The Billionaire Bargain (Millionaire's Club) (2 page)

Before she could negotiate better terms, the line went dead. She stared at the silent receiver. A woman’s voice broke through Rae’s shock.

“Mr. Tan will see you day after tomorrow. Evening.”

“That’s not good for me,” Rae clamored, needing time to digest what the hell had just happened to her normally controlled emotions—emotions that had been turned inside out in one short phone call.

Her senses were highly charged. She’d had the morning from hell. And yet the tingles of awareness alighting her nerve endings reminded her how much Daegen made her feel like a real woman. She needed to be very careful.

“Mr. Tan thought that might be an issue for you. He asked me to tell you it’s then or not at all. I’m sorry.”

Sympathetic as the assistant sounded, Rae found no comfort in the apology. She’d feared Daegen would play hardball, but forcing her to meet him in the one place they’d all but lost themselves to each other and to love? It seemed an exceptionally low blow. Then again, calculating, brilliant, absolutely gorgeous, powerful…a man like him didn’t sit on top of the business world by accident. If he was intent on revenge, he’d already scored a direct hit.

And damn his voice—a tone that made her glad she was sitting down when she heard it again for fear the bones in her legs would pool at her feet along with all her carefully guarded defenses.
So much for offensive plays
. He held all the cards and knew it. Suddenly, facing him felt like a death sentence to her self-control, sketchy as her hold on it was.

Not facing him? Not an option. She was desperate.

“Fine.”

“Mr. Tan would like to know if you’ll be requiring his help with transportation.”

“No. I can arrange my own travel thank you very much.” Rae didn’t waste time saying goodbye. She clicked END. Couldn’t get off the phone fast enough to suit her taste. She extracted her hand from the receiver, staring at it like she half expected it to detonate.

Panic gripped her. Why would he think she couldn’t book her own flight? It was impossible for him to know she was broke. Besides, she had decent credit.
For now.

Rae rubbed her temples. Shooting pain radiated down her neck. Her stress indicator, the exact center point between her shoulder blades, was on full alert.

How would she ever pay her mounting bills?

Didn’t matter. She’d sell her soul if it meant saving her father. Besides, she started off in this world with nothing. Looked like she’d end the same.

Before she could wind up a good anxiety attack, she reminded herself the best thing she could do for her father was calm down.

There had to be hope...

Several deep cleansing breaths later, she rallied enough of her normal senses to seize the handpiece once more and phone her boss.

She’d had to ask off a lot lately. Walt had been good about it until she lost her status as his top producer last month. He tolerated her requests now because she was still making good revenue. At thirty, he was the youngest company executive. He was a climber and didn’t have time for anyone who didn’t fit into his agenda. He answered on the first ring.

“I need to leave town this afternoon.”

“Okay. Fine.” He didn’t sound surprised or angry. His voice had a distinct lilt when he was upset. His southern roots shone through.

Rae couldn’t pinpoint his mood.

Papers shuffled. He was distracted. Or didn’t care.

Damn.

“I’ll be back in plenty of time for the meeting Monday afternoon.”

“Be sure you’re here. This is
your
account,” he warned. There was the lilt.

“You got it. Nothing will stop me from attending,” she reassured. “I’m already prepped and ready to go. It’s been on my calendar for a month.”

“Good. Then I don’t have to remind you how important this client is to our business.” The emphasis he placed on the last word said he meant to her career.

“Nope. Got it. I’m all over this. I won’t let you down.” Rae thanked him and closed the call.

Stepping back, she released her pent-up frustration in a long, slow sigh.

One call had nearly broken her heart. Another threatened her livelihood. Now another would crack her finances in half.

She was beginning to hate phones.

Cursing the hunk of plastic life-wrecker, she palmed it again. Within an hour, she’d arranged a flight—cringing as she gave the airline her credit card number. There was barely enough time to pack an overnight bag and prepare her laptop for travel.

Rae fidgeted most of the twenty-four hour journey from Dallas to Borneo. Real rest was about as far away as Pluto. And just as authentic. Her eyes burned. How long had it been since she’d had real sleep? Or a sit down meal where she didn’t constantly check the clock to see if visiting hours were over?
Or sex?
asked
a little voice in the back of her mind.

Her body cried
too long
. No sex since Daegen. Three years. She could always remedy that by perusing the aisles to find the first attractive guy to proposition. Any gorgeous man would do. No strings attached. He need only want to join the Mile High Club. Right, like she was about to cruise the cabin. She smiled weakly. No doubt thinking of Daegen had shifted her mind to sex.

If she couldn’t sleep, she might as well work to distract her.

By the time the plane touched ground, she’d eaten breakfast and tidied up her work files. Approaching Daegen with her request wasn’t going to be so neat. After his reaction on the phone, he wouldn’t be waiting with open arms. Yelling was more like it. She said a silent prayer he would help her anyway. Beneath his cool veneer lay a beautiful heart. Down deep, she knew he wouldn’t let another person suffer if he had the power to help, no matter whom the person happened to be genetically linked to.

If she had to appeal to Daegen at this most basic level, she would. Crawling back to ask a favor after the way she’d walked out on him felt sub-human.

Frustration and exhaustion had her hands feeling heavy as she turned the ignition of the rental car. A weight centered itself on her chest making breathing a chore as she located the road to the villa. She did her absolute best not to go there in her mind—the place where she happily lay in Daegen’s arms. Yet reminders lurked around every bend. The rich whooping calls from Bornean gibbons. The symphony of sounds from millions of insects and birds in the nearby rain forest. The crush of sensual memories.

Had it really been so long since she’d felt Daegen’s strong, lean fingers stroking the skin of her calf? A shiver ran along every muscle in her leg, warming the inside of her thighs.

“That was a lifetime ago,” she said out loud as she cut off the engine. Three years to the day to be exact. And she seriously doubted Daegen would want to get anywhere near her thighs now.

She plucked at her shirt, already drenched from the change in humidity. Her business suit clung to her body making her uncomfortable, hot and sticky.

A cohesive argument still hadn’t formulated as to why Daegen should help her on a professional level. And if she couldn’t assess the break-even analysis on his behalf, there was little hope he’d find it either. Any optimism, however small it might have been, that he might help her because of their shared past was long gone. He’d been excruciatingly clear on where he stood. Rae would have to figure out how to get his help in spite of their history. Or beg.

Panic gripped her. Maybe it was a mistake coming here. She’d run off half-cocked, fried from emotions. Somewhere down deep, she realized all the medicine in the world couldn’t make her father want to live.

And yet doing nothing wasn’t an option.

One of Daegen’s companies had medicine in trial her father needed.

She’d beg Daegen if she had to. Lay all her cards out on the table. Expose herself for a heartless fraud...

Let’s just hope it doesn’t come to that.

She had seventeen hours to convince him before she had to be back on a plane or lose her job. Lose her job and, game over, she wouldn’t be able to make rent. The reality of being back at the villa had her sitting perfectly still long after she parked the rental. The thick air intensified. For a split-second, she imagined kicking her shoes off and running through the surf’s white spray to cool off.

Don’t get too comfortable
. Dangers lurked down there too. Even though she couldn’t see them, the rolling tide below housed thousands of sharks that would shred her skin with one bite.

A chill ran down her spine.

The front door opened before she got a leg out of the car. Daegen’s caretaker, Kota, stepped out and bent forward in a deep respectful bow.

“Welcome,” he said.

Rae mimicked the polite gesture, bowing at the threshold.

She was relieved it wasn’t Daegen standing there at the door. Naked. As she half-feared he might be just to show her what she’d been missing. She didn’t need the reminders. Her thoughts drifted to his perfectly sculpted muscles far more than she’d like to admit.

“We expect you this night,” Kota said, his English still imperfect and endearing. He looked the same. His skin perpetually tanned. Hair, bushy black. He wore an untucked white shirt with gray slacks covering dark brown leather sandals. Funny how little things had an odd way of providing comfort in situations like these. Rae’s stress indicator eased a notch.

“There’s just one flight from Dallas. May I come in and freshen up or should I find a hotel?” Daegen most likely hadn’t arrived yet since he’d requested an evening meeting.

“Please. Come. Stay,” Kota said.

She followed him into the villa and through the open-concept living space. Still with the same chunky handmade teak furniture and the smell of summer. The click of her high heels bounced off the wood floor and echoed across the thatched roof.

This place called for flip-flops and swimsuits. Her formal business attire was as out of place as every inch of her body felt, but necessary. She needed every reminder possible this was not social.

Rae froze the second she realized she was being taken to the master bedroom.

Embarrassed, she tapped Kota’s shoulder. “I’m not sleeping with him. I don’t belong in there. I-uh-is...there somewhere else I can freshen up besides in his room?”

His brow knitted in confusion, but he said nothing.

Rae shook her head once. Twice. And then a third time to emphasize her point.

“No. I know. I
have
slept in there. A long,
long
time ago. But not this trip.”

By the looks of him, a catcher’s mitt wouldn’t have helped him get hold of the words coming out of her mouth. Daegen probably brought a long line of women down the very same hallway, all of which stayed in that room. If one could believe the papers, there was a new woman in his life every week. A stab of jealousy she had no right to feel pierced her. Well, not Rae. Not this time.

Anger had her shaking her head again, furiously, as though she shook off fire.

Okay, let’s try this again, but differently.

“Me. No.” She pointed to the master bedroom door as she broke her thoughts down to one simple word. “No.”

“What’s wrong with
my
room?” A familiar voice boomed from behind her, goose bumping her arms.

His voice
.

****

Rae’s auburn hair curled down her slim back in a mass of thick waves. She turned and met Daegen’s stare head on. He ignored the painful twist his heart gave at seeing her again. His reaction caught him off guard. Shouldn’t he be immune to her by now? It had been three years and he’d made no promises to her before. Even so, he hadn’t expected her to disappear. Or the pain to feel so real years later. Apparently, some wounds ran so deep, not even time could heal them.

He looked at her,
really
looked at her. A flash of vulnerability and fear crossed her heart-shaped face. The sentiment was quickly reined in when her gaze narrowed with focus, but not before his own protective instincts went on alert. He hadn’t expected to feel compassion when he saw her. Anger. Yes. The need for revenge. Check. Intrigue. No. Yet his curiosity was piqued.

He dismissed Kota with a wave.

“I said, what’s wrong with my room?”

She blinked and cleared her throat, issuing a cracked sound. Her usual confidence like a thin cloak wrapped around her.

“Nothing. In theory. I’d be more at ease somewhere I can spread out my work. Make a mess.”

“Don’t you mean anywhere else?”

Her gaze didn’t rise to his. “I won’t be here long enough to get comfortable. In fact, I’d like to dis—”

“Not so fast. I haven’t seen you in...hmmm...how long has it been, Rae Stevens? If your last name is still Stevens.” Without thinking, his gaze flicked to her ring finger. Relief he had no right to own washed over him at the empty hand. Destiny or coincidence had brought her back to him. He had no plans to waste this chance to find out why she’d really left. Her tense body language said she’d bolt the second she got what she came for. He needed to figure out a way to delay her, or his wounded pride might never recover.

“Three years,” she said quickly, looking ready to burst into tears. “And my last name hasn’t changed.”

What was that all about?
“To the day.”

Her tentative gaze lifted. “I’m not here to talk about the past, Daegen. I need to discuss something important. The reason I flew all this way to see you.”

He held his flat palm toward her, needing a reason to stall her. “Whatever you’re up to will have to wait.”

“But—”

“I can’t get into this right now. Based on your expression, this will take more than five minutes. And that’s all I have.”

Her gaze darted to the door. “It doesn’t have to. This is important and I can explain in a few seconds. I can say my piece and be on the next plane out.”

He eyed her curiously. “Which we both know doesn’t leave until tomorrow anyway.”

She glanced at her watch, looking like she might burst into tears. Impatience sparked off of her.

Even more reason he needed to slow her down and make her wait. “Tell me what you want right now and my answer is a guaranteed no.”