“I thought you said I looked the part.”
“You look like a reporter,” Brent admitted. “But, when Marcus told me about you I was picturing someone…older. You know, iron gray hair, pearls, glasses.”
“Not a particularly flattering picture,” Leah said glancing at Marcus. The agent let out an embarrassed chuckle.
“Brent’s exaggerating,” he said. “He tends to do that. It’s just, your editor, Ben told us you were a perfectionist and a workaholic. A very no nonsense type.”
“And from that description, you immediately thought elderly maiden Aunt librarian?”
Leah kept her eyes on Brent, raising an eyebrow at him. His lips quirked up in the same, impressed smirk he’d given her at the bar.
“I’m very glad I was wrong about that,” he answered. “I generally prefer answering questions from attractive women. It’s much more fun that way.”
His smile widened and he winked at her. As soon as he did, she felt her face flush and the flipping sensation in her stomach returned. Clearing her throat, she reached down for her purse and began fumbling for her notebook.
“Well, I’m glad to hear you’re ready to answer some questions,” she said willing the pink in her cheeks to go down as she emerged with her open notebook in hand. “Because I do have quite a few for you.”
“Happy to answer anything you ask,” Brent said putting his arms behind his head and casually tilting back in his chair. “I’m pretty much an open book.”
“I’m afraid Mr. Watt is exaggerating again,” Marcus said with a furtive look at his client. “There are, of course, some things we won’t be able to discuss. Company secrets, some family matters. You understand.”
Leah turned to the agent and put on her best most professional smile.
“Of course,” she said. “This isn’t an interrogation or anything. Just a friendly chat.”
She was only slightly disappointed by this news. And she couldn’t say that she was at all surprised. She expected there would be skeletons a famous billionaire would not want to be pulled out of his closet. She also knew that those skeletons were exactly the sorts of things her editor expected her to expose.
She would, again, just have to get very creative about how she did that exposing.
“First thing’s first,” she said opening her notebook and putting her pen to the first blank page.
“Why did you sign up for the St. Augustine Charity Golf tournament this year?”
“Why not?”
“You didn’t sign up last year.”
“Had other things to do last year.”
“And this year?”
“I figured I might as well,” he said with a shrug. Though, the cocky smile he gave her told her that wasn’t the truth. It also told her that he was being difficult on purpose.
“So, should I tell my readers that you’re participating in an event that will benefit hundreds of impoverished children in the area where you grew up because you had nothing better to do?”
Leah felt her lips curve up into a smile every bit as cocky as Brent Watt’s. The familiar gleam slid slowly into his eyes as though, once again, he was impressed with her.
They stared each other down for a moment before Marcus’ chuckle broke their connection.
“Brent’s joking, of course,” the agent said with a hint of nervousness. “He’s very involved in all sorts of charities and when the opportunity to volunteer for the CAA after-school clubs came along, he was more than happy to help.”
“Is that true?” Leah asked prodding.
“Yeah,” Brent answered without conviction. “Pretty much.”
“Because from what I’ve seen, the only money you’ve personally given to charities is to the CAA Foundation. That’s the after-school group the Golf Tournament is assisting.”
Here Brent shifted uncomfortably. Just as he looked about to answer, Marcus cut him off.
“Brent likes kids,” Marcus answered. “And the CAA foundation is the best organization for underprivileged children in the area.”
“So, there’s no personal connection between you and the CAA after-school clubs? They have nothing to do with the reason you left town so suddenly and haven’t come back until now?” Leah asked.
This was the one piece of information she’d found on Brent Watt that Leah was actually interested in. For the past few years, the city’s “charity” golf tournament had been very high on celebrity publicity and very low on coverage for the CAA.
If she could work the foundation fully into her story about Brent, she may be able to turn this sappy, celebrity gossip profile into an in-depth article that could actually do some good for the organization.
Brent, however, didn’t seem to want to cooperate. His cocky grin disappeared and he looked down at the ground. It was, once again, Marcus who answered on his client’s behest.
“Brent and Jordan would rather not bring up family issues in public. Brent’s here for the charity. That’s what matters.”
“What he said,” Brent said before Leah could ask.
The rest of the evening continued like this.
No matter how Leah tried to press, cajole or trick, Brent wouldn’t say anything that wasn’t in complete agreement with Marcus’ clearly prepared statements.
Finally, after what seemed like an evening of getting nowhere, Marcus seemed ready to call it a night.
“We should get going,” he said as he stood up and gathered his coat in a way that made it clear to Leah that there was no room for discussion.
“I’ll walk you out,” Leah said just as firmly. Marcus looked at her suspiciously. “It’s the least I could do. To thank you for giving me the interview.”
“Oh, come on Marcus! Get the stick out of your ass and just let her walk us to the door!” Brent said standing up as well. When Leah glanced at him, she couldn’t help but give him a slight grin in thanks. When she did, he smiled and gave her a roguish wink in response. Leah felt her stomach flip once more.
They walked back through the night club which was still filled with sweaty and scantily clad patrons. Marcus walked purposefully in front of their little group, leading them to the side of the dancefloor and towards a dark side door.
As Leah walked directly behind the agent, she nearly jumped when she felt a warm body sidle up behind her. She was even more surprised when a strong hand took hold of her arm and warm breath leaned down to tickle her ear.
“Sorry about Marcus,” Brent Watt whispered to her. “He’s just following my brother’s orders.”
Leah looked up at Brent and swallowed when she realized just how close he was to her.
“It seems like Jordan’s very protective of the company’s image,” she said, telling her voice not to shake.
“He’s protective of a lot of things,” Brent said again in a low voice as he bent towards her. She noticed that the billionaire’s warm hand was still laid gently on her arm.
“Should I take that to mean that some of what Marcus told me about your past isn’t the whole truth?” she asked hopefully as the black side door opened and they moved outside.
“That’s not what I said,” Brent told her. When she looked back up at him, he was wearing a secretive smile that made her cheeks grow warm again. A sideways glance showed her that Marcus had moved away from them towards the sidewalk to signal the car forward. This might be her only chance all night to get a true statement from Brent Watt.
“Then what are you saying?” she asked him. His secretive smile widened and he leaned even closer to her.
“I’m saying I think you should interview me again,” he whispered. She could feel his breath on her neck and couldn’t help but shiver a bit.
“Will your agent be there this time, or will I get to talk to the real you?” she asked.
“Well,” he said moving away from her slightly. “My brother would throw a hissy fit if I talked to you without Marcus.”
“Then what am I going to hear that I didn’t hear tonight?”
“If you join me at the tournament this week…there’ll be plenty of chances to ditch my agent,” Brent said with a wink. “He can’t keep track of me all the time. And, you could do a little series for your paper. A week with Brent Watt or something. What do you say?”
“I’d have to talk to my editor,” Leah said.
“I’ll have my people call him. I’m sure he’ll agree,” Brent said. “In the meantime, I’ll add your name to the list of tournament guests tomorrow.”
“That’s generous.”
“Just the kind of guy I am,” he said with another smile at her.
“It’s just the kind of generosity I should be suspicious of,” she said folding her arms over her chest. All the whispering and flirty looks, while heat inducing, had, in fact, made her suspicious. As a young and relatively attractive woman, she was used to men trying to hit on her. It had never worked before and it wouldn’t work now. Not even with Brent Watt.
Brent’s smile faded and his expression became more serious as he glanced over to Marcus.
“Look,” he said. “I know those quotes that Marcus gave you are dry. And you seem…nice. I just don’t want you to waste your time. I want to give you a real story.”
“Does that mean you’ll tell me about the Lamb Foundation? Or about why you skipped town when you were 18?”
Brent bit his lip and looked back at his agent who was, thankfully, still talking to the driver of the car.
“I don’t know if I could talk about that,” Brent said. “I did promise my brother I wouldn’t say anything.”
“You said you’d give me a real interview. Those are the kinds of things I want to know about.”
Leah crossed her arms over her chest as though she were giving Brent an ultimatum.
She looked at him critically. There was a sincerity in his eyes that, despite her instincts, she decided to trust.
“Ok then,” she said. “I’ll follow you at the tournament this week.”
His roguish smile returned. As it did, she realized she would still have to be firm in her expectations.
“But, just to be clear,” she said. “I’m not your date to these things and I’m not going to sleep with you. I want a story. That’s all. So, don’t hit on me, ok?”
His roguish, teasing smile returned.
“Well, I can’t promise anything,” he said. She folded her arms over her chest and gave him a dark glare. When she did, his eyes widened and he raised his hands in a gesture of surrender.
“Ok, ok,” he said. “You’re not my date and you won’t sleep with me. Got it.”
“Brent! Car’s waiting.”
Marcus called out to his client from the narrow sidewalk. When Leah turned to him, she could see a sleek red sports car that had pulled up in front of them.
“Be right there!” Brent called before turning back to Leah. He smiled and she nodded preparing to say goodnight. Before she could, he put his hand down on her shoulder. She felt the warm pressure of it as he leaned down to whisper in her ear.
“See you tomorrow,” he said.
Goosebumps formed on her neck and her eyes widened as he pulled back. He smiled and gave a chuckle of satisfaction at her expression as he pulled away from her. Still smiling, he made his way to the car.
As Leah watched Brent and his agent pull away, she felt a strange mix of emotions play in her stomach. On the one hand, she felt an excitement that she might finally get to write the story she truly wanted. On the other, she wondered if being alone with Brent Watt, even for an interview, was a good idea…
Chapter 2
As Leah expected, her editor, Mr. Hayes wasn’t too thrilled with the article she’d given him detailing the night club interview. But, he was interested in the proposed “Week with Brent Watt” series.
“You have left this first article open-ended,” Hayes told her. “Just make sure you get quotes from him about why he left town and why he’s back now.”
Leah had promised to try but, on the first day of the tournament, she hadn’t been successful.
As promised, Brent was able to get Leah all day VIP passes to the tournament as well as charity events that would happen after the day of golf had ended.
Of course, there wasn’t much chance to chat with Brent during the rounds of golf. So, Leah had to settle for watching him play. Which wasn’t so bad, all things considered.
He wasn’t a professional level golfer by any means. But, he also wasn’t terrible. And, when she watched him joke with his caddy and the other members of his team, she could tell that he enjoyed it.
She thought she might be able to catch him alone at the cocktail party after the tournament’s end. But, here, she was deterred by his overzealous agent whose jovial manner was quickly going from endearing to annoying.
Marcus kept Brent by his side all evening. Guiding him around like he was a dog groomer and Brent was his prize poodle. Leah was shunted to the sidelines and expected to keep notes while Marcus showed off his pet.
“Of course, I wouldn’t even be here if it weren’t for Brent,” Leah heard him telling a group of men in suits near the bar area, as Brent was draped awkwardly beneath Marcus’ arm. “He’s a great little meal ticket, aren’t you Brent?”
The men, including Marcus, laughed uproariously at this but Leah couldn’t help but see Marcus’ strained smile. It wasn’t long after that that Brent turned his gaze to her. He gave her a sort of significant look accompanied by a smirk.
Immediately after, he pried himself away from Marcus and made his way over to the cocktail table next to the shrimp where she stood. His smile widened as he drew closer to her. Leah felt her face flush as she took in his fitted sports jacket and the way his untucked shirt matched the blue in his eyes.
“Hey, having fun?” he asked as he stood next to her at the table.
“Not really,” she answered honestly. “You?”
“Me neither,” he answered with a half-smile.
“Marcus seems to be enjoying himself,” she said nodding towards his agent. Marcus let out a laugh before seeing them. The agent’s grin fell just a bit as he started to make his way over to them. As soon as he did, Brent leaned over to whisper in her ear. Once again, she felt the skin on her neck rise as his warm breath caressed her.
“See that guy in the dark suit by the door?” he asked drawing her attention to the large bouncer she had seen at the club the night before. He was now standing beside the dining room’s back door looking straight ahead as though on guard.
“I see him,” Leah whispered somewhat breathlessly. She could feel the heat of Brent’s body beside her and it was all she could do not to turn and kiss him right there.
“In about a minute, he’s going to come over to you and lead you somewhere. No matter what he says to you. Just play along, ok?”
“What is he going to- “
“Look, you’ve got to trust me,” Brent said quickly. “Just play along, all right?”
“Ok,” Leah said. Almost as soon as she did, Marcus gave a loud chuckle causing the two to jump apart.
“Not keeping secrets, I hope,” Marcus said, jovial smile still in place.
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Brent told him with a nonetheless secretive smirk. Perhaps that was why Marcus continued to look at him suspiciously before grabbing his arm once more.
“Come on, Brent,” Marcus said. “I need to introduce you to a few people. You don’t mind, do you, Leah?”
Without looking back to see whether Leah minded, Marcus dragged Brent from her and towards another group of uptight looking men.
Almost as soon as they were gone, the man in the dark suit left his post and strode up to her. His eyes barely glanced at her before he spoke.
“Follow me,” he said. Before she could ask where they were going or anything else, he strode away from the groups of wealthy patrons and towards a dark hallway. Remembering what Brent had told her, she followed him.
“I know this isn’t the most romantic meeting sp
ot,” he told her as the sound of the party died away. “But, Marcus watches the hotel. This is the only time you and Brent’ll get a chance to be alone.”
Something about what the bodyguard had said stuck in her mind as the large man took out a set of keys and opened one of the plain wooden doors down the hallway.
“When you said, romantic…” she said nervously.
He turned to her with a secretive smile.
“Don’t worry,” he said. “You don’t have to play dumb with me. Brent told me that you two had hit it off and you’d appreciate some…private time.”
Big Bad Billionaires Page 14
