An Accidental Date with a Billionaire

by Diane Alberts

  “Okay,” she said quietly.

  He stiffened. “Okay?”

  She nodded. “Yes, I’ll be your girlfriend.”

  Grinning, he kissed her, finally giving her what she wanted—himself.

  Chapter Eighteen

  The past couple of days with Taylor had been…there was no other word for it. Though she rarely used it, she had to make an exception this time. It had been perfect. He’d been so openly honest with her, and little by little, Sam was doing the same.

  She’d told him she used to live in a mansion and had her every whim catered to and all about her childhood, including how she’d gone to prep school and moved up here to Chicago to not only go to college, but to escape her old life and all the trappings that came with it. Of course, she didn’t mention what she was escaping, or what her parents had done, but that wasn’t something she just told anyone.

  Still, though, she wanted to tell him.

  Maybe it was time.

  But what if he called it all off?

  Was she ready to take that risk?

  She gripped her napkin, twisting it.

  Empty dishes sat between them, since they’d just finished eating, and he’d filled their glasses with wine. It was Thursday night, which meant tomorrow night he’d have to leave her alone for a little while, since she still refused to accompany him to his charity gala, despite his repeated attempts at changing her mind.

  Last night as they lay in bed together, he’d told her about his younger sister, Grace, and how she was pursuing her medical degree, almost finished with med school, and that he was paying for it in full. He also paid for his “little brother” to go to private school, so he could have his best shot at life. She was in awe of his generosity and kind heart.

  He smiled at her, and she grinned back. “Did you change your mind yet?”

  The grin faded away immediately. “No.”

  “But I don’t understand why we can’t go together. No one even knows who you are.”

  She made an impulsive decision to come clean. It was time for him to know who she was and what her parents had done. It was time to tell him the truth.

  And if he didn’t like her…

  Then so be it. Or so she kept telling herself, anyway.

  “I don’t have any siblings.”

  He blinked at the abrupt change of topic but immediately adjusted, leaning forward eagerly. “Okay.”

  “As a kid, my parents were the best you could ask for. Anything I wanted? I got it. I was the apple of their eye. Their whole life. They never missed anything I did and came to every horrible concert, play, and game—whatever I was into at the time. They were there.”

  He nodded.

  “Back then I thought the world revolved around them.” She swallowed, admitting something for the first time. “I miss them, that version of them. They were all I had.”

  He picked up his wine, took a sip, and asked: “Have you ever thought about contacting them again?”

  “I have thought about it.” She picked up her wine, taking a big gulp. “My mom called me today to say happy birthday.”

  He slammed the glass down. “Wait. Hold up. It’s your birthday?”

  “Yeah.” She waved a hand. “That’s not the point.”

  He stood. “But—”

  “The point I’m trying to make is that for the last ten years, one or both of them have called me on my birthday, and for the last ten years, I’ve ignored the call.” She cleared her throat. “Until today. Today…I answered.”

  He sat back down, forehead still wrinkled over the fact that it was her birthday and she hadn’t told him. Who cared, though, really? Birthdays stopped being fun once you were an adult. “And? How’d it go?”

  “Horrible. She cried. I cried. She kept apologizing for what she’d done, and I…” She ran her hands down her face. “I almost wanted to tell her that it was okay. That I understood. That I was okay.”

  He reached out, caught her hand, and held on to it tightly. “And are you okay?”

  The bright green of his eyes drew her in, making her a little less shaky. But if she was going to do this…if she was going to tell him what they’d done…she could lose him.

  This might be the end.

  Was she ready?

  She nodded. “I am, because of you. I didn’t realize it, but I was lonely before I met you. Being with you this past week and a half—”

  “Is that all it’s been?” he asked in surprise.

  “—has shown me that I shouldn’t have closed myself off to the world like I did. I shouldn’t have avoided”—she gestured between them—“this. What we have. For the first time in years, I’m happy, and it’s because of you, Taylor. You’ve made me happy.”

  He tightened his grip on her hand. “I’m happy, too.”

  “You are?” she asked, the words hard to get out past the giant lump in her throat.

  “I am.” He stood and pulled her to her feet. “You showed me that relationships aren’t stupid after all. I always refused to budge from my plan, but being with you has shown me differently. Being with someone isn’t all that bad, if you’re with the right person.”

  The problem was, she wasn’t the right person.

  Not for him.

  Yet, against all reason, against all odds, she wanted to be his happy ending. She wanted this to be real forever. Which meant… Oh God, she’d gone and done it.

  She’d fallen in love with him.

  Why else would she be dying to tell him how happy he made her, how she fell asleep smiling in his arms every night instead of hugging her pillow alone in the dark with tears under her cheek? Why else would she want to tell him the truth about her and let him decide whether or not she was worth the risk? Why else would she want to open herself up to that kind of rejection and pain, when he rightfully and inevitably said no?

  Because she loved him.

  And she wanted him to love her, too.

  All of her.

  She rose up on her tiptoes and kissed him.

  When they were done, he kissed the top of her head.

  There was something in that gesture, in the innocence of it, which stabbed her straight through her heart, something that should have hurt but instead made her…whole.

  Her throat threatened to close up on her when he kissed the spot between her eyes, tightening his hold on her. Then he held her and gave her what she needed right now: him.

  “Happy birthday, Sammy.”

  She buried her nose in his sweater and inhaled his scent deeply. “I’m sorry. I’m an emotional mess today. It’s just with this, and work today…ugh.”

  He tilted her face up to his. The warmth shining in those green depths stole another piece of herself she’d been trying to keep. “You’re beautiful, and compassionate, and funny, and smart. Not a mess. Never a mess.”

  She shook her head, stepping back. “How do you always say the right things?”

  “I don’t know.” A frown creased his brow. “Are you okay? What happened today?”

  “I’ll tell you all about it,” she said, taking a deep breath. She had to do it. Couldn’t have this shoe hanging over her head for all eternity, about to drop. If she was going to be with him, she had to be honest, whether she liked it or not. “Everything, though you already know some of it.”

  He handed her the glass of wine, his face falling. “Oh… Is this about Mr. Harper?”

  “Mr. Harper?” She blinked. “How do you know Mr. Harper?”

  He frowned. “Your client? When we spoke earlier, I told him to go talk to you again, to look into—”

  Oh, God. He was the man who was trying to consolidate Mr. Harper’s company. He was the shark, waiting for there to be enough blood in the water to find his victim.

  She should’ve known.

  “I’m giving him more time so he can fully consider all his options,” Taylor said quickly. “I backed off to give you time to come up with a solution…if you can.”

  Anger was there, hidi
ng beneath all her self-doubt about her pending confession, but she tried to quell it before it took over. If they were going to do this—be together—they’d have to find a way to be on opposite sides of the table, both figuratively and metaphorically.

  They had to make this work.

  “Are you mad at me?” he asked so quietly she almost didn’t hear it. “I should have told you I was the guy trying to buy the company, but I didn’t want to ruin—”

  She cupped his cheeks, shaking her head. “I’m not mad.”

  “You’re…not?” he asked with surprise clear in his voice.

  A smile escaped her. “Nope. We’re going to have to learn how to lose graciously and win even more graciously against each other, without getting mad…right?”

  “Right.” He cradled the back of her head, his thumb on the bottom of her jawline. The way he looked at her…all warmth and desire, as if he would move anything to be with her, to help her, to be her man…it was why she couldn’t quit him. “You never cease to amaze me. Every time I think you’ve finally finished, you surprise me with something else.”

  Her heart skipped a beat for more reasons than one.

  He lowered his mouth, seeking hers.

  This was it. It was time to let him decide for himself whether he wanted to be with the daughter of a couple who had stolen the dreams of thousands of people, or whether he wanted to walk away. This was the moment to open herself up to him, as he’d done to her. After she did so, after she came clean, there would be nothing standing in the way.

  They could be together.

  If he chose her.

  But first…

  “We need to talk.” She backed out of his arms, knowing if she kissed him that she’d lose her nerve to tell him the truth about her past. But she needed just a second alone to come to terms with it all, to wrap her head around it, before she dove right in. “Can you give me a second?”

  “Of course,” he agreed, looking more nervous than before.

  She needed a second to pull her nerve together, and a little distance between them would help with that. As she headed for the bathroom, her heart pounded because oh my God, she was going to do this. Going to tell him the truth. She was actually—

  As she passed his desk, something in the trash caught her eye. It wasn’t the giant yellow envelope, or the logo of a private investigator plastered in the corner, either, though both of those were pretty attention-grabbing. It was her last name, barely noticeable, on a corner of a page sticking out of the envelope.

  No. He didn’t…he wouldn’t…

  Slowly, she bent and picked up the envelope, her heart twisting. Turning on her heel, she held it up. If she had any doubts as to what it was, they disappeared the second Taylor’s face paled and his eyes widened. “What the hell is this?”

  Chapter Nineteen

  For over a week now, more than a whole damn week, he’d carried that stupidly requested report in his briefcase, not touching the damn thing, even going so far as to forget he’d put it in his briefcase in the first place. Of course, the day he remembered to get rid of it, to throw the thing out, she had to see it. He’d tossed it in the trash this morning before work, knowing his cleaning lady would be coming today, but she hadn’t emptied the bin by his desk.

  Why hadn’t she emptied the fucking trash?

  And why hadn’t he tossed it at work, or shredded it?

  Damn it.

  Holding his hands up, he approached her slowly, not moving as fast as his mind was. “I can explain.”

  She shook the envelope. “Tell me this isn’t what I think it is. Tell me you didn’t hire someone to investigate me.”

  “In all fairness.” He took another step toward her. “I ordered that report right after I met you, but—”

  She slapped it on her thigh. “Oh, well, then, I guess you’re forgiven.”

  “Really?” he asked suspiciously. After their earlier conversation and her forgiveness over the fact that he was the one who was trying to consolidate Mr. Harper’s business, this was too easy.

  She pressed her mouth into a thin line, trembling. “No, not really.”

  Yep, too easy.

  She looked seconds from killing him or walking away from him for good this time…maybe both. His chest tightened. No. She couldn’t.

  “I’m sor—”

  “You know, I was finally beginning to actually trust you.” She glared at the envelope, her shoulders stiff. “I was going to tell you everything, but you had to go and read it yourself. Did you like what you saw? I bet you laughed when you read about how I had to go live with foster parents when my real parents got arrested. Oh, and there’s the part where I cried as the feds dragged my parents away in handcuffs and I was left all alone. That’s a doozie, full of drama.”

  Wait. What?

  Her parents had gone to prison?

  “It’s funny how they embezzled money from their employees, right?” She laughed, but it wasn’t a laugh. “That was your favorite part, I bet.”

  “Embezzled…?” he said slowly, his mind reeling. “Your parents stole money? Went to prison?”

  “Don’t act like you didn’t know,” she snapped, shaking the file. “What was your favorite part? When I ran away from my foster home, and they forced me to go back? When I tried to live on the streets but only lasted four hours because I was too spoiled?”

  She was telling him things he’d been desperate to hear, but now that she was telling him all this stuff, he was desperate to shut her up before she said too much.

  This wasn’t the way he’d wanted to find out.

  “Sam, don’t—” He held his hands out in a peace gesture.

  “You know what? This is good.” She nodded and scrunched her face up. “I’m glad you got all the dirty details like this. It only goes to show me that I was right about you the moment I saw you on that stage and judged you as an asshole who would do anything to win.” She tossed the file on his desk. “Guess I was your opponent this time, and you won. How’s it feel?”

  He swallowed. “I didn’t win, and I didn’t read the file.”

  “It’s open,” she scoffed.

  “Because I opened it but decided not to read.” He held his hands out, imploring her to believe him. If she didn’t, he’d lose her. He had to fix this. “I opened it when I got it, last Monday, and I never touched it again until today when I threw it away.”

  She hugged herself, face pale. “And I’m just supposed to, what, believe you? Take your word for it? Trust you?”

  Something invisible squeezed his heart mercilessly. “Sam—”

  “And even if you didn’t read it, even if you’re telling the truth, it doesn’t matter.” She slapped her palm with her clenched fist, no longer pale but red with anger. “None of this matters because we never should have let things get this far in the first place. You know that now, after reading the file. You know how wrong I am for you.”

  He hung his head, fisting his hands at his sides. “I didn’t—”

  “Don’t deny it again.”

  Staring blankly at her, he wisely kept his mouth shut.

  Sure, he could make up excuses, but he’d known ordering that report had been wrong, which was why he hadn’t read it in the first place.

  Why had he ordered that stupid report?

  Her chest rose and fell rapidly, and she stood her ground, not moving.

  Every muscle in his body ached.

  Now was not the time to get emotional, to lose control. A calm, clear head was necessary, and he needed to fix this fuck-up before she walked out the door.

  “Are you going to say anything? Or are you just going to stand there, staring at nothing?”

  “What can I say?” He gritted his teeth. “You’re pissed at me, and you have every right to be. You’re betrayed, and it’s my fault. I could be a guy and make excuses and try to make you forgive me, but we both know I fucked up, and I’m sorry. I’ll stand here and let you yell at me, and I’ll take it, because I deserve
it, but once you’re done, I’ll do my best to make it up to you. And make no mistake, Sam—I will make this up to you.”

  “I don’t want you to,” she growled.

  He inclined his head. “But I will. I’m not going to lose you or let you push me away. Not after how far we’ve come.”

  “You already lost me, and you don’t get to tell me whether I can leave or not,” she rasped, biting her lip. “You shouldn’t have ordered that report.”

  “I know, that’s why I never read it.”

  She crossed her arms. “Allegedly.”

  “I didn’t read it, and I won’t.”

  He’d been nothing but honest with her, while she’d been hiding all sorts of shit about her past, and in this she refused to believe him. He tried not to let it bother him, since he was in the wrong here, but it did.

  “Let me do it for you.” She picked it up, advancing on him. “My parents stole millions of dollars from their company, from people who trusted them, robbing their employees of their retirement funds, and stocks, and 401(k)s so horribly that a company like yours had to take control, lay off hundreds of jobs, and ruin lives. On top of that, as if that wasn’t enough, they also stole from the charity they’d created to help orphaned children—ironic, since through their actions, I became one.”

  His chest tightened. “You don’t have to do this.”

  “Clearly, I do.” She slapped him on the chest with the envelope. He kept his hands at his sides, refusing to take it. “You want to know so badly you paid someone to do the digging around for you, and he did it in such a timely manner, too. I mean, he had this report finalized two days after we met? That’s impressive.”

  He stared straight ahead, focusing on the window. The city lights. Anything but her, because if he saw the pain and accusation in her eyes, he might lose the tiny grasp on his self-control he still clutched. “He’s good at what he does.”

  “I’m sure he is.” She tossed it on the couch, since he didn’t take it. “It couldn’t have been easy for him. I changed my last name and had the records sealed.”

  “You did?” he asked, trying to keep his tone flat.

  She had a different last name. Jesus.