages from time to time and always called every other week. In addition to that, he had made sure that Jenna never lacked anything—financially.
Maybe that was his mistake.
Years after college and he could not have a decent conversation with his daughter without her reminding him of all the ways he’d failed her as a father. Often times, she’d cite having too much money at her disposal as one of his wrong doings and for the life of him, Steven never really understood the logic behind that reasoning.
Steven had tried. Even after the death of his wife, he’d done his best to raise Jenna up all alone. He’d never remarried because of her, or at least it was the lie he chose to feed himself with and yet somehow, he’d ruined his relationship with his daughter.
The smile disappeared then, and he broke out of his reverie. There was only so much he could do.
Steven got up and stretched, satisfied with himself and his skills. It was a beautiful start to the day and he felt fulfilled. Even if it was going to take the last of his time and energy, he would make sure to get back at Soraya.
As Steven ambled out of his office, his shoulders and head held high, he bumped right into Soraya.
At first, he was surprised and then, he pulled himself together and pushed her away from him. Unlike the day he’d first met her, she was looking different. Her hair which usually fell to her bony shoulders was now held up in a bun with a couple of strands falling over her eyes.
She was dainty looking.
“What are you doing here?” he asked her, surprise etched all over his face.
Soraya blinked and then slowly, he saw the recognition dawn on her face. “Oh boy” He heard her mutter.
“Are you here to finish up what you started because I have to inform you that we have security guards here who would be more than happy to do their jobs.” He took a step closer to her and she flinched.
Reflexively, she stepped back as he stepped forward and he stepped forward again. They kept at that dance until she had her back pressed to the wall, trapped between him.
“You can’t escape now.” He said to her and placed both hands on the wall above her. He noticed the rise and fall of her chest and a single bead of sweat run down her chin. She was nervous.
