Wes and his partner Paul had adopted three fur babies through Ruby’s shelter and they’d become fast friends. When she’d asked him to be the MC for the evening, he’d been thrilled. “Oh, honey, whatever you need. Seriously, if anyone can whip up a crowd to part with their money, I’m your guy.”
Ruby sat in a chair off to the side of the stage and watched him work the crowd. The food and drink had certainly opened their wallets tonight. With Wes cajoling and challenging them, the bids rose as people tried to compete over each donated big ticket item. She’d lost count of how much they’d raised because she got so involved watching the crowd fighting over their bids.
Wes called for quiet, taking a dramatic pause. “And now, the final auction for the evening. I want you all to get out the big checkbooks here, folks. This is going to be expensive because this woman hasn’t accepted a date in more than five years. Miss Ruby Costello is going to take one lucky buyer on a night to remember to one of Sausalito’s finest restaurants. This date will take place one night in the next week. An evening chosen by mutual agreement.”
“No.” Ruby stood and hurried over to Wes, grabbing his arm. “I never put this on the list.”
He held the mic away from his face. “It’s a surprise I organized but don’t worry, honey. I know this is going to be the talk of the town for weeks. People will love that you put yourself on the line for what you believe in.” The stage whisper reverberated around the room and everyone stared at them.
“No. I won’t let you do it. Don’t waste your money on buying me meals.” She wasn’t ready to date anyone. “Make a donation to the shelter instead.”
“You can take me out.” A voice from the crowd called out.
“Me too. How much do you want?” Came another voice. Soon the room erupted in a sea of noise as people shouted for the auction to go ahead. Her protests were quickly drowned as more people shouted their support for the idea.
“Let’s start the bidding high folks. As you can see,” he winked at Ruby standing stunned beside him, “this divine woman is in high demand and it’s for a fabulous cause. You won’t be getting this date cheap, I can tell you that. As I said, she hasn’t dated in ages and after tonight, she may lock herself away in a cave and never forgive me so make the most of it.”
Wes grinned at her. “Every morsel of food, every drop of wine has been donated so chill, girlfriend. It’s a gift from Paul and I. Now let me get you the best price I can for this. Okay?”
Ruby glanced over the crowd. They wanted the chance to spend some more money and who was she to deny them that opportunity? It was for a good cause. Her cause. As much as she hated being in the spotlight, he was giving her no choice. Not if she wanted what was best for her beloved animals.
“Fine.” But she didn’t feel good about it. A sick rolling in her stomach had her holding her hand over her belly as Wes started the auction.
“What’s the opening bid? Someone start me at ten thousand dollars.”
She blinked and her mouth dropped open. What the heck!
“Twenty.”
“Fifty.”
The bidding was ferocious, quickly rising to almost seventy-thousand-dollars before a voice boomed over the crowd. A voice she recognized. “I challenge Miss. Costello to make that date a tour. How about we say a week of dates? Really give the crowd something to bid for.”
“But I have to work. I can’t take that much time off from the shelter.”
Simon shrugged. “Around business hours, of course.”
Wes grinned. “Now there’s a novel idea.” He gave her a slow stare. “Leave it with me, sweet girl.”
Before she could form a coherent word in her brain, the bidding started again.
“Seventy-five.”
“One hundred.”
Her ears began to ring and heat rushed over her face. Her legs trembled. Ruby felt as though she was a bystander watching from behind a thick pane of glass. This wasn’t real. It couldn’t be happening. Every voice became white noise, all rushing around in her ears making no sense whatsoever. Ruby wanted to pass out, drift away from the madness surrounding her.
The hammer went down on the lectern scaring her and Wes grabbed her in his arms as the room erupted with thunderous applause.
He swung her around the stage and everything blurred. When he finally stopped and she managed to grab a breath, Ruby clutched his jacket lapels and stared at him. “How much?”
“Would you believe, one million dollars.” He squealed and kissed her on the lips. “You, my love, are in hot demand. And here you were, hiding yourself away in the shelter. Not one, but two billionaires in a bidding war over you. Two! Can you believe it? You are one special lady.”
Ruby looked over the crowd. She only knew one billionaire here tonight who would do such a thing. Beside Simon, Tyler raised his glass and gave her a shrug. Not Tyler too.
The sneak. She wanted to kill them both.
* * *
“She’s going to hate me.” Tyler pushed out a breath. “Sorry. I got carried away. Not like I was trying to outbid you or anything but I wanted Ruby to have the money.”
“No she won’t. She loves you, always has.” As much as he wanted to believe his own words, Simon had a measure of unease running down his spine. He’d come with the sole purpose of speaking to her again, trying to gauge her feelings for him and hopefully asking for forgiveness so he could move on without the guilt he carried. But . . . “Things have worked out better than I’d ever imagined.”
“Play this one carefully, Simon because, if you hurt her again, you’ll have me to deal with as well. You’re not the only one who misses her. We both lost a friend that day.”
“I know what I did was stupid.” It was the biggest mistake he’d ever made and he’d paid for it ever since.
“That was the worst idea we’ve ever had.” Tyler gave a delicate shudder. He drained his glass and handed it to a passing waiter.
Simon had to agree. “True and I’ve tried to fix it over the years and she’s refused to listen. Now I have a whole week where she can’t get away from me to plead my case.” He put his empty glass on the tray as the waiter paused in front of him. “Money well spent if you ask me.”
“And if it doesn’t work are you going to give up and find someone else?”
Simon shook his head. “Never. I wasn’t sure when we arrived but she’s always been the only woman for me and I refuse to give up now I’ve seen her again. No matter how much I hurt her, there has to be a way I can fix things.”
Tyler put his hand in his suit pants pocket and rocked back and forward on his feet. “Got to give you kudos for trying man, but honestly, I don’t think it’s going to end well. You, or we, hurt her too much, not trusting her after all she did while we struggled to make it big. My mom was pissed too although she understood our reasons. But she was still hurt she found out from the press. Took her ages to forgive me and I don’t blame her one bit. That was the kind of thing I should’ve told her face to face, same as you should’ve told Ruby. After all the support they gave us, the belief they had in us, they deserved better. Much better.”
“I know. All valid points that we’ve gone over numerous times but we were young and stupid. My mom and dad whipped my butt over it for weeks too. Some days they still bring it up and remind me not to be so stupid again. If I don’t manage to make things right with Ruby, they’ll never forgive me.” He sent a mental note to thank Wes when he caught up with him next. He’d been up to the challenge no matter how much he knew Ruby would be pissed at him. It took a lot to dissuade Wes when he could be in the spotlight. She stood there talking animatedly with her hands. He’d forgotten how she did that. A smile curved her lips and she laughed, put a hand on Wes’s shoulder before being pulled into a hug. He hoped she’d forgive him as quickly as she’d forgiven Wes.
Money had changed Simon and Tyler but he liked to think it was in good ways. They now moved in circles that once would’ve been closed to them. Made friends and g
ot invited to places reserved for the rich and famous. In a way it was hard for two introverted computer nerds to fit in but they persevered and it paid off. Their products were now in every country, almost every business in the world. Anyone who used computer based programs had at least one of Seascapes products helping it run. Behind the scenes software that had changed the way the internet worked. And they managed to do good in the world while not losing the simple ideals they’d always had. Kindness mattered. If you had more than someone else, share.
Having money and prestige opened doors, there was no denying it. But under all the glamour and the trappings, Simon and Tyler were still the same home bodies they’d been before they started. Their friends list hadn’t changed as much as they’d thought it would. The only new people they’d let into their lives were ones, who like them, wanted to help change the world. Ones who made their money work for the good of others. These were the people they listened to and modeled themselves on. But what the best friends liked most of all was staying home and playing on their computers just like the old days.
Even with all their new found wealth, their lives weren’t that much different. Although they no longer worked out of Simon’s parent’s basement, as they had done for years. Simon had bought his folks a new house in a nicer suburb, no basement attached. He now owned his own home on the harbor and their business ran out of a building near the wharf with views over to Alcatraz.
Until tonight. She was going to kill him and he wasn’t the slightest bit ready for it.
He looked up at the stage. Ruby stood there, staring at him, a look in her eyes he couldn’t place. Wes held her under his arm, his hand flying around as he talked. No doubt trying to placate her and losing the battle. If he knew Ruby, she’d be silently cussing at how things had turned out.
But she wanted money for her animals and would tolerate dating him for them. He was in for an interesting week.
Eventually, she got away from Wes and walked over to where they stood.
Tyler went to walk away but her words stopped him.
“Don’t move, Tyler, or I will hunt you down and kill you.” She came to a halt in front of them. “Why?”
Simon shrugged, suddenly feeling inadequate. “Why not? I spend too much time at my desk and staring at a screen. I thought it’d be a nice way to enjoy more time out of the office.”
“With me?”
“I can’t think of anyone better. This is a fabulous non-profit and Tyler and I are both keen to help local causes.”
A photographer snapped a happy shot. “Can I get one of the three of you together please?”
“Sure.” Simon smiled and held out his hand. “It’s all for a good cause, remember?”
Something flickered in her eyes before she moved over to stand beside him, her hands clasped tight in front of her. Tyler stepped over to join them, standing by her side.
“Snuggle up.” The photographer clicked off a couple of shots. “That’s it. One more.” He leaned in closer and Simon took the opportunity to slip his arm around her waist, inhaling the familiar floral perfume. Having her close was sending him all the right signals. She still brought out the same feelings in him. Probably more so considering he felt the overwhelming urge to make things up to her despite knowing what she’d say.
“Perfect.” The photographer hurried away toward another group of people.
She brushed his hand away. “Don’t touch me again. Understand?”
Simon shared a glance over her head with Tyler. He’d never seen her so determined before. But Ruby had no idea how much Simon was hell bent on winning her back. Just figuring out the right way to win her over could take some planning but he was prepared to prove to her that he wasn’t the mercenary man she thought he was.
Chapter 3
“Did you know about this?” Ruby stood with her hands on her hips staring at Carly over the desk between them.
Carly kept her gaze on the paperwork in front of her. “Um, yes and no, kinda. I knew Simon and Tyler would be here but I didn’t handle the auction items. I left that to Wes to deal with. He said he’d do a better job at drawing in prizes than I ever could and he was right. I was blown away by some of the items people donated. He has all the contacts and some of those prizes were amazing. He was right so I don’t know what you’re complaining about. I didn’t know he was going to throw in a date with you but look how much money it raised.”
Ruby couldn’t find fault in that. Wes had plenty of friends who ran businesses who had donated to their cause tonight purely because he’d asked them but she didn’t know she was going to be on that list. “Have you been speaking to Simon all this time?”
Carly sighed, putting down her pen to look up at Ruby. “Look, he’s still a friend, okay? Of course I’m going to speak to him now and then but I didn’t know he was going to do that. I mean, I knew he was coming tonight because I invited him and Tyler.”
“And you didn’t think to tell me?”
“Yes, I did and decided not to because I could just imagine your reaction. We needed the money and he was good for a decent donation. I wasn’t about to let you jeopardize that no matter how cross you’d get at me. I invited a lot of San Francisco’s finest and for a very good reason. I made a list of people with money to burn, checked out which ones donated regularly to local events and they got an invitation. I don’t get why you’re so annoyed, Ruby. You wanted people with money here tonight and we got exactly that. Look at how much has been pledged and I haven’t even started on adding up the auction figures yet.” She handed over a sheet of paper and Ruby glanced at it.
“Holy crap!”
“Exactly, so pull that anger back in, girlfriend, and be grateful people care enough about your cause to open their purses. You can be pissed at me later.” She shook her head and opened another envelope from the stack on her desk, glancing at the check inside before picking up her pen and adding it to the list.
Ruby sank into the chair. “I’m sorry. You’re right, of course. The animals are the most important things here. If I have to go out with Simon for seven nights, so what? I can deal with it.” Even saying it made her stomach lurch. She just wasn’t sure if it was in anticipation or fear. After all, he’d hurt her immeasurably but what if she still had feelings for him?
“I should think so. That was almost enough money for us to buy our own place.”
“Not around here, it’s not.” She kicked off her shoes and rubbed her feet together. “But it will help a heap. Pay our lease for a few years at least.”
Carly winced and screwed up her face. “Yeah, about that.” She put down her ballpoint pen and folded her arms. “I didn’t want to tell you before the big night but here’s the deal. Our rent is going to double. At least that’s what the landlord is hinting at. He hasn’t exactly put it in writing.” She stopped when Ruby gasped. “I know. That’s ridiculous but we’re on prime land in a very niche area. Developers would give their eye teeth for what we have and I think our landlord is being swayed by that.” She leaned back in her chair, hands clasped over her belly. “With the way the city is growing, what used to be outside of town is now smack bang in the middle of it. Ideally, he’d like to develop the site and I think if we can get another year out of the place, we’d be extremely lucky. He’s yet to make up his mind if we can stay or not.”
“Move again? I don’t believe this. Why do we have such rotten luck with property?”
Carly rocked in her chair. “Because of where we are. It’s that simple really. But don’t stress over it too much yet. Let me see how much money we have coming in. I’ll have a chat to the owner and see what we can do with the lease and go from there. No point panicking before we have all the facts. You pay me to take care of the business side of things so let me do that.”
“It doesn’t stop me worrying.”
“I get that, Ruby but we have to face reality. Sooner or later we were bound to lose that land. We need to be able to buy our own. A few more fundraisers like this one
and we could probably do it.”
* * *
Simon patted George on the head as they walked upstairs to the bedroom. “Miss me, boy?” George ran ahead of him and launched onto the bed, making himself comfortable while he watched his master prepare for sleep.
Simon pulled off his tie and threw it on the chair inside his walk in wardrobe. Ruby had been so annoyed with him tonight but it was worth it. At least she was talking to him, even if it was angry words. Better than nothing. He undid the buttons on his shirt and walked back into the bedroom, pausing at the window to watch the city lights over the water. This view had always made him melancholy. Maybe because he was here alone.
“I saw her, George. She’s pissed at me now but I’m ready to go in and try to talk her around. You’ll love her. She’d love you too.” He sat on the edge of the bed and wrapped an arm around the black and white Frenchie’s neck. “We just have to convince her that we’re good together.” He glanced at the lights twinkling over the bay.
When he used to walk the beach with Ruby, they’d look over at this grand old mansion and dream about owning it. Neither of them would ever admit to it being an impossible idea. Poor and living week to week as they chased their own careers, this was a pipe dream, nothing more—but it was a nice dream regardless.
Until he and Tyler sold their first program and things had snowballed from there. Now he owned more real estate than he could ever imagine. His parents had a comfortable, mortgage free home, retired and enjoying life while tripping around the world. The only thing they were lacking was the daughter-in-law and grandchildren they were hoping for.
Simon threw his shirt in the bathroom hamper, dropped his trousers and turned back to the bed. He nudged George out of the way, pulled down the top cover and plumped up the pillows before laying down. His faithful friend snuggled in beside him and fell asleep, his snores loud in the large and otherwise quiet room.
Second Chance Billionaire (The Billionaire's Club Book 1) Page 2
