Billionaire Behind the Mask

by Andrea Laurence

  Coming to the club was a mistake. Sutton knew that now. He just hadn’t realized that it would be his reputation, and not Lauren’s, that caused the problems.

  He’d been deliberately avoiding the club these last few weeks. While he knew that people, including the ones who’d recently claimed to be friends, were talking about his family behind their backs, avoiding the club made it easier to ignore. Beth’s charity event had been the exception. But the distraction of Lauren and helping with her restaurant had proved too successful. In encouraging her to face her fears, he’d forgotten why he hadn’t wanted to come.

  Less than two sips into his cocktail, he had remembered. He’d felt the eyes on them when they came in, but chalked it up to Lauren being new. But when the others started laughing and he’d picked up enough of their words to know the joke was on him, he knew he’d made an error in coming here.

  He splashed his face with water at the sink and took a deep breath. He needed to get it together. He couldn’t let them know they were getting to him. That was paramount. Sutton and his family had nothing to hide. They’d been set up. All those fair-weather friends could enjoy their laugh at his expense, but in the end, the truth would come out. And when they tried to cozy back up to the Wingates in the future, they’d find an icy reception.

  Plucking a towel from the dispenser, Sutton dried his face and hands and used a splash of the complimentary cologne he liked to pat on his neck. It had eucalyptus, which was supposed to be good for stress. He could use all the help he could get at the moment.

  When he returned to the dining room, he thought for a moment that he’d gotten himself turned around. But he knew he was at the right table. Their two empty drink glasses—one martini glass and one lowball—were still sitting there. But Lauren was nowhere to be seen.

  “Will that be all for you, Mr. Wingate?” the waiter asked as he approached.

  “I don’t know. I think so. Did you see where the lady that was with me went?”

  “No sir. She must’ve slipped away when I was in the kitchen. Would you like me to add the bill to your membership tab?”

  Sutton nodded. “Yes, thank you.” He doubted she would want to stay on at the club past the single drink she agreed to, even if she’d only gone to the ladies’ room or stepped out to use her phone. He certainly didn’t want to stay. But where had she gone? Lauren hadn’t vanished on him since their first night together at the club.

  “She left. Ordered a car to pick her up, I think.”

  Sutton turned toward a group of women sitting nearby and the one that had spoken to him. “She left the club?”

  “Yes. A few minutes ago. She seemed pretty upset, too.”

  He narrowed his gaze at the unfamiliar brunette. She seemed pleased and perhaps all too eager to tell him what happened. He had no clue who she was or why that would be the case. Ignoring her, he rushed over to the front door and flung it open to see if he still had time to catch her.

  He saw her standing on the curb as a white sedan with an Uber sticker in the front window pulled up to her. “Lauren!” he shouted as he ran down the stairs to her.

  She didn’t turn his way, instead scrambling to get into the car before he could reach her. He was able to reach out and grasp her wrist, tugging her back to her feet.

  “What’s going on?” Sutton implored. “Why are you leaving?”

  Lauren looked up at him with eyes near overflowing with tears. He could see hurt and conflict dancing across her face. She opened her mouth to say something, then shook her head. Leaning in to Sutton, she pressed a heated kiss to his lips. There was a finality in the way she touched him, and it made his chest ache.

  “You need to let me go,” she whispered against his mouth and pulled her wrist from his grasp.

  Sutton stood, confused and heartbroken, as Lauren got into the car and it drove away. He watched the Uber disappear down the highway and wondered what the hell had just happened.

  Picking his phone from his coat pocket, he dialed Lauren, but it went immediately to voicemail. He didn’t understand how things had soured so quickly.

  The sound of those same men laughing in the far corner of the room caught his attention as he hung up and stepped back into the club’s lobby. “I hope he looks good in orange!” one of them said to another loud round of laughter.

  They were belittling him and his family again. They didn’t even try to pretend like they weren’t. He was used to it, even before the scandal people were always talking about his family. But it was new to Lauren. Maybe she’d overheard their ugly jokes while he was away from the table. He’d told her everything there was to know about the situation with Wingate Industries, but perhaps being here and having to face his scandal head-on was too much for her. It was one thing to say he was being investigated and plead his innocence. It was quite another to hear men joke about the man she was dating going to federal prison. Who wanted to carry on a relationship that might consist of Sunday afternoon visits through Plexiglas and parole hearings?

  His declaration of innocence didn’t mean he wouldn’t end up in prison anyway. He wasn’t that naïve. They had good lawyers, expensive lawyers, but whoever had set them up had done a thorough job. With the evidence they had and the right jury, Sutton, Sebastian and countless other executives at the company could spend the next year or so behind bars.

  The idea bothered him, of course. No one wanted to go to prison. But now the thought of it really ate at him knowing he would have to leave Lauren to build her new restaurant without his help and support.

  All of that was a lot to process and might be hard for her to face. And more trouble than she needed right now in her busy life. He didn’t blame her for running, if that was what she’d done. She was an up-and-coming star in Royal, whether she knew it or not. She didn’t need Sutton’s drama dragging her down and tarnishing her reputation before she’d had a chance to build one.

  That didn’t mean it wasn’t a punch to the gut he wasn’t expecting. He didn’t think she was the kind of woman to run out when things got tough.

  Without glancing back at the men he’d once called friends, Sutton let the door swing shut behind him and walked to his car. He drove back to his rental house faster than he should’ve, inviting more trouble with the law, but he didn’t care. He just wanted away from the club. Away from those people he’d defended to Lauren, but now, wondered why. Perhaps she was right to avoid them all. He might need to take a page from her book and let his own membership lapse for a while. It was one less expense piling up with the others.

  Once back in the safety of the house, where he could stick his head in the sand and ignore the troubles he’d had to face today, he threw his keys down on the kitchen counter. Sutton pulled a beer from the fridge and popped off the top with enough angry force to send the metal disk flying through the air.

  It landed at his brother’s feet.

  “You’re back early,” Sebastian said as he came around the corner into the kitchen and looked down at the silver disk on the tile. He stopped short when he looked at Sutton, the beer in his hand and the scowl on his face. “Uh-oh. What happened?”

  Sutton relayed his experience at the club as briefly as he could. “She ran out on me.”

  “Did you try calling her?”

  He pulled out his phone and dialed again, only to have Lauren’s voice mail announcement tell him to leave a message. Again. “She’s not taking my calls at the moment.”

  “I wonder what happened while you were in the restroom.” Sebastian settled into a barstool with a thoughtful expression on his face. “Whatever it was, it happened fast.”

  “It’s got to be about the investigation. The Kennedy brothers and Mark Swenson were being jackasses about it when we were there. Joking about us in orange jumpsuits.” He shook his head. “As much as I hate to say it, it was probably best that she left. I would’ve bailed if I was her. No one w
ants to be in a relationship with a criminal if they can avoid it. Maybe she decided to make a run for it while she still had the chance. Things haven’t gotten too serious yet.”

  “For one thing, you’re not a criminal and I’d like to think Lauren knows that. For another, if you think things aren’t too serious, you’re blind.”

  Sutton swallowed his sip of beer and set the bottle down on the granite countertop. “What are you talking about?”

  Sebastian rolled his eyes. “Really? You don’t think that what you two have going isn’t serious? It’s the most serious relationship I’ve seen you in, Sutton. Like, ever. You’ve fallen hard for that woman, whether you’ve admitted it to yourself or not.”

  He opened his mouth to argue, but stopped short. The more he thought about his brother’s words, the more he realized that they were right. Sutton had never had feelings for a woman like he had for Lauren. She hadn’t just been a distraction from his problems. She had become the reason he had to fight through them and come out the other side stronger. She was the first thing he thought of when he woke up in the morning and the last thing on his mind as he drifted off to sleep. When he wasn’t with her, he felt like there was a hole in his gut and no amount of antacids could fix it. Only holding her in his arms again did the trick.

  And it wasn’t just about sex, for once. Relationships with him had always centered around physical gratification and having fun. And when he grew bored with either, he moved on. It was completely different with her. Sex with Lauren was mind-blowing, no doubt, but he was also content to just snuggle with her on the couch. He liked to draw the scent of her shampoo into his lungs and try to memorize it. He felt like the world was instantly better when he saw her smile.

  There was no longer any doubt in his mind. He hated to admit it, but Sebastian was right. He was in love with Lauren. She just had to bail on him to reveal the truth of it.

  And now that he knew, he just had to figure out what he was going to do about his runaway lover.

  Twelve

  Lauren wasn’t quite sure how to handle her new normal. In order to get the restaurant up and running, she had to relinquish control of other things. That meant not spending every waking moment dealing with the food trucks. Ed and Javier still ran the second truck, but she’d hired someone to help Amy work the first truck. She developed the daily menus a week in advance and let Amy and Javier handle the details.

  It was a big step for her, but in order to keep everyone gainfully employed and funds coming in, the trucks had to keep going for now. Especially with business booming after the exposure of the pop-up night. Once the restaurant was open, perhaps she could keep hiring on folks to run the trucks and move her main crew to the kitchen. They knew her food better than anyone and she would need their support to make it a success.

  But that was a decision for later. Right now, she had plenty of things to think about that had to be dealt with immediately. She’d already signed the lease on the restaurant space, so every day that went by without them making money, the more nervous she became. That meant she had to move quickly on choosing contractors for repairs, paint, carpet and more. Things she wanted to focus on—namely the menu—had to take second place to all the environmental decisions.

  Thankfully, she had Gracie to help. The new millionaire and investor wasn’t quite as silent a partner as Lauren had expected, but it had turned out for the best. Gracie wanted to help with as much as she could, so Lauren was turning over a few decisions on the decor and furnishings to her. So far, she’d chosen flatware, plates and even the new fixtures in the restrooms. Furniture was on order. That took a few worries off Lauren’s plate.

  It actually took enough off her mind that she found her thoughts straying periodically. Normally, she was too busy to think much about her life and how it was going. But now that she had a little time, her brain seemed all too happy to put aside menu ideas and circle back to thinking about Sutton and the look on his face as she drove away. About how much she missed him. And how she’d run out on him without explaining why or what happened.

  With a sigh, Lauren dropped her pen back onto the counter and sat back. Thoughts of shrimp and grits went to the wayside as she glanced over at her phone. She had six missed calls. All from Sutton, although they were coming less frequently now. Soon he would stop calling entirely, a reality that both relieved and terrified her.

  She needed to explain herself. To explain to him why she ran off. But it seemed stupid every time she tried to come up with an answer. The truth was ugly and hard to explain. How do you get the town golden boy, the millionaire playboy tycoon, to understand that she had low self-esteem? He wouldn’t understand. And yet, he’d contributed to it, likely without even knowing what he was really doing.

  Lauren already spent most of her time feeling insecure. His constant suggestions about her business, coupled with running into Kaylah at the club of all places, was just too much. She didn’t feel good enough for this town most days, but that afternoon she’d gotten confirmation that she was right. She was a great chef and could happily serve the elite of Royal amazing food, but she would never be one of them.

  The sooner she admitted that to herself, the easier it would be in the end. She might love Sutton. And he might be infatuated with the idea of her. But he would never love her. His family and friends would never accept her. So the next time the phone rang and it was him, she would continue to ignore it. It was easier on her heart this way.

  As if on cue, her phone started to play the ringtone she’d assigned to Sutton. She sighed and turned away from the phone. Instead of answering, she got up and made herself a glass of iced tea. But the moment the phone stopped ringing, her doorbell pinged loudly through the house.

  Lauren frowned and made her way to the front door. She couldn’t keep up with the packages showing up of late. She opened it, expecting to find a delivery man with eight cases of dinner plates, but instead found Sutton on her porch with another bouquet of herbs in his hands.

  Her heart leaped as she saw him, ignoring the sinking feeling of dread in her stomach. It seems he wouldn’t take no for an answer when it came to her and she loved that about him. And hated it at the same time. How was she supposed to convince herself she could move on without him in her life if he wouldn’t let her try?

  “What are you doing here, Sutton?” she asked in a defeated tone. She hadn’t answered the phone because she wasn’t ready to talk to him. Showing up on her doorstep just forced her to face the feelings and words she was too emotionally exhausted to deal with right now.

  He smiled and held out the bouquet. “I’m here because I’m not sure what happened between us, but I’m determined to fix it.”

  “You don’t have to fix it, Sutton. Or fix me. I’m supposed to be your girlfriend, not a pet project for a bored businessman trying to avoid the problems in his own life.”

  He looked confused and slightly stunned by her sharp words. “What are you talking about?”

  She wasn’t sure what he was missing from the conversation. What was he talking about? His befuddled look made her just as perplexed. She just shook her head. There wasn’t time for this. “Just go home, Sutton.”

  “I was home,” he said. “But it felt cold and empty without you there with me. Nothing feels right since you ran off and I don’t know what to do about it, because I’m not sure what I did wrong. So tell me and let me do something about it, because I need you.”

  “You didn’t do anything wrong,” Lauren replied, trying not to react physically to his bold words. She felt cold and empty without him, too, but she wouldn’t say so.

  “Then why did you run out on me at the club?”

  “Because you deserve better!” she shouted.

  Sutton’s jaw dropped at her forceful words. Then his expression softened with sadness in his eyes. “There isn’t anything better than you, Lauren.”

  Now it was her turn
to be struck silent by his words. He meant it. She could feel the truth of his proclamation down to the soles of her feet. But she couldn’t understand why. Everyone seemed to realize their relationship was doomed but Sutton. He was just too stubborn to see it.

  “May I come in?” he asked softly.

  Lauren relented and stepped back to let him inside. She took the herbs he offered and carried them into the kitchen to put the cuttings in some fresh water. They would be good for a chimichurri or pesto sauce later. Even then, a chef’s brain never fully switched off.

  With that settled, she ushered Sutton into her small living room and the comfortable set of chairs she had there. They sat on opposite ends of the loveseat, only inches apart, but it felt like miles to Lauren. She wanted to scoot in and find sweet solace in the nook of his arm. But she stayed in place.

  “Despite what you might think, Sutton, I’m not good enough for you. I’m not the right kind of girl for your family and friends. I don’t fit in with the club crowd and despite your best efforts, my trip there only reinforced what I already knew. What we’ve had is fun, but it isn’t built to last.”

  Sutton’s eyes narrowed as she spoke, his jaw flexing with suppressed irritation. “Where do you get off deciding that you’re not good enough for me? Shouldn’t I be the one to make that decision?”

  “You didn’t have to make it. Good old Kaylah Anderson took care of the dirty work for you. One quick conversation and the fantasy was over, with my feet instantly back on the ground. I know I’m fighting an uphill battle I’m destined to lose, now.”

  Sutton frowned and then his eyes met hers. “Are you talking about the brunette at the club? The one sitting near our table in a blue blouse?”

  “That was her.” Of course, he would notice a woman like Kaylah. Everyone noticed her, with her golden hair, big blue eyes and huge chest. And if they didn’t, Kaylah was quick to make them notice her.

  “What does she...?” His voice trailed off and his eyes widened as he seemed to piece it all together. “Wait. Was that woman the same Kaylah you mentioned from the homecoming dance at the club?”