The Billionaire's Secret Flame

by Elana Johnson

  Hodgkins, Illinois.

  He let the blinds drop and dialed Tony again, so grateful he’d told Sami not to come. Even if it wasn’t for a few hours, he didn’t need anyone seeing her enter the building with a pan of cheesecake desserts she’d promised would blow his mind. If his brother or father saw that….

  They’d know Andy had someone they could use to control him.

  He couldn’t believe he’d let his guard down. Told her things he’d never told anyone. Let her into his life.

  By doing so, he’d put her in a lot of danger.

  “Tony,” he barked into the phone. “I need an update on my father and brother. I have reason to believe they’ve found me, and yet I’ve not heard from you at all. Call me back the moment you get this message.”

  He hung up and paced away from the window as his Homebase voice assured him the entire building was now secure.

  Every door locked. Every elevator shut down. All power out. He’d get cold soon enough, but for now, he went to check the panic room.

  He hadn’t thought about it in so long, but he was ninety-percent sure the man that had just taken shelter from the wind and winter storm in his doorway was his father.

  His phone rang again, and this time when he saw Sami’s name, he answered the call.

  “Andy,” she said. “What’s going on?”

  A sigh escaped as he went into the panic room, which lit up at his presence, as if happy to see him. “I didn’t mean to scare you.” He also didn’t see how he could play this off as nothing.

  She deserves to know, he told himself.

  “Well, you did.”

  “I noticed a car circling the park,” he said. “I freaked out a little, and I don’t want you to come to the penthouse right now. In case it put you in danger.”

  “A car?”

  He explained everything to her, his heart growing heavier and heavier by the moment.

  “Wow,” she said. “You’re okay?”

  “Yes,” he said. “But Sami….” He couldn’t get himself to say the words that needed to be said. We can’t see each other anymore.

  I have to break up with you.

  I’m so sorry.

  Andy managed to say the last one, adding, “If you got hurt, I don’t know what I’d do.”

  “I’m not going to get hurt.”

  “You don’t know my family,” he said. “They’ll stop at nothing to get to me.” He wished they’d just leave him alone. He could admit he’d thought enough time had passed that maybe they would.

  He blinked and saw Marjorie, lying in that hospital bed. The image in his memory gave him the courage to say, “I can’t see you anymore. We have to break up.”

  “Break up?”

  “If either of them learns how important to me you are, trust me when I say you are in very real danger.”

  “Andy—”

  “I’m sorry, Sami,” he said. “I wish it could be different.” He wished he was different. “I’ll see you at work on Monday.”

  “If it’s safe for me to come to work, it’s safe for us—”

  “No,” he said firmly. “I’m sorry. I just can’t.” He thought of her parents, all her siblings. He liked them all, and he wouldn’t put them in danger either. “Good-bye, Sami.”

  He hung up and sank to the cold floor in the panic room, feeling like all the money in the world wasn’t worth having to cut Sami out of his life.

  Chapter Twelve

  Sami skipped the family dinner on Sunday evening, and she called in to Karen at the reception desk on Monday morning and said she wouldn’t be in to work either. She couldn’t face Andy and his paranoia.

  He’d told her about his past, about the car accident, about the girlfriend he’d left behind. She knew he had precautions in place in his penthouse and the office building, but she didn’t know all the details. Just another secret from the hermit billionaire.

  She didn’t like how sour her thoughts were, but she’d started falling for Andy in a very real way.

  Lunch today? she asked Erin, hoping her friend could get away from the salon for a few minutes.

  Can’t, Erin messaged back. Everyone is out of the house today, but it’s too cold to be outside so they’re here getting pedicures.

  It’s okay, Sami said, though it really wasn’t. She couldn’t tell Erin about Andy anyway. She couldn’t tell anyone, and she’d never felt so alone. So removed from society. So cut off from everything and everyone.

  Let’s sushi tomorrow, Erin said, and Sami agreed, though she’d definitely have to go into work tomorrow.

  She understood the need to get out of the house, and she swiped her keys from her kitchen counter and headed for the front door. The doorbell rang with only a few steps to go, and she paused.

  Could it be Andy?

  Couldn’t be. He wouldn’t leave the safety of his building if he sniffed out even the tiniest bit of danger.

  She had a peephole, and she looked through it to find Serenity, bundled up in a sweatshirt, standing on the front porch.

  Sami hurried to open the door and let her in. “Serenity,” she said. “What are you doing here?”

  “I just got Kimmie to school, and I thought maybe I’d catch you before you went to work.”

  A clear lie, as Sami was usually at work an hour ago. She frowned, and Serenity sighed. “Yeah, that was a lie. I saw your car out front and thought maybe you were sick or something. I mean, you’re always gone to work by now.”

  “Yeah.” Sami moved past her and into the kitchen. “I’m not going today. Coffee?”

  “You’re not going to work?” Serenity followed her. “Why are you dressed up then?”

  Sami glanced down at the navy blue slacks she wore, paired with the white and black polka dot blouse. “I started feeling sick after I showered and got dressed.”

  Serenity cocked her head, probably very good at hearing untruths as she worked with children for a living. “Is everything okay? Liam and I noticed you didn’t come to the family dinner last night, and no one had heard from you.”

  Sami turned and kept her back to Serenity. Sure, she liked the woman. She was thrilled Liam had moved past the death of his first wife and found someone else to love. She’d wear the bridesmaid dress in the wedding at Christmastime, and she’d gain a new sister-in-law in Serenity.

  “It’s—I can’t really talk about it,” she said. “I’m sure you understand.” She turned to face Serenity, deciding all the avoidance made her look guilty or sad. She did feel guilty and sad, and she hated both feelings.

  She didn’t have anything to feel guilty about. So she’d fallen for her boss.

  Again.

  She added foolishness and anger to her range of emotions, and they must’ve shown on her face, because Serenity came around the counter and gave Sami a hug. “Is it a man? Liam said you weren’t dating someone, but I thought I’ve seen something come alive inside you the past couple of months.”

  “It’s not a man,” she said, and Serenity stepped back. “I was made a partner at work.” Not everyone came alive when they fell in love.

  Sami pulled in a gasp and turned it into what she hoped just sounded like a deep breath. “I’m just not feeling well today.” And any treatment she could get at the doctor wouldn’t help—unless they’d suddenly figured out a cure for a broken heart.

  Because she’d just realized she’d fallen in love with Anderson Tanner. Or Daniel Anderson. Whoever he was.

  “All right,” Serenity said. “I’m just next door, doing the floors, if you want to chat.”

  “Thank you,” Sami said, and Serenity left. Sami faced her own house after her brother’s fiancée left, thinking she should probably get her floors cleaned too.

  Instead, she unbuttoned her blouse as she walked down the hall to her bedroom. She tossed all her clothes on the floor and got back in bed and tried not to cry.

  She tried—and failed.

  She played hooky the next day too, though she had important calls t
o make and a meeting to run. Andy didn’t call her or text her to find out what was going on.

  He knew what was going on.

  She wasn’t going to stay away forever, but she just needed a couple of days. She could and did send emails and make phone calls from home. She took care of what needed to be taken care of, but she just couldn’t do it only fifty feet from Andy’s desk.

  He probably hadn’t left the building in four days, which meant Rusty hadn’t either.

  And so it was the dog that got her out of bed, got her face scrubbed clean of any tears, and got her over to the office building. She parked in the front lot, as usual, and headed for the front doors. She’d never paid much attention to the cameras watching her, but today, she looked right up at the one above the main doors, almost making a face at Andy.

  But she was more mature than that, and she took the elevator up to the nineteenth floor, noticing that two security guards sat at the station just inside the door instead of the usual one. From there, she put her things in her office and dared to tiptoe over to the door separating her office from Andy’s.

  He wasn’t in there, so she straightened her shoulders and went to the elevator that would take her up to the top floor. He had to let her take Rusty out. The golden retriever didn’t deserve to be locked up in the penthouse because Andy was afraid to leave it.

  The elevator stopped on the top level, but she had to wait for him to press the button that would allow the doors to slide open. It seemed to take a very long time, but he finally did it, and she stepped out into the hallway between his front door and the elevator.

  That opened too, and she went inside. “I’m just here for Rusty,” she said, finding Andy seated at the desk across the room, in front of the blinded windows. She paused, having never been here when it was so dark. “You didn’t even leave the blinds open for him? Come on, Rusty.”

  “He’s fine,” Andy said, standing. “I had Leeanne take him outside yesterday.”

  Sami worked very hard not to scoff. She couldn’t even look at Andy, and her eyes burned. But she’d been pretending not to be in love with him for a long time. She could go back to that until it became true. She had her partnership, and an upcoming trip to Hawaii in the dead of winter in Michigan. She’d be fine.

  Rusty came trotting over, and she buried her hands in his fur, her tears threatening to spill over.

  “Sami,” Andy said, his voice full of agony.

  She straightened, not caring that a tear trailed down her left cheek. She didn’t even swipe at it. “I just need his leash. I’ll take him to the park. You can watch us from the window.”

  “You shouldn’t,” Andy said. “It’s my family. They know where I am.”

  “I highly doubt that,” she said. “You haven’t left the top two floors of this building. They don’t know.”

  He sighed, his jaw clenching. “Fine, you’re right. But I’ve seen them around here, and it’s only a matter of time before everything is confirmed.”

  “So what? You’re just going to live up here forever? Get delivery and take-out forever?” She shook her head, her tears angry now. “I won’t live my life in fear.” She marched across the room to the laundry room, where Andy kept Rusty’s leash. “Come on, boy.” They left together, and she didn’t look back. In the elevator, she worked very hard not to look up at the camera, instead stooping to put the leash on Rusty and murmur to him that his master was absolutely maddening.

  The weather had cleared and warmed. The snow from Saturday was gone, leaving only a soppy, wet mess behind. Rusty didn’t mind, as he sprinted after the ball time and time again. She gave him bits of liver from her pocket, the joyfulness from the dog lifting her own mood.

  She wasn’t sure if Andy was watching, but she felt eyes on her all the same. “Let’s go, Rusty,” she said, bending to pick up the ball. “I have a meeting in a few minutes.” Rescheduled from yesterday, she couldn’t miss it again. She needed a few minutes to get her hair looking better and some lip gloss on.

  “He’s a great dog,” a man said, and Sami spun toward him. He wore a gray coat and a pair of jeans, and he smiled down at Rusty as the dog trotted over to him. Sami couldn’t really rely on the dog’s judgement, as Rusty was the friendliest canine on the planet and would probably invite in an axe murderer.

  “He’s yours?” the man asked.

  “Yes. Well, my boss’s.” She walked over and clipped the leash back on Rusty’s collar. “We have to go. Sorry.” She’d made it a few steps before the man spoke again.

  “Do you work in that building?”

  “Which building?” she asked, though she was clearly headed in the direction of Andy’s big office building. “This one? I sure do.” She put a smile on her face, and the man did too. His was fake, and he put off a vibe that made Sami’s skin crawl.

  She continued on her way, cutting across the street toward the private entrance to the side elevator that would take her directly to Andy’s penthouse.

  Don’t run, she told herself. Don’t run. You’re okay.

  Her phone rang, and she plucked it from her pocket as she reached the other side of the street. It was Andy, and she swiped on the call. “Yes?”

  “That’s my father,” he said. “You have to get back in here. I’m locking down the building and calling the authorities.”

  She glanced over her shoulder—her first mistake.

  “Have you changed the code for the side entrance?”

  “No. Please hurry.”

  She didn’t care if his father knew she was afraid. He obviously knew who she was, and she thought of the professional headshots they’d gotten done a couple of years ago. Karen had put them on the website for Tanner Global, but it got less than a thousand hits per month, and Andy had refused to put his picture up.

  She knew hers had been updated to say Partner underneath, and maybe his dad thought Andy worked for her.

  Her fingers shook as she keyed in the code, and Rusty growled and pulled on his leash, yanking her away from the keypad and making her commit a mistake in entering the right numbers.

  “Rusty,” she said, realizing she had his father approaching her from the left and another man from the right. “Andy,” she whispered. “Lock down the building. I can’t get in.”

  “No, just do it again.”

  “If I open this door, they’re coming in.”

  “Sami.”

  “Call the police.” She ended the call, glancing left and then right. Rusty hadn’t seemed to mind Andy’s father, but he really didn’t like his brother. She crouched down next to the dog and unclipped his leash.

  “Do you know the man who owns this building?” his father asked.

  Sami didn’t answer. “You get his brother, okay, boy?” She looked at the man several feet away. “Get him.” She had no idea if the dog could understand her, as Rusty was the nicest canine ever.

  She stood and backed up to the edge of the sidewalk, her heart thundering in her chest. “My boss is calling the police.” Rusty cowered near her legs, and she wasn’t sure what was going to happen, but she feared it would be bad.

  She should’ve listened to Andy.

  “What’s your boss’s name?” Andy’s father asked.

  “Liam,” she said, using her brother’s name.

  The man chuckled, but it wasn’t in the vein of happiness. “I don’t think so, Samantha Addler. That’s your brother’s name.” He nodded at his son, and before Sammy could even turn her head in that direction, a strong hand clamped down on her forearm and another pressed something to her mouth.

  The last thing she heard was the sound of Rusty barking and then whining in pain before everything went dark.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Andy watched his father and his brother walk with the limp form of Sami between them, hustling across the street and out of the view of his cameras.

  “Where are the police?” he asked. Rusty stood on the curb and barked, catching the attention of a couple walking by. They stopp
ed and looked in the same direction Sami had gone, and Andy couldn’t stay in the building for another second.

  He grabbed his phone and sprinted for the elevator. It took just over thirty seconds for the elevator to get down twenty floors, and panic filled him fuller and fuller with each one. When he burst onto the street, the couple still stood next to Rusty, who now faced east, still barking.

  “Did you see that woman?” he asked, panting and unsure of why.

  “What woman?” the man asked. “This dog just started barking, and we were trying to reach the owner.”

  “I’m the owner,” Andy said. “Rusty, come here.”

  He quieted and trotted over to Andy, whining as he stepped, clearly injured. Sirens filled the air, and Andy had never felt so helpless in his life.

  Oh, but he had. When he’d realized what had happened to Marjorie, he’d felt this same despair. This same level of hopelessness. This exact same level of discomfort and guilt and anger.

  And he’d let himself fall for Sami anyway.

  He was so selfish. So, so selfish.

  He flagged down the police car by darting out in the road as the cruiser approached. “They took Samanatha Addler,” he said, yanking open the door.

  “Back up, sir,” the officer commanded, and Andy complied.

  “They took my assistant,” he said. “They went east. My dog keeps looking that way. They’re driving a blue Ford Explorer. License plate TR-75891.”

  “Who took her, sir?”

  “My father and my brother.” He rattled off their names. “I have footage upstairs. My building is surrounded by cameras.”

  The two officers exchanged a glance, and Andy’s impatience roared. “Please. They could disappear easily.” The Canadian border wasn’t that far away, and they could be on a ferry across the lake in a matter of minutes.

  “TR-75891,” he repeated. “It’s registered to me, but it’s not my car. I looked up the purchase records, and my brother Jim bought it six months ago. They only registered it in my name.”

  He couldn’t look away from the street that ran east, as if they’d bring Sami back and drop her off with an apology.