The Billionaire's Mistress Complete Series: Alpha Billionaire Romance (25 page)

“Point taken.” He nodded at Cathy. “If you can rush that, I’ll make it worth your while.”

In another forty-five seconds, I had Alistair’s double espresso mocha latte steaming in the tray, and Jal passed several bills over. I heard the startled gasps behind me as he hustled me out the door, taking one of the trays. Remembering how well he tipped me the first time we met, I had no doubt he'd just made their day.

He kept pace with me as we hurried down the sidewalk. “Now. We’re outside. You didn't seem to want an audience to our discussion, so make it quick or I’ll just follow you back into the salon, and we can keep talking there. I'm sure your friends won't be too interested.”

When I watched for another gap in traffic, he remained at my side, ignoring the man in the Beemer who started honking at us when he had to slow down. He was tenacious, I had to give him that.

“Will you have dinner with me, Allie?”

W
anting shouldn’t be
like this.

Want
was easy and shallow and simple to satisfy. A quick fuck. A physical release.

But the want I had for Allie was hard, gut-wrenching, and unending. There was nothing easy about it, and although I could still taste her, still
feel
her around me, I wanted to take her again…and again.

Still waiting for her to answer my question, I pressed the tip of my finger against her lower lip, the smooth, lush curve making me ache to kiss her all over again.

Would I ever have enough of her?

“The clock is ticking,” I said, keeping my tone light.

“You’re a nag.”

The words startled a laugh out of me, and I could see the corners of her mouth quivering in an answering smile. She reached up and caught my wrist, the touch scorching my skin.

“Fine. Dinner. When?”

I grinned. I would have demanded she just leave with me now, but I didn’t see that happening. Besides, I needed to get my head together. “Tomorrow.”

Once she disappeared inside the salon, I dragged my hands down my face and leaned against the rough brick of the wall for a minute. I had never gotten so stupid over a woman in my life. I’d never gotten so stupid over
anything
in my life.

I needed to focus. I had two meetings between now and three o'clock, and I hadn’t even gone over my notes. As I started for the car, my phone buzzed. Tugging it out, I checked the screen. My mother.

Fuck me.

I hit the
ignore
button and jammed the phone back into my pocket. I knew I’d have to deal with her, and sooner was probably better than later, but now wasn’t the time. I wasn’t sure if I could keep from exploding.

It took a lot to make me lose my temper, but after what she and Paisley had done? Yeah, that had pretty much done it.

Whenever I thought I could finally manage to talk to her without losing it, I would, but only so I could tell her to leave me the hell alone for a little while.

The drive to my office passed in a blur, and it wasn’t until Thomas said my name that I realized he’d parked in front of my building and was holding open the door. Offering him a crooked grin, I said, “Sorry. My mind is elsewhere.”

He gave me a polite nod.

I headed to the front door, and then stopped, turning back to him. “By the way, in case Paisley Hedges tries to call and have you pick her up for some sort of little surprise, you should know that we're no longer together.”

It may have sounded a little paranoid, but I knew it wasn't. Paisley had done the surprise thing once or twice before. Thomas knew I wasn't too fond of them, but Paisley had always been persistent. I didn't want that same quality to make things even more awkward than they already were.

“Oh. I’m sorry, sir.”

“Don’t be.”

I sure as hell wasn’t.

* * *

A
s soon as
I stepped off of the private elevator, Janie Beck leaped out of her seat and came rushing in my direction. She held several multi-colored bits of paper in her hands, and she looked very flustered, which was strange for her because she was rarely ever flustered.

“Oh, my word. Jal, of all the days for you to come in late.” She pressed her lips together and shook her head. “Not that you aren’t entitled to do whatever you want. You work too hard as it is. But this morning has been insane. The phone won’t quit ringing and if that girl Paisley–”

She stopped speaking, clamping her lips shut. She was usually good at keeping her personal opinions to herself, but she was clearly at her wit's end.

I slid her a look. “Yes?”

“I apologize, sir. It’s just been a very hectic morning, and every third phone call seems to be her.” Ms. Beck flushed, the flustered look on her face growing more intense.

“It’s okay.” I kept my voice calm. “I take it Paisley’s called a few times?”

“A few?” She laughed, but it sounded strained. “She called a
few
times before nine-thirty. I’d say she’s called six times since, every twenty minutes, give or take. And her mother has called as well.”

Shit.

She pushed the notes into my hand. “Mrs. Hedges is quite adamant that she speak to you. Your mother has also called twice.”

Double shit.

“That should be it for personal matters. Then the Wheeling Group called, and Lester Wheeling is insisting you make room in your schedule for him this week. I told him that you’re very busy, and we could work him in next week for a half hour, but he wouldn’t accept that. He…” She stopped and pursed her lips. “Jal, I don’t like how that man speaks to me. How a person treats subordinates shows a person's true colors, and
he
treats everybody who actually has to be employed like pure trash.”

“Be sure you don’t hold back.” I patted her shoulder.

“Don’t tempt me.” She pressed her lips together so tightly, they went bloodless. “Otherwise, when he calls again, I’ll tell him where to shove his demands.”

While that would amuse me, and he definitely deserved it, having Janie go off on Lester would probably cause more problems than it'd be worth. Flipping through the messages, I said, “Why don’t you order us lunch? Pick the spot. My treat.”

“It won’t make up for this morning.” Her face softened a little. “But it’s a start. I’m afraid there were a few more calls though. A few were just reschedules or confirmations about matters later this week. We can go over them later, but your two-forty-five called. They need to know if you can possibly meet them at three. There was a family emergency.”

I cocked an eyebrow. We’d been trying to close this deal for weeks. “What sort of family emergency?”

“I thought you’d ask. The lawyer who helped set everything up, Brant Garland, is at the hospital. His younger sister went into early labor, and her husband is out of town. The husband is flying back and is expected to land by two, but Mr. Garland can’t leave his sister alone.”

“Hell.” I dragged a hand down my face. I couldn't be annoyed at that. “Fine. But they better be ready to move when they get here. I’m not hanging out until seven with the owners dancing around the bush.”

I flipped through the messages, separating a couple out. Paisley’s, Diamond’s, my mother's. I didn't have to read them to know they said pretty much the same thing.

Holding them up, I smiled at Mrs. Beck. Then I crumpled them in my fist.

“If Mrs. Hedges calls back, let her know that the two of us have nothing to discuss. If she has questions, I’m sure her daughter can answer them, but I have no desire to talk to her.”

Speculation danced behind Mrs. Beck's cat-eye glasses, then was gone almost as quickly as it had appeared. She nodded.

I continued, “If Paisley calls, tell her that we’ve discussed everything we need to discuss. We have nothing else to say to each other, then see what we can do about blocking her calls. Tell security that she’s banned from my offices. Oh, and find someone to change the locks at my place before I get home tonight.”

Now Janie was giving me a wide-eyed look. I said quietly, “It’s over. I ended things.”

I wasn’t about to go into any more detail. Not with her, certainly, and hopefully not with anybody other than the little I’d told Allie. They’d lied. I’d believed them. I felt like a fool, and it stung.

Some of the edge I still felt showed in my voice as I went on, “As for my mother…” I hesitated, because out of the three, she was one I couldn’t ignore. At least not forever. There were holidays to think of. “Tell her that it wouldn’t be smart for us to talk until I’ve had a chance to cool down. I need a few days. At least.”

Mrs. Beck nodded and started to turn back to her desk. Then she looked at me, the professional expression on her face slipping into something more personal. “Sir, is everything okay?”

“Yeah.” With a tired smile, I said, “It’s fine. I’m just still…adjusting to some things.”

* * *

S
tanding
in front of the bathroom mirror, I adjusted the collar on my shirt one more time. Then, I thought maybe I should wear blue instead of black. I’d heard more than a hundred times that women loved the way I looked in blue.

But I wasn’t dressing for any other woman.

I was dressing for Allie.

“Stop it,” I said, glaring at my reflection. I’d already changed shirts three times.

I’d even debated on whether or not I should wear a suit. The place I’d picked for tonight was a low key Italian restaurant, definitely more upscale casual than fancy, but a confident man could wear a suit anywhere he damn well pleased and be just fine.

The problem?

I wasn’t comfortable. Not in the suit. Not in my own skin.

Not tonight. I was downright nervous for the first time since I was a kid. And the fact that I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about Allie wasn't helping matters much.

She’d been trying to ease back, insisting on how different our worlds were, how different our lives were. Logically, I knew she was right, but when it came to sexual attraction, those kind of differences didn’t matter.

Except I knew this was going a lot deeper than mutual sexual attraction. I’d experienced a few relationships that had been built on mutual lust. None of them had ever felt like this.

After one more study in the mirror, I checked my watch.

Then I swore, a good long line of words my mother would have frowned at.

I was going to be late.

I’d made the decision to drive myself, wanting the time alone with her, but without a driver to hurry my ass along, I’d lost track of time. I swore again and practically ran down the stairs.

And I still arrived late.

Ten minutes late. Fortunately, Allie had finally given me her phone number so I was able to send her a message and let her know so she didn't think I'd stood her up. She was out front waiting for me when I finally pulled up to the apartment building. She hadn't given me a new address, and I hadn't told her that I'd been here on my own before.

“I meant to ask,” I said as I opened the door for her. “How well do I have to behave before I get to come in and meet the family?”

Allie glanced at me as she climbed inside. “Oh, I don’t live here. A friend of mine does.”

As I walked around to the other side of the car, I told myself not to look back. Things had just clicked for me. The friend who'd gone with her to get the dress. The man who'd answered me the last time I was here. The man she'd been with at the gala.

Tao.

What had she said…
oh, we’ve been together forever.

What were they to each other?

Friends, definitely, but was there something more? It seemed like it. There was something…intimate between them. Shoving it out of my head, I focused on the fact that she was here, with me.

“Nice ride,” she said, slipping me a wide smile.

“Thanks. It gets me from point A to point B.” I made a turn and then asked if she liked Italian.

“Who doesn’t?” She smoothed her skirt down, calling attention to her lovely legs.

Keep your eyes on the road, Lindstrom
. “Good.” I had to clear my throat and yet again, I found myself wondering just what it was this woman did to me. “It’s a bit of a drive – half hour. That okay?”

“Hmmm.” She rested her head against the back of the seat. “You can drive to Disney for dinner if you want. As long as we’re in this car.”

I laughed, enjoying the little flare of pleasure I got from knowing she liked my car. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched her smooth that sexy, flirty little skirt down again.

I had a feeling it was a nervous habit, and I was starting to think maybe I should have used one of my drivers. Then I could have been the one smoothing my hands up and down her legs. Of course, then I would have wanted more, and that could've been very awkward...for the driver.

“What’s wrong?” Allie asked.

I gave her a quick look. “What do you mean?”

“You just…” She laughed. “Well, you made this weird noise.”

“Did I?”

After all the deceit, she deserved honesty, even if it were just about this. As she went to smooth her skirt down again, I reached over and covered her hand with mine.