His to Keep: A Billionaire Romance (His to Have Book 3) (6 page)

“It’s my dad,” I tell him when he finally eases on the hug. “He collapsed. I think he just had too much to drink. He’s going to be fine.”
 

A wave of relief washes over Blake’s face. He’s breathing hard, and he bends over, holding his hands on his knees as he tries to catch his breath. “I thought something horrible had happened to you,” he says. “Richard, are you ok?”
 

“I’m fine,” he growls. “I just need to lie down.”
 

“Do you want me to get a doctor?” Blake asks.

“No,” my father says. “I’ll have my personal physician come up from Connecticut. There’s no need to be dramatic.”

“I think I saw a golf cart going around at some point,” Blake says. “I’ll track it down and be back.”

My father pushes himself up. “I can walk. I’m not an invalid.”

“Your ego is intact,” I tell him. “That’s always a good sign.”

“Suit yourself,” Blake says.

We walk slowly back to the house. Blake repeatedly tries to convince my father to call a local doctor, telling him that it’s in no one’s interest to have him pretend to be well. He takes out his phone and starts looking up local hospitals. I know what he thinks of my father, and yet it doesn’t seem to matter to him. He just wants to do the right thing.

It makes me feel even worse about lying to him, and I decide I have to tell him the truth. We make it back to the house before I tell Blake the real reason for the scream.

We’re back in the parlor, and Blake had just insisted that my father sit down in a large window seat and said he’d be back with aspirin. “You mean he’s fine?” Blake asks. He looks at me dumbfounded.

“Don’t get mad. I was afraid something was going to happen between the two of you,” I say. “And then I heard that gunshot, and I decided it didn’t matter if it had come from you or not. I knew I had to get you away from him, and I knew that if you thought I was in trouble, you’d come running.” I brace myself, preparing for Blake to scold me.

“We’ll talk about this later,” he says. He turns to my father. “Did you bring him here?” he says.

“Fletcher? No. I barely know him,” my father says.

“Why is he here?” Blake asks. “What are you planning?”

“He wants to buy me out,” my father says. He gets up and walks over to the bar to pour himself another drink. “He offered me three times what I paid. And that was just his starting number. He seemed eager. I’m guessing I can get him to double his offer.”

“You wouldn’t,” Blake says.
 

“It’s just business,” my father says. “Plus then I wouldn’t be burdened with worrying about your success. It’s good to be back from the dead. Would you like a drink?” he asks. I wonder if my father is more pleased at the look of confusion on Blake’s face or the fact that I asked him to help me trick Blake. Either way, he’s crowing. “Are you sure you don’t want a drink? You might need one.”

“We should go,” I tell Blake.

“We’re not going anywhere,” he says.

“If I hadn’t screamed, what would have happened?” I ask. “You’re no good to anyone if you’re in jail.”

He looks at me with that intense stare. He knows I’m right. We both know what would have happened if he’d stayed out there with Jacob. Someone would be headed to the hospital, and it wouldn’t be my father.

“I have to make a phone call,” Blake says.
 

“Right now?” I ask.
 

“I’m calling Ben and getting to the bottom of this. If he’s responsible in any way for Jacob showing up…”
 

“Why would he be?”

“We’ll talk about it later. I’ll get our bags.”
 

Blake storms up the stairs. I turn to my father. “I’ll take your deal,” I tell him.

“What deal?” he asks.
 

“I’ll take the stake in Blake’s company. I’m done letting the rest of you play games with our lives. Whatever you think of Blake, Jacob is bad news. And I’m going to need your help to keep him away from Blake.”

My father smiles and takes a long drink. He walks over and places his hand on my cheek. “There’s a board meeting in two weeks. I think it would be great to have you there.” He pulls his hand back and goes back to downing his drink.

“Yeah, sure,” I say.

“You know, when I lost everything, do you know what I missed most? It wasn’t the money or the prestige or the power. I missed the intrigue. Like I told Blake, it’s good to be back.”

He grins and walks over to the large windows at the other side of the parlor like he’s a king surveying his kingdom. I don’t know if I’m playing into some game of his or if he’s genuinely happy to have me working with him, but I do know one thing. Out of everyone involved, I have a feeling that my father is the only person who is going to enjoy whatever happens next.

CHAPTER 11

CATHERINE

Maybe telling Blake that I took my father’s offer wasn’t the best way to start our ride back to the city, because the way he’s whipping his car around every bend in the road, I’m pretty sure he wants to kill me. And, to tell the truth, I’m afraid. Not
of
Blake but
for
Blake. I’m afraid he’s going to do something stupid because he’s angry. He doesn’t look at me. He just stares ahead and races his car through its gears as we get closer to the highway. I try to imagine what he’s thinking, but I’m sure his anger has little to do with thought. As far as he cares, I’ve betrayed him.

I reach over and place my hand on his thigh. “I’m sorry,” I tell him, “I didn’t know what else to do.”

“Do you have anything else you want to tell me?” he says. “At this point I’d believe just about anything.” He keeps one hand tight on the wheel and the other on the shifter.

“Just that I love you. Will you please tell me what you’re thinking?”

He doesn’t answer. He just speeds up, building momentum around every turn. By the time we get on the highway, I don’t know if he’ll say a word for the rest of the trip.
 

“I almost did it,” he says. It’s been half an hour since either of us said a word. I had been daydreaming all of the things I want to tell Blake, how I want to tell him that he’s being stupid and proud, and I’m only trying to help. “If you hadn’t screamed, I think I would have tried to kill him. I snapped. He was threatening Alex, and then he was threatening you, and I just lost it. I went after him. We fought over his gun, and then it went off. I had just pulled it from his hands when I heard you. I don’t know what I was going to do, but I know it wouldn’t have been good.”
 

“Are you mad at me?” I ask.
 

“About that? No,” he says.

“You said you wouldn’t hold it against me if I took a stake in the company. You said you’d understand what it meant to me,” I tell him. “I can be there for you now. I can have your back. We can do this together.”
 

“Can’t you see that I don’t want to do this together?” he says. “I love you more than anything, and I’m terrified of losing you. I’m afraid that the minute you step into that boardroom, I’m going to lose you. I’m afraid that your father is going to try to turn us against each other in any way he can. Even more than that, I’m afraid that Jacob is going to make it his mission to come after you, and that I won’t be able to stop him.”

“What if you just forgot about him? What if you just focused on helping Ben build a case. That’s how you’re getting a plea deal right? Ben gets Jacob, and you get your identity back?”

“It’s not that simple,” Blake says.
 

“Why not?” I ask.
 

“The financial case about him isn’t certain. I need to make it something that will stick.”

“What are you saying?” I ask. “Don’t do anything stupid.”

“I’m not doing anything stupid. I’m just figuring out a way to keep you safe. I’m trying to figure out how to take Jacob down without just relying on some forensic accountants I’ve never met.”
 

“Let me help you,” I tell him. “We’ll figure something out.”
 

“No,” Blake says. “I don’t want you involved.”
 

“I can take care of myself,” I tell him. “I’m not a kid.”
 

“That doesn’t matter. Can’t you see this has nothing to do with whether or not I think you’re capable? This has to do with keeping you safe, and keeping you away from the mess that I’ve made along the way.”
 

“We can clean it up together. I can keep my father in line. That alone is worth having me involved, isn’t it?”

Blake sighs as if it answers my question. I slide my hand over his and lock my fingers between his. “He’s dangerous, Cat. He came to your father’s retreat to taunt me, to let me know that he knows about you. I talked to Ben. We’re meeting tomorrow. I’m going to do everything in my power to keep Jacob from ever stepping foot in the same room as you again.”

“Can I come with you?” I ask.
 

“What?” Blake asks.
 

“To the office. I’ve never been. Other than Damien and I guess my father, I’ve never met anyone you work with.”
 

“Just because you own part of the company doesn’t mean you need to come in,” he says.
 

“What if I want to?”

“I’m not going to change your mind on this one, am I?” he says.
 

“Not a chance in hell,” I tell him. “If I’m going to be anything other than a liability, I have to start learning about the company. I might not know much of anything about finance, but I know my father. I know how people like him think and work.”
 

“Then you’ll be more at home in a board meeting than I ever am.”
 

“Speaking of that, my father went out of his way to mention an upcoming board meeting. Do you have any idea why?”

“Knowing your father, it’s because he has something planned. The board meeting is a special session. Damien is briefing them on the state of the FBI’s investigation, and I’m assuring everyone that everything is under control. I’ll also be introducing your father as the newest member of the newly expanded board. If you really do take his offer, I’ll be introducing you, too. I guess it’s a good thing we have a week and a half to figure out what he’s up to. Do you think he’d tell you more?”
 

“I could always try to find out more.”

Blake laughs. “A few months back, hell, a few weeks back, if you’d have told me that I’d be working with Ben, and you’d be working with your father, I’d have said you were crazy.”

“Tell me everything’s going to work out,” I say. I lean over and place my head on Blake’s shoulder.
 

There’s a hesitance in Blake’s voice as he says, “Yeah, Cat, everything’s going to be fine.”
 

CHAPTER 12

CATHERINE

Blake’s office is sleek and modern. His company takes up the top three stories of a downtown skyscraper. Even with traffic, it’s only a ten-minute ride from his apartment. It’s a four-minute walk from Wall Street and has views in every direction. Blake insists on personally showing me the entire office from IT to the bullpen, the break rooms, and the executive offices. It’s a complete departure from his hesitancy to agree to me coming in, but I guess he’s embraced it. In some ways, the place looks more like a tech company than a hedge fund. There’s an entire floor of servers, an entire suite dedicated to engineering, and a whole bunch of departments that I know never existed at my father’s company.
 

Even though it’s early, the office is packed, and every last employee seems to love Blake. He knows them all by name and asks about their kids and their families, and he introduces me to everyone. I only recognize a few faces, but more than a few recognize the name. I wonder what the point of it all is, but I think maybe he really has listened to what I’ve said about helping him and being an asset. It feels good to have people look me in the eye and respect me. I spent two whole hours the night before picking out an appropriate outfit, a charcoal gray pencil skirt, white blouse and a blazer. More than once I catch Blake checking me out.
 

The highlight of my tour comes when Blake shows me his personal office. Blake explains that he gave his secretary the morning off and pulls me into his office, locking the door behind us and pinning me against the wall. He leans in and kisses me hard, the kind of kiss that takes your breath away and leaves you wanting more. He pulls back after a while and smiles at me.

“What are you doing?”

“I can’t help myself,” he says. He runs a hand over my hip. “Pencil skirts are kind of my thing.”
 

How have I gone this long without knowing that?
I wonder. “You could always borrow mine at some point,” I say. “I don’t know if it will fit, but I’m sure your ass will look great.”

“Very funny,” he replies. “You look incredible.” He leans in, and I can feel his heart beating against me, and I can feel his breath hot on my lips as he kisses me again. I melt in his arms, wanting to surrender to that kiss, but he pulls back and steps away.
 

“Why’d you stop?” I ask. I look at him and then look over his office, deciding where I’d like him to ravage me. Blake’s office doesn’t look like the rest of the building. It has rich wood floors and ornate Persian rugs. There’s a seating area with a Chesterfield sofa, two plush chairs in matching leather, and a massive mahogany desk that must be a hundred years old.

“If we went on for another second, I don’t think I’d be able to stop myself until I had you completely,” he says.
 

I can’t help but cock a brow. “Is that so?” I ask.

“Kiss me and find out,” he says.
 

“Don’t you have a meeting or something?” I ask.

“I’m meeting Ben in half an hour. I rushed the rest of your tour to get some alone time with you.”
 

I walk up to him and grab his tie. His eyes are wild with excitement. I know he wants me as badly as I want him. I tug lightly on his tie, pulling him forward just enough that I can turn and head over to the window.