Billionaires and Bad Boys: The Complete 7-Book Box Set

by Nikki Chase

“I want you to be the one to tell her.” She looks straight into my eyes as she says this, her hands playing with the cold condensation on her glass.

  “Why?”

  “It's not for your benefit, if that's what you're thinking. In fact, I’ll tell you right now that if you don't tell her, I will.” The flame burning in Alice's blue eyes tells me it’s not an empty threat.

  “Believe me, I was already planning on telling her.”

  “Good.” Alice seems relieved. Her jaw and facial expression relax.

  “Look, I don’t think you’re a bad person, Cole. I know as well as you do that it was an accident. I wouldn’t have said yes to your crazy proposal if I didn’t think you were innocent,” Alice says. “But I definitely wouldn’t have said yes if I had known that you were going to…to…to seduce Emily.”

  The way she hesitates before uncomfortably saying the word “seduce” like it's the most cringe-worthy word in the dictionary makes me want to laugh. It's funny how much she reminds me of her sister. I stop myself from actually laughing out loud, of course. I’m not a complete asshole.

  “I’m glad you don't hold me responsible, Alice. I wouldn't go so far as to say I’m innocent,” I say. “But the most important thing is, I didn't plan on any of this happening. I'm not the evil mastermind you seem to think I am. It all just happened. I love her, Alice. The last thing I want to do is to hurt her.”

  “Please don’t hurt her. She’s a good girl. She acts like she’s strong — and she is — but she’s been through so much. You of all people should know. If you love her, you’re going to make it right,” Alice says.

  “I promise you, I will.”

  “To be honest, I wanted to tell her myself when you went outside, but then I…I couldn’t do it.” Alice lets out a burdensome sigh. Her gaze softens. “She needs to hear it from you, Cole. She deserves that. You know she deserves that.”

  “I know, Alice. I promise you I’ll make it right. I was already planning to tell her.”

  We stop talking when Emily comes back. Her eyes are red and the skin underneath those eyes are dark and puffy. The table is silent as we wait for the check, which I pay in full despite protests from both sisters.

  “You can be the one to treat us next time,” I say to Alice as I place my credit card on the little tray with the check and hand it over to the waiter.

  Alice replies with a terse “okay, thanks.” Then the table continues to remain awkwardly quiet. The atmosphere here is more somber than a fucking cemetery.

  I wonder what happened here between Emily and Alice while I was away for a two-minute phone call. I have no idea what’s going on, but if there’s one thing I know, it’s that I’m not going to be the first one to break the silence. I’m not suicidal.

  The waiter comes back with the credit card reader and some mints. From the way he keeps his voice low and quiet, I’d say he seems to sense the tension as well. Once that’s taken care of, we make our way across the mall and go straight to the parking lot.

  “Take care, Em,” Alice says as she presses a button on her car key fob. An old Honda sedan parked nearby chirps twice in response.

  “I will. You too.” Emily’s face remains expressionless. There’s no mistaking the signs of her having just cried, though. It’s obvious the conflict between the two of them is tearing her apart inside. It fucking kills me to know I’m probably responsible for this, too.

  Once we’re in my car, I start the ignition and turn on the heater. It’s getting chilly and I’ve noticed Emily pulling on her cardigan a few times tonight. She’s looking straight ahead now, just staring into the distance with a blank expression on her face and water collecting in her eyes.

  “Is everything okay?” I rub her upper arm.

  “Yes.”

  “Did something happen?”

  “It’s nothing.”

  “Can I help in any way?”

  “I said it’s nothing.”

  “Okay. Is there anywhere you want to go to now?”

  “No. Let’s just go to your place.”

  “Okay, baby. I love you.” I stroke her hair before I put my hands on the steering wheel and back up out of the parking space.

  Fuck. She sounded like a robot just mechanically answering my questions. Alice told me she didn’t tell Emily and I believe her, which means that Emily’s probably not angry at me — yet. But this reaction to whatever Alice said doesn’t bode well for when I tell her the bad news.

  “Did you...have a chat with Alice while I was gone?” Emily breaks the silence with a hesitant question.

  “Just some small talk,” I say, lying to her yet again.

  Cole

  “Are you sure we can’t see your father tonight?” Emily asks as we pull up into the parking lot of The Amber Room.

  “One-hundred percent sure.” I turn off the engine and step out of the car as Emily does the same on the other side.

  I can’t think of a worse idea than having my father and Emily share a meal together. The absurdity of the question almost makes me burst out in laughter.

  After how badly everything went last night with Alice, I didn’t think Emily would want to repeat the experience, but she’s a stubborn one. She has no idea how much worse a dinner with my father would go. She’d be putting herself in real danger.

  That’s my own fault for not telling her. I know. But I just need to buy some time.

  “Well, can we see him some other time?” Emily insists as she takes my hand and we walk across the parking lot.

  “Sure.” I let out a discreet little sigh.

  Oh, we’ll see him alright. But it won’t be a fun little family get-together.

  “It’s just family’s really important to me.” She looks at the ground and continues, “I know you probably wouldn’t think that after what happened last night.”

  “Hey, if anything, what happened last night showed me how close you two are. I barely see my family outside of business dealings.”

  “I’m sorry.” Emily tightens her grip on my hand, as if lending me support.

  “You’re sweet,” I say. “But it doesn’t bother me. My family’s not super close. I’ve made my peace with that a long time ago. It’s not like I once had a tight-knit family and now I’ve lost it. This is normal to me.”

  I glance at Emily. She looks beautiful in a black dress that we just bought earlier today at the Westfield Center. She only had work clothes at my place and didn’t want to go home where she’d risk seeing Alice.

  I love seeing her all dressed up like this. It reminds me of the way she looked when I first saw her in this very bar, wrapped like a present with a bow around her waist. That was the night when everything changed.

  “Hey, Cole,” Shelley says when she spots me sitting at the bar. We’ve been waiting for a while as it’s a pretty busy, which is par for the course for a Saturday night. “What’s it going to be tonight?”

  “A Macallan for me, and…” I turn toward Emily, prompting her to order.

  “A Diet Coke for me, thanks.”

  “Diet Coke, huh? I don’t get many orders for those here,” Shelley says as she pours our drinks into glasses. She winks at Emily and says, “I also don’t often see Cole show up with a date.”

  Emily smiles and thanks Shelley when she serves up my whiskey and Emily’s soda on the counter.

  “My name’s Shelley.” She points at the name tag on her black polo shirt. “Feel free to call me if you need anything.”

  “Thanks, Shelley. I’m Emily,” she says politely.

  “Nice to meet you, Emily.” Lowering her voice, Shelley says, “Keep an eye on your man here, or else one of the girls will steal him away. He’s Mr. Popular around here.”

  With that, Shelley sashays away to deal with the growing crowd. A handful of guys have become pretty loud and aggressive as they fight to get her attention.

  “So… Mr. Popular, huh?” Emily’s eyes twinkle as she teases me. “You really do come here a lot, don’t you?”

/>   “I sometimes come here after work just to unwind.” I shrug.

  “I didn’t peg you as a bar regular.”

  “I only started coming for business. There was a guy from out of town. He stayed in a hotel nearby. I wanted to close a deal with him, so I started hanging out here to purposely ‘bump into him.’” I raise my fingers up to form air quotes, which makes Emily smile. “And then I just kept coming even after the contract was signed and the guy had left the city.”

  “Your phone’s ringing again.” Emily looks at the phone in my jeans pocket. “You said you didn’t want to pick it up while driving in the car. Shouldn’t you check at least? It might be important.”

  “You’re right.” I pull the phone out. I already know who it is. My father has been trying to get a reaction out of me, but I’ve decided not to give him the satisfaction. Besides, it’s probably safer if I make zero contact with him, at least until Tuesday.

  “Hey, player.” Rick slaps my shoulder from behind and chortles. “A different girl again?”

  “Hi, Rick.” I look back and give the tall, lanky guy a dirty look. Luckily, Emily seems to find it funny. “Don’t mind him, Emily. He thinks he’s funny.”

  “Hi Emily,” he says. “I don’t believe we’ve met. I’m Rick, and I am funny. Too bad ‘funny’ doesn’t pull as many girls as ‘handsome and successful,’ eh, Cole?”

  “Hi, Rick. I keep hearing about these girls.” Emily grins.

  “Oh, you want me to fill you in on that? I can tell you all the dirty, nasty, disgusting details.”

  Emily laughs while Rick keeps shooting stupid jokes at her. Okay, so Emily doesn’t seem like the jealous type. This is good. I’ve made a good decision taking her to this bar. It scratches her itch of wanting to see a different side of me, keeps her away from my family, and helps her forget about the fight with Alice.

  I look down at my phone as the two of them chat. Seventeen missed calls from my father. One text message. It simply says: “Check your email and call me right away.” I sigh.

  Jesus. What is it this time? It’s Sunday night. Can’t he let me enjoy a weekend for once?

  “I feel like I’ve seen you before, Emily,” Rick says.

  “Don’t mind him. He says that to all the girls,” I say to Emily, raising my head up to join the conversation.

  “I don’t know,” Emily says. “This place does look a little familiar. The layout, at least. I don’t remember the black chandeliers and the red velvet chairs, though.”

  I tap the envelope icon on my phone to find an email from my father. No subject, no text, just attachments. What could this be?

  “It wouldn’t be too weird if you’ve been here before. This place went through a big renovation last year. And it was all the rage one, two years ago. It’s still great now, but it’s not as hot as it used to be,” Rick says.

  I tap the email open. As I scan the little previews of the attached pictures, tendrils of fear wrap around me. It suddenly feels cold and suffocating in here.

  “What do you think, Cole?” Emily touches my arm, making me jump in surprise. She looks at me with concern. “Rick and I were just talking about whether I’ve been here before.”

  “Oh, right. I’ve seen you here before,” I say distractedly, my eyes transfixed on the pictures on my phone. They’re obviously pictures of Emily and me, taken stealthily with long-focus lenses. I can’t believe this. He sent one of his fucking spies to check on me.

  “Are you okay, Cole?” Emily knits her eyebrows together with worry.

  “Yeah, I’m fine. I just need to go outside for a while. Get some fresh air. Make a phone call.” My words stumble all over one another. I take a deep breath. “Don’t worry. I’ll be back before you know it.”

  Fuck. This is the worst thing that can happen now. I didn’t expect him to move this quickly. I thought I had enough time.

  When I’m outside, I lean against the wall and look up at the stars in the night sky. I gulp in as much air as I can into my compressed lungs. But as hard as I try, I can’t get any relief. I still feel like there are walls all around me, closing in on me.

  I press the button on my phone again to turn on the screen. There they are. Fucking high-resolution pictures of Emily and me: us driving into the Westfield Center parking lot, us stepping out of Banana Republic with Emily’s new dress, us walking hand in hand into my apartment building.

  There are even pictures of us getting into The Amber Room barely half an hour ago. Is this guy still here? Is he taking pictures of me now? Is my father looking at pictures of me hyperventilating right now?

  I look around, trying to spot some guy with dark clothing and expensive camera equipment skulking around in the bushes, or sitting idly inside a dark car. I’m going to beat him to a pulp if I find him. Cowardly fucker, hiding in the shadows.

  I clench my hands into hard fists and realize they’re shaking. I’m all wound up and I’m probably not thinking straight. It’s not a good idea to call my father right now. That’s only going to show him how much he’s gotten to me — although if the spy’s still hanging around he probably already knows anyway.

  Emily.

  Emily should be my priority. I have to keep her safe. I have to get back inside and take her somewhere safe. Explaining everything to her would be tricky, but the airport should probably be our next stop.

  Emily

  I wonder if Cole’s okay. He looks a little pale. I guess the fresh air outside will do him good.

  I’ll just stay here and chat with Rick while he’s gone. That’s the whole reason I’m here anyway, to get to know his life outside the office.

  I’m still a little disappointed that we can’t have dinner with Mr. Foster tonight, but there will be other nights. It’s not like I haven’t met the guy, although back then I was just another employee who wasn’t dating his son.

  I look around me. This place really does look familiar, and not just because I’ve seen it in some magazine either. I’m definitely getting some strange déjà vu vibes. I wonder if Cole has really seen me here before.

  Rick’s looking at me with a mysterious little smile on his face. "You know, he really likes you," he says. "I can tell."

  "Yeah? Well, tell me more." I drop my elbow on the bar counter and prop my head up, leaning closer to Rick. "What exactly has he told you? Give me exact quotes."

  "Oh, you know Cole. He doesn't tell anybody anything.” He chuckles. "But I can tell he likes you. He looks a lot happier today than I’ve seen him for a long time."

  "He makes me happy too.” I beam. Something — something about Rick, or something about this being Cole’s space, or maybe something about falling in love — makes me want to tell Rick things, things I don't usually tell people I've just met. Or maybe it’s just because I can’t tell this stuff to Alice. "I haven't been this happy in a long time either."

  "Aw, you two are just too adorable."

  I take another sip of my Diet Coke and playfully shrug. "I know, right?"

  "Cole has been a grumpy son of a bitch since, oh, about two years ago."

  "Oh, what happened?" I put my glass down on the bar.

  Rick sighs. “There was this accident.”

  "Oh. Like, a car accident?" My chest tightens. Any talk of an accident reminds me of my most painful memories, but I don't want to miss a word of this.

  "Yeah. It wasn't his fault, but Cole has always been his own worst critic. He was pretty depressed for a while. But at least he stopped working so much and burying his face in his phone all the time after the accident," he says.

  “He was too depressed to work?” I ask, my heart hammering so hard in my chest my legs are shaking.

  I had no idea Cole and I had this in common. But I guess I don’t know Cole that much at all. Before the conference, we just said hello as we passed each other in the office hallways. Oh, and of course we spoke during the interview. But that’s all.

  "Uh, yeah, sort of. I think he was trying to stop his phone from ringing when
it happened. Probably another call from his father about work stuff," he says with some hesitation.

  "So he was reaching for his phone and caused an accident?" I feel like someone has reached an icy hand into my chest, grabbed my pounding heart, and squeezed so violently it's about to burst. My legs are shaking pretty violently. If there wasn’t any music Rick would be able to hear the sound of my heels banging against the leg of the bar stool.

  "You know, maybe you should talk to him about this.” Rick takes a deep breath and sighs. “It's really not my story to tell."

  Rick is a good friend, but he’s told me everything I need to know. He doesn't have to say anything more. From the expression on Rick's face, I know I must've guessed correctly.

  Here are the facts. Cole was reaching for his phone. He caused a car accident. He felt so guilty he scaled back on his workaholic ways. It happened two years ago.

  It sounds familiar. Too familiar.

  The whole room starts to spin. The veins on the sides of my forehead throb painfully. Blood roars in my ears, blocking me from my surroundings.

  I remember these feelings from when I was here. Cole was right! I have been here before. I was drinking too much, which is why I don’t like to drink outside anymore. And I wanted to go home quickly. And Scott was rushing to get me home so I could lie down in our bed…

  Oh my God.

  I jump when Rick's hand lands on my shoulder.

  "Emily?" He's looking at me with concern in his eyes. "Are you okay?"

  "I, um, yeah," I stammer.

  Not really, but it’s not like I can tell you I think my new boyfriend killed my old boyfriend in a horrible accident and has been lying to me about it the whole time. Just when I’m starting to let someone into my heart again.

  I realize I must've completely zoned out and ignored Rick.

  "Actually, I have a really bad headache right now. Please tell Cole I have to leave."

  I hop off the bar stool. Grabbing my bag, I focus my blurry eyes on the club entrance. All I know is I have to get outside. It feels heavy inside the bar and I'm suffocating. No matter how deeply I breathe, my lungs just wouldn't expand to take in enough air.