Billionaire's Revenge

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or to actual events or locales is entirely coincidental.

Billionaire
’
s
Revenge

Special Kindle Edition

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Sara Balfour stood in the large elegant ballroom
,
feeling uncomfortable and awkward as her eyes scan
ned the
room;
her teeth savaged th
e softness of her bottom lip as she waited.
  Time and again she
had
been approached by men, their suave smiles
barely hiding the lecherous looks in their eyes as they tried to engage her in conversation, each and every
one having to give up as she brushed off their
well
-
practiced pick-up lines.  Flicking a look at her watch, her stomach clenched into a tight knot of nerves and tension as she waited - waited to see the one person who held so much power over her family’s future.

Movement on stage
finally heralded
the main event of the night
:
the
keynote speech
of the CEO and main sha
reholder of
the
Garelli
Corporation, the man she had
come to see that night. 
Sara
had
researched the head of the Garelli
E
mpire
, an older stately man, his
online
pictures portraying a handsome distinguished man in his sixties, her eyes
that evening
scanning the area continuously for him
in the hope of being able to talk with him prior to his speech.

The emcee mov
ing
forward
had once more brought her attention to the
stage
as he
began his introduction, giving a brief history of the CEO and his many accomplishments.  Sara
was
not really
listen
ing
as she flicked her look around the side of the stage, a small frown knitted onto her smooth forehead
.  Stepping back she
took
a deep steadying breath
, not concentrating on those around her as
she
collided into
the arms of a man moving forward.  Quickly spinning
round with an apologetic look on
her
lovely features, she was aware as the man pushed out a steadying hand, his fingers warm as they wrapped around her arm, his handsome features smiling down at her as he mumbled a soft apology back, his voice deep and sensual.  She took
in the way h
is
eyes slid down her with interest
,
appreciating
the stunning woman before him
before they
reached
her lov
ely face.  H
is look changed, a note of confusion enter
ed
the darkest eyes she
had
ever seen, eyes familiar to her as she stare
d back at him in stunned disbelief.

“Darius
?
”
the sof
t almost inaudible name escaped
her shocked lips as he looked more carefully back, his warm eyes becoming cold and hard as recognition finally hit him.
 
“Sara!” her name bitten out contemptuously as the
speaker finished his introduction, his voice hardly registering to Sara as she stared back at the man she
had
known so many years before
.

“So give a big hand for the C
hief Executive Officer of
Garelli
Corporation
, Mr Darius Garelli
”
A
spontaneous
eruption
of
applauding
hands
broke
through the
mesmerized
way the two stared at
the
other.  Pulling his eyes from her
, his body stiff, he moved forward, quickly ascending the steps at the side of the stage.  Sara stood in stunned shock, nausea filling her as she watched Darius Garelli - a man she had
known as Darius Larosa
-
take his rightful place before the throng of rich partygoers.

Lifting a shaky hand to her forehead
,
she felt the despondency roll over her, the despair
of knowing that it was finished
, that her
family’s
last hope
had
been dashed away
.  She
swallowed
hard to hold back the tears which burned
the back of her eyes
.  They were doomed, there was no salvation to be found at the hands of the man who
after talking to one of his security guards
moved
with all the grace and
confidence of a panther
to begin his speech
, as Sara
once more
flicked
a stunned look
down his wonderful body.

With a definitive movement she tore her eyes from him, turning with determination, defeat sitting heavily on her
,
as
she pushed
her way through the multitude of bodies which swarmed forward to hear the great man talk
.  Sara needed
to
be out of there, needed to put as much distance between herself and Darius Garelli as she could.  Reaching the door, the security guard she had
witnessed him talking to moved before her, blocking
her way, his stance
foreboding
as he politely but fir
mly spoke
to her
. 
“Mr Garelli would like you to wait for him in his private office Miss”

Shaking her head firmly Sara refused to be intimidated by
the tall man, her hand reached
out
to pull
open the door
.
 
“I don’t think so.  Please tell Mr Garelli that I politely declined his offer”
,
moving forward as the security man continued
,
a small almost
unperceivable
twitch of his lips the only real sign he
heard her
. 
“I was told that if you felt that way to say to you
:
‘
Paxton Holdings
’
”

The two words
froze her
to
the spot, her eyes flying around to stare in disbelief at the man on the stage.  A
short
video was playing and while the throng watched it
,
his eyes
were
focussed
solely on her, their eyes colliding, his look unwavering and cold.  Sara felt the pain wash through her.  He knew.  He knew everything.  Pulling her look from him, her shoulders sagged in defeat as she nodded to the security guard, her posture and expression an admission of surrender as she allowed the door to close, before moving behind the guard to another entrance, the sounds of the presentation disappearing as she was led to the elevator.

As they made their way up within the marbled and opulent elevator, she felt sick.  She had
been sure that if she could get the CEO of
Garelli
Corporation
alone, and talk to him about her problem
,
that she could buy the family some time,
that the
billionaire
businessman would understand and support the family.  However,
that hope
had
been dashed the minute she discovered who the CEO
now
was.  Darius Garelli would take great pleasure in destroying them all, coldness seeping into every part of her.

The ping of the
elevator
door heralding their arrival pulled her thoughts
back
, as with head held high she followed the guard, the realisation hitting her that they were on the top level of the exclusive five-star hotel.  When the doors opened, she had
been ushered into the large penthouse suite, her eyes staring in wonder at the surroundings
,
knowing that this was his
private
suite, the room he was staying at, this knowledge filling her with even more discomfo
rt.

Ushered into what appeared to be a study, the guard
told her to help herself to a drink bef
ore movin
g back out
,
the click of the front door the only sound
, leaving Sara alone, alone with her thoughts and ghosts of the past.
 
Finally she
s
a
nk into the large
over-
stuffed leather armchair, her head falling in her hands as the memories of the past
flooded back.

Six years ago Sara
had been
18
.  About to go to university, she
spent the summer working in the main office of her
late
father
’
s construction business. 
She
was
s
hy and awkward about the way she looked, her sister oft
en
teas
ing
her about her braces and
too
-skinny body and she had
kept to herself.  Her sister Angela
was
the complete opposite.  Older and working in the office full-time with no desire to go off to
u
niversity she
was
gregarious, her stunning figure and long auburn hair and good looks making her popular with the many contractors who would
pass through.  None more so than Nick Paxton, the owner of a small joinery company.  While Angela
had
been initially interested in Nick, a man Sara
dis
liked
, not quite sure what it was about him that made her uncomfortable, the arrival of the gorgeous and seductively dangerous Darius Larosa
soon wiped out any other man from her
sister’s
thoughts.