RULES OF LOVE (A Navy SEALs Romance)

by Bella Grant

  He walked over to his dresser and pulled out the file he had on her. Some would call him a stalker, a pervert, but in his world where money ruled, he was simply researching someone he was interested in. He opened the file for the millionth time since receiving it from his private investigator and pulled out a picture of her. Her curvy body made him want to know a little bit more about her. That was how he had felt the first time he’d seen her, and that was how he felt now. His private investigator had been quick to scope her out and sent him every bit of information under the sun about her. He re-read a couple of the pages on her –excellent SAT scores, class valedictorian in college, finance grad school student– yes, she was intelligent and sexy with a smart mouth. His type of woman.

  He pulled out his phone again and checked his messages, but she apparently hadn’t left one for him. He knew what she wanted to talk about. She obviously had no idea who he was and being invited to an exclusive ball, to her, must have seemed like an error. He guessed she was probably going to refuse the invitation and would most likely return the necklace. But he didn't want that. He wanted her to come. And he wanted to make her comfortable, hence his hesitation in sending a dress to wear for the event like he normally would for his female guest. He could pretty much guess her size, but that could freak her out.

  He had already made the mistake of personalizing the invitation card and the gift box card, which was most likely freaking her out. He couldn't risk a situation where she became so uncomfortable she simply did not show up. He truly wanted to be in her presence again, but within his own controlled environment. It was much easier to make a woman his when he was in control.

  He flipped through the pages of the file and another picture of her fell to the floor. He picked it up. It was his favorite. She had been out on a morning run. He could see her curves - her breasts held tightly but spilling from within what he assumed was her sports bra, and her firm ass rounded against the shorts she wore. Her legs caught in the running motion seemed all muscle. She was wearing an arm band and had ear phones on. She seemed oblivious to the world - so innocent and pure.

  He continued flipping through the file, a little slower than he did the files of the people who worked directly under him. Damn, she had applied for a job in his company a few years ago, but his staff had been assholes and declined application for employment. If he weren't being subtle, he would have fired the employee who hadn’t given her a chance to be an asset to his company. He flipped through a couple more pages. Nothing in there was new to him; he had perused it a few hundred times. But one thing that unsettled him was that she had spent eight weeks as an intern with his company and he had never set eyes on her. He had been gallivanting around Europe with his girlfriend, Amanda, who had readily left him when she found someone a tad bit richer than him.

  He looked at his phone again, debating whether to call her back. He wasn't really sure what to say to her. If he spoke to her, he would be forced to answer questions that could clue her in to who he was. He decided the best thing to do was ignore any calls she made to that number, letting them all go to the voicemail. Giving her the number was already a mistake he regretted, but if he hadn't put a number on the invitation she might not have taken the invitation seriously. He sighed, got up from his bed, and walked to the window.

  Acres of green, lush land lay in front of him. He wasn’t sure how many acres of land he truly owned. He had simply purchased all the land around where he wanted to build his home and erected what some would call an expensive house on it. He had a tennis court, a swimming pool, a golf course, but most importantly, acres of forest. He needed the wooded land for those moments when he wanted to be with nature but couldn't get away to his private island. During those times, he normally gave most of his staff the day off, and locked down his property. The beauty of having money is that he could do whatever he pleased, and when he needed privacy, he could have his whole estate to himself, and maybe in Sara’s company, if he played his cards right.

  Today, though, the peace surrounding him was not as tranquil as usual. To be honest, since he’d met Sara, he woke up every day with a feeling he couldn't quite put his finger on. This day was no different. In fact, the feeling had been getting worse since he’d sent that invitation to her. He had personally written and mailed it to make sure it didn't get lost. He couldn't even remember the last time he wrote something by hand. Normally, his personal assistant took care of things like that – things like responding to his girlfriends’ emails, or sending gifts, flowers, and cards. He gave his secretary a budget, and she'd pick out the gifts and send them to the women. He trusted her judgment and the women always seemed to like their gifts, so it was a win-win for everyone.

  Nick paced his room for a few minutes, fighting the urge to call Sara and confess. On days like this he wanted to lock down his property for utmost privacy, but he couldn't because his younger sister, Zia, who worked with him, would arrive at any moment to go over the final plans for the ball.

  SARA

  I unwillingly followed Amy as she stopped in every dress store in the mall. Three hours into our shopping experience, and I had yet to find something that looked like what I would wear to an exclusive ball. Or rather, most of what I would want to wear was super expensive, and the cheaper dresses just looked plain cheap after looking at the expensive dresses. Amy was more than eager to whip out her credit card to pay for any dress I wanted since I planned to spend my tip money on rent, but I couldn’t let her spend so much on me. I pretended I didn’t care for the really nice dresses.

  “Heck, Sara. I didn’t know you were this hard to please!” Amy complained as she sat on a bench in the food court of the mall. “I’m exhausted.”

  “I haven’t seen anything we can afford…I mean, I like,” I told her as I sat next to her.

  “Sara, I know you well. You are never picky about anything. Why now?” she sighed, her exhaustion in her voice.

  I started to tell her the truth but thought better of it. How could I tell her that I had spent the last few nights dreaming about the billionaire I met at the deli, getting hot and bothered by thoughts of him and what I could do to him if we ever got together? How could I tell her that I was planning a future with a man I didn’t know instead of researching Nick Saunders to find out more about him before showing up at his ball?

  “Can you please find a dress you like so we can look for shoes?” Amy begged.

  “I’m trying. But I want to look really nice,” I whined. “And it has to be at a reasonable price.”

  “By nice you mean sexy?” She raised an eyebrow.

  “Maybe,” I said. “Doesn’t really have to be sexy, but sexy would be nice.”

  “I knew it! You do want to meet Nick Saunders! You slut.”

  “Shh…keep your voice down, Amy,” I said as I spied a woman with three kids walking quickly past us. “People can hear you and it’s not like he’s a nobody.”

  “Don’t I know it.”

  “I bet you do,” I smiled at Amy.

  “So do you want to see his picture?” she volunteered as she pulled out her phone and started surfing the web.

  “That is not a good idea,” I said. What I wanted to say was that I was terrified to see what he looked like. The likelihood that I would back out of the ball was higher if I saw Nick Saunders. I could imagine him all high and mighty with intimidating eyes. I was not going to go through with the stupid plan of gatecrashing a party if I saw what he looked like.

  “You want to be surprised,” Amy said, laughing.

  “Maybe so. I just don’t want to get to know him like that or I won’t go to this event at all. Besides, his voice is intimidating enough.”

  “You spoke to Nick Saunders? Did you tell him about the error? Please tell me you didn’t because I’ll kill you if you did.”

  “I called him.”

  “What!”

  “Relax. I didn’t leave a message. I mean, I called the number on the card. It was his private cell phone, so I f
roze up. I didn’t know what to say.”

  “Good thing you didn’t make a fool of yourself! That man dates rich-ass girls. He’s probably used to girls who have gone to etiquette schools or whatever.”

  I didn’t speak. She was right. He was used to polished girls, and I was nowhere near polished. Then again, she could be wrong. Mr. Rich from the deli didn’t seem to care if I was polished.

  “The most I know about etiquette was from my Girl Scout experiences. How am I going to pull this off?”

  “By being you,” Amy said, then continued scrolling on her phone. “So I’ve been checking out your date online.”

  “He’s not my date,” I said.

  “Well, he’s my computer screensaver. He’s that cute.”

  “Eww…Amy! What is wrong with you? Maybe you should go to this ball.”

  “Maybe. But I’m not as elegant as you, Sara, and I couldn’t pull it off.”

  Amy, with all her confidence and assertiveness, had a way of putting herself down that I didn’t really like. But everyone had their faults and that was hers.

  “You know that’s not true, Amy,” I said, turning to hug her. “If you went to the ball, you’d knock the pants off Nick Saunders, so yes, maybe you shouldn’t go.”

  Amy smiled. “He’s really cute. Better than you’d ever imagine. Brown, sexy eyes that can see through you. Strong and powerful, but also very arrogant.”

  “Sounds like your guy.” I was being sarcastic, but I was still laughing. I had no interest in getting to know him anymore, but my remarks opened up the flood gates for Amy. She began to recount every detail she read online about Nick Saunders. I heard about his business shrewdness, his playboy hobby, his million girlfriends, his favorite food, his workout regimen, and other countless details she remembered.

  “He sounds like God sent him as a gift to women,” I said dryly when she finally ran out of breath.

  “Gosh, Sara. You’re the only girl in the world who could be so lukewarm about dating a billionaire.”

  “I’m not dating him. The real Sara Nolles is. I’m the fake one, remember?”

  “Fake or not fake, you’re the Sara who’s going to be there. Make the best of it.”

  “Yeah,” I said, unsure. I was tired of talking about Nick Saunders. “Can we please go find me a nice dress and get some lunch? I’m Nicked out.”

  Thirty minutes later, we found the perfect dress, a red strapless that framed my waist and flattered my curvy hips. Red was a color I would never have thought of wearing, but with Amy’s persuasion, I tried it on and knew it was the one. If I dared to wear the necklace, it would be perfect. I glanced at the dressing mirror as I played with taking my hair up and out of the way. I looked good. Really good. With a nice pair of shoes and decent makeup, I’d pass for more than the maid. I might actually look elite and all that. A couple more rounds at the stores and we were able to find some silver, sleek but comfortable heels and a matching silver bag.

  NICK

  The doorbell woke Nick up the next morning at seven. Normally, he wouldn’t have been the one opening the door, but given the fact that he had given most of his staff the day off, he had to get out of bed. Besides he knew only one person in the world who would wake him up that early – Zia. He walked down the stairs slowly, half-dressed, his head clouded with thoughts of Sara. The doorbell persisted and he took the stairs two at a time.

  “Geez, Zia. What the hell?” he asked as he opened the door to let his sister in. She looked perfectly groomed for that early in the morning – a pink pants suit and heels, and makeup as well.

  “Good morning, brother,” Zia said, smiling wildly and pushing past him into the foyer. “Did I wake you up?”

  “What do you think? Why can’t I ever sleep around here?” Nick asked, rubbing his eyes.

  “Sleep is overrated. Besides, if you had a permanent woman, you wouldn’t be sleeping now, you’d be fucking her.”

  “Oh my God, Zia, you’re so filthy. How do men ever date you with that mouth?” Nick asked with a smile. “You’re worse than me, and I know women find me vulgar sometimes.”

  “You, vulgar? Maybe in bed, but you’re hardly the big bad wolf,” Zia said as she kissed her brother on the cheek and pushed past him. “Get over yourself.”

  “Zia, you do know I’m a grown man, right? You may be the older one, but that doesn’t give you the right to barge into my house whenever you want.”

  “Come on, bro, chill. It’s not like you have a woman upstairs. Or do you?” She looked past him, pretending to look for someone upstairs. “I don’t see anyone, so I guess you’re by yourself again.”

  “Zia, you do know what privacy means, right? It’s something I deserve and something you have to work on giving me,” Nick said.

  “Sure, I will. Right after I go over some paperwork with you. Why the soreness anyways?” She dropped her bag on a nearby table and sank into a couch. “Are you going to sit with me or what?”

  “Well, can I put on some clothes first? As you can see, I’m half-naked,” Nick said, rubbing his eyes again and pointing to the fact that he didn’t have a shirt on.

  “Eww. Please go put on a shirt. I don’t want to see all that,” Zia said. “You should go to the gym more often.”

  “Are you jealous?” Nick grinned, trying to flex his muscles. “I guess your men don’t look this good.”

  “You wish. Nick, you’ve got nothing on my men. Pity how those girls you hang out with don’t see you’re not all that. I guess money does talk.”

  Nick smirked at her and flexed his muscles again. “You’re simply jealous.”

  “Whatever. Please put on a shirt and stop acting like your God’s gift to women. I’ll be waiting down here. Make it fast. I have a date waiting for me.”

  “In your dreams,” Nick said, giggling as he went back to his room to change into some day clothes. A few minutes later, he came down with some sweats and a tee-shirt on.

  “Much better, bro,” she said. “Now, can we talk some business?”

  “This early?” Nick said, frowning. “Can’t it wait until later?”

  “Why would I be here this morning? Booty call?”

  “Ewww, Zia. That’s so disgusting,” Nick said, wrinkling his nose.

  “Exactly. It is disgusting. Can we focus on business? I have a date.”

  “Sure, if you say so,” Nick teased. “I wonder who the unlucky man is.”

  “Nick Saunders! You better watch your mouth. I can still whoop your ass, you know,” Zia said as she hit her brother playfully on the chest. “Can we please discuss the preservation and the ball?”

  “She said please! The mighty Zia said please,” Nick grinned. “Sure.”

  “Seriously, Nick. You’re full of it. But luckily for you, I have business on my mind,” Zia said as she pulled some papers from her bag and laid them on the table. The atmosphere turned from jovial to serious as Zia shuffled papers.

  “I really wish we could maintain the preservation without this ball. It is stressful,” Nick said.

  “Yes, it can be, but it’s a good way to get everyone who is someone to care about something bigger than themselves,” Zia said.

  “Did you reach out to the state again? Maybe they might be interested in acquiring the property?” Nick said.

  “I’ve already been in touch with everyone that matters, and the general consensus is that if the state gets the land, we might as well say bye bye to that land the way God intended it to be. The state will turn it into a mall.”

  “Sad,” Nick said. “Well, a mall is not going to work. We might as well keep doing things the way we’ve done them for years.”

  “That’s the plan,” she said as she pulled binders out of her bag, each binder color-coded. She was incredibly organized when it came to financial matters. Anything else just fell by the wayside for her. He chuckled as he imagined what kind of life she would have had as a homemaker thousands of years ago.

  “What’s funny?” she asked.

&
nbsp; “Nothing,” he said, not wishing to get into an argument with her. She always claimed that if she ever had to make a home, she’d be just fine.

  “I think we can find ways of reducing expenses next year so we don’t have to depend so heavily on donors,” Zia said after a moment of silence. “I don’t know how much longer our donors will be this generous, especially if they have nothing to gain from it. At a point, we might need to reconsider our options.”

  Nick didn’t say a word. He knew what she was referring to. They had discussed letting go of the preservation that had been part of the family for centuries. But Nick would never let that happen, and Zia knew his opinion of it but occasionally still pushed it. The preservation, which was a few thousand acres, was tucked away in the Shenandoah valleys of Virginia. It had been in their family for years, just like Saunders Empire had been a family legacy from his great-grandfather. A few years ago, the man they had trusted with managing the preservation embezzled the money they had entrusted in his care, and as such, they ran a risk of running down the preservation.

  This was their third year raising funds by leveraging their contacts and marketing the fundraising as a way to preserve nature for generations to come. The people on his guest list usually had so much money to donate they didn’t even care to know where the preservation was located.

  Now Sara was on his guest list, and he didn’t want to tell his sister that she might not be getting ten million from her.

  In that instant, Nick felt bad. He hadn’t thought what inviting Sara meant to the preservation he cared so much to protect. The dinner was strictly for twenty people who always gave them at least ten million dollars. They didn’t always have the same guest list every year because they didn’t want people feeling bothered about donating, but each of them was responsible for inviting ten guests guaranteed to give a hefty donation.

  When he had invited Sara, all he cared about was seeing her again and being in her company. He hadn’t given her ability to donate much thought. Sara was going to cost him ten million without knowing it. He didn’t mind paying her donation in secret, but if Zia found out, she’d eat him alive. Nick knew enough not to get on Zia’s bad side. She would bite his head off, even in public.