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CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
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The Billionaire’s Bargain CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
He slipped into the circle of my arms and pulled me against his chest. He really didn't seem to experience that huge surge of adrenaline whatsoever. This was rather incredible, how the gale-blowing wind in me seemed to stand in contrast to the calm beat of his heart. It was warm and safe—all that one is supposed to connect with that feeling. Yet, with me, it only seemed to build that suffocated feeling."Don't worry about him, Natalie," he said, his voice whispering into my hair like such a sweet melody. "Robin doesn't understand what we have."I nodded mutely against his chest, not trusting myself to open my mouth; so many thoughts pirouetted in so many directions, each of them a tug in itself. The words replayed over and over in my head, something like this: "I hope you don't regret this." Not the first time that Robin said these to me, something unusually heavy in the sentence today suggested the likelihood of tightness in my chest."Something wrong?" Brandon's voice cut into my t
The Billionaire’s Bargain CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Brandon's POVEverything wore an orange tint as I rode through the busy city streets under the bright New York sun. The fight with Robin last evening was foremost on my mind, even more so the image of him standing there, smirking and slick, like he had some prior claim over Natalie. The way she hemmed, didn't tell him in clear words to bug off—it niggled at me. I mean, couldn't afford to think about it. I had a meeting to get to. Deals to finalize. An empire to protect.As I pulled onto the highway, I looked in the rearview—of course, out of pure habit more than anything. There was a black sedan, riding an inch too close for my taste. I sneered, then rinsed it away to nothing. I lit it and hit the gas to get around a truck going slower. The damn car did it too—in perfect tandem.I tensed, hands tightening around that HUMMER steering wheel. I wasn't some kind of rookie with this game—at least not when I was being followed. The adrenaline rush to my heart increased, and I laid my foot
The Billionaire’s Bargain CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
BRANDON’S POVI paced across the floor of my office, pacing in a thousand different directions within my head. He, the super-investigator I had hired, would be walking in any minute from gathering information on my tail. That man? I'd decided it was Arlys. That was the norm for what probably was her tactics. Something in the back of my mind kept telling me it was something more elaborate, though."Come right in," I muttered across the room, trying to act composed, though my heart was racing at an awful rate and my mind was full of a hundred thoughts.And there was Chad, walking through that door. The expression on his face is so serious that it will never waste a word. He's one of those men who speak so little, but when he does, it always counts. I respect him, but now more than ever I wanted some direct answers."Chad," I nodded toward the chair, "what have you got for me?"He sat, crossing his leg over the other as he always did whenever he was keyed up about something. "I found you
The Billionaire’s Bargain CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
But while the city came toward me, he did begin to dawn what he really did. Done straight at me, definitely no question. Every time my mind wandered to that, chills ran down my back. Whoever was in that place, he wasn't after me alone. Not by a long shot. He was going after everything I care about, everything I've built. And that included Natalie.The fact that she of all people could be dragged here scared my soul, and I wasn't going to let that become real. I was going to confront whoever it was—to put a stop to them before they could get anywhere near her.I turned away from the window. I decided that this wasn't about me. It was about the people around whom I wanted to live this life for and protect. And it was for them that I was willing to fight to my last droplet of blood.I came and picked up the phone, dialing Tony's number again. He answered on the first ring this time."I want you to place some additional security on Natalie, discreet for the moment, but extensive. I don't
The Billionaire’s Bargain CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
Natalie's POVThat smell of garlic-laden roast chicken filled the air of the dimly lit dining room and was reassuring. I sat just across the table; Brandon was deep into food. All his attention was on the plate as he put labor into cutting the steak. Weak candlelight fell luxuriously on his face, and shadows leaped at his face, making him sadder than usual.I spun my fork around absentmindedly. I wasn't all that hungry for the really good dinner we were having. It had turned into one of those very long days with all the ordinary stress of operating a restaurant, and now, sitting here with Brandon, I can't help but reflect upon how everything had shifted so dramatically in what has to count as hardly any time at all. We had been getting into some kind of rhythm, but so much was still unsaid between us—especially with everything that happened with Arlys.Brandon's cell phone. He looked at the screen to see who it was calling from before answering. "Anthony," he said into his phone, lea
The Billionaire’s Bargain CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
Brandon's POVI stomped off the terminal and glanced over at the chair next to me. Natalie had clammed up. She would be there, fists tight with hands, all balled up in fists, with me. At least on her face, observably there was some bravado; it was there in those features that one could read restlessness. Reaching over, I grabbed one of the tightly bunched fists and squeezed it."Just a few days," I murmured and continued as if to reassure her—but most definitely myself, "I will be back before you even know it."She just nodded at that and didn't turn her eyes away from the jet outside. "I know," she whispered in return, and I felt worry almost oozing out of her voice. "I just wish things were different."I huffed and let myself fall back into the seat, my gaze out the window to where the super-sleek jet was about to whisk me away from her. "Yeah, I do too," I said truthfully. "But we'll make it through, Natalie. We've gone through worse, right."She turned then, and her eyes met mine,
The Billionaire’s Bargain CHAPTER FOURTY
Anthony and I sat in his office as we went through all the details of the issues that were dragging the company. I read each document carefully to be able to provide a solution for each one even though it was proving difficult. I replied to his problem, now that he had just laid it all out: "We have to regroup. We have to put the team back on the rail. We have to restore confidence among both the internal and external. So what do we have in terms of a strategy?"Anthony nodded and at once his brain was churning with solutions, "Well, a few things came up that I had to sort out, but I really just wanted to wait until you arrived to make any final decisions. I felt that we needed to present a unified front for this.".I replied, "Right. The starting point begins with the people. We have to build ourselves so that everyone is in the right place. We can be able to faith and assure them, so they will then follow."Leaning back, Anthony mused with a nod, almost to himself, "That's it. We
The Billionaire’s Bargain CHAPTER FOURTY-ONE
BRANDON’S POVReaching out to my phone to check for messages, there was only one from Natalie just before she went to bed: "Thinking of you, can't wait for you to come home. Stay safe.".I smiled at two of those words and felt myself grow warm in my chest. That's just what I needed that morning. I replied fast telling her that I was thinking of her too, that I was about to call her in a minute.I had taken my quick shower and headed running into the kitchen, where Anthony always had a mug of his supercharged coffee waiting for me. He warmed up a pot long before I hit the office, going over some last-minute details with the team. Walking in, Anthony looked up and then gave me the nod."Morning." He handed over a fresh cup of coffee. "Ready for round two?""You bet," I said awkwardly, reaching for the offered coffee. "Chomping at the bit, ready and raring to go. Let's get 'er done."The first few hours consisted of a walk through each department, meeting staff, overviewing the strategy,
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