The Billionaire Next Door (The BAD BOY BILLIONAIRES Collection)

by Angelo, Judy

  “Why do you think, mi amor? I miss you.”

  Low and sensuous, his voice alone was enough to make a girl grow moist. But not Solie. Not anymore. She gritted her teeth and if he could have seen her face right then he’d have thought she was a volcano about to erupt.

  “Raul. Are you insane? What right do you have to call me in the middle of the night to tell me…crap like this?” She was almost spluttering in her rage. “You treated me like dirt and you dare call me with this? Hurting me was not enough, you have to mock me, too?” By this time Solie was up and out of the bed, standing in the middle of the room with the phone clutched to her ear. Heart pounding, palms moist, she felt just about ready to strangle the man on the other end of the line.

  “I’m not mocking you, my sweet. I love you. You know that.” The deep bass was confident, smug even. It made Solie’s blood boil.

  “You. Did. Not. Love. Me.” Fist clenched, she bit the words out. How dare he speak to her in that tone? After what he’d done to her he had the gall? Maldicion! “Don’t’ you ever use that word to me. I was the one who loved you and you took my love and stomped all over it. We were engaged, Raul, but that didn’t stop you from cheating on me. All that time I thought you loved me you were having an affair.”

  “Soledad, mi amor, all of that is over. It was a big mistake, darling. I was going through a phase-”

  “A phase? Is that what you call it?” Solie almost laughed out loud. This would have been funny if it weren’t so sick. “What do you take me for? Una idiota?”

  “Soledad, listen to me. It is done. I told you, all of that is over. I’ve come to my senses and I realize I still love you, mi amor.” He paused as if for effect. “Very much.”

  Solie paused, too. She could be dramatic, too, and she definitely could create effect. Her next words came out dry and matter-of-fact. “She left you, didn’t she? That’s why you’re calling me, right?”

  There was silence on his end but this time she knew it was not for effect. She’d hit the nail on the head and he didn’t know what to say.

  When he finally spoke his tone was harsh. “I already told you, I came to my senses. Let’s leave it at that.”

  “No, let’s not leave it at that,” she said, her tone frigid. “Let me remind you of some relevant details. You might recall that we were six weeks away from our wedding day when I paid you a surprise visit in Hawaii where you were supposed to have been on a business trip.” She made sure to place emphasis on the word ‘business’. “Well, that trip turned out to be a lot more pleasure than business, didn't it?”

  “Let’s not go there-”

  “No, let’s.” She cut him off again. She’d been too shocked and hurt to blast him when he’d destroyed her hopes and shattered her dreams. She wasn’t going to let this opportunity pass. “You just listen to what I have to say. You bullied me back then but it’s my turn, now.” Solie’s chest was heaving as the rage rushed in full force. “I loved you, Raul. Loved you. But not anymore. Seeing you in bed with that woman wiped that slate clean. All I feel for you now is disgust.”

  “Be careful what you’re saying, nina. I don’t take kindly to insults.” Raul’s voice was low, threatening. The charm gone, he began to show his true colors. He was becoming his old, menacing self.

  But Solie would not let him scare her. Not this time. “Are you threatening me?” she demanded, her voice unwavering. “You’d better watch your tone, mister, or I’ll file a complaint so fast you won’t even have time to blink.”

  Her comment got her silence. All she could hear was the sound of his breathing and the sound of it was even scarier than his words.

  Finally, he spoke. “Complain all you want,” he said, his voice cold. “I’m done for now but know this. You haven’t heard the last of me.” Then there was a click on the other end of the line and he was gone.

  The phone still clutched in her right hand, Solie stumbled over to the bed and dropped down onto it. She looked down and she wasn’t surprised to see that her hand was trembling. Raul was not the kind of man you wanted in your life, and definitely not as an enemy.

  But, like it or not, he was back. She only wished she could figure out what he would do next.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  “Get out of my way, will you?” Ransom felt the anger rise in his chest. “You report to me, dammit.”

  “Which means absolutely nothing. Not when you’re sick. Now turn around and get on home.” The beefy project manager folded his arms across his chest, his feet planted wide as he blocked the doorway to the office. Trevor Jones was acting like a bulldog and today he looked like one, his mouth set, his brows furrowed, his dark brown eyes boring into his boss. Even the sweat glistening on his dark-skinned brow seemed to be mocking Ransom. It was like every part of him was in the fight to keep him out.

  “I’m fine. I told you that. It’s been a week since the accident.” Ransom almost felt like punching his manager in the gut. Where else in the world did an owner have to defend himself to his employee?

  “Yeah, and you also told me you’ve been having headaches ever since. You need to go back to the doctor, man. Get yourself checked. It could be serious.” Concern flashed across Trevor’s face but then he dropped his brows again and his glare turned cold. “Until then you’re not setting foot in this office or on the construction site. When you report to me that you’ve seen the doctor and she's given you the okay then I might consider it.”

  “Bullshit.” The word exploded from Ransom’s lips as he returned the glare.

  “Yeah, whatever.” Trevor looked unimpressed. “Just turn around, jump back in that fast car of yours and I’ll swing by and check on you later.” He jerked his chin toward the parking lot. “Go on. Move it.”

  Ransom knew when he was beat. Boss or no boss, he would not have his way today. What made it worse, Trevor was far more than just an employee. He was a friend, and when it came to being protective, Trevor was the man. As long as he felt that Ransom’s health was in danger he would put his foot down. There was nothing to do but head back home and work on getting well. For now…

  Ransom knew that as soon as he got bored again he’d be back at the construction site. And that could be as early as tomorrow. This was his life. How could he stay away?

  Defeated for the moment he turned and walked back down the gravelly pathway toward his car.

  “Hey, boss.”

  He halted at Trevor’s yell.

  “Even if you go to the doctor you need somebody monitoring you. You know, checking that you’re okay.”

  Ransom turned and gave a snort. “What? I need a babysitter now? At this rate you’ll soon have me back in diapers.”

  “Bet you’d look cute, too.” With a bellow of a laugh Trevor turned and walked back into the office, slamming the door shut behind him.

  Ransom could only shake his head. That was what you got for empowering your employees.

  The battle lost, he turned again and walked back the way he’d come.

  ***

  “Ay, mamita. Don’t make me laugh like this. You crack me up.” Solie was laughing so hard tears were streaming down her cheeks. It had always been this way for her. Whenever she wanted to forget her troubles a quick phone call to her mother in Panama always did the trick.

  Niurka Felix was a cheerful woman who was a born leader and motivator. She’d survived an abusive marriage and escaped to raise three children, all girls, on her own. It hadn’t been easy, particularly for a woman whose formal education had ended at the ninth grade, but she’d done it. She’d worked for years in a bakery until she’d saved enough to open her own pastry shop. A few years later she had a small chain of shops in three cities in Panama. You could find Gala Galletas shops in Panama City, Tocumen and Changuinola.

  But if you asked Niurka about her greatest achievement she would always say it was the raising of three strong, successful daughters. Caridad, her oldest, managed a chain of grocery shops in Panama City. Her youngest, Pascual, was a senior
at Universidad de Panama, pursuing a degree in veterinary medicine. And Soledad, who fell between the two, knew that although she was the most contrary she was the one her mother leaned on most.

  Not that she needed to lean very often. She was a cheerful woman even at the worst of times. It was as if nothing could keep her down.

  “So, Ma, what did you say next?” Solie couldn’t help chuckling in anticipation of Niurka’s next words. She never tired of hearing stories of her mother’s daily adventures in the pastry shops and in the market. They were sure to give you a good laugh.

  Niurka chuckled back. “I tell him I can speak Jamaican just as good as him. I say, ‘don’t worry about a ting, mon. Every little ting goin’ to be all right.”

  That made Solie burst out laughing all over again. “Mama…mamita…,” she said between gasps, “I’m sorry, but just because you know two lines from a Bob Marley song it doesn’t mean you know how to speak Jamaican. Mamita, please.” And she started laughing again. She couldn’t help it.

  “Well, it’s good enough for me,” Niurka declared, sounding proud of herself. “That man, he got nothing over me.”

  “If you say so, Mama. If you say so.”

  By the time they got around to talking about what Solie had really called her mother about they’d been on the phone almost forty minutes and it was already six o’clock. This was one of those lucky days when her shift had ended early and she’d already been home three hours when she’d picked up the phone to call her mom. “So are you coming? Fort Lauderdale isn’t that far away, you know.”

  “And you know that I hate flying,” was her mother’s rejoinder. “When they build the bridge to Florida I’ll gladly take the bus across.”

  “But, Mom, it’s not like you’ve never flown before.”

  “But I don’t like it. I only fly when it’s really important, like when I came for your graduation.”

  “But this is important,” Solie reminded her. “It’s a wedding.”

  “But not your wedding,” Niurka said with a sniff. “Emilio’s wedding I can miss, but not yours.”

  “But he’s your cousin.”

  “Second cousin twice removed. I’ll just send him a nice gift.” She clicked her tongue and with that she ended the discussion. Everybody in the family knew it was the signal that she was ready to change the subject. “And what about you, mi hija? When-”

  “Mama, you know that’s off the table for me. I’m not looking.” Solie almost rolled her eyes even though her mother was miles away and couldn’t see her small act of defiance. She didn’t know how many times she’d said it but it was like it went in one ear and out the other. After Raul she’d had her fill of men, particularly tall, dark and gorgeous ones. Why couldn’t her mother accept the fact that she was happily single?

  “You must not stop looking, nina. Always have one eye open. Twenty-six is not so young anymore. Before you know it you’ll be thirty and then what?”

  “So, I’ll be thirty. It’s not like it’s the end of the world. Lots of people get married way past thirty.” Now she really did roll her eyes. Her mother could be so old-fashioned sometimes.

  “And what about babies? Caridad got married at twenty-three and had her first within a year-”

  “That’s Caridad, Mama, not me. Let me live my life my way, okay? Right now I just want to focus on finishing my Master’s.”

  “Yes, yes, education is important but so is family. You have to think about this.”

  At that moment the front doorbell chimed and Solie almost sighed her relief out loud. Whenever the conversation turned to her social life all she wanted to do was escape. Fast. Now she had the perfect excuse.

  “Ma, I have a visitor. I have to run, okay?”

  “Okay, mi hija, but call me later.”

  “I’ll call you tonight. Bye, Ma. Te amo.”

  Quickly, Solie placed the receiver back into its cradle and hurried toward the front door. “Coming,” she yelled as the bell chimed again. She already knew who it was.

  Daniel, her neighbor’s son, had promised to drop off some sheet music from his piano class. She was dying to try them out on the piano she’d bought herself for her birthday.

  She flung the door open. “Hi, Dan…” The words died in her throat.

  What she saw on her doorstep wasn’t a fourteen-year old kid clutching a handful of sheet music. Standing in her doorway was a tall, beefy dark-skinned man wearing a bright orange vest and a yellow hard hat.

  “I’m sorry to disturb you,” the big man said with a sheepish grin, “but I need your help.”

  CHAPTER SIX

  The man held out his hand to her. “I’m Trevor Jones, a friend of your neighbor’s.”

  “Y…yes, I know.” Quickly getting over her shock she took his hand and shook it. “I remember you.” Then she frowned. “How can I help? Is something wrong?” And just like she’d known it would, her stupid renegade heart gave a tiny jerk of concern. What if something else had happened to Ransom Kent?

  Trevor released her and shoved his hands into his pockets. He shook his head. “No, not really. It’s just…” He sighed and his eyes wandered away from her face as he looked over the hedge that separated her yard from Ransom’s. “It’s just that neighbor of yours.” He shook his head again but this time when he looked back at her he was smiling. “Ransom’s too darned stubborn for his own good. He won’t sit still even though he’s been having some bad headaches these past few days. Can you believe the man showed up for work in his sick state?” He grimaced then seemed to catch himself.

  Trevor bit his lip and when he spoke again his eyes had a tiny look of pleading that was hard to resist. “I know this is none of your concern,” he began, “but I was wondering if you would help me. Could you…keep an eye on him? He’s liable to hurt himself. When he’s bored he’ll even go out and make work where no work exists.”

  His speech touched Solie’s heart. She could see how concerned Trevor was for his friend. She cocked her head to one side as she stared up at him. “Do you think he’ll listen to me?”

  That got her a chuckle. “Oh, he will. Just threaten him with a needle. You know he’s got a thing about needles, right?”

  Solie nodded. “I’ve got first-hand experience with that.”

  “So you know he’s not going to mess around with someone who’s got the power to have him shaking in his boots.” He shrugged. “Me, I could threaten till I turn blue. He never listens.”

  Solie almost smiled. For a man as big as Trevor it shouldn’t be hard to intimidate anyone. But she knew how it was when you had a stubborn one to deal with. She knew exactly how to handle a mule like Ransom Kent.

  “Today,” she said, pulling the front door closed behind her, “he’s going to listen, whether he likes it or not. Come on.”

  She took Trevor’s hand and turned him around then marched him right back down the driveway, matching him step for step.

  Her neighbor might have been able to stand up to Trevor and bully him back but it wouldn’t happen with her. Ransom Kent would soon learn that Soledad Felix did not play around.

  ***

  “What’s up with you, boy?” Ransom laughed and held out his hand as King Tut raced toward the hedge and back again. The Great Dane ran up to him and pushed his nose into his palm then he was off again, barking as he raced toward the leafy fence that separated their yard from that of the crazy - well, maybe not so crazy - nurse who lived next door.

  “What’s over there, boy? Don’t go boring through that hedge, now. Don’t get me in trouble.” He was still laughing when he heard the clang of the garden gate and heavy footsteps coming up the pathway. He wasn’t surprised. Trevor was a big guy and he wasn’t known for moving softly. “Well, that took you long enough,” he called out even before he saw his friend. “How long does it take a guy to grab a six-pack and head back? Jeez, you must have gone and brewed the damn thing yourself.”

  “Nope,” he heard Trevor say even before he turned the corner int
o the back yard. “I went and got myself a lovely lady instead.”

  Ransom couldn’t help but snort. “Yeah, right.”

  He was still grinning as he turned in the direction of Trevor’s voice but his heart did a double-take when he saw that his friend had been telling the truth. Right by his side was the beauty who had been on his mind ever since she’d threatened him with an enema. And now, when he least expected it, she was here…and she was not looking happy.

  God, what now?

  “Ransom,” Trevor said as he came to a halt before him, “this is your neighbor, Miss Soledad Felix.”

  “I know that,” Ransom growled, annoyed. What did Trevor think he was? Daft?

  He cleared his frown as he turned his attention on his unexpected but certainly not unwelcome visitor. “Hello, Nurse Felix. Solie. How are you?” He knew he sounded stiff but that was his best attempt at courtesy.

  She gave him a cool stare. “The question is, how are you? I heard you’ve been having headaches.”

  Ransom raised his eyebrows. “You did, did you?”

  “I did, and that’s not good. Have you been to your primary care physician since the accident?”

  Ransom turned cool eyes on Trevor but he’d turned away and was studiously examining a hibiscus just off the end of the patio. So he’d been talking. A traitor in the midst.

  Ransom turned back to Solie. “As a matter of fact, I haven’t. Not necessary.”

  He almost stepped back when her glacial stare suddenly turned fiery. Her brows fell and her eyes were practically shooting poison darts at him.

  “What do you mean, you haven’t? When you were discharged you were specifically instructed to do a follow-up with your doctor. Why didn’t you follow instructions?” She jammed her fists on her hips and was looking for all the world like his battle-axe of a first grade teacher, just without the bun and the horn-rimmed glasses.