by Alexa McLean
Title: The Irresistible Protector
Subtitle: A Billionaire Bad Boy Best Friends To Lovers Mystery Romance
The Billionaire League Series- Book 3
By Alexa McLean
COPYRIGHT NOTICE
© Copyright 2018-All rights reserved.
It is not legal to reproduce, duplicate, or transmit any part of this document in either electronic means or in printed format. Recording of this publication is strictly prohibited and any storage of this document is not allowed unless with written permission from the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locations is purely coincidental.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
EXCLUSIVE OFFER
Chapter 1: Shelly
Chapter 2: Grayson
Chapter 3: Shelly
Chapter 4: Grayson
Chapter 5: Shelly
Chapter 6: Grayson
Chapter 7: Shelly
Chapter 8: Grayson
Chapter 9: Shelly
Chapter 10: Grayson
Chapter 11: Shelly
Chapter 12: Grayson
Chapter 13: Shelly
Chapter 14: Grayson
Chapter 15: Shelly
Chapter 16: Grayson
Chapter 18: Grayson
Chapter 19: Shelly
Chapter 20: Grayson
Epilogue: Shelly
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Chapter 1: Shelly
THURSDAYS WERE GROCERY days. I spent $2.75 getting to the central marketplace. There, cars weaved in and out of the parking lot. I swear, they were hell-bent on running me over. Maybe, if I made enough income to afford my own car, I’d be one of them. But with my current financial situation, that wasn’t going to happen any time soon. I had more of a chance of winning the lottery.
Still, a girl has got to eat. So, I would muster up whatever coupons I could find and do my shopping that way. It was exhausting trying to stay within such a tight budget. While everyone else focused on their smartphones, I stood there with a calculator in hand, trying to fudge the numbers. I half expected someone to come up and offer me a cashier job but it never happened. I would have accepted the offer, too, despite already working two jobs. Living in the city isn’t easy, my friends.
And then I’d have to spend another $2.75 to get back home. Only, the trip back was always worse. The people were meaner looking and overall, they kind of smelled bad. I always tried to snag a seat toward the front because the back belonged to the bikers without bikes. Seriously, if you plan on wearing such a bulky leather jacket, you should really be on the back of a motorcycle, not the back of public transport.
Heaven help me if I had to sit next to them. They would make snide commentary the entire trip. Most of the time, I wanted to punch them but in all honesty, they would probably get me killed. I don’t exactly live in the nicest neighborhood. But the rent’s relatively cheap so I guess beggars can’t be choosers.
On this particular night, I was lucky. I snagged a seat near the middle, right across from a middle-aged woman holding a cane between her legs. She seemed nice enough but I had a hunch that she wouldn’t hesitate to use the cane as a weapon if the situation called for it. So, I kept to myself and looked out the window where the world passed in a blur. Fatigue washed over me and I started to zone out.
“Next stop, Westerly St.” The bus driver announced in a deep, husky voice. He glanced at the rearview mirror and watched as I struggled to gather up my grocery bags. Of course, with my horrible luck, one of my bags snagged on the seat and ripped in two.
And so, my produce rolled down the length of the bus. The melons I had bought on sale thumped down the stairs and onto the street. A little kid giggled at my plight. His mother answered him with a smack on the head.
“We don’t got all day here, miss.” The bus driver huffed, tapping his fingers against the steering wheel with his impatience. “Some of us have a schedule to follow.”
“Sorry.” I bowed my head and hurried through the doors. They closed so fast behind me that they nearly caught my jacket in their grip. A second later, the bus was speeding down the street. It turned the corner, tires screeching against the asphalt.
I shook my head and carrying the rest of my groceries back home. It was a short walk from the bus stop but still, I was never very fond of walking by myself at night. My thoughts wandered back to a time when I was a teenager. Back then, I always had a protector by my side: Grayson. We were attached at the hip and I knew that so long as we were together, nothing could ever hurt me.
The problem was, I never expected he’d be the one to hurt me.
Flicker.
The motion-activated lights at the end of my driveway were acting up again. The lightbulb buzzed like it was just about to pop. Luckily, it held out long enough for me to find my keys and open the front door. I was just about to step inside when I noticed a bright yellow piece of paper stuck to the glass.
Foreclosure notice. You have thirty days to make payment.
Okay, so that wasn’t exactly what it said but that was definitely the gist of it. I won’t bore you with all the legal mumbo-jumbo.
I ripped it off the door and shoved it into my purse. I didn’t have the mental bandwidth to deal with it. So, I did what I do best: ignored it.
Inside, I headed straight for the kitchen. There, I boiled a kettle of water while putting away my groceries which consisted mostly of Ramen since I couldn’t afford much of anything else. I had splurged a little on fresh produce but that hadn’t gotten me very far.
When the kettle started to whistle, I took it off the stove and poured the hot water over some loose tea leaves. Immediately, the water turned a soft purple color. I leaned in and breathed the scented steam rolling off the surface. “Ahh...” I moaned to myself. “Nothing like a hot cup of tea.”
I wrapped both hands around the warm ceramic and settled into the living room. For a while, I browsed through the TV channels but a while back, I was forced to dial down to basic cable and honestly, it’s absolute garbage. I have an endless supply of crime dramas, courtroom dramas, and infomercials. That’s about it.
Around ten, I gave up and decided it was time for me to go to bed. As I walked through my bedroom door, I was already in the process of taking off my clothes. I tossed my shirt in the hamper first and then my bra. “Mmm.” I smiled. Next came the pants. Now, with nothing but my underwear left, I stepped into the bathroom and brushed my teeth. With that done, I tossed on some pajamas and jumped into bed.
I reached for the book I kept on my nightstand but stopped before I could grab it. There was a daisy lying right on top of it. Quickly, I glanced around the room, eyes narro
wing. From what I could tell, nothing seemed out of place. With my heart beating fast, I grabbed the flower and twirled it between my fingers. It was perfect. I started to pluck the petals one by one. “He loves me. He loves me not. He loves me. He loves me not. And, he better come out of the closet before he regrets it.”
“How did you know I was hiding in the closet?” A voice emerged from behind a wall of clothing.
“Will you just come out already? You’re going to suffocate in there.” I got up and stood with my hand on my hip.
“Hmm, you’re right.” A handsome man stepped forward. He looked a little more rugged than I remembered and he had done something different to his hair. It looked nice. For a split second, I wanted to run my fingers through it just to know if it felt as soft as it looked. He grinned, flashing a smile full of pearly whites. “Would it kill you to do laundry every once and a while?”
“Sorry, all out of quarters.” I returned. “What are you doing here?”
“Thought I’d pay you a little visit. You know I like to check up on you from time to time.” He approached and once he was close enough, I lashed out and slapped him.
He reeled back, eyes wide with surprise. “Alright, I probably deserved that.”
“You always do, Grayson,” I said.
“Shelly...” Again, he approached. This time, he leaned in for the kiss, puckered lips and all.
“Don’t,” I warned but he did not listen. Instead, he took my cheek in his hand and cupped it against his palm. For a split second, I eased into his touch. Deep down, I missed this man but I wasn’t about to admit it.
With his hot breath against my lips, I pushed him away. And then, I slapped his other cheek.
“Jeez, woman.” He rubbed his burning skin.
“Hey, at least you have some blush on both cheeks now.” I snickered.
“Maybe you should call Vogue.” He teased. “But, seriously, can you lay off all the slapping? My pretty face is one of my best assets.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m not going to play this game with you all night long. Now, either you tell me why you’re here or I’m going to call the cops.”
He laughed. “Please, the locks couldn’t keep me away. What makes you think I’ll let you get to your phone?”
Was that a challenge?
Quickly, I turned on my heels and sprinted toward my nightstand where I kept my phone charging through the night. I didn’t even make it halfway across my room when he wrapped his strong arms around my torso and pinned me against his body. “Gotcha.” His lips brushed against the side of my neck. “Did you really think I’d let you slip away from me?”
I rammed my elbow into his chest.
He gasped and eased his grip. It was enough for me to wiggle away and advance a few more feet toward my phone. It still wasn’t enough. This time around, he grabbed my wrist and yanked me over to his side like we were a couple of tango partners. “I will say, you’re more beautiful than ever.” Gently, he brushed a strand of hair behind my ear.
Our eyes locked and my heart yearned for this man. I’ve wanted him for long but I was smart enough to realize that it would never work. I’d only be setting myself up for failure.
I tried to push him away but he only held me tighter. “Shelly, just hear me out for once. Why do you always have to give me such a hard time?”
“Because I know better,” I answered. “But, fine, tell me what you want.”
“Mind if we discuss this over some coffee?”
“Yes, I do mind.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “I don’t have time for this.”
“Oh, am I interrupting something?” He asked, raising his eyebrow in question.
“As a matter of fact, you are. I was planning on sleeping tonight.”
He laughed. “Sleeping? Oh, sweetie, sleeping is for the weak.” Without another word, he left the bedroom. A second later, I heard my espresso machine whirling to life.
I sighed. When was he going to leave me alone?
“I’m all out of coffee,” I said. “So, don’t waste your time.”
“Looks like you’re out of a lot of things. Except for Ramen, you have a lot of Ramen.” He grabbed a cup of noodles and looked at it. “Still exactly the same as I remember it. Some things just never change.” As he spoke, he looked over at me. “I guess this will do.”
I will admit, it was rather strange seeing a man dressed in designer clothing eating a cup of Ramen. “You’re going to make a mess if you keep slurping it like that.” I chided. “Jeez, all this time and you think you’d learn some manners. You’re going on thirty-five, act like it.”
He continued to slurp. I think he was doing it on purpose just to irritate me. It was working. “I have enough money to act any way I want.”
“Doesn’t give you the excuse to act like a slob.”
“Actually, I think it does.” He tilted the cup back and drank the broth.
“You’re disgusting,” I commented. “Now, are you going to tell me why you’re here or are you going to spend the entire night eating my food?”
He wiped his mouth with a napkin and threw it away. “I have a job for you.”
“Oh no, we aren’t going down this road again,” I said.
“A long-term position, right in town.”
“No. I’m not doing it.” I shook my head. “And, there’s nothing you can say that will convince me otherwise.”
“Oh, really?” He asked, his lips twitching into a smile. “Because I noticed a foreclosure notice on your front door before I broke in. So, obviously you’re a little strapped for cash right now and I can assure you that I’d pay you handsomely for your services.”
“No.”
“All I need is some bookkeeping. That’s all. And, I know you’re good for it. Besides, I need someone I can trust.” He spotted some lemon squares on the counter and popped one into his mouth. “Mmm, these are pretty good. Did you make them yourself?”
“Don’t try to distract me. The answer is still no. I’m not going to work for you, Grayson, and that’s final.”
He scarfed down another one before pulling something from his coat pocket. It was a checkbook. “Got a pen?” When I didn’t answer him, he found one inside my junk drawer. He clicked it dramatically before filling out the check. When he was done, he ripped off the check and handed it over. “Consider it an advance on your first paycheck.”
I couldn’t help myself from taking it and looking at the dollar amount. “Ten thousand dollars?” I nearly choked. “Are you out of your mind? That’s a lot of money.”
He shrugged. “I’m a billionaire now, babe, I can afford it. I could even add an extra zero if you’d like me to.”
“You’re out of your mind.” I blinked, half expecting the check to vanish. It didn’t. “A billionaire? How did that happen?”
“Turns out that I’m a pretty good entrepreneur. I have my own company in town that sells hunting technology. I guess you can say I put my passion to good use.”
“And this made you a billionaire? Even CEOs of big companies aren’t billionaires. Millionaires, okay, fine, I believe that, but billionaire? You’ve definitely lost your sanity.”
“Well, okay, so the company isn’t everything. I took a few tips from Warren Buffet and played the stock market a bit.” He leaned against the counter. “I can show you my bank accounts if you really don’t believe me.”
“Honestly, I don’t care. I just want you out of my house.” I said, opening the front door so he could leave.
“Alright, have it your way but I know you’ll change your mind sooner or later.”
Slam.
When he was gone, I stood there, staring at the check, rolling my fingers against the corner.
Chapter 2: Grayson
A MONTH LATER.
I clicked my pen and pressed the tip against my tongue to wet it. Hopefully, this would work. I tried a couple of scribbles on a spare piece of paper but to no avail. And that was my favorite pen, too.
With
a sigh, I chucked it across the room and into the waste barrel. A perfect shot.
In front of me was a thick stack of papers. Realistically, I should be looking them over but I was currently procrastinating. I leaned back in my desk chair and rocked slightly trying to decide what I wanted for dinner that night.
Just then, there came a knock at the door. I looked up to find my secretary standing there, hands folded in front of her. “Sir, there’s a Miss Moore demanding to see you. I tried to tell her that you were very busy –”
I held up my hand to stop her from speaking. She immediately pressed her lips together and waited for my response. “Send her in right away.”
Shelly came marching into my office wearing a rather nice little pencil skirt. I had never seen her wearing one before but I quite liked it. I’d probably like it even better if it was crumpled up on the floor of my bedroom.
“It’s killing me to ask you this but I need money.” She said, cheeks a bright shade of red.
“Oh?” I smiled knowingly. “Didn’t I say you’d come around sooner or later?”
“Now is not the time to antagonize me unless, of course, you want me to slap you again because, trust me, I don’t care if you’re the CEO of this fancy company.” She leaned forward, hands pressed against my desk in an attempt to look intimidating but all she really did was give me a good view of her chest. Of course, my eyes traveled over those delicious curves –
Slap.
Okay, I probably should have seen that one coming.
“I’m not here to play games with you, Grayson.” She growled.
“What happened to the $10,000 check I gave you? Don’t tell me you spent it already.” I got up and stretched my legs a bit by walking up to the window. New York City lay just underneath my feet. People moved like ants through the crowded sidewalks while the cabs painted the streets in a sea of yellow.
“I tried to cash it but my account was so overdrawn they didn’t even let me try.” She grabbed a paper cup from the water dispenser and poured herself a drink.