Bad Boy Billionaire (A Standalone Romance) (8 page)

Chase drummed his fingers on his desk. It was nine fifteen. It was five minutes since the last time he’d popped his head out of his office door to see if Maria had arrived. He fought the urge to check again. He still couldn’t get her out of his mind and he’d come no closer to making sense of the information Mike had given him.

It turned out that BEK and Naylor were two of a whole host of companies that Breton was looking at acquiring. Which meant what exactly? Mike suspected that Maria was on the payroll of another conglomerate trying to emulate Breton’s stellar performance of the last couple years. He had to agree it made sense, even though he didn’t fully believe it himself.

She had access to all of the company’s files, yet she’d searched for only three names. Two of which they weren’t even actively pursuing yet. Hell, Mike had just begun to look at the financials and hadn’t even brought them to him. They were about to finalize a deal on the third company, Keton, but it was tiny. The acquisition was insignificant compared to some of the other firms they were courting.

But Maria hadn’t even looked into the files in his drive named West and Lockyear. Any corporate spy worth their salt would have recognized those names and investigated immediately. The West deal alone was projected to net them almost twenty times the profits of the Keton deal.

It didn’t make sense.

He glanced at his watch again. It was almost nine twenty. Hating himself for it, he stood and walked to the door. She was bustling across the floor to her desk. She glanced up and saw him. She smiled.

“Sorry I’m late,” she said.

He shook his head. “At least pretend you mean that.”

He turned and walked back into his office leaving the door open for her to follow. That was another thing, he thought. She made no attempt whatsoever to charm him. Wouldn’t she have done that… he shook his head. This whole thing was going to drive him batshit crazy.

“I had to pick up some things from my apartment,” she said absently.

He turned around and leaned against the edge of his desk. “Shut the door and come here.”

She glanced up at him. He saw for the first time that her face was pale and drawn.

“Everything okay?”

She nodded. “Yeah. I’m just tired.”

She stalked across the room toward him. He wasn’t sure if he was imagining it, or whether her smile looked forced and put-on. He put his doubts aside and held out his arms. She fell into them. She clung onto him uncharacteristically hard, like he was the only thing keeping her from drowning.

He stroked her hair and was about to ask her what was going on when the door to his office burst open. Maria sprung away from him.

“What the hell, Mike? Knocking?”

Mike ignored him. He was glaring at Maria with a fierceness that Chase had rarely seen in his brother. He pointed to the door. “Out.”

“Woah.” Chase stepped forward and held his arm out to stop Maria from leaving. “Explain yourself.”

Mike looked him dead in the eyes and raised his eyebrows. A challenge. Suddenly Chase felt like his world was collapsing around him.

He glanced at Maria. If it was true, he couldn’t risk her running away. “Is it the Brenton deal?”

“Yes,” Mike hissed, understanding what his brother was doing. “Now can we talk about it before it’s too late?”

Mike watched as Maria rushed out the door and closed it behind her.

“You know why I’m here, I take it?”

Chase looked miserable. “We don’t know anything for sure Mike. I don’t want to push her away until we’re sure.”

Mike shook his head and held a brown letter size envelope out to his brother. “These just got dropped off to me.”

Chase opened the envelope with shaking fingers. Inside were three or four glossy photo prints. He glanced at them. One of the people in the picture was Maria, dressed in the same clothes as she was wearing today. He didn’t recognize her male companion. They were sitting in some kind of fast food joint.

“What is this?” he asked, glancing up at his brother.

“You don’t know him?”

Chase shook his head. “Should I? Looks like a rough character but I don’t recognize him.”

Mike leaned closer. “Johnny Macone?”

“Doesn’t ring a bell.”

“I didn’t know him either. But my investigator recognized him immediately. Hence the pictures.”

“Your investigator?” Chase asked, flicking through the other pictures. They showed the same scene from different angles. He scrutinized Maria’s face for clues as to what they were discussing. The time stamps on the corners of the pictures showed the photos spanned a half hour period that morning.

Mike nodded. “Yeah. I called a guy in as soon as her name came up on the warning list.”

“Do you always do that? As a precaution?”

“This is the first time the warnings have triggered.”

“Fuck, Mike. It seemed underhand.”

Mike stood and slammed his hands on the desk. “Fuck no. Underhand is whatever she’s up to with this guy Macone. You know who he is? You want to? Or are you too busy hating on me for putting an investigator on your girlfriend?”

Chase buried his face in his hands. “Of course not. Sit down and stop overreacting. Who is he?”

Mike inhaled sharply and sat down, still looking furious. “He’s a fixer. Italian connections apparently.”

Chase snorted. “What like the mafia?”

Mike’s face was deadly serious. “It’s not funny.”

“You mean he is mafia?”

“No. But he’s worked for them, among others.”

“What the fuck is she doing with him?”

“Your guess is as good as mine. For now.”

Chase turned and stared out the window. For once the panoramic view of the city left him cold. Of course Maria could be friends with whomever she liked, but this seemed like too much of a coincidence. Unusual searches were one thing. But coupled with a connection like this…

Mike leaned his elbows on the desk and looked Chase square in the eye. “So what’s the plan?”

Chase leaned back and stared up at the ceiling. “Get her in here. Act normal.”

Maria stared at her monitor. With the new knowledge that she didn’t need to bury herself in the company’s files, she found herself at a loss. She wished she had something to do. Ever since Mike Breton had snapped at her and kicked her out of his brother’s office, she’d felt sick. Those two men behind that closed door would go to jail soon. And it’d be partly her fault.

It had to be that way, she knew. She’d gone so far as to type out a message to Johnny:
I’m out. I can’t do this
. But she’d deleted it almost instantaneously – it was as good as writing a suicide note.

She sighed. There had to be a way to salvage the situation without throwing Chase to the wolves. Too bad she couldn’t think of a single thing to help him that didn’t involve her washing up in a watery grave.

Chase’s door swung open. Mike popped his head out. To her surprise, he nodded at her.

“Can you come here a moment?” he asked.

She nodded. “Sure.”

“Maria,” Chase said when she’d entered his office and closed the door.

“Mr. Breton.”

“Oh cut the crap,” Mike hissed from behind her.

She twisted around in surprise. She’d never dealt with the younger Breton before and here he was snapping at her. Did he think she was unsuitable for his older brother? Hardly, she reasoned. It wasn’t like Chase Breton had a reputation for attempting to settle down with inappropriate women, was it? More like fuck ‘em and forget ‘em. No it was something else. She wheeled around to face Chase with growing alarm.

“Leave us,” he said solemnly.

“What?” Mike snapped. “You’ve gotta be kidding me.”

“Now, Mike. Please.”

Maria turned and watched with a sense of foreboding as he left the room.

“Now,” Chase said coldly. “You’re going to sit down and tell me everything.”

She took a step closer to his desk and hesitated. “Everything? About?”

He stood and folded his arms across his chest. God, he was hot when he was angry, Maria thought, wishing her brain could focus on something useful. Like getting her out of this mess. She knew there was no point in trying to make a run for it. Even if he didn’t catch her, he’d have security scrambled before she even reached the elevator.

“Cut the crap. I know something’s going on.”

She shrugged.

He came out from behind his desk and stood in front of her, towering over her. She stared up at him, feeling her pulse start to race.

“I trusted you. I thought we had something. But all along you were using me for something. What is it?”

“I don’t know…”

“Stop it. Just stop it. I know all about your snooping. Tell me, why would you search our systems for information about future deals, huh? Who are you working for?”

She shook her head.

He took a step closer and grabbed her wrist firmly. Despite her growing fear, her body jolted with desire.

“No one. I was just curious.”

He slammed his hand on his desk. “Don’t lie to me Maria!” he yelled. “You think I’m stupid?”

She shook her head. “No of course I don’t.”

“Then explain it to me. You search for Keton. You search for other deals I haven’t even heard about yet. Who hired you? Bates?”

Maria stared down at her feet. At the sound of his largest competitor’s name, her heart sank even further. He had no idea what was about to hit him. He thought this was a simple case of corporate espionage? She glanced up at him with tears in her eyes. She wanted so much to warn him, to tell him what was about to happen. But there was no way to do that.

“Please. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He shook his head. “I can’t believe you’d lie to me like this.” He glared at her for a couple seconds before reaching back across his desk and grabbing a brown envelope. “Here.”

She took the envelope from him and shook out the contents. She gasped when she saw the images of her with Johnny, taken just that morning.

“What is this?” she gasped.

“You tell me.”

She looked up. “He’s just a friend of mine.”

Chase leaned against his desk. “Just a friend. Who happens to work for the mob.”

“He’s not a gangster.”

“No? So he’s a law-abiding citizen?”

Maria took a deep breath. “Not exactly.”

“Why were you meeting him this morning?”

“I often meet friends for breakfast.”

He pursed his lips. “Okay. But it made you late for work. That’s never happened before. So it must have been important.”

She glanced up at him from underneath her hair. “I underestimated how long it’d take me to get to work. I’m sorry.”

“Bullshit. You’re way too organized to let that happen.”

She shrugged. “What do you want me to say?”

“I want you to tell me who you’re working for. What did they ask for?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He stood glaring at her in silence. Finally, he walked back around and sat back down behind his desk. “Fine. We’ll play it your way.”

“How do you mean?” she asked warily.

“If you leave now, I won’t get the cops involved.” He set his jaw and focused on his computer screen.

“What?”

Then it dawned on her. This was the perfect out. She couldn’t help that he’d grown suspicious and fired her. And away from his hypnotic presence she might even be able to concentrate for long enough to think of a solution.

“Fine. Nice knowing you Mr. Breton.”

“I wish I could say the same Ms. de Reyes, or whoever you really are.”

She shook her head. “That is who I am.” She said stiltedly, trying to keep her voice under control.

“Whatever. I hope you were paid handsomely for seducing me.”

“It wasn’t like that,” she muttered, looking away when she caught the look in his eyes. They looked dull; like their usual sparkle had been quenched out.

“You have five minutes. If you’re still here after that, I’m calling security to escort you out.”

Her bravado lasted just long enough for her to pack up her things and leave the building. She made it outside and to the end of the block before bursting into tears at the thought of never seeing him again.

Maria threw her purse and keys on the counter and kicked off her shoes. She finally had time for her own work after the mayhem of the past several weeks. It was too bad that all she could think about was Chase Breton.

She threw herself on the couch and flicked on the TV. His reaction had been completely understandable, she knew, even though that knowledge did little to take away the hurt of seeing him look at her like that. One thing was strange though. She couldn’t understand why he hadn’t called the police. Was it because he cared about her? Or because he knew there wasn’t enough evidence.

She shook her head, acknowledging that her line of thinking wasn’t constructive. The most important thing she needed to do was figure out what she was going to tell Johnny. Or whether she was going to tell him.

She was willing to bet that the guy on the inside, the one who wanted Chase’s position, had no idea of her existence. He wouldn’t if she was Johnny’s insurance plan. So they’d have no way of knowing about her sacking.

Her phone buzzed. She stared at the screen in astonishment. Either this was the world’s cruelest coincidence or she was even deeper in the shit than she thought. She rejected the call and leaned back against a pile of cushions.

Her phone vibrated. This time it was an incoming message. She held her breath as she unlocked the screen and waited for the message to pop up. It was from Johnny. Of course it was.
Answr r im comin ovr
.

“Shit,” she screamed as the phone began to ring again with an incoming call.

She hit the answer button. “This is Maria.”

“Hi sweetheart. Listen, I need to see you. Come by the bar in a half hour?”

She bit her lip. Her face felt cold, like all the blood had drained out of it. She racked her brains trying to think of how she’d usually react to Johnny. He couldn’t suspect she knew.

“I’m kinda busy right now,” she sighed. “Can’t it wait?”

“No, unfortunately it can’t,” he said sweetly.

“Fine. I’ll be there in an hour.”

Maria ended the call and bounced off the couch. She raced to her bedroom and threw herself on the ground. She was sure she’d left one under the bed. Just in case. She scrambled blindly under the bed, pushing boxes and bags out of the way. And then her fingers landed on it. Or what she hoped was it. She pulled it out.

She breathed deeply when she saw what was in her hand. She opened the decorative box and pulled out the cellphone she’d left in there months before.

To her relief, it powered on without her needing to charge it and waste valuable seconds. She rushed to the kitchen and rummaged in her purse for Chase’s business card. She’d scrawled his personal cell number on it on her first day on the job. His other numbers were redirected to his assistant or an executive in the business development team. But this one – this one went straight to him, and only him.

Maria tapped in the numbers and then paused. She hadn’t thought about what she was going to say to him. There was still the small problem of his hating her guts right now. But he was the only person she could think of who might be able to help. She took a deep breath and hit the dial button. She hoped he was still at the office.

“Chase Breton.”

Shit, she thought. She hadn’t expected him to answer on the first ring.

“Don’t hang up. I’ll tell you everything. But we need to meet now and it needs to be somewhere safe. Okay? If you don’t want me to choose the place then pick somewhere with plenty of security.”

She could hear his breath on the end of the line.

“Chase?” she said, clicking her fingers to relieve the nervous energy coursing through her.

“Fine,” he said at last. “I’ll meet you in the lobby of my building in fifteen.”

“Okay.”

Maria grabbed her purse and dashed toward the door. She paused with her hand on the deadbolt. Closing the door again, she ran back to her bedroom and grabbed her passport and a roll of hundred dollar bills from the bottom drawer of her nightstand.

He was waiting for her when she ran into the lobby, out of breath after running all the way there from the subway station. She stopped and froze when she saw his face. He was wearing the same expression of disappointment and anger that he had when she left his office barely a couple hours before.

“What’s changed?” he asked, when they were inside his private elevator.

She shook her head and pointed up without saying a word.

He shrugged. “Fine.”

He had barely closed the door to his office when he turned to her. “Well?”

She sat down in the chair in front of his desk. “I’ll tell you everything. But I think you’d better sit down.”

“I’m fine standing.”

“Trust me.”

He looked bitter. “I did. Look where it got me.”

She sighed. “Okay. I asked for that. God I don’t even know where to start.”

“Why the change of heart since earlier? You refused to tell me anything then.”

“Circumstances have changed.”

“Go on.”

She exhaled deeply. “Johnny. The guy in the picture. He brought me into this a month ago.” She turned back and stared pleadingly into his eyes. “You have to believe me, I only agreed because I had no other choice. At the time I didn’t think it was a big deal, to be honest. My sister’s life in exchange for some dirt on some rich banker guy I’d never heard of.”

He flinched at the last part but he made no attempt to correct her like he would have in the past. “Wait.” He held up his hand. “What’s this got to do with your sister?”

“She’s awaiting trial for drug trafficking.”

“Nice family.”

“Judgmental much? If you must know, she was a mule. She got duped into it by her trust fund baby boyfriend.”

“Was he arrested too?”

She smiled bitterly. “Initially yeah. She’s not stupid; she realized what had happened. But he’d covered his tracks well and his family is well-connected so it didn’t stick.”

“I still don’t see how this relates to me. Did you think you’d get revenge on another rich guy? Now who’s judgmental?”

“No no no.” She shook her head vigorously. “Nothing like that. Johnny and whoever he’s working for. They used Janey’s situation as bait. They promised to get the charges dropped against her if I agreed to help them.”

Finally, Chase left the door and sat down at his desk. He rubbed his temples. “Why you? There must be tens of thousands of cases in this state alone. Why did they choose Janey’s sister?”

She shrugged. “I’m not an administrator. I’m a private investigator.”

“And you’re saying they planned this from the start? To get you involved?”

“I’ve thought about it a lot. I don’t think so. It seems like an opportunity Johnny saw and grabbed with both hands.”

“You are old friends then?”

She shook her head. “God no, I wouldn’t say friends. We grew up in the same neighborhood.”

“Are you gonna tell me who he’s working for? Is it Bates? I can’t think who else—”

“No. Chase it’s worse than you think. They’re not looking for your trade secrets. I thought the same as you until this morning.”

“What is it then? And why are you telling me all this now?”

“I thought I was out of this when you fired me this morning. I was trying to figure out how to tell Johnny when he called me out of the blue. Sounded all sweet.”

“So?”

“Johnny Macone has never spoken to me like that before in my life. It’s probably the only reason I’m sitting in front of you now and not unconscious in the basement of his bar.”

Chase smiled weakly. “An investigator. I knew there was something about you that didn’t fit.”

She looked down. “I’m sorry. Really I am. I didn’t see another choice. I decided this morning that I was out but he upped the stakes. Implied it wouldn’t be good for my health if I backed out now. Chase that’s the thing,” she leaned forward across the desk and grabbed his hand. “It’s not corporate espionage. They’re trying to set you up.”

“Who is?”

“I don’t know the name. But we can find out easily. It’s someone in your business.” She drummed her fingers on the table. “Say you and Mike walked out on the business today. Who’d become CEO?”

He shrugged.

“This is important.”

“You think I don’t know that?”

“There must be someone you’ve groomed to take over. They wouldn’t risk this unless there was a strong chance they’d get to reap the rewards.”

“Tell me everything you know.”

“That’s pretty much it. I thought I was here to look for information in your systems about Keton, Naylor and BEK. But I found out from Johnny this morning that the reason they wanted me here was to listen out for signs that you were about to finalize those deals. It makes sense – they’d primed me to look for those keywords, and I’d be the one to coordinate the paperwork. I think I was here as a safeguard in case their friend tried to double-cross them.”

“Why those deals? They’re tiny compared to some of the others.”

“They’re plants. I don’t know the details but I assume they were designed to look too good to pass up and planted by the inside guy.”

“But that’s impossible. We carry out exhaustive research before investing. You know that. And it’s not like I have shareholders who can fire me for making a bad investment. It’s a family firm.”

“Chase, you don’t understand. Johnny didn’t mention you getting fired. He was talking about you being arrested for securities fraud. There’s something about those companies.”

He shook his head and started rummaging on his desk for something. He found what he was looking for and held it up. It was a thick brown paper folder.

“See this? This is a fraction of the information I myself pored over before authorizing the Bracken deal. That’s not including the time the analyst team or Mike put into it. We’ve got a watertight process for dealing with these things.”

Maria shook her head. “You don’t understand. Johnny wouldn’t get involved with this if it was some foolhardy scheme that was unlikely to work. He’s a pro.” She thought of something. “He mentioned Mike too. He said you’d both be arrested for this. Whatever it is.”

He was silent. She watched him, sitting there thinking. She wished there was more she could tell him.

“Who brought you those deals?” she asked. “Was it the same person?”

He shook his head slowly. “I’m not sure. You know how many acquisitions we made last month. Now times that by ten and it’s still not even close to the number considered. We need Mike in on this.” He picked up his desk phone.

“Wait.”

He raised his eyebrow. His hand was frozen in the air holding the phone.

Maria took a deep breath. “Please believe me when I say that I didn’t realize what this was until it was too late. I thought they were looking for information they could sell on the black market.”

He sneered. “So it was okay to rip off some rich
asshole
, huh?”

“I don’t think you’re an asshole,” she said, shaking her head. “In fact, you’re the most amazing guy I’ve ever met. I just want you to know that I fell into this in an attempt to save my sister. Nothing more. I understand if you hate me; just know that that breaks my heart. But that’s life, huh?” she smiled a watery smile.

He watched her. His face was blank, not even a trace remained of the emotions she’d seen on it earlier that day. He sprang back into life and balanced the phone between his cheek and shoulder as he dialed his brother’s internal extension.