Mr. Arrogant: A Billionaire Romance (15 page)

He shook his head and finally turned it to look at her. “It’s not going to happen. Let it go and find someone else who wants you back. I am not that man. Be honest with yourself and face that reality.”

Seeing the pain in her eyes touched his heart for a moment and he looked at her with sympathy. “Listen, Susan, I’m really sorry, but this just isn’t going to work out the way you want it to. You deserve more. I’m not ever going to give you the love you want or need, and you shouldn’t wait around expecting it to ever happen, because it won’t. Just let it go and move on to someone else. That’s really the best thing that you can do. Honestly. I want that for you, because we are friends. I hope you do find a great love and some happiness, with someone else.” He pressed his lips together as tears rolled down her cheeks and she sniffled her pointed nose.

He sighed and turned away from her, heading back into the house. He went to his own room for a while, not wanting to see Susan or Vincent again that night, and when he saw their car pull away down the long drive, he went down to the study to speak with his father.

Phillip was sitting in a leather bound armchair, the stump of a cigar in the ashtray beside him, and the remnants of his glass of brandy in his hand. The older man raised his eyes to meet his son’s, when Jonathon walked in and closed the door.

“How did it go with Susan tonight?” he asked pointedly.

Jonathon sighed. “It was the same that it always is with her. She wants more from me than I am willing to give her.”

Phillip narrowed his eyes. “You should be willing to give her anything she wants. You’re going to marry her, so you may as well start making her happy now.” He said resolutely.

Jonathon clenched his square jaw and pressed his lips together a moment, keeping the argumentative thoughts in his mind from finding a voice. Instead he drew in a slow deep breath and released it just as slowly as he had drawn it in, before answering his father. “I am not going to be with her. I am not marrying her, and I am not dating her. I don’t want her.”

Phillip stood up and tipped his fat brandy glass back, swallowing the last of the amber booze, and then he set the glass down carefully on the desk and walked silently to the door, reaching for the handle and opening it. He turned and looked over his shoulder at his son, giving him a serious gaze.

“You will marry her.” he said definitively.

Then he walked out and closed the door behind him, leaving his son to stare after him and shake his head.

Chapter8

Jonathon was much more careful with Naomi in the few days following the evening that the Grayson’s came to Cross Mansion for dinner. He continued to make love with her in stolen moments, and their passion grew stronger with every connection they made, but he was much more discreet about it.

She was working up the courage to tell him how she felt about him, and she had almost gotten it worked out, when Andrea showed up unexpectedly at her door Sunday morning following the Grayson dinner at Cross Mansion. Naomi opened the door with a wide smile, which faltered when she saw the expression on Andrea’s face. She invited her best friend into her home and walked into the living room with her to sit down.

“I already know what you are going to say and why you have that look on your face.” Naomi gave a resigned sigh. Her smile was still showing at the corners of her mouth. She pulled a sofa cushion over to her waist and hugged it to her lightly.

Andrea looked at her in surprise. “You do?”

Naomi nodded. “I do. I know that look. You are waiting for me to get things taken care of with Jonathon, just like you told me to. I will. In fact, you’ll be so proud of me! I have been trying to think of how and when I could tell him that I am in love with him, and I’ve figured it out.” She looked at her friend happily as Andrea frowned.

“I’m planning a weekend getaway for us out of town. I found this really great little bed and breakfast, and from what I saw of it online, it looks so romantic! We will be able to spend the whole weekend together with no one to interfere; there’s a hot tub in the room and a little kitchen area if we want to do our own cooking, but there’s a big fancy dining room too, where meals are served. There’s a horse property down the road so if we want to go horseback riding we can… it’ll be perfect. I was thinking I would wait until we were settled in and he didn’t have his mind on work, and then I would take his hands in mine and tell him that I am in love with him.”

Andrea shook her head. “You think I’m here because I am going to get on your case for not telling him that you’re in love with him already?”

Naomi blinked out of her reverie and looked over at Andrea. “Yes, of course.” She answered as if it couldn’t be any other reason.

Andrea sighed and sadness filled her eyes. “No, honey. That’s not why I’m here.”

“Well, why are you here then? I mean, I’m glad to see you, but obviously you came here to talk with me. What’s up?” she asked hesitantly. The look on Andrea’s face was one that made Naomi’s stomach clench in unease.

Leaning over, Andrea reached her hand into the massive shoulder bag she carried in with her and she fished out a folded newspaper. Holding it in her hand a moment as she raised her eyes to Naomi’s, she sighed and handed the paper over.

“Read the Society page,” she said softly.

Naomi’s brow knitted in confusion. “The Society page? Why would I want to read that?” she asked, taking the newspaper and opening it up.

“Because your lover is a billionaire.” Andrea answered her softly. “I wish you didn’t have to know this, but I’m glad that I’m the one who is telling you, and I’m so glad that you are finding out here in the comfort of your own home.”

Naomi’s eyes widened as she looked down at the Society page. There on the top left corner was a large photograph of Jonathon and Susan Grayson, and Naomi could see that it was an old photograph; they both looked much younger in it. The headline beside the photograph read, ‘The King Finds His Queen.'

The article that followed under the suggestive headline detailed how Jonathon Cross and Susan Grayson had become engaged over the the last week, and how their families would be united; two business magnates combining beds, homes, and eventually, businesses. The speculation on just the business aspect of such a merger was unprecedented.

Andrea watched her with wary eyes, and reached for a box of tissue, holding it at the ready.

Naomi shook her head as her heart almost stopped beating in her chest and her eyes flooded and blurred her vision. She couldn’t make it all the way through the article. “That can’t be….” She trailed off quietly and Andrea yanked a tissue out of the box and held it out for Naomi. “There’s just no way. He can’t stand her. There’s no way he would marry her.”

“Are you sure about that? Is that just what he told you so he could get into your pants or do you actually know that?” Andrea pulled two more tissues from the box and handed them to Naomi, as Naomi wiped at her face with the first tissue.

“I’m pretty sure!” Naomi said, choking on her own words. “I mean, I don’t think he was lying to me.”

“When have you seen them together?” Andrea asked, eyeing her carefully.

Naomi held the tissue to her eyes as her throat burned and her chest tightened. She sniffed and coughed and took a deep breath. “I saw them at the function at his home. She came up to us and practically dragged him away from me. They went to talk to their fathers.” She answered.

Andrea nodded. “Yeah, so she dragged him away. Then did he ever go back to you at the party after she did that?”

Naomi shook her head. “No. He didn’t. He stayed with her and then I left. I wasn’t there much longer after she took him off like she did.”

Andrea nodded again. “Then wasn’t there the time at the office?” she pressed.

“Yeah, there was the day she came to the office and went right in like she owned the place. I caught her in his arms, and she was trying to kiss him. At least, that’s what he said; that she was trying to kiss him.” She said it quietly, her mind going back over the horrible moment that day when she saw them together. “I saw him push her away when he saw me come in.”

Andrea leaned forward and put her elbows on her knees. “You believe him?” she asked pointedly.

Naomi nodded. “I did… I guess… I guess that I do. He’s not a liar, Andrea. He told me he can’t stand her and he doesn’t want to be with her. He told me that she keeps pushing him to be with her.”

She stared at the newspaper in her hand and the lengthy article about the two of them being engaged. She shook her head. “It can’t be true. I have to talk with him about this. I have to find out what’s going on.” She said as pain twisted her heart. “What if it’s not true?” she asked, finally looking up at Andrea.

“What if it is true?” Andrea asked her in return.

Everything in Naomi came to a sudden halt. What if it was true, she wondered. What if Jonathon really was engaged to Susan Grayson? What would happen to her and Jonathon? They couldn’t very well keep up their affair. She had known that it would come to an end, but she had no idea it would come so fast. She thought that she might have more time to be with him, to continue their affair, and to love the man with her body that she loved with her heart.

Looking back down at the newspaper and the image of a younger couple, she had to guess that it must be true, but something about it just seemed off. Why wouldn’t the image of them be newer? Why would he tell Naomi that he had no interest in Susan and then get engaged to her?

She looked up at Andrea and lifted her chin bravely. “Thank you so much for bringing this to me. You were right about it being easier to see here at my home, rather than finding out about it somewhere else, some other way. I’m going to talk with him about it tomorrow when I get to work and see what he says.” She was sure that there had to be some kind of answer somewhere; something that made some sort of sense.

Andrea sighed and pushed herself up out of the chair that she had been sitting in. She reached her arms out and hugged Naomi and then walked to the front door. “Well girl, you let me know what happens. I’m going to be waiting on standby to hear what happens with this. I just can’t believe it. You let me know what is really going on, and you let me know if there is anything you need, okay?”

Naomi nodded and hugged her back. “I will. I love you. Thank you again.” She told Andrea goodbye and then took the newspaper and sat back down on the sofa, staring at the image of the man she was in love with, holding a woman she could not stand. She read the article over and over, until not one word of it made any sense to her, and every letter became jumbled and meaningless.

She fell into a troubled sleep and woke with a heavy heart.

When she got into the office the next day, she kept to herself for the first part of the morning, and then when she knew that Jonathon had a small break in his schedule, she walked into his office and closed the door behind her, locking it. It had become her habit to do that every time she walked into his office, because their love affair was built on moments of stolen bliss and swift passion.

Jonathon looked up at her and smiled widely. “There she is. How are you doing today?” he asked, rising up from his seat and walking toward her. He wrapped his arms around her and covered her mouth with his, kissing her tenderly and sweetly as he savored her.

She kissed him back, carefully at first, but as the flames began to rise in her, she abandoned the care and closed her arms tightly around him. When they surfaced for air, he looked down at her and grinned. “You are the absolute highlight of my day. Nothing makes me happier than you do.” He told her with a grin.

She bit her lip and looked down, and then raised her eyes to meet his again. “Is that true?” she asked cautiously.

He blinked in surprise and looked slightly taken aback. “Of course it’s true. Why wouldn’t it be true?” he queried.

Naomi sighed and handed the newspaper to him. She had been clutching it in her hand and he hadn’t even seen her holding it as she came into his office.

“What’s this?” he asked curiously, taking it from her and looking down at it. She saw his face contort as the expression of happiness he had there melted into one of frustration and anger. His cheeks grew red and he pursed his lips together tightly.

“I can’t believe this!” he growled angrily, his eyes skimming over the words in the article. He reached the end of it and folded the paper and then flung it into the trash can beside his desk. Naomi had never seen him angry, and it made her heart pound a little faster.

“So, are you engaged to her?” she asked hesitantly, twisting the tips of her fingers together as her eyes followed him.

He turned and faced her, his eyes dark with anger. “No.” he said adamantly. “I promise you that I am not engaged to her. This is my father’s idea of control. I will not date her, and I will never marry her!” he swore vehemently.

Naomi felt a surge of relief course through her, washing away the panic and stress that had tied her body, her heart, and her mind up in knots since Andrea had put the paper into her hands.

“Naomi, I don’t want you to be bothered at all by that,” he said, his voice calming some as he walked to her and swept her up into his arms. “I promise you that I am not marrying her. I don’t want her.” he vowed, looking down into Naomi’s sky blue eyes, his gaze falling to her dark full lips. “I want you. I can’t get enough of you. There is no way that I would let a woman like you go to marry a woman like her. There’s no chance.”

He didn’t hesitate at all, but lowered his mouth down to hers and kissed her hard and hungrily, and as he moved his lips against hers, she felt herself melting into him and she knew that there was nothing at all that she needed to worry about. The only thing that she would have to do is admit to him that she was in love with him, and she would.

But she planned to wait for another time when he wasn’t angry, when he wasn’t moving his mouth down her neck to her breasts, when he wasn’t pulling her clothes off   and tossing them to the floor… when he wasn’t spreading her thighs and thrusting himself as far as he could into her body and taking complete and total control over her, making her forget everything but him.

It would wait until they could spend a romantic weekend together at the bed and breakfast.

***

A few days later, the fuss and flurry of phone calls and visitors to the office congratulating Jonathon on his engagement began to die down and things had almost returned to some semblance of normalcy when Phillip called in to Jonathon’s office and the call went to Naomi because Jonathon was on the other line.

She answered with a smile. “This is Naomi, how may I help you?”

His deep voice sounded in her ear. “Good afternoon, Naomi. This is Phillip Cross. I’d like to speak with my son immediately. Please send him into my office right away.”

Biting her lip, her heart catching slightly in her chest, she lifted her chin and answered him. “I will do that, Mr. Cross.”

“Thank you.” He said shortly, and then he hung up the line,

She sighed and sent a fast email to Jonathon, informing him of his father’s request. He responded right away that he would go, and to clear his schedule for at least the following hour. Naomi knew that the two of them had not talked about the announcement in the newspaper and that the conversation between Jonathon and his father about that situation was about to happen. Drawing in her breath and letting it out slowly, she returned to her work, glad that she wasn’t involved in the meeting in any way.

Jonathon walked into his father’s office and closed the door behind him. He gritted his teeth slightly and walked toward his father’s luxurious desk, taking a seat across from him in a thickly stuffed leather chair.

His father looked up at him finally and sighed, slowly laying his pen down on the top of his desk, and folding his fingers together as he contemplated his son.