Blackmailed by the Billionaire Brewer (9 page)

“I never go anywhere without the lovely Miss Reilly these days,” he said, far more
loudly than necessary. “The lady is non-negotiable.”

There was the beginning of an ironic smile on Piper’s scarlet lips, one that reached
her eyes, a genuine smirk of understanding of what he was up to. She lifted her chin
haughtily. “Time is money,
darling
.”

“Of course,” he said in a deliberately stiff tone and offered her his arm. “We must
press on.”

Piper smothered a giggle as the door closed behind them and they found themselves
in a large bright room full of chattering people. “Non-negotiable? Was that a nod
to Charles and Camilla?”

He leaned over and whispered in her ear. “You have a wild imagination, Miss Reilly.”

She smirked and took a flute of champagne from the attentive waiter who had suddenly
appeared at her shoulder. “And so, apparently, do you.”

He watched as she put the crystal glass to her lips and there was the slightest hint
of the tip of her tongue as she drank. His groin stiffened almost instantaneously.
“Champagne suits you,” he said softly, feeling an almost unbearable kick of lust.

She swallowed and ran that wicked tongue over her top teeth before saying, “That’s
because it’s so much nicer than your smelly old beer.”

“I could watch you drink it for hours.”

“You might have to if this event turns out to be terminally dull.”

Tiny silver conch shells dangled from each of her earlobes, catching the light as
she moved, and he noticed the huge mother-of-pearl bangle on her slim wrist as she
lifted her glass and the cuff of her jacket slid back. He should re-evaluate. She
wasn’t an ice queen, she was a sea sprite with her coral red hair and kelp-green eyes
sparkling like the setting sun on a calm sea. “It won’t be dull with you showcasing
your jewelry so beautifully tonight. Make the most of the attention you’re getting
and charm some potential clients. Business, not pleasure, for a few hours.”

“You’re right, look at them all fawning over those strange paintings. The more-money-than-sense
brigade is out in force tonight. I’ll have some of that.”

“Got your business cards?”

She lifted up the red sparkly clutch bag. “Never leave home without them. Although
I won’t drop them anywhere this time.”

He chuckled silently and then took a swig of his own champagne. “That thing is so
tiny I guess you can’t fit much more than a handful of cards in there anyway.”

“It’s not very practical,” she said with a dry look. “But with a billionaire to look
after me, what else could I possibly need?”

“Women’s purses are a complete mystery to me. You’d just about get a pack of cigarettes
in there and a lighter.”

“For your education, I have my cell phone in there, a house key, and a credit card
for emergencies. So I’m not actually that reliant on you. And I gave up smoking years
ago.”

“Didn’t we all?” He flicked her a warning glance as he spotted a particularly dull
country club owner coming their way. “This would be a good time to mingle,” he muttered
quickly. “Super dull dude approaching.”

She closed her eyes briefly to indicate she understood without actually saying anything
and wisely didn’t even look over her shoulder before sashaying into the center of
the room. He felt the loss of her company immediately, following the top of her red
head bobbing through the crowd like a buoy on a choppy sea until she disappeared completely
from view. He was irritated that Bob Dodge had sought him out so early in the evening.
The man was prone to cling, bore, and dominate more than was polite or subtle, but
business was business, and Bob’s chain of snobby resorts bought a lot of beer. In
fact, Bob probably sank most of it.

“Fancy.” Bob Dodge jerked his beer glass in the direction Piper had headed. “About
time you settled down with a nice young lady and gave the rest of the Passion Creek
bachelors a chance.”

“Now, Bob, you know how it is.” Matt slapped the older man on the shoulder and a little
beer slopped onto the floor. They both smiled and looked around guiltily to see if
anyone had noticed them messing the place up. “Matt DeLeo is more than happy being
a bachelor boy and there are no major changes on the horizon.”

“You sure about that?”

“I’m sure about that.”

“You see, it’s just that I’ve been watching the two of you since you came in and…and
there’s something there this time, boy. Something there, you mark my words.”

He wanted to say something about it just being sex, but thought better of it. Piper
deserved better than that even if it was the truth. “You need more beer, Bob, mark
my
words.”

Chapter Nine

Piper drew up to an elegant woman with platinum cropped hair looking at a canvas of
red and yellow splatters. She spoke in a whisper. “Do you like it?”

“Are you the artist?” the older woman drawled in equally hushed tones.

Piper laughed and pointed to her name badge. “No, I’m a guest.”

“You can’t be too careful at these things.” The woman touched Piper’s hand lightly
as if to reassure her. “I’d hate to offend anyone, after all beauty is in the eye
of the beholder, but apart from the vibrancy of the colors in this one…no, it’s not
for me. I’d rather give the ticket price straight to charity.”

Piper bent to see what was on the ultra-tiny price tag and snapped back straight with
shock. This was another world. It had to be with numbers that big for something that
looked like an elephant had painted it, but she couldn’t let on she was a financial
fish out of water. Neither could she let on that she didn’t know the whole occasion
was about raising money for charity because that would make her look like an ignorant
freeloader. “It is…vibrant,” she said diplomatically. “Perhaps in the right environment,
a modern loft conversion with plain white walls, maybe.”

“Or one of those cheap hotel lobbies,” the other woman said with a snort of amusement.
She trained her steely gray eyes on Piper’s earrings. “Give me a decent landscape
any day, something with the sea in it. I miss the coast living up here in the mountains.”

“I know what you mean,” Piper said with a wistful sigh and absentmindedly ran her
fingers over the smooth surface of her bangle as she stole a glance at the woman’s
name badge. “I try to get down to Florida as often as I can, Fiona, but it’s a long
way.”

Fiona smiled and stretched out a hand toward Piper’s face. “That must be where you
got those gorgeous earrings.” She felt one between her fingertips. “Silver?”

“Solid. I can’t wear plate, just pure base meals like gold, silver, and platinum.”

“Oh, me neither. Besides, who on earth would want cheap alloy jewelry anyway? I’d
rather be unadorned.”

“Exactly,” Piper said with feeling and turned her attention back to the painting.

“Now tell me,” Fiona murmured, “where does a lady who has far too much jewelry already
direct her husband to buy a pair of earrings just like yours? And that amazing bangle,
the colors are perfect for me.”

“Ah, this is kind of awkward…”

“Florida somewhere? Where you go on vacation?”

“Sort of.”

“Don’t be mean, tell me! And I swear that if we both turn up to a function wearing
identical stuff, I’ll take mine off immediately.”

“Okay, you can’t have something exactly the same because all the pieces are unique,
formed from real shells. Shells gathered in the Sanibel area of Florida.”

She gasped and her hand flew to her mouth. “Even better.”

“And…and it’s me who makes them.” There was a loaded silence and Piper cringed inwardly.
She felt so crass pitching herself like this and she wasn’t even sure she’d intended
to. It just kind of happened. “But please don’t feel—”

Fiona visibly fizzed with excitement. “Let’s swap business cards. You do have one
on you?”

Piper flicked open her purse. “Oh, um, maybe.”
Totally shameless
. “Yes! What a piece of luck there’s one in here.”

“This is amazing. If all your pieces are unique, I can tell all my friends. Do you
do bespoke?”

“Yes, I do. Have a look on my website when you have time and you’ll get a good idea
of what I offer. I have a small shop downtown as well, but space is limited so there’s
not a full range on display.”

“You’ve made my day.” Fiona took Piper’s card and slipped it into her own purse. “I
have some diamond earrings that I bought on a whim and I really don’t like them. Could
you break them down and incorporate them into a new design? Maybe with some pearls?”

“Of course I can, and you’ve really cheered my day up, too.” She glanced down at the
other woman’s card. “And the next time I need some interior design advice…”

Oh hell, this was the best networking event ever. Pretty interior things were one
of her favorite sidelines, so if she could expand out that way her business would
boom. With any luck, Fiona wouldn’t be able to resist some of her driftwood and coral
pieces when she browsed the website or dropped by the store. And then she remembered
what she’d be doing over the next few weeks. “Although I may not be at my shop in
person very often in the next few weeks, as I have…a special commission I’m working
on.” Which wasn’t exactly a lie;
commission
sounded a lot more believable than
blackmail
.

“I must find my husband. He’ll be delighted to have a few gifts he knows I’ll like
for my birthday next month. And our anniversary! What’s the point in marrying a stockbroker
if you can’t help him redistribute his bonus money, huh?”

Piper shook her head and grinned. What
was
the point in marrying a stockbroker besides his bank balance? A few things sprang
to mind like loving his innate integrity, good looks, sense of humor, and ideally
consummate skill in bed. She clearly had a long way to go before she could ever feel
at home with people like this, but doors were opening and bright shafts of possibility
were shining through.

Like it or not, she had Matt DeLeo to thank for that.

She looked around to see if she could spot Matt. She wanted to share her good news
and, even if it stuck in her throat, to thank him. All the thoughts she’d been having
about stockbrokers pointed to the fact that he wasn’t such a bad guy after all. A
drifter, maybe, but he was no swindler. He had old-fashioned values deep down beneath
the strange combination of tattoos and sharp suits. And he was really nice to her
cat.

Suddenly a finger jabbed into her shoulder and she heard a cringe-worthy familiar
male voice. “What you doing here, Red?”

She spun around sharply enough to spill a few drops of champagne on her jacket. Cold
blue eyes, blond wavy shoulder-length hair, and a not very good shave greeted her.
Her stomach felt like a boulder had been dropped on it. “Stanley.”

“You’re looking very good for a girl who should be mourning the love of her life.”

“Are you suggesting I should still be in pieces because you dumped me for a dimwit
who models herself on an overgrown Oompa-Loompa?”

“Oompa-Loompa?” Stanley laughed. “Oh, gotcha, but Millie’s tan is real.”

“Yeah, sure it is, just like her orange XXL breasts. But whatever.”

“Ouch.” He grinned and there were a few herbs from the complimentary canapés sticking
to his front teeth. “You sound bitter.”

How dare he comment on how she looked, felt, or sounded! “I have news for you, Stan.
I’ve moved on with my life.”

“So have I,” he said with a sickly smoothness that made her throat constrict. “Millie
was just a phase.”

She felt his gaze on her breasts and then her throat and it repulsed her. How could
she ever have thought she was in love with this creep? “Right.”

“She was a mistake, I admit it. I was a fool to think she could ever replace you.
I was blinded, seduced by her.”

“Oh, give me a break. It was all her fault? You dumped me on Christmas Eve because
she cast a spell on you or something? Or did she drug you with one of her very special
cocktails?” Piper let out a hollow laugh and shook her head with disbelief. “It’s
not working, Stanley. I’m not that stupid and lacking in self-respect anymore.”

He stroked a damp fingertip down her cheek. “I’ve been meaning to call you and beg
for forgiveness, but thought it might be too soon.”

She took a quick step backward to get his finger off her. “Too soon for what? For
me to forget what a manipulative bastard you actually were to me over all those years
we were together? Too soon for me to get so desperate for your company that I’d let
you get away with treating me like a piece of trash?” She stepped back to evade his
touch. “Get real, it’s not going to happen.”

“So melodramatic,” he said. “That much hasn’t changed about you.”

“Worried I might embarrass you? That’s pretty much a trademark. You always did your
best to exclude me from any of your precious work functions. I guess that’s why you’re
here—work. Charity was never very high on your list of priorities.”

“You’re right, this is a corporate invite. Business before pleasure, you know that’s
the way I need things to be.”

“Business before everything, right? Except for slutty cocktail waitresses.” Stanley
had the ability to make certain words sound unbearably disgusting, especially ones
that fed his pomposity. Words like
corporate
and
business
were like verbal tics. And then she noticed he was carrying a leather iPad case with
his initials embossed in gold on it. She’d have laughed if she didn’t feel the sudden
urge to vomit all over his far-too-pointed shiny shoes. Stan was such a dick. If only
she’d been able to see it when they were together.

He snorted in the condescending way he always did when she dared to contradict him
or stand up for herself. “She has teeth now as well as a fancy outfit.” And then he
made a pathetic growling noise in the back of his throat that sounded like a drain.
“Bite me, baby, I can take it. We were made for each other. Let’s give it another
try, you and me. What do you say?”

She stared at him with the most disgusted expression she could muster—how could she
have stayed with him for so long? Or maybe he had grown more offensive? She felt the
words come bubbling out, like a locked gate that had suddenly been opened after seven
years. “You are, and always have been, a complete dick.”

She turned to leave, but Stanley grabbed her by the wrist and gritted out a false
smile, a baring of teeth that held the kind of warning she recognized immediately.
“We haven’t finished talking yet, honey pie. I’d like to introduce you to my new boss.
He’s been asking about my significant other and the timing’s perfect for a surprise
reunion.”

“Let go of me,” she said. “People will notice, you idiot.”

“Then stop being difficult and come along nicely.”

“No, Stan, we’re over and there’s no going back this time.” She tugged ferociously
to get free, but he was stronger. And people were beginning to stare. What the hell
did he think he was going to achieve by this ridiculous caveman impression?

“Do we have a problem?” Matt’s deep voice oozed authority and control, and one look
at his face told her he wasn’t in the mood for games. Dark eyes flashing like daggers,
he looked utterly lethal. If there was ever a good time to swoon over hero material,
this was it, and Piper was truly impressed with his timing.

“I don’t think we’ve been introduced,” Stanley snapped, but paled under Matt’s scrutiny.
“So why don’t you mind your own business and leave us alone?”

“Because Miss Reilly is my business and I don’t like the way you’re handling her.”

“Exactly who are you?” Stanley spluttered a fake laugh. “Security?”

Matt reared up to his full height. “I’m your host, Matt DeLeo. This is my party, and
I don’t recognize you.”

Stanley let go of Piper’s wrist and held his sweaty palm out to shake Matt’s. “Stanley
Saunders. I’m part of the Cooper and Slatt corporate party.”

“Corporate, huh?” Matt folded his arms over his chest and nodded calmly. “I so hate
that word.” He turned his gaze on Piper and she felt overawed by his presence. She’d
never seen him like this before, exuding power and authority. She’d be turned on if
she wasn’t so terrified about how this was going to turn out. “Is this guy
the
Stanley?”

Piper closed her eyes and nodded as she heard Stan take a sharp intake of breath.

“In that case, Mr. Saunders,” she heard Matt say, “consider yourself uninvited. I
don’t let losers anywhere near my projects.”

“Losers? How dare you,” Stanley spluttered. “I graduated from Yale and have important
clients all over the country.”

Matt waved his hand around his head as if an insect was annoying him. “Yeah, yeah,
yeah, great, big deal, now get out.” A massive hulk of a security officer sidled up
and politely gestured for Stanley to follow him. “And don’t be surprised when you
get called in by your boss in the morning because Cooper and Slatt is now on my blacklist.”

Stanley glowered at her. “Well, I hope you’re satisfied, Piper. You wrecked my career,
you stupid little bitch.”

Piper gratefully took the hand that Matt was offering her. She couldn’t get away from
her awful ex quickly enough and the feeling was liberating. There was nothing left
in her heart for the man, and the last few minutes had erased any lurking doubts from
her mind. He was a total douchebag. “Good-bye, Stan.”

“I won’t forget this,” he hissed. “And you haven’t seen or heard the last of me. Passion
Creek isn’t big enough for you to hide forever.”

They watched him wriggle as the security guard almost lifted him off the floor as
he was “guided” out of the gallery.

Matt blew air out through his teeth. “I hope you weren’t still holding a flame for
that jerk, because I think I just messed up your last chance.”

“How will we ever buy a decent house and have babies now that you’ve trashed his entire
career?” She winked at him when she saw a slash of horror cross his face.