Joseph hung up and chucked his phone onto the passenger seat. He glanced across the traffic to change lanes to take him back home, but he noticed a commotion at the side of the road. There was a recovery truck hoisting up a broken-down Mercedes, and the owner of the car was getting soaked in the freezing rain…
Joseph’s heart lurched as he realised it was Eleanor. Poor thing, she looked cold, wet, and very pissed off. He steered the car across three lanes of traffic, and pulled up alongside her, winding down the electric window.
He shouted against the sound of the rain and the whirring mechanism of the truck. “Hey, Ellie! Can I give you a ride?”
Eleanor peered at him. “Joseph? Oh god… some idiot ran into the back of me.” She fought back tears. “This is Matthew’s car; he’s gonna kill me. And now I’m late for an appointment. I can’t believe this is happening.”
“Hop in,” Joseph said. “I’ll take you there.”
She winced. “Are you sure? I was about to call a cab.”
“Come on; get in.”
She cringed gratefully, then she spoke to the recovery guy and gave him her car keys, before climbing into Joseph’s car. She was soaking wet and her hair was stuck to her face. Her mascara was running down her cheeks, and the bad weather was clearly brewing in her heart. But even though she was dripping a puddle on his passenger seat, she looked beautiful to Joseph. He suppressed a desire to take her straight back to his place and warm her up under the shower. Or why not just strip her naked here and fuck a smile back onto her angelic face?
She wriggled out of her wet jacket, revealing her designer suit beneath. “Thanks for this, Joseph.”
“No problem.” He pulled the car back into the traffic. “So where to?”
“The local mall, please.”
“Okay.” He reached out and put on the heat. “You should dry soon.”
She shook the water from her dripping fingers. “I’ve never been this wet.”
He chuckled suggestively. “That’s not the first time a woman’s said that in my presence.”
She ignored his smut. “God, I wish I was on a sunny beach somewhere.” She flipped down the sun-visor and gazed into the mirror. “I look a state.”
“Nah, you look perfect, Ellie. As always.”
She transferred her attention to him. “It’s Eleanor.”
He chuckled. “I’m the same. Don’t call me Joe; it’s Joseph.”
She almost smiled. “Glad it’s not just me then.”
“So how was the first day as a pro-journalist?”
She sighed. “It was okay. An eye-opener.”
He focused on the road ahead, listening to the wipers swish back and forth. “No one else tried to point a gun at you then?”
“No… thank you for – you know – saving the day back there. I guess you’re slightly less of an egotistical self-absorbed diva than I thought.”
Joseph laughed. “Just slightly.”
They shared a smile. The frosty atmosphere thawed, and Joseph allowed a soothing honey sensation to slink through his chest. Perhaps if he continued like this he might be able to charm her enough to fuck her tonight. That would be great revenge on Matthew for being such an asshole. Joseph threw her his most charming grin. Eleanor squirmed in her seat and crossed her legs – hopefully meaning his smile had landed directly between her thighs.
She twisted to look out the window. “This is the mall,” she said. “Pull in here.”
He steered the car into the huge empty parking lot, which was dark and secluded – and glistened in the rain. There was only one other car in the entire lot, and the sprawling mall down the other end looked tiny from here. Joseph realised this could be the perfect location if he ever wanted some solitude. Probably on a clear night, the sky would be full of stars, and in the summer the trees would be covered with glorious green leaves. But for now, it was gloomy and isolated. He was reluctant to leave Eleanor here – you never knew who might be lurking.
He twisted to face her; she was rummaging in her purse. “So how long will you be? What time shall I pick you up, and shall we go back to your place or mine?”
Her head whipped up to face him. “What?”
He grinned. “Your place or mine? Where would you prefer to be when I make you come so hard that you forget all your troubles – as well as your own name?”
Still dripping wet, Eleanor closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. Joseph wasn’t sure whether she was going to slap him or kiss him. Her eyes sprung open. “Well, thanks so much for that charming line, Joseph, but unfortunately we can’t go back to mine because my fiancé will be there.”
“True. Better go back to mine, then.”
“Don’t you care that I’m engaged to your manager? I think you’re pushing your luck.”
“I haven’t even started.” He gazed at her intensely.
She stared right on back, unblinking.
He shook his head. “Ellie, I don’t understand, you’re an intelligent beautiful woman, why are you wasting your time with such a jerk?”
“Because you offered me a ride.”
“Ha ha.”
She tensed up. “Look, Joseph, much as I’d love to continue with this obscene conversation, I can’t right now; I’m meeting my target.”
Concern swooped through him “Your target? What the hell does that mean?”
“I’m conducting an interview.”
Joseph relaxed. “Oh right.” He opened his mouth to say he’d wait for her, but she pulled out her phone and dialled a number.
“Hi, I’m here,” she said. “Where are you? I’m in a blue four-by-four with tinted windows… yeah, that’s the one. Okay, bye.”
She hung up and gazed at the phone. “He’s coming.”
“Who?”
“Pierre Dupont.”
“And you’re planning to interview him in my car, are you?”
“I’ve got some dirt on him. And I don’t want anyone to see us together.”
Realisation stabbed Joseph’s brain as he suddenly understood what she was planning. “Well, he’s going to see us together. Don’t you think he might tell the papers about that? That’ll sure scupper your plans to blackmail him, huh?”
Her face flashed with worry. “Shit. Don’t let him see your face, Joseph. Pretend you’re my driver. My bodyguard. Please?”
Joseph glanced out the window and saw Eleanor’s ‘target’ jogging across the parking lot. He was tall and handsome, but he looked terrified as he huddled in his winter coat against the icy rain.
“This is wrong,” Joseph said. “I know I’m no angel, but I somehow suspect this ‘interview’ of yours won’t be quizzing him on his favourite movies and future aspirations, will it?”
“Welcome to the world of tabloid journalism, Joseph.”
“Oh, I was inaugurated into that world months ago, sweetheart – and let me tell you, it’s like living in the slums of humanity.”
“Well don’t be in the public eye then,” she hissed. “It’s what you signed up for. And so did he!”
Joseph glanced at Pierre who’d almost reached the car. “Ellie, you shouldn’t be doing this.”
Her voice cracked with anger. “Don’t tell me what to do, Joseph!”
He smirked. “I could listen to you shouting my name passionately like that all night.”
“And don’t sexually harass me. I’m just trying to do my job.”
“Job? This is the craziest job I ever heard of. Hurting people for entertainment. I thought that was outlawed in the Middle Ages.”
“It’s what I’ve wanted to do since I was a little girl.”
“Well maybe it’s time you grew up and changed your mind.”
“I’m not changing my mind. There’s nothing you can do to stop me.”
He leaned forward and grabbed her shoulders passionately. “I could carry you off and tie you to my bed, then make love to you all night until you forget this crazy notion.”
She pushed him away. “Why’s it so hard for you to see me
as anything more than a sexual object? Why can’t you take my career seriously?”
He stared at her tenderly. “I didn’t mean to undermine your womanhood or your career dreams, okay. I just… I think you’re a better journalist than this.”
Eleanor opened her mouth to reply, but the back door was yanked open and the minor celebrity soap star – Pierre Dupont – climbed in. Eleanor shot Joseph a pleading glance, so he sank down in his seat, not letting Pierre see him. Eleanor threw him a look of gratitude, then she grabbed a notepad from her purse, and climbed out to get in the back.
Joseph watched in the rear-view mirror. The guy was frantic. He’d risen to fame as swiftly as Joseph, but he was very popular with the older ladies, and was often photographed with his wife and children. He was an attractive guy and popular in the B-list world. Joseph guessed that any scandal involving him would be lapped up by tabloid readers, who were already captivated by the sensationalist plots of his soap opera.
Pierre appealed to Eleanor. “Please don’t tell my wife!”
Eleanor pinned him with a steely stare. “You’re having an affair?”
Pierre panted with worry. “In your message you said you knew everything – that you had photographic evidence. How did you find out? We’ve been so careful!”
Joseph waited for Eleanor to reply. She’d only been working on this story for a few hours, so he assumed she’d either been given this information by a colleague, or she’d picked this poor guy at random and sent him a vague message saying she knew ‘everything’, then waited for him to show up and confess. Joseph’s mind ran through his own dealings with the press. Had they ever done this to him? There were two main secrets he was protecting – both concerning Ivan: the perpetual motion device and his fake death. Luckily, Joseph prided himself on being more shrewd than the poor guy in the backseat who was currently begging Eleanor not to ruin his life.
“Perhaps you should’ve thought of that before you started having an affair with your co-star,” Eleanor said.
“I know it’s totally wrong, but me and Jatinder just have this overwhelming attraction to each other.”
Joseph suppressed a chuckle as he realised Eleanor had a natural talent for this. It was her who’d mentioned the ‘co-star’, but Pierre had fallen for it and confessed a name.
Eleanor wrote something down on her notepad. “Jatinder. I see… Hmm… she’s married to that Hollywood actor, isn’t she?”
Pierre wrung his hands. “Arnold Grayson, yeah, that’s right.”
“Yes.” Eleanor smiled kindly at Pierre. “And when did you and Jatinder last have sex?”
“Last night… But I thought you knew that.”
“Just checking you hadn’t seen each other today.” Eleanor reached out and squeezed Pierre on the arm. “Look, it’s going to be okay. I can help you. Alright?”
Pierre’s voice was full of panic. “Is there anything I can do to stop you from printing this? Think of our kids… our careers…”
Eleanor smiled like an amiable cop trying to placate a petty criminal. “I’m sure we can come to some arrangement. I was thinking maybe you could help me gain access to Jatinder’s husband… we could work together to expose her affair… or perhaps he’s at it too? But whatever we do, I’ll try to keep your name out of it. The public would be more interested in him than you, that’s for sure.”
“Yes, yes, anything. Please – I just want what’s best for my kids.”
“Alright. You go back to your wife now and I’ll see what I can come up with. I’ll be in touch.”
Pierre reached out and hugged Eleanor, making Joseph grip the wheel with possessive envy. He relaxed his fists and focused his mind. She wasn’t his. Yet.
Pierre ripped opened the door and fled in the pouring rain back to his own car like a terrified antelope. Eleanor climbed back in the front with Joseph and stared at her notepad.
“That went much better than I could’ve imagined,” she whispered.
Joseph gazed at her. “Feel good now?”
She sighed. “No. I feel terrible. Crappy.”
“That probing technique you used on him – did they teach you that at college?”
“Course not. It was my editor, Gerald Stinger. It’s called ‘blagging’.”
“Gerald Stinger… I know that name.”
“He writes the gossip column for The New York Spin. He’s won the award for Best Gossip Column three years in a row. He’s my new boss.”
“And he coached you how to extract information by giving a guy enough rope to hang himself? That’s terrible, Eleanor.”
“I know. And thank you for calling me ‘Eleanor’.”
Joseph shrugged. “I think it suits you after what I just witnessed. It’s more sinister than ‘Ellie’.”
Eleanor’s anger cracked. “Look, he’s the one cheating on his wife! Don’t you think the world has the right to know?
“Not really… his wife may have the right to know. But the world?”
She huffed and sank back in her seat. “I hate men who cheat – they’re the lowest of the low.”
Joseph’s heart melted as he saw through her steely act. “Ah, I see.”
She twisted to glare at him. “And what does that mean?”
“Matthew’s cheated on you, right? That’s what he was getting at earlier when he said he could–”
“It’s none of your business.”
“Oh really? Don’t you think the world has the right to know?”
She gazed down at her lap, silently fuming. Joseph reached out and squeezed her shoulder as the rain hammered down on the windshield outside.
“Eleanor… when did a man last take care of you?”
She swallowed, not answering. She was still soaking wet from the rain, and she seemed vulnerable. Defeated.
“Matthew treats you like you’re not important. I bet he’s like that in bed too. Dismissive of your needs.”
She looked up and stared into his eyes. “I won’t lie – when I found out about Matthew’s cheating last year I wanted to break it off with him. But I decided to stand by my man – not because I’m an idiot, but because I’m smart. I knew what I could get from him, so I decided to stick by him until I got what I wanted. Well, now I’ve got what I wanted.”
“A job with Blair Robertson?”
She nodded. “Yep.”
“I guess you wouldn’t be the first person to stick by someone because of what they could give you.” He chuckled cynically. “It seems like your dream-come-true is turning out kinda like mine.”
“How so?”
“It’s not what it’s cracked up to be, huh? You thought Blair Robertson could offer you the world, but all you got was Gerald Stinger.”
Her steely armour tightened around her. “Well, I certainly don’t need what you’re offering. I don’t need a man like you complicating things.”
“Oh, and what would a man like me be exactly?”
“You’re a… a scoundrel.”
He raised an eyebrow. “A scoundrel, huh? Well, Ellie, the way I see it, you could probably do with a scoundrel in your life right now. Some excitement. Some fun. Don’t you think? I know I could.”
“No, what I need is to –”
Unable to resist any longer, he leaned over and kissed her hard on the mouth. Her soft lips acquiesced, but she squeaked her disapproval and punched him on the shoulder. He pulled away and smirked into her eyes. She glared angrily at him. He waited. She was either going to slap him, or…
Her angry expression surged to lust, and she threw her arms around him and kissed him hard. Single-pointed desire washed through Joseph and he pulled her close, kissing her with pent-up passion – pressing himself against her; desperate to fuck her hard until she was laughing with glee and purging her pain.
She groaned as the kiss increased in urgency, making their lips vibrate together, and ramping up Joseph’s lust. He slipped his tongue in her mouth, relishing her sweet taste – suddenly desperate to kiss, lick, and ple
asure every inch of her naked tight little body.
She pulled away abruptly, out of breath. “I can’t do this.”
“Ellie, I just want to give you one night of no-strings pleasure. I wanna hear you roaring my name and losing control. I want to be the best lover you’ve ever had, so you’ll never forget me.”
She buried her face in her hands. “Oh god…”
“And I know you want that too, don’t you?”
She closed her eyes and breathed hard. “No, I don’t… I don’t know.”
He cupped her chin and kissed her again – more tenderly this time. “Look, we can’t sit here in the parking lot all night. Let’s go back to mine and you can get dry.” He grinned. “And maybe we can see what happens.”
Her voice was a whisper. “I’m not agreeing to anything.”
He ran his fingers through her damp hair, relishing the chance to touch her after all those months of dreaming. “It’s okay. No pressure. Let’s just get out of here.”
Joseph turned on the engine and pulled the car back to the road. Eleanor called her editor to give him an update, then she turned off her phone and dropped it into her purse.
“He didn’t sound very happy,” she said.
“Why?”
“He never does.”
Joseph chuckled. “I’m not surprised. He makes a living from dragging other people down to his own special kind of hell.”
She smiled sadly. “You’re right…”
He reached out and rested his hand on her damp thigh. “Hey, babe, when we get near my apartment building, keep your head away from the window, okay? I know the glass is tinted, but until we get into the parking garage, you never know who might be lurking. Some of these tabloid journalists will do anything to get a front-page scoop.”
Chapter Seven
Eleanor’s raw emotions swirled around her body as she followed Joseph through the underground parking garage into his luxury apartment building. She was thrilled that it had been so easy to trick Pierre into confessing his affair. She even had the name of the other woman – and that Hollywood actor was an absolutely golden lead. But she didn’t need to be Mother Teresa to know it was totally immoral.
And on top of that, what the hell was she doing here with Joseph Quinlan? Those promises he’d made about giving her one night of no-strings pleasure had proved too much to resist. One-night-stands weren’t her thing at all. But Joseph had a reputation for being a good lover, and it’d been a long time since she’d had sex with anyone who cared about her pleasure. Didn’t she owe Matthew for cheating on her all those times?
The Billionaire's Revenge: Billionaire Brothers Billionaire Bachelors (Tycoon Billionaires Book 3) Page 5