by Wood, Lauren
BILLIONAIRE TASTE
LAUREN WOOD
Contents
Copyright
Free Book Offer
Prologue
1. Alex
2. Betty
3. Alex
4. Alex
5. Betty
6. Alex
7. Betty
8. Alex
9. Betty
10. Alex
11. Betty
12. Betty
13. Alex
14. Betty
15. Alex
16. Betty
17. Alex
18. Betty
19. Alex
20. Betty
21. Alex
22. Betty
23. Alex
24. Betty
25. Alex
26. Betty
27. Alex
28. Betty
29. Alex
Epilogue
ACCIDENTALLY LOVE HER (SAMPLE)
Blurb
A Note From The Author
Copyright
© Copyright 2018 – All rights reserved.
In no ways is it legal to reproduce, duplicate, or transmit any part of this document in either electronic means or in printed format. Recording of this publication is strictly prohibited and any storage of this document is not allowed unless with written permission from the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locations is purely coincidental. The characters all are production of the author’s imagination. Please note that this work is intended only for adults over the age of 18.
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Prologue
Alex
“Did you see the papers?”
“I did.”
“It was scandalous, wasn’t it?”
“I wouldn’t go that far Leslie. It could have been worse.”
“I don’t see how. They are saying some very mean things about me, Alex.”
“I know Leslie. I’m sorry about that. I should have told you about my marital arrangement.”
“Wasn’t like we had much of a chance to go into all of that though.”
My mind flicked back to our shared moments in the empty hallway of the college gymnasium. She had been there to make a speech for the charity dinner and I was there to give money. Instead, I had gotten far more than I would have ever thought possible.
It was hard not to see how badly we needed this to go away. It was all over the front page of the papers. She had become an accused homewrecker, to a home that had been wrecked for a long time.
“When all of this settles down, I would like to see you again Leslie.”
“Really? I thought you were a one-hit wonder.”
“Excuse me?”
Leslie giggled on the phone and told me to stop being coy.
“I know what kind of guy you are. Everyone knows.”
I didn’t like the sound of that at all.
“If you knew that it wasn’t going to last, then why did you agree to see me and do all of those naughty things with me?”
“Because I wanted to know if the rumors were true Alex.”
“And were they?”
She hesitated for a moment and then agreed.
“Yes, you were everything that I imagined you would be and more. You’re the kind of guy, that a girl could fall in love with.”
Alarm bells went off with the ‘L’ word and she must have seen it for what it was, because she snickered.
“Don’t worry Alex. I know that isn’t part of your DNA. Eyes were wide open and I still couldn’t say no. If you ever change your tune, you are going to make some woman, very happy.”
Alex
My phone was ringing, and I had a lot to do, but I knew that I had to take it. I knew that it was going to be about Ophelia and what she was doing or not doing. She had gone through five schools in the last few months and it seemed like she was about to need another. I don't know what was going on in her head, but I knew that I was going to have to deal with it. It was most likely the reason that her mom left me to deal with it all, but Ophelia was never this rowdy before she left. It was worse now.
My daughter was almost nine and she was getting to this stage of her life where she knew best. I didn't know anything and no other adult around her seemed to know anything that she did not already know. Ophelia was apparently a genius and I just didn't even know about it. While that was a good thing for her, it was not a good thing for everyone else around her. She had been more than a little testy lately.
I picked up the phone and I didn't even have to hear the voice to know that it was her school.
“Mr. Smith. I need you to come in right away and get your daughter. I don't think she's going to be able to matriculate anymore here with us. She has become too much of a handful and there is nothing else I can do about it. The board will be meeting in a few days to decide if she will be expelled from Ridgemont Junior High. I can tell you now, how I am going to vote about this.
I groaned inwardly and tried to imagine that there was some way I could make this work. The principle was looking for funding for the new library and I figured if I threw enough money at the problem, it would go away. That is what I usually did and it seemed to work most of the time. Ophelia seemed to be the only thing that I couldn't throw money at to fix. I didn't want her to go away to school, but I did want her to go back to the daughter that I loved.
“I will be there as soon as I can Miss Daisy. I'm afraid to ask what she did.”
“Well Sir, she pulled the fire alarm and made the whole school do a drill. It took almost thirty minutes to get everybody else back inside and we lost two seventh graders for a while. They were later found of course, but you can see why this would be a problem.”
I had to stop myself from chuckling because it is exactly what I would have done. She liked to cause chaos, almost as much as I did at her age. I knew that a lot of her antics came from me. I was a bit of a class clown when I was in school and she seemed to be following in my footsteps, far more than in her mother's footsteps. Her mother was kind and quiet and always had something nice to say. Not to me of course, but everybody else does.
Getting off the phone I told my assistant that I was going to be gone for a little while. I wasn't sure how long it was going to be, because I wasn't even sure if the nanny was going to be there when I got back.
“What about your meeting with the Allen Group?”
It was a meeting that I needed to go to, but there was no way that I was going to be able to bring Ophelia to it.
“How bout I bring Ophelia and you can take care of her while I'm in the meeting?”
I waited with expectations, but she told me that it wasn’t going to happen. I should have known better, I really should've. Angela had had her time with my daughter and she knew what that would entail. The two did not get along.
“No way boss. You don't pay me enough for that. What about your nanny?”
“I don't even know if she's going to be there when we get there. She was talking about quitting this morning and I think she was serious. I offered her more money...”
“Money is not always going to solve your problems Alex.”
Even with the fact that I had more money than God by all accounts, I had learned that very truth. Many times, I had tried to throw money at a situation to fix it, this was not one of those situations. It wasn’t going to be easily fi
xed. It certainly wasn't going to be fixed with monetary consideration. I’d already tried.
“I know Angela, thank you for reminding me.”
The older women smiled at me and told me that she had those little tidbits of information anytime I needed them. I knew that she was just messing with me, but it still didn't help my mood. And it certainly didn't help the fact that I had to go get my daughter from school and bribe somebody to keep her there. She was running out of private school and I knew that public school would be next. I didn't want her to have to go there, but it might be the only choice that I had left.
Leaving the office, I called my driver and had him meet me at the front. The whole damn building was mine and my name was on the side of it but at the end of the day, I was ran by a nine-year-old. She wasn't even five-foot-tall, and she was already a little terror. If I wasn't the one that had to deal with it all the time, I would’ve be proud of her. She was so much like me that it was scary.
“So, where are we going boss?”
“Take me to the school Ernest. I've gotten another call.”
I didn’t say anything as he drove. I knew we were there by his next comment. “I see that Miss. Ophelia is in good spirits, Sir.”
There she was, waving to me from the principle’s office. Good spirits, indeed.
The principle kicked her out for good, something I knew was coming. Angela was right, I couldn’t pay my way out of it. With nowhere else to take her, I had to take Ophelia with me to work, something I was dreading with every fiber of my being. This could get chaotic.
I told Ernest to take me back to the office because I did have to get to that meeting and Angela was going to hate me, but she was going to have to do light babysitting duty today.
My daughter had the biggest smirk on her face and the dimple on her chin came out. What was the saying again? ‘The devil within…’
Betty
The person my boss was waiting to see, was going to be a little longer. He was already fifteen minutes late and his elderly secretary stuck her head in after a while to see if we needed anything. The last time, she told us that he had just called and was on his way.
Ronald was not happy about waiting. My boss was hot headed, and I was surprised that he hadn't started huffing and puffing yet. Usually didn't take him long to lose it. Whenever something didn't go his way, he would practically jump up and down and throw temper tantrum. It wasn't something that was too hard to see. I was used to that sort of thing because I'd been working with rich people like Ronald for a long time. They never seemed to grow up. They had everyone to cater to their whims and needs, so they never figured out how to function outside of that.
“We can just leave if you want. I can make another appointment with his assistant.”
“No, I need to talk to Alex. We are the one that needs his funding, so we're going to have to wait. I know that he is most likely doing this on purpose. He likes to strut around when someone needs him.”
I wasn't going to argue with him of course, but I didn't understand why he was kissing this guy’s ass. Ronald was a rich man and he could find whatever he wanted. The amount of money he had was mind boggling and it was almost humbling to see him bow down to a greater force than himself.
Instead of wasting the time, waiting for someone more important to get there, I went through some notes that I had taken earlier in the day. I would take the notes and make them into a cohesive few paragraphs that Ronald would read later. He liked to go over the highlights as he called him.
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see that my boss was getting more and more irritated. No matter how much he needed the person’s money, it didn't seem to matter to Ronald. At the end of the day, I knew that it didn't. Ronald was a powerful man in his own right and I knew that he did not like to wait for anyone.
When the door to the conference room finally opened, I could physically see my boss start to calm down. He plastered a smile on his face that I knew it wasn't real, but it was quite believable and stood up for the dashing man that entered. I don't know why it mattered, but for some reason I didn't feel so bad for waiting now. Maybe Alex was the sort of man that was worth waiting for.
“Alex! It is good to see you.”
“Sorry I am late Ronald. You know that I like to be on time, but I had a little speed bump in my day.”
“Don't we all. I'm glad that you're here now. I wanted to talk to you about something.”
Alex agreed and then our eyes met for a moment. He didn’t ask Ronald who I was like most people did. Instead he stuck his hand out and introduced himself. Alex Smith. And you are?”
“Betty.”
“Old name, I like it. My daughter has an old name as well. Trying to revive it.”
“I see.”
A daughter, I checked his ring finger and saw it empty. I was working at I shouldn’t be thinking it, but I was already thinking naughty thoughts about Alex. He was made to be dreamed about. Tall, broad-shouldered and impeccably dressed. His hair was a little untidy, but it just played into the rest of his façade.
Ronald made a sound before I could ask what it was. I knew that it was going to be something great and the touch of Alex’s hand sent a shiver through me.
I pulled my hand back and smiled at the man before stepping back a little bit. I don't know why but I knew that we had to get some distance between each other. More importantly I had to keep my distance away from him.
The two men sat down to talk and after a few minutes, I was of course sent to fetch coffee. While I was supposed to be an executive assistant, that was my title, I was more a gopher. Ronald had taken me from another company and paid well for it, but it didn't come with any more respect. I had a bigger paycheck but I was still the errand girl and at times it really got to me. When he dismissed me so quickly in front of someone like Alex, it got to me more.
I got up and went to the front desk to talk to his assistant. I saw a little girl sitting there and she smiled at me. There was no mistaking the piercing blue eyes that she shared with her father and I knew this was the speed bump that Alex had been talking about. If nothing else, the tiny blonde looked adorable. He certainly made beautiful children.
“I was wondering if you could tell me where I can get some coffee? “
Angela started to take me to the place that was used for the break room, but I told her that it wouldn't do. Ronald was very particular about his coffee and he would not be able to live without an expresso. There was no way that it was going to be possible. Not only did he want a certain kind of drink, but it also had to be made with a certain type of beans. I needed to find a very popular restaurant, just not sure where. I knew that there was one around here somewhere, I just didn't know where.
When I told her the name of it, she smiled and told me that it was just across the street, a block down.
“I can get a driver to take you if you want.”
“No that'll be fine. It will be nice to get a little walk in. The weather is so nice today.”
The little girl looked at me and asked if she could come. I didn't know what to say because it was a rather odd request from little person that I didn't know but Angela quickly agreed.
“Oh well, okay. Come on. What is your name?”
“Ophelia.”
“That is a good name. It is an old name.”
“That's what my dad says.”
“Oh, does he?”
She agreed, and we walked out of the office. I don't know why the assistant was so quick to let her go with me, but it was only a block away, so I didn't think it would be a big deal. The girl was sweet enough and I didn't mind learning a little bit more about her dad.
We were only gone about fifteen minutes because I ordered her a hot chocolate and a pastry to go with it. She said that she had missed lunch because she was in the principal’s office, so I figured she was hungry. I didn't ask why she was in trouble, because I couldn't understand why she would be. She seemed like a nice enough kid to me. A lot l
ike one of my nieces that was about to hit puberty. She was in that awkward stage where she wasn't sure if she was coming or going.
When we got back, Angela asked if everything was okay and I said that it was. Ophelia went to sit in her waiting area and I brought in the coffees. The two men were locked in heavy conversation and I tried not to side track them. I was here to take notes and wait. What a life, when the best part of my day was getting coffee with some stranger’s kid.
“Betty, we are going to need some dinner brought in.”
“Sure, um what about Ophelia? Do you want me to take her out for something?”
It was getting late and they had been at it for a couple of hours. The little girl had said that she was hungry, and I knew she would really be now.
“Who is Ophelia?” Ronald wanted to know.
“I forgot she was out there. Shit. Yes, if you would. I can order something or have Angela do it. Forgive me, but I must go speak to her.”
He was upset a little bit and I imagined that it was because he had forgotten his own kid, but I knew that men like Alex and Ronald were very busy. Where was her mother?
Alex
“So what is her deal?”
I asked Ronald about his assistant as soon as she left the room.
“Betty?”
