I’m offering valid points and she’s trying desperately to unseat them all. She’s up against me, though. I am a master at this. She’s so out of her league.
“I suppose if nature took it, I’d be fine with that. I’d miss it but that would be an act of God and I never second guess the man upstairs,” she says then brings her hand up to her lips and puts her index finger near them and nibbles on her short fingernail.
I laugh and get up, going to her. Taking her hand so she can no longer nibble at her already nibbled on nail, I bring her hand to my mouth where I deliver another kiss to it. “No reason to bite your nails over something so trivial as an old building. Tell me, Miss Cook, is there a man in your life at the present?”
She shakes her head and I can tell she’s not breathing as I’m so close to her and I can see she’s nervous. So I let her hand go and take a step back, I notice her exhaling then she says, “No. What does that matter?”
Going back around behind my desk, I take my seat again and gesture for her to do the same. She does as I’ve asked and I smile at her. “It’s just that I think if you have a boyfriend or husband then you wouldn’t be here right now. All the way in New York to bother me about this.”
“Bother you?” she shouts then jumps up out of the chair. Reaching into her purse, she pulls out a small business card and slams it on top of my desk. “Here’s my number. If you decide to grow a heart, give me a call and let me know about it. You heartless, son of a bitch!”
And off she goes to storm out of my office. Only the button has to be pushed to open the door and I’m not about to let her out of here just yet!
Chapter 7
ELIZABETH
Grabbing the doorknob, I try to twist it but it’s not moving. I pull it and still nothing and when his laugh comes from behind me, I spin around to find him standing right behind me.
“Hold on a minute, Miss Cook,” he says with that deep, sexy as hell voice that’s making me crazy.
His tall, lean body is merely in inch from mine and I can feel the heat of his breath on my face as he leans into me. I press my hands against his wide and awesomely hard chest. “What the fuck are you doing?”
His laugh is so deep I can feel it in his chest. “I’m showing you how the doorknob doesn’t work the way you thought it did. See.” He turns me around with his other hand and I can feel his body against my back. His mouth is near my ear, moving my hair with his words, “See, it doesn’t move. I have to push a button under my desk to get it to open. Won’t you please come back and sit down so we can finish our conversation. I don’t want you to leave mad. I’d like to make things a bit better for you if you’d let me.”
I’m shaking with anger and I think a little sexual frustration as well. I wait to turn around until he steps back then I turn and find his hand at the small of my back, gently pushing me to go back and sit down on the comfortable chair in front of his desk.
He goes back behind his desk and opens a drawer. When his hand comes back out of it, there are several things he lays out in front of me. One is the keycard to a hotel room, I see. Another is one of his business cards and his signature is at the bottom of it. The third thing looks like a credit card but instead of Visa or Mastercard, it has his name across the bottom and at the top, it has the words, Plaza Hotel.
“I want you to take my personal private jet back home,” he says as his finger moves the business card forward. “You can give this to my pilot at the airport and he’ll take you back to Chesapeake City. But not until tomorrow. For tonight, I’d like you to be my guest at The Plaza Hotel. Here is the key to a room I keep there. You can simply leave it on the table in the room when you leave.”
“I can’t,” I say but he holds his hand up to stop me so I shut my mouth and watch him move his fingers to the last item on his desk, the credit card thing.
“This is my VIP card for The Plaza Hotel. You can use it at any of the bars and restaurants in the hotel. Feel free to use it all you want, it’s all on me. I don’t want us to part company with you absolutely hating me, Miss Cook.”
Looking at him I see his eyes are more green than brown right now and he does seem to want to get along. And maybe I should be trying to do that more so than begging and pleading for him to see things my way.
“I have a room for the night. Thank you, anyway,” I say as I lean forward and push the hotel keycard back to him. “The room comes with breakfast and since I’m not hungry, I won’t be dining at the hotel either.” I push the credit card back toward him. “And I have a round trip ticket so I don’t need to bother you with using your private jet.” I push the last piece of his offering back to him and give him a smile. “Thank you, though, Mr. White.”
“Call me Zane,” he says as he pushes the things back toward me. “And please accept my gifts. Surely you’re not staying any place nearly as nice as The Plaza. And I would assume that even if you aren’t hungry yet, you might get that way later.”
“I have no appetite with losing my lighthouse,” I say quickly.
His eyes droop a little at the corners then he says, “And your round trip ticket, is it in coach?”
I nod. “Of course.”
He smiles. “Then you will love the upgrade to my jet. And it leaves when you want to instead of the other way around. I won’t take no for an answer.”
I feel my eyebrows raise up and so does my voice, as I say, “Yet you expect me to.”
He nods and comes around to lean his ass against the front side of his desk. “I do. I don’t expect you to be happy about it, though. That’s why I’m giving you some things to cheer you up. A nice night in the big city. Something to remember your experience here with a little better sentiment than you would have if I allowed you to leave in a huff like you were about to do. Go to the hotel, have a few drinks and calm down. I’ll have your things taken from the hotel you’re currently in and brought to the new room at The Plaza.”
I’m not sure what to do. Of course, who wouldn’t want to stay at The Plaza Hotel and dine there and enjoy one of the fabulous bars there?
But my pride is boiling inside of me and I don’t think it’s going to allow me to take anything he’s offering. “Look, Zane, I think it’s best if I keep things the way they are. I don’t want to be beholden to you in any way.”
“This doesn’t make you beholden to me, may I call you Elizabeth?” he asks.
I nod. “Yes, and yes, it does. I don’t know why you can’t see that. If I take these things it’s the same as telling you I’m giving up the fight for the lighthouse, which I am not doing.”
“Oh, but you really should,” he says with a frown. “It’s really a huge waste of your time, you see. I hate to see time wasted. It’s so valuable. Surely you have other things you need to do. What is it you do for a living?”
And now I feel stupid because I hate for anyone to know how I’ve yet to find employment with my history degree. I still have the same job I had when I was still in college. And I do not want to tell this man what it is.
“Stuff,” I say then turn three shades of red.
“Stuff?” he asks then his hand is on my chin, lifting my face up so I have to look at him.
Crap!
Chapter 8
ZANE
With an answer like, stuff, when asked what it is a person does, of course, I have to know more. The way her eyes look everywhere but at me has me thinking the absolute worse.
Is this beautiful woman a prostitute or something terrible like that?
“Okay, I’m a waitress at a very small café. There!” she says, easing my rising anxiety as I was just about to go into superhero mode and help her out of that life if that was the case.
“Why do you act so embarrassed by that, Elizabeth?” I ask as I release her chin and lean back on the desk again.
“I have a degree in history. I should be doing more with my life but I haven’t yet. Gramps died and it’s halted something inside of me, I guess. I’m not proud of how I’ve been tre
ading water in the same position for some time now.”
“Time to move on then. Don’t you see that? It’s as plain as the cute little nose on your face,” I say.
She smiles shyly and touches her nose as she goes a nice shade of pink. She doesn’t say anything about my compliment but I know I’ve surprised her.
To be honest, I’m surprising myself. And I hope I get a shot at her this evening after she’s had a few drinks and has settled down.
My reasons for letting her stay at the hotel I live at the top of isn’t purely for her benefit. I have my motives too.
She’s quite a little spitfire and I’d like to see just how loud I can make her purr for me. I make a mental note to have my personal assistant buy her a nice outfit for tonight and have it, along with a note, delivered to her room. I think a nice invitation to dine with me will suffice.
There I can turn on the charm and she’ll be putty in my hands before too long. She does like my appearance anyway. I can read her expression like a book.
“I wish it was that easy to move on. Gramps was more than merely a grandpa to me.” Her eyes go all misty and she shakes her head. “Anyway, I should be going. I know you’re a busy man.” She stands up and I shove the cards into her hand.
“Take them. I mean it. Who knows, you might be seeing me around The Plaza. I have a penthouse there,” I tell her as I walk behind the desk to push the button to open the door.
She puts the things into her purse. “What’s the room number?”
A sigh of relief comes out of me with her question. This means she’ll be there and now I feel very optimistic about a night alone with her.
“When you get to the hotel, give the desk clerk the key and they’ll let you know which room they’ll set it too.” The door opens quietly and I walk back around to see her out. My hand goes to the small of her back where it seems to fit perfectly and I can’t wait to see what else fits me too.
“Okay, Zane,” she giggles. “This is not at all what I expected when I made plans to come here. But please don’t be mad when I try to get that lighthouse put on the historical registry and stop your plan.”
I laugh as she hasn’t been able to do it up until now so her chances are slim at best. “As long as you promise not to be mad at me when I get my lawyers to get it thrown out.”
She looks at me from under thick lashes and has a faint smile on her lips. “Okay, fair enough. Bye. Thank you.”
As she walks away, I watch her until she’s to the other door. “Bye,” I shout, making her and my secretary look at me.
Elizabeth waves at me then goes out the door. I stand in the doorway to my office, looking at the closed door until I hear, “Oh my God! You gave it to her.”
I look at my secretary who has pulled her glasses off and is staring at me with her mouth open. I laugh and turn around to go back into my office. “Of course, I didn’t. Don’t be stupid.”
I am going to give her something, though. I won’t be taking no for an answer about that either!
ELIZABETH
I’m not completely sure how this all happened. I was supposed to be leaving here with the lighthouse intact and instead I’m leaving here with nothing.
Things did not go the way I wanted them to. Yet, I feel kind of great anyway. Maybe because there’s this slight chance of seeing Zane White again.
I doubt it, though. I’m sure he was just saying he might see me, to be nice. He’s so gorgeous, I’m sure he has to beat the women off with a stick.
Climbing into the back of a cab, I start to tell the cab driver where to go when my cell rings. “Hello?” I ask as I hold up one finger to get the cabbie to hang on a sec.
“Yes, this is Lane, Mr. White’s secretary. He wants to know where to send his assistant to get your things to take them to The Plaza.”
My, he is efficient!
I look at the cabbie. “To The Plaza Hotel, please.” He nods and takes off like a rocket. I suppose that two seconds he had to wait for my answer cost him money by the way he’s hauling ass. Turning my attention back to the woman waiting on the phone, I say, “The New World Hotel is where my things can be picked up from. I’ll give them a call to let them know.”
“Thank you, Miss Cook. And Mr. White said to ask you what your favorite perfume is.”
“I don’t have one,” I answer her. “Why would he ask that?”
“I’m not sure, miss. Maybe he wanted to buy you some,” she says.
“Do you think he plans on seeing me tonight?” I ask as I grip the seat and tense up.
“I would suppose so. I have no idea really.”
Then I hear a man say in the background. “Have scarlet roses sent to her too.” It sounded a lot like the deep sexy voice of Zane White but he’s most likely not talking about me.
“Yes, sir,” Lane says.
Then I hear him say, “Do you think she liked me, Lane?”
“Shh,” I hear her hiss at him. “Sir, I have Miss Cook on the line, getting her hotel information.”
“Shit!” I hear him say and have to cover my mouth so I don’t laugh out loud.
Pretending I didn’t hear a thing, I say, “Will that be all, Lane?”
“Yes. Have a good evening, Miss Cook. We, here at The Sandstone Company, hope you enjoy your stay in New York. If you need anything at all, please feel free to call our office while you’re in town. Good day.”
“Good day,” I say as the call is ended and we are pulling up in front of the fancy hotel. “Thank you.” I pull out two twenties and hand them to the driver.
“Thank you,” he says. “Enjoy your stay.”
I feel like a princess as I get out of the car with the help of a doorman. “Welcome to The Plaza Hotel, ma’am.”
“Thank you,” I say as I make my way inside of the enormous building.
Valets are hustling around the large open area as I step inside. It’s like a little city in here. Making my way to the massive front desk, I feel as if I’m walking on air.
There’s a magical feeling in the air inside this place. Like anything can happen, magical.
A nice young woman looks at me as I approach the part of the desk she’s taking care of. “Hello, welcome to The Plaza Hotel. What can I do for you?”
I pull the key out of my purse and hand it to her. “Zane White sent me.”
With a swipe of the keycard, she types something into her computer and then hands the card back to me as she points to a set of elevators. “You’ll take that bank of elevators to the twelfth floor. Your suite number is 1212. Have a nice evening, Miss Cook.”
I didn’t tell her my name so her using it takes me by surprise. “You know my name?”
“Of course,” she says with a perfect smile. “Mr. White called a little while ago. Your things will be taken to your room as soon as they come in.”
Walking away, I feel like I’m in a dream. A glorious dream that I don’t think I want to wake up from.
Then it hits me. Have I sold out the lighthouse for one night in a fancy hotel?
To be continued…
The Billionaire’s Lighthouse Series
A Billionaire, Bad Boy, Romance
Book 2
Her Quest
By Michelle Love
Description
Deceit. Collaboration. Aspirations.
Zane has a stalker, a high powered judge named Maegan Saunders, who is out to make Zane hers.
The overly aggressive woman is beautiful but not Zane’s cup of tea. Meagan isn’t the kind of woman who takes no for an answer.
When Elizabeth goes to a bar in The Plaza Hotel to calm here increasing nerves over a dinner date with Zane, she finds Zane coming in with a tall, gorgeous woman on his heels, looking distraught.
She’s surprised to see him there with another woman when he’s set up a date with her after having her pampered all afternoon. Zane’s just pleased to see Elizabeth there and comes up with a plan to get Meagan off his back for good.
Introducing
the two women to one another, he surprises them both when he introduces Elizabeth as his wife.
Elizabeth, though a little drunk and a lot startled, goes along with Zane and his lie. She makes sure to include the lighthouse in it and thinks she’s managed to gain the property with his need for her cooperation.
Elizabeth thinks she’s won the battle but soon finds out Zane needs more from her than just that to chase the other woman off. He needs her to play along for a while if she wants the lighthouse.
But will their pretend marriage lead to real feelings?
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 1
ELIZABETH
Feeling as if I’ve fallen down a rabbit hole and ended up in an alternate universe instead of in a gorgeous hotel in New York, I walk into the suite Zane has set me up in. The surroundings are so plush I can foresee I’ll be spoiled from such extravagance for some time.
Being an avid fan of fancy bathrooms, I make my way to it and find myself anything but disappointed. A deep jetted tub is the centerpiece of the large room. A stand up, beautifully tiled shower is in one corner. The toilet is even artistically designed.
This feels so unreal!
Absentmindedly, I fill the deep tub with hot water and go to the vanity to pick out some scented soap and hair care products. A nice hot bubbling bath will be a good way to ease my mind, I think. My clothes aren’t here yet but there are two very fluffy white robes hanging on hooks on the back of the door so I can dress in one of those when I get out.
Opening the cap of one of the shampoo bottles I find a lavender and mint scent and it sends chills through me. It has to be more expensive than any shampoo I’ve ever used and I’m dying to see how it makes my hair feel.
TORN: A Billionaire Romance Series (Contemporary Romance Novel) Page 128