The Billionaire's Wife (5 page)

I bit my lip. "Oh."
Of course he's not taking your calls...you told his mother you were out to destroy him.
That's what I should have said. Instead, I cleared my throat. "Jacob's not here."

He ran a hand over his beanie, and glanced up at the camera, then down. In that moment he looked like a little kid that got caught red handed. "Oh, okay. Well, maybe we could talk?"

An alarm blared in my head. I grit my teeth as it magnified with every second that I didn't tell him no. "Um..."

"What did I say when we met? I don't bite," he winked.

He was trying to be funny. Disarm me. Maybe he didn't bite. But he stabbed. Or choked. Or however he ended his foster parents.

So why couldn't I just tell him no or punch the panic button?

"I just thought things were going so well with us." Cole raised his chin, blond locks framing his face like a halo. I knew it had to be impossible to make out any marked signs of emotion in his eyes, but I swear I saw so much pain. "I just miss my brother."

Aw, hell.

I must have had a moment of insanity because I pressed the ‘approve’ button.

Cole was coming up.

The ridiculousness of my decision rushed in just as quickly and my throat closed. He was coming up. There was no one else up here but me. No one else to hear my screams.

My legs were filled with lead, each step taking me closer to my fate. When the light above the elevator illuminated, I held my breath. The doors opened and it wasn't the Ax Man glaring back at me or some grinning maniac. It was the bright, playful guy I met at the restaurant.

Maybe Alicia was wrong. Maybe this was another one of her lies. That's what I kept repeating because otherwise, I'd start screaming like someone from a horror movie.

I pushed the curls from my eyes and forced a smile as I walked hesitantly toward him. He tilted his head slightly, stopping a few feet from me.

He searched my face curiously. "Is everything okay?"

No. "Yeah." Ugh. "H-how are you?"

"I'm alright," he kept eyeing me skeptically, then turned his attention to the lobby. "This place is really something. Just like the TV show."

I arched a brow. "You watch
PR
?"

His face turned serious as a heart attack. "Religiously." He cracked a grin. "I've caught an episode here and there. Reality TV isn't really my scene, but I always hoped that I'd get a chance to see Jacob in his element. Something a little closer to the real Jacob instead of the stuff they put in those magazines."

"He's nothing like what they put in those magazines," I said quickly, then blushed when Cole's smile broadened. I used his comment to approach the elephant in the room. "Who is the real Cole?"

I expected a joke. I was learning that was his defense mechanism, humor. But that unsettling seriousness was back. It was the look of someone that knew the curtain was pulled back and the audience was about to see what the show was really about.

"Let's sit down and talk."

He strode over to the chairs near Natasha's desk. If Natasha only knew just how much I missed her right now...

My cell phone was in my blazer pocket and I touched it. It made me feel better to have it right there. I could easily tap the emergency button, just in case.

I put some space between the two of us. As much space as possible. I crossed my arms, my way of putting up a shield. Reminding him that this wasn't some social call. "Okay."

"Okay," he sighed, leaning back in the chair, draping his arms over the back. So at home, so comfortable. Just like Jacob who somehow owned any room he walked into. "I'm guessing Alicia talked to you. Probably spouted off what I said about ruining Jacob."

"I believe the word she used was destroy."

He chuffed. "Of course she did."

I wanted to add that wasn't all she said, but I couldn't form the words. I wasn't ready to admit that I knew that this kind, friendly guy in front of me had some very real skeletons in his closet.

"I'm going to tell you the truth, Leila. The whole truth."

I slid to the edge of my sheet. Riveted. Thrilled—and terrified. "You are?"

He nodded. "You're important to my brother, which means you're important to me."

I slumped my shoulders.

Jacob.

His brother.

The person that really deserved to hear this story...not me.

I jerked to my feet before Cole could go any further. "I appreciate your willingness to share this with me. And I'd be lying if I said I wasn't interested, but Jacob is the one you should be talking to, not me."

Cole's eyes changed. Darkening to black. It was night and day...this guy pushed me back to the fear I'd felt when I saw him on the screen. "What did Alicia tell you?"

I took a step back and my voice came out more gravelly and unsure than I intended. "That doesn't matter. The truth is all that matters-"

"Which is what I'm trying to give you." He rose slowly, and even from several feet away I could tell he was angry.

"That truth is not owed to me." I reached in my pocket for my phone. "I think you should leave."

The elevator dinged and when it opened and Natasha sashayed out of it I nearly cried with relief. She came to a hard stop when she saw me, but I almost ran to her with my arms wide open. I kept it together and just power walked in her direction instead, slathering a smile on my face to cover just how wary I was.

"Natasha! This is-"

"Finn Lancaster, right?" She was all teeth as she maneuvered around me, dialing the charm up to 'screw me now'.

I was still stuck on the name she dropped. I looked at her, then Cole, then back at Natasha. "Finn?"

She looked at me like I was an alien. "Yes...Mr. Lancaster. Your 8am?"

Cole chuckled uncomfortably. "Let me explain-"

"The truth, huh?" I said, my nostrils flaring. I was such an idiot. A glutton for punishment. "Is that right?"

"Leila-"

I turned my back to him and focused on Natasha. She was still gazing at Cole like Cupid had just shot her in the face with an arrow. "Natasha."

Her eyelids fluttered, that stupid smile still on her lips as she gave Cole an approving once over. "Uh huh."

"Natasha!"

She snapped her gaze back to me, giving me a look that nearly turned me to ice. "Yes?"

"I'm done with...Mr. Lancaster. Please give him directions to the exit."

She frowned, her frosty eyes volleying between the two of us. She clearly wasn't ready to say goodbye, so I spun on my heels and left them to it.

"So Finn," her sultry voice wafted behind me, "What kind of music do you play?"

I stalked back to my office and closed the door. For the briefest moment I thought maybe there had been a mistake. There was something in Cole that was good. And I hoped that maybe, just maybe...

I couldn't sit down. I paced back and forth before I went back to the door and braced both hands against the wood, forcing myself to breathe. To calm down.

What kind of game was Cole playing?

A feeling of dread turned my stomach inside out.

I was so out of my league.

"I
'm coming home tonight."

There was something in Jacob's voice that simultaneously thrilled me and made me shake my head like he was sitting beside me and not on a different continent.

"No babe," I remedied. "Nothing happened-"

"My brother came up with some fake persona to sneak into the building," Jacob barked. "The fact that he was alone with you, that he could have hurt you-"

"But he didn’t." I slammed both hands on the counter and glared at my reflection. If you saw me you'd think I was the kind of woman that could speak her mind without hesitation. Megan came over and played makeup artist, turning my dark eyes into smoky things that dared anyone to cross me. My thick and usually unruly locks were on their best behavior. My hair was piled on the top of my head in a fierce, perfect bun. No flyaways. No tufts sticking out every which way. My dress was a vintage find, black lace bell sleeves draped from my arms and a shift style body that was just long enough to be respectful but just short enough to make you take notice. I was headed to Jessica's art show. I was meeting Tyler hours before the event to make sure everything went off without a hitch.

"Your worst case scenario is the same as mine, Jacob." My hand shook slightly as I swiped gloss on my lips. "But I'm okay. I honestly don't believe he set all of this in motion for some nefarious reason." I rubbed my lips together, remembering the look on Cole's face when I realized what he'd done. The panic. The flash of fear. "It was like he legitimately thought that was the only way he'd get to see you."

"He has been lying to me from the moment he met me. I don't trust him—and I don't want you alone with him. Period." Even on speakerphone Jacob's words were just as fearsome and undebatable.

I had more to say but it was clear Jacob was in no mood to hear it, so I just dropped it. "I just wanted to let you know what was going on. I don't want to argue...and I don't want you to come home because you think Cole is going to do something to me."

"You seem to be under the impression that I'm the kind of husband that hears his wife was in an unsafe situation and just shrugs it off and goes about his business-"

"I'm going to the show where I'll be surrounded by hipsters who are only as dangerous as their hashtags," I said, trying to inject some humor into the situation.

"Your event will be amazing...and I'll be home in the morning."

The fierce woman in the mirror smiled and hung up. As much as I wanted to revel in seeing him sooner than anticipated, my stomach knotted at the reason he was jetting back to the States. I didn’t have time to dwell on it. I had work to do.

I hit the lights and launched into action. There was a car waiting for me at the curb and I left all the Cole drama at home as I slid into the backseat. As the car rocked into motion, I scrolled to my text exchange with Jessica.

-See you in an hour?
I typed.
Text back to confirm.

I used the moment to retrace our conversation over the past few days. The hot and cold, all business or all pain in my ass client had been replaced by the vulnerable and charmingly relatable Jessica Lenoir who texted me her worries. That her work wasn't good enough. That people would see it all as some publicity grab. That she'd disappoint her father. All of these things hid what she was really concerned about—what if everyone was right? What if she wasn't anything more than a billionaire heiress?

-I'll be there.
She answered.
Liquored up and prob high

-Jessica...

-Just kidding. Kind of. I'll be there

I tipped the driver and caught the florists at the door downstairs. When I took the elevator up to the space I was speechless when I saw how much it had transformed. It had gone from a blank canvas to this breathtaking event that made me proud to say I was a part of the project. Tyler was front and center, directing every movement like the conductor of a grand orchestra.

"You with the ladder—unless you're about to string some lights or change a lightbulb, get it out of here.” He whipped to the right. “Honey, that chair looks horrendous at that angle. It should inspire conversation about the piece, not remind people of a therapist's office.” He swiveled to the left. “The wine arrangement is lovely...let's do something with the food so it's not sitting there like some budget buffet.” He pointed at the far wall where two of his staff were hard at work. “That tapestry is almost perfection which is not nearly close enough to what we need." He held out his hand and shifted it slightly to the left. "Much better."

His floor length black cloak swirled around him as he paused when he saw me. The look on his face wasn’t pleased—it was pissed. And it was directed at the young woman beside him with a clipboard and chunky black glasses. "Julie, I thought I told you to tell me when we were fifteen minutes out!"

Julie froze dead in her tracks, her big black eyes widening to the point that I was afraid for her.

"I'm early," I assured him with a smile. "And everything looks incredible."

He swatted Julie away and gave me a tight grin. "There is still so much to be done. The artist is still attending, correct?"

I gave him a look, feeling a need to defend Jessica. "She showed up didn't she? Those
are
her paintings hanging on the wall."

He raised his eyebrows to the ceiling. "Point made. I just want to make sure everything goes swimmingly."

Everything he said, this lush, sophisticated sanctuary filled with color and wine and elegance and art had come to life. I was in awe. "You're off to a spectacular start.”

"You're a doll," he winked. The moment of relaxation was short lived because he let out a screech that made the crystal shudder. "Excuse me! Please tell me you don't have my Tibetan vases near the trash area!"

I let him go with a wince, nearly colliding with one of the waitresses. She recovered almost instantly, bright eyed and warm. She flashed me a toothy grin, balancing a tray filled with wine glasses. Her razor short blonde hair was intensified by her electric blue eyes. "Sorry about that."

Remembering how tight of a ship Tyler ran I gave her a reassuring smile. "It was totally me. I'm just so excited for tonight. Your team has done an amazing job."

She dropped her chin, embarrassed. "I just pour glasses of wine. I'm nothing to write home about, believe me."

I frowned to myself, the detour our conversation took taking me by surprise. When a crashing sound near the back elicited a whistle like screech from Tyler, I pulled her out of harm's way. "I think I'll take that glass of wine after all."

She handed it to me with a smirk. "He's brilliant, but I swear...he's going to end up stabbed in the alley if he's not careful."

I chuckled uncomfortably as she guffawed like she'd made the funniest joke ever. Funniest? Not so much. The most awkward? Probably.

I sipped the wine, swishing it around and swallowing it slowly. It coated my tongue, the flavor bright and sweet and heavy without being overwhelming. "This is delicious!"