Just like Grey (Series ONE Complete Set): Billionaire Romance

by Jessie Cooke

  “By the way,” she said. “Christo told me you had called him. The day of your accident. Wanting to discuss something.” She tilted her head in an unspoken question. “What’s going on?”

  Reece waved his hand. “Nothing. Just needed his advice on something. Think I’ll still get it. He is a pro, after all.”

  “A pro at giving advice?” she asked.

  “A pro at choosing some art for the apartment.” He motioned for her to join him on the sofa again. “We could always get a few more portraits like that one,” he said, looking above him at Bella’s portrait on the wall.

  She chuckled. “One is quite enough,” she said. “But you’re right, he’ll give you good advice about what else to get.”

  Reece was sick of the lies. He wanted to tell her the truth. He wanted to stop hiding everything, but he was determined not to let anything out of the bag before he’d heard what Christo had to say about it all. He knew Christo would tell him exactly how to handle all of it with Bella in the most delicate and least harmful way possible.

  At least that’s what he hoped.

  74

  “We need to have a talk.”

  Christo had been dreading those words from Reece even though he knew they were true, and now as he sat across from Reece, he felt an impending sense of doom wash over his body.

  “Yeah, I remember you called before the accident,” Christo said slowly. “But things are different, now, right? I mean, everything is going so well for y’all. You love her; she loves you. Don’t want to complicate things with, erm, complicated things.”

  “You’re right: everything is going so well,” Reece began. “But I’ve made some choices and decisions in the past that I feel I need to come clean about. I want to be honest with her, and I want to be able to be the man she thinks I am. But I’m worried.”

  Christo nodded. “I understand. You’re worried she won’t love you once she knows the complete story, removes the mask, so to speak.”

  Reece dipped his head one time slowly.

  “I must tell you one thing,” Christo began. “She’s loved you for a while. She may not have been honest with you or me or herself for that matter, but I know Bella better than anyone, and I knew she was in love even when she was telling herself otherwise. You’ve pulled some crazy stunts with her, Reece. But you’ve owned up to them. She knows that your heart was in the right place, and she’s forgiven you. I don’t know that it’s wise to bring all of that back up.”

  “It goes beyond that,” Reece said. “That’s what I need to tell her. But I want to tell you first. You can help me gauge how to navigate this hopefully without losing Bella in the process.”

  “What have you done?” Christo asks as he braces himself.

  “It was all so selfish, I know. I was desperate. I had recently found out about Nicky’s pregnancy. I was just sure that would work against me when it came to Bella. She left almost immediately for Fort Worth. I had to do something. I couldn’t lose her.”

  “What did you do?” Christo prompted again.

  “I hired someone,” Reece said, his eyes lowering from Christo’s gaze. “It was meant for him to befriend her, ward off any possible suitors, keep her from falling for someone else until I could figure out a way to win her back. He was gay . . . or so he thought he was.”

  “Luke?” Christo snapped his fingers. “I knew my ‘gaydar’ wasn’t that bad. I told Bella I thought he was gay.”

  “Well, apparently, he’s discovered he’s bisexual . . . not gay. He ended up befriending her a little more than I had hoped. Told me he’d fallen in love with her even.”

  “In love? Wow.”

  “Pay attention, Christo. I’m not weaving a story for some telenovela. This is what’s really happening. I paid him. Get it? Paid him to deceive her, to keep other people away from her.”

  “I get it,” Christo said, “and I think it’s horrible, but I get why you did it. You are in love, and sometimes it makes us do crazy, stupid things.”

  “It gets crazier and stupider, if that’s a word.”

  “Ohh—kaaay.” Christo drawled out the word slowly, almost afraid to hear anymore. He knew that Bella would be crushed to know that Luke’s affections were bought before they were real.

  Reece took a deep breath and continued his confession. “When Luke told me that he’d fallen for her, I was angry. I threatened to expose him; he threatened to expose me. I knew he had the upper hand. Coming clean to Bella, admitting to her the truth and confessing his love would still leave him in her good graces—at least more so than me. I would still look like the man who didn’t trust her, given my record with her and how I’d interfered with her previously. So, I hired someone to pull Luke’s attention away. I got Luke a job, set him up in an apartment, and paid a guy to seduce him. Now this guy is pressuring me for more money. It’s not just getting expensive as far as the money goes; it’s the true cost that I fear.”

  “And that cost is losing Bella forever,” Christo finished for him.

  Reece nodded. “I’m finding it harder and harder to keep from telling her the whole she-bang,” he said. “I’ve almost brought myself to it a few times, but I stopped. I need you to tell me how to best approach this.”

  Christo sat as still as a stone. His mind was spinning, and his imagination was playing through every scenario he could imagine.

  “Well,” he began slowly, “a part of me wants to tell you not to say a word about it. You’re so far in. It’s a downward spiral that is leading you further and further away from Bella. Part of me thinks the less she knows about everything now, the better. But that would be just as wrong as what you’ve done.”

  Reece shifted in his chair.

  “You have to put a stop to all of this immediately,” Christo said. “Disentangle yourself from these people and the ‘job’ you hired them to do.”

  “I’ve done that,” Reece said. “They’re paid, and no other interaction is necessary. I’ve made that very clear. My fear, though, is that they’ll get greedy. They already have, to tell you the truth. It’s just a matter of time until Bella finds out—either from myself feeling the guilt or from one of the other guys trying to get more money from me.”

  “And it’ll be worse for them to tell her than for you to come clean,” Christo said. “Our Bella—she’s as loyal as they come, forgiving too. She probably should attain sainthood—she’s a far better person than we are. But once she’s been crossed and that loyalty is shattered, it’s hard to get back. I’m watching it with Nicky. And all this goes deeper.”

  “Which means it’ll hurt deeper,” Reece finished.

  “Exactly,” Christo said.

  “So, what do I do?”

  Christo rubbed his forehead. “Damn it, Reece, I don’t know. I’m a normal person who merely stalks those he loves. I don’t have the money to buy favors and pay people to fall in love with the object of my affection.”

  “Hey. I didn’t pay him to fall in love with her,” Reece clarified. “Merely to keep her occupied enough and busy enough not to meet someone with whom she may fall in love with herself.”

  “Semantics,” Christo waved his hand. He looked Reece hard in the eyes. “But you have to tell her,” he said finally. “If for no other reason because it’s the right thing to do and you love her and you don’t want these secrets between you.” He slid forward on his chair, hoping that Reece picked up on the urgency in his body language. “You two are starting a life together. This is a milestone that promises a future of more milestones to celebrate together. You don’t want to start off with secrets and lies.”

  “Technically, I haven’t lied,” Reece pointed out.

  “Sins of omission count as lies,” Christo countered. “Not to mention that it’s all technicalities anyway. You’ve paid people to lie for you. Take out the middle man, and that leaves you the liar.” Christo finally got up from his chair and went over to the sofa where Reece sat. He grabbed his hands in his and forced him to look at him in the e
yes, inches from Reece’s face. “Tell her,” he pleaded.

  Reece nodded. “I will . . . it’s just going to be tricky, the timing.”

  “Don’t wait,” Christo implored. “The longer you wait, the more it will hurt.”

  “And the longer I wait, the more in love she will be with me. That will dampen the blow when she hears.”

  “Or make it hurt more because she’s so vested. No, do it soon, Reece. And for my sake as well. Look at where I am in this mess: now I have knowledge of this that I know will hurt Bella, but I’m supposed to keep it quiet—lie, if you will. I’ve never lied to Bella in my life.” He whispered the last sentence, the clarity of the sentiment making him feel sick to his stomach now that he would have to.

  “You’re right,” Reece said. “I’ve entrusted you with a lot, and that’s not exactly fair. I’ll tell her as soon as I can.”

  75

  “It’s my two favorite boys in the world!” Bella said walking into the great room and finding Christo and Reece sitting on the sofa.

  “You’re home early,” Reece said with a smile. “Good. Christo talks too fast sometimes I feel like I need an interpreter. Not to mention that it exhausts me to try and keep up with him.”

  Bella had walked over to the sofa and leaned down to kiss Reece a warm hello. She air-kissed Christo in his general direction, and he did the same to her. “Christo, I’m so glad you’re here. I have a project for you that I think you’re gonna love.”

  Clapping his hands in his standard indication of excitement, Christo had a fleeting thought about how glad he was she could provide a distraction for him so soon after the heavy conversation.

  “There’s this girl at the office—Connie Strayer—her sister’s the new Assistant DA you hear such great things about nowadays.”

  “Oh, wow. Celebrity status,” Christo oohed.

  “She’s interning with Rita—great kid but lacks self-confidence like you wouldn’t believe.”

  “Oh wouldn’t I?”

  “Exactly! She reminds me of myself so much—such a home body. Has all the credentials to be a great designer—and I think the raw talent is there—but, her lack of self-confidence is debilitating her.”

  “Kiss of death,” Christo inserted.

  “Right. So, I want you to give her a makeover. Really doll her up but in a fashion that isn’t too over the top, you know, so she still feels comfortable in her own clothes. Then I want to take her out to Zippers. You’ll go with us, of course. Get her out on the dance floor, show her how much fun she can have if she’ll trust herself to have new experiences.”

  “The pupil has become the teacher,” Christo said, his hands unfolding before him. “I am so proud.”

  “I learned from the best,” Bella said, “but I still need your guidance. What’dya say? You up for it?”

  “Tonight?”

  “Tomorrow.”

  “Game on,” Christo said, and this time Bella clapped her hands in excitement as Reece rolled his eyes dramatically.

  “So, you’re taking our little Connie under your wing?”

  Rita Turner crossed her legs, the famous red sole of her Christian Louboutin stiletto winking at Bella as she kicked her foot up and down, a habit of the high-strung, high-power woman.

  “She reminds me of myself at that age,” Bella confessed. “Plus, I looked at some of her designs. I think she has promise, she just has to . . . get out of her own way, so to speak.”

  “She’s got to get some balls,” Rita interpreted. “Poor little mousy thing jumps five feet into the air if I just call her name. She’s never going to make it in this business if she doesn’t learn more confidence, that’s for sure.” Her face softened with a smile. “Ironically, I said just those words about you, and look at where you are.”

  “Where I am,” Bella repeated. “That’s kinda why I wanted to talk to you,” she said finally. “To look at where I am.”

  “Another review already?” Rita said, her brow furrowing in confusion.

  “No, not exactly. I’ve just . . . well, I’ve realized how much I miss Dallas. How Dallas is more like home to me, and I was hoping you could bring me back here—to Dreamscapes in Dallas. The Fort Worth office is good, better, even than it was. They hardly need me there; I’m more of a glorified office manager than anything at that place. They could run themselves if they wanted to. I miss this,” she waved her hands to include the entire space. “I miss the big clients and the big meetings and the big projects. I miss the faster pace, the more diverse teams. And that’s just the aspect of the job. Don’t get me started on my private life and how much more there is for me in Dallas than Fort Worth.”

  Rita continued moving her foot, now in a circle, as she listened and weighed all that Bella was telling her.

  “There is no lateral move from Fort Worth to Dallas,” she finally told Bella.

  “I know that,” Bella said, “and while I am so incredibly thankful for all that you gave me and everything you entrusted me with, ultimately, I’d like to be back here. It just feels like a better fit.”

  “So you’re telling me that you’re willing to be demoted to come back here?”

  “Semantically and financially speaking, yes.” Bella sucked in another breath. “But I don’t want you to mistake this for ingratitude. I know how much you’ve given me, and I value your trust and your generosity more than it obviously appears I do. It’s just . . .”

  “A man,” Rita interrupted. “It’s just a man.”

  Bella’s mouth popped open in surprise. How was Rita always able to do that? “I, um, I . . .”

  “You don’t have to deny it, Bella. How many times have I told you personal stories about decisions I’ve made that involved a man or my desire to be with a man? We’re hot-blooded, passionate women, you and I. And you already said that you had personal reasons for wanting to be back in Dallas. For girls like us, that translates, ‘I’ve got a man here and I want to be with him.’ I understand.” Rita stood and walked over to her office window looking out. “When I was your age, I was sleeping with boss, remember? I told you about my first husband. But what I didn’t tell you is that I began sleeping with him because I had no confidence in myself or my designs. I felt that the only way he’d even give me a shot was if I made myself something he craved carnally first. Then, hopefully, he’d find out there was more to me that he couldn’t live without.” She turned to Bella. “The fact is that my little plan backfired. We both learned that we loved each other more than we thought we could. We both found we couldn’t live without each other. And so we married. And then, we found we couldn’t live with each other.” Rita looked back out the window away from Bella. “Don’t be stupid, Bella. Don’t do what I did and base too many of your decisions around a man. Just when you think you can’t live without them, you find that really, truly, all along, it was the opposite—that when the shine rubbed off and the afterglow had dulled, the truth of the matter was: you couldn’t live with him, and you’d rearranged your entire life to try and make something happen that was never meant to happen.”

  Bella thought she heard a catch in Rita’s throat, but her boss cleared her throat, straightened her shoulders, and walked back to the sitting area where Bella waited. She didn’t sit; instead, Rita towered over Bella making Bella feel like a small school girl.

  “I need you in Fort Worth, more than you truly have an idea about. It’s smaller, slower, yes, but there are some valuable clients there, and you’re my key to keeping them. I’ll think about what you’ve asked, though, but only on the condition that you really think about whether you want it. It’s more cut-throat here. You’ll still be climbing up that totem pole here, a small fish in a big pond. In Fort Worth, you’re the shark. You’ll be giving all that up.”

  Bella thought of Reece—his efforts to make her feel treasured, his constant referral to ‘our home’ when he referenced the apartment. Then she saw him pale against the sheets in the hospital bed, how close she had gotten to losing him.
<
br />   “I understand what I’d be losing,” Bella said. “But I know what I’d gain, too, and some things are simply worth more than others.”

  Rita nodded. “Then we’ll talk in a few weeks.”

  76

  “I can’t work with this,” Christo said. He flung down hangers in frustration. “Bella, she has nothing,” he whispered.

  “I think I may have something here guys,” Connie called from the bathroom.

  “I seriously doubt it,” Christo mumbled to Bella. “Let’s see, girl!” he called out to Connie.

  She emerged from the bathroom in black leggings and a green and black striped tunic. Bella felt Christo sit straighter, a sign that he no longer felt complete hopelessness.

  “This could be the makings of a workable ensemble,” Christo said as he approached Connie. “Why were you holding out on us, Connie dear? We’ve been through almost everything in your closet. Where were you hiding this little number?”

  Connie pulled at the bottom of her tunic and stepped up on her bare toe. “It was in the back of my closet. Netta and Denise’s last failed attempt to make me a little more fashionable, I guess,” she said.

  Christo held up the tags still attached at the sleeve. “I see their work wasn’t in vain,” he chided. “Why haven’t you worn this before? It’s cute. Not club-cute, but cute, and way more promising than anything we’ve seen.”

  A shrug of her shoulders was Christo’s answer. “Just forgot about it, I guess.” She turned herself and looked sidelong into the full-length mirror. “Are you sure my legs don’t look too fat in these? I feel fat in these leggings.”

  Bella rose from her seat on Connie’s bed strewn with Christo’s rejections. “Connie, you couldn’t look fat if you tried. Come on—what did I say about confidence?”

  “I know, it’s just . . . well, I’ve always been the ugly duckling in my family. That leaves some scarring.”