Billionaire Romance: Club Billionaire (The Complete Series) (12 page)

When we finish, I feel as if a reset button has been
clicked in my mind. I feel as though being with Kyle, like this, has
helped me put everything behind me. And now, more than ever, I want
to tell him how I truly feel. For everything he's done for me, for
everything he keeps doing. I want to tell him I love him.

But I don't. I'm scared it will turn him away. I know,
even if he reciprocates it, that he'll never act on it. That I'll
never be anything more than a secret to him, something set aside from
his life of wealth and power and influence. A man like him will marry
an appropriate woman, not a waitress and former stripper with no
education. I know, deep down, that I'm damaged goods.

And so does he.

Before Kyle leaves, he tells me to say nothing of the
attack on Brad. That the cops might come to investigate, asking
questions of the members and staff. I need to keep my mouth shut, for
my sake and his, and just keep going as if nothing has happened.

“
You won't see me here for a while,” he tells me.
“I'm going away on some serious business, which may last a few
weeks. I'll be in contact when I return.”

With that he kisses me, on the forehead once more, and
vanishes from my sight.

Over the next week, Kyle's predictions come true.
Despite the secret nature of the club and the power of its members,
no one gets in the way when the police come asking questions. Each
member, it seems, is keen to find out exactly what happened to Brad
Turner. To show solidarity in the face of this 'brutal attack', as
the press have started to call it, even though some of them, I'd
suspect, like the boy little more than I do.

It's about a week after the attack that I'm questioned
myself. A kindly looking officer asks me a few simple questions, but
nothing more. Frankly, they don't tend to spend too much time on the
waitresses, and seem to be clutching at straws. By the looks of
things, they have no real leads and no real suspects. Kyle, as with
everything in his life, has covered his tracks far too well.

Only when Brad is sufficiently recovered to speak to the
police do we all find out what happened. Kyle was smart enough to
give me no details, which I'm glad he spared me. But still, with the
entire investigation all over the TV and papers, and a hot topic of
conversation in the club, it's all hard to avoid.

When I first hear the story, my heart seizes with a fear
that Brad might somehow name drop Kyle. His absence, being away on
business, also looks fairly suspicious.

Those worries, however, are quickly put to rest.

It was a gang beating, by all accounts. Nothing but a
mugging that seemed to get out of hand. There were four of them, all
wearing balaclavas, all dressed in nondescript dark clothing. They
robbed him and beat him to within an inch of his life. That's all
Brad would offer the police, aside from a few sparse details on the
height and shape of the men.

One, it seems, was about 6'2'' and looked 'in good
shape'. In most cases that would be an extremely vague profile, but
as soon as I read it I knew it was Kyle.

The gang mugging was nothing more than a ruse. He'd
hired three men through a series of underworld connections who would
be well compensated for their efforts. He joined the gang as the
fourth, clearly not willing to miss out on the action. The minor cuts
on his hands spoke of the blows he inflicted himself. By the time he
returns from his 'business trip', I'm sure those cuts will have
healed.

Brad could offer nothing more, and while it's possible
he might suspect Kyle, there was not nearly enough bad blood between
them for him to single him out as a possible suspect to investigate.
Without any solid proof, such an accusation against another
billionaire would be too risky, too much negative press for men of
such power and influence to have to deal with.

Inside, however, I'm sure he knows Kyle had something to
do with it. At least, that's what I hope. That he knows it was a
warning to not mess with someone like Kyle Lawson. That while Brad's
daddy might be more wealthy, Brad himself is nothing but a spec of
dust to him. A irritating insect who can, if he wishes, be swatted
aside and left for dead, just as he was.

Perhaps now, Bradley Turner will have learned a valuable
lesson: that he isn't infallible, and there are serious consequences
to his actions.

Over the next two weeks, with the investigation still
ongoing, Club Billionaire begins to quieten down.

“
It will pick up again,” Alice tells me, although
there's a lack of confidence in her voice. “As soon as everything
settles, we'll be back in business. All this has just been a shock to
these men, and they're paying their respects in their own ways.
Believe me, things will pick up, I'm sure of it.”

I wonder if her words convince her, because they don't
convince me. With the police probing, and with certain seedy elements
of the club at risk of being exposed, the members are sensibly
keeping a wide berth. Who knows how long that will last...

The result, however, leaves me back at square one. As a
newer member of staff, I'm lower down the pecking order, and
therefore aren't required to work. Alice, of course, could pull some
strings to get me a shift or two but, with so little work available,
my moral compass suggests that other girls deserve it more.

So, back to having no job and, worse, no Kyle. Our meets
have been strictly limited to the club, so without that middle
ground, where does that leave us?

For days I do little but sit and stare at the wall,
trying to make sense of everything, trying to work out where my life
will take me next. But amid all of it, I can't shift this horrible,
dull feeling in my stomach. This feeling that tells me that my time
at Club Billionaire is over.

And that my joyful experience with Kyle Lawson might
just begin to fizzle and die.

Chapter Seven

“
The entire club's under investigation.”

Alice's words send the pit of my stomach dropping
another few inches.

“
What...why?”

“
The place was never really official. It doesn't have
permits or anything like that. Some politician trying to make a name
for himself must have got wind of it with all that's been going on.
Now the press are onto it as well. You know the sort of stuff they'll
come up with – underground club for billionaires where the fate of
the world is decided by men sipping brandy and smoking cigars.”

“
I'll bet conspiracy theorists will be loving it.”

“
Sure will, and the rest. Long story short though,
Belle, it's over, for now anyway. These guys aren't the sort to take
this lying down. I've already been told by some how much they love
it. I'm sure they'll work something out.”

There's a short delay on the line before she speaks
again.

“
In the meantime, though, I suggest you start looking
for another job, painful as that sounds. I've said the same to all
the girls. Sorry, Belle.”

I tell her it's OK and that good things are never meant
to last, but my mind is primarily taken by Kyle when I do. I still
haven't heard from him for weeks and have no idea where he is or what
he's doing. I don't even know if I'll ever see him again and, with
everything going on at the club, that fear is more real now than
ever.

The only silver lining is the money I've saved over the
last month or two. My bank account has been suitably replenished, and
that will give me time to seek work without too much pressure on my
shoulders. The thought makes me feel a little sick. Like an NFL
player suddenly being relegated back to Pee Wee football.

Back to square one again...

After a week of introspective moping, however, I feel
it's about time to get back out there, find a new job, and move on.
My life has shifted directions plenty of times before. This is just
another string in the bow. In time, I know I'll forge a new path. My
experience has told me that.

So, I get out there and trudge the streets, canvassing
for work. As expected, few places are hiring, and those that are seem
so unattractive after working at Club Billionaire that I find it hard
to even consider them. It's all depressing, soul destroying stuff,
but I have no choice. I have to move forward.

It's Friday, and I'm finishing a long week of looking
for work, when a familiar voice sounds behind me. I turn, half
assuming I've heard the voice in my head, and see Kyle standing
behind me.

“
You look tired, Belle,” he says with a smile,
stepping toward me through the snow on the street near my apartment.

Above, a light mist swirls, sweeping through the streets
of Brooklyn and bringing it a heavy chill. It's that chill, as well
as the sight of Kyle, that sends my body shaking within my coat.

“
Job hunting will do that,” I say, trying to keep a
downcast, sullen look to my face. It's almost impossible though.
Seeing him here is sending my heart leaping behind my ribs.

“
Job hunting?” He steps closer to me, until I can
smell his scent wafting off his neck.

I nod. “You must have heard – the club's shut down.”

“
It's only temporary,” he says with conviction. “You
don't think the police can stop us for long, do you?” He speaks
with such confidence, such power, as if nothing is beyond his grasp.

“
I suppose not. But, I can't take that risk...”

“
Well it's a good thing I've run into you then isn't
it.”

“
Why?”

“
Because I've come to make you an offer, Belle.”

My body freezes, waiting for him to continue. He smirks,
casually, and leans in toward me. Then he kisses me on the lips, warm
and full and sending that familiar electric shock through me. When he
pulls back he leaves me hanging in midair, my lisp cast back out into
the cold.

But his smile, the look in his eyes, is enough to warm
me. Like a fire has been stoked within, the dying embers beginning to
spark back to life.

“
Offer?” I whisper, and he smiles wider, his teeth
as white as the snow beneath our feet.

“
I never want to see you hurt again, Belle. And I
never want to think that you're not happy. I want you to have
everything in life that you desire, whatever that may be.”

Whatever I desire? Even you?

“
What do you desire most, Belle?” he asks me. He
knows what I'm going to say.

“
You.”

He kisses me again.

“
Then you can have me.”