Bad Boy Billionaire (A Standalone Romance) (11 page)
Read Bad Boy Billionaire (A Standalone Romance) Online
Authors: Cara Cruz
Maria sighed. She opened her eyes. Chase had reclined the chair all the way back so it was horizontal like a bed. She was lying in his arms feeling so safe, like nothing could touch her. He looked like he was asleep. She didn’t want to disturb him; didn’t ever want this moment to end. She shivered – it was getting cold despite the fluffy robe he had slipped on her before carrying her to the chair. She reached over and grabbed the soft wool blanket from the back of the other lounger. He stirred at the movement.
“Sorry,” she whispered. “I was trying not to wake you.”
“It’s okay,” he said, opening his eyes. “We can’t stay here forever. Unfortunately.”
She nodded sadly. “I was expecting you to say that.”
“It’s for your safety,” he whispered, taking her face in his hands and kissing the bridge of her nose.
“So what happens now?” She wasn’t sure if she wanted to hear the answer.
He pursed his lips. “The cops are waiting outside to take you back. They brought you here as soon as the charges against you were dropped officially. It’ll be recorded in the system that it’s because of Josh’s testimony.”
“So it won’t go on my record.”
He shook his head. “No charges, no.”
She exhaled deeply. “Thank god. I thought I was going to lose my license.”
He pulled her to him and leaned his forehead against hers. “Like I said, I’m sorry for putting you through all that. But it was important. I didn’t know who I could trust.”
“And you trust those two?”
He nodded. “They’re Carl’s guys. They’re the only ones who know about this little diversion. All anyone else knows is that you’re still in that cell under the court. They’ll take you back, process you out and bring you home.”
She hugged him close. “And I can see Janey.”
He nodded. “Carl’s has been keeping an eye on her case. She was released yesterday.”
“Yeah, Johnny said. And…”
“Yeah?”
“When can I see you again?” she whispered so quietly he almost couldn’t hear her.
“In a personal capacity?”
Maria’s stomach plummeted. She nodded, wondering why he was suddenly speaking like a lawyer.
He sighed. “Remember I said it wouldn’t be easy.”
She nodded, suddenly full of alarm.
“Well, yeah. There’s not much to say. In several months’ time we’ll run into one another at a charity event you’ve been persuaded to attend by a girlfriend. I’ll realize you had nothing to do with the plot to bring me down. Sparks will fly. Etcetera. Etcetera.” He paused. “That’s if you want to wait.”
Maria felt like someone had just punched her in the stomach. “Of course I do. I’m just not sure how I’ll be able to. Even when I thought you’d double-crossed me, I couldn’t stop thinking about you. Several months?” Her eyes were flooded with tears.
A grin momentarily broke through his solemn face.
“It’s not funny,” Maria sobbed.
“It is.” He took a deep breath and stroked her hair. “Because in a professional capacity, you’re going to be extremely busy these next couple months.”
She raised her eyebrows. “You want me to come back as your assistant? I can’t, it’s not…”
He shook his head. “Hell no.” He laughed. “No offense. I’d just never get any work done.”
“What then?”
“Well,” he said, kissing both her cheeks in turn. “It depends on the severity of your fear of flying really…”
She looked sheepish.
“I thought so.”
“I’m sorry for lying. You caught me off guard when you mentioned Keton. I couldn’t think of anything else.”
“It’s okay.” He kissed her again. “So. Torq Enterprises in the Bahamas is about to hire your company to investigate a spate of petty theft by its employees. It could take months.”
She thought about this for a few moments and began to nod. There was one thing that bothered her though – he was still smiling. As if being kept apart was a good thing.
“Torq Enterprises is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Grantham Corporation,” he droned on.
Maria shook her head. It meant nothing to her.
“Which is owned by a trust in the Cayman Islands.”
She stared at a spot on the wall of the jet behind them. She was struggling to hold back tears. He thought she cared about some assignment? Sure, it would be amazing to see the Bahamas. But that wasn’t what she wanted. What she wanted was sitting right there on that jet.
“Which is owned by a shell company,” he continued hurriedly. He seemed to have noticed her distress and realized she didn’t care about this who’s who of company ownership. “Which is a sister company of Breton Enterprises.”
Maria broke from her trance and stared at him. A fresh ripple of desire and need flowed through her. She could tell from the way his pupils dilated that he felt the exact same thing. He pulled her closer with his strong arms.
“It depends on one thing,” she whispered.
“What’s that?”
“Who’s my contact person at this company in the Bahamas?”
He smiled widely. “Well. We want to get to the bottom of this matter as soon as possible. So I’ll be overseeing it personally.”
She broke into a huge grin for the first time in what felt like days. “On site?”
He kissed her, sending shooting sparks through her. “I think that’s the most prudent course of action, don’t you?”
