Billionaires in New York Boxed Set: Billionaires in the City Books 1-3 by Laura Burton (learn to read books .TXT) 📕

“Nearly? So, you just tripped, right?”

Julie grinned as she recalled Harry holding her tightly; she could still feel the warmth of his hands on her back when she thought about it.

“Harry caught me.”

Emily nodded with approval.

“I knew it. I just knew you two would get along.”

Get along? He’s perfect.

“So, he’s a client of yours, right? What is he looking for?”

“A kitchen broom.”

“Huh?”

“Don’t be daft, Julie. He is looking for a girlfriend, obviously.” Emily rolled her eyes with a tut. “And after meeting him, your face came to me.”

Julie shrugged the dress off her shoulders, stepped out of it and carefully draped it over a chair. Then she grabbed a pair of leggings from her dresser and yanked them on. The soft stretch material felt like coming home after a long day.

“He kissed me.”

“Of course, he did,” Emily replied, nodding with approval. “How was it? Were there fireworks?”

“Definitely.”

“Are you going to see him again?”

“He’s going to call me tomorrow, but he already said he wanted me to be his plus one at a charity thing.”

Emily paced the room in thought.

“Charity thing,” she said to herself. “Hmm. I wonder which one he’s talking about. We’re going to need to take you shopping again.”

Julie pulled on a sweater and collapsed onto her king-size bed, exhaling deeply. Tabby meowed to announce his arrival and leapt onto Julie’s legs and stretched out. Julie tickled his tummy.

“Okay, you’ve given me the highlights. Now tell me everything. Start from the beginning and leave nothing out.” Emily climbed onto the bed as well, and sat up like an excitable puppy, waiting for a treat. Matchmaking was Emily’s job and her bright, expectant eyes showed Julie that this was the part she loved most, so she told her everything. Even the short conversation they had with Merlin and their shared favorite story, The Sword in the Stone. She described the carriage ride. The kiss. Harry’s lame joke after it. Everything.

“… and then I came in and you nearly scared me to death,” Julie finished.

Emily’s eyes were tearing up.

“I told you,” she said, obviously pleased with herself. Julie fell back onto the plush pillows and stretched her arms out with a yawn. They had been talking for hours. It had been a long day hunched over the sewing machine, followed by a date strapped into a restrictive dress; the muscles in Julie’s back screamed at her.

“Told me what?”

Emily propped herself up on an elbow and looked pointedly at Julie.

“I told you it was the perfect day to fall in love.”

Julie threw a pillow at Emily’s smug face.

“I’m not in love.”

Yet, she thought silently.

Julie woke up to the sound of dry heaving. She blinked into the sunshine to see Tabby’s face towering over her and before she could move, the cat coughed up a sticky fur ball that fell right onto Julie’s forehead.

“Gross,” she moaned as she grabbed a tissue to wipe it away, then jumped out of bed. She was at the sink when the phone vibrated loudly on her nightstand. Tabby screeched at the noise and fled the room. Julie’s heart thumped against her ribcage as she wiped her face with a towel and hurried to retrieve the phone.

“Hello?” she said in a high voice. She cleared her throat and tried to steady her nerves.

“Is this Julie Andrews?”

“Yes, yes this is she.” Julie glanced at the number on her phone. The male’s voice did not sound like Harry.

“Our client came in to collect her gown this morning. Problem is, the gown is not here. Please tell me you have it.”

Julie’s stomach lurched. In all of the excitement, she completely forgot about the dress she was working on. She glanced at the clock, her throat swelling up with anxiety.

“Yes, sorry, Frank. I brought it home to finish over the weekend.”

“Julie, the client is coming back at 4 p.m. You better have it here, in perfect condition––don’t forget it’s not insured outside the office. If anything happens––”

“Nothing will happen. I’m just doing some final touches and will get a cab. I promise.”

“Don’t mess this up for me. You’ve already made me look like a fool once today.”

Julie apologized again and hung up the phone. Frank worked with Julie at Estelle’s fashion department. He was head of the department, but he acted like he was a king. There were three rules in the office: 1. No jokes. 2. No talking back to him and 3. No one taking work home. Julie snuck the dress out of the office to get away from the constant noise and bustle. There must have been over one-hundred sewing machines, almost always on the go, and the tension in the air quashed Julie’s creativity. How could she focus with Frank breathing down her neck?

Estelle’s fashion line took pride in having their own in-house dress-making department, but the way the workers were treated made Julie feel like she was working in a sweatshop. If it wasn’t for Emily and her cinnamon rolls, Julie would have left New York a long time ago. Emily worshipped Estelle and thought Julie had the most glamorous job in the world; she didn’t have the heart to explain just how unglamorous her job really was.

Julie was so busy frantically working on the dress that she did not notice her phone, which remained quiet all morning. If she had not been so caught up in the stress of getting her work done, she would have been on edge expecting Harry’s call.

“You’re cutting it close.” Frank looked up from his watch and his eyes narrowed at Julie as she walked in. “Is it finished?”

Before Julie could respond, a tall slender woman with her hair cut into a neat bob exploded into the room.

“Frank, darling, I need those dresses.” Her high-pitched voice grated on Julie’s ears and she internally winced as the woman barged past her. Julie hung up the dress and stood lamely by the desk, not sure whether to leave the room or speak up. It was Frank who