Billionaire's Island Bride (The BAD BOY BILLIONAIRES Series) (21 page)

Dani pulled the
door closed and went to the living room where she picked up her handbag and
slung it over her shoulder.  As she went through the door she plastered a brave
smile on her face.  There was no way she was going to let Brian know how deeply
she was affected by his leaving. He was ready to start his new life as a
college student and she wanted nothing to distract him.  She'd been a mother
hen for the last four years but now she would just have to learn to let go.

She took the
elevator to the ground floor then went out to the car and hopped into the
driver's seat.  She turned to her brother.  "Ready to go?"

He shrugged. 
"As ready as I'll ever be."

She reached over
and tousled his hair just like she used to do when he was six years old. 
"Then let's go 'em,
tiger."                                                                                         
******

Dani's first week
without Brian was busy, which was a blessing for her.  Her new schedule did not
allow her the luxury of sitting at home feeling lonely.  Each day she rushed
home from her teaching job at Applewood Preschool, changed into her uniform for
her new night job as chauffeur at Apex Limousine Company, and checked in for work
by five o'clock sharp. 

She'd been on the
job five nights and so far had survived despite some rough spots.  Tonight,
though, something was different.  She'd been summoned to the boss's office and
through the glass door she could see Tony Martino, the owner and manager.  He
was pacing the floor.  As she pushed the door open and entered his office he
nodded to her.

“We  need to
talk,” he said and jerked his head toward the only chair that did not have
papers piled on top of it.

Dani's heart fell.
Tony looked none too pleased.  What had she done to upset him?  She couldn't
afford to lose this job, not right now. She'd only been working with the
company a week and already had been able to send money to Brian for his books.
She was counting on next week’s pay to cover the cost of his hockey uniform.

He flopped down in
the chair behind his desk then his look softened as he stared at her.  “Don’t
look so worried,” he said.  “I’m not going to fire you.”

Dani let out her
breath slowly and cursed herself for having such an expressive face. 

“I know you’re
wondering what this is all about,” he said and leaned forward.  “I heard about
the incident the other night.”

She held her
breath again, sure she would be reprimanded for literally dumping one of her passengers
on his own driveway.  The man had been drunk and had tried to grope her as she
held the door open to let him out.  She'd pushed him off and, unsteady as he
was, he'd landed on his behind.  Now she was in trouble because of it.  She
looked back at her boss but remained silent.

Tony’s face grew
serious.  “I heard about the incident through a third party and I’m not
pleased. Why didn’t you tell me what happened?”

Dani’s glance
wavered and she looked down at her hands.  When she said nothing Tony spoke
again, even more sternly.  “From the day I interviewed you I could see you were
a tough kid but you can’t keep things like this a secret.  You have to remember
that you’re a woman and you have to be careful.”  He leaned back and clasped
his hands over his paunch.  “And I have to remember that, too.  I’m not proud
of the fact that I put you in that situation.”

Her eyes flew to
his face.  “But you didn’t-"

“Yes, I did.” He
cut her off.  “I should have known better than to give you a random
assignment.”  He steepled his fingers and fixed her with a frown.  “From now on
you'll be assigned only to reliable customers.  I'm going to give you a very
important customer of mine.  His father was my client for many years and now he
uses my services, too.”  Tony paused as if for effect.  “His name is Storm
Hunter.”

Dani frowned.  “
The
Storm Hunter?  Of the Hunter’s Run clothing line?”

Tony nodded and
gave her a satisfied smile.  “The one and the same.  I’ve been serving his
family for over twenty-three years.  I’ve known Storm since he was a kid.” 
Then his face grew serious.  “As I said, he's an important client.  The
Hunters, they've been good to me.  It's not like they need my services that
much but they always give me business.  That's the kind of people they are.”

“I understand and
I'll take good care of him,” she said, still slightly dazed.  Imagine that. 
She’d be chauffeur to a member of the Hunter family, one of the wealthiest in
the Chicago area.  They were ‘old money’ and everyone knew of them.  And even
with all that money the oldest son, Storm, had branched out of the family’s
manufacturing business and had started his own clothing line, making himself a
billionaire many times over at the ripe old age of twenty-seven.

“And seeing that
you’ve already made some adjustments to your appearance I want you to keep it
that way.”  He gave her a nod of approval.  “I can't vouch for all my other
customers so I don’t necessarily want to broadcast that I have a woman on the
team.  You don’t know who you might attract once that kind of information gets
around.”  He stood up and walked over to check the computer sitting on the desk
in the far corner.  “Tonight you’re going to pick up Mr. Hunter from a party
and get him safely home.  If he plans to drink he always arranges for us to come
get him.  You can check the location on your computer in the car.”

This was Dani’s
cue to get going.  She stood up and gave her boss a quick nod.  “Thank you,
sir.  I appreciate your looking out for me.”

“No problem,
Swift.  Now just grow some hair on that baby face of yours and look tough.” 
Tony was chuckling as Dani walked out of his office and headed for the garage.

Things had turned
out a lot better than she’d thought.  There she was, thinking she was about to
get fired, and instead she’d been assigned to a man who was probably the
limousine company’s most prestigious client.

Now if only his
tips would be as big as his name, she’d be sweet.

That night Dani
arrived on location a whole fifteen minutes before the appointed time.  There
was no way she would risk being late.  And she’d prepared well, too, making
sure to pile every last strand of her thick dark hair underneath the rim of the
chauffeur's hat.  She’d been doing that since the groping incident.  She’d
ditched the earrings and had left her face devoid of any form of make-up. 
She’d even practiced her walk, trying to eliminate the feminine sway of her
hips and adopt instead the long strides of a man.  Thank God she was taller
than most of her sex.  At five feet seven and a half she could easily pass for
a man.  Now if only she could grow some hair on her chin.  She chuckled at the
thought.  She was willing to go far but not that far.

At five minutes
after ten people started leaving the stately mansion.  The cars that rolled out
of the driveway included Porsches, Jaguars and a Bentley.  Then there were
others who chose to depart in limousines.  Storm Hunter would be one of them.

Dani recognized
him immediately.  Over six feet tall and dangerously handsome, he was dressed
in a designer suit of midnight black, his dark hair curling deliciously at the
collar.  He strode down the driveway toward her with an air of supreme
confidence that almost took her breath away.  He had billionaire stamped all
over him.

Realizing she was
staring she immediately straightened to her full height and masked her face
with a stony expression.  The last thing she wanted was for this man to think she
was ogling him.  Although, if ever there was a man to fit the description of
‘eye candy’, he was it.  But she couldn’t be caught staring.  She had to
remember she was a professional, she was on the job, and on this job she was a
man.  Sort of.

Storm Hunter was
halfway to the car when a tall, willowy blonde ran down the driveway toward
him.

“Storm, wait for
me,” she called in a light, airy voice.  “I want to come with you.”

For a fraction of
a second Storm’s brows fell and a look of annoyance passed over his face.  Then
it went blank and he turned to meet the woman who was now almost upon him. 
“Lola,” he said, his deep voice quiet and cool, “I thought you were heading for
home.”

“I am,” she said
with a laugh as she caught his arm and clung to it.  “Daddy didn’t come for me
as he promised so I'm hitching a ride with you.”  She looked up at him with
huge eyes full of adoration then she added the finishing touch when she set her
crimson lips in a teasing pout.

Dani almost
gagged.  Christ, the things some women did to get a man’s attention.  Then,
realizing the direction of her thoughts, she made her face bland.  It was not
her place to judge or to get involved in the affairs of these people.  Best to
just focus on doing her job.

“My pleasure,”
Storm said but his voice was anything but pleasant.  He’d spoken with a
formality that made it clear that he would have preferred to travel alone.

The woman he’d
called Lola didn’t seem to notice his reticence.  “Thank you so much, darling,”
she gushed.  “Now we can get a chance to talk some more.  You know Daddy loves
it when we talk.”  Then she batted her eyes in what she must have thought was
an irresistibly seductive manner.

Dani clenched her
teeth to keep from uttering a sound.  As tempted as she was to give a groan of
disgust, that was a luxury she could not afford.  But honestly, the woman’s
simpering was past annoying.  She didn’t know how Storm Hunter could stand it.

He seemed to be
handling it fairly well, though.  They’d started walking toward the car and
there was a slight smile on his lips, admittedly a somewhat sardonic-looking
smile, but a smile nonetheless.  The woman slipped a hand into the crook of his
arm and he didn't seem to mind.  They looked quite comfortable now as they
strolled toward her.

But things aren’t
always as they seem, as Dani soon realized.  To her surprise, when the couple
got up close she saw the glint of irritation in the man’s eyes and then he gave
her a knowing look.  For that nanosecond Dani’s heart froze.  Storm Hunter had
just exchanged a look with her, a look that said he was pissed and he didn’t
mind letting her know because she would understand.  It was one of those looks
shared between men.  Except, she wasn’t a man.

But he didn’t know
that.

He was standing
right in front of her now.  Dani gave a quick nod of greeting, the perfect
excuse for her to drop her gaze and break the hold of his stare.  “Good evening,
Mr. Hunter,” she said in a low voice then leaned forward and opened the door of
the limousine.  Storm helped Lola then he bent his tall frame and climbed in,
leaving Dani to close the door behind them.  A moment passed before she could
move.  He’d been so close that the heady fragrance of his cologne filled her
nostrils.  That, combined with his nearness, had her heart racing like she’d
just done a hundred meter sprint.  Christ, what in the world was wrong with
her?

The man was just a
man, after all.  True, but this was one handsome piece of man with his thick
brows, square jaw and those deep dark eyes that seemed to bore a hole into her
soul.  He was the first man who’d made her breath catch in her throat.  She’d
gone through her fair share of romance novels and had read about heroes who
stole your breath away but she’d never had that happen to her, had never even
believed it.  Until now.

She gave her head
a quick shake. 
Back to reality, Dani.  You can’t afford to go soft on a guy
now.  He's the client, remember?
Her emotions again under control, she
strode back to the driver's seat and slid behind the wheel.  She was calm now,
almost able to laugh at herself.  And she had a feeling she’d need a sense of
humor.

If the last few
minutes were anything to go by this was going to be an interesting journey.

If you liked the
sample, get the full story here:

DANGEROUS
DECEPTION

Happy reading!

                                               
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