Her Billionaire Secret Romance

by Sophia Summers

  Charles had his arm around Eliza and under her arms. He had no idea if she was conscious or if she could breathe with all that hair over her face. He tried to push it away, but he only had one hand to swim, and he needed to keep from sinking into the rush of the flood.

  The river was pushing them toward a bend in the river where he could see calmer water. He pushed hard, kicking with all the force he had. When he touched the bottom, he pulled Eliza up and found her face under all that hair. She wasn’t breathing and was turning blue. I can’t lose her. Please, God, help us. He picked her up and climbed the steep bank to dry land. Laying her down, he immediately began CPR. When she started to choke, he turned her on her side to let the water expel from her lungs. “Oh, Liza, I almost lost you.” Charles pulled her up into his arms; tears running down his cheeks. “Liza, Liza, I love you.”

  Eliza opened her eyes and looked around. She smiled. “Now this is romantic.”

  She smiled up at Charles, and he half laughed, half cried.

  “Yes, Eliza, this is romantic.” He pulled her up into his lap, and they both leaned back against a tree. “We aren’t going anywhere until this dies down or someone finds us.” Charles’s hands were shaking from the terror of almost losing her. They were leaning against the trunk of an ancient cypress tree. He looked up into the branches full of Spanish moss hanging down in long strands. This part of the river looked like it hadn’t been visited for decades. Charles sighed and took a deep breath of gratitude that Eliza was safe.

  He looked over to her. “Eliza, my father is dying. He needs my help. That is what has ruined our chances. I can’t let him down.” He felt the air and hope of his life exhale out of him with his last breath.

  “I understand, Charles. I would do the same for my father.”

  Eliza sighed. “Our fun week of no strings attached is making it harder than ever to respect your dad’s wishes. As soon as I get the spa to fix my hair, I think I will get Decker and head home.”

  “Yeah, I will head home, too, with Patch.” They both sat in silence, shedding a few tears of resignation to their plight. Charles had his arm around Eliza, and she snuggled close to the warmth of his chest. There was nothing more to say.

  Chapter 12

  Eliza sighed, she was happy to see James waiting for her at the airport. She really didn’t want to answer family questions about the horse camp until she could better control her emotions. James was quiet and didn’t say much while they drove to her estate. Her parents were out when she got home, so she went out to the stable to see Tandy. Eliza entered her stall and sat down in the corner on the hay and cried. She wiped her eyes and blew her nose. Those were the only tears she was going to shed. Life was still good and she would just make the best of it, starting with her schooling. If she couldn’t have Charles, then she was just going to follow in Rachael’s footsteps and make a good life for herself in medicine.

  She hugged Tandy and quietly shut the door as she left. She went up the back steps to her room. Once there, Eliza got out her computer and started looking up medical schools. She spent the rest of the evening applying to several. Even though she would be entering a year early, her grades and testing were excellent and she had completed most of her prerequisites.

  The next morning, Eliza came down to breakfast to find the whole family, including her brothers, sitting down at the table. “What’s up?”

  Her father got up to give her a hug as she entered. “We’re just having a family gathering. How did the camp go?”

  Eliza knew something was going on and that they didn’t plan to divulge it to her. More sneaking around was needed if she wanted to find out.

  “Camp was fun, and I learned a lot.” She noticed her brother raising an eyebrow to her father. If they wanted to keep her in the dark, they were doing a terrible job of it. Why not just say. We are doing something that we don’t want you to know about, Eliza.

  “Look, you obviously don’t want to tell me why you are all here. Fine, I will be in my room if you need me for anything.” Eliza stood up with her plate, ready to leave.

  Her father stood up. “Eliza, it’s just nothing you have been interested in. We have a contract we want to get, and our competitors are the Harringtons.”

  “You’re right, I am not interested. Nice to see all of you.” Eliza walked out of the dining room and started to walk up the stairs. She didn’t stop to listen. Nothing they said would change anything between her and Charles. It was over.

  That week, Eliza went down to the hospital to visit Rachael. She walked into the main lobby and headed to the information desk. “Hi, I wonder how I could arrange to meet with Dr. Harrington?”

  The receptionist looked up at her. “You could make an appointment.”

  “No, I don’t need a doctor. We’re friends. Does she have a set time when she takes a break?”

  “Oh sorry, let me call up and see if she’s available. You can sit over there.”

  Eliza liked being in the hospital. She watched the families coming and going. The doctors and nurses, all the hospital staff, were always walking a little faster than everyone else. They seemed to have purpose, and she liked that. She needed a new purpose in her life.

  The receptionist called her over. “She is in the doctor’s lounge on the second floor.”

  “Thanks, I‘ll go up.” The receptionist gave her directions. She wanted to get Rachael’s advice on medical schools and talk about the profession.

  She got into the elevator with an intern. “How do you like it here?” She asked. She had so many questions about the hospital.

  The intern looked up from his chart and smiled. “It’s great. They keep you pretty busy here. I am on call for twelve-hour shifts. It can get pretty rough if we are busy.”

  Rachael was waiting outside the elevator. “Hello, Dr. Harrington.”

  “Hey, Dr. Riley.” She smiled at the intern, who stayed on the elevator when Eliza got off.

  Rachael led the way to her office. “Eliza, it’s so nice to see you.”

  “First of all, I want to thank you for those letters of reference you gave.” She looked around at the office. The bookshelves were full of medical books and research papers. The walls held her graduation certificates and a picture of her horse with Eliza’s brother Devon. “Charles told me about you and my brother.”

  “Well that is over with, but this picture is the only one I have of my horse Chester.” She laughed. “Chester was a great horse. I was the only one that could ride him. With me, he was as gentle as a baby.”

  Rachael looked over at Eliza and smiled. “So you are going into medicine. That’s great. I love being in this field and am happy with the choices I made. What made you decide to go to medical school?”

  “Well, I figure helping others would be a good way to spend my life, and I think it would be rewarding.”

  Rachael leaned back and studied her. “So how was the summer camp with Charles?”

  Eliza’s countenance fell; she too leaned back, thinking.

  “To tell you the truth, it was wonderful and devastating at the same time.” Eliza raised her eyebrows and pursed her lips. “It was so sad to hear about your father’s illness.”

  Rachael sat up straight. “What illness?”

  “Oh, I’m sorry. I thought for sure you knew. While we were at camp, your father came to visit Charles and told him he was dying.” Eliza was worried. She hadn’t intended to break a confidence. “I guess your father didn’t want you to know.”

  Rachael moved closer to Eliza. “Tell me everything you know.”

  “Well, Charles said he needed his help to take over the company and help him complete the mergers he was planning. He said he might live five years with some South American illness he contracted.”

  “So that is why Charles stopped coming to the hospital and dropped his medical school plans.”

  Eliza stood to leave. She had done enough damage for one afternoon. Good grief, why didn’t they tell Rachael? She was a doctor, for
Pete’s sake.

  “Thanks, Eliza, why don’t you come back again another time. This bit of news requires some immediate attention.” Rachael stood and gave Eliza a hug.

  Eliza walked out of the office as Rachael made a call.

  Charles had returned from the Texas riding camp a very depressed but determined man. He had responsibilities,and he planned to do his best. His schoolwork improved significantly, and he got himself on a fast track to finish as soon as he could so that he could join the business. His Thursday evening meetings with his father were very informative, and he had to admit he enjoyed the camaraderie he now shared with his dad. The more they talked the more impressed he was with his father’s business acumen.

  One particular evening, Charles opened up to his father. “Hey, Dad, did you marry Mom to accomplish a merger?”

  “Well, I wouldn’t say it that way. It was advantageous to marry your mother, yes, but we are very happy we did marry.” Charles felt like he was on a conveyor belt, riding through the life he was groomed to lead. His parents seemed happy enough. Perhaps he could find happiness as well.

  He was in the process of resigning himself to his fate. However, he found himself spending his free time thinking of Eliza and remembering his time at the ranch. It had become a respite from the world to let his mind spend time there. He was grateful for Eliza’s determination to make their last time together memorable and fun.

  The only time he saw his father now was on Thursdays. His health didn’t seem to be deteriorating, for which he was very grateful. Charles made a point of staying away from family gatherings. The talk was still about business competition with the Stantons. Every complaint or harsh word said against them was another nail on the coffin of his and Eliza’s love. Of course there was business competition, but competition with the Stantons took on a whole new purpose.

  One afternoon, Rachael asked him to have dinner with her uptown. He hadn’t seen Rach for months and was happy for her call. As he entered the restaurant, he found her in a back booth. “Hey, Rach, it looks like we are having a clandestine meeting.” He chuckled and sat down.

  She didn’t return his smile, her face serious. “I need to know about Dad’s illness. Why didn’t you tell me?” Rachael’s look was full of accusation.

  “Dad told me last summer, and my first words to him were to tell you, but he said not yet.”

  “Well I know now, tell me everything.”

  Charles told Rachael everything their dad had said and all about the research he had been doing on the illness as well.

  “Who’s he seeing about this?”

  “Dr. Raslin.”

  Rachael nodded. “Okay, I will handle it from here, thanks.” She smiled. “Now let’s talk about Eliza.” Rachael had a twinkle in her eye and smiled at her brother knowingly.

  Charles was happy to have someone to share his feelings about Eliza with. “I am in love with her, Rach, but I have to help Dad.”

  “I’m sorry, Charlie. I want you to know it’s not all on you. I will get busy trying to find some help for him.”

  Charles walked Rachael to her taxi after dinner, and he called Phillip to pick him up in the limo.

  Chapter 13

  A year went by with more of the same. He worked hard to help his father, still thought about Eliza whenever his mind wandered, and wondered if things would ever change. Once back at school, Charles put himself on the accelerated MBA schedule. The classes he couldn’t take at the university he took online. He moved back home and commuted to those classes he needed to attend. His total focus was on getting prepared to take over the business, and being home took him totally out of the social scene and gave him more time to study. It also had the added benefit of spending more time with Patch. He let himself relive his time at the ranch less often. Eliza had been good for him. If she could advance ahead at school, then he could too. Patch came over and put his head on Charles’s lap. “I know, boy, we both miss that place, don’t we?”

  His mother got on the intercom. “Charles, we are having the Jolanders over for dinner tonight.”

  “Sorry, Mom, I have a paper due, and if I ace it, I don’t have to take the final. Please give them my best regards.”

  Five minutes later, he heard his father’s footsteps coming up the stairs. He opened the door.

  “Dad, you shouldn’t have come up here. You look blue. Where’s your oxygen?” Since he had returned, Charles had researched his father’s disease. He knew everything there was to know about it and actually enjoyed the medical research. He kept searching for ways to improve his prognosis. Since he’d told Rachael about it, she helped with the research without their father knowing.

  “Son, the Jolanders went ahead with the merger with the understanding that our families would be united in other ways too.”

  “Dad, I am doing my best to get the education I need to take over. The faster I do it, the better, and then I will be prepared to think about other things. Right now I have no time for a marriage, and all that that requires. Besides LeAnn isn’t sitting at home pining if you read the social page in the paper. I doubt she wants to settle down just yet either.”

  “Okay, son, I realize how hard you are working. I will mention that to them this evening.”

  The thought of being with LeAnn still left a bitter taste in his mouth. When it came down to it, he doubted he could actually do it. The longer he held out, the more chance he might have to escape that part of his father’s plan.

  Rachael kept him up to date on what Eliza was doing. She had entered medical school and often ran into Rachael at the hospital. She had even become friends with the kids and took over the Thursday reading schedule in pediatrics. He knew this was her way of helping him. As much as he would love to see her, he knew it would only cause her pain and make it more difficult for himself. He laughed as he remembered this last year’s race. He had never seen her so mad. But even mad, it had been wonderful to look into those violet eyes again.

  Eliza had ridden Tandy again, and she looked well trained. He rode up to the starting line and stopped next to her. His breath was coming faster and the blush on her face was a giveaway. He swallowed. “Hello, Eliza, you look great.”

  “Thank you, Charles, so do you.” Eliza looked down. “I haven’t been practicing as much as the year before; how about you?”

  “No, school has taken most of my time. How’s Decker?” She looked beautiful, and she had cut off about a foot of her hair, which still came to the middle of her back.

  “Oh, he is the love of my life actually.” She laughed. “I miss him when I am at the hospital, but I get home as much as I can. What about Patch?”

  “I moved home and commute to school.”

  “Oh, that’s nice.” The man with the gun walked over and asked, “Are you two ready?” He seemed irritated.

  They both answered yes. He walked to the side and fired the gun. They took off, neck and neck. Charles couldn’t help smiling as he looked at Eliza and the determination he saw on her face. The freedom of this race filled him with that same joy he had felt a year ago. Eliza looked over with fire in her eyes. They came around the third turn still neck and neck. As they were about to cross the finish line, Charles fell behind and Eliza won.

  Eliza rode back over to Charles, looking furious. “How could you? You let me win!”

  “Eliza, I didn’t let you win. What I did was refuse to do my family’s bidding in this one area of my life where I still have a choice, the one area where I could choose you.”

  Eliza’s eyes opened wider and started to fill with tears. She smiled and nodded her head to Charles as he turned and rode away.

  And that was the last time he had seen her. He planned to go on to get his doctorate in international studies once he finished his MBA. The classes would be helpful, but most importantly it delayed any marriage plans his family might have. He had been working at the business offices once a week, and his father took him through all the business papers at home as well. He had some id
eas to increase production and wanted to add profit sharing plans for the employees. He suggested increasing health benefits for the employees as well, but he got pushback on that idea. Once he was in charge, he would do what he wanted. In his mind, he wasn’t just creating products, he was building employees and their families. Looking at his future that way actually made it seem more worthwhile.

  Eliza threw herself into her studies. A broken heart was something to pine over, but she had no time for pining. Reading about broken hearts was not nearly as painful as living with one. She was admitted into medical school early. She had aced her prerequisites, but hadn’t finished all of her general ed classes. Her grandmother was on the board at the hospital, and Rachael gave her a great recommendation. Eliza found it easier not to think about Charles. She loved him and resigned herself to being single. Rachael seemed to be fine doing that, so why couldn’t she?

  One of Eliza’s classes was philosophy. She had procrastinated taking it, but now she couldn’t put it off any longer. She had a class assignment to interview someone with a totally different perspective on life from hers. Eliza fastidiously made a list of qualities of her life’s perspective and then listed the opposites in the next column over. She scoured online groups to find such a person. She was drug-free, so she tried to find someone from the drug culture. She was straight-laced, so she looked for someone with a more liberal approach. She loved horses and the country, so she looked for a city girl.

  Finally she felt she had found someone who would be good to interview. After several chats back and forth on Facebook, she set up an appointment to meet with this woman at a restaurant for dinner. The day arrived, and the cab dropped her outside the restaurant. She walked inside, looking for a woman with a green blouse. A waiter walked over. “Can I help you, miss?” He seemed worried.