The Unknown Billionaire (Captured by Love Book 6) (13 page)

He was glad they were early. He’d get the chance to chat with Marilyn’s parents before they got busy entertaining other people. After he and Marilyn had said
I love you
to each other for the first time, he also wanted to deepen his relationship with Barry and Alice.

At least he didn’t have to worry about Patrick O’Neill being at the party. That was a huge relief. He’d thought he’d have to talk to the man and make threats and promises so Patrick would keep his mouth shut about their conflict. Lucky there was no need for that.

“Your parents aren’t expecting you to stay overnight, are they?” he asked Marilyn.

“They probably are. I usually do every year because I tend to have a few glasses of wine. Mum’s big on me not driving after I’ve been drinking. And I’m sure she’d worry about you too. Don’t be surprised if she persuades us both to stay overnight.”

“But if I stayed here too, they’d probably get me to sleep in one of the guest bedrooms, right?”

“My parents are pretty open-minded. I’m sure they won’t mind if you stay with me in my old bedroom, especially since I’m
twenty-eight
and you’re
thirty-one
. Besides, they like you already.”

“Who changes the bedsheets?” he whispered in her ear.

Marilyn chuckled. “Bea, the housekeeper.”

“Good.” There were bound to be a few wet spots. He’d hate for Barry and Alice to notice those.

“We can’t make a noise, though,” Marilyn said.

“Okay.”

Marilyn snorted.

He was going to tease her that she was the one who was loud in bed when Alice and Barry appeared at the front door to greet them. To his delight, even Barry gave him a hug hello.

“Oh, don’t you look beautiful and handsome in your outfits,” Alice said.

“Marilyn obviously dragged Jarryd around the shops,” Barry quipped.

“She sure did,” Jarryd said cheerily. “And she chose this suit for me. She has great taste.”

Barry looked him up and down. “Nice,” the older man said, clearly appreciating his clothing.

“This is pretty,” Alice murmured, touching Marilyn’s heart lock pendant and leaning in for a closer look.

“It’s Jarryd’s Christmas present to me,” Marilyn said a tad shyly.

“It’s beautiful. You have good taste too, Jarryd,” Alice said with a wide smile, with Barry nodding his acknowledgement.

“Thank you,” Jarryd replied. He didn’t need the Grants’ approval, but he was glad that they were continuing to show him they weren’t bothered by the fact that he “couldn’t afford” to give Marilyn what she was accustomed to. Clearly, all they wanted was for Marilyn to be happy with her choice of boyfriend.

“Why don’t you two come with me while I check that everything’s in place before the guests arrive,” Alice said. “Barry will man the door.”

Jarryd happily followed Alice and Marilyn through the house and noticed a tall Christmas tree standing proudly in the formal living room. There were stacks of large and small boxes sitting underneath it. He wondered if they were real gifts or just decorations.

He hadn’t bought Marilyn’s parents anything. The Grants didn’t want gifts for themselves. Instead, they’d requested their guests to donate to one of the five charities they’d mentioned in their invitation. He’d donated twice to each of them, first under his name, and second as an anonymous donor for much larger amounts.

The festive decor flowed through the whole property, with more fairy lights and lanterns in the shape of stars dotting the large back garden.

The caterers were finishing setting up food trays on top of two extra-long buffet tables. He inhaled deeply, letting the aroma reach his nostrils, and his mouth watered instantly.

“It smells good here,” he murmured to Marilyn. “I’m getting hungry.”

“Me too, considering we hardly ate lunch.”

He grinned at her.

“Didn’t you two have lunch?” Alice interjected. “Why don’t you have something now? No sense waiting for everyone to arrive if you’re hungry.”

“Okay,” Marilyn said, taking his hand and dragging him to one of the buffet tables, her cheeks reddening.

He chuckled at Marilyn’s attempt to hide her embarrassment from her mother. “What’s with the blush, babe?”

“You think I can tell my mother I didn’t eat much because I was too busy having sex?” she whispered.

“Oh, yeah,” he said, as if he’d just remembered what they’d done earlier in the day. “Especially when you were supposed to eat roast beef, but preferred my beef instead.”

Marilyn pinched his side. “That is so bad!”

He laughed out loud, pulling her to him and kissing her temple.

“Hey, look who’s here,” a male voice called out.

Lucas and Jade were walking hand in hand towards them, both grinning from ear to ear.

“Good to see you guys hugging and kissing rather than avoiding each other,” Lucas teased. “What happened?”

“What happened?” Jade said to her husband. “Isn’t it obvious?”

“Well, I never got to finish my conversation with Jarryd at Rick and Lexie’s,” Lucas drawled. “But I’m glad you guys sorted it out.”

“Jarryd decided that we
did
have enough spark after all,” Marilyn joked, glancing at him.

Jarryd squeezed Marilyn tight, remembering how hurt she’d been at his words. “Turns out I can be a big moron sometimes.”

“Hey, Jade,” Marilyn said. “Wanna have a girlie chat before I get busy playing co-hostess?”

“Yes! Cassie and Carter and Erin and Brad are here now too. We saw them parking outside.”

Marilyn grabbed a piece of sushi and led Jade away, the two women giving them a wave.

“Hey, what about me?” Lucas called out.

“Jarryd will fill you in,” Marilyn said.

Jarryd chuckled. “I wonder what gets added in a girls-only talk that they don’t want to share with us.”

“Who knows,” Lucas said. “Anyway, I’m dying to know your story. How about you start now before we get interrupted again?”

“Fine,” he said with a laugh.

He told Lucas what he’d told Marilyn, pausing when Carter and Brad joined them and starting again from the beginning. His buddies were teasing him about staying overnight at the Grants’ when the girls appeared by their side.

“Excuse me, guys,” Marilyn said, linking her arms with his. “I need to show off my boyfriend to someone.”

“Okay,” Brad said. “You might be interested to know that he only said he was a moron about five times.”

Jarryd laughed. “Well, I was. I’m just glad Marilyn has forgiven me.”

“Because you’re so hot,” Marilyn said teasingly, leading him away from their friends and towards the house. “I need to introduce you to someone who keeps asking me out and wouldn’t take the hint even though I keep declining his invitations.”

He frowned. “You haven’t mentioned guys hassling you for a date before.”

“I keep forgetting. It’s not like they’re at the forefront of my mind when I’m with you.”

He slipped an arm around her waist. “You say the sweetest things.”

“It’s true,” Marilyn said with a shrug. “Anyway, his name’s Elliot Greeves, the COO of Greeves Minerals. He just arrived with his mother Olivia, the CEO. They’re a bit early.”

Jarryd stumbled at the steps leading back into the house, catching himself in time before he fell flat on his face.

“You okay?”

“Uh... yeah. Um, can I go to the bathroom first?”

“Sure. Use my en suite upstairs if you like. More private.”

“Okay. Haven’t you told this Elliot guy about me before?”

“No. The last time he asked me out, he did it via email, inviting me to some show at the Opera House. It seemed funny to reply with ‘leave me alone, I have a boyfriend.’ Anyway, he’s not annoying, just persistent.”

“Right. Okay, I’ll be back. In the meantime, avoid Elliot.”

Marilyn chuckled. “I will.”

Jarryd made his way upstairs, his heart galloping and sweat beading all over his body.

Elliot and Olivia were here? He’d casually asked Olivia what she and Elliot were doing for both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Olivia had said they were having a quiet Christmas Eve, then celebrating with her sister’s family the next day.

Well, he supposed they’d had a last-minute change of plans and decided to come to this party. Why in the hell had it not occurred to him that they might be on the guest list? There he was, worrying about Patrick and completely forgetting about Elliot and Olivia. Just because they were competing with the Grants for Well of Brilliance didn’t mean they weren’t friends with Marilyn’s parents.

God, he really was an absolute idiot. What was he going to do now?

He went into Marilyn’s old bedroom and closed the door. He slumped on her bed and buried his face in his hands.

Could he talk to the two and ask them to keep his secret from Marilyn and her parents?

But Elliot hated his guts. And the man was also after Marilyn. Could he really trust Elliot to help handle the situation delicately, even if Elliot agreed to play along with him?

Argh! Perhaps he should just tell Marilyn all about it—right now, before Elliot had a chance to.

She’d understand, right? She loved him and she knew that he loved her. Things were different now that they’d confessed their feelings for each other.

He stood up, straightening his body. The time had come to tell Marilyn the truth. It was the worst time and place, but he didn’t have a choice.

With a deep breath, he opened the door to find Marilyn.

Only to come face-to-face with a scowling Barry Grant.

“You fucker,” Barry said in a low, angry voice. “I want you to leave my house right now.”

Blood drained from his face. “Mr. Grant, I—”

“Leave. My. House. Right. Now.”

“Not until I speak with Marilyn, sir,” he said quietly.

Barry grabbed his tie, yanking it. “You are not talking to my daughter again. Leave now and bring those scheming Greeves with you. You bastards don’t care a whit about fair play.”

“Dad? What’s going on?” Marilyn said from the hallway.

“Marilyn,” Jarryd called out. “I want to explain—”

“You are not explaining anything to her, you liar,” Barry growled. “You’re leaving and you’re never gonna see her again.”

“What is going on?”
Marilyn pried her father’s hand from his tie.

Barry stepped back but continued to glare at him with furious hatred. “Do you really know who this bastard is, Marilyn? Do you know that he is the biggest shareholder at Greeves Minerals?”

“What?” Marilyn asked incredulously.

“He is Margaret O’Neill’s son. He inherited most of her estate.
In suspicious circumstances
.”

Marilyn turned to Jarryd with questioning eyes. “What’s Dad talking about, Jarryd?”

“None of this has anything to do with how I feel for you,” he said, his gaze pleading. “I love you.”

“Bullshit!” Barry said. “You’re using her so Greeves Minerals will win Well of Brilliance. Either you, Elliot or Olivia must have started that rumour that we weren’t serious about buying it—that we’re just using it as leverage for another deal.”

“That’s not true!”

“Why didn’t you tell Marilyn you own half of Greeves Minerals when you
knew
she was considering coming back to Grant Ace to help us win Well of Brilliance—
against your company
?”

“I...” Jarryd rubbed his face. “Please let me explain from the beginning.”

“So this is all true?” Marilyn asked, the hurt in her tone apparent.

Jarryd faced her. “As you know, I was adopted. Margaret O’Neill was my birth mother. I first met her a year before she died—at her instigation. She’d requested me to keep our relationship a secret for various reasons, including not wanting to attract negative publicity for Greeves Minerals when they were in the midst of sensitive negotiations. I had no idea that she’d planned to leave the bulk of her estate to me, including all her shares at Greeves Minerals. And I didn’t know that Grant Ace was also interested in Well of Brilliance until after we’d agreed to go out again.”

Barry snorted. “So Margaret decided to leave you a billion-dollar inheritance a mere few months after getting to know you? Why? Especially when she didn’t tell anyone about you, not even Patrick O’Neill—
her own husband
.”

“She said in her will that her grief at the death of her son with Harold and her guilt for giving me up for adoption all those years ago were tied together and that was the catalyst for her decision,” he said insistently.

“How did you know all this, Dad?” Marilyn asked.

“Patrick is downstairs. When he learned that Olivia and Elliot Greeves were coming to this party, and that you’re dating this bastard, he got on a plane to warn me that these three must be up to something. Patrick is going to challenge the validity of Margaret’s will because she was coerced by this idiot to leave the bulk of her estate to him.”

“No!” Jarryd said, raking his fingers through his hair. “Patrick accused me of manipulating Margaret into writing me into her will, but I swear I didn’t do that. I was as shocked as anyone when I found out.”

“You’re nothing but a scumbag, Jarryd,” Barry said with hostility. “You can defend yourself all you want, but you can’t continue hiding the truth.” He turned to his daughter. “Someone is willing to corroborate Patrick’s suspicion, Marilyn. I’m sorry, but Jarryd will soon be outed as the scheming thief that he is.”

Jarryd shook his head, reaching for Marilyn.

But Marilyn stepped away from him, her eyes wide with horrified disbelief. “You knew that Patrick had invited us to appear on his show, and yet you never told me that you knew him. You’ve never given me any indication that you’ve been fighting with him regarding the inheritance left by his wife. Is this why you’ve been dissuading me from going on
Biz Q&A
?”

“No,” he said pleadingly, his chest compressing so hard that he could hardly breathe.

“All this time you were lying to me? Hiding the real truth about who you really are? You didn’t even tell me you’re a
billionaire
,” Marilyn said, the last word filled with sarcasm.

“Please, Marilyn, it’s a long story,” he said desperately, his mind whirling yet not grasping the right words to say. “Please let’s sit down so I can explain everything.”