Utterly Yours (Book Four) (An Alpha Billionaire Romance) (3 page)

              Nathaniel jolted in his seat, realizing that he had almost fallen asleep in the hotel lobby.  He was not sure how much longer he could keep this up.  It seemed that Lillian was not going to be leaving anytime soon, but the last thing he wanted to do was be up in the presidential suite with no way of knowing whether or not Lillian decided to leave the hotel.  And he wasn’t going to ask Tony to guard the elevators all day.  He looked at his watch, and it was three in the afternoon.  His stomach growled; he had missed lunch.

              After debating with himself for several minutes, he decided to go to the hotel restaurant and ask for a table near the exit where he could see the lobby.  It was slow at this point during the day –right after the lunch rush and long before the dinner crowd would start pouring in, so he was able to get the table he wanted.  He could, if he leaned slightly out of his table, see the elevators.

              He ordered himself a steak, deciding to treat himself a little bit.  When the steak came he had a hard time eating it; his stomach was in knots, and he was constantly leaning out of his chair to take a look at the elevators.  Suddenly his phone started to buzz.  He pulled it out of his pocket and saw his mother’s face flash across the screen.  “Great,” he grumbled.  “That’s just what I need right now.”

              Against his better judgment, he answered the phone.  “Hello, dear!” his mother’s voice called out.

              “Hey, Mom,” he said, his voice monotone from his lack of excitement.

              “I thought I would call and see how your visit from Eliza went?” she asked.

              Nathaniel frowned.  “Did you know she was going to be coming for a surprise visit?” his voice raised slightly.

              “I had no idea,” his mother said.  “I didn’t know until she texted me that she was in Troy.”

              Nathaniel huffed.  “Sure, Mom, whatever you say.”

              “What’s going on?” his mother asked, clearly sensing his tone.  “Did something happen, Nathaniel?’

              Nathaniel sighed slightly.  “A little,” he admitted.  “I just did not expect to see Eliza in Troy.”

              “What’s going on?” his mother pressed.

              It was not as though he had much to lose, so he decided to come clean with what had been going on with him in Troy.  “Mom, do you remember Lillian Thompson?”

              There was a pause, and then a laugh.  “Oh, how could I forget that little sweetheart?  You two spent a lot of time together as kids.”

              “Well, I ran into her,” Nathaniel said.

              There was another long pause from his mother.  “You ran into her?” she asked to confirm.

              “Yeah,” Nathaniel said.  “My first day in Troy, she came into the shelter.”

              “She was a volunteer?” his mother asked.

              “No, Mom, she wasn’t,” Nathaniel said, causing yet another bout of hesitation.

              After a moment, she spoke.  “That’s a real shame.  She was such a sweet girl.  Do you know what happened to her?”

              “Troy was not as good to her as it was to us,” Nathaniel said simply, deciding not to go into too much detail about Lillian’s personal life.  He sighed and continued.  “She and I have been spending some time together, you see, and, well-”

              “Wait,” his mother said.  “Is Lillian the reason you decided to stay an extra few weeks in Troy?”

              “Yes,” he said honestly.

              His mother laughed.  “Don’t tell me –have you two been dating?”

              “Well, I suppose you could call it that,” Nathaniel said.  “Yes, we have.”

              He waited for a response.  What would she think about him seeing some homeless woman?  There was a happy sounding laugh. “Nathaniel, that’s such a relief to hear,” she said, surprising him.

              “A relief?” he questioned.

              “Nathaniel,” his mother chastised, “All I want for you is for you to be happy.  I know I have been pushing Eliza on you, but that’s only because I thought that perhaps she would make you happy.  Yes, she comes from a nice family –that would be a lovely perk, I’ll admit, but if Eliza does not make you happy, then don’t be with Eliza. But if Lillian makes you happy, then I’m happy too.”

              “You’re telling me that you don’t care that Lillian is homeless?” Nathaniel asked.

              “Honestly, Nathaniel, with how poorly off your father and I were when you were younger, do you honestly think that something like that would upset me?  We lost our house twice when we were first starting out.  We lived with your father’s parents for four years right after you were born –if it wasn’t for them, we would have been on the streets too –and with a child no less.  Everyone has points in their lives when they struggle.  If Lillian is a good person, and if you like her I suspect that she is, then that’s all that matters.  If she makes you happy, Nathaniel, then I’m happy too.”

              “Wow, Mom, I got to say, that reaction surprised me,” he said.  A slight smile appeared on his face to hear his mother say these things.  He had always assumed that the sudden wealth she had obtained in her later years had changed her in more ways than just her taste.  She loved spending money and living in excess, so Nathaniel had always assumed she had left her days of living in the slums of Troy behind –including her taste in what is appropriate for her son.  She had been saying for weeks that Eliza came from a good family –and by good she meant rich and powerful –so to hear her say she was perfectly fine with someone like Lillian was throwing him for a loop.  And, truthfully, it made him very happy to hear her say that all she wanted was for him to find someone who made him feel whole –regardless of her current state of being.

              “Oh, don’t tell me that you have been worried about what I would think?” she asked.

              “Maybe a little,” he admitted.

              “So, tell me about Lillian.  I mean, I know that I knew her when she was a kid, but what is she like now?” his mother asked.

              “She’s great, Mom,” Nathaniel said.  “Not that it matters now.  She’s really mad at me.”

              “Oh, God, is it Eliza?” she asked.

              Nathaniel leaned back in his chair and leaned outward to double check the elevators.  It wasn’t Lillian.  “You certainly hit the nail on the head with that one,” he said.  “Lillian saw me taking Eliza out to her car, and Eliza told Lillian that she was my fiancée.”

              “Oh,” his mother said softly.  “That’s…. different.”

              “Yeah,” he said, snorting slightly at her response.  “I’m pretty sure I dodged a bullet with that one.”

              “I’d say.  My bad, Nathaniel,” his mother laughed.  “So have you tried talking to Lillian?’

              “Yeah, and it didn’t go well,” he said. “I don’t know what to say to her.  She’s really mad.”

              “Try this,” his mother said.  “Admit you were wrong.  Tell her the truth, and tell her how you really feel about her.  If that doesn’t work, I don’t know what to tell you.”

              “Thanks, Mom,” he said.  “Listen, I haven’t had lunch, and I’m staring at my plate right now.”

              “All right, I’ll let you go,” she said.  “But you better call me back and let me know how things went with Lillian, understood?”

              “Understood,” he said.  “Love you, Mom.”

              “I love you too.”

              Nathaniel decided to heed his mother’s advice.  After giving Lillian plenty of time to cool off, he headed up to her hotel room.  This time, he did not enter with the card key.  Instead, he knocked and waited patiently for her to answer.  The door flung open, and Lillian was standing in the doorway with one hand on her hip.  She was wearing an oversized t-shirt she had gotten from the hotel’s gift shop –and that was all apart from some underwear.  Nathaniel’s face turned red.  “What?” she snarled.

              “Can we talk?” he asked.

              “Fine,” she said and turned around, entering the hotel room.  She plopped herself down on the couch.  Nathaniel took the seat next to her, and she scooted away.

              “I’m sorry,” he began, half expecting her to start yelling at him again without giving him an opportunity to speak.  She didn’t; she was ready to listen.  “I really am sorry, Lillian.  I was wrong.  Eliza and I had just met right before I came out Troy; my mother was trying to set us up.  We have talked a few times on the phone, and I had planned to see her again when I returned to California, but that was the extent of our relationship.  Then all of a sudden she just shows up in Troy telling you that she’s my fiancée.  I hardly know her at all.  She was just being a bitch and showing herself.  Yes, I slept with her, and I’m sorry for that too because I really care about you, Lillian.  In fact, I love you.  I don’t want this to be just some fling.  I want to be with you.  And I’m so sorry I hurt you.”

              She nodded along as he spoke.  When he was finished she hesitated for a while before giving him a response.  “I appreciate you being honest with me,” she said.  “Maybe I overreacted?”

              “No, you didn’t.  I was a jerk,” Nathaniel said.  “Eliza and I are through.  I’m not going to see her again.  She showed her true colors.  You, though, I hope to keep seeing.”

              “I suppose you’re not the worst guy I’ve ever been with,” she said, her voice becoming somewhat playful.  “You did save me from a pimp, so… I guess I can let this one slide, right?  Besides, it’s not like you and I were exclusive or anything.”

              Nathaniel grabbed her hand, “I’d like to be.”

              “Really?” she asked.

              “Yeah, really,” he responded.

              “I’d like that too,” she said.  “You sure you’d be okay with dating a homeless vet?”

              “I’m just fine with that,” he said.  “I love you.” He leaned in and gave her several kisses, enjoying her soft lips and savoring the moment.  “Do you forgive me?” he asked.

              “I guess I do,” she said and touched his neck, tracing her fingertips along his skin.  “Just no more random girls, deal?”

              “Deal,” he said.  He ran his hands up her bare legs.  “You wore this just to tease me, didn’t you?” he asked.

              She laughed.  “Maybe,” she said and crossed one of her legs over his knee.

              Nathaniel’s phone started going off; he took it out of his pocket and tossed it.  He pushed her onto her back and reached his hands up her shirt, excited to find that she was braless.  “Yum,” he said and kissed her again, playing with her breasts as he kissed her over and over again.

              She spread her legs and reached for the rim of his shirt, pulling it up over his head.  He tossed it aside, and his phone started ringing again.  “You might want to get that,” Lillian said.

              “Whatever it is can wait,” he said and pulled her underwear down.  He played with her with his fingers for a moment, and she began to groan.

              His phone started ringing again.  She pulled away from him.  “Someone clearly needs you.”

              “Fine,” he said and climbed off of her to go grab his phone.  It was ringing yet again, and he could see that it was his business partner, Adam.  “What’s up?” Nathaniel asked as he answered the phone.

              “Son of a bitch!” Adam shrieked into the phone.

              “What the hell?  What’s going on?”

              “What’s going on?  You fucking transferred five million dollars to a private account, that’s what!” he shouted.

              “Five million dollars?” Nathaniel questioned.  “What are you talking about?”

              “Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed that money keeps going missing from our accounts-”

              “Yeah, I’ve noticed,” Nathaniel said.  “But I have Tony handling that.”

              “That’s the damn problem!” Adam shouted.  “The owner of the account the five million went to is your damn assistant!  And your dumbass approved the transfer!”

              “What?”

              “Think, Nathaniel –have you signed anything lately without reading it?” he asked.  “Anything Tony gave you?”

              “Shit!” Nathaniel shouted.  “Yeah, a lot of crap!  I thought it was just a bunch of paperwork for the damn shelter!  I didn’t think… oh, God, I didn’t think!”

              “That kid screwed us!” Adam hollered.  “There’s not a damn thing we can do about it when you signed off of on!”

              “Fuck!” Nathaniel shouted.  “Let me call you back.” He hung up the phone.

              “What’s going on?” Lillian asked, standing up and throwing on her underwear.  She began searching for a pair of pants to throw on as well.

              “Tony stole five million dollars from the company,” Nathaniel said; his phone went off.  Adam had sent him an email with the documental evidence.  “Unbelievable!”

              “Five million dollars?” Lillian’s eyes went wide.  “How big of a loss is that?”

              “That’s pretty bad.  We’re a multi-billion dollar company, but five million dollars is still five million dollars.  The little weasel!  Several thousands of dollars kept going missing, and I didn’t think to check him.  He kept coming up with random reasons why our money was going missing, and I believed him!  Now he tries to take five million!  Oh, hell no!” Nathaniel stormed towards the door, grabbing his shirt on the way out and throwing it over his head.  Lillian ran after him, close on his heels.

              Nathaniel’s phone started ringing, and he answered.  It was Adam again.  “Listen, man, I’ve called the police out in Troy.  They’re on their way to the hotel.  Try to nab the little bastard in case he tries to make a run for it.”

              “Believe me,” Nathaniel snarled.  “I’m on it.”

              Nathaniel and Lillian headed up to the nineteenth floor where Tony was currently staying and enjoying a day of rest.  Lillian stood nearby as Nathaniel banged on the door of Tony’s hotel room.  He could hear movement on the other side as his temper escalated with each passing second.