A Billionaire's Obsession 3 (BWWM Interracial Romance): Claiming Her Heart (3 page)

"Thanks Maurice. Whatever you find out...um...just let
me know, okay?" Colin ends his conversatio
n with
the private investigator, hopeful that he's made the right decision. With his
elbow on his desk, Colin props up his head with his left hand and sways it,
back and forth. He sits up straight again, and pictures Renee's face. He sees
her brown face fr
amed by a shiny dark curly mane. Her
hazel brown eyes stands out, and lights up when she smiles.
She's curvy, yet well toned, and fit. Colin licks his lips. He closes his eyes.
He imagines, and can feel Renee's lips on his own. "She is perfect."
He conclud
es.

"Where are you Renee?.
.
.Where are you?" Colin says out
loud. He leans back, and reclines
completely into his chair again.

CHAPTER 4

"Seriously Melaine, who is this girl? Colin is NOT
himself in the least." Travis tells Melaine
in
the emptied conference room following a meeting. Melaine clears her throat.

"Travis, um...I...please don't keep asking me. It is
such a sensitive issue." Melaine forewarns him. "Just ride it out,
okay...I mean, he's Colin!" Melaine feels hopeless. She
doesn't want to betray Renee, but she, Travis and Colin
have known each other for such a long time, and know everything about one
another. Melaine was married once, for two years. She married her college
sweetheart, during their senior year. Travis is mar
ried,
but has cheated on his wife twice. They are trying to work things out. Now
Colin is
seemingly going through a life change, and Melaine can't
tell Travis everything. She wants to protect Renee...she needs to protect
Renee.

Colin isn't being forthcomi
ng
either. Whenever Travis asks him what has stolen his thunder, he just says
things like, "My eyes have been opened", or "I didn't realize
what had truly become of me."

"Melaine, what is with all the secrecy? It's like you
two don't trust me anymore. I th
ought we three were
as thick as thieves!" Travis is determined to get to the bottom of the
situation.

"Travis, I would love to fill you in but it is not my
story to tell. Plus there is an innocent party involved Travis. Please...please
don't press the iss
ue any longer. Colin will snap out
of it. I promise!" Travis shakes his head.

"I don't believe this...Ok, whatever Mel. I wouldn't
press the issue any further." Travis pushes his chair back, and stands.
"I hope you all know what you're doing." Travis marc
hes out of the conference room.

"I hope that we know what we're doing too Travis. I
hope that we do too." Melaine says aloud, into the empty conference room.

***

Colin is very nervous. He sits in a
rented black sedan across the street
from Renee's parent
s home. Maurice had done a
phenomenal job, and located the address at her possible location in two days.
Colin sat on the information for about 12 hours. However, he grew very anxious,
and wanted to see for himself whether Renee was with her parents. It is
the end of the week. Colin recognizes the silver sedan in
the drive way. It is the car that Renee got into when she tried to get away
from him that night he kissed her in the elevator. Colin remembers it, like it
was yesterday. He shakes his head, hoping
to shake
the memory out of it. "I am sorry Renee." Colin murmurs. He looks at
the house again. "How will she react to me being here?" Colin
questions himself.

"This is a bad idea Colin." Colin starts the car,
and drives off. "At least I know she's safe...
That's
enough...right?" Colin verbalizes, trying to convince himself. Colin
drives through Renee's hometown. He takes in all the sights. He observes the
quaint ice cream shop, the general store, and boutique dress shops, among other
local stores. This visu
al helps Colin to get to know
Renee better. He smiles.
So this it the unique environment that
shaped her.
Colin imagines.     

He drives by an Inn, and the thought pops into his head to
get a room.
Hmmm...I'm not sure how wise that would be
. Colin rationa
lizes. 

He drives around some more, and back through the main
street of Oaktown. Colin finds himself back on Renee's street, and drives up to
her parents home again. He notices an older woman with short curly salt, and
pepper hair climbing out of another
vehicle with
stacks of paper in her hands. She walks up to the front door, and tries to open
the door while balancing the papers in her hand. Colin watches from his car for
two more seconds then leaps out.

"Ma'am, can I help you with that?" Pilar looks ar
ound quickly to see a tall, broad shouldered young white
man approaching her.

"That would be so wonderful if you
could young man." Pilar responds.
Colin relieves Pilar of the stacks of papers in her hands. "Thank you.
Now, I can open this door." She says
chuckling.

Pilar opens the door, steps inside then stretches out her
hand to take the papers from Colin.

"Thanks again young man. What is your name, so that I
can thank you properly." Pilar says with a broad smile. Colin becomes
nervous again. He rubs hi
s hands down his pants.

"My name is Colin." He tells Pilar.

"Well, thank you for being so
gallant Colin."

"Um...Ma'am, my name is Colin Winston." Pilar
almost drops her papers again.

"You're...you're Renee's...You're Colin
Winston?!" Pilar
is beyond astonished.
"What are you doing here, Colin?" Pilar begins to ask.

"Mom? Who are you talking to?" Renee is walking
toward the door, from her father's study, located across from the staircase
that leads to the second floor of the house. "I thoug
ht I heard you talking to some..." Renee nears the
open door way, and sees the sandy brown hair, and green eyes she recognizes,
and sees in her dreams almost every night.

"Hi Renee." Colin says, trying to conceal his
excitement of seeing Renee again.

"Wh
at are you doing
here?" Renee looks into Colin's face, and the emotions she felt when she
first arrived home comes rushing back.

Pilar slips out of the way so that Renee and Colin can
talk.

Colin steps in closer to Renee. "How are you
Renee?" Colin asks s
oftly. Renee looks down at h
er feet
. She is trying her best to contain her
emotions.

"Why are you at my parents' home Colin?"

"You left Renee...without a word. I had to know. Are
you okay?" Renee looks around the foyer, trying to avoid eye contact with
Co
lin.

"It should have never happened...but it did. Now you
can move on to your next conquest." Renee says with a little bit of venom
in her voice. Colin feels the sting. He regrets that his reputation, and past
behavior has affected Renee this way.

"Renee,
I'm sorry but there
isn't another...another conquest waiting in the wings." Colin
works to persuade her.

"You can tell me whatever you want Colin, but you're
you - the billionaire playboy with a reputation. If you're worried, I'd tell
someone...I wouldn't
. It was the biggest mistake of
my life." Renee says pointedly. "So please, don't do this again and
stay away from me - for real this time!" Renee firmly establishes.

For the first time in a very long time, a woman makes Colin
feel like he's been kicked i
n the stomach.
"Renee, please let me explain...It did start off as a conquest, but it's
more than that now."

Renee stares at Colin...she squints as though trying to
read his thoughts. "I simply don't believe you!"  

"Renee...please..." Colin begins.

"No.
..No! Your reputation
precedes you. I know who you are...Please leave, and don't return to my
family's home, or mine again!" Renee says with a brave face. She is
intentional about the words that she utters, but she is taking a great gamble
to tell them to
this very powerful man.

Colin can not help but want to explain himself to her, and
to make Renee understand that she's affected him in such a way that he
no longer wants to be who his reputation
dictates. He wants to let her know that she has opened his e
yes once again, and that he no longer believes that all
women are the same. They are not all selfish, and just perpetuating an image
that is only skin deep.

Colin is also starting to remember what it is like to
have feelings for someone again. Renee
on th
e other hand, constantly recalls pain. She
consistently recalls being charmed by her ex-boyfriend, then being taken for
granted by him, followed by betrayal. Renee does fully accept responsibility
for giving in to Colin. She knows she was a willing partici
pant but she believes she now has an opportunity to save
herself from betrayal again.

Colin stares into Renee's eyes. He sees pain. He wants to
embrace her. He wants to reach out, and console her, but her walls are all the
way up, and - at that moment - h
e doesn't have a plan
of how he can scale those walls, and get through to her. He gives in.

"I will leave Renee. I will leave this house, and this
town, but you will still be with me." Renee's stomach churns within her.
There he goes again.
Those are the
kind
of things he says to get me to give in, but I can't...I can't afford to this
time.

"
Goodbye Colin...Goodbye!" Renee tells him, and she
closes the door. Colin's stomach sinks into his toes. He stands still gazing at
the closed door. His mind is reeling
. He is shocked
that after the night they shared...the intimacy...the openness, that Renee is
shutting him out. What he doesn't know, is that the once shy young woman, had
given of herself, blindly, to someone in the past who cheated on her, and broke
her.
Standing at that door, Colin thinks that she's
just turning him away because she sees a scoundrel...Yet, he knows that he is a
scoundrel who believes he needs her to change him.

Colin walks very slowly back to his rented vehicle. He is
confused...he is d
espondent. Renee is still standing
at the door.
She is actually using it to prop her up. Her knees are
weak, and her heart is heavy.
I know that I have made the right
decision. I cannot trust him. I cannot trust any man.

She walks slowly toward the stairw
ell,
almost dragging her feet. She climbs the first three steps, then races up
the rest. She runs into her room, falls
on to the bed, and begins to sob loudly. Renee's mother hears her, and rushes
upstairs to comfort her. Pilar sits on the bed beside Renee
. Renee drops her face into her mother's lap crying. Pilar
strokes her daughter's back. Renee weeps in her mother's arms continuously for
thirty minutes. Pilar doesn't say a word. She allows Renee to emotionally
purge.

***

Colin speeds out of Oaktown, back to Trojan City. His
thoughts are traveling as fast as the car.
She doesn't believe me. Was I just her
one night stand...No...no, that's not her modus operandi. Why is she being so
hard hearted...Oh come on Colin, you're no
t exactly a
good guy. Renee knows what she sees now. She has no idea that a very long time
ago, you were decent once.
Colin rationalizes. He takes a deep
breath, and slows the pace of the vehicle.

Colin drives directly to the BYWINSTON offices. It is close
to 6:00 pm but he knows that Melaine will probably still
be working. He heads directly for her office. He knocks once then enters.

"Melaine, I need you to do something for me."
Colin says as he enters.

"Hi Colin. I'm fine. It's nice to see you too."
Mel
aine teases. Colin sits across from her.

"I don't have time for that. This is important. Are
you listening?" Colin says sternly.

"Ok...yes. What is it?"

"It's about Renee. My mom wants her to work with her
animal rescue organization
again. She asked me
to make it
happen, but I think that it maybe best for mom to borrow her, or hire her
permanently." Colin suggests.

"What? You want me to push Renee off on Aunt
Margaret?"

"Yes Melaine. I think that it would be best for her
right now. She will not have to
come here, and fear
running into me." He explains. Melaine pauses to ponder.

"I understand...I get
your rationale. Okay. I will reach out
to Aunt Margaret to learn to what capacity she needs Renee, and depending on
what she says, I will pitch her the idea
of hiring
her full time." Melaine offers. "Pitching to Renee will be a whole
other situation. She knows, that MW is your mother." Melaine reminds
Colin.