The Billionaire's Secrets

by Meadow Taylor

  “Goody,” she said clapping her hands. “I want to draw on the chalkboard.”

  “You have a chalkboard?” Chloe repeated, but the tabby cat ran under the table and Sophia was right behind it.

  “Gaelan had a whole room turned into a schoolroom for the last teacher.” Windy looked around for Sophia as if worried Sophia might hear. But Sophia was sitting under the table talking to the cat, oblivious to everything else. “She hardly paid any attention at all to Sophia,” she continued in a conspiratorial whisper. “She was too busy throwing herself at Gaelan.”

  Chloe recalled her confrontation with Gaelan the night before. You think just because you’re rich, I’m going to throw myself at you, she’d said... It wouldn’t be the first time, he’d answered. That had been just before he’d kissed her. She felt the white rush of heat at the memory and bent her head over her coffee, hanging onto the cup with both hands, willing them not to tremble.

  “How long was the teacher here?” she asked Windy, forcing her voice to stay calm.

  “She was here for a month when Gaelan sent her packing.”

  “Was Sophia upset when she left?” It was important she keep her thoughts focused on her pupil.

  “No...Sophia never did take to her. Not like you, Miss.” Windy got up from the table and went back to the stove. She lifted a towel from two rising loaves of bread and slid them into the oven. “I’ve never seen Sophia take to anyone like she’s taken to you.” She closed the door on the loaves and straightened her back. Then suddenly she looked at Chloe and grinned. “And I can’t say I’ve ever seen Gaelan get a bee in his bonnet over anyone like the one he’s got in his bonnet over you.”

  * * *

  Sophia, true to her word, helped Chloe unpack. She took a critical interest in Chloe’s wardrobe and expressed the opinion that someone as pretty as Chloe should have nicer clothes.

  “But I like wearing jeans and sweaters,” Chloe answered. “They’re warm and comfortable. And what about you? You’re pretty, but you’re wearing jeans and a sweater.”

  Sophia thought for a moment. “But my sweater is prettier.”

  Chloe laughed. “Yes, I think you’re right. Maybe we can go shopping one day together, and you can help me pick out some pretty sweaters.”

  Sophia seemed satisfied and put the last of the offending sweaters in the drawer.

  Together they carried the few school supplies that Chloe had brought to the school room on the first floor. Chloe had not known what to expect in the way of educational materials and had brought a few books that she was particularly fond of teaching from, including a French primer and a couple of beginner piano books.

  She needn’t have worried. On seeing the schoolroom, she came close to tears. It was a teacher’s dream come true. Even the well-off private schools in Boston where she’d worked didn’t have materials like this. And no classroom could ever have been half this beautiful! The room was twice as large as Chloe’s last classroom. A row of windows looking out on the foggy morning graced the length of the room, each windowsill full of cushions perfect for curling up on and reading or dreaming the afternoon away, while tall bookcases groaned under the weight of books.

  Sophia skipped to the end of the room and began to draw multi-coloured rainbows on the chalkboard. Chloe went to the large antique desk in the centre of the room. It was beautiful, but Chloe felt too authoritarian behind it and knew she would not teach at it. Besides, there were plenty of other places to sit and work, from the cushioned windowsills to the large harvest table that faced the blackboard. At the far end of the room, a loveseat faced the inevitable fireplace, and a baby grand piano stood before the windows.

  It was a beautiful classroom, but as much as Chloe knew how lucky Sophia was to be able to learn in such delightful surroundings, she felt sad when she thought of all the children in overcrowded, sterile rooms with barely enough textbooks to go around.

  Feeling overawed, Chloe decided to take her cues from Sophia. “What do you want to learn about on the first day of school?” she said, admiring Sophia’s colourful creation on the chalkboard.

  “Animals!” Sophia announced without hesitation.

  “I thought so,” Chloe said. "How about we go to the bookcases and find some books on animals? We can read for a while together, and then we’ll learn some animal names in French. How does that sound?”

  Sophia agreed, and before long they were curled up on the couch before a newly-laid fire. Chloe wasn’t surprised that Sophia already had basic reading skills. She was so bright she seemed to learn almost by osmosis. She liked both factual books as well as traditional children’s stories. So long as there were animals in the book, Sophia was happy. Sophia read a simplified version of the Three Billy Goats Gruff to Chloe, and Chloe read a more difficult story about magical animals based on Native Canadian legend.

  After lunch they put on their coats, and Chloe pushed Sophia on the swing behind the house, but they were soon forced in by a cold misty rain. It was cozy by the schoolroom fire, and Chloe spread the pieces of a wildlife puzzle across the harvest table. As they put each animal together, Chloe told Sophia the name of the animal in French.

  However, as absorbed as Chloe was in her new pupil, she could not help but let her thoughts wander to the child's father. She had not seen him since their early-morning encounter on the cliff, but she continued to feel his presence as keenly as if he were looking over her shoulder. Indeed the feeling was so strong sometimes she found herself wanting to turn around to see if he was standing behind her. She didn't, telling herself she was being paranoid, although it was also possibly wishful thinking…

  * * *

  Gaelan closed the office door, went to the mantle, and poured himself a drink. He had strict rules about drinking during the day, but today he decided to make an exception.

  All morning he had found excuses that took him past the schoolroom door. He would linger there for a moment, listening to Sophia's laughter and Chloe's steady reassuring voice, carefully pronouncing the animal names in French for Sophia to repeat. It was obvious Sophia was happier than she had been in months, and while he could find no fault with Chloe's teaching style, he still found himself hanging around the door.

  But assessing Chloe's teaching abilities wasn't the only reason he couldn't stay away. He took a sip of his scotch. How do you begin to trust again? Put the past behind you and move on? He pictured Chloe's reddish head close to Sophia's fair one as they leaned over the jigsaw puzzle. How he longed to stroke that hair and be able to say I trust you. You are not like Colleen or the other women who pretended to care for Sophia but who were only really interested in my money.

  He went over to his desk and sat down. Two envelopes, delivered that afternoon by courier, sat in the middle of the desk. The first envelope concerned some of Byrne Enterprises' latest investments. He read it quickly and set it aside. Routine stuff, nothing Marcus couldn't handle.

  The other envelope was from a private detective firm he had hired to run a background check on Chloe. Funny, he'd forgotten he'd ordered one. It had been a bit of an afterthought, but after the last teacher he thought it couldn't hurt. He shuddered in distaste as he remembered how that teacher had come into his room at night and, before he could tell her to leave, had opened her robe and revealed her naked body to him. He thought the file had arrived a bit late when he remembered that Chloe wasn't actually supposed to start until the following week.

  He pulled the file out of the envelope and set it on his desk. The first item was an eight-by-ten glossy photo of Choe. It was taken on the steps of a red brick building. Her apartment? It was obvious Chloe didn't know she was being photographed. She was looking not toward the camera but into the distance, as if wondering her next course of action.

  Gaelan felt two things as he looked at the picture. First, the tug of attraction. The thoughtful eyes, the hair that only moments ago he had wanted to smooth, and the mouth, her lips slightly parted and so absolutely kissable. But soon attraction m
ade way to guilt. He told himself he had every right to check into her past - not only because of the last teacher and her lust for his money but also for Sophia's protection and safety.

  He set the photo aside, picked up the report, and read it, slamming it on the desk less than ten minutes later. He got up and went down the hall to the schoolroom, knocking sharply on the already open door.

  Chloe and Sophia were standing at the table, admiring the completed puzzle. Both looked up, startled by the sudden noise. It was Sophia who recovered first. "Come and see the puzzle, Daddy…I mean Gaelan," she exclaimed. "I know all the animals in French too." She pointed to an elephant in the puzzle. "This is un elephant…"

  "That's very nice, Sophia," Gaelan said, interrupting her sharply. "But I don't have time for that now. I need to speak to Chloe. Go and stay with Windy in the kitchen."

  "But we still have school," Sophia protested, her face that had looked so happy moments ago now crumpled with disappointment.

  Damn! I’ve done it again, Gaelan thought guiltily. All he ever did was make the kid feel bad. It was just that he was so furious…

  He caught Chloe's glare as she put her hands on Sophia's shoulders. "I think we've learned a lot for our first day," Chloe said gently. "How about we call it quits for today? We'll do lots of new things tomorrow." She glanced his way again, and Gaelan could see she was worried there might not be a tomorrow. And for good reason, he thought.

  Sophia conceded reluctantly. She gave Gaelan a defiant stare as she strode past him, but Gaelan's head was so full of what he'd read in the file on the desk that he barely noticed. With Chloe following, Gaelan turned and walked back to his office, telling her to close the door behind her.

  "What's this about?" she demanded. Gaelan knew she was angry he had interrupted her class.

  "I think you already know," he said coldly. "Did you think I'd never find out?" He went behind his desk and held out the folder to her.

  She stood facing him across the desk. "What's this?" she asked, taking it.

  "Open it." he said. He watched Chloe's face as she opened the folder. The photograph slipped to the floor. She put the folder down and leaned over to pick up the picture. Straightening up, she looked at the image of herself and then at him with a puzzled expression on her face.

  "Where did you get this?" she asked.

  "A private detective. I had a background check done on you."

  Puzzlement returned to anger, and she glared at him with the same intensity of dislike as Sophia had only a few minutes before.

  "You did what?!" she exclaimed. "You spied on me?!" Her green eyes flashed fire at him. "How could you do this? How long was this guy creeping around the shrubs waiting to take my picture?" she continued, shaking the picture at him across the desk. "Did he follow me too?"

  Gaelan didn't answer, and she threw the picture at him. "Of all the low-down, sneaky things to do."

  The picture fell face up on the desk in front of Gaelan. "Don't take that self-righteous tone with me," he said angrily. "It would seem you've been pretty low-down and sneaky yourself." He pushed the picture away and pointed to the open file in front of him. "Why didn't you tell Marcus you were fired from your last job?"

  Chapter 4

  They faced off across the desk, but whereas a moment ago she had been staring daggers at him, her eyes now wavered. Gaelan could tell she felt guilty. He recalled their first conversation and how he had thought she was keeping something from him. No doubt this was it. "Well, so why didn't you?"

  "Because it didn't come up," she snapped back at him defiantly.

  "It didn't come up," he said slowly. "Just what did you do for a reference?"

  "I didn't have one, and Marcus didn't ask for any."

  It was Gaelan's turn to hesitate. Marcus may have wanted to do some matchmaking, but surely he would still have done the bare minimum of making sure this woman was qualified for the job.

  "Besides," Chloe continued. "It had nothing to do with my teaching skills."

  "According to this, it says you were fired for incompetence."

  "Incompetence?" Chloe said in surprise. She grabbed the file from the desk. "Where did you get that from?"

  "My detective had an enlightening chat with your boyfriend, Shawn." This deception bothered him more than her being fired. Why would she pretend not to have a boyfriend unless she had hopes of putting the moves on him? And, damn it, he was disappointed - just when he thought he could start to trust someone. "I thought you told me you didn't have a boyfriend."

  Chloe looked up from the file. "I don't. He's my ex-boyfriend," she said firmly. Then she started to laugh. "I guess your private detective isn't so smart after all."

  "Then why don't you tell me the real story?" Gaelan said slowly.

  "I'm not sure it's any of your business," she said haughtily.

  "It is if you want to keep your job," he answered.

  "You seemed determined I should quit this job every day," she said to his surprise. "I don't know what my personal life has to do with my job."

  "Then tell me about your professional life. That, surely, I have a right to know about." He could see her hesitate. She really didn't want to tell him.

  "Fine. I was almost finished with my Master’s in Education at Boston College but I had to drop out when I lost my job at a private school due to the recession. I was desperate to make ends meet, and so when I saw the job opening at the boarding academy, I knew I was qualified even though I didn’t quite have the required degree. I must admit that I did technically lie on my resume, but I was planning to go back and finish the degree as soon as I had earned a few paycheques. When I split up with Shawn, he got his revenge by telling them the truth, and so I was fired." She threw the file back on the desk. "That was it. End of story. It was stupid of me, I know, but perhaps next time your detectives should go the source instead of talking to a bitter ex-boyfriend."

  Gaelan looked at her and wondered if he'd let his paranoia get the better of him this time. She could be telling him the truth, but he would not know that for sure until he made some inquiries of his own in the morning. He was confused now. He didn't know whether to apologize or fire her.

  She seemed to be reading his thoughts. "So, are you going to fire me again? Or am I going to quit? Or am I just going to go eat my dinner and pretend this didn't happen?"

  "Go eat your dinner," Gaelan said. He walked around the desk and to the door, opening it for her.

  She didn't leave immediately but stood only inches from him, looking up at him with those defiant green eyes. "I don't know what happened to you, but you should learn not to be quite so suspicious. It must be a pretty lonely existence."

  He didn't know if he was filled with such mixed emotions because she had hit the proverbial nail on the head or because she was standing so very close to him. Did he want to fire her or kiss her? "I think it's my turn to say it's none of your business," he said at last, and he went back to his desk and picked up the phone.

  * * *

  The next afternoon, Chloe suggested to Sophia they go for a walk along the cliff. She told Sophia she wanted to see her new surroundings, but mostly it was because she was feeling anxious and irritable. She hadn't seen Gaelan since she'd left his office yesterday.

  She had the impression when she left his office that he had believed her version of events, but she knew he wouldn't let it rest. He would continue to make his inquiries. He was determined to find fault with her, determined never to trust her, and she wondered how she could bear to stay at Widow's Cliff in such an atmosphere.

  When Sophia took her hand and smiled up at her, Chloe felt a rush of love for the child. She would stay as long as Gaelan let her for Sophia's sake. She could not leave her alone with such a loveless man.

  As for her attraction to Gaelan Byrne with his dark, romantic, sexy looks, she would get over that. His personality, she decided, more than cancelled out his looks.