The Billionaire's Masquerade: Betting On You Series: Book Two

by Winters, Jeannette

  Then his body began to move again. Each thrust deeper and faster than the one before. He lifted her legs so they rested on his shoulders, and he pulled her hips to meet him, deeper and deeper. Yes, fuck me. She heard the sounds of her wet flesh meeting his again and again. His body tensed, and he called out her name.

  “Elaine.” She felt him shudder as he exploded within her. The heat of his release sent another wave through her, bringing her own climax to meet his. Their moans of pleasure echoed in the room until they collapsed. “I love you, angel,” he said, kissing her gently.

  She would never tire hearing those words. “I love you too, Trent.”

  Much later that day, Elaine said, “I don’t want to get out of bed, but I think I need something to eat.”

  “I can have something delivered. What do you feel like?” Trent asked.

  Takeout? Not this time. “How about Italian?”

  She watched Trent grab his phone and start searching for a number. Reaching over she took the phone and held it close to her.

  Puzzled he asked, “Did you change your mind? Feel like something different?”

  Yes, she did feel like something different. The food could stay the same, but she was no longer hiding. Smiling she answered, “Yes, I want to go out to eat.”

  The look of surprise was apparent on his face. “Out? Are you sure?”

  “Yes, I’m positive.”

  “I’m almost afraid to ask, but what changed?”

  He didn’t know because he never made it to the office. Looks like she was going to get to inform him in person. She sat up next to him and said smugly, “You, Mr. Davis, are no longer my boss. I submitted my letter of resignation this morning.”

  Trent now sat up on the bed next to her. “Good.”

  Puzzled by his reaction she asked, “All you have to say is good?”

  “If you didn’t quit I was going to have to fire you. There was no way I was going to be able to hide my feelings for you from the world much longer.”

  She was never so happy to hear she was going to be fired. She kissed him again and then pulled away. “You don’t get any more than one kiss, or I won’t get dinner.” She laughed.

  “Sure you don’t want delivery one last time?” he teased.

  “Just for that, I’m going to have dessert too.” With that she bounced from the bed and headed for the shower. She couldn’t remember the last time she was so happy or felt so alive!

  Chapter Thirty-two

  Answering her phone, she was relieved to hear a friendly voice. “Hi, Lizette, how are you?”

  “Shouldn’t I be asking you that?”

  “Everything is fine.”

  “Are you sure, Elaine? Jon told me what happened, what Trent did. I’m sorry.”

  She knew her friend cared and she appreciated it, but Elaine didn’t want to dwell on what Trent did. It would only hold her back from moving forward. “Don’t worry about it. We worked it out.”

  “Oh, I’m so glad. I told Jon if Trent didn’t fix things with you he wasn’t going to enjoy coming here for a visit.”

  She couldn’t picture Lizette holding a grudge against anyone. She was one of the sweetest people she knew. “Thanks, but everything is good between us.” More than good.

  “Does that mean we’re still on for dinner at your house tonight?”

  Was it Saturday already? Where did the week go? With everything else that had transpired, she had totally forgotten their game night. She was sure Lizette would understand if she cancelled. Staying home with Trent for the entire weekend sounded great, but doing things with others, opening herself up to close relationships was all part of the new her.

  “Of course we are still on. I’ll cook.” When Lizette said nothing Elaine added, “Don’t panic, it was only a joke.”

  “Oh good, I was trying to think up a believable excuse on why we wouldn’t be able to make it after all.” Lizette laughed.

  “My cooking really is that bad, isn’t it?”

  “I may have had worse. But think on the positive side: you’re in New York. You don’t have to know how to cook here. One phone call and you can have whatever you want twenty-four hours a day.”

  “Good thing.” Elaine laughed.

  “What can I bring?”

  “How about beer, since we are having pizza.”

  “Pizza! That sounds great but make it a veggie so I can convince myself I’m eating healthy.”

  “Since when do you need to watch what you eat?”

  “Since the day I ordered my wedding dress. All I keep hearing is five pounds one way or another and the dress doesn’t fit right.”

  “Don’t worry about it. I’m sure you and Jon will work off the calories when you get home,” she teased.

  “Oh, that’s true. Okay, make it a deep dish with extra cheese then.”

  Both women were still laughing when they hung up. She left the kitchen to find Trent. Better remind him of their dinner plans because she had the feeling she wasn’t the only one who forgot.

  “Can’t we tell them we are busy and make it another night?”

  “Absolutely not, Trent.”

  He pulled her close and kissed her neck. “Are you sure I can’t change your mind?”

  If you don’t stop you could. “No, Jon and Lizette will be here in two hours so you better get yourself mentally prepared.”

  “Mentally prepared? What for?”

  “After dinner we are playing a trivia game, pop culture. Guys versus girls. And we plan on kicking your butts.”

  “What makes you think you’ll beat us?”

  “Simple, I bet you and Jon have spent more time in the office than watching movies and listening to music.” When he didn’t answer she continued, “Yep, this is going to be easy.”

  ***

  Trent opened the door in a voice that sounded overly excited. “Hi guys, glad you could make it.” He turned to Elaine and said teasingly, “Did that sound believable?”

  Elaine gave him a light slap on his arm and said, “Don’t you listen to him. I think he had too much coffee today. We are happy you could come.”

  “At least he has a shirt that closes this time,” Lizette teased.

  “Why do I feel like I’m missing something?” Jon asked.

  Trent grabbed the beer from Jon and said, “You’ve got to be quick to keep up with these two ladies.”

  “You just figured that out? Wait till the day comes and you realize no matter how much you try, you can’t keep up with them.” Jon laughed.

  “That bad, huh?” Trent asked as he looked at Elaine who stood smiling so innocently.

  Another knock on the door announced the arrival of pizza. The four friends sat in the living room, drinking beer and eating.

  “I was really surprised when Trent told us the story about your birth. I’ve never heard of anything like that before,” Jon said.

  “Yes, it is an unusual circumstance,” Elaine replied.

  “How come you never told anyone before? I mean, about not knowing who your parents were?” Lizette asked.

  “I guess saying it out loud to others was going to mean I had to admit it to myself. That was something I wasn’t ready to do. Not until very recently,” she said.

  “And to think there is no way you will ever know where you come from. I wish there was something more we could do,” Lizette said.

  “We might not be able to find your birth parents, but there is a way to find out where you came from,” Jon said.

  “How can you do that when we don’t know any family history?” Trent asked.

  “Trent, medical advances are changing daily. I know someone who is using the latest genetic and computational technologies to analyze historical patterns in DNA from participants around the world. You might not ever find your parents, but you might find out where your family comes from. Sometimes they only have a region but I have heard he can sometimes pinpoint a village in a totally different part of the world,” Jon said.

  “Do
you think he would help me?” Elaine asked.

  “I’m sure he will do what he can. I’ll tell him to expect your call.”

  “Thanks, Jon. I don’t know why I didn’t think to ask before,” Trent said.

  “We move in different circles.”

  “Since there is nothing we can do about that tonight, I suggest we get to the issue at hand,” Lizette said.

  “And what issue is that?” Jon asked.

  “Heads or tails to see who goes first in the game.” She laughed as she pulled a coin out of her purse.

  Both Jon and Trent answered at once, but both chose a different answer.

  Elaine and Lizette looked at each other. “This is going to be easier than I thought, Lizette. These two can’t even agree on a coin toss.”

  “Bring it on, ladies. It’s early and we are out to win,” Trent teased.

  They all laughed and Elaine took the dice; the women got the first roll.

  Trent watched her blow on the dice and let them go. Her eyes sparkled with joy. Though he may have wanted to be alone with her again tonight, he was glad she didn’t cancel. This was good for both of them, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t looking forward to having her in his arms again later.

  As the game went on it was clear this was not his or Jon’s strong point.

  “Wrong again, Jon. That is not the correct answer.” Lizette chuckled.

  “I knew you guys were going to be bad, but you are worse than I thought,” Elaine teased. “Maybe we better start having movie nights so you two are up with the times.”

  “You both have been left in the dust,” Lizette added.

  Jon turned to Trent and said, “I’m okay with throwing in the towel of defeat if you are.”

  As Trent eyed the board, their pieces were much farther behind on the board. His claim on the win earlier had been premature. When he looked across the table, he saw both women’s arms crossed. Their expression said it all. He never knew losing could be so enjoyable. “Enjoy the victory now, ladies, but next time the men pick the game,” Trent stated.

  Chapter Thirty-three

  Trent answered his cell phone. “Hey, Ross, what’s up?”

  “Sorry you missed the Takes One call Friday morning, but I totally understand why.”

  Word travels fast. “Let me guess, Drew called you?”

  “Actually, I called Drew and Jon after the Takes One call. It had been obvious Elaine was not on her game.”

  “I wasn’t on the call, what happened?” Trent asked.

  “My first thought was maybe we didn’t hire the right person for the job. She emailed us the same presentation she used last month. And appeared so distracted she never even noticed as she rambled through. After everything I learned, I wasn’t surprised by your absence or her lack of concentration on the call.”

  I was such a fucking idiot. “She had a good reason to be distracted.”

  “Oh, when I heard what you did, I was shocked she even showed up on the call at all.”

  Trent would have loved to dispute that, but he couldn’t. “Yeah, I almost lost her over that.”

  “You’re lucky you didn’t. I have no idea if you could ever find another woman who could put up with you the way she does.”

  He didn’t want to think of not being with Elaine. When he had left the office Friday morning to tell her how he felt and found she wasn’t there, he thought she’d decided not to forgive him, and he had lost her for good. But when he called her driver and found out they were on their way to his penthouse, he made sure they were delayed long enough for him to get there. The moment he saw her when he got off the elevator, he knew he would never let her go again. If it took the rest of his life, he would make it up to her.

  “I hate to bring this up, but we still need to make the decision about the donation this month. It’s hard to believe it has already been six years since Brad’s accident. We really don’t want to miss this month. I’m sure you agree.”

  “I’ll talk to Elaine and let her know about the file she sent and have her send the correct one. We will need to also talk about finding a replacement.”

  “A replacement for who? Elaine? We understand what happened with the file. We’re not going to fire her.”

  “It’s complicated.”

  “That seems to be how it is with everything you touch lately.”

  “She quit because she doesn’t want people thinking she is sleeping with her boss. She was worried about her reputation.”

  “And she chose you?” Ross teased.

  “You’re starting to sound more like Drew all the time. And I don’t mean that as a compliment either.”

  “Get us on the phone with her in one hour. We will have it figured out by then,” Ross said.

  “Don’t put any pressure on her, Ross. I tried to manipulate things to get what I wanted the first time, and I almost lost her.”

  “We can’t screw it up any worse than you. Talk to you in an hour.”

  Reluctantly he headed back to Elaine to break the news to her. He wasn’t going to tell her exactly how bad her original presentation was. He could see the concern and embarrassment in her eyes. “It’s not that big a deal. All you have to do is email them the correct presentation and we can jump on a quick call to review.”

  “You make it sound so simple. That was totally unprofessional of me. I’m so sorry. My mind was on so many other things.”

  And all because of me. “Elaine, this was all my fault, not yours. So what do you say, angel, ready to jump on another call and show these guys what you really pulled together this month?”

  “Let’s do this,” she conceded.

  “I’m so sorry about last Friday,” Elaine said.

  “Don’t worry about it. We’ve had a chance to look at your presentation. I’m not sure how you find these like you do, but it is exactly what we’re looking for this month,” Ross said.

  “We’re all in agreement to move forward with this donation. As we do each year, this is the month we double the amount,” Jon added.

  “I’ll take care of that, gentlemen,” Elaine commented.

  “Before we disconnect this call, there is something else we need to talk about. And that is Elaine’s employment,” Drew mentioned.

  “Elaine, Trent explained the issue around your cover story employment at Davis Enterprises. We understand your concerns. Would you consider staying on with Takes One if you have a new employer?” Ross asked.

  “You could work for me. And what is great, you don’t even need to go into an office,” Drew offered.

  “I’m not sure . . .” Elaine started.

  Trent knew she wanted to stay. “Elaine, you know why we do what we do. You’re the link that will bring us closer to Brad’s dream. The two recipients you’ve brought to us already prove you understand it in a way we only hoped to.”

  Elaine was quiet for a moment then said, “I’ll stay. But I’m not going to use a cover story this time.”

  “You know no one can know about Takes One,” Jon said.

  “I do. The last few weeks have let me dabble in other areas, so I think I’m going to start my own company. Don’t worry, gentleman, I won’t be your competition.”

  “I’m glad you’re staying. Let us know if you need anything from us,” Ross said.

  “Thanks, but I think I’m going to have all the help I need,” Elaine answered.

  ***

  “So what’s this new company you want to start?” Trent asked, once they were off the phone.

  Turning to him, and unable to contain her excitement she said, “I want to start a company that specializes in event planning for nonprofit fundraiser events.”

  “Event planner? What brought that on?”

  He wasn’t the only one surprised with the choice. When she told Jill and Lizette about it they were equally shocked by her choice. Then she explained her vision and how taking their combined talents they would still be helping others in need but in a totally different way.

&
nbsp; “It came to me when helping your father and when your mother asked me to help with the fundraiser. Once I started doing it, well . . . I liked it.”

  “Glad you found something you enjoy doing. Let me know if you need any help getting this off the ground. I hear I’m a pretty savvy businessman,” he teased.

  She laughed. “That you are, Trent, but we are going to go with a different marketing idea than yours.”

  Hi eyebrow arched. “Who are the others you’re speaking about?”

  “Oh, I forgot to tell you the best part. I have partners in this new adventure, Lizette and Jill.” She beamed with excitement. “Jill is going to move to New York to be close by. Isn’t this fantastic? We’ll all be working together like before but this time as equal partners. What do you think?”

  “I think finding an apartment in New York may be difficult. Where is she going to stay?”

  They had been so eager to start planning the business there may have been a few details they hadn’t thought through. She would have to remember to call Jill to discuss that later. “We haven’t thought about that yet.”

  “Why doesn’t she take yours?”

  Mine? “It is a nice apartment but really only big enough for one. In case you didn’t notice there is only one bedroom.”

  “That’s all she would need.”

  What was he suggesting? That I won’t be there? “And where exactly will I be?” she asked, hoping she knew the answer.

  Trent pulled her onto his lap and said, “Here with me, where you belong.”

  “Here? Do you have a spare bed for me?” Elaine teased.

  “There is only one bed for you, angel, and that’s mine,” he told her firmly.