Bait: Alpha Billionaire Romance Boxed Set

by Colleen Charles

  “No one would,” I replied, eyeing the spread with watchful eyes. “I’ll take a bourbon.” I wasn’t much for day drinking, but hell, when in Rome… or when in the office of the man who could make or break a project that lit my heart from the inside.

  Raminsky poured the drinks, then slid a cut crystal tumbler across the desk toward me. I accepted it, gratefully, and took a measured sip. The liquid burned my lips and throat, and I sucked in a breath, welcoming the sensation. For just a moment, I felt alive again.

  “Good?” Raminsky asked, lowering himself into his high-backed leather chair. He wasn’t a small guy, but the gold riveted edge of the chair appeared above his head.

  “Good.” I finally felt my face relax enough to smile. “Mr. Raminsky–”

  “Robert.”

  “Right, Robert. Here’s the thing,” I began and placed the glass back on the table. “I know that you’ve backed out of your deal with Banks Realty because of what happened with me and Nolan.”

  Raminsky didn’t deny it. He rolled the glass over his lips and waited, wordless. Watching me with veiled eyes that revealed nothing. This brilliant businessman was going to make me play my cards first.

  “I don’t want my actions to affect needy people who could have benefitted from the housing project. So, I came to ask you,” I blew out a breath, “no, to implore you to pursue the deal with Banks Realty. For the sake of single parents in the city. Please.”

  Raminsky’s forehead wrinkled in long lines that had developed over years spent in the business. “But you’re not working with Banks Realty anymore, correct?”

  “Yes, that’s correct.”

  “Then why does this matter to you? You won’t get to work on the project.” He sipped from his glass then placed it on the table as well. His face crinkled in consternation like he couldn’t possibly believe that someone would go to bat for something where nothing was in it for them.

  “No, I won’t have anything to do with it, and I have no personal agenda,” I confessed. “But that doesn’t matter. I know that this deal will be beneficial to both you and Banks Realty, and frankly, I’m more worried about the people this will help than actively working on the project itself.”

  That had taken a lot to say, a serious blow to my pride, but Raminsky following through would be best for everyone involved.

  The older man rocked back and forth in his oversized chair, the leather creaking underneath his weight. “I wanted Nolan to take responsibility for his actions. He can’t continue to run around like an errant blowhard, leaving hearts and messes in his wake.”

  “I know,” I murmured, and my insides turned at the mention of him. I couldn’t think his name, let alone say it. So I didn’t.

  “I wanted him to prove that he was worthy of heading up a project that is actually worth my time. I believe in this cause with every fiber of my being, Charlie. Every fiber.” Raminsky stopped his rocking and smoothed his fingertips along the desk. He stilled and speared me with a knowing gaze. As if he could see straight through any lies and uncover my personal truth.

  The downlights in his office and the skyline view from the window set a serene mood. A mood that didn’t do anything to smooth over the soured situation.

  “Do you understand why?” he questioned as if I were addled.

  “Tell me,” I whispered and bit the inside of my cheek. Waiting. Hoping I could receive the incoming message without breaking down. Nothing would be worse than crying in front of this man.

  “Because I refuse to put everything into this deal with someone who might flake out at the last minute. And you’ve gotta admit, Nolan has been pretty damn flaky in his life. And frankly, young lady, so have you.”

  Even though his honest words peppered my heated flesh like verbal bullets, the words rang true. His observation was fair. Nolan had hardly been a sterling example of a trustworthy businessman and none of the players knew me well enough to understand where my heart lay. It stood to reason they’d be wary of my motives.

  “If you can honestly tell me that Nolan has changed, that he won’t let this deal slip at the last minute to run after his latest tart, then yes, I’ll go through with it.” Raminsky finished then leaned back and tented his hands over his ample girth.

  My heart leaped into my throat. I opened my mouth to answer and… a knock sounded at the door.

  “Sorry about this,” Raminsky grumbled. “I asked to not be interrupted. Not sure who would barge in during a meeting.”

  The door swung inwards, and Nolan stepped into the room, taking my breath away in tailored black slacks and a red button down. I couldn’t avoid thinking or saying his name this time. It appeared on my tongue and slipped off before I could temper it.

  “Nolan.”

  “Charlie,” Nolan whispered and rushed toward me.

  I wasn’t going to let him touch me. Never again.

  “No,” I said and leaped from the chair. I slammed into the desk, and my glass of bourbon tipped over, spilling its contents across Raminsky’s desk. “Oh, no,” I yelped. “Damn, I’m so sorry.”

  The tears I’d been doing everything within my power to hold at bay pricked the back of my eyelids at the gaffe.

  “It’s nothing,” the older gentleman replied. “Are you all right, Charlie? You look ashen.”

  “I–” I looked from Nolan to Raminsky, then shut my eyes for a second. “I have to go. Thanks for meeting with me, Robert. I’ll be in touch.”

  And then I ran as fast as my legs would carry me. I seemed to be doing a lot of fleeing lately.

  Chapter 6

  Nolan

  Shit. Seeing Charlie at Raminsky’s office had been a searing hot blade to the fucking stomach, especially the part where she ran out on me. I’d come to my godfather to ask about the housing project and left a second after arriving before even getting to speak my peace.

  I’d chased the woman of my dreams down the street without the benefit of pride until she’d escaped into a cab just out of reach of my grasping fingertips. To make matters worse, the paps had snapped a couple juicy shots of my sweaty face for the internet.

  Now, I sat back in my office at Banks Realty and powered my iPad on as I licked my open and oozing wounds.

  There I was.

  Front and center, sweat-streaked and panicked. Man, I cut a lackluster pose in the picture, but who the hell cared? The headline was more speculation about my relationship with Charlie. I slapped the iPad onto the desk and squeezed my eyes shut for a second as if doing so would blind me to the reality of my fucked up life.

  “Not like this,” I grunted. I wouldn’t go down like this. I hadn’t gone through hell and back just to get my hands on Charlie de Monaco in the first place, only to lose her again. What would she do now? Hightail it back to Atlanta to hide.

  She couldn’t leave the city again. I refused to lose her like that. No way. A knock on my office door snapped my eyes back open.

  “What?” I said, pursing my lips. Because I already knew who would dare burst through my closed door. Only two people had the balls, and one was out of the country.

  The door swung open and heels clicked into the room. A high-end designer had outfitted the corner office with skyline views in stark tiles and a chrome and glass desk. Metals, whites, and cool blues. I hardly spent any time at work, especially now, since it felt like my own personal prison. But I was here today, and the flashy room that used to make me feel excited now made me feel as empty as the walls.

  “What is it?” I barked, hoping my surly tone would make her leave as quickly as she’d arrived.

  “Sit up straight in that chair,” Anne Banks said, her sinuous voice stripping me of my fatigue as her cool gaze swept the room. “This décor is tired, Nolan. I’d be happy to re-do it for you now that I’ll be in the office more often.”

  I bolted upright and opened my eyes. Like hell she’d touch one Post-It note in my office. “What are you doing here, Mother?”

  “Weren’t you listening at lunch the o
ther day, Nolan? I’ve been put in charge of this little charade you call a real estate business.” Anne was resplendent in a silk pants suit, paired with pearls. “But it seems all you’ve been buying of late is The Hooker’s Guide to Oceanfront Property in Arizona.”

  She smiled at her own joke. A tight-lipped baring of teeth that only occurred at someone else’s expense. Of course, Mother Dearest wouldn’t dare turn up at my little shit show without dressing like it was fucking tea at the White House. After presenting herself to me in my office, she looked like she’d be presenting herself to Queen Elizabeth.

  “You can get that idea right out of your head,” I replied. “This is my office, Mother, and the only thing you’re in charge of around here is tying Dad’s ties and spending his money. You’re not needed. Or wanted.”

  Anne sniffed and clapped her hands once. “You can come in, dear.”

  I started and had to strain to keep my face neutral and the contents of my stomach down. Jasmine – the same Jasmine I’d fired for picking on Charlie and terrorizing the office – strode into the room.

  “Hello, Nolan,” she said, a taut smile stretching her thin lips. “It’s lovely to see you again.”

  “Jasmine. I’m not sure what you’re doing here.”

  “Contain yourself, Nolan. I never understood why you fired this lovely lady. She was a boon to the office. She took control. Kept things running like a well-oiled machine.”

  Kept her lips sealed around my father’s cock until he shot a load down the back of her throat.

  Didn’t my mother know that Jasmine had fucked and sucked her way to the top? Had the woman zero self-respect? I felt like I’d just stumbled into some alternate universe.

  “Don’t worry about it, Mrs. Banks,” Jasmine cooed as she seated herself across from me and elegantly crossed her nylon clad legs. All I wanted to do was to rip the offensive synthetic fabric from her skinny limbs and choke her with it. “I believe Nolan’s vision was clouded at that moment in time.”

  “Ah, yes, Charlene,” Anne said and sighed delicately. “A name as low brow as the woman who owned it. Well, that’s all in the past, now isn’t it?”

  I sucked in a breath to keep from passing out and clutched the edge of my glass desk with my twitching fingers to keep from slapping my mother.

  “Jasmine, I suggest you leave this building before I have you escorted out. Mother, whatever power trip you’re on, it’s still my name on the door and my name on the paychecks of these employees. Jasmine’s termination is still in effect. Mother, take a seat, I’m going to explain to you how things work here.”

  A throbbing headache had sprung up right between my eyes, throbbing a vicious white light until I became blinded by the intensity.

  Anne pressed her palm to her chest, her giant wedding diamond catching the afternoon sun and dancing shadows across my sea blue walls. “Jasmine is–”

  “That’s it,” I said. “That is fucking it.” I snatched up the receiver of the phone on my desk and pressed two buttons. “Yeah, Henry? Kindly send security upstairs and have Jasmine escorted from the building.” And then I hung up. Slammed the sleek receiver into oblivion would be more accurate.

  Jasmine was as pale as a sheet and my mother, well, that haughty bitch looked ready to have a fucking aneurysm.

  “Nolan, I am in charge,” she said, her tone shaking. The tremor in her voice the first sign of backpedaling she’d shown since she’d made her holier than thou announcement at lunch the other day.

  “No, you’re not. Now get out of my office.” A thin veneer of respect remained for my mother. That was all. Every time she committed a stunt like this, that final smidgen of respect leaked away until nothing remained but the tiniest drop.

  Anne opened and closed her mouth.

  Security loomed behind her in the doorway. Jasmine jumped and gave an indignant snort. She turned and strode off, forcing my black-suited security team to follow as an escort. Good riddance to rotten garbage.

  Anne stared after them. A moment of grave silence fell between us. A sharp battle of wills that stretched on for seconds that seemed like hours. One I had no intention of backing away from. She wouldn’t beat me his time. Not when everything was on the line. My business, my self-respect, my life. And Charlie. To my relief, she broke the stare first, stood and spun on her heel with a flourish. Then my mother marched out of my office too. I rose on shaky legs to make sure she’d exited the building. I stood at my window until I saw her enter her town car stories below the floor to ceiling glass.

  In that moment, I knew what I needed to do. I needed to see Charlie. Now. But Chase appeared in front of me before I could get out of the godforsaken office, stopping me with a soft palm and a concerned look that didn’t pair well with his chiseled features. Not my happy-go-lucky Chase. Damn it. Had somebody died?

  “Shit, what now?” I asked, raking both hands through my hair.

  “Rough day, I take it?” he asked, pushing me back into my office through the pressure of his hand on my chest.

  “You could fucking say that.” I gestured for him to enter and he stepped inside, glancing back over his shoulder. “My annoying as fuck mother just departed on the heels of Jasmine St. James.”

  “Jasmine St. James? Isn’t she the former Director of Legal? The one who sucked off your father at the company Christmas Party? I’ll never forget it because I was zip lining in Costa Rica when I got that call. Best damn jungle scenery I’ve ever seen.” Chase kicked the door shut with his heel, then folded his arms and eyed me up and down. “You look like shit, Nolan.”

  “Thanks, buddy, that was exactly what I needed to hear. And you’re right. It’s that Jasmine. Thank God I didn’t see the incident but just heard about it. Can you imagine how scarred for life I would have been if I’d walked in on that crazy shit starring good ole Dad?”

  “You need to get food or sleep or some shit, Nolan.” He pushed me into a leather visitor chair and towered over me. After a few seconds, he smiled and snapped his fingers. “No, I’ve got it. You need to get laid.”

  “I need to get Charlie.”

  “Okay.” Chase cleared his throat. “I’ve got some news, and I don’t think you’ll like it.”

  “Now? Really? I was just on my way out.”

  Best friend or not, Chase was keeping me from Charlie.

  “Dude, this is important. I know I haven’t worked here long, but I’ve been going over some of the paperwork, and I’ve noticed a trend.”

  I eyed the door. “What trend?” What the hell was he talking about?

  “A financial trend. Banks Realty is leaking money. I’m not sure how far back it goes, but it looks like, shit, man, it looks like someone’s stealing from the company. A mole. A traitor. A piece of shit white-collar felon.”

  Could this day get any fucking worse?

  Chapter 7

  Charlie

  I stared at the half-packed bag on my bed in my New York apartment. Melissa was out with her boyfriend for the afternoon. They’d planned lunch at Brushstroke and a shopping expedition. She’d gushed about it for so long I’d wanted to vomit.

  Damn it, Charlie, pull yourself together. This is the right decision. It’s for the best, and you know it.

  The New York skyline twinkled in the failing light of dusk. The purple haze marred by the neon sparkles of the city that never slept. The museums. The five-star eateries along with the food trucks. The hustle and bustle as the people passed by. I would miss this place.

  I would miss him.

  I’d tried to talk to Raminsky, I really had, but I couldn’t lie to him again, not a man I respected so much. In good faith, I couldn’t tell him that Nolan Banks wouldn’t flake out on the deal without me by his side. I could utter the words, but I had no idea if I would end up breaking my promise in the end and giving away my integrity. Because I didn’t really know Nolan Banks. And I couldn’t with a great degree of certainty predict his behavior on The Grant Project deal.

  “Ugh!” I grabbe
d fistfuls of my hair and tugged lightly, relishing the pain. Because the pain of the flesh was nothing in comparison to the pain of the soul. And mine felt as black as death. I wanted to stay in New York, working my way up the corporate ladder. I wanted to help people. But I couldn’t start fresh here.

  Not with the ghost of my past hanging over my head like a sword of Damocles.

  My phone buzzed on my bedside table, and I grabbed it, heart pounding for the dumbest reason – a part of me wished it was Nolan. I held my breath until I recognized my dad’s number flashing on the screen and I swiped to answer.

  “Hey, Dad, I haven’t booked a flight out yet. I’ll do it online in a sec and will let you know the depart–”

  “I don’t think you should, Charlie,” he interrupted, his voice somber on the other end of the line. “Your decision has been buzzing through my mind like a swarm of honeybees, and I’m not giving my blessing for you to come home.”

  White noise filled my ears, and I stood on legs that had become shaky.

  “Why? What do you mean?” My heart sank to my knees. Not come home?

  “I mean, not that you’re not welcome, and I don’t love you but this… this isn’t where you belong, honey. As much as I want you here, I know you’ll hate moving back. It would be selfish of me not to cut you loose and let you fly. It’s how I raised you. To be a poised and confident young woman. This isn’t your place.” The strain in Dad’s tone was obvious. This had to be hard for him to say because we meant the world to each other. Two peas in a pod. “You’ll wither away, and I don’t want that for you, sweet girl.”

  “I don’t know where else to go,” I replied and walked to my bed. I sat down heavily, unseating a few pairs of panties. They fluttered to the floor, and I stared at them there, my mind wandering to Nolan. One was the baby pink thong I’d worn the evening of our fake engagement party where we’d started in his tub and ended up in the bed.

  “You’re where you belong right now. Up there in Yankee territory. I didn’t raise a quitter, did I?”

  “No, sir,” I replied, a small smile breaking through the morose mood. I had to shake this off. He was right. I’d find work somewhere. Hell, maybe I could even turn the negative press into positive press and use it to my advantage. Anything was possible in New York. The Statue of Liberty made it so.