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THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR Chapter 9
And then I gradually come back to reality.I can’t believe I just did that.IcannotBELIEVE Ijustdid that.I grab a box of tissues out of my desk, and we do our best to clean ourselves up.I kind of want to clean him up – just so I can touch his body again – but I’m too abashed. So I just concentrate on myself.I straighten my skirt, pull on my underwear, and smooth my blouse and hair. He buttons his shirt, tucks it into his pants, but leaves his tie undone, like he’s relaxing at home after a particularly stressful day at work.Embarrassed, I retreat across the room and cross my arms defensively across my chest.“Okay… so that just happened,” I say to myself under my breath.Apparently not quietly enough, because he lights up with a massive smile. “Yes it did.”I cannot BELIEVE I just fucked this guy (although to be fair HOLY SHIT that was mindblowing) in my office. On a Monday morning. Thirty feet away from my coworkers.With a Post-It note on my door telling them I’m in a ‘meet
THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR Chapter 10
You have got to be kidding me,” I fume.My boss, Dan, is sitting across his desk from me and Grant Carlson. Grant still has his tie undone around his neck, which bugs the hell out of me, because it feels like a neon sign screaming, We just had sex! We just had sex in Eve’s office, and I fucked the bejeezus out of her!I hope that’s not the case.I mean, it is the case that he fucked the bejeezus out of me.But I hope nobody else knows.Please God…“He’s hired you as a personal consultant,” Dan says. Dan’s a nice guy. Wife and three kids, with pictures of them on his desk. Not a good coder, but a pretty good manager. At least, he stays out of my way.And if he knows I just had sex with Grant Carlson, he’s not letting on about it.“Nobody’s ever hired me as a personal consultant before!”“There’s a first time for everything,” Grant chimes in.I glare at him. YOU shut UP.He just grins at me in response.“What the hell does a personal consultant do, anyway?” I ask.“Well – ” Grant start
THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR Chapter 11
We’re in my apartment. I drove there in my Audi; Grant arrived in his own private limo.I have to admit, I was a teensy bit jealous.Now he lounges on my bed and watches as I pack a suitcase.“And why do I need to pack, exactly?” I ask.“We’ll be hopping from place to place a lot. I want to be a moving target, not a sitting duck.”“Uh huh,” I say dubiously. I’m still half-convinced this is all just an elaborate excuse to get me naked in his bed for a couple of days.Not that that would be a bad way to spend a couple of days…Focus, Eve, FOCUS. Stop getting turned on.I pull out some bras and panties.“Do I get a show?” he asks.“NO,” I say as I stuff them in the suitcase, although part of me desperately wants to give him one.“Maaaan…” he complains playfully.“For a guy with a serial killer after you, you don’t seem too concerned.”“I’ve got you to help me now.” He says it with a complete lack of sarcasm.“I got news for you: I can flush this guy out from an online trail of breadcrumb
THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR Chapter 12
As it turns out, I got that ride in the limo after all.“Where are we going?” I ask Grant as the limo cruises through the warm LA sunshine.“New York.”I stare at him. “What?!”“My base of operations is there. All my people are there. It’s a lot more secure than where I’m staying in LA.”“Why didn’t you tell me we were going to New York?!”He looks mystified. “I told you we were going to be moving around.”“Yeah, but – I thought you meant between Santa Monica and Hollywood!”He laughs. “I want to keep you guessing.”“You’re certainly doing that,” I mutter, then get down to business. “Okay, what are we going to do now? Go over your plan? Try to formulate… a…”He’s smiling and giving me bedroom eyes.“Oh no,” I say, and shake my head. “NO.”He leans in for a kiss.I have a moment of almost-weakness, but I back away at the last instant. “No means no. En Oh. NO.”“Why not?” he asks, amused.“Well, for one, because I don’t want your chauffeur knowing what we’re doing.”“There’s a partition
THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR Chapter 13
We’re lying in the bed now, side by side, drinking more champagne and eating a selection of fruits and cheeses. I was so embarrassed when the stewardess brought it that I hid in the bathroom – but now that we’re alone, I’m enjoying every bite.“We need to talk about how we’re going to find this guy,” I say.“So tell me,” Grant says. He’s lying on his stomach but he’s still quite distracting, with his golden skin and rippling muscles of his back. And his ass is out of this world. I mean… daaamn. It’s this curve of powerful muscle. Not quite a bubble butt, but just about there. Very distracting. Yet I manage to pull my eyes away and concentrate. “What did your people say about the texts?”“What, besides the fact that they’re unsettling?”“No – about the technical information attached to the phone texts.”“They said there’s nothing they can use. They said he covered his tracks incredibly well.”“What else?”“There is nothing else, so far as I know.” He kisses my ear, and a thrill of p
THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR Chapter 14
Dinner is absolutely amazing. We dine at a small table on the patio under the rising moon. We drink the most delicious wine I’ve ever tasted and sample several entrees – filet mignon, duck, sea bass.“Do you have a cook who fixed this?” I marvel.“Well, I do have a chef, but he’s got the week off. I ordered this from Le Meilleur.”I drop my fork. ‘Le Meilleur’ is the best new restaurant in New York.I’m kind of a foodie, too, FYI.“You got this from Le Meilleur?”“Yeah.”“What – somebody ordered it and picked it up?”“Naaah, they ran it over.”“They ‘ran it over,’” I repeat in shock. “A five-star restaurant ‘ran it over.’”Grant shrugs. “I’m good friends with the owner.”Of course.By the end of the meal, I’m tipsy and we’re playing footsy under the table.“Want to go for a swim?” Grant suggests.“I didn’t pack a swimsuit.”“You don’t need a swimsuit.”Heat flushes across my chest. “You want to skinny dip?”He grins, amused by my surprise. “Why not?”“What about all those guards?”“Th
THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR Chapter 15
I wake up the next morning from a deep sleep. I remember last night and all the hot sex, and get a little smile on my face. I reach over for Grant – He’s not there.I immediately get a flashback from when he left me on the balcony. A little bit of anger, a little bit of fear.Asshole!I prop myself up blearily on one elbow – There he is, across the cavernous bedroom, putting on a tie in front of a mirror.God, he’s gorgeous. The suit pants he’s wearing hug his ass perfectly. He’s also got on a beautiful midnight blue shirt and a vest. The sight of his massive arms and chest in all that tailored finery – yum.He sees me in the mirror and grins. “Good morning, Sleeping Beauty.”“If I were Sleeping Beauty, you should’ve woken me up with a kiss,” I say sleepily.He laughs and walks over to the bed, tucking his tie into his vest. “Let’s do the post-wake-up version.”As he leans over me, I bat him away. “No – I look awful – ”“You look hot.”“I’ve probably got morning breath – ”“I don’t
THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR 15.1
Hodge drives up just as I exit the building.“Hi Hodge.”“Miss Saunders,” he replies in his upper-crust British accent.“Do you know where we’re going? I only know it’s an art gallery in Chelsea.”“Yes, Mr. Carlson texted me the address.”I get in the backseat of the Rolls and watch the New York City streets creep by as we wind our way through traffic.About 20 minutes later, we stop in front of an industrial loft-looking building. Hodge gets out and holds the door open for me.I call Grant’s number but it goes straight to voicemail.Immediately a text comes in. FBI guy doesn’t want me answering the phone. Security concerns with recording or whatever. Go right in, the front door’s open. I paid the owner to clear the building; we’re on the third floor.I walk in the front door and let it shut behind me.The gallery is amazing. It’s a huge four-story space, with an open atrium and levels that circle around it. The lights are off except for a few single white emergency lights on the four
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THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR Lily
The only part that was slightly sad was that Connor’s mother and brother didn’t attend. His mother was still under heavy psychiatric care. She wouldn’t have even known what was going on, according to Connor. As much as I disliked Lenora Templeton, that news saddened me. I only wanted her out of my life. I didn’t want her to end up like this.His brother had checked himself into rehab. Though he sent his congratulations, Vincent told Connor that he didn’t think he could attend, knowing what Miranda had done and how she had met her end. He felt he was still in too precarious a situation emotionally to leave the safety of the rehab center.I know that Connor still bore a lot of anger and hurt towards his mother and brother, but he would have liked to have had them there – as long as they behaved themselves.Things were improving, though. His mother was gradually getting better, and Connor had worked out a deal to take over as interim CEO of the Templeton Group while his brother was in r
THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR Lily
But as far as wedding days go, it wasn’t the only one.Come on, I’d gotten married in sopping wet clothes, on a deserted island in the Caribbean, with only four people total in attendance.Did you really think I wasn’t going to have a billionaire-style shindig, with all my family and friends?Connor and I decided on it spontaneously, as soon as we got back home. But rather than hold it in New York City, with all its bad memories from the last couple of weeks, we held it two weeks later in Lake Cuomo, Italy. Have you ever seen pictures of Lake Cuomo? It’s like an Italian Renaissance fairytale. George Clooney bought a residence there, with good reason – it’s one of the most beautiful places on earth. And that’s where we had our wedding.There was only one shadow hanging over the entire day.After we were escorted back to St. Vincent by the policemen, Connor immediately hired a team of divers to go down to inspect the yacht’s wreckage. There was one body in particular he wanted found.B
THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR Lily
It turns out Johnny was right: we didn’t see a single shark the entire way.That doesn’t mean it was a piece of cake. What with Johnny and Connor’s wounds, and my needing to rely on their help when I was tired, it took us almost an hour. By the time we got to the island, we were exhausted. But Sebastian was there to greet us. As we approached where the waves started to break, he saw us and started yelling and waving ecstatically from the beach.“A little help!” Johnny shouted at him. Sebastian immediately raced out into the waves and dragged me to shore. “Thank God, thank God,” he kept sobbing as he helped me lie down on the sand. Then he went back out and helped Johnny and Connor limp their way onto the beach.We all collapsed next to each other. Connor and I held hands as we stared up into the blue sky, too weary to speak.“I thought I’d never see you again,” Sebastian said, wiping tears from his face.I was touched; it was the most vulnerable I’d ever seen him.“No such luck,” Co
THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR Lily
The happiest moment of my life was when Connor proposed to me.The second was when he burst through that door.And the third was seeing the look of surprise on Miranda’s face when she realized what I had done to her.While Connor kept her talking, I picked the lock and undid the handcuffs from my right wrist. (Bobby pins to the rescue!) Then I grabbed Miranda’s arm and slapped the cuffs on her.Anytime I’m ever depressed about anything from now on for the rest of my life, I’m just going to remember the look of surprise on that murderous bitch’s face, and everything will be better. Instant anti-depressant.Miranda yanked her arm up with a clank! of the chain, but she was locked to the metal armrest of the chair – which was bolted to the floor.She screamed in fury, and pulled the gun’s trigger.BLAM!But I’d purposefully bumped her aim away from Connor – so all that happened was one of the creepy glass spider cases shattered into tiny shards.The gunshot hurt my ears, but I’d been expe
THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR Connor
I couldn’t take the shot. I wasn’t Johnny; my aim was good, but not stellar, and the floor was already at a 20 degree tilt. Miranda had her gun at point blank range to Lily’s head. If she pulled the trigger before I got her – I slowly held my .45 away from my body and let it fall to the floor.All the ugliness I knew was inside Miranda revealed itself on her face. It was the evil leer of a serial killer, the grin of a Great White Shark.“I win,” she gloated.My heart sank.It was over. I had failed.I looked at Lily, both sorrow and love welling up at once. She was seated in some sort of chair bolted to the floor, and was handcuffed to the metal armrest.Lily’s eyes were frantic, but her lips were moving. She was mouthing something…Keep her talking.I couldn’t tell for the life of me what she had in store, but I complied. I looked up at Miranda. “You win. You can do with me whatever you want, but please – let Lily go.”“Don’t waste your breath,” Miranda snarled. “Walk towards me w
THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR Lily
The door suddenly burst open, and there stood Connor with a gun in his hand, just like the star of an action movie.My heart soared with love – and fear. Because Miranda was standing behind my chair, just like the villain in an action movie.I was between them – Miranda’s human shield.I felt the barrel of Miranda’s pistol jam against the back of my head.“Drop it,” she commanded, “or I kill her.”Connor looked at me helplessly.“Don’t worry about me – shoot her!” I begged him.But he wouldn’t take the chance. He held the gun slowly away from him and let it fall to the floor. CLUNK.I felt Miranda’s pistol stop pressing against my scalp, then saw it appear next to me as it pointed at Connor.“I win,” she said, and I could hear the sneering triumph in her voice.
THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR Connor
I rushed over to Leo’s body, staggering in the tilting hallway as I ran.He was lying face-up on the ground, a pool of blood spreading out beneath him on the floor.He saw me coming. Tried weakly to lift his AR-15 – I put two more rounds in him with my .45.BLAM BLAM.He lay still after that.Adrenaline coursed through me like a drug, sharpening my senses while making everything unreal.I felt sick. I had just killed a man. I had just taken a life. He was a traitor, yes, and someone who was planning to hand me over to be killed – but still, I felt queasy.Lily.She was all that mattered. I pulled myself together.“Nice shooting,” Eve said in my ear. “Oh ye of little faith.”“What?” At first I thought she meant something about me doubting my abilities to shoot someone, which didn’t make any sense.“You thought I was a turncoat? AGAIN?”“Oh,” I said sheepishly. “Sorry about that.”“Hmph. We’ll talk later. Go down the hallway the way you were originally heading – there’s a half-dozen g
THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR Lily
BOOM.There was a massive explosion somewhere on the ship. Every glass pane in the spider terrariums rattled, and a couple cracked.“What the hell?” Miranda said, and stumbled to her feet as the yacht began to tilt to one side.After my initial shock from the blast, I watched Miranda’s face. She was reacting with more fear – in fact, with more emotion – than I’d ever seen her display before.She looked back at me, her eyes wide with surprise.After all the indignities the bitch had put me through, I couldn’t resist. “Guess my fiancé’s here,” I said, and gave her a little smile.
THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR Connor
I was halfway down the deck when Eve spoke in my ear. “Connor, there’s a problem.”“What?” I whispered.“Juan and Leo are on the other side of the yacht, but I’m not getting any video feeds of them.”There was a dull WHUP in the distance, then another one a few seconds later.Not like gunshots, exactly. But they did sound like a heavy book being dropped on a wood floor.I ducked into an alcove with a door in it, and hunkered down into a squatting position. “Juan? Leo?”“We separated, and Juan ran into a guard,” Leo’s voice said. “Juan’s dead, but I got the other guy before he could sound the alarm.”SHIT. Already things were going to hell, and we’d barely engaged the enemy yet.But… something didn’t make sense…I frowned. “I heard two silenced shots. How come I didn’t hear any regular gunfire?”“They’ve got suppressors, too. The first one was the guy shooting Juan, the second was me shooting the guard.”I couldn’t put my finger on it, but something seemed off. I just chalked it up to
