LOVE AND HATE (A Billionaire Romance) (21 page)

“I just need a chance to explain myself.”

“So you keep saying. When she got home, she found out her family is having a lot of problems.”

“What kind of problems?” The waitress set my beer on the table, and I sipped it. Delicious.

“It’s nothing.” She’d said too much. She sipped her beer—what looked like a Bud Light. I could slum it, but couldn’t bring myself to drink piss beer.

“It’s obviously not nothing. What’s going on?”
Drink more, Susie
, I thought.
Get drunk and spill your guts.

“They have to sell the house.”

Money problems. I had a solution for that. How mad would Mackenzie be if I paid off her parents’ mortgage? Would her sexy wrath be worth it?

“I wonder how many Taylors are in Iowa.”

“Scott…”

“Probably not that many with a house on the market. I can find them, buy the house, and mail the deed. They don’t want to sell?” It would be all I needed to give them a house they wanted to get rid of. Susie had used the words
had to sell
, though.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“She’ll have to talk to me then.”

“You can’t just throw money at this.”

“If she won’t talk to me, it’s the only thing I can do.”

I left a fifty to cover the tab. Susie gawked at the bill as I left, shaking her head at me. I knew it was too much, but I didn’t have any twenties and wanted to get started on my project.

There were fifteen Taylors selling houses in Iowa. It sure would have been easier if she’d called me and asked for help. I put my assistant Kevin on the job, and together we started making phone calls.

Mackenzie

My mother screamed from the kitchen. I was upstairs blow drying my hair. I had a job interview at one for a teensy-weensy accounting firm who needed someone two days a week. It was better than nothing, and I needed to do something to pull my weight around here. We had to be out this afternoon while the realtor showed the house. I knew it stressed Mom out—she tried so hard to keep everything neat and tidy, and I saw the tears in her eyes as she did so. My dad was in denial and had receded to his recliner, where he spent all his time these days, NASCAR on the TV. He always said the same thing: “Gotta rest up, gonna start the big job hunt tomorrow.”

Mom’s scream ripped through the house. Cheryl was at work, and Becky had taken Jimmy and Kara to doctor’s appointments. I dropped my hair dryer and flew downstairs. She clutched a piece of paper, an open certified mail envelope on the table by her side. She was crying, shaking her head.

Could they foreclose on a house for sale? Had they missed one payment too many? Were they coming for my mom’s car? They’d bought it not long before Dad lost his job, and I knew the payments stressed them out.

“What happened?”

She locked her gaze on mine, and I couldn’t read her at all. Terror. Disbelief. Had someone died? Were my other siblings okay? Her hands shook as she passed me the document. I really didn’t want to read this. I had no choice. I’d come home, I had to deal with whatever happened.

“Frank!” Her voice shook. “You’d better come in here.”

A deed. A deed to… our house. In my parents’ name. But… We were showing that afternoon. The phone rang, and I snatched it up.

“Frank!”

The realtor wanted my mother, but I snapped at her that she could talk to me instead. “An anonymous offer was made. In cash. A full offer for twenty thousand more than what we were asking. And the buyer didn’t want the roof fixed or any of the other repairs done before closing. I closed this morning. I thought he’d want to see it, but he said he didn’t need to.”

Scott. Twin rivulets of gratitude and anger surged through me. “He mailed us the deed,” I told her.

The realtor was silent a moment. “Miss Taylor, it sounds like you have a Good Samaritan on your hands.”

“Seems that way, doesn’t it?”

“After all the fees and my commission, there is five thousand left. Do Mr. and Mrs. Taylor want the money deposited in their account?”

Five thousand was pretty close to the amount we needed to repair the roof. Relief won out over being pissed. The leak in Kara’s bedroom could be fixed. It felt like all I did lately, but tears filled my eyes. “That will be fine, thank you. Do you need anything from us?”

“A few signatures, but other than that, it’s a done deal. Congratulations. Your family owns the home and the land.”

Dad appeared in the doorway, awakened from a nap. Mom thrust the deed in his face. “I don’t understand what’s happening.”

“I haven’t been entirely honest with you both,” I sighed.

My dad put his hands on his hips. The gesture reminded me of my high school days, when I’d come home with beer on my breath, stayed out past curfew, or gotten a B on my report card. Disappointment.

Mom looked like another blow would send her keeling over. “Let’s go in the living room,” I said. I turned the TV off. Dad opened his mouth, but Mom put a hand on his. They sat on the couch. It was weird not seeing my dad in his recliner.

I opted to pace. “Mackenzie, you’re making me nervous,” Mom said before I even began.

“I did something dumb,” I said. “Kind of.”

My parents have a lot of kids, and we’d all done some dumb stuff. They didn’t know about my debt—which was gone now, anyway—and always thought I was the responsible one. My brother Brian had gambling problems, Becky’s husband left her with two kids to support, Cheryl couldn’t figure what she wanted to do with her life, Eric lived in the south of Spain with a woman more than twice his age. We all had our problems.

“I went to Las Vegas after Lucas and I split.” After all Brian’s gambling issues, I could see tight worry on both their faces. “And I kind of got married.”

Mom looked relieved. Dad said, “You don’t
kind of
get married. Who is he?”

“Um, his name is Scott Creed.”

Dad’s face was a blank. Mom’s wheels were turning. She’d heard the name. Her house had magically just been paid off. She put two and two together. “Creed… Enterprises?”

I nodded. She paled instantly.

“What?” Dad didn’t like being in the dark. He leaned forward. “Who is this guy?”

“Scott Creed is one of the richest men in the world,” Mom said carefully. “Right?”

“He was fifty-second richest. Two weeks ago he signed a merger that bumped him up to thirty-third.”

Dad’s eyes narrowed. Mom zeroed in on my wedding ring tan line. “What happened? Where is he?”

“We were drinking, we didn’t know each other, we got married, and when the dust settled, we decided to give the relationship a try. We were together three weeks, and we had a fight.”

“So you came here after one fight?” Dad blustered. “Now I understand why you quit your job.”

“Is he a nice man?” Mom asked. “I remember seeing him in the gossip magazines. He seemed like kind of a lady-killer.” She phrased it delicately for my father’s sake.

“He wants to change.” He did, I could tell.

“You had a fight, and he bought our house to win you back?” Mom’s tone was gentle. I nodded. “We can’t take it. Not if you’re divorcing him.”

“I’m not divorcing him.” The words flew out of my mouth before I knew what I was saying. My subconscious spoken.

“Then where’s your ring? Mackenzie, my head’s going in circles over all this.” Dad the pragmatist.

“Frank, leave her alone. She’s obviously had a tough few weeks.” I nodded again. “Do you love him?” Mom forced me to stop pacing and sit on the couch next to her. She took my hands.

I nodded. I didn’t want to love him. Didn’t want to face him at all. I wanted to evaporate into nothing after what he’d seen. But… I couldn’t help it. I thought about him all the time. Maybe… maybe I should enjoy it instead of self-flagellating every time I had a fond thought about my husband. The word
husband
didn’t ring true. I didn’t know him. A week ago I’d been so excited about the prospect of discovering everything there was to learn. I still was. I wanted to be by his side as Percy Hall grudgingly admitted he’d made a good business match. Wanted Giuliana to see I wasn’t just a convenient fling. The thoughts cemented the fact that I trusted that he loved me back. A sobering prospect.

My phone buzzed. A text from Susie.

I think Scott’s about to make a dramatic gesture
, she said.
I tried to talk him out of it
.

Too late
, I texted back.
Dramatic gesture made. Jaws on the floor all around. Why’d you tell him about the house!!!!!

“We can’t take his money,” Dad said again. “We’ll make it work in the apartment. This place is too much to keep up anyway. I don’t want you with some man just because he pays for things.”

“Frank.” Mom’s tone was harsh. “That’s not why she’s with him.”

I confessed to both of them. “It was, at first. I feel so awful about it. We kind of used each other in the beginning. It was how it all started. But we spent time together.”

“And you love him,” Mom said again, wanting to hear me say the words.

“We fell in love.”

“So why are you here and not with him? Women make no sense to me.”

“You haven’t talked to him since you’ve been here, have you?” Mom already knew the answer. I shook my head. “Maybe you should call your husband and have a talk with him.”

“I’ll go to the bank, tell them to call this whole thing off,” Dad said.

“Don’t,” I said. “Not yet. I—Mom’s right. I should talk to him.” Excitement bubbled in me to hear his voice. I glanced at my phone. I’d missed the interview. I didn’t think it mattered anymore.

Scott

I sat in the back of the Creed Enterprises board meeting, taking notes on my new laptop. This merger. It solved problems I didn’t even have. I was set for life. I’d have to aggressively work to sabotage this, now that the papers were signed. The organization could essentially go on autopilot and just rake in money. Serena could keep doing her thing. My parents, already comfortable, were locked in to an annual income that allowed them travel and see the world. I’d already set up three new charities: one for women in developing nations, one a tech scholarship, and the third a wildlife trust in the Amazon. Hall wasn’t as excited about these endeavors, but I’d stressed to him that paying my good fortune forward is one of my highest priorities.

I almost didn’t take my phone out of my laptop bag when I’d heard the buzz. Mike Knost was presenting about the change in management structure at our Palo Alto offices, and I wanted to hear this. I peeked at the caller ID. Mackenzie! I grabbed the phone and ducked out into the hall.

Mackenzie didn’t say hello. She launched into the conversation. “You can’t just throw money at a problem!”

I took a deep breath. “I knew you were going to say that.”

“I’m serious!”

“Got you to call me, didn’t it?”

“Scott, this is super serious. It’s my parents’ house.”

“Exactly. Now they own it. No more mortgage payments. Is there enough to get the roof done?”

She hesitated. “Yes.”

“Have dinner with me.”

A little laugh. “I’m in Iowa.”

“I know. I have a plane.”

“There’s not even a place to have dinner around here. Not that you would like.”

“Just because I have money doesn’t mean I don’t like inexpensive food. Take me someplace you like. I’ll pick you up at seven if you’ll go with me?”

“I’ll meet you. If you pick me up, my parents will want you to come in and we’ll be there all night.”

“I want to meet them. I want to ask your dad for his permission to marry you.”

Her pause spoke volumes of longing, or so I thought and hoped I wasn’t reading into it. When she spoke, her voice was soft. “You already married me.”

“I want to marry you again. Right this time. With our families, our friends. Sober.”

She laughed. “Meet me at the Railway Diner in Calico.”

“Seven o’clock.”

“Don’t dress fancy. It’s not a nice place like you’re used to.”

“I think I can handle it.”

“I’ll see you tonight.”

“I can’t wait,” I said.

She took a minute to answer. “We’ll see about that.” She hung up. I still considered it a win. Her pauses said more than her words and her soft tone. I’d gotten to know Mackenzie’s angry voice quite well, and it hadn’t made an appearance. I checked my watch. I had to go if I wanted to be there on time. I ducked back into the meeting and collected my things. I had my executive assistant, Tori, take over on the notes. I usually like to do my own—helps me think—but if I can’t do it, Tori is the best. “Call me tomorrow and fill me in, please,” I whispered to her. She nodded and picked up the notes in my file.

On my way to the car, I called Kevin. I had him get the plane out, get us a flight plan and a pilot. I also asked him to pick me up something casual for dinner. He snickered at me when I told him where I was going. “Pack me a suitcase for a few days. I don’t want her parents to think I’m pretentious.” I knew Kevin well enough to hear his eyes roll through the phone. “I need directions to the restaurant and a car at the airport. Not super flashy, but I’m not driving a piece of crap. You know what I like. Get me a motel room somewhere in Calico, will you?”