Because He Watches Me (Because He Owns Me, Book Nine) (An Alpha Billionaire Romance)

by Hannah Ford

  She could feel their eyes on her, watching her, thinking god only knew what about her.

  Bare chested men, semi-naked women, tattooed, clad in leather—these were the people that inhabited Club Venture.

  The albino man led Nicole into a stairwell, and as they walked into it, she heard moans and groans and slurping sounds bouncing and echoing off the walls. The sounds came from a flight below—what must have been the basement level. It could have been a couple or it could have been five people down there, and Nicole didn’t care to know which it was.

  They started to climb the stairs.

  On the second floor, the albino stopped and led them out of the stairwell, into another long hallway with doors on both sides. “Go all the way down to the last door on the left,” he told her. “Give a knock and Mr. Wright will let you in.”

  She started to walk down the long hallway.

  “Bye now, honey,” he called to her. “I hope to see you again real soon.” And then he flitted away.

  Alone in the hallway, Nicole almost missed her albino chaperone—but not really. She walked slowly, hearing the thumping music louder again. Finally she reached the last door on the left and knocked.

  When the door opened, Kane Wright was behind it. He was wearing a cream colored suit, his hair immaculate, smiling at her as if she were an old friend who’d dropped by his summer house out of the blue. “Nicole, my dear. So good to see you. Come inside, please.”

  She was surprised that the room she walked into was large, well-lit, with a white carpet and white, modern furniture to match. A window on the left wall overlooked the inside of the dance club from above. Strobe lights pulsed and flashed and a mob of people moved almost as a single organism below them.

  Although this room was removed from the club atmosphere, it soaked it in a little just the same.

  “Drink?” Kane offered.

  She shook her head once. No.

  “Please, have a seat then.” He motioned to one of the white couches. She sat down and felt its immediate luxury, sank into it just enough to feel enveloped.

  Nicole had taken great care to dress down for this meeting.

  She wanted there to be no confusion, so she’d worn unflattering jeans, sandals, and a light gray sweater. Her hair was not particularly styled and she’d put on no makeup whatsoever.

  Kane went and poured himself a drink of some sort and then sat down across from her, affable, as he always seemed to be. “Any troubles getting here?”

  She shrugged. “You’ve got a strange employee working the door, but other than that it was fine.”

  “Oh,” he grinned. “You must mean Jeffrey. He’s nice enough once you get to know him. And as long as you don’t make fun of him being pale.”

  “What happens if you make fun of him?”

  Kane took a long, luxurious sip of his drink and then smacked his lips. “I think the last guy who made a joke ended up leaving the club in a stretcher.”

  “How lovely. What a nice employee to have working for you.”

  Kane shrugged, clearly not interested in what she thought about his associate. “So,” he said, tilting his glass toward her, “have you heard from Red lately?”

  “Why don’t you just tell me what you want?” she said, growing impatient. She crossed her legs and set her jaw, tilting her head slightly the way she did when she was angry or felt threatened.

  Kane took note of her posture. “Don’t be so hostile, Nicole. I haven’t been rude to you, now, have I?”

  “You threatened someone I care a great deal about.”

  “It’s interesting that you’re so protective of a man who continually embarrasses you, Nicole.”

  “That’s none of your business.”

  “Perhaps not,” Kane sighed. “But for some reason I feel like I want to help you.”

  “That’s strange. You don’t even know me.”

  “It is strange. I’ve been puzzled by it myself. But I think if we can come to terms tonight, I’ll be able to find out just what I’m so taken with you.”

  “Maybe you’re just lonely.”

  “Perhaps. But there are plenty of women willing to keep me company, Nicole. That’s not really an issue. What’s more difficult is finding someone who I deem to be worth of my time.”

  “Maybe you should try being a little less stuck up,” she said.

  Kane smiled at her as if she’d just given him a huge compliment. “See? That’s part of it. I like your spunk. I like that you’re not going to back down. Sure, at first you might come off like a little mouse of a girl. But peel a few layers back and there’s Lara Croft waiting to riddle you with bullets.”

  “I’m don’t raid tombs anymore. I’m officially retired, Mr. Wright.”

  “Please. Call me Kane.”

  “I’m not very interested in playing games, Kane.”

  He nodded slightly. “Understood. But I’m not trying to play a game with you. I’m trying to get to know you better.”

  “You sure have a strange way of going about it.”

  “Maybe you could give me a chance to start fresh. I’d like you to come with me to The Cayman Islands next week.”

  Nicole actually laughed. She couldn’t help it—she thought it was one of the craziest things anyone had ever said to her. “Do women you’ve just met often agree to accompany you overseas?”

  “Sure they do,” he said. “And I think you’ve got better reason than most to give me a chance.”

  “What reason is that?”

  He sat back and folded his hands over his stomach. “I’ve recently found out some disturbing information about Red Jameson. Information that could be very problematic for him if it was to be made public.”

  “What kind of information?”

  He sighed. “Information about his illegal activities. He could go to jail for it, possibly, and certainly public opinion would be very harsh if any of it were to come to light.”

  “I don’t believe you. I don’t think Red did anything illegal.”

  “Spouses rarely think the worst of their loved ones.”

  “You’re going to threaten to release this information about Red if I don’t agree to go to the Caymans with you?” She shook her head in disbelief. “You’re even worse than I thought.”

  Kane just looked at her. “I know you’ll be angry with me for awhile, but I feel confident we’ll get past it. And if you still hate me at the end of the trip, then…” he shrugged.

  Nicole stood up. “I’m not going to even dignify this proposition with a response.”

  “Nicole, don’t go,” he said.

  She stopped and turned to look at him. “If you want to hurt Red, I can’t stop you by having sex with you. I’m sorry but I refuse to do that.”

  Kane started to laugh. “Whoever said anything about sex?”

  “I think inviting me on a trip to the Caymans is pretty much telling me you expect me to sleep with you.”

  “You don’t know me, Nicole,” he said, still laughing. “Red must have truly traumatized you with his behavior if that’s what you think I’m indicating.”

  “Then what are you saying?”

  “I’m simply asking you to spend some time with me—a few days. Let’s get to know one another.”

  “I’m still in love with Red.”

  Kane’s smile died on his lips. Clearly, he was a man not accustomed to being told no. “He’s weak, Nicole. When things got difficult between the two of you, he ran away. What sort of man is that?”

  “I can’t change how I feel,” she said.

  “I don’t expect you to.”

  “Then what do you expect?” She asked, knowing she should just walk out, but afraid to do so.

  Kane stood up and came a single step closer to her. “Think about my proposition. A few days in the Caymans with me. I promise there will be no demands made of you, other than you spend some time with me eating wonderful food, laying on the beach, swimming in crystal clear water. Most people pay quite a lo
t of money for a vacation like that.”

  “And if I agree, you’ll make sure that this information about Red never becomes a problem. You won’t ever release it to anybody?”

  He looked her straight in the eye. “I swear I won’t ever put it out there. And it could be very bad for him if anything ever did get out. Homeland Security in particular would be very interested.”

  “Would they?” she said. “Why would Homeland Security care about what Red was doing?”

  “He was helping undocumented workers from Middle Eastern countries gain access to the U.S. through employment with his company.”

  “Why would he do that?” Nicole asked. “That doesn’t make any sense to me.”

  “You’d have to ask him why he did it,” Kane told her, turning and walking toward the window that overlooked the dance floor. “Maybe Red Jameson isn’t the man you believe him to be.”

  Nicole was spinning from everything Kane had just told her. His threats and promises buzzed around in her head like a swarm of bees. “I think I should go home now,” she said.

  He nodded. “Let me get Jeffrey to drive you.”

  “You’ve got to be joking.”

  Suddenly Kane broke into a boyish grin. “Of course I’m joking, Nicole. Besides, Jeffrey’s having some problems with his driver’s license right about now. I’ll have my personal driver take you home instead.”

  Kane took his cell phone out and texted something rapid fire. Then he looked up at Nicole. “Think about my offer,” he said.

  She chewed a little on her lower lip, thinking about what two or three days alone with Kane would be like. There was no way she could ever be attracted to him. In fact, she could hardly stand to be in his physical presence.

  On the other hand, if he kept to his word about this trip, all she would have to do is grit her teeth and bear it. Make conversation, go swimming, eat a few meals with him. She’d of course stay in her own room—that was a deal breaker.

  And when it was over, Red would be safe again. Except that she had no idea if Kane Wright would honor the agreement.

  “I’m just not sure I can trust you,” she said.

  “What have you got to lose?” Kane asked.

  “A lot,” she said, her eyes locking on his. “Just because I’m not rich like you, doesn’t mean I have nothing to lose.”

  “Here’s my cell number,” he said, handing her a business card. “Don’t answer now. Sleep on it tonight.”

  Nicole didn’t even look at his card—she just thrust it into her purse.

  Kane walked her out of the room and down the hallway, into the stairwell. As they descended, he gently put a hand on the small of her back. Nicole almost told him not to touch her, but decided it wasn’t worth it.

  His gesture made her miss Red all the more. If Red were here, he’d be cracking jokes. She’d welcome his strong firm hand on her back or around her waist.

  Kane Wright might be conventionally handsome, but he was all wrong for her. And the worst part was, he didn’t much care. He was one of those men so used to getting what he wanted that it never occurred to him whether or not someone else felt the way he did. It was enough that he was “taken” with her, now he would find a way to force her to feel the same about him.

  When they reached the street level, she turned and looked at him. “You know, there’s consequences to how you treat people, Kane. I think you’re going to find that out the hard way.”

  Before he could reply, she opened the door and quickly made her way to the limousine waiting curbside.

  And then she was taken home.

  ***

  She’d been having a dream about Red—she knew that much. And then she was suddenly awake, heart pounding, feeling he was right next to her. She could remember every single sensation of his body next to hers in bed, how it was to wake up next to him in the mornings. The way he smelled, the way his curly black hair fell onto the pillow, his body sprawling out across the sheets.

  Nicole half expected to see him turning over onto his back and grinning at her with sleepy eyes. Pulling her across the gap and into his arms.

  She sat up in bed and tried to calm down, as if she were recovering from a nightmare. Only she realized the nightmare was her reality. In the dream, she and Red had been together again, happy again, ready to spend their lives with one another.

  It was in her waking life that everything had gone wrong.

  Instantly, memories of the previous night and Kane’s threats flooded her mind. He was such a poor replacement for Red Jameson; everything about Kane was a turn-off for Nicole. At least when Red was being aggressive, you knew it—but with Kane Wright, it was all hidden. He didn’t even have the guts to just command her to fuck him. Instead, he’d tried to bribe her, extort her—as if he had to fool her into being with him.

  But would he hurt Red if she refused to play along? That was the million-dollar question.

  Nicole wondered what Red would advise her to do. Probably he wouldn’t advise anything, he’d have been too busy hunting Kane Wright down so that he could turn his face into a bloody mess.

  Suddenly, her stomach lurched. Nicole’s mouth flooded with spit and her throat constricted. Stumbling out of bed, she ran to the bathroom and as soon as she got to the toilet, heaved her guts up.

  Last night’s mac and cheese (hurriedly eaten before going out with Danielle) was clearly visible now in the toilet water. Just looking at it was enough to cause her to heave again. More came up, and then Nicole was using some toilet paper to wipe her chin and mouth, tossing it in the toilet. A quick flush and down it all went.

  She patted her stomach, feeling a little better now.

  What was it, she wondered? A slight case of food poisoning? She’d never had food poisoning before, but she’d always assumed it was pretty brutal. She imagined herself clinging to the bowl, sleeping in the bathroom, every twenty minutes being struck by another bout of nausea.

  This didn’t feel like that at all.

  Maybe a touch of a stomach flu? Nicole certainly hoped not. She didn’t feel like spending the next twenty-four hours in bed.

  She went to the sink and quickly washed her face, patted it down with the nearby hand towel, looked at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were puffy, but other than that she looked fine. Not great, just fine.

  How could she ever really be great again? She was lost without him.

  Don’t think like that, Nicole told herself. She’d been doing a lot of pep talks lately, telling herself to buck up and stay strong and other clichés that never really helped.

  I miss Red. I miss him so bad that it literally hurts. Maybe that’s why I threw up.

  She was thinking crazy thoughts. Nicole knew she needed to get it together. But the plain fact was, she was tired of keeping it together, tired of pretending everything was okay. Not only did she miss him terribly, every single moment of the day—but now she also had to deal with Kane Wright completely on her own.

  Today was going to be a no shower day. In the past, before the latest and greatest breakup with Red, there had never been a “no shower day”—she took a shower at least once, very often twice a day.

  But lately she couldn’t even muster the energy for that. Today she simply put her hair up, put on deodorant and some clean clothes, a little makeup—and done. She didn’t feel sexy or fresh or awake.

  Nicole didn’t much care though. Perhaps I’m depressed, she thought. She found she didn’t care too much about that either.

  And then it was off to work for the day.

  Work had become an altogether different place since Red was fired. The fun had left Jameson International altogether. There was an interim CEO, someone she’d never heard of before, who’d given a twenty minute speech a couple of days ago. He’d talked a bunch about ships travelling rough seas, teamwork, holding strong through the tough times, and on and on.

  Nicole had found herself spacing out a few minutes into it and just daydreaming about Red. Their work lunches together,
the way he’d looked at her, the hunger in his eyes.

  But she knew she wasn’t the only one who missed him. Even Remi had commented on it one day. Remi wasn’t the type to get all soft and nostalgic about anyone or anything, but she turned to Nicole randomly and said, “I put my resume up online yesterday. I just can’t see myself working here in six months. All the life has gone out of this place.”

  Nicole had simply nodded, because if she’d spoken, she might have started to cry, and the last thing she needed was to be seen sobbing in her cubicle.

  A mental breakdown at her job? No thanks.

  Today, she had a busy day, thankfully. Edward was using her as his all-purpose assistant, which meant accompanying him to his meetings, taking notes, getting his schedule straightened out, and going over the reorganized files on the network.

  Being busy was good. Being busy was the only was Nicole stayed sane anymore.

  Still, in those brief downtimes, the quiet moments, no matter how short they were in duration—she instantly wondered where Red was and what he was doing right now. And of course, the most clichéd line of all: Does he miss me the way I miss him?

  Towards the end of work, her cell phone started to buzz. Her heart started racing at the mere possibility that it might be him—that Red might finally be breaking his self-imposed exile.

  It was her mother.

  “Shit.” Nicole had been avoiding her calls. She’d only called back once, at a time when she knew her mom wouldn’t be around, and left a brief message acting like she’d been disappointed to have missed her.

  But now she was starting to feel guilty. So despite her qualms, she finally picked up. “Hey, Mom.”

  “Oh! I was so used to getting voicemail, I’m a little startled to hear my daughter’s real voice.”

  Nicole smiled—actually it was more of a grimace. “Sorry about that, Mom. Things have been really busy around here.”

  I’ve been busy moping, not showering, and occasionally vomiting for no apparent reason. That’s why I haven’t picked up lately.

  “Busy doing what?” her mother asked, a hint of suspicion in her voice. Of course she suspected that Nicole was seeing Red again—nothing else explained the lack of communication.