The Playboy Billionaire (The Romero Brothers, Book 3)

by Richards, Shadonna

  Blue was speechless. Her mouth hung open for what seemed like forever. “You’re not serious.”

  “I’ve never been more serious, Miss Monroe. You are currently in my employ. The incident happened close to the estate. You’re my responsibility. Until we find out who did this and get to the bottom of this…” He seemed to be giving her an order like a soldier under command of his higher ranking officer. However, she was not a soldier and he was not her commanding officer.

  The memory of Elliot bossing her around, bullying her to do whatever he wanted her to do came crashing down on her mind like a violent tornado whirling her thoughts and emotions all over the place. So Zack was rich and powerful. Did that make him the boss of her life? Hell, no. Was she some cheap, mindless being who when told to jump would ask how high? This was her life he was talking about.

  “But you can’t just tell me what to do!” Blue’s ears burned. She could not believe what she was hearing. “You didn’t even consult me about it first. My sister goes to summer school and I…I’ll be fine at home, thank you.”

  “I’ll decide that.” Ooh, his tone was clipped and curt.

  The hell you will. “Is this how you treat everyone in your life? You just order them around and they do as they’re told without question? Well, I’m not one of your pawns. You seriously have control issues, Mr. Romero.”

  “Ouch. Remind me to send you the bill from my therapist.”

  Despite herself, Blue giggled. Was this guy for real? Okay, he was hot and sexy and oh, so charming. It was damned hard to stay mad at a guy like that. Okay, maybe she was being a bit harsh.

  “I’m sorry, I…I’m not usually this rude.”

  “Oh, here I thought it was the impact of the accident.”

  “That’s not funny.”

  “I know. I apologize. And I did not mean to be overbearing, Miss Monroe. It’s a very serious thing that happened. Would you and your sister like to stay in a more secure housing complex like the Romero Towers at the waterfront, or at the estate?”

  Ooh, now that sounds like an enticing proposition. What could she say to that? “I…I don’t know how my sister will feel about that, Zack. I…thank you.”

  * * *

  “Who the hell are you?” Elliot asked the towering, muscular man in the black suit. He looked like a mob hit man but he couldn’t be sure.

  “My boss sent me,” the man said, closing in on him. “Where were you this evening?”

  “What do you mean? I was here. At home.” Elliot loosened the tie around his neck. He’d just gotten home from work at the station and turned on the game. He hadn’t even changed out of his suit. Who was this monster of a man working for? He’d slept with that model from the club and never called her back. Could she have been a call girl or something? Heck, there were a lot of women who he couldn’t care less about calling in the morning once he got what he wanted. They would get over it. He racked his brain trying to figure out which broad he had screwed and couldn’t subsequently handle the fact he did not dedicate his life to her. Bitches. They were all bitches.

  When he reached his apartment earlier, he’d heard a knock at the door and when he opened it thinking it was the pizza delivery guy, the thug of a bodybuilder barged through the door.

  “Never mind that,” the man hissed in a dangerously low voice, void of emotions.

  “Look, man, what’s this about?” Elliot felt his blood pressure climb. Sweat beaded his forehead. He’d run some numbers before, hadn’t he? Shit! His past was catching up with him. Was it the money he’d taken from his ex-friend’s loan shark business? Shit. What had he done? Who was this man?

  “A nice lady named Blue.”

  “Blue?” Elliot’s mind went numb. Blue was probably only the sanest chick he’d been with. As much as she didn’t want him. “I got rid…she and I are no longer together.”

  “You are to stay away from her. Capisce?”

  Elliot loosened the tie around his neck, yet again. His throat was expanding with blood pumping hard through his neck. Sweat started to drip from his face. “Understood.” Whatever.

  “Look, man. I don’t know what this is about but I don’t have anything do with her anymore. I don’t even see her since…” he paused. He decided he’d said enough.

  Shit! He thought Blue was some kind of loser loner girl. She didn’t even have much family or parents, did she? Where the hell did she know this guy or his boss from? And who the hell was this man working for? He certainly wasn’t someone Elliot wanted to even deal with. The fact that he had timed his arrival at home and knew who the hell he was and where he lived was terrifying.

  Very terrifying.

  “You have my word on it. I won’t go anywhere near her.”

  CHAPTER NINE

  Courtney looked around the enormous room as if they had won their very own dream home. Her backpack was slung over her shoulder and her jaw dropped. Zack had just escorted Blue and her younger sister to the west wing of the grand Romero Manor and into one of the rooms where they would take up temporary residence.

  Romero Manor was a 22-bedroom luxury mansion that had its own sprawling acreage of land and parks in addition to the 16,000-square-foot winery and estate.

  Each wing was basically a self-contained home of its own with its own massive granite-top kitchen, games room, in-home theatre, den and living area that was joined by an incredibly huge ballroom and grand foyer that rivaled Buckingham Palace.

  It must have cost a fortune to build this place, Blue thought to herself with delight. How marvellous the design was! She felt as if she were in an art gallery rather than a home with its collection of superb paintings on cream-colored walls and the breathtaking views to the gardens and hills in the tall ceiling-to-floor windows that brought in ample sunlight during the day. It was like a North American castle. The vaulted ceilings had Italian-inspired moulding and beautiful paintings above. The ceiling seemed to go on forever.

  The floors were marble, exquisite and expensive. A warm golden hue. Zack seemed so hot yet down-to-earth, approachable. As wealthy and affluent as he was, she would never think he was so approachable seeing that he lived like a crown prince.

  Blue was enthralled by the whole place. Intimidated. Yet she tried to act more composed. She’d seen many places while working as a reporter. But none like this up close. It was more like a palace. Blue was sure she would get lost trying to find her way around. It was a good thing the estate was equipped with several kitchens and living areas in each quarter so it would be easy to stick to one area of the mansion.

  “You really didn’t have to do this, Zack,” Blue turned to her boss, while Courtney delighted in walking in and out of the huge walk-in closets "wowing" and saying “awesome!” and “cool” as she made her way around. Their suitcases were left in the room for them to sort themselves out later.

  So this was how the other half lived.

  “It’s the least I can do until we get things sorted out,” Zack said in a low tone, rubbing the stubble on his face. He appeared distracted as if he had the world on his shoulders. The least thing she wanted to do was to add to his troubles. Great. Blue was already becoming a burden to him and she’d only been on the job for a few weeks.

  Well, on the plus side, perhaps she could dig into her research while she was there about the winery and estate and gather more background information. After all, she was now officially at work.

  “Thank you, Zack. You have no idea what this means to me,” Blue said, stepping outside the room and leaving Courtney to get unpacked. “But how long…how long can we stay here?” she said, her brow raised. It wasn’t really a question. It was more like a statement. How long did he think he could really keep Blue and her sister living in this sheltered palace?

  “As long as you need to be here, Blue.” His voice was more curt. Rough. Did he really mean it? Goodness, it was difficult as hell to read this fascinating man. Perhaps that was all part of his allure. He didn’t wear his emotions on his tailored sleeve
s.

  “Well…I…thank you, again. I don’t know how I will ever repay you,” she said, almost breathless.

  Zack’s dark, sexy gaze caught hers and she thought her breath was stolen away. Her belly caved in with the massive butterflies flapping about inside her. Was he always this irresistible? She had to get hold of herself. Her life was in danger. That was the bottom line.

  Her breathing shallowed. His cell phone vibrated in his pocket. Without taking his gaze off Blue, Zack reached into his pocket so smoothly and answered it with a deep, low “yes” to the person on the other end. Whoever it was.

  “Good. Keep me posted,” Zack said after a moment. He ended the call and replaced the phone in his pocket. He breathed deeply.

  “Dinner will be ready at eight. Our chef is preparing seafood tonight. We’ll be eating in the east wing. This will give you a chance to meet the rest of the family.”

  “Oh?” This caught Blue off guard. Family? Dinner? At eight? “I…I don’t know what to say.”

  “You and your sister must be hungry. I’ll leave you to change.”

  Blue realized that she was a guest in his home at the end of the day and she bit down on her lip, trying not to sound ungrateful. After all, this gorgeous businessman who probably had an incredibly full agenda made time for her and her sister on such short notice. He must have shifted plans for them. She was thankful to that at least.

  And oh, God! Her stomach squeezed mercilessly. She could still see that blue SUV speeding up behind her and slamming into her bumper. She squeezed her eyes shut trying to block out the gut-wrenching feeling of virtually seeing her life flash before her eyes. If anything had happened to her, what in God’s name would happen to Courtney? Her sister was eighteen and at the age of majority but in Blue’s eyes, she was still a kid and that would make her an orphan with no family.

  Blue snapped back to reality and tried to think positive and worry about the present time. At the moment she was not in any peril. That was what mattered, right? Worrying never solved anything. Most of the time the things one worried about almost never happened. Her father had told her that once, when she was in college.

  * * *

  Blue’s heart hammered against her ribs. She thought she was going to pass out. It was a good thing Courtney was with her walking towards the dining area of the east wing. She was with Louise, the housekeeping staff member. She couldn’t call her a maid exactly. She didn’t seem as formal though she was dressed in a black flowing skirt and a white shirt wearing a silver necklace with a blue pendant.

  “There’s nothing to be nervous about. The Romeros are very friendly,” Louise said to Blue as if she noticed her silence.

  “This is really cool,” Courtney said, gaping at the artwork in the corridor as they walked towards the main foyer. “I can’t believe you guys live here like this. It’s like royalty or something.”

  Louise laughed heartily. She was an older woman with a very round and friendly face. Her hair had turned silky silver and was tied back neatly in a bun. Blue was grateful to have her escort them to the dining area. She wondered why Zack hadn’t suggested that they have something delivered to their rooms. It was more like a grand hotel than a mansion in any case.

  As they neared the dining area, Blue could hear the chatter and laughter of a few members of the household. That was when her heart pounded harder and faster. Could she take much more anxiety? She was shy about meeting new faces in a social setting such as this. She’d been working for the past few weeks at the vineyard but went nowhere near the main house on the estate.

  What if she didn’t use the right forks? Start from the inside and work your way out, she’d read somewhere. Or was that her imagination? Shit! That was a scene from the movie Titanic! Molly Brown was instructing Jack Dawson on the proper way to eat dinner with the rich passengers on the first class deck of the ship.

  Way to go, Blue. What if etiquette rules were upgraded since then?

  She’d heard of the table setting etiquette of the rich but hadn’t studied it in great detail, thinking she would never have to worry about having to dine with royalty or a head of state. Not that the Romeros were royals or heads of state.

  They just lived like it.

  It must be incredible to have such wealth and power as they had. She wondered how much it would cost to heat a massive entity like Romero Manor. She wondered what their monthly utility bill would set her back. Probably the amount of her annual income times ten thousand!

  “Ah, Miss Monroe. Glad you could join us for dinner,” Toni Romero’s cheery voice greeted her as she and Courtney walked into the dining room.

  “Th-thank you,” Blue stuttered. She felt flustered and almost lost her ability to breathe. In. Out. In. Out. Well, look at this place, she thought to herself. It was a spacious room with dim lighting provided by the enormous crystal chandelier hanging in the center. An intricately-carved oak dining table was flanked by of rows of neat, matching tall-back chairs. Blue couldn’t count the seats but she guessed it could very easily seat twenty people around the long table. What looked like expensive China plates were placed in front of each of the seats in addition to a tall empty glasses and rows of sparkling knives and forks.

  Okay. She felt so out of her element here.

  Was there a special occasion? Had she intruded on an already planned special family dinner?

  “We often get together once a month to have a family dinner,” Toni spoke up as if he could somehow read her mind. Not that it did much to ease her anxiety. “You happen to be here at a fortunate time, Blue.” Toni continued, motioning Blue and Courtney to be seated.

  She was glad there was another young lady who appeared to be Courtney’s age. Blue had already been introduced to the Romero family on another occasion so she knew who most of the family members were.

  But where was Zack?

  Her stomach felt uneasy. She needed Zack to be there. She felt so comfortable around him. Protected. It was weird. Blue couldn’t make sense of it. But Zack had that kind of effect on her. A connection. Though he could be distant at times, there was something about his aura and her being that just…clicked.

  “Will Zack be here soon?” she asked politely.

  Toni paused momentarily.

  Blue felt as if she wished the ground could open up and swallow her whole. Did she ask the wrong question? Oh, God! Did she come off as desperate or attracted to Zack?

  “He invited us to dinner with you, so I thought…” Blue clarified, trying to win over the moment again.

  “Oh, nothing to worry about, dear. Zack had to attend to another matter but he should be joining us shortly,” Toni said matter-of-factly. She thought she caught the elder Romero raising a brow to his wife, Shelly. What was that about? Oh, God! Blue hoped they didn’t think anything was going on with her and Zack. God forbid. Not that she could ever really be with an out-of-her-league man like Zack.

  “Oh, good,” she said, trying to hide her relief.

  “By the way, we’re sorry to hear about what happened to you earlier this evening. How are you feeling, dear?” Toni asked with genuine concern.

  “Oh, I’m okay. Just a little shaken. But no broken bones,” she said softly, trying to put on a brave face.

  “We’re glad you’re okay. I hope they catch that fool who did that.”

  Blue smiled appreciatively.

  “Hi, I’m Melissa,” the young woman at the table said to Courtney as she sat down beside her.

  Shelly, Toni’s wife, also greeted Courtney. “Courtney, this is my niece. She’s staying with us for the summer. We have a program running for young college students.”

  “Oh, that sounds cool,” Courtney chimed in. “I’ve heard about the Rom Res.”

  “The what?” Shelly said in unison with Blue.

  “Oh, it’s what it’s called by a group of us. It’s a nickname.” Melissa playfully rolled her eyes. Courtney grinned. They both seemed to hit it off right away.

  Inside, Blue was more t
han thankful her little sister had made a new friend. Just over an hour ago, Courtney was in such a distress when she found out that Blue was at the ER after the accident. Courtney finally calmed down when Blue had assured her she was safe and everything was okay. She didn’t feel the need to get her worried about the other part of the story, so she omitted telling her that someone had tried to kill her.

  She and her sister had been through hell and back after their parents’ mysterious deaths in that fire. Even though arson was officially ruled out, Blue suspected it was suspicious nonetheless. She didn’t get Courtney worked up but always trained her to be on her guard, keep in touch at all times and keep her cell phone turned on in case Blue had to reach her or vice versa.

  At least now, she could keep a close eye on her. Courtney knew about the reputation of the Romero Resort or the Rom Res as the young kids were calling it these days. It was as secure as a National Defense camp. She would be fine and that gave Blue a lot of much needed reassurance.

  “Yes,” Blue grinned, as if she could read her sister’s silent pleas. “You can stay at the Res for the rest of the summer as long as we keep in contact.”

  Courtney playfully rolled her eyes. “Yes, of course.”

  The mouth-watering aroma of the seafood dishes wafted by Blue’s nostrils. Hmm. She realized after her dramatic day that she hadn’t really had much to eat and she was famished.

  It looked as if Zack would be having dinner with her tonight, after all, she mused trying to avoid grinning. She couldn’t wait for his return.

  The kitchen staff had soon brought in countless dishes while Blue and the rest of the family including Lucas and Maxine and Antonio and Lucy were engaged in light conversation. She also got a chance to meet Jules and Dion, Zack's other brothers. Troy, apparently, was out of town on a crucial business deal and couldn’t make it back in time.

  This was marvellous.