I nodded.
"That's…beyond words." She looked as stunned as I felt, and just as disbelieving as I'd been in the beginning. "What are you going to do?"
I shrugged. "Probably nothing. Riggins is trying to find a way out of it."
She didn't seem to hear what I'd said about Riggins.
"You can't do it for me." Her voice was fierce. "If you do it at all, you have to do it for yourself."
"I will do it for you, Sid. If I have to." I grabbed her hands. "I would give you my marrow if I could. I'd give you a kidney. A blood transfusion. Whatever it takes to make you well." I smiled, trying to reassure her.
"Having a temporary romance with Riggins Feldhem? Worst case, marrying him? You can't really compare that to losing an organ. Not unless there's something hideous about him we don't know. Most women would kill for the chance."
Sid got a devilish look in her eye. "Yeah. Some people would say you've won the lottery."
I nodded. "Exactly! This is nothing compared to what I'm willing to sacrifice for you. I would never, never forgive myself if something happened to you and I hadn't done everything I could to save you. Even pretending to be in love with one of Seattle's hottest bachelors." I winked.
She laughed, but her eyes misted over. "Yeah. Tough duty. The extremes you will go to." Her expression became serious. "Seriously, though, I know you'll do whatever you can. I would for you, too."
We hugged.
She pulled away and gave me an intense look. "What if Riggins fails and doesn't find a way out?"
I shrugged. "Then I marry him."
"I won't let you sacrifice your life and freedom and choices for me. I mean, marrying a guy you don't love? Even if he is hot and rich…"
I put the back of my hand to my forehead. "The sacrifices I make for you—"
She ignored my melodramatics. "Having a baby to save me? It's your body. I would never ask that of you."
"I know," I said, taking her hand again. "But I would be a surrogate for someone if that's what it took to save you. How is this different?"
She wrinkled her nose. "It's different. And you know it."
I shrugged. "It won't go that far."
She paused and got a dreamy look on her face. "But being a duchess! Can you imagine? It's almost like being a princess. Did Riggins inherit a huge estate? Did he show you a picture?"
"He inherited an estate. I don't know how large it is or what it looks like."
"How can you not know? You didn't ask? Aren't you curious?" She shook her head and clicked her tongue. "Let's Google it!"
She wriggled her hands free of mine and pulled out her phone. Half a second later, she'd pulled up a picture of a fabulous estate, the kind you would see in a BBC period piece or Pride and Prejudice.
We both stared at it in awe.
"I wish we could see the inside," I said.
"And of all this, you could be mistress," Sid said, sort of quoting Jane Austen.
She looked me in the eye. "Look, this is all a lot to think about." She put on her logical, pragmatic expression. "On the one hand, marrying a guy you barely know and having his baby is not acceptable to me on any level. Not if you're doing it purely for me.
"You have to think through all the implications. What if you marry him and then the right guy comes along? Will Riggins be a real douche of a husband? If so, how long would you have to stay in an unhappy marriage?
"And further, once you divorce, if you divorce, how will guys view you after your divorce? Will most guys be intimidated by your wealth? Will you have fortune hunters after you? How will you ever know that a guy really loves you? Will you have to give up your title? How will joint custody work? You'll be connected to Riggins for the rest of your lives. You won't be able to just walk away unscathed."
She took a deep breath and leaned back. "On the other hand, he is hot. Even for an older guy. And filthy rich. Sophisticated. Ambitious. Smart. You and he could make absolutely beautiful babies together!" She clasped her hands together and grinned at me.
I shook my head. "I would hope they look like him."
"You always sell yourself short," Sid said. "Anyway, that's my longwinded way of saying you could do a lot worse. Plus, duchess! When will you get another chance at a title? And then there's all that money. Kind of hard to walk away from that. You would be set for life. Several lifetimes. If it didn't work out, you could marry for love the second time."
"You just said I would never know if another guy was really in love with me or just my money—"
She talked over the top of me. "Or not marry ever again and just be an eccentric ex-duchess who travels the world and does what she pleases.
"What about the baby?" I asked.
"That's what nannies are for."
"I see," I said. "There's only one problem with your plan. You're ignoring the main point—he doesn't want to marry me. He's trying to find a way out of it."
Sid waved her hand like that wasn't a problem. "The way I see it, you have two options. Better yet, you have a double-edged plan.
"Part A—make him fall in love with you." She put her thin hand on my shoulder, feather light. "The odds he'll find a way out in a week are slim to none. Part B—make it impossible. Find a way to thwart his plan to get out of it.
"This is really all about you and what you want to do. If you want the money. Or you want him. Or both. Make him fall in love with you, Haley. You can do it."
Chapter 8
Haley
I questioned my own motives. Were they pure? Or majorly tainted with my own greed? The adventure hadn't even begun and I was no longer sure whether I was doing this purely for Sid. Or if there was a selfish part of me in the mix. A girl who wanted to be a duchess and wear a tiara. Be married to an exceptionally handsome duke. Live in a manor house. Be mistress of all the eye could see. Not ever have to worry about money again. Was that me? Or was I only worrying that was me?
When I woke up in the middle of the cold, dark night for work on Wednesday, I almost convinced myself I'd dreamed it all up. In my desperation for someone to save us, I'd invented a duke. A reluctant duke. Now why would I do that?
I was halfway through my workday when I got a call from The Lipstick Spy School, which I knew only by reputation. It was a high-end spa and themed facility where you could learn all the necessary skills to be a femme fatale, like making the perfect cocktail and wear killer lipstick without poisoning yourself. My girlfriends and I had dreamed of having a girls' day there, but it was way out of our price range. Maybe someday. Like when I was duchess, or got my big payout. The thought of either a payout or being duchess still seemed like a dream. And I reminded myself I had to find a lawyer schooled in marital law and prenups.
A woman with a sensuous voice and a melodic laugh answered my rough hello. "Hello, Haley. Your fairy godmother calling. Riggins asked me to get you in for a day of pampering before your Friday night date. What does your schedule look like for Friday?"
My fairy godmother? He was taking things to the extreme. Hadn't I told him to keep our first real date simple, but romantic? Maybe I was just too much of an embarrassment to him. Maybe he was trying to sell this deal to the public by making me look more like his usual type? Denial was such an ugly thing.
"I get off work at two," I said, hating myself for caving without the slightest struggle. I really wanted to go to Lipstick.
"Riggins said to have you home and ready to be picked up by seven. That doesn't give us much time."
How much work did she think I needed?
"Sorry! I have to work for a living."
"Not if you catch Riggins, you won't!" Her laugh floated through the phone. "Priorities, girl, priorities. You can work in a bakery for fifteen dollars an hour the rest of your life. Or you can let me help you land a billionaire duke. Your choice."
She knew something. What had Riggins told her?
"I can be there by two thirty," I said.
Riggins
Damn it. Three precious
days down. I had hoped to be out of this marry-to-save-my-business situation by now. I sat across my desk from Harry and pounded it with my fist. "Nothing?"
Harry shook his head. "We've searched the whole of England and the United Kingdom," he said. "You are the rightful heir, Your Grace. The expedited DNA test verified your right to the dukedom."
I glared at him.
He didn't take it personally. "You didn't seriously think your dad wasn't your biological father, did you?"
I waved my hand. "No, of course not. Mom wouldn't…
"Thorne insisted on that damn test. He was confident of the results beforehand. I imagine he'd already snagged my DNA, one way or another. Had a PI grab a coffee cup I'd left behind and tested it. Like the cops do. He needed a legal test that I had consented to." I took a deep breath. "The entailment?"
"Our team in London says the terms of entailment are unassailable and unbreakable. As they have been for over one hundred years. You can't liquidate the estate."
I made a fist. Hoping to find some way to get rid of that albatross and use the funds from the sale to buy back Flash stock had been a long shot.
"What about the marriage contract?"
Harry shook his head. "Gray area. By the time you fought it through the legal system, the damage would be done. Thorne is as loyal as they come. I have no doubt he'll carry out the late duke's instructions to the letter. He stands to get a big payout." Harry paused. "The good news is, your prenup is almost ready and it should be ironclad."
I scowled. There was a knock on the door. Justin stuck his head in.
"You're late," I said. "I hope you have good news."
He grinned and stepped inside, closing the door behind him. "I might." He took a seat. "We contacted the orphanage Sidney was adopted from. They're sticking to their story that Sidney was abandoned on their steps, like so many girl babies born during the one-child era.
"They extend their sympathies, and thank you for the generous donation to the orphanage, but they are unable to help."
Bribery was expected in China. I had hoped it would jog someone's memory or allow someone to "accidentally" leave a file unattended just long enough for our investigators to get a look.
"They're very sorry. But they have no more information to give you.
"Our investigators are trying to track down former nurses and caregivers at the orphanage. Anyone who might have been a potential witness. It was over nineteen years ago. Memories are understandably dim. Abandoning a baby is illegal in China. Faced with punishment, why would a woman voluntarily come forward now?" Justin's voice was sympathetic.
"Look, Riggs, I hate to be the voice of realism here. There's no indication the orphanage is covering anything up or withholding information. Your money talks. They would like more of it, obviously." He shrugged.
"There might not be anything to find out, from their end. In their experience, abandoning a baby girl wasn't a terribly unusual thing. One abandonment among many wouldn't have been particularly memorable. Even if someone thinks they remember something, they could be confusing the details."
"That's the good news?" I said. "Thanks, bud."
His grin deepened. "I'm not done. Remember that facial-recognition software I've been tinkering with the last year or so?"
"Vaguely." I didn't keep up with Justin's hobbies. He was always working on one piece of software or another.
He laughed. "You should. I've bored you with the details many times." He grabbed a can of energy drink from the mini fridge and popped it open. Justin drank so many of them, I couldn't understand how he wasn't always buzzed on caffeine. Maybe he was.
"It doesn't matter," Justin said. "Our PI obtained a record of all the employees at the orphanage from the months surrounding when Sidney was dropped off.
"We have the picture the orphanage worker who found her took when she found her. From the account in the records, Sidney was discovered swaddled in a clean baby blanket in a protected alcove, out of the weather. A spot she was sure to be found quickly. It wasn't a well-known place. Most of their abandoned wards are found on the front steps. This was around back, by the kitchen.
"I ran the blanket. It was too generic to find. A common brand that could be purchased anywhere. I kept coming back to the placement of the baby. It was unusual. It seemed like only an insider, or someone familiar with the place, would think to leave a baby there."
My heart pounded with excitement. "An insider! We can find an insider."
Harry was on the edge of his seat, too.
"It gets better." Justin set his can on my desk. His eyes shone with excitement. "I took a picture of Sidney and ran it against all the childbearing-age employees at the orphanage during that time from a staff picture the orphanage gave me, programming it to look for specific family resemblances. Several years ago, a university in Beijing had success rates as high as sixty-eight percent using a similar technique." He paused. "So there's still about a one in three chance that I'm wrong—"
"Damn it, Jus!" I almost came out of my chair. "Don't keep us in suspense."
He grinned. "I found someone who I believe is related to Sidney."
"Her mother?" I really did come out of my chair then.
"Her mother. Her aunt, maybe. It's hard to tell."
A smile spread over my face. "Where is she? I'll get my PI right on it. If I have to, I'll fly out myself to convince her to tell me what she knows."
Haley
I arrived at The Lipstick Spy School at two thirty-three. Not bad for a girl who rode the bus over. When I stepped inside the building, the space took my breath away. It smelled of delicate, seductive perfume, the kind that made you think the scent of it alone would cause any man to give up his secrets. Soft, sensual music played in the background. It was decorated in reds, pinks, black, and white. Everything was elegant.
I checked in and was given the world's softest terry robe to change into and a glass of fine French wine. My glass of wine and I were shown to a private room and told the owner of the school, Milia, would be in shortly to take personal care of my mission.
I had a mission?
I made myself at home in a reclining chair and killed the time sipping wine and flipping through the latest fashion magazines. They were so new and pristine, they still had all the special offer cards and free samples in them. Brand-new, up-to-date magazines. Now that was luxury.
Milia kept me waiting less than fifteen minutes. She announced her arrival with a gentle knock on the door. "Haley?"
"That's me. Come in." I set my empty wine glass down on the stand next to me.
Milia slid in and softly closed the door behind her. She was the kind of exotic, beautiful woman that carried a ripple of sexual tension along with her wherever she went. Who could compete with a woman like her? She made me feel young, gawky, and insecure just by looking at her.
She was average height, but very thin. With pale skin and sleek, dark hair that fell in waves around her shoulders. She wore a tight red dress cut low to emphasize her cleavage. She must have been taped in place, because it looked like any sudden motion would cause her to pop out.
Looking at her was like waiting for a door to slam. There was all that anticipation. The impression, I was sure, she meant to create. She was like a siren. No straight male could look away from her. All she had to do was start singing, even badly, and they were doomed.
Her lipstick was also red, the shade only an extremely confident woman could wear. Her heels were designer and very tall, with impossibly thin, spiky heels that put her foot nearly en pointe.
She was a sensual creature. I wasn't sure whether to envy or fear her.
Her smile was lovely. Her eyes piercing as they took me in from head to toe. When she spoke, her voice had a trace of a French accent. "If it isn't my new godchild!" She laughed in a way that made it clear she wasn't uttering an endearment.
I was more like a burden to her. Or a pet project. I wondered how Riggins had secured this favor from her. In my next brea
th, I tried not to think about it. I had the feeling it had nothing to do with his money.
Milia studied me. "We have our work cut out for us."
She put on a pair of beautician's gloves and turned up the lights, which had been set low and flattering. "Let me see you better."
She took my face in her hand, ran her fingers over it lightly, and turned it from side to side as she inspected me and my complexion. I think I felt my pores actually expand under her gaze. Why weren't they contracting and running for cover?
She ran her fingers through my hair, murmuring about its texture and cut. "Who butchered this?"
I laughed. Until I realized she was serious. "I get it cut at one of those budget chain salons."
She raised one eyebrow and clicked her tongue condemningly.
I blushed.
"I suppose you use cheap drugstore products on your hair and face, too?"
I shrugged.
Finally, she pursed her mouth to one side. "Your eyes are mismatched. One green, one blue. I can fix that."
I frowned. My mismatched eyes were my best feature. According to my dad, anyway. One blue eye from him. One green eye from Mom. I was the perfect combo.
"I like that they're different colors. They make me unique." I wouldn't wear a colored contact to correct one.
"Over a half a percent of the population has heterochromia iridium. That makes it rare. But you're hardly one of a kind." Milia shook her head. "I can correct it with eye makeup. Fool the outside eye into thinking the blue one is greener and the green one is bluer."
I shrugged again, thinking I would like to see her try.
"So," she said, sitting back a bit. "Who do you want to be? A seductress? A siren? The girl next door? An exotic foreign princess? I'm a master of disguise. I can make you anyone."
I stared at her for a minute, thinking she had to be joking. Her serious expression said not.
I realized something about myself. "I just want to be me. But improved."
"Very confident in yourself, are you?" Her gaze was intense.
I shook my head. "Exactly opposite."
"Yet you think you will attract Riggins as yourself?" She leaned in close. "I'm sworn to secrecy, of course, but he told me the whole story. I know why he has to marry you. And how he's trying to find a way out of it.
[Billionaire Duke 01.0] The Billionaire Duke Page 9