Lily and the Billionaire

by Beth Michele

  “Since it has my name on it, may I have it?” A flutter of excitement flows through his voice.

  “Sure.” I reluctantly unwrap myself from his body and cross the room to retrieve it. In those brief seconds, Jace has already found a seat on the sofa, awaiting his gift with a Christmas-morning smile. “It’s not a big deal,” I start to explain, handing it to him then sitting down.

  “No disclaimers, please.” His lips fold into a grin. “I’ll decide if it’s a big deal or not, thank you.”

  My laugh is small, but it’s there. “Fine.”

  He takes his sweet time carefully removing tape from brown paper, that twisty feeling bunching in my gut until the painting is revealed and the wonder in his expression drowns out my nerves. “Lily, it’s…it’s…me.”

  “It is.” I lean my head against his shoulder. “It’s how I see you,” I explain, pointing a finger toward the top of his face. “I made your eyes a cerulean blue because they remind me of the ocean, and I softened the colors and lines around your lips, your jaw, and your smile to represent your kindness.”

  “I don’t know what to say.” He stares at the painting with disbelief. “It’s…it’s absolutely incredible.” He looks over and our eyes meet. “I love it, Lily. Thank you,” he says, and the adoration in his gaze lifts me to new heights.

  “You’re welcome.”

  Jace sets the painting down beside the couch then shifts until we’re facing one another. He takes my hand in his. “I have an idea I’d like to run by you.”

  “Sounds ominous,” I say as he reaches inside his suit pocket with his free hand and pulls out an envelope. “What’s that?”

  “Open it and find out,” he instructs, biting the edge of his lip.

  “I’ll need my hand back,” I say, and he laughs, the sound tinged with nervousness as he releases my fingers.

  I thumb the flap open and fish out two tickets. My eyes widen when I see Lufthansa Airlines and Paris in the right hand corner. My gaze snaps up. “Jace…”

  He chimes in quickly, as if he knows he’ll get pushback. “Before you say anything, I need to be in Paris for one day, and I thought we could extend the trip for a week. It’s not for another three weeks, so you have time to request vacation, and…” He pauses, dangling a carrot. “It is on your board.”

  “This is too much. I—”

  “I’m not done,” he says in that commanding voice, pressing his index finger to my lips. “Wait your turn, Lily.” He clears his throat with a hint of a grin. “As I was saying. Just for the record, I didn’t buy these for you. I bought two tickets. I’m taking someone with me, either you or Chaz, and personally, my preference is you.

  “And…” he goes on, not letting me get a word in edgewise, “I’m not even using the company jet. We’re actually going to fly just like regular people.”

  “Jace, Lufthansa? Most regular people can’t fly that airline. It costs a fortune. Besides, I have work. I don’t know if I can get the time off.” What am I saying? Do I even have a job? Not if I go to Paris with Jace, I don’t. This whole situation sucks, damn it. Why can’t I have both? Oh, that’s right, because my boss is a grade-A douchebag.

  “Okay, listen, you don’t have to decide now. But just tell me you’ll think about it.” His lips flip up at the corners. “Also remember that if you say no, I’ll have to bring Chaz, and you can only imagine what that will be like for me.”

  Paris with Jace. The Eiffel Tower with Jace. The Louvre with Jace. No job for Lily.

  Which one of these things is not like the other?

  Though I have a million reasons in my head to say no, what comes out is, “I’ll think about it.”

  “Good.” He kisses my lips, taking the envelope and storing it back in his pocket. “And now, reluctantly, I have to go. If it’s okay, I’d like to take my painting with me.”

  “It’s yours—you can do whatever you like with it.”

  He picks the frame up, giving it one more glance before his eyes settle on mine. “No one has ever done anything like this for me before, and I can’t begin to express what it means to me. Thank you, sweetheart.”

  I plaster a smile on my lips, my heart and head in a tug of war as my reality crashes back in. “You’re welcome.” I’m off balance as we stand, and I follow him to the door. All I want to do is curl up in a ball on my bed and cry. “Good luck at your meeting.”

  He pauses, and I can sense his hesitance to leave. “Tomorrow and Wednesday I’ll be in Boston, then Thursday I fly out to Minneapolis. It’s going to be a crazy couple of days, but I’ll be thinking of you. And I promise to text or call,” he adds, brushing his thumb across my cheek. His gaze holds mine before he lets go on a kiss and opens the door. Georgia is standing on the other side, hand poised for a knock.

  “Oh, hi.” She darts a surprised glance between Jace and me. “I got your—”

  “I was just leaving. Nice to see you again, Georgia.”

  “Yes, same,” she says, walking inside while I reach up for one more goodbye kiss.

  Goodbye…

  “I’ll be home relatively late, but I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” He holds up his portrait with a brilliant smile then takes the steps down until he disappears.

  Back inside, Georgia is already in the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge. “I’ll have to settle for this, because I know you don’t have any wine. I can’t tell you the day I’ve had,” she says, bee-lining for the sofa and nesting between the pillows. She twists the cap off for a swig. “Sorry I couldn’t text you back. My meetings were insane.” Then she stops talking, watching me closely. “You look like crap. Maybe you should go first.”

  “What a spirit lifter you are,” I retort with a dry laugh, collapsing down on my comfy sofa.

  “Out with it.”

  “Let’s see…” I tuck a velvet pillow under my neck. “Apparently, Alec and his minions found out I’m seeing Jace, and he thinks I’m some sort of spy.”

  “You, a spy? Ha! You have to lie to be a spy, and be sneaky. You suck at both.”

  “That’s not all of it,” I continue, unable to summon any sense of humor. “He basically said unless I stop seeing Jace, he’s going to fire me.”

  Georgia springs up to a sitting position. “He can’t do that.”

  “That’s what I said. But I did some research and I’m pretty sure he can. He’ll have the final say, it’s his company. And I could fight it, but I’m not sure I’d have a chance of winning.”

  “What a fuckety asshole,” she says, and I thaw a little at her readiness to do battle for me. “I know what I’d like to do to the jerk, but what are you going to do? I mean, come on, Lil, can you really continue working for him after he made accusations and gave you an ultimatum?”

  I puff out a breath, which doesn’t make me feel any better. “I know, I know. Alec could still make my life miserable.”

  “True. He makes many lives miserable already,” she says, snorting at her one-liner. “So what now?”

  “This whole situation sucks. I loved this job and getting to work at the same company with you, and you know with the salary he pays me, I’m on track with saving for the gallery.”

  “We know what you’re not going to do, right?”

  I dig my chin into the pillow. “What do you mean?”

  “You’re not ending things with Jace.” She checks in with me. “Right?”

  I have a lightbulb moment. “We could sneak around, see each other under the radar.”

  Her look says I’m a million shades of crazy. “You can’t even be a spy—you think you could actually pull that off?” she says, and the small laugh flying from my mouth feels good. “Wait.” I see the second an idea flashes in her brain. “You can collect unemployment, and besides, you know what? You can find another job. I know you’ve negotiated hours and work-life balance, but you can do it again.”

  My groan gets lost in the pillow. “Please stop making all the sense, all the time.”

  She
finally slips her heels off, tucking her legs beneath her. “Now my day seems like sunshine and roses compared to yours. It was just endless meetings with never-ending blabbering about things I really didn’t need to be there for in the first place.”

  “There is something else.”

  She slides closer to me until we’re shoulder to shoulder. “What else? If you tell me Alec tried to touch you, I will march down there and kick his motherfucking ass.”

  I cringe at the thought. “God, no. Please don’t even say that out loud.”

  “What then?”

  “Jace has two tickets to Paris and he wants to take me.”

  “What’s that saying? When God closes a door, he opens a window. If that’s not a sign, I don’t know what is,” she says, and my silence seems to piss her off because she doesn’t stop there. “Are you shitting me right now? Jace Harlow asks you to go to Paris and you’re thinking about saying no? I might need to have you committed. I think you’re the only person on this planet who would turn down a trip to Paris. Jesus, Lily—it’s on your vision board! You’ve been dreaming about it for years.”

  “I haven’t said no, Georgia. I’m just so overwhelmed. I might be losing my job.” I don’t take a breath, just continue on like the words might bubble over. “Everything is moving so fast, and I have too many things I need to think about now, to take care of. It just feels so big, you know?”

  “We already know it’s big,” she says, and I laugh, even though misery has claimed a spot inside my chest.

  “I can’t believe you went there.”

  “Believe it, sister, and furthermore…” She pauses as if redirecting herself then lays a hand on mine. “You’ve been taking care of yourself your whole life, Lil. What’s so bad about letting someone take care of you for a little while? That’s what you do when you love someone, and you love him, don’t you?”

  I nod, my eyes filling with the realization. “I do.”

  “Okay then, so let him do this. Let him take care of you,” she says softly, holding my hand like I’m a little child who needs convincing.

  “I had Cocoa Puffs for dinner,” I confess, sniffling into the fabric.

  “It certainly was a Cocoa Puffs kind of day.” Her tone is warm. “And Lily?”

  My head turns, eyes meeting hers.

  “If you love him, you should tell him.”

  “But that means…”

  “I know what that means, sweetie, but you can always find another job. You might not find another Jace.”

  “That meeting went amazingly well.” Ron sips his Pellegrino in the restaurant at the Boston Harbor Hotel. “And I have to say, you were absolutely brilliant.”

  I offer up a weak smile. “Brilliant, huh?”

  His grin is transparent behind the rim of his glass. “Absolutely brilliant.”

  “They were receptive.”

  “I believe you’re understating. You had them eating out of the palm of your hand.” He laughs. “I think you should change your middle name to smooth.”

  Ron’s cell buzzes, and his gaze moves to the screen. His face lights up and he sets his glass on the table. “Elise—she misses me.” He looks down, typing something into his phone. “She really wanted to come to Boston but had to take care of the salon. I can’t wait to get home tonight.”

  My eyes drift to my phone. I’ve lost count of how many times they’ve done so. Why isn’t Lily returning my calls? Except for two nondescript texts, I’ve hardly heard from her. I really need to hear her voice.

  Ron forks a stuffed mushroom, pausing before it reaches his mouth. “Harlow, are you waiting for a call or what? You’ve been looking at that thing so much I’m starting to get a little jealous.”

  “What?”

  “Is there somebody else?” he jokes, but my sense of humor has left the building.

  I look past him to the view of the harbor, boats floating lazily under a gleaming summer sun, waves rippling in their wake. Lily would appreciate it if she were here. She’d be smiling, probably trying to convince me to dive in. God, I miss her.

  “What’s going on with you? Does this have to do with Lily? From the way you talked about her nonstop on the plane, I thought things were good.”

  My gaze returns to his in an effort to eradicate his confusion. “I thought so too. It’s just that I haven’t heard back from her and—” My cell rings, and seeing Cynthia’s name on the screen prompts disappointment to flood my chest. “Hello, Cynthia.”

  A pause before she responds. “I wanted to wait until your meeting was over to call.”

  “Is everything all right? You don’t sound like yourself.”

  She expels a loud breath. “Mr. Harlow, I found out something rather disturbing and thought you might want to know about it.”

  My neck tenses, adrenaline rushing through my veins. “Okay. Go on,” I tell her, and Ron mouths something I can’t quite make out, too focused on hearing what Cynthia has to say.

  “It was brought to my attention that Alec Jackson…” My shoulders clench upon hearing his name, upon sensing her hesitation.

  “What about him?” I ask, sitting forward in my seat as Ron’s eyes meet mine across the table. If this has something to do with Lily, I’ll kill Alec with my bare hands.

  “Apparently he…he found out you and Miss Conrad have been spending time together, and there’s concern about the potential leaking of confidential information. He threatened her job if she doesn’t put an end to it…to your relationship.”

  Her words go down hard, taking more than a minute to digest. I swallow twice before I can speak, pushing past the lump in my throat. “What?”

  A moment of clarity forces its way into my brain. Suddenly it all adds up—why Lily isn’t returning my calls, why I haven’t been able to find my calm.

  “I’m sorry, but I thought you’d want to know,” she says, her voice smaller now.

  “Of course. You made a good judgment call, Cynthia,” I say, trying to ignore the nausea threatening my stomach. “Thank you for letting me know.”

  I place my phone on the table, dropping my head with a quiet exhale. The thought of life without Lily is unfathomable to me. I’d go back to being the shell of a man I was before.

  “What the hell’s going on?”

  My gaze lifts. I take a second to gather my composure, to clear the discomfort from my throat. “Cynthia is my eyes and ears, as you know, and apparently she found out—and I don’t want to know how—that Jackson discovered Lily and I were together and he threatened her job if she didn’t end it.”

  Ron’s fork clanks against his plate. “That’s bullshit.” The fact that he’s affronted for me thaws the ice in my veins. “What are you going to do about it?”

  My anguish suddenly dissipates into resignation. “I’m not going to do anything,” I answer in an apathetic tone that couldn’t be more opposite of how I’m feeling, of the destruction happening inside my chest. “This isn’t up to me. Besides, Lily wouldn’t be happy if I got involved. This is her decision, Ron. I can’t insert myself into this situation. That would only make it worse.”

  “So, what? You’re just going to wait it out and hope for the best?”

  “There’s nothing to wait for. She’s known me a handful of weeks and she loves her job. She has a plan for her life and, from where I stand, I’ve fucked it up.”

  Ron sits back, shaking his head. “Do you really believe that?”

  “I told you, I haven’t heard from her. I think it’s fairly evident she’s made her decision.”

  “So that’s it?”

  “That’s it.” I signal the waiter over. “Now if you don’t mind, I’d like to put the subject to rest and order a scotch on the rocks.”

  He frowns. “But you don’t drink scotch.”

  “I can’t think of a better time to start. Can you?”

  I’ve been home from Boston for two hours, and already my suitcase is packed for another departure. Everything about this feels mechanical, and as I
zip up my bag, I wonder how things can change so fast, how joy can be ripped away so quickly.

  “Man, you look like shit,” Chaz calls out from his favorite spot on the sofa. I enter the kitchen, opening the fridge to grab the container of orange juice.

  “That’s how you greet me at the end of a long day? I’m severing our relationship.” My tone is flat, disinterest loud and clear. I’m not in the mood to spar with my brother tonight, not when my world is falling apart.

  Even from this distance, I don’t miss the roll of his eyes. “And I’m all broken up about it.” He glances to the suitcase beside me. “You just got back. You’re leaving again?”

  “Tomorrow. Business in Minneapolis until Saturday.” My throat tightens on the last word. I haven’t spoken to Lily since Monday. My voicemails remain unanswered, and I now know why she’s avoiding me.

  Avoiding the inevitable.

  Thanks to yours truly, her job is on the line, the one leading to the future she’s dreamed about. Coming to terms with this is nearly impossible, though the radio silence is indicative of her decision. She’s certainly not going to throw her future away for a man who, up until two weeks ago, had never eaten a bag of peanuts. My chest jolts at the memory, exhale weighted as I pour myself a glass then hold it up. “Juice?”

  “No thanks. I can’t drink that shit at night,” he says, fingers moving along the laptop keyboard. “I guess a homemade meal this late is out of the question?”

  “I’m afraid so.” I stroll to the sofa and glance over his shoulder at the screen, trying to keep my sour mood in check. “How goes the job search?”

  “Not bad, actually.” He shifts the computer on his lap. “I have a couple of leads, one interview tomorrow, and two interviews next week.”

  “Let me know if I can do—”

  “Anything to help,” he finishes, appreciation in his tone. “I know, and I will.”

  “Good.” My glance moves around the penthouse. “I have someone coming to clean on Friday. What are the chances you can pick up a little before that?”

  He tosses me an amused glance over his shoulder. “I’d say slim to none.”