Playboy Billionaire (The Carolina Series Book 3)

by Jill Downey

  “Did she get you in then?”

  “Yeah, after a couple of months she introduced me to the studio exec. He liked me and asked me to work for him.”

  “I can imagine he thought he’d hit the jackpot when he got a look at you.”

  Penelope bowed her head, “Actually, I thought I had. It seemed like a dream come true at the time. I trusted that Camille wouldn’t steer me wrong.”

  “I’m sure she wouldn’t have intentionally,” Dolly said. “But you were both young and dumb.”

  “Yes. One of the conditions…was…um…that, you know, I had to act the part, pretend to be their girlfriend, lover whatever. I figured this was Hollywood and could be my shot at meeting someone, my big break.”

  “Let me guess, lecherous old men…”

  “Some were, then there were the gay men that needed cover, those were the dates I loved. We laughed and partied…I had several gay guys that called on me several times a month. I got to meet a ton of actors and directors by the way, so I figured eventually it would pay off, I’d be discovered.” Penelope grimaced, recalling her naiveté.

  She took a sip of wine, “I had begun noticing a change in Camille. Subtle at first, she would get irritable and moody, snap at me over nothing. Then she became depressed and withdrawn.”

  Her phone pinged again, she glanced at the message and frowned, then continued. “I was having my own problems. I had several incidents with a couple of my clients. One guy became obsessed with me. He was a total tech geek, one of my wealthiest and most frequent clients. Then there were the rich dirty old men I’d accompanied. A few came on way too strong in the back of their limos. One of them got rough. I went to the boss and he told me to lighten up. He suggested I could make a hell of a lot more money if I did put out.”

  Dolly’s eyes widened and she put her hand over her mouth. “Oh my God! That’s terrible. He sounds like a pimp!”

  “Yes, I told him he’d better do a better job of screening my clients or I’d quit. I’m ashamed to admit, but I had let a few of the men I’d escorted kiss me, no biggie, but that’s as far as it ever went, I swear! You may be wondering why I didn’t quit? Stupidity and bills. Plain and simple, I was making so much money it was hard to give it up.”

  “Oh Penny,” she looked so sad that Penelope teared up again.

  “Fast forward…the billionaire computer nerd, Josh, began to get possessive and demanding, wanting me all to himself. He offered me everything short of the moon. He wanted me to quit and marry him. He said I was too sweet and innocent to be escorting lecherous old men for money.”

  “What was he like? Any sparks there?”

  “God no! He freaked me out. He was obsessed with me. Ironically, the very last escort date with him changed my life. It was a political fundraiser. He was a big donor to the senator up for re-election. Huge fancy gala. Celebrities, the governor, the who’s-who list in attendance.”

  “I’m scared to hear what’s coming next.”

  “I fell in love.”

  Dolly gasped, “That’s definitely not what I expected to hear. I thought you said there were no sparks?”

  “Ha! No, not with Josh. There was this up-and-coming, might I add, young, gorgeous and ambitious, district attorney at the party. From Nevada. He had his life mapped out, grand plans for his political future. His dream was a senatorial run.”

  “We hit it off immediately. He was intelligent, funny, charming, and completely smitten with me. He sat next to me at the dinner…we couldn’t take our eyes off each other. We laughed and talked; I was half in love by the end of the night. It was mutual.”

  “What did your date think of all this?”

  “He was furious. At first, he was so busy schmoozing with the elite that he didn’t notice I wasn’t paying any attention to him. When he finally did notice, he practically dragged me out of there, then berated me the entire trip home. That’s when I decided to quit. Done!”

  “What happened to Mr. Dreamy? Did you have time to exchange numbers?”

  “No, but the next day three dozen long stemmed roses were delivered to my home, followed by a phone call. He’d managed to get my name and number from the host. He also found out I was an escort, but he didn’t care. He wanted to see me again.”

  “I said yes. On our third date we made love. He was my first. Of course, he was stunned to find out that I was a virgin. We fell hard for each other, dated for about six months whenever he was in town. By then some small parts were trickling in, my name was getting out there. It was an exciting time. Then…” Penelope bit her knuckles. “I got pregnant.”

  “What?” Dolly’s eyes widened.

  “Yes. It was a shock. I was terrified…but I was kind of excited too.”

  “How did he take it?”

  “Not very well. He said he wasn’t ready to start a family. He wanted me to get an abortion. I refused.” Dolly looked so sympathetic that Penelope choked up for a minute before continuing.

  “We continued to see each other when he was in town. He had promised to pay for my medical costs and to financially provide for the baby, but that it was important for his political aspirations not to be linked with me or the child.”

  “Bastard!”

  “Looking back, I can’t believe how naive I was. A small-town dumbass simpleton. I’d taken everything at face value and thought I knew it all and was savvy enough to handle anything thrown my way…not.”

  “One day there was a knock at my door…it was Mrs. Emily Warren, his wife. To say I was upset is an understatement, I was devastated. She had photos of us, even one of us entering the OBGYN office together. I was obviously pregnant, my belly swollen, his arm around my waist. She also pulled out pictures of his kids, all three of them.”

  “Oh Pen, I’m so sorry.”

  “I was shattered. I loved him so. There I was, nineteen, pregnant in LA, and alone. Emily Warren made me promise not to tell Graham about our meeting. I had to promise I’d never reveal how I found out about his double life. If I didn’t go along with that, she would ruin me. I was to break up with him and never make contact again.”

  She took a deep breath then continued, “When I confronted him about his marriage, he begged me not to end it. He swore we could still have it all. He claimed I was his one true love. And that his marriage was a sham. I told him I wouldn’t share him or break up a family, I couldn’t add homewrecker to my list of sins. I ended it and told him I never wanted to hear from him again.”

  “A week later I lost the baby. I was almost six months along. I thought I’d never recover. But the worst of it was the tiny speck of relief I’d felt—that nearly destroyed me. I was sure that it was karma…for being with a married man, for escorting men for money, that I’d somehow killed my baby…like I’d willed it because I really wasn’t ready for a child.”

  Penelope reached for an envelope on the side table and handed it to Dolly. “I found these in my dressing room this morning.”

  Dolly slowly pulled back the flap and reached inside the envelope. She pulled out the 5 x 7 photos and her jaw dropped. A very young Penelope Winters was in every shot, looking seductive and caught looking questionably intimate. In one shot she was laughing up at an older man while he stared leeringly at her breasts, in another photo she was sitting on the lap of a much older man wearing a tight skirt that rode up her thighs.

  Penelope grabbed the pictures from Dolly and laid them out side by side on the glass coffee table. She went down the line, pointing, “This one married, this one married, this one a very powerful politician…” She got to the last one, an incredibly handsome man in his early to mid-thirties. She picked up the photograph, touching the image with her fingertip, “This is him, Graham Warren.”

  Dolly gulped, “The Graham Warren? The same one that just announced he’s running on the Republican ticket for president?”

  “Same.”

  “Oh my!” She studied the photograph. They were holding hands with the backdrop of Rodeo Drive behind them
. They looked like any other beautiful couple. Stunning, happy, in love. “How many years ago was this?”

  “Thirteen.”

  “Wow!”

  “Yeah, you can say that again.”

  “What are you going to do about this?”

  “What can I do? Wait and see what’s coming next. I’m sure it’s going to be a real riot,” she said. “The funny thing is,” Penelope said, picking up the picture of her and Graham, “I’ve seen this photo before. This is the same one that Emily confronted me with all those years ago. I’d never forget it. It’s burned in my memory.”

  “What the hell? Why would she be bringing this up now? You know what? Fuck it! Today, nobody is going to care what you did thirteen years ago.”

  “I’m not so sure about that. An affair with a married man, especially one with three kids is still frowned upon. Plus, what about Graham? This would ruin him. Not to mention the other men in the photos. What about their wives? And children and grandchildren!”

  “You have to take care of yourself. Don’t worry about those bastards.”

  Penelope waved her hands up in the air, “Headlines, Penelope Winters…dark past revealed…she was once an escort for the rich and famous including the presidential hopeful, Graham Warren. The tabloids will devour me and him. It sheds a whole new light on the magazine cover that was left for me though. Where does Jack fit in, if he even does? Did someone hire him?”

  Dolly’s eyes narrowed. “I wonder.”

  “Is it a coincidence that they just announced Graham was running on the Republican ticket, and this resurfaces?”

  “What a mess!” Dolly said.

  “The more I think about it the more I’m thinking there is a connection between his run and these photos.”

  “But why bother with you? If they’re blackmailing him why go after you? It doesn’t make sense.”

  “I don’t know, but I think I should try to talk with Graham. Obviously, I no longer have his contact information. I’ll have to leave a message with his staff and hope he receives it.”

  “Yes, I think you have to.”

  “Dolly, I’ve been carrying this alone for so long, it’s a relief to finally talk about it. My mom knew some of it, but not all.”

  “Make the call today.”

  “I will.”

  “Whatever happened to Camille?”

  Grief danced across Penelope’s face, “She overdosed. Gone. She’d moved out of our apartment and moved in with some guy. About a year after she left…she was dead.”

  “How sad.”

  “Now that you know all of my dirty little secrets, do you think I’m a terrible person?”

  “Hell no, now I understand why you hate men! Makes me want to kill someone!”

  Penelope had to laugh at the vision of her sweet-natured friend killing someone.

  “Thank you,” Dolly said.

  Surprised, Penelope put a hand to her throat, “Thank me? For what?”

  “For honoring me with your trust.”

  Penelope threw her arms around Dolly and hugged her tight, “You are such a dear friend. It’s only because you made it feel safe that I was finally able to open up.”

  They’d been enjoying unseasonably warm temperatures for early October, allowing them to take advantage of their heated pool, even after the sun went down. “Let’s get in our suits and float around for a bit.”

  Penelope’s phone pinged, signaling another text message.

  “Griffin?”

  Penelope nodded. She silenced her phone and put it back in her bag.

  “Don’t do this Pen.”

  “I can’t talk to him about it right now.”

  “I think you need to talk to him. He’s crazy about you Penny, and I’ve never seen you this gaga over a guy. Don’t shut him out.”

  At Penelope’s warning glare, Dolly held her hands up. “Okay, I’ll drop it for now. Go put on your suit.”

  “Okay. And thanks for understanding.”

  “I didn’t say I understood. Griffin is a good guy. Even if you can’t talk to him about this yet, don’t shut him out from the rest of your life. You know what? To hell with wine…it’s a tequila kind of night my friend.”

  “Couldn’t agree with you more.”

  28

  Griffin wanted to punch something. Why wasn’t she returning his texts or phone calls? What bullshit was this? They’d both let their guard down over the weekend and it had exceeded every expectation he’d had. She’d been open, funny, sensual, uninhibited, free, what the hell had changed from the time he’d dropped her off until now?

  Less than twenty-four hours ago they’d made love and now he’d been summarily dismissed. He knew it was late, but what the hell, he was going to get to the bottom of this. Grabbing his car keys, he headed out the door.

  He put in a call to Kyle en route to Penelope’s. “Hey big brother, any bites on the investigation?”

  “Jack Feldner is still in town. It appears that he hooked up with a local woman and is crashing at her house. She waitresses at a bar in town, which I assume is how they met.”

  “I was hoping he’d catch the first flight back to LA, but apparently no such luck.”

  “How far do you want to take this?” Kyle asked.

  “I’m not sure. Does he have a record?”

  “None on file. He’s either never been caught or hasn’t been formally charged with anything. He was let go from another film project he worked on several years ago, but no reason was given. You’ve got to be damn careful about what information is divulged these days. People can sue for anything.”

  “Let’s give it a couple more days, keep our eyes on him and see if he does anything suspicious. Maybe it wasn’t even him that sent the rag.”

  “Yes, it’s all conjecture at this point.”

  “What about the rest of the crew, any red flags?”

  “None so far. I’ll keep you posted. One interesting sidebar, not pertaining to any of this just some trivia, you know the guy that threw himself into the presidential race, Graham Warren? His nephew Ben is working on your film. Small world.”

  “Nice kid, I won’t hold that against him. Can’t choose your family. Thanks bro. I owe you one.”

  “How’s the film coming along? Are you going to bring an Oscar to the Bennett family portfolio?”

  He scoffed, “I’ll be lucky to get through it.”

  “Faye said things are going well so far.”

  “It’s complicated. I may have screwed up big time by getting a little too personally involved with Penelope.”

  Kyle chuckled. “Some things never change.”

  “I thought this one might be different, but now I’m not so sure.”

  “She may be just what you need. You need a woman who can go toe to toe with you. You’ve been way too comfortable in your Lothario role. One of these days you’re going to meet the one and settle down. I’ll pay big money for a front row seat to that.”

  Griffin’s lips tightened, “You were no saint yourself before you met Ella.”

  “Not even a close comparison to you, but I’m not here to bust your balls. I’ll keep the PI on retainer until you say otherwise.”

  “Thanks. Later.” Griffin pressed a button on his steering wheel and disconnected just as he pulled into Penelope’s drive.

  Dolly opened the door holding Archie, and Griffin could swear he saw pity in her eyes, “Hey Griff, what’s up?”

  “Where’s Penelope?”

  “By the pool. Um Griff, this may not be the best time for a visit.”

  “Maybe not,” he said, as he pushed by her, “but ya know what? I don’t give a shit.”

  Her eyes widened. “Well then…” She stepped out of his way. “We’ve been drinking Margaritas since six, a glass of wine before that. I quit a while ago…but not Pen…Do you want one…a glass I mean?”

  “No thanks.”

  Dolly grabbed his arm, “Go easy on her, there’s a lot you don’t know.”

&nbs
p; “Enlighten me then.”

  “That’s not my place. Just have patience…give her time.”

  “I’ll take that into consideration.”

  “I’ll give you two some privacy. I’m going to bed. I’m taking Archie with me.”

  “Thanks Dolly.”

  When Griffin saw Penelope’s red nose and puffy eyes, his anger dissipated substantially. She appeared so vulnerable sitting there, her head bowed, sipping her drink through a straw.

  “Hey Pen,” he said quietly, taking the seat Dolly had occupied earlier.

  “Griffin, what are you doing here?” Her voice slurred slightly, and her nose crinkled adorably as she tried to focus.

  “I’m here to find out what’s going on with you.”

  Her eyes flooded with tears. “Nothing.”

  Griffin rubbed his thumb across her cheek catching a tear as it escaped.

  “You expect me to believe that? What the hell happened between when I dropped you off and when I saw you less than two hours later?”

  “I’m sh..orry, I’m just having a bad day.”

  “That’s bullshit and you know it.”

  Penelope pouted, “Don’t be a meany…”

  “It feels like you’re backing off. I’m normally the one terrified of any hint at commitment, so I get you…but…this is different…what we have, I mean.”

  “You don’t even know me…you think you do…but you don’t you know…you don’t have a clue,” she attempted to set her glass down and almost missed the table. Griffin’s quick reflexes saved the glass before it crashed onto the cement patio.

  “I’m trying to remedy that but, sorry to say, I haven’t mastered mind reading yet.”

  She swatted at him and snickered, “You’re sho…so funny.”

  Griffin checked himself. He wanted to pick her up and carry her off to his lair. He’d never experienced anything like it.

  “Penelope, I’m not judging, but perhaps you’d better lay off the tequila. I think it’s served its purpose.”

  “Your normal high-handedness I see…just what I’d spect from you. I’ll drink whatever…whenever…I want.” To prove her point, she picked up her drink and sipped from her straw, draining the entire glass in one noisy slurp.