Her Big Greek Billionaire: A BWWM Billionaire Romance (International Alphas Book 5) Page 5

  She equated strong emotions with yelling, screaming, and throwing things. The only time she saw others fight was in movies, and the drama was always heightened for this. Dominic couldn’t handle the strong emotions she would sometimes bring along. She would cut deep during arguments, and Dominic wouldn’t do the same and instead, always ended up getting hurt.

  Eventually the two decided to split up after several years of marriage. They hadn’t gotten divorced yet, but so far, Jade didn’t mind her life as a single mom. Dom was there half the time to help take care of their son, Maverick. The two shared the young love and passion that people only write about in romance books, however, they seemed to burn out quick.

  They were the only person each other had ever been with, and although it seemed like enough when they were together, Jade couldn’t help but wonder what it was like to be with someone else. She always pictured herself getting married later, or maybe never settling down at all. She never expected herself to be under 20 married with a child.

  She certainly missed out on her party years, causing some resentment towards Tessa’s exciting lifestyle. Now she was in her mid-20’s with a school-aged child and a pending divorce. Regardless, she was happy that her sister was able to experience a life she’d probably never know.

  “I feel like I recognize him from somewhere.” JoAnn knew that she had seen Oscar’s face before, but she had no idea where.

  “Yeah he does look kind of familiar. He looks like a Calvin Klein model, so maybe you’ve seen him in an underwear ad,” said Jade.

  “No, that’s not it. I just saw that face recently. Hold on a second.” JoAnn suddenly realized she might know where she’s seen Oscar’s face before. She walked over to her laptop that was sitting on the kitchen counter. She opened up a webpage to a celebrity gossip site that she was guilty to admit she frequented. There he was, Oscar’s crystal blue eyes on the front page of the website.

  “What. The. Hell.” Jade was completely shocked. The headline stated, “Billionaire Oscar Legros Divorce from Victoria’s Secret Model Lydia Amos Only Gets Messier.”

  “What do we do? How does Tessa not know this?” JoAnn was shocked.

  “Do you think she does? Is she just scared to tell us?” Jade couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

  “I don’t understand. There’s no way Tessa would fail to tell us that she was dating a billionaire.” JoAnn was good with her money so her and her girls never really struggled. They were far from being billionaires, however.

  “And the fact that he’s still married to a model. When is he planning on telling her this?” Jade was still in awe. Maybe he wasn’t ever planning on telling her. They scrolled further and read more to the story. There were rumors on both sides of infidelity, and a “close source” claimed that Oscar liked to party too hard. The article was certainly painting him as the villain, and a man that JoAnn would never want her daughter to date, no matter how many millions of dollars he had stashed away.

  JoAnn struggled with this information. She knew that Tessa had the right to know who she was going out on dates with, but was it her place to tell her? She was scared what might happen if Tessa continued to fall deeper and deeper for Oscar without knowing who he truly was. She decided if she was going to reveal any of this information to Tessa, it was definitely something that needed to be done face to face. She took screenshots of the article, stashed away her laptop, and started to pack for Greece.

  Chapter4

  Lydia Amos walked through the door, looking like her usual snobby self. She hadn’t been in that conference room before, and she wasn’t necessarily thrilled to be there, but she had to do what she had to do to get her man back. She had flown all the way from New York to Greece just to get a meeting with her husband. He had refused to see her face to face in some time because the thought of them together again made him sick. That was even before he started falling for Tessa.

  She walked across the room and sat down at a table next to her lawyer. She pulled out a compact and reapplied her lipstick over her thin lips. She had to show Oscar what exactly he was missing. There was no amount of makeup that would ever make Oscar want to get back together with Lydia.

  She had a pretty ideal look, at least for some commercial companies. She had a plain face and fit body that could be easily manipulated to sell whatever product she was hired to advertise at the time. She had long blonde hair that was only half real, the other being the most expensive extensions she could afford. Her body was natural, and she didn’t believe in plastic surgery. She definitely believed in Botox, however. She spent a good portion of Oscar’s money on the fillers in the past.

  Lydia certainly had a fortune of her own and didn’t need Oscar’s money to still be wealthy. She did, however, need Oscar to be satisfied. She wasn’t used to not getting what she wanted, and men rarely turned her down. She might have been beautiful on the outside, but Oscar knew how ugly she was on the inside.

  When the two first met, they were both fairly young. He felt that she would be a beautiful wife and together, they’d be a beautiful power couple. At first, she was sweet and understanding, always looking out for Oscar and being a supportive wife. His father had always put pressure on him to find a wife, stating that he wanted him married when he graduated college. Oscar had different plans.

  He attended The Collegiate School in New York, a prestigious all-boys academy. His mother got breast cancer when he was only 10, and he had to watch her slowly die over the course of two years. After she passed, his father wasn’t able to take care of him and decided to send him away to school. Once he graduated he went to Columbia University to study literary arts. It was never an issue where he would get into, but his father made quite the fuss over his degree.

  His father threatened to take away his awaiting trust fund if he didn’t study business, or at least, fashion, to help him fit in at the up-and-coming CEO of their company. His grandfather had started Legros in the 1920s, and it quickly became an American staple, with outlets popping up all over the country. Oscar’s father, Oscar Senior, was able to turn the company global, with stores appearing all over the world in the 1980s.

  Oscar didn’t care about his father’s threats and continued his literary studies, focusing on creative writing. In his senior year of college, he got the call that his father had passed away. He quickly had to decide if he was going to step up and take over his father’s business or sell it to someone else. The immense guilt he had about his relationship with his father took a toll, and he decided to take over the business as a way to mend their relationship, though he had already passed.

  He decided he should get married as well, and that’s when he met Lydia. He jumped into their relationship and decided she would look great as his wife. Inside, he knew he was making a terrible mistake. He just wanted to stop feeling guilty for disappointing his father up until he died.

  Once they married, things started to quickly change. She started spending money like crazy, buying thousand-dollar bags that she left collecting dust in her giant closet. She loved taking long and luxurious vacations, always flying privately and staying in the nicest resorts. She could probably spend money like this for her entire life and Oscar would still be one of the wealthiest men on the planet, but he couldn’t stand her spending habits.

  Even though his bank account wasn’t hurting from the purchases, he felt that the money could be spent better. Every new shopping bag she brought home, he just thought about how many families her meaningless purchase could have fed. How many people had to go to work with shoes that had holes in them while she had a thousand-dollar pair of shoes just to walk around the pool in? It was this kind of behavior that seriously turned him off and made him decide to seek out a separation.

  She was also always interested in keeping their relationship public. She would do interviews about what it was like to marry a billionaire, painting their life like a tragic story of loss and love. She would always call the paparazzi to follow them, even if they were just
going to the grocery store to grab a drink. She never gave Oscar a moment for them to have with each other, a sign he took as them not being right for each other. Separation was certainly the best option.

  That was a difficult decision, as it’s not easy for a man like Oscar to do much in private. Of course, she started releasing, rather, selling, rumors to the media as soon as he mentioned the “D” word. If she could paint him as a partier and womanizer, she wouldn’t be the one to look bad to the media. No matter how much Oscar despised Lydia, he still couldn’t bring himself to stoop to her level and refused to share any bad information about her. Instead, he had just hoped for the cleanest and easiest divorce possible. That’s why he had refused to meet her in person.

  Every time they got together even after their separation, she still called the paparazzi. Of course, she would never admit that she was the one to tip off the posse with the cameras, but who else knew their intimate details and constant whereabouts? He had hoped that not as many people would follow them to Athens. However, she was likely to cause a stir as she always did.

  Oscar was a good person, so it wasn’t easy for him to treat Lydia badly. It was even harder for him to be mean to her in person, remembering the woman that he knew when they first met. He just had to constantly remind himself that it was all just an act.

  Oscar walked into the room with his lawyer, causing Lydia to sit up straight and fix her see-through black blouse. She loved showing as much skin as possible while still attempting to maintain a level of class. He hardly noticed what she was wearing.

  “Oscar dear, so nice of you to finally show up.” Lydia tried her best to sound nice but no matter how hard she tried, she always came off evil to Oscar.

  “Sorry I’m late. It’s not easy being in charge of the opening of an entire department store.” Oscar was in Athens because he was opening an Athens location of Legros, one of the largest retail outlets in the world. “What is so important that you had to fly all the way out here, Lydia?”

  “Well, I was just tired of talking to your answering machine. I miss you, Oscar.” Lydia was only known as being a model, but she sure was good at acting.

  “I’m sorry, Lydia, but that’s just the way things have to be. I’ve been trying to reach a settlement with you for months now. Getting back together is not an option.” Oscar was stern in the way he was talking to her.

  “Miss Amos—” Oscar’s lawyer, Peter, started.

  “Legros. I’m keeping the last name. Legally at least.” Lydia had changed her name, but the media still referred to her with her maiden name.

  “Ms. Legros, Oscar is willing to give you whatever you want to just get this thing over with,” Peter said a little less sternly than Oscar had.

  “I don’t need you to tell me what Oscar wants. I’ve come up with some different terms. Tell him Harry.” Lydia’s lawyer was celebrity attorney Harry Hugo, a rumored love interest of Lydia’s.

  “In addition to the terms we’ve already discussed, Ms. Legros requests $1 million a month in alimony,” Harry said as if he was talking on an infomercial.

  “Fine,” Oscar said with his eyes closed.

  “She would also like the New York penthouse,” Harry continued, reading off some papers in front of him.

  “Sure.” Oscar could have been a robot. “Like I said, anything you want.”

  “Can you think of anything else, Ms. Legros?” Peter said almost sarcastically. “Since the San Francisco condo and the yacht weren’t enough.”

  Lydia pretended to start crying and grabbed a tissue from her purse. “We’ll send you over the paperwork as soon as possible, then,” Harry told Peter. Lydia stood up and quickly left the room. Playing the innocent divorcee was her strategy to guilt Oscar into taking her back. Meryl Streep could play that role and still not make Oscar blink an eye.

  Oscar and his lawyer left the room as well. When they started walking down the hallway, Lydia was standing next to a drinking fountain, still weeping. They passed her without saying anything. She quickly turned around and cried out for Oscar.

  “Oscar, wait!” She was acting pathetic. He still gave her the courtesy of turning around and walking back towards her. He didn’t say anything and stood in front of her.

  “What happened to us, Oscar?” Lydia was really playing up the role. You would have thought her husband died.

  “I realized this isn’t what I wanted anymore, Lydia. It’s over. We’ve talked about this.” Oscar wished she would just vanish.

  “You’ve met someone haven’t you? You’ll barely look me in the eye.” Lydia was trying to get closer to Oscar, but he kept edging back.

  “Actually, I have.” Oscar instantly thought of Tessa. He thought about her dewy skin and radiant glow. He remembered how soft her skin was when he held her close the first night, and how he couldn’t help but catch a whiff of her hair every time they got close. He thought about how he felt more for Tessa when he first laid eyes on her than he did for him and Lydia’s entire 2-year marriage.

  “I knew it. Is she prettier than me?” Lydia leaned against the wall. Oscar sighed and turned around, walking back to his car. He wasn’t going to put up with Lydia today. “Oscar wait, I’m sorry. Can we just get a drink or something tonight? I flew all the way here to see you.”

  “I can’t, I’m busy.” For once, Oscar didn’t actually have anything to do that night. He wished it was the next day when he had the charity event with Tessa, however, the next day seemed years away. Lydia looked down and started crying harder. Oscar walked away, realizing he felt absolutely nothing else for her.

  *****

  JoAnn and Jade walked into Tessa’s apartment, still in shock that they were actually in a foreign country at last.

  “Tessa this is beautiful!” JoAnn was in shock at the apartment. It really wasn’t all that interesting. You could probably find a hundred places that looked exactly the same in New York, but the fact that it was in a foreign country made it all the more interesting.

  “Yo this is actually pretty dope. Not too bad, little sis.” Jade set her stuff down and pulled out her phone. “I have to call Dom and see how my baby’s doing.”

  “Isn’t it a little late, or”—Tessa looked at her phone—“too early to call him?” Tessa was confused.

  “I don’t care, I miss my baby!” Jade walked down the hallway and into the bathroom, already acting as if she owned the place. Tessa blew it off and helped her mom get settled in.

  “Honey, this is seriously amazing. I’m so proud of you, baby! You really know how to take care of yourself, huh?” JoAnn would be proud of Tessa if she sneezed, but Tessa still felt good knowing her mom thought so highly of her.

  “Thanks, Mom. I’m not doing so bad. How was your flight?” Tessa said.

  “Oh, it was fine. But I don’t want to talk about my plane! Let’s talk about your date tonight!” JoAnn was excited to see her daughter but still nervous knowing the truth about the man she was seeing.

  “Well, he’ll be here around seven to pick me up. Maria will be home around 8 and then she’s going to take you to Duka’s and show you around a bit, so you guys aren’t stuck in this apartment all day.” Tessa had asked Maria to take over her spot while she went out with Oscar.

  “Oh, honey, she doesn’t have to do that, I’m happy just to see you.” JoAnn was being completely honest.

  “Speak for yourself, Mom! I’m down to eat some tasty Greek food and meet some cute Greek boys. You aren’t the only one who can land an Athens boyfriend, sis.” Jade walked out from the bathroom just in time to put her two cents in. Jade had gone on a few dates since separating from Dominic, but she was mostly just teasing when it came to her relationship status. “Got anything to drink?”

  “What do you think?” Tessa walked into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of wine.

  “All right sis, you know what’s up!” Jade took off her jacket and grabbed some wine glasses.

  “So, honey, have you learned anymore about this mystery man?” JoA
nn was hoping she wouldn’t have to be the one to reveal the truth to Tessa.

  “We text every so often, but he’s busy.” Tessa mainly just flirted with Oscar. She wanted to learn more about him, but things were going fine on the surface level and she didn’t want to mess anything up. She’d rather have the serious conversations in person anyway. She wasn’t stupid. She knew there was something he was hiding from her, but she wasn’t in any rush to find out what it was. She wasn’t ready to get her heart broken.

  She was still fine just knowing the first name of this man. “You know what, I have to show you what he got me! You can help me decide what to wear tonight!” Tessa had ended up finding two dresses for her date and bought them both. She didn’t know which one looked better and wanted their opinion. She was also hopeful that she would need a second dress for a third date. She ran down the hallway and into her room.

  “Oh, I don’t feel good about this.” JoAnn was starting to feel guilty about keeping something from her daughter. She grabbed her stomach and looked around nervously. “If he hurts her, I’ll just die.”

  “Mom, it’s not your place to tell her. She doesn’t want you meddling in her life.” Jade was like her sister in that she’d rather play into the fantasy of the situation than have to see her sister go through something that might cause her a lot of pain. Tessa walked back into the room holding the necklace, ending the quick conversation between her mother and sister.

  “Oh my, sweetie! That’s stunning!” JoAnn was shocked at the necklace. No one had ever given her anything that nice in her life.

  “Sis this cost more than my rent! What the hell!” Jade wasn’t trying to hide her envy right now. Tessa didn’t want to make her sister jealous, but she couldn’t help but bask in the bliss of the relationship. “You should wear your hair up tonight. I’ll help you!” Jade was a hairstylist and knew how to do the cutest styles on anyone’s hair. Jade was always self-conscious of her tight curls, afraid that her hair was too big. Jade always knew how to make her look and feel beautiful no matter what style she had on.