The Billionaire's Reunion

by Jenna Brandt

  “Thank you,” her father said, “now let’s go get that luggage.”

  “May I use the restroom first?” Rick asked. “It was a long flight.”

  “I can show him,” Molly stated, wanting a moment to make sure Rick was really okay with the sleeping arrangements.

  As they made their way down the hall, Molly broached the subject. “I’m surprised you reacted so well to my father’s conditions for staying here. I honestly thought you would insist we go stay at a hotel.”

  “Oh, I don’t plan to follow them the whole time. I just said that for his sake. Believe me, when everyone is sleeping, I’ll be sneaking into your bedroom,” Rick explained with a wink.

  Molly wasn’t sure what to think of Rick’s plan. Though she didn’t necessarily agree with her father’s archaic rules, she didn’t like the idea of breaking them. She had been pleased, thinking Rick was being respectful. This new information, however, made her realize he hadn’t any intention of following through on what he said.

  “I think under the circumstances, it’s best if you don’t. My parents are light sleepers, and I want them to like you.”

  He shrugged. “It’s only a few days. I guess it doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. But you’re going to owe me when we get back to Miami.”

  She chose to avoid addressing his innuendo, and instead pointed to the room at the end of the hall. “That’s the guest bathroom. I’ll meet you back in the living room once you’re finished.”

  Molly turned and headed back down the hall. She hoped everyone could get along for the duration of their stay. The last thing she needed was her parents and Rick to hate each other. It would keep her from focusing on her true task for being in Crystal Cove—finding out the truth about Spencer Wilmington.

  Spencer watched the brown-haired man in the orange jumpsuit sitting across from him in the county jail. The man was obviously suffering from narcotics withdrawal. He was sweating profusely, his eyes were darting everywhere, and he was sporadically twitching and scratching his tattooed skin.

  Compassionately, Spencer pushed a bottle of water towards the inmate. “Here, this should help some.”

  The man gave him a surprised look as he reached out and yanked the bottle towards him. “So, how are you going to get me out of here?”

  “I need you to give me a detailed account of that day, Mr. Burke. This is my third trip to see you, and you still haven’t told me where you were when the robbery happened. If you could just give me your alibi, we could build a defense around that,” Spencer explained to his client, Daryl Burke.

  “Like I told you and the cops, I let Joe Gunders borrow my truck that night. I had no idea what he had planned, and I wasn’t involved.”

  “I understand that, but the jury is going to want to know what you were doing during the time of the robbery. There’s even a possibility I can get this thrown out before it goes to trial if I can prove you weren’t there.”

  Daryl shrugged. “That’s the problem; you won’t be able to. And even if you could, what I was doing wasn’t exactly legal. It would just get me into a whole other set of problems.”

  “Why don’t you let me worry about that? I need you to tell me, so I can figure out the best way to defend you.”

  The other man crossed his arms and eyed Spencer skeptically. “This isn’t my first time down this road. My last attorney messed me over bad. I ended up doing a whole year for a simple bar fight.”

  “Mr. Burke, I’ve read your entire file,” Spencer said, patting the folder in front of him. “I’m aware of what happened to you three years ago. Let me make one thing clear, I’m nothing like your last public defender. I care more about my clients than getting my cases closed. If you work with me, I will do my very best to help you.”

  “Fine,” Daryl said as he leaned forward onto the table. “But I’m telling you, it’s just going to make everything harder. I was with a woman friend of mine that evening.”

  Spencer jotted down the information. “This can help. I just need you to tell me her name and where to find her. Once I get her statement on the record, I can present it to the district attorney along with a request for dismissal.”

  “Yea, so that’s where we run into a problem,” Daryl stated as he cracked his knuckles. “She’s not going to want to go on the record. She’s skittish of cops and lawyers because of her job.”

  “What does she do exactly?” Spencer probed. “Maybe we can figure something out.”

  Daryl’s brows came together in a furrow as he rolled his shoulders. “She’s a hooker. I’m one of her regulars down at the Sundance Hotel.”

  “Oh, well…” Spencer thought about their options for a few moments, then said, “We could have her give her statement, but leave out the part of what she does for a living. They just need to know where you were. She can verify it wasn’t at the robbery. It could still work. Do you have a cell phone number for her?”

  Daryl shook his head. “No, she hates them. Thinks the government is listening through them. She usually works the corner by the hotel most nights. Her name’s Trixie.”

  “What does she look like?”

  “Brown, curly hair and a big rack. She’s also got a butterfly tattoo on her lower back, but that probably won’t help you find her.”

  Spencer internally cringed at the description of the woman. It wouldn’t be his first time tracking down someone on the seedy east side of town.

  “Okay, Daryl, that should do it for now,” Spencer stated as he put away his notepad and files. “I’m going to work on this over the next couple of days.” He stood to his feet and gave his client a nod. “I’ll come back when I have some news.”

  As Spencer headed back to his office to check in and make a few calls, he mulled over the other three cases he was working on. He had two narcotics cases, one possession and one dealing, and a felony battery case. He was making good headway on the dealing case, as his client was willing to trade supplier information in order to get his charges pled down to misdemeanors, but the possession was harder since the college kid didn’t have anything to trade. He was just stupid enough to get caught buying illegal prescription drugs. Since it was a first offense, Spencer hoped the district attorney would be willing to offer rehab with probation.

  The most difficult of the three though, was going to be the battery case. It was his client’s third offense, and the district attorney already made it clear there wasn’t going to be any deals. He wanted the guy to go away for a long time. When Spencer got back to the office, he needed to make some calls to see if he could locate any witnesses that could prove the other guy provoked the fight in the parking lot of the smoke shop. Of course, the cops didn’t take the time to interview anyone, but Spencer was great at finding overlooked witnesses.

  Spencer walked into the Public Defenders Crystal Cove office. He weaved through the cubicles until he reached the hallway that led to his office. Just as he came around the corner, he overheard his assistant, Jane, talking to one of the paralegals named Allison. He stopped moving and felt his stomach tighten as they mentioned a name he hadn’t heard in nearly a decade.

  “I couldn’t believe it when I saw Molly Price at the coffee shop this morning,” Allison stated. “I mean, she’s got to be back in town for the class reunion, right?”

  “I guess. I just didn’t think she would want to come back here, considering what happened before she left. I know I wouldn’t.”

  “Wait until Spencer finds out she’s back in town. He’s going to flip out after the lies she told about him. I still can’t believe she wanted everyone to think they had a serious relationship when all that happened was that she tricked him into hooking up.”

  “You know, the weird thing about all of that was that I had a few classes with Molly. She kept to herself and never caused problems. It shocked me when Tiffany exposed what happened. Molly never seemed like the type of person to do all of that.”

  “Yes, but it’s always the quiet ones who go all fata
l attraction on someone. Besides, can you blame her? It is Spencer Wilmington after all. Everybody wanted him back in high school,” then, changing her tone to a whisper barely loud enough for Spencer to overhear, she added, “not to mention many of us still do.”

  Jane let out a laugh. “He has held up pretty well over the years, with that full head of blond hair and charming smile.”

  “Have you guys, you know, ever? I mean, with all the late nights you end up here working with him, mixing business with pleasure seems plausible.”

  “No way,” Jane protested. “Spencer keeps it strictly professional, despite growing up together. I haven’t even seen him look at me that way, let alone make a pass.”

  “Too bad, call it a hunch, but an office romp with him would be mind-blowing.”

  Spencer decided he had heard enough. Making a “hum-hum” sound, he emerged from around the corner. “Good afternoon, ladies.”

  Both froze, turning to face him with embarrassed expressions.

  “I wasn’t expecting you back this early, Mr. Wilmington,” Jane scampered to his side, patting her brown hair into place.

  “Obviously,” he said with a narrowed glance at Allison, who tossed her black hair over her shoulder, trying to appear nonchalant.

  “Can I get you anything?” Jane offered.

  “Just any messages that I might have,” he said as he entered his office and set down his briefcase. “And a cup of coffee. I can tell it’s going to be a long day.”

  He sat down at his desk and flicked the mouse to turn on his computer. He quickly typed in his password, but as he stared at the screen, he hesitated before doing anything.

  Molly Price was back in town. Not a day had gone by since she left Crystal Cove that he hadn’t thought about her. He still felt tremendous shame and guilt, not only over what he had done to her, but what he let others do to her as well. He had been so foolish back then.

  Spencer watched Molly as she read his first draft of his latest essay. Though he was making an effort to not let it happen, his eyes kept drifting to Molly’s tempting lips. He liked how they slightly moved as she silently read the words on the paper. He wondered what it would feel like to kiss those pink pillows of perfection, and to feel her soft curves against his muscular frame as he wrapped his hands in her hair.

  He shook the image from his head, and tried to focus on English. Though they had started off in a rough spot, he had grown to admire the quick-witted, quirky girl that sat across from him. He had recently noticed she was cute too, with her long, brown hair, green eyes, and button nose. He wondered why he had never noticed her before.

  Because your friends will never let you live it down if you end up starting something with the class nerd, Spencer thought to himself. Stick to your own kind; cheerleaders are more your speed. They don’t make you feel stupid every time you open your mouth.

  If he admitted it to himself, however, Spencer liked the fact that Molly challenged him. He was tired of having lengthy, awkward silences with girls that simply wanted to be with him because of his popularity. He wanted more, but he wasn’t sure he was willing to cross his friends to be with Molly.

  Get it together and stop this before it’s too late, Spencer chastised himself. You’ve worked too hard to let anyone destroy your reputation.

  Creating some distance between them could help. It was time to step back and put things back into their proper place.

  “So, what do you think? Are we good here?” Spencer asked with a cold tone.

  “Almost,” Molly stated as she finished marking a couple of spots on the last page. “Once you make these corrections, you can turn it in. I think Mr. Warner will be pleased with the work you did on this.”

  Molly handed the paper over to Spencer, who yanked it from her hands. “May I go now?”

  “Geez, what’s the matter with you? You’ve been short with me all afternoon. I thought we were finally getting to a place where we could work together without things being weird.”

  “Let’s make one thing clear, if anything is weird around here, it’s not me, which only leaves you.”

  A hurt look crossed her face. “That was mean. I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but you need to figure it out before our next tutoring session.”

  “Ugh, could you be any more sensitive? I seriously can’t take it,” he grumbled, standing up and slinging his backpack over his shoulder. “I’ll talk to you later.”

  As he fled the library, he realized he already regretted being mean to Molly. She didn’t deserve it. It wasn’t her fault he was beginning to see her as more than just his tutor. The worst part was that his plan had backfired. He didn’t feel any distance at all, but rather, he wanted to march back in and tell her he was sorry he had behaved like an idiot because he liked her.

  He stopped on the steps, waffling between going back in and continuing home.

  “There you are. I was hoping you were done with your stupid tutoring,” Tiffany, Crystal Cove High’s head cheerleader and Spencer’s on-and-off girlfriend, complained. “I was hoping you would want to take me out to a movie tonight.”

  “I thought you were done with me, Tiffany. I remember you saying this time it was for good.”

  “Oh, you know how good we are together. It’s never really all the way done,” she said as she placed her hand on his arm and squeezed.

  “Yea, but I’m thinking this time it should be. I’m tired of playing your games.”

  “What are you talking about? We’re meant to be together Spencer. After all, you’re the star quarterback and I’m the head cheerleader. It doesn’t get any more obvious than that,” she declared with a roll of her eyes. “Stop punishing me for our last fight. Tell you what, we can skip the movie and just head straight up to the bluffs to make out.”

  She leaned up on her tiptoes and tried to kiss him on the mouth. Before she could land her mark, he turned his head away.

  “Stop it, Tiffany. I’m serious. It’s over this time.”

  Stepping back, she narrowed her eyes and spat out, “Why? What’s changed? Is there someone else? Is it Amanda? I know she’s had her eyes on you for months. If she’s made a move on you, I swear I’m going to rip her hair out at the roots. And if you let her, you’re going to regret it, Spencer. You know better than to cross me. Remember the last time—”

  “Excuse me,” Molly said as she tried to squeeze past them as she exited the library.

  “Ugh, can’t you see you’re in the way,” Tiffany spat out at Molly. “You’re so annoying.”

  “Believe me, I don’t want to interrupt whatever this is,” Molly stated, gesturing to them both.

  “You’re not interrupting anything important. It’s just Tiffany being Tiffany,” Spencer explained as he reached out and stopped Molly from continuing down the stairs. “Why don’t I walk you to your car?”

  Molly glanced hesitantly at Tiffany, then back at Spencer. “No, I’m good, thanks. See you on Monday for our next session,” she said before hurrying away.

  “Good riddance,” Tiffany shouted out after her.

  As Spencer watched Molly walk away, he had to force himself not to chase after her. After a few moments, he turned his attention back to Tiffany, who was glaring at him.

  “Now it all makes sense. You’ve fallen for that tutor girl,” Tiffany accused. “Wait until everyone hears about this. You’re going to be the laughing-stock of the school.”

  “What?” Spencer sputtered out. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. The school is making me meet with her.”

  “Maybe, but it seems like you rather enjoy her company. Never took you for the type that would be interested in a nerd like that. I guess there’s a first time for everything.”

  Spencer’s stomach seized with fear. There was no way he could handle Tiffany blowing up his life. He needed to do damage control quick. Against his actual desires, he stretched out his arms and pulled Tiffany into them.

  “Why don’t I take you to that movie, Tiffany?
Let’s forget all about this misunderstanding.”

  “You sure?” she asked, looking up into his eyes. “Cuz you just said we’re done.”

  “Yes, but you said it best; we’re never really done.”

  Even as he said the words, his heart filled with regret. He didn’t like misleading Tiffany when he knew deep down he didn’t want to be with her anymore. He was certain of one thing now; his heart belonged to Molly Price. Yet, he was too scared of what Tiffany would do if he truly ended things once and for all.

  “Here’s your cup of coffee, Mr. Wilmington,” Jane interrupted his thoughts as she placed the mug beside him on his desk. “Is there anything else I can get you?”

  “No, I’m good. Just shut the door behind you, please.”

  Spencer forced himself to focus on his caseload and not think about the past. It didn’t matter how much he regretted his decisions when it came to Molly, he was never going to be able to make up for it anyway. The damage had been too severe. Spencer was keenly aware that sometimes there just weren’t second chances.

  Chapter 2

  Waves of unwanted feelings surged through Molly as she entered the Crystal Cove Public Library. The last time she was there, she had been with Spencer, tutoring him while they continued their secret relationship. She had no idea, a week later, her life would blow up because of it.

  A group of children ranging from toddlers to preteens were gathered on the rug in front of a small cleared area with an empty chair in the middle. Behind the children, there were rows of chairs where parents, library staff, and reporters were sitting.

  Not wanting to be noticed, Molly slipped into a chair at the back of the room.

  A gray-haired woman with glasses took to the front of the stage. She smiled out at everyone assembled. “Good afternoon, everyone. We’re so glad you all could make it today. My name is Lucille Baldwin. I’ve been the head librarian here at the Crystal Cove Library for over twenty years, and I’m truly honored to introduce our guest reader today. I remember when he sat at these very tables to study while he was in high school. Now today, he returns as the senior public defender for Crystal Cove. Please give a warm welcome to Spencer Wilmington.”