Condoned (Beauty And The Billionaire Geek Book 3)

Five Years Later

I plopped down at the bar and stared at the mirrored wall behind the bottles of amber liquor. I could see my face, distorted by the strange angle of the glass. My hair was still wet from the dunk in the bathtub. My makeup had smeared around my eyes. I looked like a drug addict. It reminded me of the way my sister Regan used to look half the time when she was a user.

I wiped the black smudges from under my eyes as the bartender approached. I ordered a pint of cheap beer. I was still broke until I deposited this check from the freaky photo shoot I’d just finished. The hipster bartender put my beer on a napkin, and I took a deep swig before setting it back on the bar with a thud.

Pulling out my phone, I dialed Stacy. It rang several times before she answered.

“Is everything okay?” she said before I could speak.

“No. It’s not. It is definitely not okay.” I took another swig of beer.

“What happened? Do you need me to come pick you up or call someone?”

“No. I got out of there.”

“What happened?”

“Well, it was a strange shoot to say the least.”

“What happened?”

“He had me blindfolded the whole time. Then I fell into this stupid tub of water and got soaked. The blindfold came off, but I still never got a look at the photographer.”

“Did he at least pay you?”

“Yeah, he left the check on the stool in the middle of the room. After I got done changing, everything else was gone.”

“Thank goodness. I don’t think I can float your rent much longer. My savings is basically shot. I was going to have to dip into my measly 401k soon or start taking out credit cards.”

“I know Stace. I’ll pay you back soon.”

I hung up and chugged the last of my beer, wishing it would wash away the surges of adrenaline coursing through my veins. I paid for my beer and walked out into the sunshine. A red Porsche zoomed past like Batman chasing the bad guys.

That weekend, I had a gig with my burlesque troop. In the last five years, we’d gone from a startup group to headliners in some of the biggest clubs in the region. I’d become the choreographer several years ago, even though I’d dropped out of community college and never got my dance degree. When I’d taken over the troop, our attendance sky rocketed.

I arrived at the club in downtown Seattle on the bus at dusk with my costumes in a garment bag. Being the headliner and the troop’s coordinator made arriving on the bus a bit humiliating. A lot of people took public transportation in Seattle, so I just pretended like I was super ecofriendly or something. With my head held high, I marched through the side door of the building where the entertainers came in.

Several of the other girls had already arrived and were doing sound check with the audio technician. I should have been here already, but, the bus… Hurrying to take my things into the back, I hung up my garment bag and met the technician on the stage to finish sound check. We’d added a singer to the mix and she stood at the mic doing scales while the tech went back to his booth to turn knobs.

The way the man in his black shirt and black slacks held himself reminded me of Billy back before he became billionaire William Black. My heart sank. I couldn’t get him out of my brain. Every time I saw a sound guy or a computer technician over the last few days, it made me think of him.

When I started going out with my last boyfriend, I’d almost been able to get Billy out of my mind completely. We’d moved in together, buying a swanky townhouse on Queen Anne hill with a spectacular view of downtown and the Sound. Of course, that was before he’d totally betrayed me.

We finished sound check and went into the dressing room to get ready. Our show progressed in four acts now. Comedian, magician, singer, dancers. Then we had a big blow out finale with all the acts on stage together. I’d choreographed the whole thing and people loved it.

Our current show had a 1950’s pin up theme. We worked with different ideas of pin-ups that were a subtle cultural critique while also being sexy as hell. That was the fun of burlesque. We could be smart and political while still arousing our audience. It was so Seattle.

The theater filled up and our MC comedian took the stage under the glowing spotlights. She’d been our MC from the start and her experience and humor still brought the house down. She’d lost a little weight over the years, but still had her pleasantly plump figure and mischievous attitude.

I watched from backstage, paying attention to lighting queues. Our AV tech was on his mark tonight. It was usually a toss-up with the theaters if they would be or not.

The show progressed beautifully and my dance routine got the crowd good and horny before the finale blew their minds. They brought us back on stage three times for encores. I loved it when shows went so well.

I strode back stage and changed with the rest of the girls. I washed my stage makeup off my face and put on a pair of comfortable faded jeans, a black t-shirt of an indie band that opened for us sometimes, and a casual black blazer. I pulled my hair up in a ponytail.

I slung my garment bags over my shoulders, said good night to the girls and walked out into the crisp evening air. This part of town was always busy. At midnight, the bright lights of downtown shone against the black sky above and black pavement below.

A strong, cool wind blew off the Sound. Even in the summer time, Seattle could be chilly at night. I dug into my purse and checked my cell phone for the exact time as I approached the bus stop. I’d just missed it. It would be a fifteen minute wait for the next one.

“I always liked to watch you dance,” said a voice from behind me. I whirled around, feeling my stomach clench so violently I thought I’d puke.

“Billy…” I gasped. “What are you doing here?”

“I came to see the show. I’ve watched your shows dozens of times over the years,” he said, leaning against a street lamp next to me. He wore dark designer jeans and an expensive looking black blazer over a Battle Star Gallactica t-shirt. Same old Billy but with a better haircut. I noticed he’d filled out quite a bit. His shoulders had broadened and his muscles strained against the jacket.

My eyes widened as I really looked at him for the first time in five years. I could see the taper of his slim waist under the tight fitting t-shirt and the rise of hard pectoral muscles.

He caught me looking and the sides of his mouth twitched into a smirk. “You like?” he said, flexing. I rolled my eyes and turned away, looking down the street. My heart raced and blood pumped into my ears. I had nothing to say to him. I’d just ignore him and he’d go away. But he didn’t. He moved closer.

I could feel his gaze run over my butt and down my legs and back again to rest on my neck. I turned to glare at him only to find him standing right behind me. I looked forward but couldn’t move. The warmth of his body send shivers down my spine, but I told myself it was the cool breeze off the bay.

He stood so close to me we were almost touching, and I could smell the scent of his cologne— rich and musky with a hint of exotic spices underneath.

“Why are you waiting at the bus stop?” he asked. His hot breath blew over the little hairs on the back of my neck.

“It’s a public place. I can wait here,” I said, looking down the street again. The bus could not come fast enough.

“That boyfriend of yours really messed you up.”

I spun around to face him, glaring suspiciously. “You mean you?”

“I mean the douchebag shumck who screwed up your finances.”

“How did you find out about that? It’s not like
I’m
in the papers.”

He smirked again and rolled his eyes. “Please. Give me some credit. I could hack that kind of information when I was fifteen, Zoe.”

“Are you spying on me, Billy?” I said, narrowing my eyes at him.

“William. Everyone calls me William now. I’m an important man.” He puffed out his chiseled chest, impressed with himself.

“Whatever.
William
,” I mocked. “Why are you hacking my personal information?”

“I’ve thought about you a great deal over the years. Maybe too much,” he said, trailing off.

The bus pulled up and the door swung open. A passenger disembarked, and the driver looked at me impatiently. I’d been caught in Billy’s tractor beam. I wanted desperately to get away, but I wanted to stay with him just as desperately.

“Getting on?” the driver called through the darkness. I just stood there staring at him. The driver sighed and swung the doors closed. What was I doing? That was my ride. Too late. The bus drove off down the street without me on it. I looked back at William and glared.

“Come with me,” he said, reaching for my hand. I let him take it and lead me to a red Porsche. He took my garment bag and put it in the trunk, then opened the passenger door for me. Inside my head I was yelling at myself to get a grip and not go with him. He’d ruined my life, and I didn’t forgive him.

William Black the great tech billionaire slipped into the driver’s seat next to me. It would have to be
my
geek ex-boyfriend who turned into the next Bill Gates. The geek who I loved more than anything, who broke my heart, who after we broke up, went on to earn enough money to buy Greece. It had a way of making a girl feel really crappy about herself.

He sped down the street narrowly burning through yellow lights. The Billy I remembered owned a Vespa and wouldn’t take the freeway. This William Black was some kind of speed demon.

Before I had a chance to think, we parked. I looked up and found we were sitting in the parking lot of the park were we’d first kissed. Confusion clouded my brain. I felt myself on the verge of panic as a tear slipped down my face.

“Come on,” he said, standing above me, outside, with the door open. I slipped out and wiped the salty moisture off my face. I did not want to cry in front of him. No way.

He took my hand and it hurt how natural if felt to hold it again. The warmth of his touch sent waves of electricity through my body and my muscles tightened and tensed as the damp place between my legs buzzed to life.

We weren’t supposed to be in the garden after dark, a sign said, but William Black was one of Seattle’s elite. People like him didn’t have to follow rules. I didn’t know how I felt about that. We both grew up poor, but William had entered the upper echelons of society. He’d never be the same again.

He took me to the same bench, under the bamboo, that had been our spot so many years ago. Emotions were doing gymnastics inside my chest, and I didn’t know if I was going to laugh or cry or puke. We sat down and the cool air of the Sound blew over my bare face. I shivered and William put his arm around me to protect me from the cold.

I could feel the bulk of his newly formed musculature. The solidness and strength of his body aroused me as much as the memories of the intimacy we’d shared.

“I have something for you,” he said, breathing hot breath into my ear. His lips lightly touched my earlobe, making me tingle all over and deep inside my most secret parts. I was a different woman than I was five years ago. All the things he’d offered then, that I’d rejected, I now craved. The love, the security, the happily ever after, I wanted all those things now. “Open your hand,” he said breathing on my neck.

I put my palm up and unfurled my clenched fingers. He placed his hand over mine and dropped a tiny, cold object in my palm. When he removed his hand, I looked down at the object under the glowing street light of the walking path not far beyond the garden. I had to squint to make it out, but it was what I thought it was.