LOVING ED: A Billionaire Romance (NIGHT OF THE KINGS SERIES Book 11)

by Shayne Ford

  Well ahead of me, he pushes through a side door and vanishes on a corridor. By the time I enter the same hallway, I no longer see him.

  Frustrated, I look around.

  This is one of the numerous corridors of the resort that can take you anywhere. To the hotel, the club, or some posh restroom.

  Despite the setback, I rush, knowing that time is of the essence. I’m hoping to hear a noise or something that could clue me in on what the best path to follow is.

  Perfect silence accompanies me as I pace down the corridor, checking the doors. None of them have numbers. They’re all locked.

  I push through the big door at the end of the hallway and enter a small lobby that hosts a glass elevator.

  This must be it. I remember taking this elevator although I’m pretty sure I got to it coming from a different corridor.

  Trembling with emotion, I take a few steps toward the glass capsule and press the button on the small panel pinned on the wall. The door slides open.

  I look up.

  I’m sure that some camera up there just got a record of my face. I take a step in. The door closes automatically.

  Let’s hope I don’t get stuck in.

  I turn around and check the inside panel. There’s only one button. How hard can it be?

  As soon as I press it, the glove of steel and glass shoots toward the upper levels.

  It pulls to a smooth stop a few moments later, the door gliding open just as promptly. I walk out and glance around.

  Light pours on me from above. I look up at the meshwork of glass and light comprising the vaulted ceiling.

  I recognize this lobby. The office door must be here, somewhere. And then I see it.

  To my surprise, it’s cracked open.

  I take a few steps in that directions, and stop to knock on the door, teetering on the cusp of fainting.

  No response comes from inside.

  I knock again.

  “Come in,” a smoky voice says, sending a wave of panic through me.

  For a few seconds, I try to decide which the best course of action is–– bolting or walking inside, before I take a deep breath and push the door wide open.

  The man standing in front of the windows, has his back turned to me, and his hands tucked into his pockets.

  He slowly turns. I quickly lose my breath.

  For a few seconds, all I hear is the sound of my spasming pulse in my ears.

  Dark green eyes fall on me as his eyebrows tilt slightly, his face showing little to no surprise.

  He doesn’t even need to say a word, and I’m already a pile of dust.

  “Yes?”

  His voice crawls all over my body.

  I clear my throat and barely find my voice.

  “I need to talk to you.”

  THEA

  He locks my eyes for a few moments before he flicks his chin and motions me to the armchair sitting in front of his desk.

  This is the same office where Ed Preston used to work.

  Timidly, I take a few steps in that direction and let myself slip into the seat.

  “How may I help you, Thea?” he asks, his back turned to me again as he fixes himself a drink not far from me.

  A few seconds pass by before he swings his gaze at me, and turns around, his fingers wrapped around his glass. A couple of paced strides bring him next to his desk.

  He takes a sip of liquor before he sets his glass down and props himself against the piece of furniture, crossing his arms on his chest.

  His gaze slides down onto me, taking inventory of my attire.

  “Why are you here?” he asks, his voice cold.

  Emotionless.

  I swallow hard a couple of times and fidget in my seat before I speak.

  “He doesn’t want to talk to me,” I say rushed, and nervous, my voice lined with desperation.

  He studies me for a moment, a slow smile stretching across his lips.

  “Hmm...” he mutters. “Edward Preston doesn’t want to talk to you. Do you have any idea why?” he asks.

  I sense the sneer in his voice–– perhaps amusement, both making my anger and frustration surge.

  It brings words to my lips I know I shouldn’t say.

  “It doesn’t help me if you lecture me,” I say, shaking inside.

  A grin floods his eyes while his eyebrows arch slowly in surprise. He looks at me with genuine curiosity. I’m sure he’d like to test my courage more.

  Still smiling, he pivots slightly and looks for his cigarettes. He retrieves one from the pack sitting on his desk, lights it up, and takes a slow drag before he breathes out a stream of smoke, his eyes holding mine all the while.

  Slowly, he pushes off his desk, picks up his drink and moves closer to me.

  He sets the glass on the coffee table and sinks into a chair not far from me. Relaxed, he leans back into his seat, and studies me a little more, unhurriedly, while I feel like rubble in my chair.

  “How much do you know about Ed Preston, Thea?”

  “Not much or I wouldn’t be here,” I say, my words shooting fast, sounding a little harsher than I intended, rendering a stern look from him.

  It makes me sweeten my response with a few more words.

  “I’m sorry, but the man is still a mystery to me, and after what happened between us last time we got together, there’s no one else I can ask about him. As I said before he refuses to talk to me.”

  “Perhaps he doesn’t want to see you anymore,” he says, not sparing me a bit.

  “Even if that’s the case, I would still like to know what made him pull away from me without an explanation.”

  He brings his cigarette to his lips, takes a long drag and exhales slowly, his eyes narrowing as he observes me from behind a veil of smoke.

  He ponders for a few more moments as if he’s trying to figure out if it’s worth it to waste his time with me before he leans forward and sets the burning cigarette on the ashtray lip.

  “This is not something that you should learn from me,” he says leaning back in his seat.

  I open my mouth to speak, yet his finger flicks up, making me go mum again.

  He continues.

  “Chances are that even if I tell you it wouldn’t help you much.”

  I slump in my chair.

  He flips a dark-green gaze at me, a soft smile on his lips.

  “Why do you think he doesn’t want to talk to you, Thea?”

  His voice is softer this time. Warmer.

  “There was a particular circumstance that made it look as if a male friend of mine was more than a friend... But that was not the case, and I tried to explain to him. I can’t imagine that after all my texts and messages he’s still thinking that I was lying. I wasn’t.”

  “He knows that,” he says curtly.

  My eyes peel wide, a soft gasp rolling off my lips.

  For a moment, I try to put two and two together, not sure if what he just said is a good or a bad thing.

  As a few more seconds slip by, I’m inclined to think that it is a bad thing. The fact that he doesn’t want to talk to me although he knows the truth confirms my suspicion that he used that opportunity to pull away from me for good.

  My palms are covered with sweat.

  “He doesn’t want me, then?” I mutter.

  He watches me for a few seconds, enough for me to start to fidget in my chair before he speaks.

  “I don’t think he’s ever wanted a woman more.”

  His answer throws me for a loop. I look at him puzzled.

  He picks up his cigarette and slides it between his lips, a ghostly string of smoke billowing in the air as he begins to speak.

  “He’s not used to feeling so strongly for a woman, and that may be your bigger problem,” he mutters around his cigarette.

  He inhales before he tears the cigarette away from his mouth and releases the smoke, his eyes diving deep into mine, reading me.

  “What am I supposed to do then?” I ask, confused.


  He weighs his words for a moment.

  “Think of it this way... You are the woman that he wants. You have all the answers in you. All you need to do is listen to them and follow their guidance.”

  “I think I did just that––that’s how I got him back, but then one little thing shattered my effort and made him go away.”

  A shadow slides onto his face, darkening his eyes.

  He slowly shakes his head.

  “It wasn’t a little thing,” he says.“Even if he eventually realized that it was nothing more than a misunderstanding, he didn’t like the way it made him feel. He is a strong man who’s always been in control. Of his life and his women. Yes... His women,” he adds, smiling, as he gets a glimpse of my frown. “You can’t change that, Thea. It’s his past. It was his life. And I’m sure it was part of his appeal, at least in the beginning, whether you like to admit it or not. He is who he is, and he will change for the right woman the same way I did, but you can’t demand it from him unless you want to ruin everything.”

  “I can’t share a man,” I say, tense, and torn.

  A mysterious smile curves his lips.

  “You didn’t share him.”

  My eyebrows go up.

  I get ready to comment when he talks again.

  “You shouldn't have heard that from me. You should’ve known that already. If you thought that he was with other women all this time then you might not be the right woman for him.”

  My blood turns to ice.

  He registers the pallor of my face and nods.

  “Yes. That’s the truth,” he says, no smile on his face.

  The man couldn’t be more serious, in fact.

  “The thing is... He’s already changed, but you can’t see it,” he continues. “And you know why? Because you listen to your fears more than you listen to your gut. And to be honest, I don’t even think he planned for it to happen that way, and for sure he didn’t do it as a courtesy to you,” he adds, throwing a cold glance in my direction. “That’s how he felt,” he says. “And if I know anything about him, it must’ve taken him by surprise, and that’s what threw him back. Once you have control over everything, including how you feel about other people, you don’t take it lightly when you lose that power. For one, you have a hard time to understand why you feel differently about a particular someone and sure as hell you don’t like it.”

  He leans forward again and crushes his cigarette in the ashtray.

  “That’s what happened to Ed that night, and having your friend over the next day, didn’t make things any better. I don’t think he refuses to talk to you because he doesn’t want to. He simply can’t.”

  “And how does that help me?”

  He purses his lips for a moment, crushing a smile.

  “You do what you have to do, and let him find his way back to you.”

  I wish I could find some hope in his words, but I can’t.

  For a moment, my gaze trails down as I feel the fangs of grief in my chest.

  Perhaps giving up on Ed Preston would be the wise thing to do.

  James Sexton stays quiet as I swim in my own misery.

  “What about me?” I murmur, looking up at him.

  He tosses me a questioning look.

  “You said that I should wait for him to find his way back to me. But what is in it for me?”

  I search his eyes.

  A faint grin glints across his lips.

  “Why do I have to wait for him? He sure didn’t wait for me,” I say, airing my frustration. “He just made the announcement that he’s leaving next month. If what you say is true, he sure didn’t give a fuck about me. He was on the fence about leaving when we talked last time, and now he’s moving overseas. If anything, I helped him decide to go away.”

  “It was a business decision,” he says, no longer smiling. “And he’ll be back.”

  I throw him a puzzled look.

  “Do you really expect me to believe that?”

  “It’s your prerogative, baby, to do whatever you want,” he says, not making things any easier for me. “He came to you once, and you couldn't figure out why he did it, so you let him pull away from you. I can’t tell you that he wouldn’t do it again. What I know for sure is that you are part of the reason why he decided to move away but not in the way you think. Even now, you don’t seem to have a good grasp of him. And I don’t have to tell you this, Thea... You seem like a very smart woman, and you probably already know this. Life is a game of opportunities, and most people lose at it because, one, they don’t realize that it’s a game, and even if they do, they don’t want to play it. And two, they don’t know how to spot an opportunity and grab it before it’s too late. Ed Preston is that kind of opportunity. And not because of what he has accomplished, and his money, but the fact that he feels deeply for you. If you can’t see that, then you should probably go home and forget about him. If you’re still asking me what is in it for you, then you must not see that ‘everything’ is in it for you. If that’s the case, our conversation is completely useless.”

  He pushes up to his feet, signaling that our conversation is over.

  I follow his example barely holding myself steady.

  “You must’ve been like him. That’s how you know...” I toss at him, my words bringing his eyes back to me.

  He studies me for a moment.

  “And you changed for Rain Morgan. ”

  A small smile tilts his lips.

  “It was time to become a different man,” he says, holding my gaze.

  “What made you change?” I ask.

  He slides his hands into his pockets, his magnetic eyes brushed by a melancholic smile.

  “Her broken heart.”

  4

  THEA

  “No fucking way, Liz.”

  I push out of my chair and start tossing books into my backpack, my cousin waiting not far from me, standing.

  Students start clamoring as they walk out of class.

  “I’m not coming. There’s no point in insisting.”

  She doesn’t say a word.

  “Hey. What’s up?”

  I lift my gaze and straighten as Chloe nears us. Silently, I slide my backpack onto my shoulder

  She looks at me, her lips arched into a smile that quickly starts to falter.

  She swings her eyes to my cousin.

  “What happened to her?”

  “She doesn’t want to come,” Liz says.

  Chloe shifts her gaze back to me while I motion them to the exit door.

  “Why? It’s only a party,” she mutters, puzzled.

  We walk into the hallway, the corridor packed with students.

  It’s Friday afternoon, most of the classes are over, and everybody’s heading home.

  “It’s not just any party. It’s Valentine’s Day,” I grump.

  “It’s only a party,” Chloe insists.

  We stroll out of the building.

  I stop, and pivot to them, my car keys in my hand.

  They both look at me, baffled.

  “Are you serious?” Chloe asks.

  My eyes swing back and forth between them.

  “Both of you have dates. I don’t want to drag someone to the party if he is not my date,” I say, referring to Elan, who I’m not even sure that he’d agree to accompany me.

  “You don’t have to bring a date,” Liz says.

  “Yes, I do,” I say through clenched teeth.

  Their eyebrows lift, their eyes widening in surprise.

  “Never mind,” I say, gesturing annoyed. “I don’t want to go out tonight, and that’s all there is to it. I need to stay inside for a while.”

  “Why?” they ask at the same time.

  I ponder for a moment.

  “Listen... There’s no point, really,” I say with a softer voice, ready to make a concession while trying to remove myself from the obligation of joining them tonight. “I’m not in the mood. I don’t care about Valentine’s Day. Besides, the party is in h
is club.”

  “So what?” Chloe mutters, looking at me bewildered.

  “You said he’s in LA,” Liz says.

  “That’s where he was yesterday, but as you know, we are not exactly on speaking terms.”

  “Who cares where he is?” Chloe blurts out.

  “I do. I don’t want to run into him. I just got grilled by his friend last night. And you know what the most important thing that I got from him was? That I have no idea how to act around a man. And you know what? He was right. I didn’t know in the past, and for sure, I don’t know now.”

  “That’s if you run into him,” Liz points out.

  “Yeah... Okay. Whatever... Even if he’s not going to be there I’m not in the mood to see couples, pink confetti, and heart-shaped chocolate cakes. I’m sorry, but there’s nothing I can do about the way I feel about it.”

  Chloe breathes out a sigh.

  “Well... You know better, but it’s not what you imagine. Not all people have dates. It’s a big event, and this is the whole idea, to make everybody feel welcome. Yes, we’ll bring dates, and they’ll invite their friends, and there will be other single women too. Really... It’s not what you think it is. It’s going to be fun. The food is good. The music is great. The club built its reputation with this kind of parties.”

  She pauses as both look at me, hoping to change my mind.

  “I’ll think about it.”

  They spend a few more seconds reading my eyes before they finally give up.

  Minutes later, we say goodbye to each other. I head to my car, while Chloe and Liz share a ride.

  I climb in, set my backpack and my coat on the back bench and start the engine. Slowly I steer my ride away.

  The car rolls on the road, leaving the campus behind while heading downtown.

  Faint sunlight drips through the clouds, melting the snow on the sidewalks.

  Spring is still a few good days away, and yet, to me, it feels as if it’s here. I roll the window down and suck in the fresh air while my skin warms up from the sun.

  The weather clears up the closer I get to downtown, the sky painted in beautiful shades of blue and gray, patches of land peeking from under the snow. A gentle wind blows in my hair as my cheeks warm up even more.