He leaned forward and snatched his glass, clearly glad that I calmed down. “I’m just going to cut to the chase. I really need your help.”
I kept my hands balled at my sides.
Luke gave me a sharp look. “Remember, all of this is confidential. You signed a NDA.”
“Just tell me what it is, already.” Some of the anger bit into my voice. I realized how rude I sounded, but Luke didn’t seem to mind.
He looked incredibly nervous. He kept clenching and unclenching his hands. “Yes, right. Well, here it is. My dying father is threatening to write me out of his will unless I shape up and settle down. I will lose my entire inheritance and my job unless I can convince him that it’s happening. The disease is quite advanced, so I’m a bit short on time. I need someone who will act as my girlfriend. We’ll travel together, get photographed going out, we’ll be in the same hotel rooms—though this relationship will be strictly professional. It’s all an act.”
Finally everything was out in the open. He wanted me to kiss him in public, hold his hand, and make eyes with him. Easy peasy. I would have done it for free. It all seemed so crazy, I couldn’t think of anything to say.
He stared at me. “Well, say something!”
All of it seemed so unlikely. “Would your father really do that?”
Luke huffed impatiently. “Yes. Absolutely. My uncle Dominic was co-founder of Pardini Worldwide and each of his five children, my cousins, have shares. It would be a simple thing to write me out of the will, especially with the rest of the family hissing suggestions in his ear. Almost five billion would be distributed amongst them if I were kicked out. They would love it.”
Five billion? My head spun as I imagined a gladiator arena with Luke’s family dressed in business suits all fighting each other to the death. It almost made my foster family life look civilized. They must be constantly at each other’s throats. Anyone would be driven mad by that amount of money.
The strain was livid on Luke’s face; it curled his shoulders forward. “My father is a cruel, narcissistic man. I’ve worked hard all my life for the company and I deserve this. I’ll be damned if I let that bastard take it all away from me.” He sighed and sunk back into the sofa. “Sorry, it’s just that I don’t get to vent about him often.”
I actually felt sorry for him. It must be horrible to have to live your life at the whim of someone with so much power over you. “I just don’t understand—why don’t you just get a real girlfriend?”
“It’s not that easy,” he said flatly.
The deflated look on his face alarmed me. Did he have self-esteem issues? “Oh, come on. You’re handsome and rich.”
“Notice how you added, ‘and rich’? It’s really, really hard to find someone who likes me for who I am and not for my money. I can’t trust anyone. Besides, I don’t have much time. I need to leave next week for London.”
Wow. I didn’t realize I could ever feel so sorry for a billionaire. “But you’re letting your father control your life.”
“No, I’m not. I picked you. I just want him to think he’s controlling me. That’s when he’s the happiest.”
“Why did you pick me?” I blurted.
“Because you’re educated and you’re pretty. And we seem to have good chemistry.”
My cheeks flushed and he smiled at me. It was sad that I felt so good about his compliment.
He leaned in closer, refusing to let me out of his gaze. “I have to warn you, though. If we don’t get along, we’ll have to go our separate ways. I mean—we’ll be together constantly. I know that this is a lot to ask for and that’s why I’m prepared to pay you ten thousand dollars a month.”
My mind went blank. “I’m sorry, what?”
I couldn’t have possibly heard that right.
He smirked, knowing then that he had me. “Ten thousand dollars a month.”
“Jesus,” I whispered. Get paid an absurd amount of money to travel with the world’s most handsome bachelor? Yes, YES!
“But what would we tell people? How did we meet? Where did I grow up?” We would have to fabricate a huge backstory. I doubted his relatives would think highly of an orphan coming from absolutely no money. I nervously wondered if I could pull this off.
“We’ll figure out all of that stuff later. Will you do it?”
And I would visit London. I always wanted to go there. “Yes, I’ll do it.”
He slapped the desk. “Great! Well, it’s almost the end of the month, so I’ll pay you half of what we agreed. You can use it to buy clothes for the trip or whatever you want. I’ll get your plane tickets, of course. We leave next week on Wednesday. I know it’s Thanksgiving, but the trip really can’t wait.”
I waved my hand dismissively. I wouldn’t be able to plan the Thanksgiving meal for the soup kitchen. Who cares? “Don’t worry about it.”
It will probably be the best Thanksgiving I’ve ever had.
I seized the contract slid in front of my nose. A few months was the intended duration.
“I don’t know how long my dad has, but I’ll renew it if he hasn’t gone yet.”
The cold matter-of-fact way he spoke about his father’s impending death made me feel uncomfortable. Who am I to judge? I fantasized daily about slipping poison in my foster parents’ food. I signed the contract, and my jaw dropped as Luke handed me a check made out to five thousand dollars. I held it as if it was made of glass and slipped it into my purse. All in a day’s work.
“Thank you so much. You’ve no idea how much this will help me.”
“Likewise,” Luke said as he stood up. “Well, shall we?”
I took his offered arm, and he escorted me out of the winery. I felt a golden ball of warmth inside my chest at his closeness. I caught myself in the reflection of the elevator doors and couldn’t believe it. Damn, we look hot.
His arm was snaking around my waist and suddenly all the air left the room. Remembering that I was supposed to act like his girlfriend, I fell against his chest, and his lips pressed against my head.
I had no memory of being held as though I was cherished. I got lost in the moment for a while before Luke walked me all the way to the cars outside, where dozens of people were getting ready to leave the winery. He gave a small wave to some of them, who waved back and did a double take. I could almost hear their thoughts: Who’s that girl with Mr. Pardini?
“My co-workers are still here. Perfect.”
His hand slid from my shoulder to grasp my hand. The path of his touch blazed such a trail, my desire for him flared up like a torch. I squeezed his hand, stunned by the way my body responded to him.
My hand tensed inside his as Luke made a beeline straight for a couple of older men in suits standing near the curb. Oh, no.
“Mr. Blackwell, Mr. Brown. I hope you enjoyed today.”
The portly Mr. Blackwell smacked his purpled lips. “Oh, it was wonderful!”
“Yes, quite,” Brown agreed. “And who is the lovely young lady?”
Luke’s admiring grin flashed towards me. “This is Jessica, my girlfriend.”
My cheeks probably looked as though they were on fire.
This is Jessica, my girlfriend.
Hopefully, they would think I was cold. Their rosy, smiling faces nodded at me as I shook their hands.
“I’ssa pleasure.”
“Nice to meet you.”
“Are you ready to return to London?
Mr. Blackwell’s face fell comically as he addressed me. “Am I ready to return to forecasts of endless, freezing rain? You Californians are spoiled rotten.”
“Jessica will accompany us to London. She’s never been outside the country.”
I never told him that, but he guessed right. He smiled at me and I hugged my “boyfriend’s” chest, beaming.
The two men were pleasantly shocked. “Is that so?”
“Yes, I’m very excited.” That wasn’t a lie; I couldn’t wait to go. It would be a blast, and looking up things to do on TripAdvisor was the first thing
I would do when I got home.
Luke glanced at the town car pulling up. “Well, Jessica’s ride is here. I will see you both next week.”
Completely out of my element, I was eager to leave the company of the two men. They acted perfectly fine, but it was nerve wracking to be around them. What if I said something wrong? “It was nice meeting you both.”
Both men smiled courteously as we walked away from them. Luke ducked his head close to mine.
“They’re old friends of my father.”
Ah, so that’s why he dragged me over to them. Would they report my presence to Mr. Pardini?
We stopped in front of the town car and the driver got out to open the passenger door.
“I’ll see you next week.”
I felt a jolt of anxiety as I turned in his arm to tell him good-bye. If I’m really his girlfriend, I should probably kiss him. Blackwell and Brown peered at us. Luke’s gentle hands pulled me closer until I could see the golden flecks circling his pupils. My heart beat so furiously against my ribcage that I knew Luke could feel it pounding against his chest. Then his lips crashed against mine and I felt myself soaring. Holy shit. I had never felt anything like it. So much heat, everywhere. I kissed him back eagerly, completely lost in the feeling of his lips against mine and his hands wrapped around my waist. When he pulled away, I was surprised to see a smoldering look on his face.
Overwhelmed, I stepped back as he tried to give me that loving smile men always reserved for their girlfriends. The lack of warmth behind his effort punched my gut.
“Bye,” I croaked.
I ducked into the car and the driver closed the door. As the car rolled away, I saw his face drop into a look of bored indifference.
My heart wrenched.
He almost made me believe that it was real.
Chapter 5
“I still can’t believe you’re going to London before I am.”
Natalie watched me pack for my trip to Europe with a look of mingled jealousy and disbelief. I still couldn’t believe it myself.
“Me too.”
When I got home from the winery, I couldn’t take holding it all back, and wound up telling Natalie everything. I made her swear a hundred oaths not to divulge anything to anyone ever on pain of death. She would find out soon enough because Luke made it clear the tabloids would print pictures of us together. Sure enough, I found a blurry photo of us leaving Opus One hand in hand, with the caption underneath: Luke Pardini leaving Opus One with blonde bombshell. I laughed at that. Blonde bombshell? Me? Yeah, right.
“So long as you keep your feelings in check, you’ll be fine.” It was clear from Natalie’s tone that she didn’t expect me to. “I really wish you weren’t leaving before Thanksgiving. Won’t your friends miss you?”
My cheeks flushed at the mention of the lie I told Natalie about finding a group of people I celebrated Thanksgiving and Christmas with. I crammed a few socks into my suitcase and refused to look at her.
“I lied about the friends. I spend every year at the soup kitchen and then I go home alone. This will probably be the best Thanksgiving I’ve ever had. Don’t worry about me.”
A hollow silence followed my words. When I finally gathered enough courage to look at her, Natalie’s stricken face made me feel guilty.
“Why did you lie to me? I asked you a hundred times and you always said no. D’you know how that makes me feel?”
I sputtered. “What? I didn’t want to go because I thought you and Ben needed time alone. I just feel weird being the third wheel.”
Natalie opened her mouth but I changed tact with lightning speed. “I’ll be able to wire you rent money from abroad, so you don’t have to worry about that.”
“I know you’re really excited about this, but I don’t know. I hope nothing bad happens.”
I wished that she would give it a rest with the whole prostitution thing. “I’ve told you a thousand times, I’m not going to trade sexual favors for money.”
“I’m not talking about that. What if you legitimately fall in love with this guy? He’ll break your heart. You’re already smitten.”
Who cares? I’m making ten thousand dollars a month. “We have chemistry,” I shrugged. “I’m not going to avoid this amazing experience just because something bad might happen. I’ll probably never have this opportunity again.”
Natalie relented. “Well, I hope it’s worth it.”
The doorbell rang. “Who’s that?”
Flustered, she ran to answer the door. “Ben. We wanted to have dinner—” she opened the door. “Hi, honey!”
Ben’s voice boomed through the apartment, and I abandoned my packing with a sigh. A plastic smile on my face, I went to greet Natalie’s boyfriend.
“Hey, Ben. How’s life?”
“Good!”
Tall with Norwegian features like fair skin and blonde hair, Ben’s blue eyes sparked as he swept me into a hug.
“So, I heard that you’re dating a billionaire?”
He cackled as I glared at Natalie. “How’s the law firm?”
Lucky for me, he happily seized on the topic and talked about it for a while. Still filled with anxiety over the trip, I tried my best enjoy the rest of the night. Tomorrow, Luke’s driver would bring me to SFO. He also paid for my passport’s rush processing, and it arrived on Monday. Until a courier dropped off the one-way ticket from San Francisco International to Heathrow, it was hard to really believe I was leaving.
I’ve never been on a plane. It was going to be awesome.
After Ben left, I finished packing and double triple checked everything. Unsure about the length of the trip, I filled two suitcases and a backpack. I was ready to leave hours before the driver came to pick me up the next morning, and Natalie worked from home acting as anxious as I felt. She didn’t help matters by constantly fussing over me.
“Where’s your ticket? Did you pack your passport?”
I quadruple-checked my backpack. “They’re both here.” It was ten o’clock, the time Luke said he would pick me up. What if he had changed his mind?
“Did you pack Chapstick?”
My stomach lurched. Crap. “I don’t know.” I sprinted to the bathroom and skidded to a halt as I heard the doorbell ring.
Natalie bolted to the door and wrenched it open.
A pleasant, deep voice filled the room. “Hello, you must be Natalie. It’s a pleasure.”
I heard Luke’s voice down the hallway and jumped, feeling close to laughter. I rummaged through my drawer and seized a tiny tube, and then I walked towards them both, my heart hammering my ribs.
I could tell that Natalie was taken aback. She replied back a few seconds later than she should have. “Nice to meet you.”
He was looking hot, as usual. I had never seen him wear jeans, but he wore a fitted pair that showed off his long, muscled legs and a shirt that made me want to run my hands all over his body. He smiled at me over Natalie’s shoulder. “Ready to go?”
Mute, Natalie turned around with her face frozen in impolite shock.
He’s a dreamboat. I nodded at him.
He smiled at both of us, bemused by our mute voices. “Um, I’ll just get your bags.” He stepped in and grabbed one of the suitcases. Lifting it easily, he turned around to reveal a perfectly carved ass.
“God,” I moaned as I watched him load the suitcase in the car.
“You weren’t kidding,” she commented in a breathless, dreamy sigh as she watched Luke.
The driver took my suitcase from my hands and hurried down the steps to help Luke.
“I guess this is it,” I said as Natalie’s eyes misted over, and a lump formed in my throat in response. “If you cry, I’ll cry.”
She seized my neck painfully and pulled me into a fierce hug. “I’m not crying,” she said in a thick voice. “Call me when you get there, and be safe for God’s sake.”
Luke climbed back up the steps with the same smile. “She’ll be safe with me. It was nice meeting you, Natalie
.”
I gently disengaged myself from Natalie’s death grip and shouldered my backpack. “I hope you have a good holiday. I’ll be back soon.”
I took Luke’s outstretched hand and descended the steps, turning back to smile and wave at Natalie’s panicked face. Once inside, I moved over the smooth leather interior for Luke.
Instead of the town car, Luke had arrived in a limousine. It looked wildly out of place in this shitty neighborhood. Across the street, a woman smoking in her plastic lawn chair stared at us, the cigarette burning in her fingertips. I shook my head and gazed at the interior. A dark glass partition separated the driver from us. There was a champagne bottle on ice in the limo, TV screens, and blinking yellow lights on the ceiling. This is so cool.
The ugly streets of Concord rolled by the long window. I couldn’t believe I was leaving it all behind. I looked around at Luke, whose arm was stretched over the leather. He was studying me quietly, perhaps regretting the whole thing. I couldn’t imagine a more unlikely couple.
“We should think of a backstory for ourselves. People are bound to ask.”
He looked at me thoughtfully. “Before we do that, I want to make something clear.” Any hint of humor dropped from his face. “This will never be anything more than a business relationship.”
“I know that.” I raised my eyebrow. Where was this coming from? Was my attraction to him that obvious? “What makes you think I would want to be with you?”
Now he looked like he had been punched in the gut.
Yeah, serves you right, you pompous jerk.
He quickly recovered and a smug grin flashed on his face. “Don’t you?”
Electricity shot up my spine; I was in dangerous territory. “Maybe I wouldn’t want to be talked down to all the time by your old boy network, boarding school buddies. Or your family.”
He looked stung. I was joking, but perhaps there was a little bit too much truth to what I said.
“No one would do that while you were with me.”
“Of course not,” I shot back. “They’d do it when you weren’t around.” I turned away from his face and wished there was something to drink. It’s ten in the morning, I reminded myself.
Break (Billionaire New Adult Romance) Page 6
