Mr. Billionaire **ReVamped**

Chapter Eleven

When the day before my "date" with Liam came, I was equal parts nervous and excited. Nervous because—fake or not—this was my first time going anywhere with a man since the disaster that had been my failed wedding. The other half of me was excited because, after this date with Liam, it wouldn't be long until word spread all over every Us Weekly and Buzzfeed article that Liam Hawke was seeing someone. With that, my picture would be plastered all over the internet for the world to see and possibly ridicule, but at the very same time, Simon and Kate would be seeing it along with all those people, too.

Whether or not people came for me in the comment sections of the articles that would soon feature my "relationship" with Liam or not, as long as Simon and Kate saw it and felt their worlds crumble, I was all for it.

All day today as I shopped with my friends and listened to Levi and Martia fawn over how swelteringly hot Liam Hawke was, I really truly cemented my feeling into place. Today I had really truly decided that this was how I wanted things to be. And yes, I know that if you take an eye for an eye the world ends up blind and all that but at the same time, I just wanted to stop being sad.

I can't count how many times I've cried since that day. I can't explain the embarrassment of having to stand in front of family and friends—both his and mine—and explain that the wedding just wasn't happening. The embarrassment, the pain, the sadness. Finally, all of that had melted away and anger was truly the only emotion that remained.

Whether it was childish or not, I wanted to get back at them any way I could. If dating Liam Hawke would do that, then I would date him a thousand times.

"Oh, no fucking way!" Levi yelled out from my kitchen, his voice high with excitement.

He was currently supposed to be helping Kayleen make homemade cinnamon rolls, but she moved so quickly and so expertly, he had taken to leaning against my small counter and looking at something on his phone, scrolling through every now and then.

Martia—who was watching as the lead character in the K-drama I was watching got slapped by her mother-in-law—asked without looking up, "What? Did someone send you an ugly dick pic?"

"No. Ew." His face crinkled a little. "Have you guys seen what's been trending all over Facebook and Twitter?"

Kayleen asked, "What's trending?" at the same time Martia asked, "Does anyone except old people use Facebook anymore?"

"There's an article going viral right now called Liam Hawke's New Girl? Booty call or Wifey? There's a picture here," he tapped on something before turning his phone toward us so we could see, "does anyone there look familiar to you, Yvonne?" His face was smug.

I got up from my position on the couch next to Martia so I could see the phone better. There was a picture of Liam with his hand resting lightly on the back of a woman who he was escorting to his car. A sinking feeling overtook me as I remembered that day. The day where I had drunkenly stumbled from the club and happened to stumble across Liam for the first time; the day he drove me home. Someone had taken a picture of that? I mean, I knew that someone who looked like Liam must have plenty of women interested in his social life—especially since he was a billionaire and therefore one of the most eligible bachelors in the world—but it was kind of creepy. Maybe it was because I had been too drunk to notice but, I hadn't seen any paparazzi there.

As I looked at the photo, Levi scrolled and another photo popped up. This time, it was the two of us at Common Grounds. I'll admit, in the photo we really do look like some kind of secret couple. He's leaning toward me with his chip resting in his palm and I'm leaning toward him, staring at him intently. To someone on the outside, we must look like two lovers sharing some kind of secret. While it was true that we were sharing a secret, we most definitely were not lovers.

At least not really.

"Damn, they're reporting about you already." Martia was suddenly right beside me and she startled me a little. "Liam Hawke looks fine as fuck in all those pictures. You're lucky I love you, Yvonne. I swear on everything I love that man has a face that deserves to be sat on."

Kayleen—who was looking at the photos with us and was now going back to her work with the cinnamon rolls—asked, "Are you okay, Yvonne? It's not too jarring, is it?"

I looked at Kayleen and right then and there, I wondered if she was some kind of angel. At that moment as I watched her roll the cinnamon filled dough into a log expertly, she might as well have grown wings and a halo.

"I'm fine."

And when I spoke it, it amazed me that those words were true. I'm not going to lie, suddenly finding your picture in an article that's gone viral all over the internet is incredibly disorienting. It's just really odd to see your face plastered somewhere and know that millions of other people have seen that same picture. Especially when you're allegedly dating a billionaire who was, apparently, one of People's sexiest men and often graced GQ magazine with his presence every now and again. I knew that women in the comments were probably tearing me to shreds and I knew that most people would either be extremely appalled or extremely pleased if they found themselves in my shoes.

But I was neither of those things. I wasn't appalled or pleased. I felt oddly smug. I hoped that Simon and Kate would see those pictures and recognize me. Even though they weren't particularly good shots, anyone who knew me in real life would easily be able to come to the conclusion that the woman in those photos was me.

The idea of them seeing it...

"That's a really evil smile you've got on your face, Yvonne," Martia commented. "You look like that clown from It." She snapped her fingers as she tried to remember his name. "What was his name again?"

"Pennywise." This came from Kayleen who was now cutting the now log-shaped cinnamon filled dough.

"Right, him. That smile you just gave was nefarious as fuck."

"Oh, look at you, using big words and shit." Levi grinned cheekily.

Martia just gave him the finger as a response.

Levi looked over at me, his eyes taking me in carefully before he asked, "As a reporter, I'm annoyed I didn't get the scoop first. As your friend, I feel the need to ask you if this is what you really want. If you don't want public attention, it would be best to bow out now." He looked back at his cell, his eyes scanning the article quickly. "Right now, people think you were just a booty call. If you go on this date tonight, though..."

"It's okay." I smiled at him, breathing in deeply before letting that breath out. "Aren't you the one always telling me that the best way to get over my current heartbreak is to have a boy toy who's ten times hotter. That's what I'm doing. I'm doing this for me."

Levi smiled back after a moment. "Well, I can't argue with you there. Just make sure you let me know if Liam is really as hung as the rumors say."

"Oh, better yet, if he starts sending you dick pics, send them to us through a group chat," Martia suggested. "I want to see the proof for myself."

Levi pointed at Martia as if to say, "that was the most brilliant idea I've ever heard in my life" and Kayleen looked at both of them exasperatedly over her shoulder. Obviously, I declined that and we moved on from topics of Liam Hawke and magazines.

Tomorrow, Liam and I would have to be seen together. Since he hadn't been seen with any women publically for six months, after our date, he'd have an "anonymous source" tell tabloids that the two of us had been dating for six months and we were really into each other.

The real shit would begin tomorrow. Today would be my last day of peace. Somehow, I just knew it.