The Billionaire Playboy's Regret (Lark and Max)

Max took a seat next to Lark and across from Ollie and Johan near the window of the restaurant knowing damn well, his security, Ollie's security and their father's security teams would all be losing their minds over the seating arrangements.

He didn't care. This window faced the best view of the water, and it was pretty and romantic. It might not be a true date with Lark, but he was going to let his imagination run wild with the thoughts it could be. Ollie's phone chimed and she checked it and made a face and he found himself wondering for the umpteenth time what his sister was hiding from him. He knew her better than she knew herself. He knew there was a guy back in Houston she ran away from two years ago. She never said anything but he knew when his sister was licking her wounds from a failed relationship. He never pushed her too hard because he knew the more you pushed her, the further she retreated. He was suspicious the person she left behind was the guy she'd called to deal with Doug the Douche. Her comment to Doug when they'd been in the yard was, she knew someone in Houston who would make sure he kept his mouth shut and she'd been acting strange ever since. He knew it was a matter of time before she confided but he hoped it wasn't going to end in more heartbreak for her.

Johan was looking around the restaurant curiously, checking out every woman and despite the way his friend bragged up his date the evening before, the fact Johan was still looking around told him the cowgirl wasn't the one for Johan. He watched as Johan's eyes widened as if he recognized someone behind him and gave Max a warning glance, but he was confused as to the why.

He looked up when the sound of his name being called caught his ear and then he groaned internally. s**t. This was what Johan was warning him about.

"Max?"

"Oona," he rose from his seat offering a tight smile. "What are you doing here?" He could feel the curious glances from the table as he blocked their sight to the woman.

"I'm looking for you. I went to all the places you normally go on a Saturday night."

"Why?" he was surprised to see her considering he'd blocked her on every conceivable way for them to connect. "You didn't call Max."

"I didn't say I would," he said bluntly.

"Are you on a date with someone else?" she leaned past to look at Lark who was sitting next to him. "Nope," he shook his head as he looked at Lark for any sign, she was upset with his denial of them being on a date. His heart skipped a beat when for the first time in his life, he realized the expression on her face wasn't irritation at being linked to him but because he was denying it. There it was in living color. Disappointment. "In my wildest dreams it would be a date, but I've been friend zoned. I'm working hard at getting permission to date her though." He saw the way Lark's lips twisted in surprise as if she were trying not to smile his comment. How had he gotten it so wrong back then? He really had been blind. "If you're not on a date, why didn't you call me back after last week?"

"Again, Oona, I don't recall saying I would call."

"Are you angry I left so suddenly? You knew I needed to go to Atlanta to see my Dad at his office there." "Not in the least," he shifted under his jacket aware Lark, Ollie and Johan were hanging onto their every word. "I was glad you left because I needed to work."

"I told you I was going to catch a flight early, Max."

"Yes, and I told you when I'm dating someone it's supposed to be exclusive yet the minute you touched down in Atlanta, your tongue was down the throat of your father's security." When she blanched, he eyed her coolly, wondering how he thought this blonde-haired, blue-eyed woman would ever live up to the standards of the woman intently watching the conversation. "Oona, I don't know what you expected approaching me here when I'm out with my friends but if you thought I was going to be polite and friendly or not call you out on your s**t in a public setting, then you clearly don't know me well. Leave now before I become irritated."

He noted the way Oona leaned towards Lark sneeringly and braced himself for whatever was going to come out of her mouth.

"He's a liar you know. He's going to make you think you're his girlfriend and then he'll f**k you and then dump you like he did me."

"Who the f**k are you?" Lark suddenly asked. "I'm pretty sure I just heard him say you were supposed to be exclusive, yet you were making out with someone else."

Max rocked on his heels in surprise at Lark's comment. Feisty as ever.

"I'm the girl he f****d last Thursday night, all night and who blew him under his desk Friday morning before he ghosted me. And I didn't have my tongue down my security guard's throat. We exchanged a greeting which was a simple peck on the cheek."

"Really?" Lark snickered and looked to Ollie, "she must be the one he said was beneath him."

Max groaned as Ollie and Lark exchanged a high-five across the table. Did Ollie tell everyone this? "Oona, please leave."

"I didn't cheat on you Max. You ghosted me."

He grabbed his phone from his pocket and then played a video making sure the volume was up. The video started and the audio was loud causing a few of the other diners to listen in.

"Oona, baby, when are you going to admit the only c**k you want is mine? I know you don't want your father to find out about us, but I love you."

"I told you. If I don't play his game, daddy will cut off my trust fund. I love you, Leith but we won't be able to live the life we want to live if I don't have any income."

"Did you f**k the guy you've been seeing back in Dallas?"

"He means nothing to me. Daddy likes him and wants me to get closer to him for an investment

opportunity. I'm doing this so my trust fund gets bigger. Imagine the life we can live."

"Then get in the car. I'm going to f**k you better than he ever did."

"Baby, you better f**k every hole on my hungry body."

Ollie laughed out loud, "your hungry body? Jesus Christ on a Motorbike, whatever made you think saying such things is sexy."

Oona's face grew pale, and her breathing was huffed. "Where did you get this?"

"Does it matter? What matters is within fifteen minutes of you leaving the airport, you were messing around with someone else. I take my s****I health very seriously Oona and it's why I insist on monogamy when I date. We went on five dates and one s****I encounter, two if you count the blowjob. I made it clear from the first date my expectation and you simply didn't live up to them. My advice to you, before you consider throwing yourself at me for your father's benefit, is to f**k off before I send him this clip." "You wouldn't," she was clutching her throat as if struggling for air.

"He would," Ollie laughed excitedly. "I think you should simply do it, Max. I mean clearly, her daddy has no problem pimping out his daughter to try to get the Villeneuve billions. You should definitely let him know she messed up her task and is screwing her security guard." She folded her hands prayerlike in front of her face, "please, Max, for me? Do it for me? I'm tired of being the only ruthless person in our family after Grandpa Gael. Even Dad has gotten soft over the years.

Come to the dark side, Max. Do it!"

"You can't."

"Why do cheaters always think they are entitled to their victim's time?" Lark asked angrily. "Lady, you obviously aren't good enough to be with Max. You're clearly stupid." She made a face at the girl, "let me guess, you're a trust fund baby who never worked a day in her life. The highlight of your life was probably when you were cheer captain."

"Excuse me?"

"You're excused," she flicked her wrist at her dismissively as Ollie and Johan roared with laughter. "Leave Oona, before I do what my sister wants." Max breathed a heavy sigh of relief when the blonde turned on her heel and stomped away angrily. He dropped to his seat, rubbed his forehead, and frowned apologetically at the table, "I'm sorry about that."

"She was only dating you because of her father?" Lark asked quietly.

"I guess so. He runs a small tech company here in Dallas with a second office in Georgia. They reported a bad fourth quarter last year and a worse first quarter this year. I met him, his wife and daughter at a fundraiser about a month ago. He knows I have in the past helped out other startup companies. Evidently, he thought if I put up money for startups, maybe I'd invest in his existing business."

"But why did you have her followed?" Ollie asked and at his raised eyebrow she shrugged, "don't give me that look Max. You don't have any friends in Atlanta."

"Something felt off when she showed up to my office on Friday. It felt she was there looking for information. I got a feeling she was looking for s**t to extort me with from the way she was looking around the room. I hadn't taken her to my place, and the face she came to my office complaining about me leaving the hotel room early and wanting to see my office felt bizarre, especially when she was trying to look at my computer screen while she was on her knees in front of me. For the record, I didn't even finish because I thought the entire thing weird. I sent a security team to make sure she wasn't meeting with a competitor or whatever. Turns out, she's simply daddy's little whore."

"I'm so sorry, Max," Lark patted his hand on the table.

He laughed removing his hand from under hers and hugging her to his side. "I wasn't in love with her Lark. I didn't even know her well enough to like her. I met with her five times, twice for coffee, once for lunch, twice for dinner. I slept with her on date number five. It was okay but not life changing."

"Did you use toys on her?" Ollie asked mischievously.

"No. Jesus Ollie. You need a filter." Max shook his head at his sister.

"There isn't one big enough," Lark said with a grin.

Max liked the way she didn't pull away from his arm draped over her shoulder and was still leaned against him. "I really am sorry she showed up and ruined our evening though.'

"She didn't ruin it," Lark shrugged. "I mean if she'd shown up with a boom box, wearing a raincoat and telling us she was pregnant with your love child, it might have been ruined, at least for you. The rest of us would be laughing."

Johan protested the boom box joke as Max looked at Lark's playful expression with a wide smile. Maybe the evening wasn't going to be a total loss after all.