The Billionaire's Convenient Bride: A BWWM Billionaire Love Story (9 page)

     He didn’t know why, but he hated her saying that he could be with anyone. It was obvious that she didn’t care at all. Peter was completely incensed. “I have treated you like gold since you’ve been here, I’ve done everything for you, and worked hard to help you make this arrangement a success, and now I can’t even blow off a little steam in my own home!”

     She moved toward him in hopes that a closer proximity might somehow help her get her point across to him. “I don’t care what you do, or who you do it with, I’m just telling you not to do it where you can be seen! Out of state from now on! I didn’t give up everything in my life just so you could make a fool of me! You have said you are grateful for the sacrifices I’ve made for you and you wish there was some way to pay me back for them, well, this is no way to pay me back for all that I have done for you! Why don’t you put someone else besides yourself first, for a change?”

     He felt his blood curdle at her words. She was right. He knew she was right. This was no way to repay her and he had said that her sacrifice was something he could never compensate her for. He pressed his lips together and turned away from her.

     Peter’s voice grew quiet. “Fine, I’ll leave the state in the future.”

     “Good,” she answered behind his back, and then as he turned to look at her, he heard the door close and saw that she was gone.

     He fully understood now how so many men were in torment about their relationships. How they loved they women they wanted but had such a hard time being with them. This was one of the reasons why he didn’t want to be in a relationship. It was so much easier to enjoy them and kiss them goodbye. He sighed heavily and sank down into the seat at his desk. She was complicated and irritating. Confusing and frustrating beyond measure. She was almost indefinable to him.

     Emmaline went straight out to the garden and paced through the rows of flowers until she calmed down. He was nothing short of infuriating to her. She couldn’t imagine how she had let herself get into such a convoluted mess as she was in now. Her life had been peaceful and beautiful, living with her grandfather. She had a good job, she worked hard, she had no secrets and she was respectable. Somewhere along the line, she had just gone wrong.

    
Now it seemed to her that her life was inside out and nothing was what it ought to be. She had more secrets now than she ever had and she was stuck in a marriage with a man who was never going to put anyone else before himself. She tried to stop the tears as they rolled down her cheeks, but she couldn’t. She wept a while, until she was calmed, and then she watched the sunset and hoped he would keep his word.

Chapter5

Emmaline and Peter didn’t see much of each other in the days that followed the fight. Neither one of them really knew what to say to the other, nor did they necessarily want to talk. He was angry and hurt by her cold rejection, and she was frustrated with his thoughtlessness and his selfish actions.

     When they did see each other, it was awkward and quiet. She began to wonder when that would change, because she knew that all things do over time, but living practically alone in a huge house was going to be hard on her, and she hoped that they could at least be friends, because three years of solitude would be too much for her to handle well.

     Peter was experiencing a phenomenon he had never known before. He was heart hurt over her reaction to him. He had acted out, partly hoping to make her jealous, while hoping to show her that he was just fine with her not wanting him, and hoping to elicit some sort of response from her, some feelings of desire toward him, but none of that happened. All he had managed to do was incur her anger over his selfishness and he felt that all she had seen was his darker side. There was a growing bitterness in him about it.

     He was sitting in his office one morning, about a week after it had happened, still fresh and raw in him, when Nelson walked in and Peter snapped at him a few times before Nelson, who had worked with Peter for a long time and knew him fairly well, sat down and asked off-handedly, “How are things going with the city? Are we able to move the project forward at all yet?”

     Peter’s eyes narrowed. “No. We aren’t any further along with the city. They want more meetings, they want more paperwork, and they want more money. They want more time with Tristan to go over everything, and he suggested that I become more of a silent partner for this deal just so we can get it through all the red tape. I accidentally sleep with the Governor’s wife once, and this is the hassle I face afterward. Luckily, his re-election campaign is weak and I don’t think we’ll have him in office much longer. Hopefully his replacement will want to see this refurbishment happen sooner than later.”

     Nelson watched him and then asked lightly, “How is it going with Emmaline?”

     Peter scowled. “Not well at all. She is cold and quiet, she might as well be an ice-queen! I can’t believe I married anyone at all, let alone her!”

     Nelson took a deep breath and said in a low tone, “Sir, we agreed that she would be a wife in name only and that it would be a business deal. You aren’t talking about physical relations with her, are you?”

     Peter caught himself and felt heat flush his face. He turned away from Nelson and focused on the papers laid out across the table he was standing over. He had meant physical relations. He’d been torn over wanting her and feeling angry with her for that need not being reciprocated by her, but it seemed clear that the frost between them was not going to thaw anytime in the future and it weighed on his heart and his mind that she was in the same house, just down the hall, and he could not go to her; he could not touch and have what was not offered to him, but what he wanted so badly. “No, of course not, Nelson,” he lied. “I mean that she and I have our differences of opinion when it comes to my being with other women. I run hot blooded. You know that, she knows that, I think that everyone must know that, but she wants to curtail my physical activity with other women here in my own home, and not only that, here in my own city. In my own state as well! She is insisting that I go out of state anytime I want to indulge in some physical release. I can’t go running off to some other state every time I want a woman or two for the night. That’s bad for business.” He stalked around the table and splayed his hands on the table, looking over the papers there, but not seeing them. “I could have women come right to the house, but she won’t hear of it. If I want some company, I have to leave the state for it! When did she assume any kind of authority over my life? When did I allow that to happen?” He grew more irritated speaking his thoughts out loud.

     Nelson nodded thoughtfully and walked over to the table, also pretending to look at the papers, but not really seeing them. “Sir, she isn’t wrong about that. It would look absolutely horrific for you if you were to have women coming to the house here where your wife is and be caught having an affair with them. Especially because she is so likeable. It’s the same in town, if anyone in the city caught you and knew who you were, it would be disastrous. We have our hands full just trying to rectify the damage that was done by your situation with the Governor’s wife, but to destroy all that we have managed to rebuild through your marriage by cheating on your wife, at least in the public eye, would be a devastating blow to your reputation that I’m not sure you could recover from.”

     Peter grew angry. “Well, what am I supposed to do then? Just forgo women unless I happen to be out of town?”

     Nelson rubbed his chin. “No, sir, of course not. I could arrange out of town trips for you two or three times a month if you like. It’s just a change of protocol, if you choose to look at it that way.”

     “It’s a pain! What in the world ever made me think that getting married would be a good idea? I could have kept my old reputation and lived the way I wanted to for the rest of my life instead of answering to a woman who isn’t even a real wife! I can’t believe I did this! I probably ought to look at having it annulled. What a disaster!” he grumbled loudly.

     Nelson shook his head. “Sir, you did it to enable you to move forward with your business plans. It’s much bigger than just you being allowed personal freedom. It’s the improvement of the community and the betterment of an area of the city that we all love and that brings enormous tourism in. It’s the acquisition of wealth and prosperity.”

     Peter looked up at Nelson. “I have plenty of wealth and prosperity, Nelson, I’m a billionaire, but you do have a point about the city.”

     Nelson continued. “If you think broadly about it, sir, you really have the best of both worlds. You have a beautiful, intelligent, kind, and thoughtful public wife who has considerably improved your reputation, and enabled you to further your project more than you could have without her. She has been out working with several programs and groups in the city and your name is shining because of it. You have the ability to go and enjoy other women as often as you like, so long as you do it away from the place you are tidying up, that being your home and your city. It’s really not a bad situation, sir. I can arrange to have the jet ready to take you anywhere you’d like to go a few times a month and that may alleviate some of the tension you’re feeling. Things are heading in the right direction, and that’s just what we want to happen. We shouldn’t risk damaging the progress we’ve made, and we have made some, sir.”

     Peter knew he was right. He couldn’t very well admit that the real rub was that he wasn’t able to have Emmaline, the only woman he really wanted, in this state or out of it. He realized that he was probably going to have to make some sacrifices himself and listen to them both. He would have to fly out of the state for personal leave from his marriage. It was ridiculous, but it was the only way it would work, and Nelson was right about the progress they had made. He couldn’t really afford a regression after they had come so far, even though it wasn’t far enough. He sighed and sat in the chair at his desk.

     “Alright. Figure something out for me. Maybe three day trips, perhaps three times a month. We’ll see how that works out. Plan them for states far from Louisiana, though. I can’t have locals who may be traveling notice me and come back with tales.” He felt defeated and dejected. Sacrifice did not sit well with him, but in the back of his mind he could hear Emmaline’s words and his own back to her, and he knew that she was making the same sacrifice, except she wasn’t leaving the state for conjugal visits with random lovers, and he was. He hated the guilt that came with feeling selfish; they were emotions he had never felt before and he didn’t like them.

     “Very good, sir. I’ll take care of it and get it arranged for you.” Nelson replied.

***

     Two weeks later, Emmaline was relaxing in her room when she got a phone call from her grandfather, Henri. She was excited to hear from him until she heard his voice.

     Henri sounded weak and tired. “Hello, my baby girl,” he said in a thin voice.

     She drew her breath in and held it. “What’s wrong? You sound like you don’t feel too well!” Her hand flew to her heart, and her fingers curled.

     “Well, little one, I’m not doing too well. I didn’t want to say anything at first, but it’s getting worse and I need your help, if you can do it,” he said quietly. She knew he would never ask for help unless he really needed it and though she would love to help him with anything, he liked for her to have her own space and freedom. She knew that it must be bad if he had gotten to a point where he was actually asking for help.

     “Of course, I’ll be right there!” she said and hung up the phone. Her thoughts were a blur as panic rose in her and adrenaline coursed through her veins. She threw several pieces of clothing into a suitcase and some bags and carried them down the hall to the foyer, where she saw Nelson coming out of Peter’s office. He took one look at her and rushed to her.

     “What’s wrong? Where are you going?” he asked with a worried look.

     She turned to him as tears began to fill her eyes. “It’s my grandfather. He’s very sick, he sounded really bad. I have to go to him!”

     “I understand, of course.” Nelson nodded and picked up her bags. “Let’s go. I’ll help you out. Stay as long as you need to with him, and don’t worry about anything here.”

     She looked around and then her eyes went back to Nelson again. “Where is Peter?” she asked.

     Nelson shifted uncomfortably. “He’s ah… he is out of state for a few days. Personal trip.”

     She realized what he meant and irritation moved through her. Of course he was gone, off to some other state, sleeping with any number of strange women, when she really could have used the support. Emmaline sighed and nodded, then walked out of the front door and closed it behind her, feeling like she was closing the door on all her emotions for Peter; both the good and the bad. They loaded her bags into the car and she drove to her grandfather’s house. She found him lying in his bed, sleeping. She sat in his room with him until he woke up and saw her there. He smiled widely at her with tears in his eyes. “Thank you so much for coming,” he said softly.

     She rushed to him and hugged him tightly. “Of course, I love you so much. There is nowhere else I would rather be.” She kissed his cheek and touched his forehead. It was burning with fever.

     “Don’t you think we ought to get you to the hospital? You need to see a doctor,” she said in a quiet tone.

     He shook his head. “No, I can’t go to the doctor. I can’t afford it, baby. I can’t afford the doctor or the medicine. I’m old anyhow, and I have been missing your grandmother so much. If it’s my time to go, then so be it. I’ll go this way and then I’ll be back with her. I only wish I wasn’t leaving you behind. You really are the only thing keeping me here.” He touched her face and smiled at her weakly.

     The panic in her came back and flooded her whole body. Sorrow clutched at her heart with its icy fingers. “Grandfather, no! You can’t do that. Please let me get a doctor for you. I’ll take care of the bills. You won’t have to worry about any of that. You won’t have to worry about anything!” she pleaded, holding his hands in hers.

     He closed his eyes and shook his head. “No, I won’t have you spending money like that on me. You just stay here with me for the time we have and that will be enough for me.” The words came slowly from him as he struggled through speaking them to her.

     Emmaline felt as though her heart might be ripped out of her chest as she watched him trying to rest and fight off his illness at the same time. She spent hours with him, holding his hand, talking to him when he was awake about memories that they shared, and alternately pacing and sitting when he wasn’t awake.

     Friends of his that regularly came by to see him learned of his poor health and word spread quickly through the quarter and surrounding neighborhoods. People came by to see them both, to bring food and offer comfort and company. Emmaline hadn’t felt as much at home as she did in the days that followed her arrival at her grandfather’s house. It was so good for her to see people that she knew and loved; people who had seen her grow up and who genuinely cared for her, but somewhere in her heart there was a small hole. She ignored it, but that place that Peter should have filled was left hollow, and it tugged at the corners of her when she wasn’t distracted by the people who came by.

     All of them asked about Peter, and wondered where he was. She said that he was out of town, couldn’t get home right away, and that was all she would say. Everyone focused their attentions on Henri, and hoped that he would improve, but as each day passed, he seemed to get gradually worse, and Emmaline was afraid that his comment about finally getting to see her grandmother may come to pass. It crushed her spirits to think of losing him, and all she did, day and night, was stay by his side.

     Mr. Turner, who had leased a building in the Quarter to Peter’s business partner, Tristan, came by to see her grandfather.

     “I’m so sorry to see him like this, Emmaline, I never thought anything could keep your grandfather down. He’s been a strong and resilient one since we were boys. I hope like crazy that he makes it through this alright.”