Dark Masquerade: A Bad Boy Billionaire Romance

by Michelle Love

  After parking my car, I went inside. It wasn’t a large crowd, I knew it wouldn’t be. Theodore laid in a casket made out of oak. His body was in the spotlight. The knot in my throat grew, and I took a seat, then cried openly, knowing it didn’t matter anymore.

  The people there were mostly old friends of his who didn’t even know who I was. Besides, they were all wrapped up in their own grief.

  In the back of the funeral home, I sat and listened as the sad music played, drawing the pain out in us all. Pictures flashed on a white wall of Theodore in his younger days. He was such a handsome young man.

  A man spoke to us about life and death and how we all have to meet our maker some day. Honestly, I tried not to listen to the words he said. They just made it all so much harder to take.

  I’d never again get to hear Theodore’s voice. I’d never feel the touch of his paper thin skinned hand. I’d never get to look into those eyes that held a twinkle until his heart had taken all it could take.

  Flowers and plants littered the floor around his casket. At least the people of Portland knew the value of the man, even if his only relative did not. My heart clenched at that thought.

  Heartless bastard.

  After the funeral was over, I felt drained, exhausted. Like someone had sucked all the emotion out of me entirely. The last thing I wanted to do was go have food and drinks with all the other funeral guests. But I found myself going with the small crowd over to the reception area, across the hallway.

  A patio off the reception room had been set up with the buffet. The sky had cleared, amazingly. The sun was out, and fluffy white clouds moved through the sky. It was warm but not too warm. It felt very nice for an early autumn day.

  Maybe I would just leave, I thought, as I stood by the buffet table of the catered gathering after the actual funeral service. I could just leave, and no one would be the wiser.

  “I’ve been trying to figure it out,” a voice commented. A voice that gave me the shivers for just a second. It was so familiar, I thought it must be Theodore. But of course, I knew it wasn’t. Very slowly, I turned around, fighting off the gooseflesh on my arms.

  Low, deep, dominant, very masculine. Theodore’s voice had gotten weaker and quieter as he’d declined, but he’d never lost those qualities, and this man had the same ones, only he also had energy and strength and youth behind his words, too.

  “David,” There was no trace of any doubt to my voice because I felt none. David Black. It had to be. I could tell it by the shape of his eyes, by the slightly sardonic tilt to his full lips.

  I could tell that my recognition took him aback. He withdrew a little bit from me, and at that moment, I saw some things I hadn’t expected to see.

  First off, the man was handsome. I’d only known Theodore when he was old. But the pictures I’d seen of him proved he’d been a handsome man. David had those same glistening dark eyes, the subtle sense of humor in them and in his whole expression. He was tall, a good half a foot, at least, taller than my 5’7, and his shoulders were broad and strong. His hair was dark and careless, though he was otherwise perfectly put together.

  “Excuse me, I don’t believe we’ve had the pleasure.” He gave me a tight smile, and I felt the urge to take a step or two back. There was something almost feral about the man at that moment, despite how sharply he was dressed.

  Without words, he asked who I was, and what I was doing at his grandfather’s funeral. He must’ve known pretty much everyone else there, since these were friends of Theodore’s who he’d had for years and years, from what I’d picked up from the service.

  I crossed my arms over my chest, trying not to get defensive. After all, I had nothing to be ashamed of. He was the one who should be defensive if either of us should.

  “Kaye James,” I kept my tone cool, a little bit stern. My ‘nurse voice’, the one that every good nurse I’d ever met deliberately cultivated. The one that was meant to let patients know, yes, we were there to help, and it would be best if they went along with what we said.

  If he was impressed, he didn’t show it. He just arched one of those dark, winged eyebrows of his, a slight smile tugging up the corners of his lips.

  “Kaye James,” he repeated my name, and for some reasons, that sent the strangest little shivers down my spine. “And how did you know my grandfather?”

  Ah! I knew it.

  “I was his nurse,” I refused to be charmed by the way he held his hand out to me, offering it in a handshake.

  “Well, then. Thank you.” He took my hand in his, and my fingers were dwarfed. He had enormous hands. It was a little intimidating, actually, being around him. He took up a lot of room, and not only physically, either.

  It was impossible to be around him and not have my attention on him. When he walked into a room, I was willing to bet all eyes would be on him, and not only that, but he would expect that attention, too.

  “David Black,” he finally confirmed what I had already known to be true. Our hands were still linked, and I couldn’t help but feel the handshake had gone on a little bit too long.

  “Hello, David.” I looked into those dark eyes, and once more, I could swear I saw a hint of pain in them. “Theodore spoke of you.”

  He wasn’t expecting that, and his gaze sharpened. He looked at me with much more interest, which confused me. The picture I’d built up of this man was that he was utterly uncaring, but I could already tell that wasn’t the case.

  How strange. Why had David ignored that phone call? Or all of the ones before, the ones I knew Theodore had made himself before getting too weak? I could swear he was deeply grieved, and I shook my head slightly.

  None of this made any sense.

  “Why did you thank me?” I finally broke the silence. It seemed he wasn’t going to be the one to do it. In fact, it seemed he had slipped into a world of his own, barely acknowledging my presence at all.

  “For taking care of him.” There was a long silence before he spoke, and for a moment, I actually thought he wouldn’t say anything at all. “Excuse me. I see that people are leaving, and I should say goodbye.”

  Before I could say anything, he was gone. What was there to say, anyway? My thoughts were far too confused to come up with anything coherent. It was better to just let him go.

  I had walked into this room not liking David Black much at all. In less than five minutes, the man blew that out of the water. Though not enough for me to forget entirely how he had treated his own grandfather, but enough to confuse me a little.

  He was charming, no doubt about it.

  Oh well. I didn’t have such an inflated sense of my own importance that I thought it would matter much to David what I thought of him. Why should it? I would probably never see the guy again.

  Remembering his dark, penetrating eyes, his strong body, and his slightly rough, deep voice, I had to think it was probably a good thing, me not ever seeing him again.

  He put my thoughts into disarray, and that was after only knowing about his existence for a few days. It was sort of ridiculous, and not particularly like me at all to get this worked up over someone.

  It was just his charisma. But with that being said, I decided to execute the better part of valor and take off, still figuring no one would notice if I left.

  I was almost right. One person did notice. As I pushed open the door to the funeral home, where the funeral itself and the reception had been held, I looked back just once and noticed a particular pair of dark, thoughtful eyes following me out.

  David was frowning as he looked at me, and I told myself quite firmly it was none of my business, none at all, what the man’s deal was. My involvement with the Black family had ended with Theodore’s tragic death.

  As the door shut behind me, I really did have the notion I would never see David again. I even thought I might never hear his name again. Why would I? I was hardly involved in the Portland business scene.

  There was something unresolved between us that day, but I didn’t ack
nowledge it to myself. Maybe it was because I was too busy grieving for the patient who had become my friend, but as I walked away, I was sure I had closed that particular chapter in my life.

  Even so, David Black and his piercing eyes, high cheekbones, and slightly mocking smirk haunted me. I tried not to acknowledge it even to myself, but they did.

  David

  The day of the reading of the will dawned clear and bright, a perfect Indian summer day. The sky was a dark, rich blue, the occasional little cloud puffing through the air, and I knew I was about to become a much wealthier man very soon.

  The whole money issue hadn’t actually occurred to me until the lawyer had called to ask me to be there for the reading. Of course, I was going to get everything, but in my attempts to distance myself from the whole situation, I had forgotten entirely about his estate.

  I knew he’d been a very, very wealthy man, far beyond my own not insignificant net worth. He, after all, had decades to build it all up, and I was really only just starting off.

  Oh, but the things I was going to be able to do with all he had undoubtedly left me …

  I had visions in my head as I went into the lawyer’s office. With the money I had been left, I could step up Black tech, really make it grow. Maybe I could even run with the big boys, with enough work. Anything was possible.

  As I walked, I could almost swear the soles of my Fendi shoes barely touched the linoleum floors. At the same time, though, my heart was heavy. I had assumed I had time to make it up with my grandfather. I had assumed I would have the three measly days to do that much.

  I didn’t deserve this, but I knew what I could do. Grandpa’s mind had been a shrewd one, and I could honor him by building a company for the future, one that would carry not just his name, but also his spirit.

  In short, it was terrible, but I would make it into something really great. I had stood over his coffin and promised him I would do it, and I always kept my promises.

  I stopped dead in my tracks when I pushed open the door to the office. It was a quiet, tasteful place, with generic, classy art on the walls and very few people waiting in the office.

  Actually, there were only two people, other than myself. One of them was the receptionist, who glanced up at me and smiled politely, apparently appeased by my expensive clothing.

  The other one was that little nurse, Kaye something or other. The pretty young lady who had apparently been taking care of my grandfather. The question was, what was she doing at my grandpa’s lawyer’s office?

  Well, the old man had good taste. Kaye was something close to stunning, with her wide, full, generous mouth and her enormous green eyes. Even in her modest outfit, I could tell that she had curves for days, rounded hips and breasts, a tiny little waist, and beautiful long black hair that, if she let it down, I was willing to bet would fall almost to her ass.

  It was more than just her physical appearance, though. Kaye had this aura that I couldn’t help but find soothing. She was a nurse, and I would be willing to bet almost anything she was very good at her job. She radiated both competence and gentleness, all at the same time.

  She looked up at me, and I found myself unprepared for the look in her eyes. She was trying to learn about me, wasn’t she? Just by looking at me.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked, my tone just a little bit more blunt than I usually used. She’d surprised me by coming to the funeral, and she downright shocked me by being here for the reading of my grandfather’s will. Unless she was here for some other reason?

  “The same thing as you, I would imagine.” She glanced down away from my gaze, and I frowned thoughtfully. So she’d been invited to this, too? Had the unpredictable old man actually left something to his nurse?

  “Mr. Black, Miss James, we’re ready for you now.” The receptionist won my everlasting affection for breaking the awkward moment. I hadn’t been all that gracious. Actually, I’d sort of been a dick, hadn’t I? I’d just been so dumbfounded by seeing her there at all.

  “Shall we?” I asked, and I even held the door open for her as we went into the office, which was enormous and had a gorgeous, unhindered view of the Columbia River. This guy was clearly doing all right for himself, which pretty much figured. I’d never seen my grandfather, or my father, for that matter, skimp on anything that was really important.

  A lawyer would definitely fall into that category.

  “Thank you both for coming,” the lawyer, a distinguished older gentleman with beautiful white hair and a dark tan that I suspected couldn’t be real, intoned. His name was, if I remembered correctly, John Dixon, or something of the sort.

  He started to talk, and I didn’t pay a lot of attention. I knew what I was going to hear, after all. The only thing I was curious about was what the lovely Miss Kaye James was going to be granted. How important had she been to him, really?

  “To my grandson and only living heir, I leave a message. It grieves me greatly we were not, during my life, able to mend whatever rift there was between us.” John was reading from a paper on his desk, and I started to pay much more attention.

  I realized then I didn’t even know how much money was in the estate. I didn’t even know what I was about to inherit. I listened carefully, but the lawyer just turned to the lovely Kaye, and I frowned a little bit. For the first time, I had the idea something was very wrong here.

  Unless he was going to deal with her very small bequest first? But then why had he mentioned me first? It didn’t make sense.

  “To my nurse, Kaye James,” the lawyer continued, “You filled my last days with light and happiness. Your smiles meant everything to me. Your gentle spirit brought me peace. To you, I leave it all. Every car, every property, every last cent in every bank account. Thank you, Kaye. I only wish I had more to give you because you certainly deserve it.”

  For a moment, there was complete silence in the room. In it, I felt something inside me, some basic idea the universe was a good and fair place, die. The last little bit of hope, of trust, in my heart, withered, and in its place, anger blossomed. Sick. Hot. Feverish.

  “You bitch,” I hissed, turning to face Kaye. All of my dreams went up in smoke right then and there. I could, and I would, build Black tech into a leading worldwide brand, but it was going to be a lot harder, and I would be very old by the time that happened.

  “Mr. Black! Please,” the lawyer said, and I noted dimly that he didn’t seem highly surprised by my outburst. It the man read wills on a regular basis, no doubt he was used to this sort of thing.

  Kaye didn’t say anything back. She just bowed her head forward, and her hair swung forward in a dark, wavy waterfall to obscure her features. In her eyes, just before they were hidden, I could swear I saw the faintest gleam of something in her eyes.

  Tears?

  Surely not. No doubt this woman had plotted with my grandfather. Maybe she’d even put him up to it.

  “He wasn’t in his right mind when he wrote this will,” I stated. I tried to keep the hint of desperation out of my voice, to sound firm and strong, and not like I was grasping at straws. “He never would have done this otherwise.”

  “Slander,” the lawyer said right back, his tone casual enough, but his eyes burning. “I was there, Mr. Black, and I assure you that he was in complete control of his mental facilities. I don’t appreciate you insinuating otherwise.”

  It was a warning, and we both knew it. He was a lawyer, and I wasn’t, and if he thought he could make a slander suit stick, he probably could. I needed to be careful, even if I suddenly felt like every inch of my body was packed with coals, smoldering and burning me from the inside out. Even if the last thing I wanted was to be careful.

  So I did the one and only thing that I could do. The only thing that could save me before I said or did something to get myself into more trouble than I could handle. I wasn’t poor, but getting into a legal pissing contest with a lawyer wasn’t something that I could really afford.

  I stood up, and I stormed
out of the room. I even let the door slam behind me and walked past the receptionist without so much as looking at her. She probably was pretty used to people having reactions like that, just as her boss was.

  I would very much like to claim that I didn’t look back, but it wasn’t true. I did, just once, and just for a split second. Not at the asshole lawyer, but at Kaye, who hadn’t moved from her spot or spoken the entire time she was there.

  I wasn’t going to just take this lying down. Legally, I knew I couldn’t challenge her for the money. The will had been incredibly clear. There had to be something I could do since I had never been known for simply accepting situations I didn’t like.

  There was something about the way Kaye bowed forward, some sadness far more eloquent than words could have been. Words could lie, but I was absolutely certain she could not have faked that posture. Not unless she was a lot more of a con artist than I thought.

  As my anger burned, it changed. It didn’t stay quite as hot, but lingered on and refused to die out. A hotter anger might have burned itself to ashes, but this slow simmering rage, I knew, could last for years.

  For as long as it took to get back what was mine.

  The details, I wasn’t quite sure about yet. I would figure them out when I’d had some time to think about it. One thing I did know, however, was that Kaye James was going to suffer for what my grandfather had done.

  Even then, I felt a surge of misgiving about that. What had Kaye done wrong? Nothing, really, other than providing exemplary service to a dying old man.

  In business, though, there was collateral damage. Kaye was a nurse, and nurses were tough. So I did my best to put the small twinge of guilt I felt out of the way and focused instead on my dreams, the ones I needed money for to make them a reality.

  Those dreams had been so happy just earlier that day, tinged only with grief over my grandfather’s death. Now, they were bitter, poisonous as they wound through my head.

  I was going to get what I wanted, though, no matter the cost. The businessman in me could hardly do anything else.