The Billionaire's Con

by Mackenzie Crowne

  “Megan.” Elizabeth Ashford’s quiet voice drew her attention. “My grandson is right. We should all—”

  “Grandson?” Meggy yelped. Her gaze darted from Trevor to Elizabeth and back again. An odd buzzing echoed in her ears and the light in the room seemed to fade even as she put her hand to her head to counteract the tipping sensation.

  Right there in Elizabeth Ashford’s exquisite parlor, Meggy Calhoun did something she’d never done in her life. She fainted.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Meggy opened her eyes and stared at a high, intricately carved ceiling. Trevor’s worried face, swimming into view, made her slam her eyelids shut on a groan. She hadn’t been dreaming after all. She was living a nightmare.

  “She’s coming around.”

  Meggy’s eyes popped open. Twisting her head back and around, she searched for the owner of the voice. Inches above hers, she found the smiling face of the bulky bodyguard she’d met several weeks ago. “If it isn’t the mountainous menace.”

  The bodyguard chuckled. He laid a cool cloth across her brow. “Nice to see you again too.”

  “Give her some room, Brody,” Trevor barked.

  The demand reminded her he was sitting on the couch, his hip pressed against hers. Oh, God. He’d lied about his name, and considering just whose couch they were on, she doubted she’d be pleased with his explanation of why.

  He was Elizabeth Ashford’s grandson. What did that make her, his niece?

  Her head was too mushy to think. All she knew for certain was that Trevor Bryce had suddenly become Trevor Christos, and she was going to throw up on Elizabeth Ashford’s highly polished, wooden floor. While she was at it, she’d aim for Uncle Trevor’s shoes.

  She shoved at him, swinging her legs to the floor and sitting up. The cool cloth plopped to her lap. A hand to her chest, shoving her back down, kept her from standing.

  Trevor pointed a finger in her face. “Just sit there and be quiet.”

  “You be quiet.” She slapped away his hand. “I don’t have to listen to you. You’re not the boss of me.”

  “I said, sit there and be quiet.” Trevor propped his hands onto his hips. “I’m not having you faint on me again.”

  “Bite me, Mr. Christos.” She spoke through gritted teeth.

  Brody chuckled behind her, but Trevor simply raised a sardonic brow.

  “Where’s my purse?” she demanded on a sudden gust of breath.

  “It’s right beside you on the couch.” The strong voice of Elizabeth Ashford came from the chair beside her.

  Meggy had no idea what to say to the woman, so she ignored her, scrambling to pull her cell phone from the clutch bag.

  “Who are you calling?”

  Ignoring Trevor wasn’t as easy, not when she wanted to scratch out his eyes.

  “Nine-one-one.” She released the lock on the phone. “I don’t know what’s going on here, but kidnapping and holding people against their will is a crime.” She glanced around the room. “Even for people like you.”

  “Give me that.” Trevor snatched the phone from her hand.

  “Hey!”

  “No one is holding you against your will, Megan.” Elizabeth’s voice was calmness itself.

  Meggy didn’t even glance her way, pointing at Trevor. “Tell that to him!” She seared him with a narrowed glare. “On second thought, you probably own the local police. I’ll call the FBI.”

  Elizabeth sighed. “You haven’t handled the situation very well, darling. The girl is terrified.”

  “She’s not terrified, Grandmother, she’s pissed. She’s a pit bull.” He snorted. “She’ll get over it.”

  Meggy jerked back against the couch, absorbing the unexpected lash of pain his words brought. On Trevor’s lips, there wasn’t anything remotely amusing about her nickname.

  “Jesus.” Trevor squeezed the bridge of his nose. “Everyone just calm down for a minute.”

  “That’s good advice, Trev.”

  Trevor turned an icy glare on Brody. He simply shrugged, his smile casual. Trevor held out her phone. “My Grandmother has some questions for you.”

  “I’ll just bet she does.” She snatched the phone from his fingers with a sneer. “I have a few of my own.”

  “Then stick around and get the answers.”

  “Why am I here?” She had to know. She needed the facts, all of them.

  Instead of answering, he asked his own question. “Why were you here a month ago?”

  Her heart thudded frantically while plunging to her stomach. He’d known she’d come here to the farm all those weeks ago? If he’d known she’d been here, then his showing up in Palmerton hadn’t been coincidence. He’d known who she was, and he’d come looking for her. And, oh, God, she had taken one look at him and had fallen like a stone. Only, none of it had been real.

  She’d been afraid she wouldn’t like what she found inside these gilded walls, and she’d been right. Going to her parents with her questions had been a colossal mistake, and she was going to burn Rachel Hadley’s letter the moment she got home. In the meantime, she had no choice but to brazen it out, even though all she wanted to do was run. “I came looking for a job,” she spat.

  “Cut the crap, Meggy. No one in this room believes that. What were you looking for that day?”

  “I was looking for something that doesn’t exist,” she said tightly. At his scowl, she turned to look directly at Elizabeth Ashford for the first time since she’d awakened from her faint. “I’m adopted. I received a letter from my birth mother, a Rachel Hadley.” She continued speaking over Elizabeth’s indrawn breath. “She said I had a great-grandmother living on Martha’s Vineyard. I was curious.” She shook her head helplessly and fought against the unexpected urge to weep. “I just came to see.”

  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Trevor moving toward her and jumped to her feet. She held out a stiff arm to prevent him from coming any closer. “So, now I’ve seen. I don’t want anything. Not from any of you.” Meggy pivoted for the door.

  Elizabeth rose to her feet. “Stay, Megan. You’re upset.”

  Her throat was tight, but her eyes were dry when she paused and turned back. “I’m sorry for the pretense, Mrs. Ashford. I just wanted to see where my birth mother came from.” She whirled to make good her escape.

  Trevor had moved to block her way. “I’ll take you home. We need to talk.”

  She fried him with a lethal glare. “I don’t ever want to see you again,” she said softly, her words evenly spaced.

  Cold and angry, his gaze dropped to her wrist and the fat heart dangling there. He met her gaze, and his brows rose in wordless accusation.

  Her fingers clamped around the bracelet, and she cringed at the reminder of what a fool he’d made of her, of all of them. Without looking away, she released the clasp on the charm bracelet and held it out to him. He refused to take it from her, so she leaned around him to drop it to the coffee table. It made a tinkling clatter in the silence of the room.

  His eyes were bright with fury when she straightened. “You’re not going anywhere.” He lowered his voice so that only she could hear. “This situation isn’t comfortable, or easy, for any of us.” His gaze flicked briefly to Elizabeth. He lowered his voice even more. “You’d realize that if you’d quit acting like a rude little brat.”

  “Rude...” she sputtered, “Brat?”

  He didn’t pause in his ultimatum. “Now park your sweet little ass on that couch.” He flung an arm in the direction of the couch where she’d been sitting. “We’re going to sit down and discuss this like reasonable adults.”

  She gave him no warning. Her balled fist plowed into his unprotected stomach. Though she was sure she’d hurt her hand worse than she’d hurt him, she was satisfied with his surprised grunt. She took advantage of his startled shock to find her way out the front door and didn’t look back.

  ****

  “That went well.”

  “Shut up, Brody.” Trevor glared at the ma
n he’d considered a friend since childhood.

  Brody just raised a brow and grinned.

  “Behave yourselves. Both of you.” Elizabeth’s tone booked no room for argument as she lowered herself to her chair.

  Despite the disastrous results of the meeting, Elizabeth wore a satisfied smile. He knew she was thrilled to have the question of Meggy’s identity all but answered. They may never find Rachel, but they’d found her daughter, or more to the fact, her daughter had found them.

  He moved to the window in time to see Meggy hurrying at a near run down the long driveway toward the front gate. She had a letter from Rachel. It would have to be verified, of course, but the matter was settled in his mind. The woman he’d fallen in love with was Elizabeth’s great-granddaughter.

  When Meggy fainted, he’d never felt so scared in his life. His heart had literally stopped. Damn, he hated situations where he wasn’t in control. Yet, that’s what his fairy girl had done to him, taken his composure and love to leave him desolate and empty.

  Following her progress down the drive, he watched her stomp her way up to the gate, her cell phone pressed to one ear. She slapped a hand to the gate release and squeezed through before it had swung open completely.

  It crossed his mind that Rachel had taken the same path so many years ago. She’d stepped through that gate, and they’d never seen her again. His tender stomach muscles contracted in unreasonable panic. He loved her too much to lose her, but how was he to smooth her ruffled feathers and get her to forgive him? “Brody,” he said without turning from the window. “Take the car. Get her home.”

  “What if she refuses? That is one pissed-off woman.”

  Trevor glanced over his shoulder at Brody and the straining muscles evident beneath his lightweight suit. “Convince her.” He turned back to the window in time to see her disappear around the wall. “I’m holding you responsible for her safety.”

  Brody left without another word.

  He turned to find Elizabeth staring blindly into space, a smile on her lips. “She’s Rachel’s daughter, Trevor,” she whispered.

  He moved to squat in front of her, taking her chilled hands in his. “Yes, she is.”

  Her eyes filled with tears as they focused on his face. “She wants nothing to do with us. That’s unacceptable. What do you suggest we do to change that?”

  He gazed at the thin hands in his and sighed. He’d bungled things with his snarling and ultimatums. But he’d never reacted well to confusion, and the terrified look on her face when she realized just where she was had confused the hell out of him. Anger he could have handled. Her fear he couldn’t understand.

  “I’m going back to Palmerton. I need to see that letter. So do you. After that?” He shrugged.

  “What happened?” Elizabeth raised a wrinkled hand slightly before letting it fall back into her lap. “Why was she so angry? And she looked scared.”

  Trevor stood and pushed a hand through his hair in agitation. “She was terrified. I have no idea what that was about. But I’d say she was as much hurt as she was angry.” His smile was a twisted contortion of guilt. “I, uh, got her to admit she’s in love with me just last night.”

  “Oh, Trevor.”

  “I had a plan,” he said in self-defense. “It looks like it may have backfired.”

  “I should say so.” She watched him with keen eyes. “Are you in love with her?”

  “Yes.” He took a seat across from her. “And up until about fifteen minutes ago, she was in love with me. Well,” he corrected, “technically, she was in love with Trevor Bryce.”

  “No wonder she’s angry. No woman enjoys learning she’s been lied to by the man she loves.” She shook her head. “What a mess.”

  “I’ve had the same thought myself.” He went on to tell her all he’d learned in his three weeks in Palmerton. “She’s led a good life, Grandmother. She’s surrounded by friends and family who love and think the world of her.” He frowned. “I’ll be lucky if they don’t run me out of town on a rail.”

  “It sounds as if she’s worth the trouble.” She grinned, and he nodded. “Rachel’s daughter,” she repeated with a happy sigh.

  Chapter Fifteen

  With bare hands, Meggy gripped at the metal rail. Twenty feet below, water churned by as the crowded ferry chewed through the choppy waves toward the mainland. In just her sweater and jeans, she was freezing in the autumn wind. Her thoughts, however, were steaming hot.

  Her great-grandmother’s bodyguard—a term she would never have expected to use in connection with herself—had all but forced her into a silver Bentley less than a quarter mile from Ashford Farm. The mountainous menace had intimidated her after all, threatening bodily transport into the passenger seat, if she didn’t get herself there immediately. She’d been forced to call Cara back to let her know she had a ride home and would see her at Palmer House in a few hours.

  She sensed the bodyguard’s presence as he came up behind her.

  He dropped an oversized trench coat over her shoulders, then leaned his elbows on the rail beside her.

  “Thank you,” she said grudgingly, shoving her arms through the sleeves before tucking her hands in the pockets.

  He nodded. “You must have questions. Why not stick around and get the answers?”

  Breath exploded through her nose on a disdainful snort. “Like I’d believe anything that lying son of a bitch came up with. I don’t want anything from you people. Including answers.”

  His chuckle was deep and genuine. “You’re Mrs. A’s blood all right. She’s just as stubborn.”

  She accepted the challenge in his words. “It’s not your Mrs. A. who makes me want to take a flame thrower to that mansion you live in. She’s nothing to me but a name in a letter. It’s that lying bastard grandson of hers.”

  Brody turned to lean a hip against the rail.

  The grin on his face made her roll her eyes in annoyance. Then her own words registered, and she felt the return of panic, remembering she’d not only fallen in love with a liar, but a relative. “I’ve changed my mind.” Pivoting, she met his gaze directly. “I do have one question. Trevor is her grandson, and if that letter is true, I’m her great-granddaughter. So what does that make me, his niece?” She paled as a new thought occurred. “Oh God, don’t tell me he’s my father!” Her eyes slid shut and her shoulders slumped almost immediately. “No, there’s no way he could be my father. He’s too young.” She glanced back at Brody, who was doing his best not to laugh. “So, is he my uncle?”

  Brody lost the fight. He laughed, deep and full. “You find a great-grandmother worth almost a billion dollars and all you want to know is how you’re related to Trevor?”

  The wry look in his eyes said he knew exactly what had been going on between her and his employer for the past few weeks. She mentally added blabbermouth to her list of charges against the lying bastard—who may or may not be her uncle.

  “You know, Meggy—you don’t mind if I call you Meggy, do you?” Brody continued before she could demand he answer her question. “You’re going to have to do a better job of hiding your feelings if you’re going to exact any kind of revenge before you forgive him.”

  She ignored his knowing grin. “He doesn’t deserve my forgiveness. And I’ll have to settle for that one punch as revenge since I don’t plan to ever see the bastard again. Unless you tell me he came to Palmerton and made me...unless he played out his little charade knowing he really is my uncle. Then I’d have to kill him. So, is he?”

  Brody snorted a laugh. “You really are a pit bull. Poor Trevor.”

  “Just answer the frigging question.” She gritted her teeth at his continued chuckling.

  “You can relax, Meggy. Trevor is Rachel’s step-brother. His father married Rachel’s mother. You’re no relation that I know of.”

  She puffed out a relieved breath. Well, that was something. At least, she wasn’t guilty of incest. That left the bastard off on that charge. It didn’t excuse him for all the
others though.

  “And I wouldn’t count on having seen the last of him, if I were you.” His words yanked her from her musings. He held up a hand when she would have argued his point. “Think about it, Meggy. We’re not just talking about a misunderstanding between two consenting adults here. They’ve been searching for word of Mrs. A’s granddaughter for a quarter century. If that letter you mentioned is legit, you’re more than just word, you’re DNA. Do you really think they’ll just forget about that?”

  She had no argument, so she made none.

  “Even if Trevor didn’t have a personal interest in you.” His raised brow challenged her to deny his point. She didn’t bother. “There are close to three quarters of a billion reasons for them to want to verify your identity.”

  She blanched. “I don’t want anything to do with their money. Tell them I’ll sign whatever they want. I’ll promise not to ever ask them for a thing.”

  His brows rose, but he shook his head. “Mrs. A. isn’t going to let the matter drop. She’ll be all over you—and that letter—before the week is out.”

  “I’m burning it the minute I get home.”

  That gave him pause, and the perpetual grin slipped from his face. “Don’t do that, Meggy. Mrs. A. is a tough old bird. She’s had to be. But she’s a human being, and deep down she has a soft heart.” His sentiment echoed Trevor’s description of his grandmother the night of their first date. “She’s lost or buried everyone she’s ever cared about with very few exceptions. Trevor being the most notable. That letter is a link to her granddaughter. Are you really willing to take that away?”

  Her silence was answer enough.

  He nodded. “Besides…” The smile returned. “Trevor would be pissed if you destroyed it.”

  “You think?” She offered her sweetest smile. “You almost had me convinced not to burn it. Now, I’m going to have to give it some more thought.”

  Brody threw back his head and laughed. “You’re a bloodthirsty little thing, aren’t you?”

  She smiled, a simple baring of her teeth.