MR BILLIONAIRE'S REGRET: CHASING HIS IRRESISTIBLE WIFE

(JARED'S POV)

I turned around with the bottle of wine in my hands and found Tiana looking at me with knowing eyes. She'd caught me staring, and I had to avert my gaze quickly.

Much later in the day, the sailor turned the yacht around for the beach house. We didn't encounter the other yacht on the way back. I kept hoping we'd run into them at some point so I could see Arielle again. But that didn't happen, so I decided to call her The phone rang for a while without an answer until she finally picked up.

"Hello. Arielle?" I said tentatively.

"Hello, little brother," Dwayne's voice came through the speaker. I felt my blood boil with anger at the sound of his voice.

"Where's Arielle? Why are you answering her phone?" I demanded.

"Relax. She's having a swell time with the others. It's her birthday tomorrow so we're treating her to a nice time," he said. I could hear the smile in his voice. "Did you forget it was her birthday, little brother?"noveldrama

Of course! I mentally face-palmed myself. I didn't exactly forget about Arielle's birthday. But I'd been so busy with work lately, coupled with the coincidence of Tiana's brother having the same birthday as Arielle. I figured it made sense that the two families asked for a meeting on the same day as well. Arielle had mentioned sometime in the past that the Harrisons were one of her biggest sponsors. It all made sense that she'd be on their yacht but nothing explained why Dwayne was there with her.

I shook off the surprise. "Give the phone to Arielle," I said. But the line clicked as Dwayne ended the call.

The bastard! I cursed under my breath. I tried dialing the number a couple of times, but it went straight to voicemail.

I was overwhelmed with frustration and it took all the restraint in me to keep from thrashing around inside the room. I sat on my bed, deep in thought. I had to get to Arielle as soon as possible. We had to have some serious conversations. The housekeeper had said the yacht belonged to the Harrisons...

I instantly remembered I had contact with the Monarch's son, Matt Harrison. I had a business deal with him once and vowed never to again. He was some greedy, money-thirsty man who squandered a lot more than he made, and wouldn't hesitate to do anything to make more. If he was still as covetous and materialistic as I remembered him to be, then getting on with my plan wouldn't be a problem.

Quickly, I took out my phone to search for his number hoping I still had it. Luckily, after typing the first few letters of his name, the rest displayed fully.

I hit dial, and while I waited for the phone to ring, I put a possible explanation for my mom and the Langleys together in my head.

The phone rang, and on the first ring, a gruff and annoying voice seeped through, making me grit my teeth.

"No, now, now, isn't this a pleasant surprise? Jared Smith, the one and only, calling my phone. You still have my number, man," Matt said, his voice dancing with amusement.

My fist tightened, and for a moment, I wanted to end the call, deciding it was a bad idea. But then, my need to see Arielle overwhelmed me, so I stifled the urge. I took a deep breath and let my anger evaporate before speaking up.

"Hi, Matt," I said blandly.

"I can't believe a day like this would come, Jared. What's up, Dude?" He inquired, the tone of amusement still in his voice and I could imagine him grinning on the other end.

I rolled my eyes, irritation clamping hard on my guts. "You know me by now; I didn't call to chit-chat with you. I need you to do something for me," I stated.

"You need my help, you mean?" He said sarcastically, and I could sense his gloating.

I groaned angrily, feeling my frustration rise to the surface. He was having fun teasing me, and it was really getting to me. I clenched my jaw, trying to play cool. "Whatever you call it," I responded flatly.

"Spill, then. You know I'm always willing to help."

Yeah, because you're an ass-licking male who only helps when he thinks there's something in it for him. But I didn't say that aloud, instead, went straight to the point of the

conversation.

"I need you to get me into your family yacht..."

Matt was stunned, and he didn't attempt to mask it. "That's strange, why?"

"I'm in the yacht your family rented out, but I need to get on board the one your family is in; it's important," I grumbled, displeased by the fact that I had to explain myself to him.

"Oh, the Eleganza yacht? Well you should know that it was I who rented it to the Langleys. I needed some cash, and they needed a yacht to celebrate their son's birthday, so I said why not."

I scoffed. "Of course, and being the mammonist you are, you charged them more than usual," I said, recalling Mr. Langley's remark about the outrageous cost of renting the yacht. "Come on, don't fault me. Not all of us are multi-billionaires," he said in a defensive tone, and I could tell he was getting agitated.

"That's because most of us chose to be money-wise and not live unnecessary extravagant lives," I clapped back.

"Surely you didn't call me to rub my financial mistakes in my face...."

"Not if you do as I say."

"All right, about your request, I can help you. But, you know I don't do anything for free," he said expectantly, and I knew instantly that he was waiting for me to make an offer.

I knew what was coming, and I was ready for it. "Yeah, sure. Name your price."

"$2,000..."

I clicked my tongue. "Fair enough, now get me in," I ordered.

"Not so fast," Matt whistled. "You have to make payments first."

I groaned; how could I have forgotten how untrusting Matt can be with money? He was cunning himself, and expected everyone to be like him.

"Send your account details right away and I'll make the transfer."

"Now that's more like it," he made an

annoying smacking sound and I wanted to reach into the phone and smack his face. Everything about this man got on my nerves, but I had to play cool. This was definitely the last communication I was ever going to have with him.

"Done, check your message!" His excited voice drew me out of my thoughts. Almost immediately, my phone beeped with a message. It was a text with his account number, and didn't waste time doing the needful.

There was a low exclamation of triumph on the other end, and that alerted me that he had seen the money transfer.

"I'll send someone to you right away. It was nice doing business with you, Jared, and I look forward to more in the future," Matt said excitedly. "Yeah, you wish," I said, and ended the call abruptly.