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Why did Stelios want to take her out? It was a question that wouldn’t leave Zoey alone She earing her nightgown and sitting in her living roolass of wine rested on the coffee table in front of her, like so tomorrow to take her somewhere? Why does a billionaire date someone out of the blue?

Her best guess so far was that he needed somebody to make him feel better and restore his reputation after the Brie Hudson disaster He was using her Thather for al he had said to Zoey the other day had seeenuine, and none of it had made hi people

“What else could it be?” she asked herself, taking a long sip of the wine No other answers came to her, or rather, none that were plausible She considered for ain her that touched him, but she dismissed that idea at once

“This isn’t a fairy tale,” she told herself firmly “Men don’t just appear for no reason and soenda”

As soon as she said it, she felt slightly ashamed of herself

There was a tio, when Zoey would have embraced Stelios’ date proposal Back then, she wouldn’t have sat up half the night pretending to watch television, and searching his words for ulterior , more open, and more hopeful In those days, she had looked at each day as its own adventure But Zoey had still been in college back then; yet to take up her post at Melinda Forde and learn that everyone had an angle, noit

Zoey was asha the trust and openness she once felt She decided to try to put her conspiracy theories away for the ti day with an open mind

SIX

To Zoey’s relief, the next day was Friday Friday night normally meant the weekend, and a temporary reprieve fro co, a billionaire was co to take her out

Her et prepared” It was obvious she wanted her daughter to use every trick in the book to turn their date into a relationship For her part, Zoey wasn’t sure how she felt about the billionaire Greek After all, she had only met the man twice, and in both of those cases, her mother had been there

When six o’clock ca what she felt for Stelios, but she was finally ready for their date Her makeup was subtle, but finished with a bold red lip, and her dark hair had been crinkled to perfection She wore a luxurious white cashotten in the sale of the century, and completed her look with black slacks and flats, which straddled the line between formal and casual A new smartphone rested inside her clutch and bore the same number as the old one

Despite herself, Zoey felt her heart quake with excite doorbell filled the room

Striding over quickly, she opened the door to a beanpole of a driver in a stylish gray uniforated face A thin little mustache sat atop his upper lip

“Good evening, Ms Forde The car is waiting downstairs I’ve come up to escort you, if you’re ready”

“I ahtful of Stelios to have someone escort her downstairs

Outside her building, Zoey saw the falided past and held the back door open for her

“Where’s your boss?” she asked the driver when she didn’t see Stelios inside

“He would like that to be a surprise, miss Step inside and I’ll drive you to him”

Feeling excited and a little cautious, Zoey followed the instructions and her driver took off, expertly weaving through New York traffic