Her Best Match: A Sweet Billionaire Romance (The Best Girls Book 1)

by Tamie Dearen

  After this introduction, Gherring plunged forward in the presentation. Anne found herself mesmerized by him, even though she’d prepared the PowerPoint herself. The time passed quickly. Questions were answered. The companies deliberated privately and questioned Henri about his association with Gherring Inc. And Gherring closed the deal by seven o’clock, without ever threatening to actually buy out the other two companies, although perhaps they knew he was considering the possibility.

  “You were right,” Anne told Henri. “It was exciting. It was fun to be a part of it all. At least it was fun after my part was over.”

  One of the female board members approached Anne and Henri. “Henri, someone is finally going to tame you?”

  “Only because I asked you so many times, and you turned me down. How is Charles? You are ready to leave him for me?”

  “One day, Henri, I might say ‘yes.’ Then what will you do?” She laughed, and turned to Anne. “Ms. Best, it was so nice to meet you. Watch out for Henri! I am looking forward to working with you in the future. Do you have a card?”

  “No… I don’t have a card with me. But if you need me, you can reach me on the main line.”

  “Excellent. And here is my card.”

  Anne took the card, the first of many. Soon Gherring joined their group along with Jared, exchanging greetings and promises of future communication. Gherring kept a close eye on Henri and Anne, until the last person left the room.

  Henri clapped his hands with glee. “Well done, Gherring. That should bring a few billion more into your coffers. Where are you taking us to celebrate?”

  “Us?” asked Anne.

  “Yes,” Gherring spoke with obvious irritation. “Henri suggested he should be allowed to participate in the second half of the meeting and the celebration after, in exchange for keeping his mouth shut about my PA.”

  Henri grinned. “Sir Walter Scott said, ‘O what a tangled web we weave, when we practice to deceive.’ He was correct—N’est-ce pas, Gherring?”

  Gherring narrowed his eyes, and Henri said, “And the other part of the deal?”

  “I have already apologized to Ms. Best, but I will say it again.” Gherring turned to Anne and caught her chin with his hand, turning her to face him. “Ms. Best, as I have told you before, everything I do means something to me. I wasn’t making light of you. I simply wanted to make you feel better. I never meant to cause you more emotional stress.”

  Their eyes locked together, and for a moment Anne was lost in a blue ocean. She floated into their depths and forgot anyone else was in the room. She regretted her harsh judgment of his actions.

  “That is enough apology.” It was Henri’s turn to look annoyed.

  Gherring dropped his hand from her face.

  “Ahem!” said Jared. “Aren’t you going to apologize to me for making up that story about how I blanked out on a presentation? Only don’t grab my neck—I’m afraid you’ll choke me.”

  His laugh was contagious, breaking the tension.

  “The more I think about it, the morning was pretty exciting.” Anne cocked her head toward Gherring. “I almost got to mark one more thing off my bucket list—watching an appendix burst.”

  A dinner that could have been awkward, with a glaring contest between Gherring and Henri, was instead incredibly jovial. No one was able to maintain a glum attitude for more than a few seconds with Jared constantly entertaining them. One could almost imagine Gherring and Henri were friends. Almost.

  “… And we looked everywhere for that pacifier. Finally, at midnight, I was going out to the car to buy a new one from the store. But when I sat down in the car, I felt this hard lump in the back of my underwear…”

  Anne had tears of laughter pouring out of her eyes, her mascara long gone after a night of sidesplitting stories about Jared wrestling with newfound fatherhood.

  “Stop, Jared! I need to catch my breath!” She giggled and wiped her face with her napkin.

  Anne waited until Jared was telling a new story to Gherring. Then she leaned over and whispered to Henri, “When do you have to go back? Tonight or tomorrow?”

  “I have to go back tonight. We meet with the doctors tomorrow. They will tell us the results.”

  Anne reached out to take his hand. “I don’t know if you’ll feel like talking, but call me if you do. I’m praying. I want to know.”

  “I will call you. I’m so afraid. They haven’t said the word cancer, yet. But…” Henri choked a little. “She doesn’t deserve this. I wish it was me.”

  Anne squeezed his hand, but Henri excused himself from the table and went to compose himself. Gherring and Jared turned questioning eyes to Anne.

  “I don’t know if he’d want me to tell you…” Anne started.

  “I overheard the word cancer,” said Jared.

  “Please don’t say anything, Jared. It’s not him—it’s a young family member. And they don’t know for sure yet. Just act like everything’s normal.” Anne chewed on her lip, glancing over her shoulder toward the hallway where Henri had disappeared.

  “The bill’s paid already. We’ll leave when he returns. We won’t ask any questions.” Gherring spoke, and Anne was relieved to see sympathy in his eyes.

  Jared swallowed hard. “I’m thinking what if it was Emery.”

  When Henri returned, the foursome went to the car. The mood had turned somber, and no one seemed inclined to talk. Henri asked, “Can you take me to the train station on the way back?”

  “Henri, if you want to stay the night, Gherring Inc. will pay for a room. You really did help close the deal today. I never actually thanked you.”

  “No, I need to be back before the morning. But thank you for the offer.”

  At the station, Anne walked in with Henri while the others waited in the car. Out of Gherring’s sight, she hugged him hard, and they shed a few more tears together.

  “I’m praying, Henri. I wish I could do more. You rescued me today and I won’t forget it. I owe you, now.”

  “You are still coming next week, right?”

  Anne smiled. “I’ve got the ticket taped to my bathroom mirror! I look at it every day. But Henri, you don’t have to entertain me when I come. If you need to be at home or at the hospital, I’ll be there with you.”

  “Of course you would say that, mon ange. I will find time to show Paris to you, no matter what happens.”

  Anne stood on her toes and kissed him on the cheek.

  “I cannot believe that I, the great Henri DuBois, am reduced to a kiss on the cheek. Next week, I hope to kiss these again.” He touched her lips gently with his finger before he turned and departed.

  When Anne returned to the car, Jared and Gherring were discussing the schedule for the next day.

  “I’d love to see Switzerland, don’t get me wrong,” said Jared. “But I miss my wife and my baby girl. So I was thinking about getting a commercial flight home. You said I was getting a bonus if we closed the deal. You could just take the extra cost out of my bonus.”

  Anne said, “You don’t have to do that. I feel bad. Mr. Gherring, it’s okay if we go back tomorrow. I still got a stamp on my passport, even if I didn’t do any sightseeing.”

  Gherring silenced them without raising his voice. “Jared, you can go back any time you please, and Gherring Inc. will pay for the ticket. This will be a lucrative deal at some point in the future. I am certain of it. However, Anne, as I was telling Jared, I have plans to go to Jungfrau tomorrow. You can come along,” he offered, his blue eyes twinkling with mischief, “or go back early with Jared if you prefer.”

  “I don’t know what Jungfrau is, but I’m going!” She grinned so hard it hurt.

  Anne was so excited about the trip she arrived twenty minutes early to Gherring’s suite for breakfast. She knocked gingerly on the door and listened for sounds of stirring inside. Then the elevator door opened and the breakfast cart emerged, heading for the Presidential Suite. This time she rapped loudly on the door, and Gherring opened the door clad
only in a towel, his hair still dripping. The butler was unfazed by his state of undress, pushing the cart into the room and setting up the grand breakfast on the table.

  She lagged behind, expecting Gherring would hurry to his room to change. Instead, he lounged casually and chatted in French with the butler before giving him a tip. She tried to act nonchalant. After all, she’d seen his chest and his legs before, in the gym. Why was her heart racing this time? It was nothing new. Just a chest. Not just a chest. A very nice, well-muscled chest with a firm stomach underneath. He certainly didn’t have the stomach of a fifty-year-old. There didn’t seem to be any flab there at all. Didn’t all fifty-year-old men have at least a little paunch? He looked very fit, but it was nothing she hadn’t seen before.

  Maybe it was the fact he had on a towel. There was that vague idea it was only a towel and it might somehow fall off. Not that she hoped it would. It was just that it might—you never knew. But it looked like it was tucked in pretty well. It probably wouldn’t fall off. Not that she wanted it to.

  “Hello… Anne… Are you in there?” He was talking to her, and she hadn’t heard a word he’d said. When had the butler left? How long have I been standing here staring at his towel?

  “Sorry. I was just…uh… thinking about being hungry—I mean—thinking about breakfast.” Anne could hear her own heartbeat in her ears.

  Gherring, however, acted totally oblivious. “You’re hungry? Let’s see what they’ve brought us.” He walked between her and the table and bent over to examine the contents under the silver domes. This afforded her a fantastic view of his backside, covered by that towel. And when he bent over… Did the towel shift a little? Was it lower than before?

  Good grief! I’m ogling my boss!

  Anne promptly turned her back to Gherring. “I think you should go and get dressed. I shouldn’t have come so early.”

  Gherring made a sound behind her. Was he laughing? She whipped around, but Gherring’s face was unreadable. “I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable. You’ve seen me shirtless before.”

  “Yes but… it’s different… you’re in a towel.”

  “You can’t see through it, can you?” He looked down, as if inspecting the towel for holes.

  “No, it’s just… Please go get dressed.”

  Gherring smiled enigmatically. “As you wish.”

  And he disappeared into the bedroom.

  With Gherring properly attired, Anne was once again able to focus on what she really loved—food. They had eggs Benedict—her favorite. And it was the best eggs Benedict she had ever tasted.

  “Wow.” Gherring’s dimples peeked out as he watched her eating. “I’m not sure I’ve ever made a woman look that happy before. All that effort and all it took was eggs Benedict.”

  “This is not just eggs Benedict. It’s the best ever. I don’t know what they did to it, but… wow!”

  “I guess seeing the glacier at Jungfraubroch will be a letdown after the eggs Benedict.”

  “What time are we leaving? I need to brush my teeth.”

  “The train leaves at eight a.m., and we’ll be gone all day. Dress warmly. Bring gloves and a hat.”

  Anne rushed downstairs to pack her day bag.

  “This is amazing! It’s so beautiful!” Anne felt like a broken record. She couldn’t help herself. She kept exclaiming about the scenery from the window of the train as it sped along the railway. “What’s the name of this lake?”

  “That’s Lake Brienz. Our first stop is Interlaken, which is on the lake. But we won’t tour there until we’re on the way home. I want to get you up to the top of Jungfrau before the afternoon clouds roll in. Hopefully, we’ll have an incredible view.”

  Anne smiled so much her cheeks hurt, still mesmerized by the scenery. The grass was still green, and the Alps had a sprinkling of snow on top.

  Gherring said, “You should come back in the winter. It looks like a picture postcard, especially up in the mountains.”

  Gherring shifted a bit to point out the window, and she suddenly became aware of his leg pressing against hers.

  “What did you say? I… I missed it.” She tried to concentrate on his words, but she could only hear a distant sound in her head. Why did he still affect her this way? She’d tried to make herself see Gherring objectively. It worked for her brain, but her body just wouldn’t listen. She could still picture him wearing nothing but a towel. What was he saying?

  Anne nodded her head and fabricated an all-encompassing answer. “I see.” She hoped that comment would make sense with what he had told her. It was probably some factoid about the geography or the history of Switzerland. He seemed to be a walking encyclopedia.

  “You see?” Gherring looked at her quizzically. “I asked if you’d like to take a hike along the lake this afternoon. What did you think I said?”

  Anne’s face burned. “I was thinking about something else.”

  “Are you worried about Henri’s family member? Have you heard anything yet?”

  “I don’t expect to hear anything soon.” Her heart hurt. “It’s so depressing. Let’s talk about something else.”

  Gherring studied her with narrowed eyes. “Sure. What would you like to talk about?”

  Anne racked her brain. She needed to think objectively about Gherring. “Let’s talk about you. When was the last time you went on a serious date?”

  “I don’t think I care for this topic.”

  “How about something more general. What characteristics do you think make the ideal woman?”

  “A woman who minds her own business.”

  “No seriously, this could be fun.”

  “Okay, then you go first. How would you describe your ideal man?”

  “Hmmm.” Anne twisted a strand of hair around her finger. “You know, I’ve never given it much thought. I’ve always been good at picking out people who go together. But I picked out a man so long ago…” She gave Gherring a challenging look. “You have to list as many characteristics as I do. Deal?”

  “Deal.”

  Anne contemplated her list. Obviously, handsome and a great body would go on her list, but she wasn’t going to mention that first. “Hmmm… well-educated, great conversationalist—”

  Gherring grinned. “Ditto.”

  “No way—you have to think of your own. You go next, that way you can’t cheat.”

  “Beautiful, with a great body. What else matters?” He laughed.

  “Ditto,” Anne chuckled.

  “Now who’s cheating?”

  “Okay, how about this one—someone who’ll put me first and someone I would be willing to put first in my own life.”

  “No, that’s too hard to measure. How about hair color, eye color?”

  “Blond and brown,” she replied quickly. She certainly wasn’t going to say dark hair and blue eyes.

  “Oh.” Gherring’s dimples appeared suddenly. “Too bad for Henri. Shall I be the one to break the news?”

  She chuckled. “Stop it! Now don’t you want a woman who isn’t interested in your money?”

  “Why would I want that? I’m an old fart now. Women aren’t really interested in me for myself anymore. Money’s my only real asset.”

  “That’s not true at all. There’s a lot more to you than your money.”

  Gherring looked away, dejected. “If I wasn’t rich, no woman would look twice at me.”

  “You can’t really believe that. You’re smart and handsome and you…” Anne stopped talking when she noticed Gherring’s shoulders shaking with laughter. “And you did it to me again!”

  “Don’t stop now. I’m really enjoying your evaluation.” He chuckled but grabbed her hand and squeezed it. “No, please, don’t be mad. I’ll cooperate this time.”

  He heaved a great sigh.

  “I want someone I won’t be bored with after six months. I’d like someone who’d be fun to grow old with. I want someone who helps me to be the best man I can be. I want someone who needs me as much as I need h
er.”

  “Wow… that’s really good.” Anne was acutely aware of his hand holding hers, yet she maintained her composure. “But talk about hard to measure. How would you ever know?”

  “In the past, I would’ve said you couldn’t really know. You’d have to be willing to take a chance.”

  “But now?” Anne attempted to slide her hand away casually, but Gherring maintained his firm, yet gentle, hold.

  “But now I’d say I’d never met the right woman.”

  This time Anne succeeded in slipping her hand away to gesture with it. “You see, that’s exactly what Gram and I said. We just need to find you the right woman.” She smiled with satisfaction.

  “And what about you?”

  Anne felt herself blushing and leaned down to retie her boots and hide her face. “What about me?”

  “I gave you four more qualities. Now you owe me four more. And they have to be really good ones.”

  When she met his gaze, the intensity made her breath catch in her throat.

  “I’d want someone… someone I could trust. They’d have to love my girls too. Someone with integrity. And someone who’d hold me when I cry and not be awkward about it, because sometimes I just need to cry.”

  Gherring left her alone with her melancholy reflections for several minutes before speaking. “Would you like to change the subject again?”

  She released a big breath. “Absolutely! I’ll do better this time. Let’s see… where are we going for lunch?”

  The scenery was increasingly beautiful as the journey progressed. Anne exclaimed at the quaint towns, waterfalls, and lakes peppered among the mountain slopes and valleys. At Lauterbrunnen, they boarded a cog train that took them to Kleine Scheidegg. From there, another cog train traversed up a steep incline for the last leg of their journey. Eighty percent of the fifty-minute ride was inside a tunnel carved deep in the solid mountain rock.