Under His Billionaire Roof novel Chapter 13

Chloe showed up Monday afternoon with takeout and a guest.

"Leigh! I brought someone to meet you." She burst through the front door, followed by a guy carrying pizza boxes. "This is Marcus. My work best friend. Marcus, this is Leighton, my actual best friend."

Marcus was tall, with an easy smile and dark curly hair. He set down the pizza and extended his hand. "Nice to finally meet you. Chloe talks about you constantly."

"All good things, I hope," Leighton said, shaking his hand.

"Mostly." His smile widened. "She mentioned you just went through some rough stuff. Losing your job and apartment."

Heat crept up Leighton's neck. "Yeah. It's been a week."

"Well, you're in good hands. Chloe's the best at cheering people up." He glanced around the mansion. "Nice place. Your brother has good taste."

"It's excessive," Chloe said, leading them toward the kitchen. "But at least the kitchen is functional. Come on, I'm starving."

They spread out the pizza on the counter. Marcus grabbed plates while Chloe poured wine. He moved comfortably in the space, like he'd been here before.

"So what do you do?" Leighton asked, taking a slice.

"Software engineer. Boring stuff, mostly. Database management, backend systems." He leaned against the counter. "But I hear you're a designer. That's way cooler."

"I don't know about cooler."

"Are you kidding? Creating things from nothing? That's like magic." He took a bite of pizza. "What kind of design?"

"Branding, mostly. Logos, marketing materials."

"She's really talented," Chloe said. "Show him your portfolio."

"Chloe..."

"Come on. I've been bragging about you to everyone at work. Marcus has been dying to see your stuff."

Leighton pulled up her portfolio on her phone, feeling self-conscious. Marcus leaned in to look, close enough that she could smell his cologne. Something citrusy and clean.

"Wow," he said, scrolling through. "These are incredible. This coffee shop one? The whole vibe is perfect."

"Thanks."

"Do you have a portfolio site? I'd love to see more."

"I do, but it's been having issues lately."

"I could take a look if you want. I'm pretty good with that stuff."

"Really? That would be amazing."

"No problem." He pulled out his phone. "Give me your number. I'll text you and we can set something up."

She rattled off her number. His phone buzzed a second later with her contact info.

Footsteps echoed from the hallway. Noah appeared in the doorway, still in his suit from whatever meeting he'd been at. His eyes swept the kitchen, landing on Marcus standing close to Leighton.

His jaw tightened.

"Noah!" Chloe said. "Perfect timing. This is Marcus. We work together."

"Marcus." Noah's voice was flat. Cold. He didn't offer his hand.

"Hey, man. Great to meet you. Chloe's told me a lot about you." Marcus seemed unfazed by Noah's tone. "Thanks for letting us invade your kitchen."

"It's Chloe's kitchen too."

"Right. Well, we brought plenty of pizza if you want some."

"I already ate."

Silence fell. Awkward and heavy.

"So," Marcus said, turning back to Leighton. "You said you're between jobs right now? Are you looking for something specific?"

"Just something stable. Where I can actually use my skills."

"Have you tried the startup scene? There are tons of companies downtown looking for designers."

"I've applied to a few."

"I could put in a word at my company if you want. We're always looking for creative people." He smiled. "I bet you'd fit right in."

Noah moved to the fridge. Grabbed a water bottle. Slammed the door harder than necessary.

Everyone looked at him.

"Sorry," he said, not sounding sorry at all. "Fridge sticks sometimes."

He leaned against the counter across from them, unscrewing the cap. His eyes stayed on Marcus.

"So Marcus," Noah said. "What exactly do you do? Besides invade people's kitchens."

"Noah," Chloe warned.

"I'm just making conversation."

"Software engineering," Marcus answered, still pleasant. "Backend systems, mostly. Not as exciting as running a tech empire."

"Someone has to do the boring work."

"Noah." Chloe's voice had an edge now.

"What? I'm agreeing with him."

Marcus laughed, unbothered. "It's true. Not everyone can be the CEO." He turned back to Leighton. "But yeah, seriously, if you need help with your portfolio site, I'm happy to look at it. Maybe this weekend? We could grab coffee."

"That sounds great."

"Cool. I'll text you."

Noah's grip tightened on his water bottle. The plastic crackled.

"Doesn't your company have an IT department?" he said. "For portfolio issues?"

"Noah, what is your problem?" Chloe asked.

"I don't have a problem. I'm just saying, if Leighton needs technical help, she doesn't need to waste Marcus's weekend."

"It's not a waste," Marcus said. "I offered."

"Right. How generous."

The temperature in the room dropped ten degrees.

Leighton watched Noah's face. The muscle ticking in his jaw. The way his knuckles were white around the water bottle. The intensity in his eyes when he looked at Marcus.

He was jealous.

The realization hit her like a punch to the gut.

Noah Knight, who'd spent three days avoiding her, who'd walked away in the pool, who'd pulled back from kissing her, was standing in his kitchen seething because another man was offering to help her.

"You know what," Marcus said, checking his phone. "I should probably head out. Early meeting tomorrow."

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify