One Bad Idea: A Billionaire Loathing-to-Love Romance

by Sabrina Stark

  Oh, crap.

  This wasn't what I wanted. Cripes, I wasn't even sure who Darla would be reporting. Me? Luna? Both of us?

  Regardless, this wasn't good.

  And now, I didn't know what to do. I looked toward the phone on my desk. Should I call security myself in hopes of heading off a scene?

  Probably too late for that.

  This was, after all, Darla we were talking about.

  I was still looking at my phone when Luna said something that took me completely by surprise. "Hey, you wanna get a coffee?"

  I turned to stare. "What?"

  "Coffee," she repeated. "If you really do love him, you'll want to hear what I came to say." She gave me a tentative smile. "I'll even treat."

  It wasn't the promise of free coffee that convinced me to go. It was the fact that yes, I did love him, and I was beyond curious.

  Plus, there was the little matter of avoiding security.

  Turns out, I made the right decision.

  An hour later, I sat in stunned silence as she finished the story of what had really happened over a decade ago.

  "So," she concluded, "Jake did come for them. But when he saw how much better they had it here, he only acted like he'd come just for the car."

  I shook my head. "But why would he do that?"

  She gave a wistful smile. "You'd have to know him to understand."

  "Understand what?"

  "That he wanted his brothers safe and happy, even if it meant they hated him for it."

  I thought of everything I'd learned from Cassidy. What Luna described was surprisingly believable.

  In fact, I could almost see it, Jake showing up to retrieve his brothers, only to discover that they'd landed in a better place. And then, rather than dragging them back to Michigan as planned, he'd acted like a total jackass so they'd stay where they were.

  I asked, "But why didn't he just tell them?"

  "Tell them what?"

  I tried to put it into words. "Like, he could've said, 'Hey, you look pretty happy here. Why don't you stay?'"

  Luna leaned forward across the table, and her voice became earnest. "Because what happens if they say no? Or worse, what happens if the lady they're staying with kicks them out because they've got someone waiting at the door?"

  I thought of Darla. No matter what, I couldn’t see her kicking them out. She loved them, just like I did – or rather, just like I loved one of them.

  As for Jax, I'd grown pretty fond of him, too. He'd been spoiling Cassidy like crazy, whenever she let him, that is.

  Now, I glanced down at the table. My latte was long gone, and it was already past five. Earlier, on my way out, I'd locked up the office so I wouldn't need to return.

  Still, at this point, I wasn't quite sure what to do. I looked back to Luna and asked, "So, why'd you tell me all of this?"

  "Because I was planning to tell Jaden." She gave a rueful laugh. "Lord knows, Jake never would."

  "He wouldn't?"

  She shook her head. "He's funny like that. He never wants to take credit for anything. And…" She hesitated. "…Well, you want the truth?"

  I gave a silent nod.

  She smiled. "Sometimes, he needs a little nudge."

  "What do you mean?"

  "I'm just saying, I know he misses his brothers. He never says it, but I can tell."

  "So, that's why you were calling?" I said. "To broker some sort of peace?"

  "Yup. And guess what?"

  "What?"

  Her smile widened. "You're gonna help me do it."

  Now, I was smiling back. I liked that idea. A lot.

  After all, I knew how I felt about my own brothers. It was true that I didn't see them as often as I liked, but I couldn't imagine cutting them out of my life.

  I left Luna with a solemn promise to do whatever I could to help mend all of those brotherly fences. And actually, I was feeling pretty good about everything until just a couple of hours later, when Cassidy shared a discovery that had both of us reeling.

  Chapter 67

  I'd just walked into the apartment when Cassidy said, "I've got a question. Double J – does that mean anything to you?"

  I shut the door behind me and dropped my purse onto the nearby side table.

  Double J? Oh yeah, it meant something alright. It was the name of a Bishop Brothers subsidiary, the one that handled their various real estate and side ventures – restaurants, bars, and tons of commercial real estate.

  I said, "Yeah, why?"

  "Well?" she said. "What does it mean?"

  I gave her a puzzled look. "You know what it means. You're the one who got me the job." More to the point, she was dating one of the owners.

  She groaned. "So it is them?"

  "If you mean Jax and Jaden, yeah." I tried to smile. "What, you didn't know?"

  "No. I didn't. I mean, I knew their initials, and I knew the name of their regular company, but I didn't know they had that whole other side thing going."

  "You mean the real estate?"

  "Yeah," she said. "It's like they own half the city."

  I gave a casual shrug. "Not just this city. They've got property all over."

  Now, she was frowning. "Yeah. Including this place."

  What? I studied Cassidy's face. She didn't look like she was joking.

  I shook my head. "No." Still, I took a quick look around. "They don't, do they? Are you sure?"

  "Definitely," she said. "And get this, they also own the restaurant where I work."

  Oh, crap.

  I almost didn't know what to say. "Oh. Um, no kidding?"

  Her gaze narrowed. "You knew?"

  "Me?"

  She gave me a serious look. "Yes. You."

  I winced. "If I did, is that bad?"

  "Yes," she said. "It's bad. Very bad."

  "Why?"

  "Oh, come on," she said. "You didn't tell me. What does that tell you?"

  The truth was, yes, I'd deliberately avoided the whole topic. But I had a good reason. I knew exactly how she'd take it.

  Lamely, I murmured, "Huh?"

  "I'm just saying," Cassidy continued, "you had to know it was bad, or you would've mentioned it."

  "Alright, fine," I said. "I knew. But I figured you'd feel funny if you found out."

  "Of course, I feel funny," she said. "I work for my freaking boyfriend."

  Funny, I knew the feeling.

  I gave her a nervous smile. "Well, technically you don't really work for him. I mean, he's not the manager or anything."

  She made a scoffing sound. "Yeah, because it's worse. He's the manager's manager with a whole bunch of people in-between." She gave a little gasp. "Oh, my God. I bet that's why I never work weekends."

  "Oh, stop," I said. "Now, you're just being paranoid."

  "I am not," she insisted. "Do you know how rare it is for a waitress to get weekends off?"

  "Yeah, but you've worked weekends."

  "Not lately," she said. "And get this, if I ever am scheduled for a weekend, someone always begs to take my place."

  "Well, maybe they need the money. You did say those shifts were the best, right?"

  "Sure, but don’t you think that's odd? I mean, to be asked every single time to switch?"

  "Maybe a little," I admitted. "But hey, they've gotta make their rent somehow, right?"

  At this, she gave a hard scoff.

  Obviously, there was more to the story. With growing concern, I asked, "What now?"

  "Rent," she said. "How much do we pay a month?"

  "Twelve-hundred." I smiled. "As if you didn't know."

  "Yeah. Twelve-hundred. Wanna know what the last people paid?"

  "I dunno. A thousand?"

  She gave another scoff.

  I tried for a joke. "You should probably stop that or you're gonna hork up a lung or something."

  From the look on her face, she wasn't amused. "Ha ha. Now, guess again."

  I gave it some thought. "Nine hundred?"

  Sh
e shook her head. "You're going in the wrong direction."

  No, I couldn't be. That made no sense. "Sorry, what?"

  "The last person – or who knows, maybe a few persons ago – they paid more."

  Now, I was really confused. "How much more?"

  "A lot."

  "How much is a lot?"

  "Eighteen hundred."

  I was beyond stunned. "Wait a minute, so they paid eighteen hundred for this place?"

  "No, it's worse," she said. "They paid three thousand. I meant the difference was eighteen-hundred."

  The numbers hit hard and fast. I heard myself say, "No."

  "Yes."

  Silently, I took a slow look around. The place was absolutely fabulous, and only a block from the beach. The first time I'd seen it, I'd been blown away by our good luck.

  But apparently, luck had nothing to do with it.

  Still, I was having a hard time processing what she'd just said. "But I write the checks," I murmured. "They go to that realtor."

  "Yeah," Cassidy said. "A realtor who manages the property – on their behalf."

  "Are you sure?"

  "Oh yeah."

  "And you learned all of this, how?"

  Cassidy went on to tell me that her favorite barista happened to recognize the address from Cassidy's new driver's license, and then had gone on to mention that her cousin used to live here.

  Apparently, this cousin had moved out because the rent was more than she could afford.

  I felt myself swallow. It was more than we could afford, too. Okay, maybe I could've afforded it, given the fact that my job paid amazingly well. But even then, it would've been tight.

  But that wasn't the thing bothering me now. It was the fact that all this time, Jaden had never mentioned it.

  As I listened, Cassidy went on to tell me that she'd made some phone calls to double check. "But trust me," she concluded, "the information's good."

  I blew out a long shaky breath. "Wow." And then, trying to process what all of this meant, I walked to the nearest chair and fell back into it. "Shit."

  Cassidy claimed the chair opposite me. "Is that good or bad?"

  I had no idea.

  It was easy to see how all of this had started. Obviously, Jax had been worried about Cassidy and had already realized that she hated to accept help. So he'd sent us out with his own realtor, who'd shown us exactly one place, this place, which was owned by the two brothers.

  This included the brother I was sleeping with – the brother I loved, the brother who hadn't mentioned a thing.

  In reply to Cassidy's question on whether this was good or bad, all I could do was mumble, "I don't know."

  She asked, "Should I say something? To Jax, I mean?"

  "I don't know," I repeated.

  She sighed. "I can't just pretend to not know."

  I knew exactly how she felt. Already, I was doing the math. Since moving in, we'd underpaid our rent by thousands of dollars.

  And counting.

  Yes, I realized that all of this was pocket change to Jax and Jaden, but the arrangement still made me feel funny.

  I worked for Jaden. And I lived in his property. Plus, aside from Cassidy, he was the only local person that I ever associated with.

  Talk about having all of your eggs in one basket.

  From the look on Cassidy's face, I wasn't the only one struggling to figure it out. She sank deeper into the chair. "Oh, my God."

  "What?"

  Now, she looked ready to be sick. "I'm turning into my mom."

  Talk about ludicrous. "No, you're not."

  "Sure I am," she said. "He pays for everything, even my rent."

  "That's not true," I said.

  And I meant it with all my heart. Cassidy was nothing like her mom. Even the mention of such a thing set my teeth on edge. That woman really had done a number on her daughter.

  But that was an argument for another day. With forced cheer, I said, "I mean, we pay some of it."

  Even as I tried to make Cassidy feel better, I was feeling worse. And it wasn't just about the apartment.

  It was everything, especially my job.

  It paid very well. Even from the beginning, it had seemed too good to be true. Now, looking back, I realized there was a very good chance that the salary had been inflated as a favor to Cassidy from Jax.

  But then, like some clueless interloper, I'd stepped in and claimed that favor for myself. I hadn't meant to, but the end result was the same either way.

  It was a sobering realization.

  Still, as best I could, I tried to reassure Cassidy that the whole thing was nothing to get upset over. I told her that Jax was simply looking out for her, and that she was wrong to feel like some kind of loser for not paying her own way.

  Probably, I should've also given that lecture to myself, because when it came down to it, Cassidy and I were in a very similar boat.

  We both worked for the guys we loved. And both of us were receiving more financial support than we'd ever realized.

  But in my case, it was even more egregious because I worked directly for Jaden rather than through a series of middle-managers. Plus, we mixed business with pleasure all the time.

  Unless Cassidy and Jax were doing it on the restaurant prep table, they were miles ahead of us as far as behaving themselves on the job.

  I almost sighed out loud. If anyone should feel awkward, it was me, not Cassidy, and I couldn’t help but wonder if I was making a huge mistake, at least where my job was concerned.

  All of this was too confusing for words, which is probably why early the next morning, when I encountered Jaden's brother, I blurted out something that I'd been mulling all night.

  "Maybe I should quit."

  Chapter 68

  The office was empty except for me and Jax. I'd come in early in hopes of clearing my head. But all I'd found were memories of Jaden everywhere I looked, along with the appearance of his brother, who sauntered in mere moments after my own arrival.

  As Jax passed my office, he greeted me with a basic good morning, only to stop in mid-step when I blurted out those four surprising words.

  He turned and stopped in my open doorway. "What?"

  It was too late for me to take it back, and besides, I was desperate for some insight. I cleared my throat. "I said, 'Maybe I should quit.'"

  His eyebrows furrowed. "Why?"

  It was such a simple question, but the answer was beyond complicated. The only upside was that he'd been the one to hire me, so he knew exactly where all of this had started.

  "For one thing," I said, "I think I'm overpaid."

  "And that's a problem?"

  "So I am?" I looked away and muttered, "I should've known."

  "I didn't say you were," he clarified. "But I am saying, why complain?"

  I chewed on my bottom lip. "Well…"

  "What, you want a pay cut?"

  If only it were that simple. "That's not what I mean."

  His lips twitched at the corners. "So you don't want a pay cut?"

  "Honestly, I don't know what I want." I tried to smile. "I bet you're wishing you'd just listened to my old boss, huh?"

  "What do you mean?"

  "Well, I know he gave me a horrible reference."

  "Yeah. And it backfired."

  I shook my head. "It didn't backfire. You just hired me anyway."

  "You think so, huh?"

  "Well, yeah. But I'm sure you had a good reason."

  "Oh yeah? What's that?"

  I sighed. "Alright, you want the truth? I think you did it to keep Cassidy from leaving." I hesitated. "I mean, I know you offered her the job first, so you obviously had some interest in getting her to stay."

  "I might've," he admitted, "but that's not why I hired you."

  I gave him a dubious look. "So you weren't doing it as a favor to Cassidy? Is that what you're saying?"

  "It was a favor to someone," he said, "but not Cassidy."

  "Who then?"

&nb
sp; "You can't guess?"

  "Well, it couldn't be Jaden."

  "Why not?"

  I almost laughed. "Because he hated me on sight."

  "Nah. He only thought he hated you."

  That didn’t make any sense. "Sorry, what?"

  Jax gave a rueful laugh. "Alright, you wanna know what happened?"

  I gave a silent nod.

  "On the day of your interview, I call your old boss, and what does he tell me?"

  I frowned. "Nothing good."

  "Yeah, that's what he thought."

  "What do you mean?" I asked.

  "I mean, he tells me that you're a temperamental pain in the ass, says you're kind of scary, too."

  "I am not," I said. "I just…well, try not to be intimidated, that's all."

  Now, Jax was smiling. "I know."

  The smile caught me off guard. "Okay, what am I missing?"

  "My brother."

  Oh yeah. I was missing him, alright. He'd been in Hawaii for several days now, and I was dying to join him. The only problem was, I wasn't quite sure that I should – at least, not as his assistant.

  From the open doorway, Jax said, "It might surprise you to hear this, but my brother? He's not the easiest person to get along with."

  In spite of everything, I almost snickered. Talk about a massive understatement.

  I recalled how much I'd despised Jaden when we'd first met. But now that I knew him better, I realized that he was absolutely perfect in his own way. Or, at the very least, he was perfect for me.

  I murmured, "He's not that bad."

  "Yeah? Well, the previous five assistants might disagree."

  "What?"

  "Before you, he went through five in two years." Jax flicked his head toward Karen's desk. "Including mine."

  "What? You mean Karen used to work for him?"

  "You didn't know?"

  No. I didn't. But then again, I didn't know a lot of things, being the office pariah and all. In reply, I gave a silent shake of my head.

  Jax said, "He drove her nuts."

  I had to smile. Jaden drove me nuts, too. But the funny thing was, I actually liked it.

  Go figure.

  Switching gears, I said, "But what about Morgan? She would've liked working for him."

  "Yeah, but her work sucked."

  I tried not to laugh. As the person who'd inherited some of her work, I had to agree.