Billionaire’s Regret: The One He Lost

Maxine Mason tried to yank her hand back, but Grant Smith held it tight. She flicked a quick, desperate glance at Braxton Payne, begging him with her eyes to step in. If Braxton intervened, Grant would never dare pull anything with her.

"Braxton, I’m thinking of taking Maxine out tonight. You cool with that?"

Braxton’s eyes darted to the hand Grant was clamped around, and a quiet, unspoken tension coiled through him.

"Whatever Maxine wants is her call. Her personal business isn’t any of mine."

His voice was ice cold, completely detached, and it sent a sharp chill straight through Maxine. Braxton really couldn’t have cared less if she ended the night with another guy.

Maxine forced a tiny smile, tucking away the sharp ache gnawing at her chest. Her eyes burned with unshed tears, but she blinked them back and looked away.

Grant leaned in closer, his breath hot against her ear, voice thick with suggestion. “You heard him, Maxine. Braxton doesn’t mind. I promise you won’t regret spending the night with me.”

Maxine felt nothing but disgust for Grant, a man decades older than her. She’d been by Braxton’s side for years, and she’d handled creeps like this a hundred times over. But tonight? She didn’t want to say no. She wanted to see if Braxton really didn’t give a damn if she went home with another man.

If he really didn’t care… what was the point of holding onto all these stupid, secret hopes of hers?

Maxine lifted an eyebrow, and tossed Grant a teasing little smile. "Just one night, Grant? That’s all you’re offering?"

Grant’s eyes lit up like a Christmas tree, hooked by her youthful glow. "Stick with me, baby, and I promise you’ll get everything you ever wanted."

He reached to sling an arm around her shoulders, dying to drag her straight to a hotel room right that second. Maxine’s innocent beauty was intoxicating, but there was something sharp and mesmerizing in her eyes that could trap any man—especially when she smiled like that.

From the second they met, Grant had been obsessed with her, dying to get her into bed. Now that the prize was right in front of him, he could barely contain his impatience.

The whole time she toyed with the older man’s interest, Braxton never let his expression slip. But his fingers were clamped so tight around his wine glass his knuckles had gone bone white.

Maxine held Braxton’s gaze, steady. "Braxton, would you be okay if I took Grant up on his long-term offer?"

Braxton’s eyes sharpened as they pinned Maxine in place, a cold edge glinting in his dark pupils. “So this is serious, Maxine? You’re actually considering it?”

Maxine’s lips curled up into a playful smirk. “Grant’s offer is pretty tempting. It’s hard to say no.”

“You’re being serious?” Braxton’s voice was tight, barely holding back a roar of anger.

“Is Braxton asking ‘cause he doesn’t want me to be with Grant?” Maxine held his gaze, her heart screaming at him to just say something, to give her even a tiny sign. If he even hesitated, if he showed even the slightest bit that he didn’t want this, she’d dump the whole idea right there.

But Braxton was colder than she ever imagined. After a long, heavy pause, he said, completely detached, “Do whatever you want.”

Maxine smiled, but the light in her eyes died instantly. After a long, dead silence, she whispered, “Alright, Braxton. I’m going with Grant then.”

She hooked her arm through Grant’s, and she didn’t look back once.

“See you around, Braxton! Have a good night, we’ll grab drinks another time,” Grant chirped, completely oblivious to the simmering rage rolling off Braxton, his head already too full of Maxine to notice anything else.

Braxton stared at Maxine’s retreating back until she vanished around the corner, and that’s when his fury finally broke loose. He slammed the wine glass into the marble floor, and it shattered into a hundred pieces with a deafening crash.

Even Carter, Braxton’s right-hand man of ten years, jumped at the sound. “Sir, you want me to go get Maxine back?”

Carter knew exactly what was really going on between Braxton and Maxine.

“Don’t you dare touch her,” Braxton bit out, his voice like ice, molten rage bubbling just under the surface.

Carter gave his boss a knowing look. For all Braxton’s act of indifference, he cared about Maxine more than anything. If he didn’t, he never would have kept her by his side for five years—she was the first person that ever made him break his own ironclad rules.

Maxine stared out the car window at the club entrance, and when she didn’t see Braxton come barrelling after her, she let out a bitter, hollow laugh. She should have known better than anyone how cold Braxton could be, but she’d stupidly held out hope he’d chase after her.

Next to her, Grant could barely contain his excitement at having such a gorgeous arm candy. He slid his hand up her thigh, his grin downright lewd. “Maxine, what do you say we have a little fun right here? This car’s got custom tint for moments just like this.”

His touch made Maxine’s skin crawl. She subtly shifted away, pulling her thigh out of his reach. “Grant, I just remembered I have something really important I need to take care of tonight. I can’t go through with this.”

She’d only agreed to leave with him to test Braxton. Now that she knew how he really felt, there was no reason to keep up the act.

Grant wasn’t about to let his prize slip through his fingers before he even got a taste. “What could be more important than hanging out with me? C’mon, baby, stick with me and you’ll want for nothing.”

He tangled his fingers in her hair, lifting a strand to his nose and inhaling deeply, then puckered his lips to kiss her.

Watching his greasy, lecherous face coming towards her, Maxine had had enough. She shoved him hard away from her. “Grant, I said I have to go. Something urgent came up.”

Before he could snap back at her, she wrenched the car door open and ran.

Back at the villa, Braxton stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, his whole aura dark and threatening, his eyes a roiling storm of rage.

Carter slipped in quickly, giving a quick bow. “Sir, I found out Grant checked into a suite at the Ritz-Carlton. The front desk said he brought a woman with him.”

Braxton clenched his fists so hard his knuckles cracked, his face drained of all color, a blue vein bulging in his forehead, his eyes blazing with fury. She’d actually gone to a hotel with Grant.

Sensing his boss’s temper about to blow, Carter cautiously suggested, “Should I call Maxine and tell her to…”

Before he could finish, Braxton spun on his heel and marched for the door. “To the Ritz-Carlton. Now.”

Twenty minutes later, Braxton stood outside Grant’s hotel room, and he could hear unmistakable moans through the thick wood. The thought of Maxine in there with another man turned his rage completely white-hot.

Before Carter could even raise his hand to knock, Braxton drew back and kicked the door straight off its hinges with a brutal, deafening crash.