A Billionaire's Treasure (The Ellsworth Brothers #1)

by Cece Baker

“Hi Jills.”

  “It’s a guy isn’t it?” asked Jill.

  “How do you know these things when I’ll I’ve done is say hello? Are you psychic?”

  Jill said matter-of-factly, “It’s simple. The tone of your voice changes. That, and I’m just that good.” Her friend had no problem in the confidence department.

  Thea took a deep breath and proceeded to spill her guts. “So, as you can see, I’m torn,” she said as she concluded.

  “T-Girl, you have got to end this. You’ve broken your cardinal rule. No going back. Just do it and do it fast.”

  “I know you’re right, but I just really….”

  “Stop right there,” Jill interrupted. “Put on your big girl panties and do what must be done. Oh, dang. Gotta run, T. My work line is ringing. Sorry to cut this short.”

  Thea said good-bye and put her phone on her bedside table.

  Having gotten very little sleep the night before, Thea opted for a nap. Sinatra approved of her choice of activity and expressed this by climbing on the bed, choosing his spot by her chest and circling twice before settling down with her. Apparently all was forgiven.

  A couple hours later she awoke to the ringing of her phone. She glanced at the clock. 11 a.m. “Who would be calling me during the day on a weekday?” she wondered. By the time she rolled out of bed and found her phone it had stopped ringing. Glancing down she saw the name of the caller: Landen Ellsworth. Her phone chirped, notifying her that she’d received a voice mail message.

  Eagerly, she listened to Landen’s message thanking her for the night before—for accompanying him to the charity ball, the dancing and especially for the incredible night afterwards at his loft. Thea smiled as she listened to Landen’s deep voice. She winced, however, when he mentioned that he wanted to take her to dinner the following week.

  “I can’t go,” she thought miserably. Not wanting to face this reality she decided not to return Landen’s call. Instead she dressed in sweats, T-shirt and sneakers and went for a walk.

  The weekend passed uneventfully and soon it was Monday morning again, and she was off to care for Caroline. Upon her arrival, Caroline began chatting excitedly. She was going on about how wonderful the charity event had been, that they’d raised more money than expected and that Thea looked absolutely magnificent in her gown. With the mention of the gown, Thea said, “I’m going to take the gown in for cleaning today during my lunch break.”

  “No need, dear. Just bring the gown back and I’ll have Arthur take care of getting it cleaned. You did us a favor by accompanying Landen to the event. Please don’t trouble yourself with the expense or running around to get it cleaned.”

  Grudgingly, Thea agreed. “I wanted to thank you for inviting me. It was a wonderful evening. The food was excellent, the venue was so luxurious and grand, and the celebrities! I couldn’t believe all the famous people I met. And I have to admit that walking in on the red carpet with photographers snapping pictures was really fun. It made me feel like a celebrity. I’ve never had the opportunity to experience something like that before.”

  Smiling, Caroline replied, “I’m so glad you enjoyed yourself. You and Landen looked so good together. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him have such a good time at this event before. Speaking of which, have you seen the newspaper from last Friday? They did a lengthy write-up about the event and the MS Society. And the photo they included is one of you and Landen as you were walking in. It’s charming.” Thea blushed, but was anxious to see the photo.

  Caroline handed the newspaper to Thea. It was folded to the page in the variety section in which the picture was located. She stared at it in disbelief. It was beautiful. She was beautiful. And it was not because of the dress she was wearing, but rather because of the look of radiance on her face. Just as she’d hoped, one of the photographers had captured the moment when Landen had leaned into her and spoken in her ear telling her how beautiful she looked. Not realizing that she’d been holding her breath, Thea let out sigh.

  “You can keep that copy, Thea. I have another one to keep for myself,” said Caroline happily.

  Thank you, Caroline. I would love to keep this,” replied Thea looking up in the woman’s sparkling eyes. “It was a wonderful night,” Thea said quietly to no one in particular but unable to take her eyes off of the image. Caroline smiled knowingly. She knew exactly what the look on Thea’s face meant, and with any luck it would be one she’d soon be seeing very often if all went the way she hoped.

  Before she knew it, the week was over and it was almost time to head home for the weekend. Thea began conversing with the weekend staff to review Caroline’s week and officially pass off care when she saw a large figure in the doorway of the suite. It was Landen. He’d called almost every day that week and she hadn’t returned any of his calls. She was avoiding having to talk to him. Now seeing him here in person she knew she’d have to face him and have “the talk.”

  Landen caught Thea’s eye. He greeted her and waited for her to finish talking to the weekend staff. “Hi, Thea,” he greeted her warmly when she was free.

  “Landen, hello. I’m sorry I haven’t returned your calls, but it’s been a busy week,” Thea apologized.

  “I was starting to think you were avoiding me,” he stated, “So, I decided to come and find you in person. Then you’d have to talk to me and you wouldn’t be able to get out of going to dinner with me tonight.”

  “Oh, Landen. I don’t know. I mean I’m….”

  “Ready to go?” Landen interrupted. “Excellent. My car is just outside the front door. I’ve got a great little restaurant in mind near my place. It’s quiet, the food is excellent and the ambiance is welcoming.”

  Thea sighed and said, “I’ll agree to go to dinner with you, but I have two conditions. One is that I drive my own car and the second is that I can go home to change out of my scrubs and then meet you at to your place.”

  Landen thought a minute and then grinned as he replied, “Deal.” He gave Thea directions to his loft and explained that she’d just need to park in the lot there and they would walk to the restaurant.

  With plans in place, Landen walked to greet his mother with a quick kiss on her cheek. They chatted for a few minutes while Thea finished gathering her things. Landen walked Thea to her car, asked for her keys, clicked open the lock and opened the driver’s door for her. He leaned in to kiss her, but Thea quickly turned her head and the kiss landed on her cheek. Landen frowned and said, “Thea?”

  “Oh, Landen. I’m so sorry I didn’t mean to do that,” she lied and reached up and pecked Landen quickly on the lips. “See you in a bit.” Thea grabbed the door and pulled it closed, forcing Landen to step back. She started her car and waved as she backed up and drove away. Landen just stood there, stunned. “What the fuck?” he said to no one in particular.

  Thea grimaced as she looked in her rearview mirror and saw Landen just standing there. “How am I going to break this off?” she said aloud. “Shit. I am so screwed.”

  Arriving home Thea greeted and fed Sinatra, then quickly changed into jeans and a sexy fitted T-shirt. She looked at herself in the mirror, frowned and took everything off. Next she put on a plain turquoise T-shirt and a pair of khaki capris. After a quick glance in the mirror she decided that this outfit wouldn’t do either.

  “You look like you’re dressed to go run errands,” Thea said aloud. “You are about to go to a nice restaurant with a hot guy. You need to step it up a notch.”

  She looked in her closet again and grabbed a sequined red dress. Holding it up in front of herself she appraised her look in the mirror. “This makes me look like I’m going to a cocktail party, and I can’t see walking to a restaurant wearing this.”

  The dress joined the growing pile of clothes on the floor. Back to the closet she went and came out with a short, flirty black skirt and pink wrap-around shirt that tied on one side. The subtle embellishment around the V-neck made the shirt look dressy, but not fussy. Perfect.

  �
��The skirt shows off some leg and the shirt lets the girls have a little time in the limelight.” She added a favorite necklace and earrings and proclaimed herself fit to be seen. Luckily, her hair was behaving today, so all that needed was a brushing and a little reapplication of hairspray. She freshened her makeup, applied some lip gloss and was out the door in no time.

  She drove to Landen’s loft, parked her car and saw him standing on the curb just outside the main entrance to the building. She checked her lip-gloss in the mirror, grabbed her purse and exited the vehicle. Thea walked calmly towards Landen preparing what she was going to say to him to apologize for the head turn when he’d tried to kiss her earlier. As she reached him her gaze locked with his.

  Landen smiled as she approached. “You look beautiful,” he said, but he remained stiffly in place.

  Without thinking, Thea reached for the back of his neck, pulled his head to hers and kissed him lustily. His lips were so soft. Her tongue traced his bottom lip and they parted. Their tongues touched hesitantly at first, and then the electricity that was there whenever they touched sparked a flame and the kiss became urgent, needy and steamy. Their arms went around each other, grasping as if they needed each other just to stay upright. After tonight, she thought, “I won’t have these kisses anymore. I need to savor each and every one I can get.” They parted a few seconds later. Breathing heavily Landen murmured, “Much better.”

  As soon as Thea caught her breath she asked, “Which way to the restaurant?”

  “It’s just over the bridge. It’s an easy 15-minute walk. Is that okay with you?” he inquired.

  “It sounds perfect. It’s such a gorgeous evening,” Thea replied.

  Landen reached for Thea’s hand. They entwined their fingers and started walking. As they crossed the pedestrian bridge they stopped to look at the rushing river below. “It’s so majestic,” mused Thea. “The water has so much power.”

  Landen looked up at her his forearms resting on the railing. “It does,” he agreed. “I’ve grown up around this river all my life. I feel like I know every inch of this stretch.”

  Thea pondered his comment, but was silent. After a moment, she broke the silence and suggested that they keep walking. Without a word Landen straightened up, took her hand, and they rejoined the pedestrian traffic moving to and from the opposite banks of the river.

  The meal was as wonderful as Landen promised. It was simple fare, but made with wholesome ingredients from local vendors. Thea went for the chicken masala while Landen chose a spinach tortellini dish. The wine they shared complemented the food nicely. For dessert they shared tiramisu.

  During the meal they talked about previous relationships. Thea described Craig and how she found out after three years that he’d been mooching off her all along. She went on to say that he wasn’t all bad. He liked Sinatra, and he would clean the apartment some days without her asking. Landen looked at her skeptically.

  “Okay, it’s your turn. Who was she and what happened that you’re not together?”

  Sighing he told her that her name was Amber. They had been dating for about two years when he realized that he didn’t love her. “She was ready to move forward with the relationship and I wasn’t,” he said. “She wanted to get married, have kids, the whole enchilada.”

  “And you don’t want that?” Thea asked hesitantly.

  “Actually, I do want all that. I just don’t want it with her,” Landen responded.

  “And since Amber? Have you dated anyone else?” Thea asked cautiously.

  “I’ve dated a couple women in the last year. Nothing serious, though.”

  Changing the subject he asked, “Now, can I interest you in a walk along the river?”

  Thea realizing she still had to tell him she couldn’t see him anymore agreed to the suggestion. “If we’re walking,” she thought, “I won’t have to look directly in his eyes when I tell him.”

  Landen paid the check and after signing the receipt he teasingly asked Thea if she wanted to check out how much he’d tipped the server.

  Thea giggled and assured him that, “No, I do not need to see what you left for a tip. I know that you are more than generous.”

  Landen put his hand on the small of her back and ushered her out of the restaurant. The sky was clear and they could even see a few of the brighter stars despite the lights from the city.

  “You know,” Landen began. “I used to walk along the banks of the river with my grandmother when I was a kid. It was one of my favorite things to do. Inevitably we’d find some trinket or junk that had washed up on shore and we’d pick it up look at it and then make up stories about where it came from and what its other life was before it fell into the river. She called them treasures.”

  “Treasures?” Thea inquired.

  “Yes. Treasures. That is because, according to her, everything has a story. It’s more than just a broken watch or a bent piece of metal. And, once we found it and picked it up, we became part of its story. Sometimes I’d keep whatever we found and other times we just threw it in the trash. And, some days we just collected the trash on the ground so the next person that walked there wouldn’t have to see it.”

  “That’s a wonderful story. A treasured memory in fact,” Thea said.

  “You’re right. I never thought of it that way. I remember the very first thing I found. It was a heavy rock in the shape of a heart. I was determined to take that home and give it to my mother, so I lugged it back the whole way all by myself. I wouldn’t even let Grandma E help me.”

  “Grandma E?” Thea asked.

  “Yeah. Her real name is Sophie, but when I was little I couldn’t pronounce it and so it came out as ‘Eee.’ Grandma E. The name stuck and even my brothers call her that,” Landen explained.

  “That’s sweet.” Thea paused, then went on to say, “Wait. The rock: the one shaped like a heart. Is it on one of the shelves in your mother’s suite?”

  Landen smiled and confirmed, “Yes, that’s the one.”

  Thea smiled too now that she understood the meaning behind the rock.

  They were silent as they walked on and finally Landen broke the silence by asking, “Thea why did you turn your head away from me when I tried to kiss you earlier? Is something wrong?”

  Sighing Thea gathered her courage and began to talk. “Landen, being with you has been wonderful.”

  “But?”

  “But you’re the son of my client. I have a strict rule never to get involved with a client’s family member. It puts too much stress on my relationship with the client and can get very sticky,” she said. “I’m sorry to have to say this, but I can’t see you anymore. I can’t cross that line.”

  Landen was quiet and stopped walking. He put his hands in his pockets and turned to look out over the rushing water. “So. That’s it then.”

  “I’m afraid so,” Thea responded. “I’m so sorry, Landen. I really like you. You’re a great guy.”

  Landen raised his hand in a gesture to tell her to stop.

  She stopped talking, touched his arm, whispered goodbye and walked up the embankment to her car. She quickly unlocked the door, got in, and burst into tears.

  Chapter 9

  Thea arrived at work the next day dreading to have to face Caroline. She knew that Landen’s mother heard them make plans for dinner the previous evening. She just really didn’t want to talk about what happened with anyone, especially Caroline. So, she kept herself busy all day doing things far beyond what her job description called for. Thankfully she was able to distract Caroline and thwart any conversation that strayed to the topic of her son. When the end of the day finally arrived she gladly hurried home.

  All day Caroline had been watching Thea. She noticed the young woman was distraught and obviously didn’t want to talk about whatever was bothering her. She was well aware that Thea had changed the subject, brought up topics that did not need to be discussed and did things well beyond her duties. Frustrated, Caroline was determined to get to the bott
om of what was going on and she knew just the person who could fill her in on the details. She called her eldest son and was ready to give him a piece of her mind.

  Landen finally answered after four rings. “Hi, Mom. How are you?” Landen said.

  “I’m fine. Thanks. What I really want to know is what the devil is going on with you? What happened last night? If you did anything to hurt Thea I’m going to…”

  Caroline was cut off. “Me? What did I do? I didn’t do anything. Maybe you should ask Thea that question,” Landen responded incredulously.

  “Now what is that supposed to mean?” asked Caroline sternly.

  “Mom, she broke things off with me last night.”

  “What?” Caroline responded in a stunned voice. “She broke up with you?”

  “Yes, mom. She ended things with me because I’m your son.”

  “Excuse me?” Caroline said with a gasp.

  “Her words were something like, ‘I can’t get involved with anyone in my client’s family.’”

  “Oh dear. Landen I’m so sorry. It seems that I owe you an apology, dear. Please forgive me?”

  “There is nothing to forgive. I just wish things could be different. I really like Thea, and I thought things were headed in the right direction. She’s smart and funny and beautiful and I can’t stop thinking about her.”

  “Oh, Landen. I could tell that you were getting along so well and then she went to the ball with us and I thought you two had really connected.”

  “We did, Mom. That’s the thing. We did connect. I’m just so frustrated.”

  Caroline sighed and said, “I wish there was something I could do. You know I’d do anything to make sure you were happy.”

  Landen said quietly, “I know Mom. You’re the best. Thank you for that. I hate to cut you off but I’m being summoned into a late meeting with the board. They’re questioning some of the decisions I’ve made and I have to go defend my position. Can we talk again later in the week?”

  “Of course, dear. I’m sorry work is so stressful. Make sure you’re eating right and getting some sleep. I worry that you’re working too hard, Landen.”