Billionaire In Control

Matthias POV

Three weeks earlier...

I should have been having a blast instead of feeling as if I were facing the most important decision of my life. It was one of those rock and hard place decisions. Damned if I did and damned if I didn't.

"I need a drink, " I mumbled.

"I'll get you one, sweetie." A pretty blond woman sitting on a leather couch across from me quickly jumped up to do just that.

Zach looked at me and smiled. "That was easy."

It hadn't exactly been what I meant. I needed a drink, but I didn't expect her to fetch it for me. She was a guest. She returned a minute later with a margarita, the rim of the glass lined with salt. It wasn't exactly the drink I had in mind, but it would do.

"Thank you, " I said, unable to remember her name.

She smiled. "Any time, Matthias. If you need anything, you only have to ask."

I smiled and nodded my head, ignoring the flirting. I wasn't in the mood to flirt, which was out of character for me.

"Can you ladies give us a minute?" Zach asked. Zach Bailey, my best friend in the world and the guest of honor at this little shindig on the Pacific Ocean, a few miles off the coast of Los Angeles, had been telling me to loosen up for the past hour.

The four women who had followed us downstairs quickly jumped up to leave us alone.

"Dude, relax, " Zach said from his seat beside mine. "Get loose. This is my birthday party, and you're killing the vibe."

I shrugged. "I'm relaxed, " I lied. "I needed a minute out of the sun."

"You're not relaxed. You're walking around as if you are personally responsible for holding up the world."

I chuckled. "Sorry. I don't want to be a downer.''

"Are you still upset about your dad's will?" Zach asked.

I shrugged. "Not upset, a little stressed."

He laughed. "I think that's the same thing."

I pushed back a chunk of my unruly brown hair from my forehead and turned to look at him.

"I understand. I wouldn't expect you to. I think you need to decide what is more important to you."

I groaned. "I don't know. I like my life the way it is. A wife would just add a dose of drama. I don't want a relationship. I don't want the hassle of checking in with someone."

"Or getting in trouble for cheating or having a wandering eye, " Zach added.

"Exactly. I like my freedom. I like the luxury of flirting with an attractive woman if I want to."

He sighed. "Your yacht, your condo, the beach house, the cars? Aren't all those things worth a ball and chain?"

I glared at him from behind my dark, thousand-dollar sunglasses. "I don't know. That's the problem."

He laughed. "It's a wife. It isn't a death sentence."

"You don't want to be married any more than I do."