The Tycoon's Secret - Baby for the Billionaire - Book Four (Baby for the Billionare) (23 page)

“Thank you,” she offered as her sobs began. She couldn’t say anything more than that.

Damien held her, brushing the back of her head with his hand, making gentle hushing sounds. Sierra couldn’t believe what had just happened and that Damien had come to her rescue. All her life she’d wished for someone to deliver her. It was almost too much of a fairytale to believe. As her sobs subsided, Damien led her back inside, straight to a private restroom where he washed away her tears. Her cheek was red with a slight bruise beginning to form. Out of old habits, she always carried thick cover up to mask her father’s abuse. She grabbed the compact and applied it, and only upon close inspection would a person see the results of her father’s hand.

“Do you want to go home?” he asked.

“No. I want to forget all about Douglas Monroe and just focus on the fundraiser.

With that, Damien gave her a gentle kiss and led her back to the ballroom where the party was in full-swing. A couple hours passed and Sierra forgot about her worries and
started enjoying herself.

Damien disappeared with a group of men who wanted to discuss business, promising he’d come back soon. Sierra wandered around, looking at the items up for auction. She found a beautiful sculpture and decided to bid.

“Are you seriously going to outbid me, Sierra Monroe!”

Sierra finished filling out the bidding paperwork, then turned with a huge smile on her face.

“Every chance I get,” she responded before she leaned forward and gave her best friend a hug.

“Well, I was buying it for you anyway. The second I saw the figurine, it reminded me of our weekend in Canada. That was when I knew we’d be friends the rest of
our lives. When you abandoned me on the dance floor with three guys trying to get down my pants –”

“I was drunk, and I’ve apologized a million times,” Sierra said with a laugh.

“Okay, I guess I can forgive you, but really, that weekend was one of the most fun times I’ve ever had. I honestly did know I wanted to be friends forever after that trip,” Bree said.

“Bree, I have to talk to you,” Sierra told her as her eyes welled. She’d put it off because she didn’t want to betray either of them, but if Damien did actually follow through on his threats, and Bree was harmed, Sierra could never forgive herself.

Sierra also knew that once the Anderson’s found out that Damien was their lost relative, they’d embrace him with open arms. He needed them – he just had to realize that. The first step was talking to Bree.

“What is it? You’ve turned as white as a ghost. Let’s go sit down,” Bree said as she took charge, like she always did. Their friendship had worked on so many levels because Bree had been the only person, until Damien, capable of bringing Sierra out of her shell, allowing her to have fun without guilt.

Bree led her to a quiet den and before Sierra could lose her nerve she told her the whole story of how Damien was her relative and what he thought had happened, and what he planned to do.

“I love him, Bree,
really
love him, and I don’t want to betray him, but I could never betray you, either, because I love you. I’ve been so torn over this whole situation or I would’ve come to you sooner,” Sierra said. She was so afraid Bree would be disappointed in her.

“Hey, stop that! You’ve done nothing wrong. Don’t feel guilt over it. I can’t believe Damien is Neilson’s son. Seriously. Not very long ago, remember me telling you about my Aunt Katherine
telling us the story of how she and Joseph met. She also told us about Neilson. Damien’s got it all wrong. His mother wasn’t rejected. She showed up on the front porch, yes, and Aunt Katherine was there all alone. She invited her in, fed her, and gave her a bed. The next morning when she went to find her, she was gone. They searched for years, until they finally had to accept she didn’t want to be found,” Bree said.

“I don’t know if he’ll believe you, Bree.”

“We’ll make him believe – he’s family.” Right there was why Sierra loved Bree so much. She didn’t focus on the fact that Damien wanted to destroy them, take away everything they had. She focused on the happiness of finding a lost relative she never thought she’d find. “I have to tell my dad. Come on,” Bree said with excitement as she pulled Sierra to her feet and the two of them rushed from the room.

Damien’s eyes scanned the crowd for the twentieth time in twenty minutes. He hadn’t seen Sierra since she’d been looking over the auction items, and he was getting ready to seek her out. He knew he didn’t have to be with her twenty-four-seven, but he was concerned her father may have snuck back in.
There was strong security present, but still, he felt better having her in his site.

He excuse
d himself from the conversation, then turned around to find Joseph and George Anderson approaching. Years of hatred brewed instantly to life as he eyed the men walking so casually toward him.

This is what you want,
he reminded himself as they neared.
You want them to feel safe around you.
In reality, he’d nearly forgotten all about his vendetta against them during the last few months. Something inside him was shifting the longer he was with Sierra. She was so full of life, and filled his days with laughter and his nights with unbelievable passion. She was changing him, though he wasn’t sure he wanted to change.

“Hello, Damien,” Joseph said as the two men stopped in front of him. Damien was surprised for a moment that Joseph was acting so casual with him. Normally, people speaking for the first time had the courtesy to use last names.

“Joseph,” Damien replied, his voice coming out a little too cold.

“We’re very happy to meet you. Would you like to come with us – there’s something we’d like to discuss that I think would be much better done in private,” Joseph said.

Damien’s mind whirled as he wondered if they’d somehow found out about his plans. He’d been very careful. He didn’t want them knowing until it was too late for them to do anything about it. He felt confident as he nodded his head and followed the men through the crowd.

He was a little annoyed at how people seemed to part for both of them as if they were royalty. If the men and women in the room knew who they truly were, they wouldn’t act with such deference to them. The
y didn’t deserve it.

Joseph stepped into a private office with George on his heels, and Damien, taking a deep
breath, followed. He stopped in the doorway when he saw the other occupants. His eyes narrowed when they connected with Sierra.

As he looked at the faces around him, Joseph, George, Lucas, Trenton, Bree, Sierra, and a couple people he didn’t recognize, his stomach turned.

She’d told them. Sierra had betrayed him. His heart felt like it was shattering inside him. He’d felt like she was special, like she truly cared about him. The evidence was clear. Her loyalties were with his enemies.

“I can see by your face that you’re upset, Damien, but to my brother and I, this is a happy day. We’ve searched for you for years, tried c
ountless times to find you. Your mother came to my Katherine with you wrapped in a blanket, resting in her arms. She was only there one night, and in the morning she was gone. We were unable to track you down,” Joseph said.

Damien looked at him incredulously. The man was a hell of an actor; Damien would have to give
him that. Lies! It was all lies. His mother had told him the truth. They’d killed his father and then thrown out a woman in need. Only monsters did that.

“That’s a great story, Joseph, but we both know it’s nothing but fabrication. I’ve always been right here. If you’d truly wanted to find me, you would have. With your limitless fortune and resources, nothing you want can be out of reach. My mother told me the truth. By the look in Bree’s face, over there, it looks like Ms. Monroe has already told her everything, so I don’t really see a need for this farce of a reunion to continue,” Damien said as he glance
d for a brief moment at Sierra.

What little color she had left in her face washed away and her
expression fell, but he hardened himself against her. She’d betrayed him – he had no use for her anymore.

“Da
mien, please, I have proof. Your mother left a toy at our home. Katherine saved it. It has the initials D.W. on it, but we didn’t know what that stood for. Your father married her under a fake name, giving you a false identity. We had no idea how to find you, what your mother’s name was, let alone yours. The only clue we had was the toy,” Joseph said.

Damien shifted on his feet. The man made so much sense – but no, he was lying. He had to be lying. There was no way his mother carried that much bitterness around inside her unless her story was true. He couldn’t’ believe Joseph’s story because then it made his mother into a monster.

“I’m done here,” Damien said, his emotions churning. He had to get out of the room. He turned on his heel and started walking away. He needed some air.

“Damien, wait!” Damien paused in the hallway as he slowly turned, his face giving nothing away.

“What do you want?” he asked Sierra, his voice cold enough to freeze the hall.

“I…I’m sorry. I was trying to do what was right. I know you’re upset right now, but if you’d just listen, you’ll see they really are good peo –”

“Stop. I don’t care. I don’t want to have anything to do with them. I already know who they are and they’re the type to take and take until there’s nothing left to take any more. I thought I knew who you were. I was wrong. You’re fired. Notify my secretary of your address and I’ll have your belongings delivered.”

“But…Damien,” she gasped, tears spilling over as he gave her one last look. He didn’t give her a chance to finish whatever she was going to say. He simply turned and walked away.

“Why do people choose to do this over and over again? I don’t understand how they can bare it,” Sierra said, her voice quiet, her body almost numb. She hadn’t seen Damien in two weeks. The first week she’d cried so often, her face had looked like a white Oompa Loompa from
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
.

Finally
, the tears had stopped and a deep sense of numbness had set in, thankfully. She didn’t smile, didn’t cry, she just sort of existed.

“I promise it will get better. I know this answer sucks, but just give it some time. He’ll come around, you’ll see. You know what, though, if he stays away then he just doesn’t deserve you because he’s a fool. Don’t give up on love. People fall in love over and over because we’re meant to be with s
omeone, meant to have a happily-ever-after. We aren’t solitary creatures. We need a companion, someone to care for us. You will have that, either with Damien or another very lucky guy. Whoever wins you has won the lottery,” Bree said.

“You have to say that, Bree. Thanks anyway, though. I need to get out for a while. I’ve stayed in here feeling sorry for myself for long enough. I’m through with love forever, but I do need to get a life. I have job hunting to do.”

“You can take as long as you want. I love having you stay with me. I’ve been trying to get you to do it forever. Before you start working full-time again, we’ve got to have some play time, please?” Bree begged, a smile on her face.

Sierra could see Bree was trying her hardest to act positive, but she knew her best friend, and knew she was worried. She needed to quit stressing Bree out. She had enough on her plate with her son Mathew and her ever-growing family.

“I’ll be fine, Bree, and I’ll spend as much time with you as possible, but I really want to work. I miss Damien, but I miss my job, too. I enjoyed working for him. I hope to find something similar to that. I’ll just make sure my boss is ugly and old. There’s no way I’m working for a hot guy again,” Sierra vowed.

“They’re not that easy to hide from. I
so
wasn’t looking for love when my brothers decided I needed a personal bodyguard, but I’m thankful every night I lay down beside him. Don’t give up – love is worth the pain you have to go through sometimes to reach your happy ending.”

“I truly envy you right now, not enough
to hate you, just enough to steal your husband,” Sierra joked.

“You don’t even know how those words are music to my ears. I’d loan him to you, but then I’d have to kill you, and I love you too much to do that,” Bree gave right back.

“All right, I guess I won’t flirt shamelessly with him. I can’t promise not to gaze at his incredible chest when we’re all swimming, though.”

“Deal,” Bree said as she laughed. “Don’t worry, I’d be doing the same if the situation were reversed. When Chad comes in from a long run, and his chest is gleaming, I become an animal. I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of that man!”

“Okay, Bree, Damien introduced me to the most earth-shattering, phenomenal feelings in the world, and then took it away. I
so
don’t want to hear about your amazing sex life,” Sierra said, but she smiled to take the sting from her words.

“You started it,” Bree pouted. “How about we go shopping? That will get you out of the house.”

“That sounds perfect. I have a quick errand I have to run first, so why don’t I do that and then pick you up here in one hour?” Sierra asked.