The Arrogant Artist : A Billionaire Boss Romance (International Bad Boys Set Book 2)

matter, you’re moving to New York, and I’m moving to the South of France.”
“You’re what?” His voice rises.
“Yeah… that’s right. I’m working for an internationally acclaimed artist,” I answer and make sure I give it a good dose of rubbing it in.
“That’s amazing. I’m so proud of you.”
No. He doesn’t get to be proud of me for doing this.
“I should really thank you for breaking my heart. Otherwise, I probably wouldn’t have taken a chance like I have.” That’s the truth. Maybe fate has other plans, and I needed to lose everything to put me back onto the right path.
“I didn’t mean to hurt you, Em.”
I roll my eyes. “But you did. And the worst thing is, Toby, you have changed the fabric of me.” Toby grimaces and touches the back of his neck. “You left a scar on my heart because you lied and deceived me. You changed me, and not in a good way. I pity the next guy who comes into my life because he’s going to have a really hard shell to get through now.”
Toby’s face falls, the reality of his actions hitting him hard. Well, I can only hope.
“Em, I’m sorry.”
Damn those stupid tear ducts losing control again.
Why is there not an off switch?
“I was good to you, Toby. I was the perfect girlfriend. I let you have your freedom. I never nagged at you. I never checked up on you. I trusted you.” Now the tears really fall. “I trusted you, and you fucked up that trust.”
Toby looks apologetic as my words hit him. “I wish I’d done things differently, but I didn’t.”
Me, too. I wish he’d broken up with me six months ago instead of lying to me all this time.
“How am I going to trust another man now?” His cheeks redden as he drops his chin to his chest. “You have ruined my next relationship before it’s even started because you were a selfish asshole.” I grab more of my clothes and throw them into the suitcase with so much force it pushes it slightly across the bed.
“You’re right.” Well, I wasn’t expecting that. “I’m an asshole. You were the perfect girlfriend. You did trust me. You let me be me. You never asked more of me. You loved me just the way I am. And I let…” he tries to hold back his emotions by pausing and then continuing, “… I let other people convince me I deserved better. That I deserved someone of equal stature.”
Wow! Okay. That hurts. He thinks I’m beneath him.
“I know I’m going to regret letting you go, Emily, but I have to.”
“Why, because you’re in love with someone else?” He can’t look at me. “Oh, shit, you are.” My stomach sinks, so I keep packing. Why am I even talking to him? It’s not helping me at all.
“I wouldn’t have cheated if I didn’t think there might be a future with this woman.”
Make him stop.
Please, make him stop.
“So, what you’re saying is you never saw a future with me?”
I know I don’t want to hear the answer to this, but I can’t help asking anyway.
“No.”
“Because I don’t come from the right circles.”
“No, because you lost your ambition and settled into a routine. You were happy to watch me succeed, but you never made an effort to make yourself successful.” Seriously, I’m ready to throat punch him into the middle of next week. “You could have been something, Emily.”
“Toby, I was something. I am something. I was the woman who loved you with every fiber of her being, but that wasn’t enough, was it?”
“How could I take you to work dinners and tell them my girlfriend works in the gift shop of a tacky tourist site?”
“You love someone for who they are, not what they do.”
“You were always so damn romantic, Emily. That’s not how the real world works.”
“Lucky, because I don’t want to live in your fucked-up world.”
I push the last items of my clothing into my bag and leave.
Putting that chapter of my life far behind me.

5
Emily
Daniel met me at Marseille Provence Airport and drove me through the city, then out into the countryside. I have always wanted to come to the South of France. It was where my mother disappeared to and the last known address I have of hers.
I can see now why she gave up dreary England for this place—it’s beautiful.
There are fields of lavender and sunflowers that paint the picturesque landscape, and crumbling stone buildings with colorful wooden shutters stand in the quaint little villages.
We drive out through more open fields and turn into a driveway, the long winding lane taking us to the end, where the most magnificent stone building stands before me. Daniel pulls up and stops at the main entrance, then he opens the car door and takes my luggage from the trunk of the car.
“This is…” Honestly, words cannot describe the beauty of this place.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”
I nod, taking it all in. He opens the creaky sky-blue wooden door, and I follow him through the home-castle or whatever you want to call it.
“There’s a pool out the back that you can enjoy on your time off. The chef and housekeeper will start work tomorrow.”
Okay! This person must be pretty well off if they can afford a full-time chef and housekeeper. Who on earth is this mystery artist?
“You have the house to yourself tonight… thought you’d want to settle in before the madness starts tomorrow.” That dimple pops as he flashes those baby blues at me. “There’s a little village not far from here if you would like something to eat. You can take one of the bikes, or I can send the driver back to take you.”
“I can ride into town, it’s not that far.” The new me needs to start exercising, especially if I’m going to be eating my body weight in cheese and wine while living here. “And Daniel? Thank you so much for this opportunity.”
He smiles. “Don’t thank me yet, you haven’t