He Loves Secrets (Complete Box Set Parts 1-3) (An Alpha Billionaire Romance)

by Alexa Brookes

  Just as Justin had finished cleaning up the mess from breakfast, Ann came down the stairs. He took a moment to appreciate the simple beauty that she had, just dressed in a white t-shirt and blue jeans.

  “You said you wanted to take me on a date, so you’ve got to come with me if you want to earn the privilege of taking me on a date,” Ann announced to Justin. “I’ll meet you out in my car.”

  A few minutes later, Ann was driving Justin to one of her charity sites. Ann ran and supported an art institute for disabled children and adults.

  “Are you any good with a paint brush?” Ann inquired to Justin, chuckling.

  “Actually, I am. I volunteer at a local art institute that offers art lessons and therapy lessons to disabled children and adults.”

  “No way! That’s my institute. That’s actually where we’re going right now. I need to go and check up on the budget this month. The institute has been running over budget, and I need to go find out why. It’s been months since I’ve physically checked in with the place, so it wouldn’t hurt.” Ann exclaimed.

  “Actually, now that you mention it, I find it a bit strange that we’re running over budget. In the classroom that I teach, we’re incredibly low on supplies. I’ve been putting in requests ever since I started getting low on supplies. Nothing has been refilled; I know other volunteers are complaining about it. Last week, I had to go and buy paint supplies just so the class could finish a project.”

  Ann furrowed her eyebrows together. It didn’t make sense; how could the institute be running out of supplies but going over budget? She became worried, and she feared that someone was stealing from her.

  Chapter 5

  Ann pulled into the parking lot of the art institute, turned her car off, and rested her head against the steering wheel. Why did these things always happen to her? Someone had to be stealing from her, but who? And why? Maybe because they thought that she was so rich that she wouldn’t notice that some money was disappearing every month. It had to be someone who was working in management, as the volunteers don’t have any access to money. There were only fifteen employees working in this state, so at least she didn’t have a whole list of people to go through.

  Ann felt Justin lean towards her. “Are you okay?” Justin whispered. Ann smiled as she felt a warm feeling begin to circulate through her abdomen. It was really nice to have someone to worry about her. While they had only known each other for not even two days, Ann felt incredibly safe and fulfilled around Justin. She nodded her head and got out of the car.

  Ann charged straight to the office of her administrator, Luke Sentz, with Justin tailing Ann’s heels. As soon as she opened the door, all of her worst fears came to life. She had caught Luke bent over a high-end prostitute, making animalistic noises. The two were so loud that they didn’t notice when Ann and Justin walked in on them. Justin slammed the door shut and Luke jumped off of his prostitute while she let out a loud shriek.

  “Miss. Richard, I didn’t know you were coming in this morning- “

  “Don’t. You’re fired. Get out, before I call the police” Ann spoke, as her voice quivered.

  Justin watched as Luke and the prostitute ran out of the room, both attempting to adjust themselves. He glanced over at Ann; she was pale white, and her bottom lip was quivering.

  “Let’s just get in the car and go, please. I have a lot to think about,” Ann stated, throwing her car keys at Justin and walking out of the room.

  The car ride to Ann’s apartment was a quiet one. Justin looked over at Ann several times to check up on her, but she just looked out of the window the entire car ride. Once Justin pulled up in the parking lot, he turned off the car and turned towards Ann.

  “Are you okay?”

  “I’m just really upset. I’m angry. Why does someone have to steal from a charity? I wouldn’t even be this angry if he tried to hack my bank account. I feel like this is so much worse. God, I’m pissed.” Ann grumbled, clenching her fists together.

  Justin turned the car back on and began to run through all of the local places that he knew. He wanted to make Ann happy again because he truly did enjoy spending time with her. While his time with Ann had been short, he finally felt as if he had a direction in life. But, why did he feel like this? Was he doing it just to get information to his boss? Was he feeling guilty for the plot that he was dragging Ann into? Or did he genuinely feel this way? As all of these thoughts raced through his head, Justin wanted to scream. He took another glance over at Ann and decided that he needed to do what was right.

  “Where are you going?” Ann trembling voice asked, in a bit of a panic.

  “You need a day to relax. I’m no rich man, but I do know how to have a good time. Our date isn’t canceled. And you, for one, certainly need it.”

  Ann didn’t respond but just tilted her head down. As they road in the car in silence, Justin’s thoughts began racing through his head again. His phone rang, and he glanced down to check it; it was his boss checking in with him, probably to see how his mission was going. Justin sighed; he hated this feeling. For once, he felt like he mattered to someone, besides his mother. He didn’t want her to find out and think of him as a horrible person. He didn’t want her to find out at all; he didn’t want to lose her. He felt like there was some type of connection between the two of them.

  Justin took another glance at Ann. There was no way that she could ever feel the same way about him. He was just an average guy; she was a multi-billionaire who could have any guy on the planet that she wanted. He was a guy who enjoyed cheap pizza and the occasional party. He knew that she was the girl who had made friends every time she flashed her charming smile. Justin knew he could never make her happy with his simplistic ways, but he desperately wanted to try anyway.

  “So, are you going to tell me where we’re going?” Ann asked, interrupting Justin’s deep thoughts. She sounded like she was in a better mood than she had been ten minutes ago.

  “No, ma’am, I am not. That is top secret information that only I can know,” Justin said with a wink and a smirk.

  “Am I dressed well enough for this date? I have a public image I need to maintain, and I hope I don’t look too much like a slob.”

  Justin looked Ann up and down. Still wearing her t-shirt and jeans, he admired the natural glow that she had acquired in the past hours they had been together. He had never seen a girl more beautiful without trying; but, there was no way she could know that he was thinking all of that.

  “Yeah, you look great! Better than –“Justin’s phone rang, interrupting him in the middle of his sentence. He looked down at the Caller ID; it was his boss again. He had sent Justin fifteen text messages within a half hour. He knew that he was going to get his ass handed to him, so he needed to find a moment to slip away from Ann.

  “Hey, when we get to the spot that I’m taking you, I need to run and use the restroom. I hope you won’t miss me too much while I’m gone.” Ann nodded and snorted, but they quickly fell into silence again.

  Two hours later, Justin began to pull into a heavily wooded forest. He watched Ann’s reaction as he drove further into the woods and parked the car.

  “So, what are we doing here?” Ann asked, sounding a bit skeptical.

  “This is where I’ve come to take you on a date. Do you trust me? Don’t answer that. Just trust me with picking out a date spot. I know what I’m doing,” Justin said, in a bit of a panic. All he wanted to do was to make Ann happy and from the looks of it, he had done the complete opposite.

  The two got out of the car and Ann bent down to pick up a rock. Looking up at the trees, a giant smile immediately spread across her face.

  “Justin, this is so wonderful! I’m so excited. I’ve never been on such a unique date before. I’m so excited!” Ann exclaimed, giving Justin a hug.

  “I literally just pulled into the woods. We could be going for a two-hour hike, but it’s a surprise. This isn’t even the best part. Just you wait.”

  Ann grabbed Justi
n’s hand and began to pull on him.

  “Which way are we going?”

  “Ah-ah. Not yet. Take your shoes off. Hop on my back and close your eyes. I want this to be a surprise.”

  Ann took off her sneakers and threw them in the back of her car. She hopped on Justin’s back and closed her eyes. Breathing a sigh of content, Ann was happy that she was able to put her trust into Justin. While they had only known each other for a few days, Ann felt like there was some type of connection between the two of them.

  Ann felt herself being set down; her feet touched the sand. Opening her eyes, she found that Justin had brought her to a lake filled with clear water.

  “Justin! Where are we? This is so beautiful!”

  “This is the old quarry that I always used to swim in when I was little. My mother always used to take me here to cool off on hot summer days, because we were too poor to be able to afford a swim club. I remember the first time that I came here; I fell in love with how clear the water was.”

  “Are we going swimming?”

  “Well, I just thought that-“

  Before Justin could finish explaining himself, Ann had taken off her pants and shirt and was running into the water.

  “Are you going to stand there with your mouth open or are you going to come in and join me?” Ann shouted, splashing water towards Justin’s direction. In a flash, Justin was stripped down to his boxers and was in the water, swimming out towards Ann. Laughing, Ann began to swim towards Justin. As soon as she got close enough, she put her arms around Justin and wrapped her legs around him.

  “I don’t know if this is weird or not, but I really enjoy spending time with you. You make me feel happy and special, and I don’t feel like you’re attempting to take advantage of me. I don’t feel like you even think about my money. Earlier today, you seemed genuinely concerned about me, and it felt really nice to have that from someone. Justin, I really enjoy spending time with you, and I hope you feel the same way.” She leaned forward and kissed him gently, wishing that the moment would never end. Justin broke away and stared into her eyes for a few seconds. “I really enjoy spending time with you, too. I love spending time with you. You make me feel like I’m whole and complete; you make me smile. I know that our time together has been incredibly short, but, will you be my girlfriend?”

  “Yes!” Ann exclaimed, bringing her lips to his and giving him an incredible kiss.

  In the back of his mind, Justin was praying that she wouldn’t find out about what his boss had put him up to. He truly did care about her, and he truly did want to be with her; he hated the predicament that his job had put him in. At the ringing of his phone, he broke away from Ann’s embrace.

  “I’ll be right back!” Justin said, running out of the water. He had forgotten that he had left his phone in his pants and had completely forgotten all about his boss calling him. Wiping his hands on his dry shirt, Justin looked back to see if Ann was in hearing distance. He couldn’t find her anywhere in his sight, so he assumed that she had dived under to explore the lake’s beautiful bottom.

  Looking at the caller I.D., Justin silently cursed himself and picked up the phone.

  “Hello?”

  “Justin, do you have any updates?”

  “No, I don’t,” he stated, becoming agitated that he was ripped away from Ann’s side to be interrogated.

  “Look, I’m not paying for you to sit around and stare at her ass all day. I need you to find out some details and fast.”

  Justin hung up and began to walk towards the water, searching for any sign of Ann. He panicked and rushed out into the water when he saw her lying face down in the water. Once he got to Ann, he lifted her up out of the water and placed her in his arms. Running back to shore, he gently placed Ann onto the ground and began to perform CPR. He began to panic but made his best attempt to stay calm for Ann. Within a few seconds, Ann’s eyes fluttered open, and she coughed up water. Justin sat back on his heels and took a deep breath of relief.

  After giving Ann a few minutes to catch her breath, Justin began to throw a thousand questions at her. “Are you okay? What happened? Are you hurt? Do you need a doctor?” Ann continued to stare at Justin while he continued with his question rant. After he was finished asking all of his questions, Ann nodded her head, picked up her clothes, and began to walk back to her car. Justin rushed to catch up to her after snagging his clothes and furrowed his eyebrows together. What could have possibly happened in that short period of time? She nearly died, why didn’t she seem happier to be alive?

  Justin ran to get in front of her. Ann attempted to walk around Justin, but he made a barricade with his body. “Ann, you’re scaring me. What happened?” Ann became increasingly impatient with Justin, doing her best to make an attempt to get around him. When she realized that she wasn’t going to win, she finally gave in. “I went down to swim on the bottom and hit my head on a rock. ‘I’m fine, but I feel like a fool. Thank you for doing what you did, but I feel like I’m going to die from embarrassment.” Justin did nothing but smile and bring Ann in for a close hug; He was glad that she was actually okay, but he was worried about what would have happened if he; hadn’t had known what to do.

  “So, are you ready to go home now?” Justin asked, with the sound of play in his voice.”

  “Yeah, I’m ready. This was fun while it lasted and I would love to come back here one day, just on a day not too soon. This place is incredibly peaceful and comforted my soul. Thank you for taking me out on this date and showing me this incredible place. I would have never known that it existed, Justin.”

  Justin nodded his head and motioned for Ann to jump on his back. Carrying Ann back to the car, Justin stressed about Ann ever finding out about his relationship with her lead competitor and why he was truly there. While Justin did truly want to spend an unlimited amount of time with her, he knew that one day Ann was going to find out the intentions behind the beginning of their relationship.

  Ann’s voice startled Justin out of his deep train of thought.

  “Can we stop off and get some lunch, please? I’m starving!”

  “Are you kidding me? After that giant breakfast, I fixed you?”

  “What can I say? I have a fast metabolism! I can’t help it. My parents always used to tell me that I ate them out of house and home, whatever that means.” Ann replied with a snort.

  After a few more minutes, the couple got back to Ann’s car. When reaching for her door, Justin noticed that the door had a giant scratch in it.

  “Ann, what’s this?”

  “What’s what?” Ann asked, coming to the front of her car. Seeing the giant scratch, she followed it in order to see how bad the damage was. She stopped when she saw the words ‘UR MINE’ engraved into the side of the car. Gasping aloud, Ann stepped forward to examine the damage left on her car. Feeling a sharp pain in her foot, Ann looked down to see what had poked her foot. Ann stumbled backward after she realized that she was walking on glass.

  “Justin, please help me!” Ann cried out with a wobbly voice. Justin jogged over to Ann, seeing that Ann was sitting on the ground, holding her bloody feet, with a few tears streaming down her face. Diving on the ground, Justin pulled Ann’s feet away from her. “Let me take a look, please,” Justin asked, doing his best to comfort Ann. Remembering that he saw a First Aid kit in the back of Ann’s car, Justin gently placed Ann’s feet down on the ground and went for the first aid kit. Going through the supplies in the kit, Justin found bandages and wipes to clean her feet. Rushing back to Ann, Justin did his very best to bandage Ann’s feet up.

  “Ann, what happened? How did you get all of this glass in your feet?” Ann pointed towards her car; Justin turned around to see the threatening words a vandal had left on the side of her car. Seeing that a window was broken, Justin got off of the ground to examine the extent of the damage that was left on Ann’s car. Peering through the broken window, Justin saw that the seats in her car were slashed, exposing the interior of the seats. In a state o
f shock, Justin lowered himself back down to the ground and began to continue to bandage Ann’s feet up.

  “How bad is it?” Ann asked, wiping her nose.

  “It’s bad. You can’t drive the car, anymore. We’re going to have to call a taxi to pick us up. I’m so sorry, Ann.”

  Nodding her head, Ann furrowed her eyebrows as Justin began to put pressure on her feet as he finished bandaging her feet. Pulling out his cellphone, Justin called 9-1-1, reporting the damage done to Ann’s car and asking for an ambulance.

  “I don’t need an ambulance, Justin. I’m fine.”

  “Yes, you do, Ann. You need stitches, some of these cuts are deep. You’re bleeding all over the place. You can’t walk, and the job that I did isn’t enough to stop any type of infection. You’re getting into the ambulance.”

  Ann shrugged her shoulders and looked up when she heard sirens coming down the narrow road where her and Justin were sitting. Paramedics hopped out of the ambulance and began to aid Ann. Justin took a step back and carefully watched Ann with admiration, wondering how someone could be so incredibly strong. As the paramedics lifted Ann into the ambulance, Justin followed along right beside her. Catching Ann’s stare, he could feel the anger radiating off of her body. Avoiding her glare, Justin sat down on the bench and watched the paramedics go to work on Ann.

  Chapter 6

  After arriving at the hospital, Ann was sedated, and nurses removed the rest of the glass from her wounds in her feet. Stitching her feet up, the nurses provided Justin with comforting words and told him that Ann would be able to go home after she woke up.