The Billionaire Op

by Lori Ryan

All in all, she only needed to do it a few times a year to make the money she needed, and with any luck, she’d pay off her loans soon and be free of it all. And free of the likes of Rick Bandon.

  For now, he was a necessary evil in laundering her funds for her. Things were getting to the point where she was going to need to buy shares in his marina company to keep everything looking above board, but with this recent complication, she was relieved her name wasn’t on any of the books yet.

  Bandon rolled down his window. “To what do I owe this unscheduled visit, Caroline? Not that I’m not always happy to get a call from you, but I hadn’t expected to see you again until next month.”

  Caroline suppressed a shudder at the leer on Bandon’s face. “We have a problem. The FBI has opened an investigation into Florifish. Those brothers you swore to me were so malleable and loyal are now feeding information to the FBI about your little endeavor.”

  “My little endeavor. You’re in this as much as I am, lady. Don’t you forget it.” His words were big but she saw the swagger drain from Bandon’s body as he slumped in his truck, absorbing the shock of the news.

  “Luckily for you, I managed to get myself assigned to the case. They haven’t brought in any information to implicate anyone other than you yet and I expect you to keep it that way,” Caroline said.

  “Well, where the hell will that leave me? Don’t think I’ll let you leave me hanging out to dry on this one, Ms. Big Wig Attorney. If I go down for this, I’ll take you down, too,” Bandon sneered.

  Caroline held out a hand to stop him. She’d already thought this through. She knew perfectly well Bandon would turn against her if he were arrested for money laundering and she wouldn’t be at all surprised to find out he had some kind of document or tape or something to hold over her head if push came to shove.

  “I’ll take care of the investigation, but you need to take care of those Masters brothers. They can’t make their next meeting with their handler. There was, apparently, one other witness. I’ll get her name and location for you as soon as I can. In the meantime, I suggest you keep that boat company running as a legitimate business and put all your other activities on hold for now. We need to do damage control.”

  Bandon stared at her for a few minutes.

  She’d always suspected he was a sick bastard who wasn’t afraid to get his hands dirty and she was right. As long as she laid out a plan, he’d pick it up and run with it. She was sure of it.

  His voice was cold and unfeeling when he finally spoke. “Fine, I’ll take care of the brothers. You get working on that other witness.”

  He gave only one curt nod before he drove away.

  Chapter 21

  For weeks, Chad and Jennie were a little stiff and awkward around one another, but it gradually began to go away. They fell back into the swing of things, with Jennie being a wise ass and Chad laughing at her like he used to.

  Since he wasn’t willing to lose her as a friend, it was the way things had to be. There wasn’t any getting around it.

  Thanks to Mrs. Poole, Jack and Kelly were back to hosting get-togethers at their house on a regular basis despite the fact they had a three-week-old baby. It made Chad laugh to think about it. He thought they would have taken a few months to get settled in, but they were hosting their first barbeque today.

  Chad stepped out onto the porch and couldn’t hold back his smile. His tough cousin, a man who ran a Fortune 500 company and often had grown men trembling in their boardroom chairs, was cooing and babbling like an idiot for his tiny baby girl. A complete and utter idiot.

  Before Chad could even scan the rest of the group to see who was there, his eyes went to Jennie. She stuck her tongue out at him. He laughed and shook his head before grabbing a beer and joining her.

  She stood talking to their friend Gabe Sawyer. Gabe owned a string of hotels across the country and in several other countries as well, though Chad knew he’d started talking to Jack about possibly selling off some of his conglomerate.

  Andrew and Jill walked up to join Jennie and Gabe at the same time Chad did.

  He had no idea he could have so many warring emotions at once. He was relieved he and Jennie seemed to be back to being friends, even though he wanted a lot more than that. He was turned on beyond belief at the sight of her in the peach-colored sundress she wore, with her hair pulled up off her tanned shoulders.

  Shoulders he wanted to touch and kiss and taste.

  And he was fighting an internal rage at the fact that Gabe was standing there talking to his Jennie. No way in hell was he letting Gabe, a notorious womanizer, get anywhere near Jennie. The man traveled around the world, living in his hotels, entertaining a different woman every night.

  Chad probably stood a little closer to Jennie than he should have, but he didn’t want Gabe getting any ideas about chasing after her.

  She cocked her head at him with that saucy little smile of hers as if to silently ask what he was doing. He let his eyes slide to Gabe for a split second but he saw Jennie pick up on his silent communication.

  “Really, Big Man? Really?” she asked and laughed as she let incredulity seep into her voice.

  “Wow. You two go away for two weeks and you’re telepathic. You just had a whole conversation without us, didn’t you?” Andrew asked

  Chad and Jennie laughed. Andrew and Jack had cornered Chad after Florida, but he’d flat out lied to them. Told them nothing happened. The look on Andrew’s face right now said he wasn’t buying the lie. Time to redirect.

  “Yeah. Jennie told me to do this,” Chad said as he tossed Andrew into the pool with his clothes on.

  Andrew managed to grab onto Chad’s arm as he went into the water. Chad was struggling to right his balance on the edge of the pool when he felt two hands he recognized on his back.

  The little vixen pushed him right in behind Andrew. Well, that took care of any unwanted attention on Jennie.

  The whole group gathered around to laugh at Chad and Andrew as they wrestled in the pool. It had been too damn long since they’d done anything like this, Chad thought, as he shoved Andrew’s head under the water again.

  He was grinning like an idiot when Andrew grabbed his legs under the water, pulling him down and causing him to swallow a hell of a lot of pool water.

  He didn’t care. He was feeling better than he had since he and Jennie had returned from Florida. It felt good to be around his friends again, including Jennie. He would always want her. Always ache for her in a way that she clearly wouldn’t ever ache for him. But, at least they could be around each other without being insanely uncomfortable.

  If that was all he could have, he’d take it.

  Jennie laughed as she watched Chad go under and come up with a mouthful of water. Of course her mind flashed to their time in Florida but she pushed those thoughts away.

  Jennie knew she couldn’t love Chad. Her heart belonged to Kyle. And, honestly, she really valued her friendship with Chad. She wanted to keep that.

  If she gave in to what her body wanted again, she’d hurt him and lose him for good in the process. That wasn’t something she was willing to do. From now on, she needed to stay in control of her body’s response to him, no matter how strong the attraction was.

  She turned away and took little Maddy in her arms when Kelly passed her over.

  Losing herself in the baby’s little coos and tiny smiles that were more likely caused by gas than genuine emotion, was just what Jennie needed.

  She smiled down and made faces, watching in wonder as the baby’s eyes went round in response.

  She had heard somewhere that newborns were like little lumps, not really connecting with those around them until they were older.

  Jennie thought that she’d either been completely misinformed, or Maddy must be a really special baby. She seemed to connect to everyone, always looking around with wide eyes as though taking in everything.

  Jennie looked up and met Kelly’s eyes. Her friend smiled back at her and Jennie felt no
thing but contentment. She was happy for her friends. And happy she had so much love around her.

  She might not be like the others. She wouldn’t be finding her own happily ever after and starting a family like they were, but she had this. She had friendship and love and good people in her life. It would have to be enough.

  Chapter 22

  A month later, Jennie stared blankly at the screen on her computer. She wasn’t actually seeing anything. She focused only on the mind-numbing reality of her situation as she blinked back tears. She was still in a state of shock. Still desperately trying to deny what she knew in her head was undeniable. Her heart, however, wasn’t on board yet. Her heart had no interest in catching up to the facts.

  Pregnant.

  When she discovered last week that she had come home from Florida pregnant, she wanted to do nothing more than curl up in a ball and will it all away. Not the baby. But the last four years. And the way she felt about what she’d done.

  She knew she had hurt Chad even though he tried to pretend she hadn’t. She could see it in his eyes in quiet moments when he let his guard down. When he forgot to keep his walls up.

  And, topping it all off, she’d betrayed Kyle in the worst way possible. Jennie had wanted to have Kyle’s baby so desperately when he was alive. She had hoped for a baby with his sandy-blond hair and warm blue eyes.

  She’d wanted a baby that had Kyle’s smile and the dimple that came out when he really grinned. When she knew he was smiling with all his heart.

  She’d watched Kelly and Jack with Maddy. She’d held the baby often and saw how quickly she was growing and changing—all in such a short time. And seeing that was much harder than Jennie wanted to admit.

  She needed to tell Chad about the baby, but how could she do that? Saying it out loud would make it real. If she said it out loud, she’d have to really face it. She didn’t even have the guts to tell Kelly yet.

  Right now, Zeke was the only one who knew her secret. He spent every moment shadowing her as if he knew something had changed and she’d spent several hours crying with her head buried in his soft fur. She’d told him everything, and he was the only one who she could trust to listen without judgment.

  Add in the fact that she was so exhausted she could barely function and she’d begun to cry at the drop of a hat, and Jennie was officially an absolute basket case. A basket case with a baby she wanted, yet didn’t want.

  With a friend who would be a wonderful father to her baby. If only she wanted him to be. Which she didn’t. It was horrible to think that, but the truth was, she didn’t want Chad to be the baby’s father.

  Jennie lost the fight with the tears in that moment and had to make a dash for the bathroom. How could she hurt Chad this way? What would she tell her parents? Kyle’s parents? How would she take care of a baby on her own when she was an emotional disaster?

  This can’t be happening.

  But Jennie knew it was happening. She just didn’t know what to do about it.

  She splashed water on her face and took a few deep breaths. She should have called in today. Just like she should have called in sick yesterday and the day before. But, if she was home, she’d just cry again for hours on end. She needed to stop that.

  She needed to find a way to just push through. To just keep going. She went back to her desk and tried to focus as if her world wasn’t falling down around her. Again.

  Chad sat at his desk and looked out the window but his eyes weren’t seeing anything. As he had so many times in the past two months, he let his mind travel back to Florida, reliving every minute of his time with Jennie.

  He tortured himself again and again, recalling the way she’d felt in his arms. How it felt to be able to reach over and hold her hand or pull her into his arms as they pretended to be newlyweds. How it felt to make her fall apart in his hands, with his mouth. And how it felt when he’d finally fulfilled a year of fantasies, sinking deep into Jennie’s sweet depths and making love to her.

  He even relived the moment on the plane ride home when she’d looked at him with those beautiful, guileless eyes and told him she was sorry she couldn’t give him what he wanted.

  He’d seen the regret in her eyes, had heard it in her voice. He knew she’d love him if she could. Or, at least, she’d try. She simply didn’t have her heart to give. It still belonged to Kyle.

  He’d told her it was okay. That he'd always be there for her and love her as a friend, no matter what. And, he’d meant it. He would always be there for Jennie. But, he knew the price he was going to pay for that.

  It was tearing him to pieces, seeing her day in and day out at work. Seeing her on the weekends when they got together with friends. Watching her hold Jack and Kelly’s baby girl. Fantasizing about a future they’d never have. About building a family with her. About things that would never come to be.

  Chad spun in his chair and let his gaze fall on Jennie where she sat at her desk. She looked exhausted as he watched her in front of her computer and he wondered again if maybe she was sick. She hadn’t looked good the last few days, but she showed up at work every day anyway.

  Chad had the strongest urge to walk over and pull her into his arms. To carry her home and tuck her into bed. To care for her.

  Those thoughts were interrupted by his phone.

  “Yeah,” Chad answered, pulling his eyes off Jennie.

  “Chad, it’s Jack.”

  He laughed. “You couldn’t walk down the hall to talk to me? You had to call me?”

  “Wise ass. I’m not in the building. I’m on my way to meet with the investors for the Paulsen project again. They need a little hand holding.”

  Chad grunted. He was glad Jack got to deal with the investors, not him. He didn’t have it in him to handle people the way Jack did.

  “I’m just calling to let you know I heard from Jonathan Masters. The FBI did exactly what you predicted. They sent the Masters brothers back in to gather info. They said they’d only cut them a deal if they collected enough information to indict the rest of the officials in the money laundering scheme,” Jack said.

  “Okay. Let’s hope that means Jennie doesn’t need to testify at all, or at least not for a long time,” Chad said.

  “I hope you’re right about that, too. I’ll see you this weekend at Jill and Andrew’s, right?”

  “Sure, I’ll be there,” Chad said, knowing it probably meant he’d see Jennie, too. He was beginning to dread seeing her at work and every weekend. Seeing her hurt like hell.

  Chad crossed to his door and stuck his head out to the large area outside his office that held twenty desks spread through the room. He always thought of it as the bullpen.

  “Jennie? Can I talk to you?” He called out across the room.

  As he watched her approach, he couldn’t help but notice how shaky she looked. Something wasn’t right. He was positive. Only he didn’t know what it was or why she wasn’t telling him.

  They’d been fine since they came home. Sure, the sexual tension that surrounded them was still there, but Chad knew it always would be. It wouldn’t disappear simply because they’d decided not to act on it. If anything, it was worse after their one and only encounter.

  But in the last week or two something had changed. Jennie wasn’t herself.

  “Shut the door,” he said quietly when she walked in.

  She shut the door and sat in one of the chairs in front of his desk crossing her legs and wrapping her arms around herself in an almost protective gesture. Instead of going around to the chair behind his desk, he sat beside her in the second guest chair. He studied her face but all he could see was exhaustion.

  “You feel okay, Jennie? You look pretty pale.”

  “Mmm hmm.” She nodded. “I think I’ve caught a little bug, but I’m okay. Just a little drained.”

  He didn’t let up his stare as he assessed her. She was more than a little drained. She was pale and he could see dark circles under her eyes. She looked like she hadn’t slept in days.
Finally, he spoke.

  “I wanted to fill you in on the investigation in Florida, but I want you to go home and rest after that. We don’t need you for the rest of the day.”

  “I’m okay, Chad. I don’t need to go home.”

  “Yeah, you do. You look like hell. I want you to go home.”

  She nodded. The fact that she didn’t fight him too hard or have a wise-ass response told him how crappy she was feeling.

  “It looks like you’re off the hook for giving an official statement to the FBI for the moment, but I think they’ll ask for one sooner or later. For now, they’ve sent the Masters brothers back in to gather evidence for them. Apparently, Rick Bandon has been on their radar for some time, but they’ve never been able to build a case. They had a guy come forward once after Bandon tried to extort money to make some problems on the guy’s building site disappear, but the guy died in a suspicious accident a week later.

  “I’m hoping you won’t have to make a statement on the record yet, but I won’t take any chances with you if it does come to that.” Chad glanced to the door but then continued, leaning toward Jennie. “If it gets to that point, I want you to come stay at my place and let me protect you until you testify.”

  “Chad, no. I can’t do that. You said yourself, it could take years for this to come to trial. I can’t move in with you for years.”

  He almost had to laugh at the look of horror that crossed Jennie’s face and stayed there at the idea of living with him. He probably would have laughed if it wasn’t so damn sad. If his life hadn’t become such a laughable joke.

  He loved a woman who couldn’t possibly love him back and he’d managed to put her in danger. She wanted so little to do with him that she wouldn’t even let him protect her.

  Before she could argue any further, she blanched and became even paler, if that were possible. Chad could swear she was about to pass out.

  “Okay, I’m taking you home. Time for bed, Jen.”