Bedding the Billionaire (Book 3) (Legacy Collection)

by Ruth Cardello

  Dominic replied, “Can’t. Sent a packet to your office regarding the party though.”

  “And the two people you’d like me to meet?”

  “They will be there Saturday.”

  “Did you send me their names?”

  Dominic typed, “Sorry. Bad connection. Talk later.”

  Bad connection? More like bad joke. Why wouldn’t Dominic want him to know who he’d found to work on their server? They didn’t have time for surprises.

  Pacing his living room, Jake ran through a mental list of all of the potential mistakes Dominic could be making. If he’d reached into the criminal world for assistance, they might end up with an altogether different problem. He hoped that this time Dominic was going to choose a solution that was less dangerous than the problem at hand.

  Coming slowly to a halt, Jake took in his surroundings. Nothing had changed since he left that morning. His tablet was still positioned near the chair he reclined in each evening to read the news. Everything was still perfectly in place. His home was immaculate, contemporary, and quiet.

  Empty.

  Private, he corrected.

  Orderly.

  He thought about the chaotic evening he’d spent with the Andrades at Dominic’s request. Children everywhere. Competing conversations so loud they made intelligent conversation difficult. It had been a relief to return home afterward.

  He should feel the same way tonight after the rollercoaster of a day with Lil and an evening of watching her child. It bothered him that he didn’t.

  Instead, the day had left him feeling…

  He dismissed the first word that came to mind since it likely had more to do with fatigue than anything else.

  He was not and had never been–lonely.

  Chapter Eight

  The next day, Lil deposited her purse, diaper bag and notebook on the dining room table with relief and stepped out of her uncomfortable pumps. She put Colby’s car seat on the floor beside the table and bent to release her, noting how her child filled it. “You are almost too big for this, Colby. Don’t grow up too fast, baby.”

  Colby reached for her mother’s hair and gave a yank, making no such promises.

  Lil hugged her little one to her then held her back so she could see her beautiful face. She touched one of the blond curls. Colby smiled and the weight of everything dissolved. All of this was worth it as long as her daughter was happy and healthy. The rest would work itself out.

  “Well, hopefully Mommy passed her exam this morning and can get a real job now. When I do, you’re going to have to go to day care, Colby. It’s not going to be easy on either one of us, but I’ll find a good one and you’ll get to meet other children. You might even like it.”

  Colby didn’t understand what she was saying, and Lil was happy about that. Thus far, she’d only chosen jobs that had allowed her to work only a couple of hours a day so she could spend more time with Colby; Abby or a friend had watched her when Lil had attended night classes. She’d doubled up on her course load at times so she could get her degree earlier, but now she wished she hadn’t. Things were about to change, and she wasn’t sure she was ready. Most likely, she’d work an eight to ten hour day depending on where she found employment. An administrative assistant had to be flexible and available to work the hours her boss required. It wasn’t going to be easy and it certainly wasn’t her dream job, but if she wanted to build a secure future for herself and her daughter–it would require some sacrifice.

  None of her sketches had made it over in the move, and that was probably for the best. It was time to let go of her childhood fantasies and put all of her energy into more practical endeavors. Maybe if she had made better choices, worked harder to get scholarships or minded her own business more–maybe she would have gone to that art school and taken her modest raw talent and done something amazing with it. Looking back and wondering what might have been was a waste of time. Growing up was about realizing that what you want to do and what you have to do are often two very different things.

  Like living in an apartment paid for by your sister’s lover.

  A knock on the door interrupted her self-lecture.

  Don’t let it be Jake.

  Okay, please let it be Jake.

  No, I’m not ready to see him again.

  Lil opened the door and told herself that she wasn’t disappointed to see her friend, Alethea. As usual, Alethea was dressed in what she liked to call “casual chic.” Her clothes were trendy, but low-key, the kind most people wouldn’t remember later–tan cotton pants, a peach silk blouse. The only hint of the wild personality that lay beneath her deliberately bland attire stuck out from beneath her long pants; Alethea had a weakness for outrageously priced high heels.

  Looking at her perfectly polished friend now, it was hard to believe they had ever stayed up all night eating pizza and watching horror movies together. Alethea’s long red hair was held back in a stylish pony tail that emphasized her delicate facial features and green eyes that Lil had spent half of her life envying.

  She swept into Lil’s penthouse, scanning the place quickly before turning back to Lil and saying, “How is my favorite baby?”

  Lil held Colby out for Alethea to take and cringed when her friend tossed her up into the air, sending the baby into a fit of giggles. When Colby’s amusement subsided, Alethea tossed her again and joined the laughter.

  “Please don’t drop her,” Lil warned.

  Her friend rolled her eyes dramatically and said to Colby, “Your mother is a worry wart now. You did that to her.” She wagged a finger in front of the laughing baby, tickling her with the finger and saying, “Who did it? You did it, little blondie.”

  Lil led the way back to the seating area. As expected, Alethea went on a quick self-guided tour, returning to join Lil in the living room. She sat on one of the overstuffed chairs and bounced Colby on her knees. “Whew! It was actually difficult to get in here.”

  Lil tucked her feet beneath her on her own chair, feeling the pinch of her pencil skirt and deliberately ignoring the discomfort. “Did you try ringing up from the front desk?”

  “What fun would that have been?” Alethea made a face at Colby, laughing along with the child. “Do you know you have your own personal security detail in the back alley?”

  “Apparently not very good security, if you got past them.”

  “I haven’t met a security system yet that could keep me out.” Although Alethea was answering Lil’s questions, she was doing so in an exaggerated tone that sent Colby back into giggles.

  “Have you forgotten…” Lil said.

  “That was high school, Lil. I hadn’t realized my potential.” At Lil’s sour expression, she said, “Don’t make me apologize for it again. Geez, you get your friend arrested one time and they hold it against you forever.”

  Laughing would only encourage her. Lil adjusted her position in her chair as one of her legs went numb. “I really wish you had gotten into the FBI. You need to be monitored.”

  “They didn’t think they could reform me, but don’t worry, I’m making much more money freelancing my skills. So, what happened to you? Were you snatched from your house in the middle of the day and didn’t think it’s worth calling me about?”

  Lil smoothed the hem of her skirt down to buy some time. “I wasn’t snatched,” she hedged.

  “Seriously, are you under some sort of home arrest?”

  Although she was tempted to say yes, she grudgingly admitted,“No, Dominic is worried that Colby and I might be in danger since my interview stirred up so much interest with the press.” Lil shuddered.

  Her friend didn’t look surprised.“He’s right. Your face is everywhere right now. And your sister really could not have picked a more high profile boyfriend.”

  “But I’m not…”

  “It doesn’t matter if you have money. It would be the potential of what you’d be worth to Dominic.”

  Lil imagined what he must have thought of her to send Jake t
o fix her. “This week, I’m sure that’s not very much.”

  Alethea rolled her eyes. “I would have brought wine if I had known this was going to be a pity party. You know I hate it when you martyr out on me.”

  Lil glared at her as you can only openly do at someone you’ve been best friends with for more than a decade.

  Alethea was not concerned. “Glare all you want, but I’m likely to be the only one who won’t clock you in the head if you try to say how horrible it is to be forced into a life of luxury and leisure. How will you survive with around the clock maid service and an uptown address? No, no, I want to pay my own college loans off. You can’t make me take your money, Dominic.” Alethea mimicked Lil’s voice in the most unflattering way.

  “Shut up. It’s not like that.” Lil smacked her hand down on the arm of her chair.

  Alethea just met her eyes without a word.

  Lil said, “Okay, I can see how this would look wonderful to some people, but I don’t want to owe anyone anything anymore. I’m so tired of being the one who doesn’t know, who can’t know, who everyone thinks can’t survive on their own. I’ve made mistakes. And I’m still making mistakes.” The memory of how easily she had fallen into Jake’s arms made her almost as uncomfortable as the realization that she longed for something more serious with him. She continued on, her pitch rising with each word. “Huge stupid mistakes. I admit it. But this doesn’t have to be me. I can change.”

  At the show of emotion, Alethea sat forward, “What did you do?”

  “Nothing,” Lil said and blinked back tears of frustration. Unsure if she could admit the fullness of her folly to even her closest friend.

  “You might as well tell me now,” Alethea said, grinning. “You know I’ve studied Bauer interrogation techniques. I’m not afraid to use them on you.”

  “Sometimes you scare me a little, Al.”

  Her friend only laughed. “Spill it.”

  Lil let her head drop back to the cushion behind her head. “I slept with Jake.”

  One of Alethea’s hands shot skyward. “Hallelujah!”

  Lil peeked out from beneath her mostly closed eyelids. “How can you say that?”

  “Let’s see. My best friend gets dumped over a year ago by an asshole. She swears off men and goes from being someone who enjoys a good adventure now and then to a complete and miserable stick in the mud. The universe sends her not only one of the hottest men on the planet, but also one of the richest and she takes advantage of the opportunity. Yeah, I can see how bad I’m supposed to feel for you.” Alethea’s sarcasm was replaced by amusement. “At least tell me he was awful in bed.”

  Lil blushed at the memory. “We didn’t make it to the bed.”

  Alethea nodded and joked, “Okay, now I might hate you a little bit.” Her tone turned serious again. “Lil, you really need to lighten up and enjoy the ride.”

  “Oh, I did,” Lil drawled and the two shared a laugh.

  “Now, there is the Lil I know.”

  Lil raised her head and both her eyebrows at that. “Are you calling me a slut?”

  Her friend’s response was thick with sarcasm. “Yeah, because sleeping with two guys by the age of twenty five is everyone’s definition of a whore.” Her tone grew more serious. “Besides, who would care if you were one? Slut, whore…those are just words men use to judge what they cannot control. And, more specifically, they were the words your ex used when you proved to him that you could survive when he left you. Don’t let him have any place in your head.”

  Lil left her seat to join Alethea on hers and simply hugged her. She really should have called her last night instead of spending hours chasing her own thoughts around. Al always knew just what to say. What’s better than a friend who knows all the ugly corners of your soul and loves you anyway?

  Alethea hugged her back and then said, “So, details, details.”

  Lil shrugged. “It was good, but it doesn’t really matter. It won’t happen again. I’m not his type.”

  “Apparently.”

  “No, seriously, we agreed that it was a mistake.”

  Alethea shook her head in mock sadness. “You mean you said it first.”

  Lil held her fear in. He would have said it if I’d waited. Sometimes the anticipation was worse than the actual desertion.

  “Well, what did he say?” her friend prompted.

  “He agreed that it was a mistake.”

  “And then?”

  “And then he left.”

  One line appeared on Alethea’s forehead, a sign that she found something puzzling. “And you haven’t seen him since?”

  Lil looked away. “He came back, made sure I had groceries and watched Colby so I could study for my exam.”

  Alethea barked out a laugh. “Wow, he sounds like such a jerk. You are so right to feel bad about the whole experience.”

  Lil didn’t expect her friend to understand. Alethea was used to getting any man she wanted. “He only came back because Dominic had asked him to make sure I had settled in.”

  “Yeah, probably. Not because he’s hot for you and wanted to see you again.”

  “It’s not like that, Alethea.”

  Alethea turned Colby around on her lap and started bouncing her again. “Lil, I get why you are like you are. Your parents left you, Asshole left you, now you feel like your sister left you. You don’t want to care because you’re afraid this guy will leave you, too. I get it. But while you wallow in all that fear, you’re missing out on some life changing opportunities.”

  “I have to be more careful. I have Colby to think of…”

  “I respect that, but don’t you think that you’ve whipped yourself enough for one mistake?”

  Lil was instantly furious. “She is not a mistake.”

  Alethea smiled and handed Colby back to Lil. “Exactly. Remember that.” She stood and tucked her blouse pristinely back into her slacks. “Well, I’m off to test the security system for a new optical fiber laser company. I got the contract through that guy you referred to me. Thanks.”

  Lil stood. “Alethea? Wait. Abby is having a huge party this weekend in New York and she wants me to go.”

  “Why does this sound like a question? You know you should.”

  It wasn’t easy to admit the truth, but Lil was nervous about the party. First, she didn’t think she could face Jake alone again. Second, what did she know about high class events? Abby may have transitioned to the world of the wealthy with seemingly little issue, but Lil didn’t know where to begin to prepare it. “Will you come with me? I can’t go there alone.”

  Her friend looked dubious and said, “You know Abby isn’t wild about me.

  Lil reached for Alethea’s hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “I’ll talk to her. I’m sure she’ll add you to the list if I ask.”

  Alethea returned the squeeze absently, her growing excitement with some idea quickly overshadowed her concern. “Big party at Dominic Corisi’s place?”

  “No at his…”

  A huge smile spread across Alethea’s face. “Sounds like something that would have the very best security.”

  Oh, I shouldn’t have said anything. “No, Al. Can’t you just be there for me like a normal friend? Just this once?”

  “I’ll be there,” Alethea promised in a tone that did not make Lil feel any better.

  “I mean it.” Lil looked her friend right in the eye, hoping her friend would heed her advice this one time. “Don’t try to circumvent his security. He takes his privacy really seriously. You could get hurt.”

  Alethea straightened proudly, tossing her head in a way that reminded Lil of a wild horse. “Or I could get in and imagine the contracts I would pull in after that.”

  Lil groaned. “I’m imagining many possible outcomes and none of them good.”

  “I’ll keep you on speed dial, okay?” Alethea mimed dialing her number. “First sign of trouble I’ll pretend I’m lost and I’ll call you. Does that make you feel better?”

>   “Not really.” Lil sighed. “You’re crazy, you know that?”

  “Lucky for me, that was a mutual prerequisite to this friendship.”

  “Think you’re so funny, huh?” Lil pulled her friend close for a one-arm-hug.

  Alethea returned the hug and gave Colby a quick kiss on the cheek. “See you in New York, Lil.”

  Conceding to the fact that nothing was likely to stop her friend at this point, Lil said, “It’s at Dominic’s…”

  Alethea interrupted Lil before she let herself out of the penthouse. “Don’t tell me. You know it’s more fun for me to figure it out myself. Oh, and call your damn sister.”

  A few minutes past eight that night, there was another knock at the door. Lil looked down at her black cotton t-shirt and matching sweat shorts. She wasn’t dressed for company, she was dressed for settling down with the bowl of popcorn she’d just made and watching the sappy movie she’d planned to escape into.

  Why does this place even have an intercom if no one is going to use it? Lil swung the door open.

  Jake.

  Beautiful, perfectly groomed Jake. The man had probably been born in a charcoal suit. Lil’s hand went to the back of her neck instinctively pushing at the curls she knew had already broken free of the loose knot she’d tied them back in.

  He looked as irritated as he sounded. “I could be anybody. No security system is going to keep you safe if you open the door for anyone who knocks.”

  She was tempted to tell him how his “security” had already failed once that day, but she held her tongue. She didn’t bother to curb her sarcasm. “Hi, Jake. It’s nice to see you, too. I thought you went back to New York.”

  He scowled. “I did.”

  “Did you forget something here?” she asked sweetly. Was it wrong to hope the man wasn’t perfect?

  He shook his head and walked toward her with purpose. The hair on the back of Lil’s neck tingled and she bit her lip. There was something different about him tonight. Something both dangerous and incredibly hot at the same time.