by Nicole Casey
The
Billionaire’s
Conquest
Mercury Billionaires Book 1
Nicole Casey
The Billionaire’s Conquest
by Nicole Casey
Copyright © 2017. All Rights Reserved.
Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored, or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means (electronically, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the proper written permission of the copyright owner, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This book is a work of fiction. People, places, events and situations are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or historical events, is purely coincidental.
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CONTENTS
1. Jasmine
2. Trevor
3. Jasmine
4. Trevor
5. Jasmine
6. Trevor
7. Jasmine
8. Trevor
9. Jasmine
10. Trevor
11. Jasmine
12. Trevor
13. Jasmine
14. Trevor
15. Epilogue
Author’s Note
Free Book Giveaway
Jasmine
The sound of Aerosmith played in the background as I walked into the club. I looked around to see if Sydney was there yet. We had been best friends since Elementary school. It was Mrs. Harper’s third-grade class when Sydney asked if she could sit next to me. I didn’t know anyone then; I was the new student in a big place and Sydney was there. She always remained there and we vowed to be best friends for life.
I waved to her from across the bar, then hurried over to her. We hugged and made small talk, how’ve you been, what’s new, how are you enjoying the humid weather, things like that, until others started to join us. I hadn’t seen Sydney in nearly three months.
She had taken a trip to New York to visit her grandmother, who didn’t have long to live. Unfortunately, her grandmother didn’t make it much past the timeline the doctor provided, and now Sydney was back home.
She immediately reached out to her friends and asked them to go out to the bar and that brought them there this night.
“You look good, Syd,” I said, taking a drink of the beer that the waitress had brought me.
She smiled. “Thank you! I’m doing well, actually.”
I was relieved to hear that. I didn’t know how she was handling the passing of her grandmother, but she did seem to be doing better than expected.
“Have your parents come back from New York, yet?” Tracey, another friend posed the question.
Sydney shook her head.
“When grandma passed, they decided to stay back there and help to facilitate the sale of her property. But I didn’t want to stay behind. I needed to get back into work and it just was easier to make the escape back to Montana. How are you guys doing?” she asked.
Everyone eagerly chatted away about what they’d been up to, but I stayed mostly quietly. I didn’t have much to add. How could you when your job consisted of filing papers and phone calls and your life in itself was mostly struggling with not fighting with your boyfriend? Things were tough and the last thing Sydney needed was my problems piled on top of everything she had going on.
The waitress came back to the table and I ordered another beer, while everyone went on about their glorious lives. I just listened intently, drank my beer, and tried not to be jealous…too much. Sydney kept saying things like, that’s amazing, good for you, I’m so proud of you, sounds great, and I just indulged in my self-pity.
Yeah, jealousy was certainly prevalent.
After everyone else had gone about getting another drink, Sydney spoke up. “So, I do have some news and thought now would be as good of a time as any to let you in on it.”
I sipped on my beer, then swallowed it down and tried to be enthusiastic to hear about what she needed to say.
“What is it, Syd?” I asked.
That was when I noticed it. I’m not sure if I was the only one, but my eyes were directed to her left hand. She was playing with a ring that was on her finger. I don’t know if she was playing with that throughout the course of the night, but it was clear that she was extremely nervous.
My mouth hung open as the realization hit me. I didn’t want to blurt it out, but I was anxious to hear her spread the news. She then held up her left hand and sighed. “I’m getting married!”
A round of squeals came around the table, as she showed off her engagement ring. I couldn’t believe the news. The last I’d known, she wasn’t even dating anyone. “Who?” I suddenly asked.
She looked at me and there was a smile in her eyes. “You don’t know him. I met him in New York.” She paused, before continuing. “He’s a lawyer.”
I wondered if that meant she was leaving. She had made this big mention of getting back to her job and to her hometown, but if she was just going to turn around and leave again, I wondered what the point was. I was being a bit selfish, I’d admit that, but I didn’t want to see her go again. Luckily, I didn’t need to ask the question, because Mary had it on her mind.
“So, you’re moving to New York?” Mary asked.
Sydney looked at each of us, before shaking her head. “I’m not. Michael is getting a job in Maine. He stayed back home to finish up a couple different cases, but he’s moving here right before the wedding.” She glanced at me and it was like we had that inner connection where she would know exactly what I was thinking before I had a chance to say it. She smiled and nodded and I gave her a slight smile response back.
I wasn’t surprised to hear she was marrying a lawyer. After all, Sydney came from wealth and prestige, with her mother being a doctor and her father a chemist. It was like Sydney had gold in her blood. Great things came to her and I was always supportive of that, but it made sense that she would ultimately meet and marry a lawyer to continue her road to wealth.
We all congratulated her and I got up and walked around to where she was sitting. “Congratulations, Syd!” We hugged. “I’m so happy for you!”
When she pulled away, there were tears in her eyes. She had to wipe them away and I saw her hand shaking. “You’ll really like him,” she said.
I smiled. “All that matters is that you’re in love and if you are, then that’s good enough for me.” We hugged again and she nodded, I felt her shaking slightly. I knew that this was love for her, because Sydney wasn’t one to settle down easily. She’d never had a long-term boyfriend, let alone a man I could see that she would want to marry. I was truly happy for her and couldn’t wait to meet the man that stole my friend’s heart.
Trevor
The smell of bourbon penetrated through me as I lifted the glass to my lips and drank. I heaved a sigh and let the cool liquid slide down my throat.
It’d been a crazy busy day and I was glad to get out of the bar I owned, into a place that wouldn’t recognize me for my name or knowledge of the bar scene. Sometimes it was just good to get away. I took another drink and closed my eyes. Sometimes I wondered how I got to where I was.
I was twenty-eight and an owner of the bar and restaurant, Mercury Wild. It’d been sort of an inheritance passed down to me since my father’s passing five years earlier. Men admired me for the fortune that came with my name. Women flocked to me for
the man of their dreams, or at least they liked the fact that I was wealthy, but along the way I lost sight of who I was.
I never saw that in my father, so I wondered again how I got to where I was. I took another drink, then ordered up another one. I was only two when my grandfather passed away, so I also questioned if maybe we were cut from the same cloth. Was I more like him?
“This seat taken?” I looked up into the eyes of a tall blonde woman. She had waves of curls that cascaded over her shoulders and the bluest eyes I’d ever seen. In every man’s fantasy, she would be the ideal catch. I just smiled and shook my head.
“Have a seat!” I then took another drink and looked away, literally ignoring the woman and probably offending her with my cavalier attitude.
She did make small talk, but I didn’t even acknowledge her talking and I was sure I had offended her, because about fifteen minutes later she was getting down from the bar stool. She mumbled something about having a nice life and then she was gone.
The truth was the blonde-haired woman was the typical woman that I would gravitate towards and that was exactly why I didn’t indulge in any thoughts of communication with her. I was tired of going the typical route. I needed to change things up or I was bound to go crazy.
After a couple more drinks, finishing off my bourbon, I left behind the glass and turned around to leave. I spotted Dylan coming closer to me. Dylan was one of my good friends and not one I could easily ignore. I put on a smile and waved to him, just as he got closer.
“Hey, buddy, thought that was you over here. Wanna come to my table and hang?” he asked.
“Just heading out,” I responded.
“Oh!” Dylan said, looking disappointed. “I have two of the hottest babes that are going to be sitting at my table and I thought you could help me entertain them.” He winked at me. “If you know what I mean.”
I laughed and looked away from him. “Yeah, I know what you mean, but I have a busy day tomorrow and I just had my two drinks, so really should be going. I’m sure you can handle them though.” I chuckled as I patted him on the shoulder.
Dylan laughed. “Yeah…maybe.” He then gave me a curious look. “What are you doing here anyway?” Dylan asked. “Isn’t Mercury Wild enough bar for you?” he asked, giving me a teasing grin.
I snickered and shrugged. “Guess sometimes I need to get away from the office and really think things through. But hey…you best be getting back to your table. Don’t want the women to send out the cops looking for you.”
Dylan looked away from me and glanced back towards where he came from. “Gotta keep them guessing, right?” Again he winked at me and then backed up. “Suit yourself if you don’t want in on it. They are a couple of real babes.”
“I’m sure they are,” I said. “But you have fun!” I grabbed my keys out of my pocket and watched him as he headed back towards his table. I shook my head, not the least bit surprised by Dylan’s attitude for the women. Dylan was someone that would never shy away from getting what he wanted. It came with the territory of his job. He was a real estate broker and one of the finest in the county.
I turned away from the direction he walked away in and headed towards the front door of the club. I was so driven on getting out of there that I hadn’t noticed a woman stand up from her table and I bumped right into her, nearly knocking her to the ground.
“Oh…I’m sorry!” I said.
She turned around and our eyes met. For me, it was an instant physical attraction. She had piercing green eyes that seemed to look right into my soul. Yet, the thing about her that seemed different than the rest, was that she wasn’t this obvious beauty. It looked more like she didn’t try. She had only light makeup on and her hair was pulled back in a ponytail, but she just had this look that was captivating.
“It’s alright,” she mumbled. “Excuse me!” She then turned back around and raced towards the front door, as if she was in a hurry to get somewhere. I watched her for a moment, then noticed that the table she came from had their eyes on me. I smiled, then looked away and headed back out of the bar. I looked around, but the woman was gone.
Feeling like I had just had a glimpse of someone I wanted to get to know, yet didn’t feel I’d ever see again, I headed to my black Aston Martin. I got in the driver’s seat and just sat there for a moment, a smile playing on my lips. Somehow, someway, I wanted to believe if our paths crossed once…then they could cross again. Even if it was only a dream that might never be realized.
Jasmine
My car couldn’t go fast enough as I had to be mindful of any cops around and avoiding getting hit by traffic. The text message kept playing through my mind. If you want to see what your boyfriend is up to, then I suggest you come to his place right now. He won’t be alone and you won’t want to miss this. It came from an anonymous phone number and I sat there for three minutes pondering if I should pay attention to it. But, I would kick myself if I didn’t.
So, I made an excuse that I wasn’t feeling well, and broke away from the table and Sydney’s exciting news. Then when I bumped into the strange man that was heading in the same direction I was, I let a couple more crucial minutes pass by. He looked at me like he knew me from somewhere, or at least that was what I thought the look was, but then I realized that he wasn’t recognizing me, he was admiring me. I hadn’t had that much attention from my boyfriend, Josh, in well over four months. So, it was nice to have that affirmation.
But now I was driving towards Josh’s home, just hoping that the text message was full of shit. However, as I turned down his road, I spotted an unfamiliar car in his driveway. I cut the lights, so I wouldn’t warn him I was there, then pulled up to the curb and parked my Jeep.
My heart was racing so fast, as I got out of my vehicle, leaving my purse and phone behind. I held my keys in my hand and I was shaking as I approached his door. I slowly unlocked his door and took a deep breath before entering.
After getting inside, I found the foyer and living room dark. There was a light coming from upstairs, so I followed it. I crept slowly, so I wouldn’t alert anyone I was there. When I got to the top of the stairs, I hesitated. The light was in his bathroom across the hall from his bedroom. I moved toward the bathroom, fearful of finding him naked and having sex in the shower. But the shower wasn’t going.
I glanced at his room and that was when I heard soft murmuring. My heart caught in my throat. I paused, trying to figure out if I really wanted to see what I was obviously about ready to see, but I had come this far and I wasn’t going to allow some bimbo to get in the way of me finding out the truth. I walked over to the door and peeked my head inside, careful not to let the door creak.
My mind went blank as I came into contact with my boyfriend screwing another woman. His naked ass was moving up and down, between the legs of another woman and I immediately felt tears stinging my eyes. I covered my mouth and left the opening of the room. I stood in the hallway, feeling sad, sad that I let this man rob me of my happiness.
Then the moans intensified, shooting through his bedroom and I couldn’t take it anymore. He had to know what a true jerk I thought he was, so I stormed back into the room, this time uncaring if the door creaked.
“Hello, honey,” I said.
He looked up and his face was a mask of confusion and guilt. He was in mid thrust and I looked down at the two of them, shook my head and stormed out of his room.
“Jasmine…wait!” he hollered.
I didn’t want to see him or to talk to him. The tears flooded my eyes, then streaked down my face as I ran down his stairs and out the front door. It wasn’t until I got in my Jeep that I let all my anger out. I hit my fists against the steering wheel, crying out my anger to anyone that was within earshot.
I leaned my head against my wheel and sobbed. As the sobbing died down, I was left to gasps of air every once in a while. The thing was, I wasn’t sad that my relationship of two years was over. I was sad that I let another human being get to me and eventually shatte
r my insides.
There were so many thoughts that crowded my mind as I sat there. Was this all because I wouldn’t sleep with him? Did he ever love me? Did he love her? I looked out the window and spotted her car pulling out of the driveway. She whizzed by me; I didn’t expect her car to go so fast.
I looked up at Josh’s front door and he was coming out on the front porch. He was fully dressed and walking towards my vehicle. I started my Jeep, with every intention of tearing by him, but I hesitated.
He got to my door and gave me a pleading look. I rolled down my window and glared at him. “How long?” I simply asked.
His face was a sheet of white. “A couple months,” he responded.
That didn’t really give me the response I wanted to hear. I wanted to know if she was the only one he was sleeping with and how many times. “Is this because I wouldn’t sleep with you?” I asked. My lower lip trembled and I fought hard to be strong. He didn’t come out and respond. He just shrugged.
“You knew I was a virgin,” I countered. “You told me you respected that. Were you just lying to me?” I asked.
He looked uncomfortable and I was glad about that. I didn’t want this to be easy on him. “I wasn’t lying, but come on…sometimes a man can only take so much.”
My jaw dropped. I couldn’t believe he was defending himself.
“Okay!” I said, looking away from him. “I hope you two are very happy together.” I put my foot on the break and put my car into drive, then started to drive away, but he reached in my window and grabbed my arm, causing me to slam on my breaks and glare at him. “Let me just go!”
“Jasmine, I’m sorry. I didn’t want you hurt. That’s the last thing I wanted.”
He looked sincere. He sounded sincere. But I knew Josh for too long and he wasn’t fully sorry this had happened. In a way, he was blaming me and I couldn’t stick around and try to convince myself to stay and move past it. Our relationship had technically been over for months and I was just holding on. No more. I was ready to make a break of it and Josh was not going to change my mind.