His Millionaire Maid
Page 1
His new hire has a secret…
As far as Nina Beaumont is concerned, money ruins everything. Leave it to her wealthy family to screw up her professional life and her personal life. When she crashes and her car sinks, sending her identification and all her belongings spiraling into the watery abyss, Nina sees her chance to escape.
And stumbles into a job with the hottest man she’s ever met…as his maid.
Between running an inn, caring for his grandmother, and trying to keep the dirty-dealing Beaumont Corporation from stealing his land, Joe Farina’s plate is full. He doesn’t have time for romantic entanglements—especially not with the suspiciously bad maid he just hired, no matter how much he needs her…both in and out of his bed.
Screwing with her life is one thing, but Nina’s not about to let her family screw with Joe. That is, if she doesn’t lose him when he finds out who she really is.
Table of Contents
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Also by Coleen Kwan… Real Men Don’t Break Hearts
Real Men Don’t Quit
One Real Man
White-Hot Holiday
Baiting the Boss
Undercover in the CEO’s Bed
Find love in unexpected places with these satisfying Lovestruck reads… Sleeping with the Boss
Breaking the Bachelor
A Change of Plans
Kissing Mr. Wrong
Eat, Play, Lust
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2015 by Coleen Kwan. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce, distribute, or transmit in any form or by any means. For information regarding subsidiary rights, please contact the Publisher.
Entangled Publishing, LLC
2614 South Timberline Road
Suite 109
Fort Collins, CO 80525
Visit our website at www.entangledpublishing.com.
Lovestruck is an imprint of Entangled Publishing, LLC.
Edited by Stacy Abrams and Lydia Sharp
Cover design by Heather Howland
Cover art by iStock
ISBN 978-1-63375-335-8
Manufactured in the United States of America
First Edition July 2015
To my family.
Chapter One
“My life sucks,” Nina Beaumont declared, glaring at the road ahead of her, hands clenched around the steering wheel of her BMW.
A snort came from her cell phone mounted in its hands-free cradle. “Yeah, right,” her best friend, Lindsey, said. “It sucks to have a megamillionaire daddy like Carson Beaumont. I’m sure most of America can sympathize with that.”
“Most of America doesn’t know how difficult it is working for that megamillionaire daddy.”
“Come on, Nina. After all the clashes between you two, your dad’s just relieved you’re finally working for him.”
Nina blew out a sigh. “But if I wasn’t working for him, I wouldn’t be in this mess.”
“What kind of mess?”
“A horrible, never-saw-this-coming kind of mess.” Nina chewed on her lip. “It’s just hit me out of nowhere…and now I don’t know how I’m going to face everyone at the office when I get back to San Francisco—”
Her voice broke up, and a lump formed in her throat. Damn it, why did this have to happen now? Why did being a Beaumont continue to screw with her life?
“Nina?” Concern threaded Lindsey’s voice. “You sound really upset. Tell me what’s going on.”
Nina lifted her foot off the gas pedal and eased the car down to forty miles per hour. She was cruising through redwood forests and rolling pastures with the ocean sparkling in the near distance—gorgeous countryside she barely noticed. She was also headed in the complete opposite direction of where she was supposed to be—and wasn’t that an apt metaphor for her entire life? Instead of heading south toward San Francisco, she was going north, winding through Mendocino County, not with any specific destination in mind but because the thought of returning to Beaumont, Inc. headquarters and facing the work colleagues she’d thought were her friends made her feel sick to her stomach.
“I came up to Sonoma yesterday,” she said. Beaumont, Inc. owned a string of exclusive upmarket golf resorts, and she’d gone to the one in Sonoma County for a human resources meeting, an ordinary gathering about work policies. “And this morning before I left, Harry, my manager, called to tell me I got a promotion—”
“But that’s fantastic news!” Lindsey interrupted. “You never told me you were in line for a promotion.”
“Well, I never thought I’d be chosen. I was so stunned I was speechless.”
“You, speechless? I find that hard to believe. So what’s the problem?”
“In all the confusion, I forgot I had some questions for Harry. So I called him back. But an intern answered, and when she went to look for him, instead of putting me on hold, she left the phone on her desk.” Nina sucked in a deep breath. “And I overheard a couple of people talking about me.”
“Oh, no. I’m guessing it wasn’t anything good?”
“They were talking about my promotion, and they both agreed that no one else stood a chance against me, no matter how hard they worked, because I’m a fricking Beaumont.” She heard the bitterness in her voice but couldn’t suppress it. “Can you believe it? Doesn’t matter if I deserved the promotion or not—everyone assumes I only got it because my daddy owns the company.”
“You work hard; you don’t trade on your name. You shouldn’t listen to idle gossip.”
Nina shook her head. “This was Ryan and Fiona talking. We’ve worked late nights together, gone out for Friday night drinks, talked about ourselves. I thought we were friends.” Her heart panged. That was the worst part, finding out they had never really been friends and could never be friends because of who she was—a Beaumont heiress.
She should be used to it by now. Lindsey was her only true friend. They’d met in college when Nina was going through her rebellious stage, rejecting her family and trying to embarrass them. Lindsey had always supported her, even at her brattiest worst. But even she couldn’t fully understand the unique torments Nina suffered.
“If they say things like that behind your back, then you’re better off without them,” Lindsey said.
The problem wasn’t just with Ryan and Fiona, though. She had never fit in with the other rich kids at the exclusive school her father had insisted she attend. She’d gone out of her way to mix with ordinary people, but there’d always been a change in their attitude—subtle or otherwise—when they learned who she was. She’d become sensitized to that, hyperaware that being rich—and obscenely rich at that—affected people’s perception of her. Affected how they treated her. She was never sure what people really thought of her.
Like Oliver, her ex. After many dating disasters, she’d thought she’d finally found a man who loved her for herself, only to discover he was more in love with her trust fund. The memory caused the fist around her heart to clench even tighter. Six months after their breakup, his betrayal still hurt.
There was a pause on the other end of the call before Lindsey said, “Oh, honey, that’s a nice idea, but you wouldn’t last more than two months.”
“Is that what you think?” Nina took the next curve in the road a tad too fast, causing her to tap on the brakes as she negotiated this twisty section of the highway. “You’re supposed to be on my side.”
“I am, and I love you, but let’s be serious. You might have been a rebel a few years ago, but you’re past that stage. You’re wiser now, and since you went to work for your dad you’ve—dare I say it—gotten used to a cushier lifestyle. I bet you’re cruising in your swanky BMW right now, wearing designer jeans and sunglasses. Am I right or am I right?”
Nina shifted guiltily in her leather seat. “Okay, yeah. But the BMW was a gift from my dad. I’d never have bought a car like this. And as for these jeans, you talked me into them, and—” She let out a groan. “Oh, Lindsey. How did I end up like this? Where did I go wrong? Remember college? We used to shop at thrift stores and hitchhike and survive on ramen noodles.”
“You were trying to stick it to your father, but I had no choice,” Lindsey pointed out. “And, frankly, I don’t miss those days. I’m doing great now, and I enjoy spending the money I’ve earned.”
Unlike Nina, Lindsey had graduated from college with honors, was a rising star at her publishing company, and had a nice, steady boyfriend. Lindsey’s life was on the up and up, whereas Nina’s seemed to hit one dead end after another.
“I’m not trying to stick it to my dad anymore.”
A year and a half ago, she’d become mixed up with a group of hard-core radicals, but when their protest at an economic forum had turned violent, she’d realized she didn’t share their nihilist views. But by then she’d already been arrested, caught up with the other glass-smashing thugs. Her father and his high-powered attorney had gotten her out of serious trouble, and she knew that she owed him. That was why she’d finally agreed to come on board at Beaumont, Inc.—to mend things between her and her dad. At the time it had seemed like a good, sensible decision for once in her life, but now she wasn’t sure about anything.
“The thing is, I’m sick of how my life is panning out. I’m sick of being Nina Beaumont. I can never get away from her. In fact, I should just stop in the nearest town”—she peered at a signpost indicating the next town was a place called Hartley—“and go incognito for a month or so.”
Lindsey chuckled. “Do it, then. I dare you.”
“I’m serious!”
“Yeah, okay, I’ll humor you for a little while. So if you did go incognito, what about your job? Are you just going to resign in a fit?”
“No,” Nina said, thinking rapidly. “But I’m due to take some vacation time starting next week anyway, so no one will miss me for at least three weeks. After that I can arrange something with Dad, depending on how it goes.”
“You really shouldn’t waste your vacation on a wacky scheme like this. Your dad has a house in Hawaii, doesn’t he? Why don’t you go there and catch some sun? You’ll feel heaps better.”
“You don’t think I can do this?”
“Oh, I think you’re capable of anything.” There was no mistaking the amusement in Lindsey’s voice.
Nina pressed her lips together. If her best friend and biggest supporter didn’t take her seriously, then how would she ever break free? She firmed her grip on the wheel as she approached another bend. Afternoon sunlight flashed through tall trees, temporarily blinding her. She eased the car around the corner, squinting against the glare, only to find herself barreling straight toward a fat brown duck waddling across the road.
“Shit!”
She slammed on the brakes, instinctively veering away from the bird. The duck squawked and took off across the windshield, blocking her view. Tires squealed, and Nina screamed as the car skidded off the road before hurtling down a steep embankment. For several heart-stopping seconds, everything was a blur of whipping greenery, and then she was out in the open, heading straight for…a large pit filled with still black water.
Holy crap on a cracker. There was no time to think, let alone scream. With a huge splash, the car torpedoed into the water, and the air bag exploded in her face. Get out, get out, get out! her brain shrieked at her. The air bag deflated in her lap. She unbuckled her seat belt and instinctively grabbed her phone. Her tote bag had fallen to the floor. She bent to retrieve it, but the car tilted forward and slid deeper into the water.
Panic ruptured in her, but then she remembered an episode of Mythbusters she’d seen about what to do in this kind of situation and pressed the button to open her window. As water rushed into the car, accelerating its descent, she ordered herself to stay calm. She pulled herself through the window, kicked away from the sinking car, then splashed and spluttered to the shoreline. Panting, she dragged herself onto the weed-infested bank and watched as her car slowly disappeared beneath the surface.
“Nina? Nina? Talk to me, for God’s sakes.”
Incredibly, Lindsey was still on the phone, thanks to the wonders of state-of-the-art water-resistant technology. In a daze, Nina lifted the cell to her ear.
“I’m fine,” she said, thrusting her fingers through her soaked hair. “Just had a little, um, accident.” She picked a slimy bit of vegetation out of her hair and flicked it away.
“What! Are you hurt? What happened…”
Lindsey’s barrage of questions floated over Nina’s head as she watched bubbles popping on the surface, marking the watery grave of her BMW. Her car had sunk into what appeared to be a disused quarry. The water was deep and still, and her car had disappeared, leaving behind no trace except for a few skid marks.
“My car’s totaled, but I’m okay.” She flexed various muscles and squinted at herself. She was soaked but apparently unscathed.
“Don’t move,” Lindsey ordered. “I’m going to call your dad right now. He’ll come out and rescue you.”
Lindsey’s words pierced Nina’s daze. “No! Don’t do that. Don’t tell him anything.”
“Why not? He’ll be so worried about you. He won’t care if you’ve wrecked the BMW. He’ll just buy you another one.”
That was exactly what he’d do, and then she’d be right back where she started. She’d be rebellious little Nina again, but this time with a reputation for crashing expensive cars and wasting people’s time. No, she couldn’t stay on this hamster wheel for the rest of her life. She had to make a stand for herself, and right now was the perfect moment to start fresh.
Her car had sunk, taking everything with it. All she had now was her phone, the soaked clothes on her back, and a few dollars in her jeans pocket. No BMW, no fancy wardrobe, no credit cards, and most important of all, no identity. She was Ms. Nobody from Nowheresville. Just like she’d said she wanted not five minutes ago. Maybe fate had been listening to her after all.
“I think there’s a reason I crashed my car here,” she said to Lindsey. “This is my chance to find out what it’s like not to be me.”
…
Nina found a house about half a mile from the quarry, and it appeared no one was home. She crouched behind the bushes, rubbing her chilled arms. On the clothesline nearby flapped some women’s clothing—cheap, plain, chain store clothing—that looked about her size. She needed to change out of her clothes, not only because they were wet, but because the pricey labels would give her away if she was serious about going incognito.
Of course she was serious. To prove it to herself, she whipped out her cell phone and called her manager. She told him something unexpected had come up and she wouldn’t make it to the office this afternoon and needed tomorrow off, too. Harry didn’t make a big deal about it. After tomorrow, she was on vacation anyway, and there wasn’t anything urgent waiting for her at the office. Then again, Harry never reprimanded he
r, even when she made mistakes—because she was Carson Beaumont’s daughter.
“Harry,” she said, putting on a casual tone. “Just out of curiosity, why did you give me the promotion and not someone else like Ryan or Fiona?”
“Because you’re the most qualified, of course.” Harry gave a hearty, fake-sounding laugh that confirmed Nina’s worst fears. She wasn’t the best qualified, and Harry didn’t honestly believe she deserved the promotion. He was only doing it to impress the higher-ups, or because he’d been ordered to.
“I see. Okay. Well, thanks.” She couldn’t even pretend to be pleased, she was so nauseated, and quickly ended the call.
The sorry truth was, although she worked harder than her colleagues, she’d never pushed for that promotion because her heart wasn’t truly in her job. She’d taken it to mend fences with her dad, but now this promotion meant she was stuck there for the long haul.
Okay, that did it. She was even more determined to follow through with this screwball plan of hers.
After another quick scan of the deserted yard, she darted forward and snatched a few bits of clothing off the line before scampering back to the bushes. Her heart pumped with nervousness as she stripped and changed into faded jeans, a cheap T-shirt, and a scruffy denim jacket. She would leave her designer jeans and T-shirt hanging on the line for the owner; that would more than cover the cost of these Kmart threads.
The only clue to her former life lay in her striking, hand-tooled cowboy boots, now soggy and squelchy and uncomfortable. But she had no way of replacing them, so she’d just have to make do.
When she was fully clothed, she couldn’t resist taking a selfie and sending it to Lindsey. Lindsey clearly thought she was nuts, but she was used to Nina’s schemes by now, and she’d keep her secret.
She slipped the phone into her pocket, squared her shoulders, and stared at the road leading into Hartley, a place she’d never heard of. A place where she could be herself. Who knew what lay ahead for her? It could be disaster, embarrassment, or total failure. But she had to find out. Going back wasn’t an option anymore.