The Billionaire's Bauble

by Ann Montclair

  “Peevish today? Have you eaten?” he inquired.

  “David, I don’t think you understand how much I need this job,” and she looked across the car at him, and he heard her sigh dramatically.

  “You don’t need this job. I would be more than happy to have you stay with me, working at Grant.” The words had flown from his mouth so quickly he didn’t have time to weigh their probable impact.

  “You don’t owe me anything, you know,” she said, and he heard her voice soften.

  “It is I who owe you,” he rejoined and slipped his hand into her warm palm. He squeezed her long fingers for a moment and she squeezed back. He drove out of the parking lot at Forster and automatically drove toward Grant.

  “I think we need to slow down,” she said, and he wondered if she meant the speed of their car or the speed of their relationship.

  Relationship?

  David didn’t use that word very often, and it felt awkward in his mind.

  “I agree,” he said. “I want to take things slowly with you. I want to court you, to flatter you, to fill your days with flowers and fill your nights with lovemaking.”

  David really didn’t know why he couldn’t keep his mouth shut. The woman had gotten deep under his skin, and he seemed unable to control his speech.

  Sloane looked at him and tilted her head to the side, studying his face before she spoke.

  “I want to be with you, too, but there’s a time and a place, and that isn’t now. David, please understand. I enjoyed our time together, but I have to be responsible. I have to work and not at Grant Oil. This is only my second day at Forster. I want to fulfill my promise to your best friend and do the job he entrusted me.”

  Her earnest voice convinced him.

  He smiled and said, “Okay. I will take you to Strathallen. But after that, will you have lunch with me?”

  “No,” she said, and he felt his smile fade. “But I will meet you for dinner. Come to my house when your day is done, and we can be together then.”

  She blushed prettily at her promises. David could feel the electricity building between them. He wanted to pull over and get those slacks off. He wanted to lick her breasts and bite at her nipples. He loved to hear her vocalize her pleasure. She was a wildcat in bed, and he was anxious to get her there again.

  Fairbanks was suddenly quite small. They were at the Strathallen already. David pulled to the curb and said, “I’ll wait.”

  “I’ll be here a while. You go on and come by my place later.”

  Her eyes pleaded with him to be reasonable.

  He acquiesced with a slight nod.

  Sloane threw her arms around his neck and put her lips tenderly on his. He let her kiss him and didn’t ask for more. He had been forgiven, he hoped, though he hated leaving her even for one afternoon. David had never wanted to spend time with anyone except his parents. They didn’t return the sentiment, always too busy with earning money, volunteering at charities, playing golf or tennis. David had spent a lifetime alone, and he supposed one more afternoon wouldn’t kill him. God knew he had plenty enough to do at Grant.

  David needed to check the stock margins and see if it was time to go bull with his deal. The thought sobered him. Sloane wasn’t the only one with work to do.

  David put the thoughts aside and concentrated on Sloane’s gentle kiss, and as he did so, he felt himself respond. He put his hands in her gorgeous hair and opened his mouth. They kissed like teenagers at Inspiration Point.

  When Sloane opened the car door to get out, he could see their kiss had affected her. Her eyes were bright with unspoken desire. David loved how they sparkled like gems just for him.

  “I will see you tonight, sweetheart,” David said gruffly, smoothing his own unruly hair.

  Sloane got out of the car and waved to him before turning around and walking toward the building. She had a very round rear end, and he loved the way her hips moved side to side, evoking the memory of being deep between them. He revved the engine, and she turned around once more and waved again before disappearing into the building.

  David went to Grant Oil, thinking about how hungry he was for the feast only Sloane’s body could provide.

  Cradling his phone at his ear, he walked toward the massive building that bore his family’s name. The typical somehow seemed unique today, and he smiled as he passed his employees, saying hello and asking after everyone’s health. The surprised and pleased looks he received only served to escalate his mood. He was at the top of his game today. He could feel it.

  The work day usually never ended for David, but at seven o’clock, he closed his laptop and told Bev to go home. He had a hop in his step as he went to his car.

  Before he went to Sloane’s apartment, he stopped at a car dealership. He wrote a quick check and arranged for the bright red sedan to be delivered in the morning. She wouldn’t need Nate’s help again, he decided.

  When he arrived at her door, he could see her through the window. She sat on her couch with her computer in her lap. She appeared to be video messaging, and he stepped away from the window, not wanting to knock and disturb her conversation. The window was open, though, so he could hear what she was saying.

  “No, I’m sorry, too. I wish I could be there. You know I would be with you if I could arrange it.”

  David felt wariness come over him like a murky cloud. To whom was Sloane speaking? He thought the other voice was a man’s, but he couldn’t make out what he said.

  “Give Mom my love. Dad, too. I know how disappointed they are.”

  David was ashamed to feel such relief. Sloane was conversing with someone from home. He suddenly felt preposterous standing outside listening.

  He knocked softly at the closed door, and Sloane cooed, “Come in.”

  As he entered her compact apartment, he was immediately struck by the flowers. They filled every empty space. Sloane sat amidst them like the most perfect rose. She wore a pink sun dress, and her hair was damp. He waved from the door and put his finger to his lips in the shhh sign. He didn’t want to interrupt her call. She smiled a thank you, and he walked into her immaculate kitchen and put the bottle of champagne he’d brought in the tiny refrigerator then sat at the bar to wait.

  Sloane said, “Charlie, I just know you’ll make the most handsome groom ever. Rob promised to send me a whole bucket of pictures right after the reception.”

  David could hear the other voice now as it said, “I just wish you could be in them, sis. I can’t believe you won’t be. It just won’t be the same, you know?”

  “I know,” Sloane said, and her voice cracked as if she might cry.

  “I get it though. Jobs are hard to come by, and it sounds like you’ve found a heck of a good one,” Charlie said remorsefully. David frowned. Was Sloane missing her brother’s wedding? For work at Forster? Absurd.

  Before he could think twice, he walked over to Sloane, and her eyes got big and round as he plopped down beside her and said, “Hi, Charlie. I’m Sloane’s boyfriend, David.”

  Sloane elbowed him hard, and Charlie laughed. The webcam obviously showed Sloane’s discomfiture. David smiled into the camera at the young, sturdy man on the screen.

  “Sloane and I would be happy to come to your wedding. You can expect us.”

  Chapter 9

  Sloane wanted to crawl under her couch, but instead she smiled through clenched teeth and said, “Charlie, this is David, and he thinks he can answer for me. He can’t.”

  David’s long legs pressed against hers, and she would have wanted to sit on his lap if she didn’t want to punch him.

  Charlie laughed. “Oh, sis, let him answer for you just this one time. Come on. It would mean the world to us all if you came home for the wedding. It’s been way too long, and you know I’m only going to do this once. Please.”

  Charlie’s plaintive voice affected Sloane deeply, and she couldn’t argue with David now without all of New York finding out. “Okay, Charlie. I’ll be there. You can go ahead and tell
Mom and Dad.”

  “Really?” he said, and Sloane said, “Yes.”

  The yes sounded snakelike to her ears, and she realized she’d never felt more conflicted. Anger and elation mixed together and made her stomach flip.

  “See you in a couple months then, sis. Thanks, David,” Charlie added.

  “No problem, bro,” David said convivially.

  Sloane clicked the ‘x’ at the corner of her screen and snapped her computer shut. She stood up abruptly, almost upending the little coffee table upon which two vases of delphinium waved. The long green stems covered with purple flowers shivered as Sloane steadied the table.

  She turned to David and said, her voice a knot, “Why did you tell my brother I would come? You have no right to make decisions for me. Haven’t I told you already . . .”

  David shrugged his shoulders and gave her a “what me?” look that should have made her laugh. Too bad she was too angry to even smile.

  “. . .that I can take care of myself, that I don’t need you interfering in my life?” she asked, her voice sounding shrill to her ears.

  “I overheard you, and I thought . . .”

  “You eavesdropped on a private conversation, and then you took liberties I won’t allow.”

  Sloane stomped the four steps to her kitchen and started slamming pots and pans.

  She could see David out of the corner of her eye as he sat meekly on the couch, perusing her little bookshelf covered with romance titles.

  He called through the kitchen doorway. “You can open that champagne. It seems we have a wedding to toast.”

  Sloane wanted to throttle him. She knew if she walked back into the living room and saw him sitting there all smug and sexy in his blue suit, she would have to kiss that look off his face. Better to stay safely in the kitchen where she could vent her spleen.

  She reached into the refrigerator and took out the bottle of champagne. She shook it hard and then aimed for the next room. When the cork wouldn’t pop for her, she stomped her foot, revenge thwarted.

  “David, just leave,” she said, her back to the doorway. He came in then and tentatively put one sturdy hand to her waist. She had been so looking forward to this evening.

  Now she felt like a volcano ready to erupt.

  Sloane didn’t want to go home to New York. She wasn’t ready to see Peter, and she was sure he’d be Charlie’s best man. The two had been inseparable since kindergarten; further evidence her rash departure from her home state had distressed more than Peter. How could she face them all again, knowing how much she’d hurt them? And at her brother’s wedding? The whole thing spelled disaster in her mind.

  She whipped around to face her tormentor. When she saw the smile in his brown eyes, she nearly lost her resolve. She screwed her eyes to his and poked his hard chest, saying, “Will you just leave now? I am furious if you can’t tell.”

  “Oh, I can tell. But why? I will arrange for the time off with Tony. He’s a sap. He wouldn’t want you to miss your brother’s wedding anyway,” David cajoled, and Sloane’s shoulders collapsed as she pushed past him to get to the couch.

  David followed her and sat closely beside her. She turned her back to him, feeling petulant and mean.

  “If it’s the money, that’s not a problem. We’ll take my private jet. We can leave whenever you want to go,” he offered.

  Sloane spoke to the window. “I don’t want to go. But now, thanks to you, I have to. Darn it, David, why’d you have to stick your nose into it?”

  “I don’t believe you,” he said, and Sloane could hear his impatience. It only served to stir her outrage. “I heard you say you wished you could go. It sounded like you were going to cry.”

  “Well, you heard wrong. You interpreted wrong. I would’ve gone if I wanted to go. I can afford my own plane ticket.”

  “Then why don’t you go? I don’t buy that you can’t get time off because you have a new job because I know better, Sloane.”

  His condescending attitude made Sloane growl with fury.

  “It’s none of your business. None. Get it?”

  Sloane felt tears well up, and she bit them back. She would not give him the satisfaction. David was a lout. A fat-mouthed, overbearing...

  She turned to him and he must have seen how upset she was because his eyes went from compassionate to surprised to angry in a blink.

  “I get it,” he said coldly.

  He stood up to leave. Sloane didn’t try to stop him as he walked out her door.

  “And don’t come back,” she yelled.

  If she were the type of girl to throw things, she would have done so then.

  She looked around her apartment at all the beautiful flowers. Most were still lush and fragrant, though a few wilted here and there. Sloane absentmindedly plucked at the petals of a red rose.

  She reopened her computer and resignedly went to a travel agency web site. She engaged in a live chat with a friendly salesperson and purchased her ticket on her nearly maxed out credit card.

  After she ate a piece of greasy fried chicken and drank a diet soda, she felt a little better.

  Sloane knew she wasn’t really mad at David. She was mad at herself for lying to Charlie in the first place. When she looked into her bathroom mirror, she saw regret written all over her face. She’d been unfair to David, but he had really gone too far.

  They’d only known each other a few days and he was already acting like he could control her life. No matter how handsome, rich, and sexy he might be, she wouldn’t allow any man to make her decisions. Never.

  The word echoed in her mind and she remembered the night before when David had used the same word to describe his marriage plans.

  Sloane knew then she had done the right thing in kicking him out. He would never be able to commit to her. He didn’t want a marriage, a family, or a soul mate.

  The thought made her so depressed she almost went to the store for a tub of ice cream. But just that afternoon she had spent a small fortune purchasing lingerie online. She could send it all back though. Yes, that’s what she would do. She grabbed her purse and headed out the door to the corner store. She hoped they had rocky road or mint chip. Maybe chocolate could ease her breaking heart.

  As Sloane ate her ice cream, she flipped through the TV channels, finally settling on a Hallmark channel movie. Sloane needed a happy ending even if it was only make believe. After two hours of pure abandon, she crawled into bed.

  Her phone rang, and she nearly fell off her mattress in her haste to answer.

  The number flashing on the screen belonged to her mother.

  She groaned and decided to let it go to voice mail, but she couldn’t stand the accusatory ringing, so she answered.

  “Hi, Mom.”

  “Sloane? Hi, sweetheart.” The word cut through Sloane like a knife. The only person besides her mother that ever called her by that endearing name was . . .

  “I suppose you got the great news, huh?” Sloane gulped.

  “Yes, I wouldn’t be up so late, but I can’t sleep I am so excited to see you.” Her mother’s enthusiastic voice brightened Sloane a bit.

  “Me, too, Mom.”

  Sloane had to admit the beloved voice on the other end was one she had been missing for a long time.

  “I can’t wait to see you and Dad. How are the wedding preparations going?”

  “Fine. We’re almost ready. I’ve been writing recipes all week. I planned to bake five kinds of pie, but I’ll add a chocolate cream now that you’ll be here. When do you arrive?”

  Sloane sighed, “Not until the Friday before the wedding. I’m only taking a few days off. I wish it could be longer but . . .”

  “I know. You have a new job. I’m hoping you’ll come home and remember how much you love it here. Maybe you’ll stay,” her mother laughed, and Sloane could sense how much her mother missed her. Sloane felt similarly.

  She considered her mom’s words. Maybe she should pack it all up and leave Alaska for good. Maybe she co
uld live in New York City and get so caught up in the hustle and bustle, she’d forget all about David Grant.

  If only.

  Sloane knew he was permanently lodged in her heart, and the thought made her stomach hurt and her eyes sting. Sloane already missed him more than she’d ever missed her family. The thought shamed her.

  “Mom, I know how much you’d like me to move home, and I'm not saying it won’t happen someday, but not right away. My new job is going to give me great experience. Fresh out of school like I am, I’m awfully lucky to get it.”

  “Sure. Sure. I know. Sloane, Peter’s going to be in the wedding.”

  Sloane put her hand to her eyes and rubbed them with her forefinger and thumb.

  “I figured as much. It’s okay. I’ll keep my distance. Mom, I don’t want to talk about Peter. The only thing that matters is Charlie and Eva’s wedding. Eva must be as excited as a kid at Christmas. She’s wanted to marry Charlie for years.”

  “Yes, she is excited, but the wedding is just a formality. Those two have always been joined at the hip.”

  Sloane couldn’t help but feel surprised. Her mother was a strong proponent for marriage, and now she sounded rather flippant, as if Charlie’s wedding was a crossing of the “t” or the dotting of an “i.”

  “Yes, well, I’m sure Eva’s parents are thrilled. Listen, Mom, I have an early day tomorrow, so I better go, okay? I’ll see you in a little less than two months. Can you believe it?”

  Sloane’s heart beat heavily in her chest. Was it joy, melancholy, or fear? Probably some combination of the three.

  “I can believe it, Sloane. I always knew you’d come back sooner or later. Are you sure you’re well? You sound kind of sad tonight.”

  Sloane wanted to tell her mother everything. I blew it, Mom. I had Mr. Right on my couch and I kicked him out. Sloane couldn’t believe how stupidly she’d acted. All she wanted was to hold David in her arms, to tell him that she was afraid of how strongly she felt attached to him. Already.

  Last night had been everything she had ever dreamed could happen. It had been pure magic, and now…