S*x and Secrets: Alpha Billionaire Forbidden Romance (14 page)

“Monty, while you’re doing that I’m going to dig further on those photos. I need to know when and how they were taken. I have a suspicion it could be somebody in my catering team that worked with Jake. It’s all too coincidental that those pics were taken just after we’d been there.”

I sucked in a sharp breath. “My God, I never thought of that.”

Red laughed. “That’s what friends are for. I got your back, babe. I’ll help you fight your way out of this one. As for Jake? He just signed his own fucking death warrant. I’m getting to the bottom of this.”

Her kindness undid me. I never realized how much I’d missed having a close friend who had my back and that I didn’t have to always try so damn hard to do it all on my own. Tears streamed down my face. I wiped them away with the back of my hand, but it was no use because an avalanche had just been let loose.

“I’ve got to go,” I said with a shaky voice and hung up the phone.

For a girl who didn’t do crying, I was fighting a losing battle. I let my shoulders slump forward and allowed the flood I’d held back for years to overcome me.

––––––––

A
ll hell was breaking loose around me, yet all I could think about was Montana. Jake the fucking Snake.

I was personally going to cut his balls for trying to ruin my girl’s life. I had no idea what his agenda was.
Yet.
But from that moment, I was making it my fucking business to find out and make him pay.

Nobody fucked with me or my loved ones and got away with it.
Nobody.

I’d spent the last hour in the boardroom with my father, grandfather, and the directors, assuring everyone that my relationship with Montana had nothing to do with business. The advantage of being a straight-up-and-down guy all my life—a man who had integrity and stuck to his word—was finally paying dividends.

At first everyone was livid. Two of the newer board members insisted I get fired and forced to pay the price for my indiscretion. I went to painstaking trouble to explain how a fuck buddy agreement worked for the benefit of the older members, and finally managed to convince everyone that it was a safer way to have a sexual relationship than random one-night stands that was the norm for high-pressured executives with or without wives.

Of course one smartass had to ask the critical questions: Why Montana Marx? Why a woman from our opposition?

It had taken me a while to understand that myself, so all I could do was be brutally honest. “Because she was the one who caught my eye and excited me. She drew me like a magnet, and I had to have her. Maybe for the exact reason that it was forbidden.”

My answer had caused quite a stir but eventually everyone settled down. There was no point in being fake or hiding the truth. In fact, it was quite a relief that I no longer had to hide how I felt about Montana.

My father was pissed that he’d had no clue, and I got the distinct impression it was more that I’d kept something from him and he was clueless about what had been happening under his nose than the actual relationship that made him mad.

Granddad, on the other hand, shook his head and reprimanded me. He was old-school and wasn’t afraid to say it like he saw it. “What’s this fuck buddy trend? If a woman is worth taking to bed, she’s a woman worth making a wife. Make an honest woman out of her, Levi, so we can all be proud. Montana Marx is smart and beautiful; you’d be lucky if she took you.”

I gave Granddad a half-smile. If only he knew how hard I was trying. I wanted nothing more but she didn’t want me.

“I know, Gramps. I’ve been chasing her from the day I first laid eyes on her. But she’s the one who put the brakes on, not me.”

“What’s wrong with young people these days? I’ve scoped her out to be an ambitious person, but surely she’s not placing her career over a life with a man like you?”

I chuckled. “It’s complicated, Gramps. She’s a self-made woman who worked her ass off to get to where she is, and she’s not giving that up for any guy.”

Granddad frowned at me. “She doesn’t need to give up her career to be with you and you’re not just any guy, Levi. You match her in every way. I’ve watched the two of you in the boardroom.” He softened up and gave me a sly grin. “You know nothing escapes my eyes.”

D
read filled me from the top of my head to the tip of my maroon toenails. I’d already typed and emailed my letter of resignation to Daddy Drake and now I just needed to pack my few personal belongings.

I swallowed the lump in my throat. I was going to miss everyone at Drake and Sons. They truly were like family to me, embracing me as one of their own. I could only imagine how shocked they’d be by what I’d done. I’d betrayed them with their biggest rival.

Looking around my comfortable office, unease settled in my stomach. How was I going to get through my days without working until I found something else? Work had always been my escape, the one solid thing that kept me going and challenged me to better myself.

A clearing of a throat brought me from my daze. I looked up into Beckham’s eyes and sucked in a breath. He stood leaning against the doorjamb, his arms folded, his feet wide apart and a deep frown on his face.

“What the hell are you doing?” he demanded, as he took in the boxes on my desk.

“Oh,” I stuttered. “I thought it would be okay to collect my few things. You can check the boxes; they’re mostly business books I’d brought from home.”

“That’s not what I meant.” He stepped into my office and removed a handful of books from the open box in front of him. He turned his head sideways and read the titles on the spines, the frown still in place.

“What then?” I said, perplexed. My mouth was dry and I struggled to get words out.

Pop
. That sounded like gum. A female voice behind Beckham spoke up. “Yeah, I wanna know what you meant too.”

My eyes widened. “Red, what are you doing here?”

Beckham pivoted on his heels and gaped at my friend. I was on the verge of reminding him to close his mouth when Red went off.

“Oh. My. God.” Her hands flew dramatically through the air as she spoke. “You’re not going to believe a fucking word I tell you.”

I gave her the raised eyebrow look. Swearing in at my office was not okay. Anyway, what the hell was she doing there? How did she even know where my office was?

“Red, let me introduce you to one of my
bosses
,” I said, hoping she’d get the emphasis I’d placed on the word ‘bosses’ and shut the fuck up until I could speak to her privately. Well, technically Beckham was my ex-boss, but it just sounded too weird to introduce him like that.

“Sorry, my friend has no damn filter. She’s been a pain in my ass since high school,” I told Beckham.

“Except when we lost touch. Monty just up and left and it took me taking a last-minute job to bump into her again. Fate, I tell you.”

“Red,” I warned.

“So are you going to introduce me to this fine specimen of a man or what?” she said, practically eye-fucking Beckham. I rolled my eyes and pulled a face. Didn’t she get I was already in so much trouble, and now she was flirting with my
ex
-boss?

“Drake. Beckham Drake,” he said with a crooked smile and held out his hand. “Or you can just call me 008. And you’re Red, correct?”

Red lifted an eyebrow and placed her hand in his. “Oh God, smart and witty, too. I think I’ve just fallen in love.”

“Ignore her,” I said. “She believes in insta-love and all that crap. Only problem is she thinks she’s in love with every man she meets.”

“Oh, then it’s not just her falling for me like I’m falling for her? Isn’t that how insta-love works?” Beckham grinned from ear to ear and still held onto her hand. Red made no attempt to remove it either. I could almost believe them—if only I believed in insta-love and all that BS.

Red narrowed her eyes at Beckham. “Are you proposing, Mr. Drake? Because if you are, the answer is ‘yes’.”

“That’s it then. Get the invitations out asap, sweetheart.
Monty
will put you in touch with our graphic designer. We have a wedding to plan.” There wasn’t a trace of joking in his voice. Was he serious? Surely not.

I stood awkwardly with my platinum Award for Excellence in my left hand and gawked, dumbfounded, at the two of them.

“I don’t work here anymore, remember?” I wrapped the coveted award in bubble wrap and placed it in one of the boxes. I’d earned that damn award and it was going with me no matter what.

“Resignation denied. If you think you’re going to leave me working with your lover on that China project, you’re mistaken. I’m still your boss.”

Ex-
lover.

Ex-
boss.

Beckham hadn’t taken his eyes off Red, and she’d gone remarkably quiet. It wasn’t like Red at all and I wondered if she was still breathing. “Mrs. Red Drake. Sounds good.” He grabbed hold of her waist and pulled her closer to him, then dipped her backwards and kissed her just like in the old movies I watched with Mom as a kid.

In my office, with me watching, wide-eyed. I’d never seen Beckham do anything so bizarre. He’d just met her and now he was
kissing
her? Good Lord, I wouldn’t have believed it if it wasn’t happening in front of my own eyes.

Red kissed him back as if her life depended on it. I was mesmerized by the scene playing out and I couldn’t look away even though I felt awkward gawking. Shit like that only happened in movies, in make believe stories, not in real life.

Eventually they both came up for air, their chests heaving and their faces glowing. My gaze went to Beckham. The man stood there with the goofiest grin I’d ever seen, his arms still tightly clasped around Red as if he were afraid she’d disappear into thin air.

“Now that’s settled, I need to tell you why I came here.” Red straightened her hair but didn’t step out of Beckham’s embrace. It was as natural as if she belonged there. “Other than to meet my fiancé, of course.” She glanced up at Beckham with glittering eyes.

This insta-love may just actually be a real thing. Unless this was indeed a dream and I’d wake at any moment.

Both Beckham and I spoke at the same time. “Why?”

She gently loosened her new man’s arms from around her waist and stood with her hands on her hips. “There’s something off about Jake Monroe. I haven’t gotten to the bottom of it yet because I can’t find any records of him. Nothing at schools, dentists or doctors. It’s as if Jake Monroe never existed.” She wrinkled her nose. “I smell a rat, and you know me. I ain’t giving up until I find what Jake is hiding, because something tells me it’s huge.”

Whenever Red had a hunch, she was usually right. But I couldn’t imagine that in this case it was true. She also had an overactive imagination.

I scratched my head. “Where would you start looking?”

“I’m not sure, but I have a gut feeling that Jake knows you . . . that somewhere your paths have crossed before. I’m going back to high school years and digging around until I find something.”

I hadn’t thought of that. Yet I’d had the notion she might be right. “Nothing makes sense so far and it’ll be interesting to see if you find a link.”

She tapped her chin with her index finger. “What if Jake Monroe isn’t his real name? You know how celebrities change their names. What if he was Bob Brown or Ted Black or John Smith?”

“Nope. None of those ring a bell.” My sense of humor wasn’t appreciated, because she rolled her eyes at me.

“Monty, I’m serious. Think, girl. There has to be a reason why Jake would want to take you down.”

“I was nobody at high school. Jake wouldn’t even have known me.”

Beckham took a step closer to his new fiancé and placed his hands on Red’s shoulders while his eyes met mine over her head. “Montana, you’re a beautiful woman. Maybe you broke Jake’s heart and never even realized it?”

I shook my head. No way.

“She didn’t have a boyfriend in school,” Red told him.

“Doesn’t mean she didn’t break some love-struck boy’s heart.” He gave me a lopsided smile. “She turned me down, you know. Now I know why, I get it, but at the time it was hard to grasp. I thought there was something wrong with me.”

“Jesus, Monty, you sure are a crazy woman,” Red huffed. “First Beckham and then Levi? What the hell are you looking for?” She blew a strand of red hair off her face. “Just so you know, there’s no such thing as a knight in shining armor, and you’ve turned down two of the hottest men on the planet, so I have to ask . . . you aren’t gay, are you?”

I burst out laughing. “Hell no.”

“Good. I’m just checking that Jaqueline didn’t turn you at that party, even though you said you didn’t like it.”

“Huh?” Beckham looked puzzled. He turned to Red with a wide grin. “You think I’m the hottest man on the planet?”

“Yes. And no. I said
two
of the hottest men. Monty broke up with Levi.”

Beckham’s eyes snapped to mine. “She did?”

“Keep up, baby.” Red reached up and kissed Beckham’s cheek.

Beckham had a frown on his face. “But who is Jaqueline? I thought we were talking about Jake?”

I swallowed hard. This was awkward.

Red saved me by explaining to Beckham. “Jaqueline was a lesbian who hit on Montana in high school. Luckily Monty’s mom had to move away after her dad died.”

I still had nightmares about the night Jacqui had decided it was time to make her intentions known. The night she’d shown me who she really was. I’d been cornered by her lean, muscular body, pushing and holding me against a wall at a party. She’d placed her hands on my breasts and pushed her tongue down my throat.

The same sickening feeling I had then overwhelmed me now. The pit of my stomach churned and my blood ran cold. Not that I had anything against gay people. My favorite aunt was a lesbian, and I loved her and her quirky partner even though I hadn’t seen them for more than a decade. It wasn’t that which caused the reaction my body had to Jacqui’s advances.

No.

The thing that got to me then was being forced into something I didn’t want or like. It made all those feelings of shame and anguish that burdened me from my high school years resurface—all tied to the secret I tried so hard to bury. The horror and dread returned in a flash. It was all only a memory away and now it hit me all at once.