SAFEHOUSE (A BWWM BILLIONAIRE ROMANCE) (20 page)

I didn’t have a chance to respond as he turned his
back on me. With a heavy breath, he stepped through my bedroom and out of my
life, his footsteps receding until I heard the slam of the front door. What the
fuck was going on!

I looked down, my blouse in tatters and my feet
still bound up in my panties. What the hell was I going to do?

_
    
_
    
_

“Not
one word,” I said, climbing into Chandra’s car. I could barely walk straight,
let alone own up to what just happened. My nerves were on edge. It took me ten
minutes to make a decision, and now, I didn’t have time to waste explaining
myself.

“Supercock?”
Chandra said, ribbing me. I just exhaled, giving her a stare.

“Airport.
Please…” I said, my whole body trembling. Was I really going to do this? I had
no idea what was waiting for me in New York. I’d never been to the northeast.
My family came from the south, and the closest to New York was watching the
Macy’s parade every thanksgiving.

“Hurry…”
I said, cutting off Chandra’s shocked look and open mouth. We tore out of the
complex, leaving the flowers and apartment behind. I’d had enough time to grab
my purse and my camera, and that was all I was taking. Wherever this crazy
fantasy was taking me, I was going for the ride.

“You
going to tell me what’s going on?” Chandra said, weaving the little car through
traffic and slamming it up the freeway onramp as we sped through the city. I
just stayed silent, staring out at the row of big Vegas casinos in the distance
and wishing the little car could go faster. Miles ticked by, but so did the
minutes, and traffic wasn’t helping. We were going to cut it close.

“I’m
leaving, Chandra. He wants me to go with him, to New York,” I finally said,
listening to her startled gasp.

“What
did he do to you in there girlfriend?” She said, laughing.

“Something
I hope he does again and again,” I replied, letting off a little steam as a
laugh of my own erupted from somewhere deep inside me. We both filled the car
with it as we swung into the airport. I didn’t know what to do or where to go.
Chandra didn’t even bother parking somewhere safe, she dumped the car in the
departures lane for the first terminal and we both jumped out, sprinting
inside.

“Where
are we going?” Chandra said, panting for breath as we ran toward one of the
counters. I had no idea, and no time to explain it. I hit the counter and
stared at the wide-eyed man behind it like some kind of crazy lady.

“Graham
Archer! He has a private plane here, I’m supposed to be on it.”

“I’ll
just have to check with someone here,” the man said, reaching cautiously toward
his phone.

“Please,
just tell me where to go, he’s gone in a few minutes and I need to see him,” I
demanded, staring at his hand as it continued moving toward the handset.

“Who
are you, miss?” he asked. I threw down my purse, pouring the contents onto the
counter and pulling the marriage certificate free, holding it up as if it would
make any difference.

“I’m
his wife! Please! I need to catch him before he leaves!”

“You’re
that lady on the news?” the man replied, laughing. “Private departures go
through the diamond lounge. You’ll need to take the tram across to the next
terminal and it’s about six gates up on your left.”

“How
long is that going to take?” I asked, glancing over my shoulder at the people
waiting next to the tram line.

“Next
tram hits in two minutes. If you don’t hit security, it might take you ten,
minimum,” the man replied, not understanding how impossible his words sounded.
“You want me to try to call over there?”

I
looked at my phone. It had already been thirty two minutes since Graham Archer
walked out of my apartment and out of my life. I just nodded in defeat,
watching the man grasp the phone and punch a few numbers.

He
said a few words, and I knew almost immediately what the reply was. Chandra
grabbed my arm as the man behind the counter hung up the phone.

“I’m
sorry miss, but Mr. Archer is on the runway taking off. There’s nothing I can
do.”

I
couldn’t respond. I stumbled outside with Chandra, listening to her frantically
explain herself to the police officer already standing guard at her abandoned
vehicle in the departure lane. My head turned back toward the building,
watching a small and lean looking jet soar up over the building.

I’d
missed him. I’d let my fear get the better of me, and I’d missed him.

_
    
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_

Six
weeks later, I wasn’t feeling so good. Some kind of stomach bug had taken hold
and I’d been throwing up all week. At least everything else had gotten more or
less back to normal…

The
annulment paperwork had shown up the morning after Graham flew away, just as
promised. It came with a surprise, a check for twenty thousand dollars that I
hadn’t been able to cash. It felt like payment for sex, and I was no whore.
Even now, the check was sitting quietly in the top of my closet, heavier on my
mind than any of my meager troubles.

Of
which there were
plenty
.

Sure,
the marriage thing was out of the way the day I filed the papers, but my
nightmare was just beginning.

It
turns out there
is
such a thing as
negative publicity. All I wanted to do was go back to my wedding photography
business, but the world had different ideas. Paparazzi was hounding me
everywhere, trying to get a picture of the woman who met, married, and broke
the heart of everyone’s favorite billionaire bachelor. It’s pretty hard to
shoot someone’s blissful wedding when you’ve got twenty people chasing you
around with flash bulbs and telephoto lenses.

Bills
were due, and the wedding photography jobs had all but stopped coming. I was
seriously starting to consider going back to work in a call center. At least
then I could be anonymous.

And
of course, Graham Archer had never so much as apologized. Not one message, not
one call. The asshole even went and named the damn children’s hospital he was
building the ‘Savannah Children’s Cancer Center’, and what the hell was that
all about? Was I as bad as children’s cancer, or was he trying to flatter me?
The tabloids had been arguing about it ever since. It was vicious. Didn’t this man
realize he was ruining my life?

I
felt abandoned and stuck. Even Chandra had stopped coming by. She said she
couldn’t handle all the negativity. As if any of this was my fault! My life was
falling apart before my very eyes and there was nothing I could do about it.
And of course, life has a way of kicking you when you’re down.

Today,
that kick was a simple knock on my door.

A
few weeks ago, I might have welcomed that knock. A few weeks ago, I might have
admitted that I’d dashed to the airport and spent the whole drive home crying
into my hands. Today, Graham Archer was the last person in the world I wanted
to see.

“Did
I come at a bad time?” Graham said after a long silent moment standing just
outside my apartment.

I
shook my head, letting myself breathe again. There was no way he could fix what
had happened. Not now, not ever. I wasn’t going with him, and that was the end
of it.

“Why
are you here, Graham?” I asked, my voice barely hiding the anger beneath.

“You
never cashed my check. I know things are difficult for you right now, and I
thought I could help you get by until everything calmed down,” he said, smiling
like a fool.

“I’m
not going to take your money. I don’t want any part of it. You don’t ‘owe’ me
anything,” I said, nearly spitting venom with every word.

“I
understand that you’re upset. If you won’t take the money, I have an alternate
arrangement that might be more amenable.”

I
eyed him with suspicion. If he thought he could just barge in here with some
fancy words and make things right, he was wrong.

“I’d
like to hire you, Savannah.”

Hire
me? What did he think this was? The 1800s? He couldn’t just buy me off.

“I’m
not for hire. I’m not that kind of girl, Graham,” I said, trying to shut the
door. He caught it with his foot, thrusting a small sheet of paper my way. I
recognized it immediately. It was one of the ads I sent out in the mail,
advertising my wedding photography.

“I’d
never presume that you were, Savannah. I’m getting married, and I need a
photographer.”

What
in the hell? I couldn’t breathe. This man comes to my house, and tries to tell
me I’m going to photograph HIS marriage? We’d barely been apart six weeks and
he’d already jumped in with some other woman? What was this guy’s problem?

“You
need to leave, Mr. Archer,” I replied angrily, trying to force the door closed.
He held it open, smiling all the while.

“You’re
in business as a wedding photographer in the state of Nevada. There are
anti-discrimination laws on the books. I’m offering you well in excess of your
normal fee. Twenty thousand dollars… and Twenty thousand more when you’re done
with the job. I’ve already paid you, in fact.”

“I
never cashed that check.”

“Maybe
you should check your bank account then, because I called in a few favors,”
Graham replied, laughing. “Just let me do this for you. Come, take a few
photos, and use the money to start over. I’ll feel better, you’ll feel better,
and I won’t have to drag your business through court for discriminating against
a possible client.”

“That
will never fly in court. They’ll throw that case out!” I shouted.

“Maybe.
You’d be surprised how inexpensive judges are. Just do the right thing here
Savannah. Take the money. I’ll give you some time to think it over. Someone
will call you later with all the relevant information.”

He
was all bluff and no bluster. There was no way he’d try to hold me to the fire
like this. I decided to call him on it.

“Just
tell me this,” I said, holding a hand on my hip. “If I’m really doing this, who
in the hell are you getting married to?”

Graham
seemed confused and uncomfortable. He paused a moment and stared into my eyes
as if unsure what to say.

“I
take it she didn’t tell you?” he said finally.

My
stomach turned. “What are you talking about?” I asked, trying not to lose my lunch
at Graham Archer’s feet.

“A
few days after I flew back to New York… I was crushed, Savannah. You have no
idea how much your absence hurt me. I thought you felt the way I did, and I was
holding out hope that you would call.”

“What
does this have to do with anything?” I asked, my body shaking every so
slightly.

“Instead,”
Graham continued, “Chandra was the one who called…”

Wait… What?

“I’m
sorry. This must be very uncomfortable for you…”

“That
lying bitch!” I said, catching myself and holding in a stream of obscenities
that were attempting to leap from my mouth. Chandra, my best friend in the
world? Chandra, the girl who I’d picked up after so many bad breakups? Chandra,
the one person on this whole planet I would trust with my life?

How
the hell could she?!?

“Look,
maybe I understand why she didn’t tell you Savannah. She was just looking for
answers, and I needed someone to talk to. One thing led to another and…”

“I’ve
heard enough!” I said, smashing Graham’s foot in the door.

“It
doesn’t stop the fact that she wants you to be our photographer. If you respect
your friend, if you value your career and your business, please…” Graham said
calmly, trying not to show that his foot was now in obvious pain. “The
paperwork will be here tomorrow, along with plane tickets. Lets not make this
any harder than it has to be.”

With
that last sentence, Graham pulled his foot free and allowed the door to slam
shut. I just stood there shaking. That lying bitch wanted a wedding
photographer? She wanted to rub this whole thing in my face, after everything
I’d done for her?

Oh
yes, Mr. and Mrs. Archer, I’d come to the wedding all right. It would be a
night full of memories to last a lifetime!