Showdown: Tech Billionaires

by Ainsley St Claire

  I shake my head, impressed. “I had no idea.”

  “We’re ready for her here, too. We had someone out yesterday to get the pool house all set up for her and her nurses. The bed was delivered tonight, and the majordomo is rewashing the sheets. After being regaled with many stories about you from the girls, Leilani can’t wait to meet you.”

  I nod.

  “We’re on the windward side of the house, but the girls aren’t quite as close as they were in Italy,” he adds after a moment.

  “Unless they’re in your room, they can’t get much closer than that.”

  He laughs. “I know I have some work to do with you, but I’m hoping we can escape to a hotel so I can properly show you how much I missed you.”

  I can’t help but smile. I like this Nate. “I will admit, I missed you, too.”

  “Before I end up with the worst case of blue balls, I’m changing the subject. I heard from Tom Sutterland today.”

  I look at him with my brow furrowed. “I can’t believe I didn’t recognize his wife. Did you know I was renting a room with his mother-in-law?”

  “I heard you saved her life. He’s ready to fund your next startup or whatever you want to do.”

  I laugh. “I couldn’t figure out why Mrs. Jones had such a powerful internet connection in her house with no computer in sight.”

  “You made quite an impression on Tom’s wife and her sisters. Once things get better, they’d like to take you out for lunch with their mom.”

  “I’d like that. I promised Mrs. Jones I’d play cribbage with her, and she likes doing puzzles.”

  “I’m just grateful you shacked up with a little old lady—not an ex-boyfriend or something.”

  “Mrs. Jones was great. She made me an awesome roasted chicken and told me all her bargain-shopping secrets. I ate well.”

  He laughs. “Sounds like it.”

  I yawn. “I guess you’ll know when we get there.”

  “The girls and I will be there to meet you and your mom at the airport. I think Jim and Kate are going to come for the first week or so.”

  “Great, Kate can continue playing matchmaker.”

  “Who’s she trying to match you up with?”

  I blush. “You, of course.”

  “She doesn’t have much work to do, then. As far as I’m concerned, we’re matched.”

  I can’t help but grin. My emotions are a complete whirlwind, but ultimately, I’m happy. “I can’t wait to see you and the girls tomorrow.”

  “Goodnight, my love.”

  I plug in my phone to charge and lie back in my bed. I can’t quite grasp everything that’s happened today. This morning I woke up in Mrs. Jones’s guest room in Calistoga, thinking I was alone for the foreseeable future, with the Lancaster chapter of my life all done. Then Mrs. Jones went to the hospital, and Jim Adelson appeared at the door. Now here I am back in San Francisco, leaving for Hawaii tomorrow with my mom, and not only Nate’s girls, but also Nate is eagerly anticipating my return. It’s just too much.

  Chapter 28

  Nate

  If it’s possible, the girls are more excited than I am. I think we’re all up most of the night, watching the clock. I know Lilly is going to be exhausted when she arrives, not to mention concerned about getting her mom settled. But, all I want to do is whisk her off to a hotel for a week and make love to her until she commits to me in every way possible. I don’t want to be apart from her ever again.

  Katrina and Bex are back in my room early, bouncing around all over the place.

  “We can watch the flight tracker of the plane,” I tell them. I open an app on my computer, and the girls crowd around.

  “Where is it?” Bex asks.

  Katrina points to the red light, which is sitting just south of San Francisco. “It doesn’t look like they’ve left yet.”

  Bex is crushed. “Oh.”

  “They should be taking off shortly,” I assure them. “Lilly’s mom requires some extra help, so they’re a little slow. But Jim would have emailed me by now if for some reason they weren’t coming.”

  She gives a disappointed sigh. “I guess she won’t be here for breakfast.”

  “No, baby. Remember, her mom is unable to talk or move on her own. Getting her ready took some time.”

  “Where is she going to stay?”

  “We hope in the pool house.”

  “That’s so far away. What if she needs help?”

  “She’ll have her nurses with her. I’ve interviewed several who live here and can help, too. But if it’s too much, I have a room for her at a local nursing home.”

  My cell phone pings.

  Jim: We’re wheels up in two minutes. See you on the flip side.

  “Uncle Jim says they’re taking off. But I have some ideas of things we can do to get ready for their arrival.”

  “I need breakfast first,” Bex says.

  Both girls watch the plane begin to move.

  “I bet Leilani would make a Hawaiian breakfast scramble for you this morning.”

  “She promised me pineapple pancakes,” Bex says over her shoulder.

  That girl is going to be tough as a teenager. She always seems to get what she wants. I smile. With help from Lilly, we’ll manage just fine.

  When I get to the kitchen, the girls are already in their seats, and Leilani is busy at the stove. Sure enough, it’s pineapple pancakes. While the girls eat, I pull out the posterboard and markers I asked Leilani to pick up yesterday.

  I explain the plan, and when they’re finished, the girls join me in the dining room. We have four signs to make, and we know we want Trevor to hold one.

  Katrina laughs. “Aunt Alicia will want a picture.”

  I look at her curiously. She’s in the know, but how much? “Why would Alicia want a picture of Trevor?”

  She shakes her head like I’m late to the party. “Because they’re in love.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “Because they’re just like you and Lilly. You pretend you’re friends, but you both disappear together to make out.”

  I nearly choke.

  “If we have to share Lilly, I’d prefer it was you than someone else,” Katrina adds.

  I snort. “Well, that’s very generous of you.” I can’t look at her. “You did tell me it was okay for me to date Lilly when we left Whistler to find her.”

  She shrugs. “Only because she knows I have a mom.”

  “You’re right.”

  We get to work, and the girls are quiet and nearly still for the first time in a lot of hours. When we have the preliminary designs done, our signs read:

  Aloha, with lots of pink flowers for Trevor.

  We missed you, Lilly, for Bex.

  Welcome, with the names of Lilly’s mom, Helen, her nurses, Jackie and Patty, Jim, Kate, and Lilly, for Katrina.

  Lilly, I’m sorry, for me.

  The girls spend time making them bright, and there’s glitter everywhere. I shrug it off. As the father of girls, you’ve got to be okay with glitter.

  “Leilani is going to show us how to make leis,” Katrina says as we finish up.

  “Lilly will love that.” I ruffle Bex’s hair. “Make sure you make enough for eight people.”

  “Twelve if we’re going to include the flight crew,” Katrina points out.

  “I think that’s a great idea. Maybe we should wear some, too.”

  The girls spend the rest of the morning collecting flowers from the plumeria trees around the estate. When I walk back into the kitchen, the table holds a large basket full. Their wonderful smell fills the whole house.

  Leilani has long needles and waxed dental floss, and I watch her show the girls various designs they can use to make full leis. They manage several different renditions, and Bex even wears a crown of beautiful white and yellow flowers.

  “If you put the flower behind your right ear, it shows you’re single,” Leilani tells her.

  “Daddy, you should wear yours on the l
eft so Lilly knows you’re taken by her,” Bex says.

  “You don’t think she might think I met someone here?” I tease.

  “No way. I’ll make sure she knows,” Bex says, all joking aside.

  We’ve watched the plane cross over the ocean with the app, and now it’s almost time. We’re waiting for the notification that they’re in final approach, which translates to thirty minutes out.

  A few minutes later, I get the signal. “It’s time.”

  Bex jumps up and down, and Katrina rolls her eyes. She’s excited but suddenly too cool to show it. That’s okay.

  We load up and caravan to the airport. I picked up a van that should work well for Helen’s wheelchair, and we have our leis and signs. We’re ready.

  We watch the Lear approach, and I feel as giddy as the girls.

  The plane comes to a stop, and the airport workers immediately roll the ramp to the plane. Lilly’s mom is wheeled out first, followed by two nurses, and then Lilly. The girls cheer when they spot her. Behind Lilly, Jim and Kate appear, and finally the crew.

  Katrina and Bex welcome everyone as they reach the ground. They swarm Lilly and hug her, but quickly break to distribute their leis.

  “Aloha. Welcome to Hawaii,” they repeat with each lei they place.

  “Did you guys make these signs?” Kate asks.

  Bex nods. “And we made the leis too.”

  “No way. They smell so good,” Lilly says as she nuzzles the flowers.

  “I was the best at climbing the tree to get the flowers,” Bex reports.

  Lilly puts her arms around Katrina. “You look so beautiful with a flower in your hair. Have you learned the hula?”

  She shrugs. “Sort of.”

  “Will you show me later?”

  She nods.

  “I want you to meet my mom,” Lilly tells us, turning toward the woman in the wheelchair.

  “Mom, this is Katrina and Bex—the two girls I nanny for that I always talk about.”

  She turns to the girls. “She doesn’t speak, but if you look at her eyes, you can see she’s excited.”

  She pulls me over. “Mom, this is Nate. He’s father to Katrina and Bex.”

  I reach for her mom’s hand and whisper in her ear as I kiss her cheek.”

  Lilly gives me a look as I straighten back up.

  “You’re not going to tell me what you told her?”

  “Nope.”

  She rolls her eyes. “This is Nurse Patty and Nurse Jackie,” she continues. “They’re in charge of my mom’s care.”

  I nod. “If you need anything, just let me know. As supplies get low, we’ll need to order from the mainland, and we should plan at least for three days.”

  Trevor and his team load the cars with our luggage, and once we have everything, we load up in the cars and make our way back to the Grahams’ estate.

  “What are your plans?” Lilly asks me as we drive.

  “To spend time with you. We’ve missed you. Everything already feels better now that you’re here. You can oversee your mom getting settled, and Kate has offered to stay with the girls tonight. I thought we might go out on a date.”

  She looks at me, her eyes wide, and then at the girls, who are all grins in the seat behind us. “Are you two okay with this?”

  “Yes!” they say in unison.

  “Why do I feel like I’m being set up? Is Ashton Kutcher here to jump out and tell me I’ve been punk’d?”

  Katrina shakes her head. “Like he’d care about us.”

  Leilani greets us as we roll in and shows us the easiest way to get Lilly’s mom to the pool house.

  On the way, she makes a noise, and Lilly and I freeze.

  The nurse pats Lilly on the hand. “It’s just her way of showing her enthusiasm.”

  Bex and Katrina run ahead to open the door to the pool house, and Bex begins giving Lilly and her mom a rundown of the amenities of the estate.

  “We’re going to have a luau tomorrow night here in the backyard,” she says as the door closes behind them. “It’s going to be so much fun.”

  Chapter 29

  Nate

  It feels like a party or a vacation now that everyone’s here, but the reason we’re all together again is not lost on me. The girls have talked Lilly into checking out the pool with them, so I sit down with Jim in the kitchen to find out what’s going on.

  “Viviana went missing before you left town, and the FBI can’t be sure where she is,” he tells me.

  I shake my head. “I fucked that up.”

  “No, you didn’t. Anyone who walked into the lobby would have set off alarms. None of the companies in that building is what it seems.”

  “Walker said they were preparing to arrest three people.”

  He nods. “Yes, they think Viviana’s the mastermind, but she wasn’t working alone.”

  “How did we not know it?” I sit back hard. “She owned this place and lost it to Graham the weekend Cecelia went missing. What does that mean?”

  “That just means she’s a shitty card player. But the other things we’ve learned make me think she was fleecing money from investors, and Cecelia must have figured part of it out.”

  I’m still confused. “But Walker said there was a connection with Cecelia’s brother’s death.”

  “I’m not sure what it is. We don’t know everything the feds know. They’ve arrested a man by the name of Gregori Petrov. He’s the long-time boyfriend of Christina Daniels. He may also be the father of her younger daughter, Sophie.”

  “Wow, this is unbelievable.”

  Kate comes in and sits down with Jim. “Okay, I know you both have a lot to catch up on, but we’re here for a few days. Nate, let’s talk about your plans for tonight. You have a date planned with Lilly.”

  I nod. “Yes. I have a reservation at Ko, which is in the Fairmont.”

  Kate raises her brows at me.

  “I don’t have a reservation at the hotel, it’s just a nice spot—waterfront, secluded, and romantic.”

  “But what are your plans?” Kate presses.

  “Are you her dad now?”

  “Maybe. You made a grave mistake that almost ended your chance with her. I love you to pieces, but I don’t think we can take you messing this up.”

  I hold up my hands. “It’s up to her. She’s in the driver’s seat on this.”

  Kate nods. “Don’t push her too hard, but if you do decide to stay out all night, we’re fine to cover for you with the girls.”

  “I don’t think we’re ready for any overnight stays. Lilly is always sensitive to the girls and their feelings.”

  “She’s good for you,” Jim says as he stands and reaches for his wife’s hand.

  “I agree.”

  As the afternoon unfolds, the girls swim, and Lilly’s mom sits and watches under a hat and sun umbrella, with a misting fan to keep her cool.

  “Do you ladies need anything?” I call.

  “I wouldn’t mind some of your security team walking around in Speedos,” Nurse Jackie announces.

  I laugh. “I’m not sure I can make that happen, but I’ll pass along the request.”

  “Those are some fine-lookin’ men,” Patty adds.

  “I’ll let them know.”

  Leilani comes out with a tray of frozen fruit smoothies.

  “Thank you for bringing us with you,” Jackie says quietly. “Helen isn’t verbal, but she does much better when she sees Lilly regularly. She’s loving this trip.”

  “We’re happy she’s here. If it makes Lilly happy, it makes us happy.” I wander over to talk with Lilly a moment, and all the blood in my body rushes to my dick when I see the bathing suit she’s wearing. “Where did you get that suit?” I ask.

  She smiles. “I had to do some speed shopping yesterday. Jim was a good sport and sent one of his female agents with me to Nordstrom. Do you like it?”

  “Yes, very much.”

  “I’m not sure I got sunscreen on all the parts of my back. Maybe to
morrow you can help me.”

  “I’m here to serve.” I wink at her, and she licks her lips. I’m definitely back in her good graces. I want to cannonball into the pool to celebrate, but I have a better idea. “Will you be ready to leave in a little over an hour?”

  She nods as she stretches, and her hard nipples scream, Touch me.

  I offer her my hand and follow her in as every devious thought I’ve ever had passes through my head.

  When she gets to her room, she goes in. “I’ll see you in the kitchen in an hour,” she says as she closes the door.

  I nod, hoping I look more calm, cool, and collected than I feel. My dick is trying to break free, and my heart is beating so fast it’s smoking.

  I shower and put on a nice pair of khakis and a Hawaiian shirt. I wasn’t going to bother with condoms, but I was also a Boy Scout, so I add three to my wallet to be prepared—and secretly hopeful.

  When I go downstairs, Leilani has made a great-looking meal of whitefish for dinner, and I’m shocked that the girls are ready to dive in. If I offered them fish, they would run from the room. But to impress Leilani, they’ll enjoy a fantastic dinner.

  Katrina follows me out as I go to wait for Lilly in the kitchen. “When will you be back?”

  I can see the worry in her face. We all want and need this to work. “I don’t know. My plan is to spend the evening begging and apologizing and promising whatever it takes for her to agree to stay with us.”

  Katrina looks outside. “What if she wants to have her own children?”

  Wasn’t expecting that. “I have plenty of room in my heart for more children. Your mom and I wanted more kids; it just didn’t happen for us. It wouldn’t change my love for you, and I’m certain it wouldn’t change how much Lilly loves you. Does that bother you?”

  She sighs. “I guess not. I wouldn’t mind a brother or two. At least Bex would have someone else to bug.”

  I laugh and pull her in. “Unless they all gang up on you.”

  She crosses her arms and narrows her eyes. “Are you trying to change my mind?”