The Billionaire's Setup

by Marie Higgins

  Missy flipped her hand in the air. “Well, I’m betting on William’s eyes finally opening to what he’s getting himself into and that he’ll break off the wedding.”

  Frowning, Matilda moved to the younger maid, shaking her head. “My dear, Missy. You must get your head out of the clouds. Mr. William won’t even give you a second glance. After all, you’re only a servant.”

  Missy’s expression turned to rejection and she twisted her hands against her waist. “A girl can dream, can’t she?”

  “Of course.” Matilda patted Missy cheek lovingly. “In fact, older woman like myself still dream because...” She walked to the cupboard under the sink and pulled out a large bottle. “See what I picked up at the market today. As you can see, I was still living my dream.”

  Donald gasped, moving closer to look at the bottle. “Cyanide? You dream of cyanide?”

  Missy laughed. “Some of us were complaining about your sister the other day, and Matilda threatened to buy some cyanide to... well, get rid of the Victoria problem.”

  Donald tossed back his wavy blond hair and laughed. “Oh, you’d better put that away, Matilda. I might want to use it first.”

  The cook swished her hand in the air, shooing him. “You aren’t going to touch this. I realized last night this was the only thing that will help our mice problem in the cellar. If I don’t kill me some mice before the wedding, I’m sure I’ll be looking for a new job very soon.”

  Suddenly, a knock came on the back door. The three people standing in the kitchen acted like they hadn’t heard anything. When the knock came again – but louder, Nicole’s mind sprang alert and she snapped out of her dream.

  She rubbed her eyes, trying to clear her mind of the awful dream, and walked toward the bedroom door. The alarm clock on the bed stand read eight-thirty. Inwardly, she groaned. She told Nolan she’d meet him at nine downstairs for breakfast.

  Yawning, Nicole opened the door. Bailey stood in front of her, folding her arms, and giving her a sad frown. Nicole gasped with happiness and wrapped her arms around her cousin, hugging her tightly.

  “Oh, Bailey. I’m so happy you’re back.”

  “Excuse me?” Bailey peeled Nicole’s arms away from her body. “You are the one who’d sent me away. Remember?”

  “Yes, but late last night, I realized I was wrong. I want you to stay here. There’s so much we need to do.”

  Bailey arched a heavily penciled eyebrow. “Why – and what do we need to do?”

  Nicole pulled her cousin inside the room and closed the door. “Well, first thing we’re goin’ to do is have a long talk. I don’t want you to turn out like Victoria, and I vow to do all I can to make sure that won’t happen.”

  Confusion crossed Bailey’s face and she slowly shook her head. “Victoria? Do you mean that woman who died here?”

  Smiling, Nicole nodded. “Let me tell you about our ancestor, Victoria Carrigan.”

  NOLAN STARED AT THE text on his phone from Nicole. She and Bailey had a lot to discuss, and Nicole mentioned she was going to try and convince Bailey that Victoria was a ghost. He wondered what kind of dream she’d had to make her want to change her cousin’s mind.

  He clicked off his phone and relaxed back in his chair as he started on the most delicious waffles he’d ever tasted. His phone buzzed again, but this time it was from a call. Aaron Powers.

  Nolan quickly accepted the call, grinning. “Hey, newlywed. How is the honeymoon going?”

  Aaron laughed, which made Nolan smile wider. Coming from a family with all sisters, he was glad Aaron was like a brother to him.

  “Beth and I are having an incredible time. How are you holding out in the haunted bed and breakfast?”

  Nolan shifted in his chair, holding the phone to his ear while resting his elbow on the table so that he could continue eating. “This was the best gift, I swear.” Nolan sighed. “It’s better than I ever thought possible.”

  There was a brief silence before a light chuckle came from Aaron. “Okay, my friend. Who is she?”

  Nolan’s cheeks grew warm. Apparently, Aaron knew him well. “Her name is Nicole Carrigan, and she’s from Austin, Texas. I met her at the ghost tours. She’s even staying in the room across the hall from mine.”

  “How very coincidental, don’t you think?”

  “I do – as if fate had a hand in it.”

  There was another pause on the phone before Aaron cleared his throat. “Nicole Carrigan from Austin, Texas?”

  “Yes, why?” Nolan frowned, and that familiar feeling of not being good enough, returned. No longer did the waffles taste good. But why was he even worried? Aaron was married, so he wouldn’t be taking away any of Nolan’s women any longer.

  “I’m surprised you didn’t recognize her name. You should know her – or at least her oil. After all, that’s what Powers’ wineries use is Carrigan Oil to fuel our machines.”

  Nolan held his breath. Carrigan Oil? “Are you sure?”

  Aaron snorted. “Of course I’m sure that’s the oil we use.”

  “No, I mean, are you sure that’s Nicole’s company?”

  “Well, let me see...”

  From the other end of the phone, Nolan heard the clicking of a keyboard. Aaron must be on his laptop. The strange man must not know the meaning on no business while on his honeymoon.

  “I’m sending you a text with the picture of the owner of Carrigan Oil.”

  Nolan pulled his phone away from his ear and waited for the text to come. When it did, he stared dumbfounded at Nicole’s picture. She was a few years younger in this picture, but it was definitely the woman he’d fallen in love with. “Yes, that’s my Nicole.”

  “Wow, Ricks. Way to go – falling for a billionaire. But I must say, you have wonderful taste in women.”

  Nolan’s fingers tightened over the phone. A billionaire? No, she wasn’t that wealthy. Yet, the way Bailey spent money, the family would have to be loaded.

  “Hey, Nolan? Are you there?”

  Nolan pulled himself out of his surprise, but his heart couldn’t feel the excitement. Slowly, his heart began to grow numb. He didn’t want a wealthy woman because if she ever found out how much money he made, she’d dump him to look for someone else. After all, didn’t she tell him that she was tired of men loving money more than her?

  Groaning softly, he rubbed the headache beginning in his forehead. This was not the kind of news he needed right now. “Yes, I’m here,” he answered.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing. I’m fine. I... I just didn’t want her to be a billionaire. I wanted her to be normal.”

  Aaron laughed again. “Well, with that kind of money, I’m sure she can pretend to be normal all she wants.”

  “So, Aaron, why did you call?”

  “Oh, yeah. I forgot.” He paused. “I just wondered if during your tour, you’d met a woman by the name of Bailey Farnsworth.”

  “Yes. Why? What has she done?”

  “Because my secretary, Helen, called me to let me know that last night, Bailey Farnsworth had called and made some threats – to leak pictures of me and the Texas Oil Heiress all over social media unless I didn’t break up with Nicole as soon as possible.”

  Still keeping his phone to his ear, Nolan leaned both elbows on the table and rubbed his pounding forehead. His chest tightened painfully. “I don’t understand. Did you used to date Nicole?”

  “No. Helen got the impression that Bailey was misinformed because she thought the man Nicole was having a fling with in Colorado was Aaron Powers.”

  “None of this makes sense,” Nolan mumbled. “They know my name is Nolan Ricks. Unless...” He sat up as the headache lifted just enough for him to think straight. “They know I work at Powers’ winery. I’m wondering now if they think I’m somehow related to you.”

  Aaron chuckled. “Actually, this Bailey woman thinks you are me, not a relative. You know, I’m wondering if they noticed that Aaron Powers paid for the room and the vehicle rental an
d all the other expenses. Maybe that’s why she thinks you are me.”

  Nolan’s heart continued to crumble, making it hard to breathe. Suddenly, an idea struck him like a brick to the head. If Bailey thought he was Aaron Powers, then Nicole must think that, too.

  Closing his eyes, he gritted his teeth. That’s why Nicole had fallen for him so quickly – because she thought she’d finally found a man who wasn’t after her money. How could Nolan correct her assumption now? If he tried to make her see that he was really a regular man who happened to work for a billionaire, she’d drop him like a hot potato.

  Once again in his miserable life, his rich friend had won a woman Nolan loved.

  TWENTY-FOUR

  “You did what?” Nicole could strangle her cousin. Right here. Right now. Of course, she realized how very close Bailey’s and Victoria’s lives were, which was why sweet, mild temperament Nicole Carrigan wanted to hurt her cousin badly.

  “Lower your voice,” Bailey said, trying to calm Nicole by patting her arms. “The only reason I called Aaron Powers’ office last night and talked to his secretary was because you upset me when you demanded I leave.”

  “I can’t believe... I just can’t believe you’d sink so low.” Nicole pushed her fingers through her hair, as she tried to use her fingers to massage the growing pain in her skull. “Nolan has no idea we think he’s Aaron Powers, but actually, I don’t think he is.”

  “It doesn’t matter if he’s not Aaron. He’s part of the Powers’ family, and that’s good enough.”

  Nicole’s anger guided her footsteps back and forth across the floor in her suite. She tried to wrap her mind around how to get out of this mess, but no ideas came. She threw her cousin a glare as she passed her. “And you gave his secretary your name? Really, Bailey? Why would you do that?”

  “I told you,” she snapped. “I was very upset at you, and I was striking back at you the only way I could think of doing.”

  “By threatenin’ a billionaire to leak photos of him and me to social media?”

  Bailey’s eyes widened and she nodded. “Because Aaron really is married. His secretary told me he’s on his honeymoon.”

  “Oh, my gosh!” Nicole lifted her voice. “I really can’t do this anymore. Maybe I was right to make you leave Colorado. You’re as vindictive as your father, and I wish the two of you would stop tryin’ to run my life. This is my life. Not yours!”

  Huffing, Bailey folded her arms. “You really are impossible when you’re like this. If you’d just remember that all of this was your fault to begin with. If you hadn’t tried—”

  “My fault?” Nicole’s voice lifted higher. “Bailey, let me ask you somethin’. Have you done anythin’ in your life that you take responsibility for?”

  Bailey rolled her eyes. “Of course. If it wasn’t for me, Daddy’s company would have—”

  “No, Bailey.” Nicole moved in front of her cousin, staring her down. “Have you done anythin’ wrong in your life that you take responsibility for?”

  Laughing forcefully, Bailey flipped her hand in the air, appearing nonchalant. “Not that I’ve made many bad decisions in my life, but there have been a few that I’ve taken the blame for.”

  Nicole cocked her head and arched an eyebrow. “Name one. Just one. That’s all I’m askin’.”

  Bailey fidgeted her hands and shifted her feet. Her gaze ran around the room as if she was looking for something that would remind her. Finally, she chuckled again and shook her head. “I can’t think of anything right now, but it’s only because you’ve put me on the spot.”

  Blowing out a frustrated breath, Nicole moved back to her bed and plopped down on the mattress. “Bailey, I can’t believe how much your life is like Victoria’s.”

  “The dead woman? Ha! My life is nothing like hers. For one, I’m not engaged.”

  “I’m actually surprised Victoria had been, too. It makes me wonder what William saw in her to look past her degradin’ attitude.”

  “Are... you saying that I have a degrading attitude?”

  Nicole nodded. “If the shoe fits.”

  She scowled. “What does shoes have to do with this conversation, anyway?”

  Nicole rolled her eyes. “Bailey, look at yourself.” Bailey turned toward the full-length mirror, tilted her head, and flipped her hair. “Not physically. Good grief, woman... But look at your life. Look at the way you demand everyone’s attention and when it doesn’t go your way, you treat them like dirt. You humiliate them in front of others, and you point out their faults, just so that you come out on top.” Nicole sighed. “That’s not a good way to make it through life. Don’t you want people to like you?”

  “People do like me.” She lifted her chin. “A lot of people do.”

  “Probably because you like to rub it in everyone’s faces how much money you have. But I can tell you one thing. Most likely, those people are talkin’ behind your back and tellin’ others how mean and rude you are. And I can promise you, the more people you piss off, the more people will want to cause you bodily harm – just like what happened with Victoria.”

  “Stop scaring me.” Bailey frowned.

  “Then you need to start thinkin’ of others first. You need to start thinkin’ about their feelin’s before you go and do somethin’ so incredibly stupid as to call Aaron Powers’ office as a means of blackmailin’ them.”

  Bailey slinked to a chair and sank into the heavy cushions. “I don’t know why I did it. Honestly, I don’t. I had come back to the bed and breakfast to pack, and I had heard a noise on my phone, so I unlocked it. There was Aaron Powers’ webpage. I honestly don’t even remember looking it up, but I suppose I did. Anyway, that’s when I decided to call and try to get him to stop seeing you. I wanted to hurt you as you had hurt me.”

  Nicole studied her idiotic cousin’s expression. The foolish girl really looked like she was telling the truth – and not making up crap just to hear her voice talk. “So, you didn’t think of blackmailin’ Aaron Powers until you saw that on your phone?”

  Bailey nodded. “I knew I wanted to get back at you in some way, but I figured I’d think of something when I got back home.”

  Unease crept over Nicole and she started pacing the floor again. Could this have something to do with Victoria? But why would the dead woman do something like that? After all, she had wanted Nicole’s and Nolan’s relationship to work out. But... what if Victoria wasn’t involved?

  Nicole moved to the window and looked outside. The morning was passing by quicker than she had wanted. She needed to see Nolan and explain. Even if he wasn’t Aaron Powers, she was sure he’d hear about Bailey’s stupid prank sooner or later.

  There were a few times Nicole had blamed her annoying ghost for things that happened around the B&B, but Victoria had said she’d not done anything like that. Nolan had mentioned once that there were reports of more than one ghost here at Hanover House. What were the odds there was a disgruntled ghost here, too?

  “Nikki,” Bailey whined. “I’m really sorry I did that. If it’ll smooth things over between us, I’ll talk to Nolan and tell him it was a mistake.”

  “No.” Nicole swung around and faced her cousin. “If anyone is goin’ to talk to Nolan, it’ll be me. I think it’s time I stopped hidin’ who I really am.”

  Bailey shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

  Nicole grabbed some clothes and changed in the bathroom. She peered in the mirror and checked her make-up. She fluffed her hair a bit, but she didn’t want to take too much time on her appearance because she knew she’d start crying if he didn’t believe her. When she left the bathroom, she looked at her cousin who was now watching TV.

  “Bailey, you stay here in my room. Nolan and I need some privacy so we can talk this out.”

  Nicole moved to the door and turned the handle, but the door wouldn’t budge. It didn’t feel like it was locked, and yet, it wouldn’t open, either. She pulled harder, but nothing moved. She pounded her fist near the locks and grumbled under her
breath before trying to open the door again.

  “What’s wrong?” Bailey asked, moving closer.

  “I don’t know. It’s like... someone is on the other side keepin’ the door from openin’ up.”

  “That’s odd.” Bailey reached over and tried the door handle, but the same thing happened to her.

  “I’m going to call maintenance.” Nicole moved to the old-fashioned phone on the bed stand that had buttons to push to reach the people who worked here. She lifted the receiver to her ear, but there was no sound. She pushed a few buttons, but nothing worked.

  “What is goin’ on here?” Nicole followed the phone cord all the way from the phone to the wall, and everything looked just fine.

  She stomped her foot. “Victoria? Are you doin’ this? Because if you are, you’d better stop now. Believe me, you do not want to see me mad.”

  Bailey snorted a laugh. “Yeah,” she called to the room. “Listen to her, Victoria.”

  Nicole narrowed her gaze on Bailey. “Why are you talkin’ to Victoria? You don’t even believe in ghosts.”

  Bailey shrugged. “True, but... I thought it would be nice to support you.”

  “Now is not that time.” Nicole moved back to the door and gripped the handle. Taking a deep breath, she put all of her weight into pulling the door open. This time, it swung open just fine and she stumbled backward from the easy movement. “Thank goodness for that.”

  “Nikki?”

  Nicole stopped and turned back to look at Bailey. She slowly walked toward the door, her narrowed gaze stayed on Nicole the whole time. “What do you want?”

  “Do you really believe in ghosts?”

  “Yes.” Nicole sighed. “Because it’s better to believe in ghosts than to think I’m goin’ crazy because I can see and talk to one.” She shrugged. “Right?”

  Without waiting for her cousin’s answer – because she truly didn’t care at this point what Bailey thought of her – she headed downstairs. She doubted Nolan would still be in the dining room waiting for her, but she knew she had to inform the desk clerk what had happened in her room.