Suddenly Lindsay wasn't looking at her anymore and Nadia looked over shoulder to follow her line of sight. Dale was standing in the lobby and had Nena with him, holding her tiny hand in his huge grip.
"I woke up and didn’t find you." He said. "Nena couldn't sleep so we decided to take a walk." He looked at Nadia in confusion. "What the hell are you doing here?"
Lindsay stood up.
"It's okay Dale. She's here to help me."
"You don’t need her help. I can take care of everything."
"I needed to hear her story. That's all."
"You followed me here." He said to Nadia.
"No she didn't. She followed me to LA because I called her and then I asked her to come here and meet me."
The man looked stunned.
"So what's going on? Are you guys done with your talking? Can we all go back to bed? No offense Nadia."
Lindsay walked over to him. He was still only half awake, his clothes thrown on in haste and just as adorable as ever.
"Dale…" she came close to him and looked up into his confused eyes. "I believe you Dale. I believe everything you told me and if you still want me…"
Nena was only half awake too but Lindsay's words had brought her one hundred percent to life again. She stared up expectantly at her two favorite people in the whole wide world.
Dale looked down at Lindsay and then reached one big arm around her waist to draw her in against him.
"Are you crazy?" He said, still holding on to Nena's small hand. "Haven’t you been listening to me? You’re all I want." He pressed his lips to hers and squeezed her tight. Nena watched with her mouth hanging open until they were finished and then he reached down, scooped the little girl up as well and squeezed all three of them together.
"You two little ladies both are all I want in this world."
Nena began screeching so hard again that Dale and Lindsay had to duck their heads and hide their ears.
Epilogue
The sun was high over the Florida Keys. It seemed like an age since Suzy and Nadia had attempted their girls vacation here only to be interrupted by the urgent phone call that Dale had disappeared. Now they were seated together on a private beach on a small private island and this time there were three of them.
"So are we all ready for the big day?" Nadia said lazily in afternoon heat.
"As ready as I'll ever be." Suzy replied. "If something interrupts us this time then maybe it's just not meant to be."
"Don't say that." Lindsay said. "How can this not be meant to happen? I mean what are the chances of three girls like us not only getting along so well but all getting married to the three hottest, sexiest and richest single men alive on the planet today? And all of it by crazy accident."
"By accident?" Nadia said.
"Sure. I mean it's not like we went looking for men like this. If anything I'd say we've all three been hunted down and beaten over the head until we gave in and accepted that being fabulously rich and worshipped by a demi-God was actually a good thing and not anything to run away from."
"I'll drink to that." Suzy said, raising her cocktail glass to the sky. "Here's to being fabulously rich and worshipped by a demi-God."
Nadia smiled but she was in a more serious frame of mind.
"And here's to freedom." She said. "Freedom from the past, freedom from old secrets, freedom from deception and fear."
It was kind of heavy and a far cry from her old motto of 'stay low, stay clean. leave no trace', but they had been through a lot together and her two companions understood her like nobody else in the world could.
Lindsay raised her glass next.
"And here's to us, to our future and to our happiness with these wonderful men."
The three girls clinked glasses and then sipped, slowly and deeply. The sound of heavy, rapid footsteps came up behind them but the three women never moved. They hardly had time. In a second the sun had been blocked out in front of them and there was Nena, so out of breath with excitement that she hardly had a giggle left in her, dangling between the arms of the two Hargrave brothers, her two new best playmates in the world.
From under the trees another figure approached. Ruben Mayweather, suave as ever even in bathing shorts and designer, hi tech sunglasses. He was carrying another tray full of fresh cocktails that he insisted on making himself. No barista was quite good enough to mix perfect drinks in his world of absolute perfection.
He settled down on the sand in front of the group and began distributing the drinks beginning with the tall Shirley Temple he had prepared under strict instructions from Nena, his most demanding customer of all.
When they had all been served he held up his own simple martini glass.
"A toast." He said and the group raised their drinks.
"To us." He said quite simply. "And to our happiness."
The group murmured their assent.
"To us and to our happiness." Dale repeated the sentiment and then winked a smile over to Nena. "And to living happily ever after."
END OF SECRETS OF THE BILLIONAIRE SERIES
Thank you for taking time to read the Billionaire Secrets Series. If you enjoyed it, please consider telling your friends or posting a short review. Word of mouth is an author’s best friend and your kind words are much appreciated.
If you made it this far then you are probably as sad as I was to let these larger than life totally cool, big hearted and sexy people go, but unfortunately that's life. However, you can follow the adventures of the equally sexy Drummond brothers in Resisting the Billionaire Collection or the Demovic billionaire brothers in the Scandalous Billionaires Collection.
And never fear, there's plenty more to come, new characters and wild scenarios to keep you sated (just barely ;-) when you've seen what all of those folks get up to. To stay in touch and find out about new works in progress, releases, giveaways etc, sign up to my Newsletter now and let the crazy fun continue!
Yours insatiably ;-)
Drew.
About Drew
Drew is a Contemporary Romance Fiction Writer leading a mysterious life of international hi-jinks and diamond encrusted guffaws. When not writing romance or flying high above the world involved in some daft caper, Drew is hanging out with family, doing yoga, writing something else or just soaking up the moment like a New Age Guru high as a kite on the power of absolute hysteria.
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Still not satisfied? Don’t worry, there's plenty more sexy craziness in these other Books by Drew!
Contemporary Romance
The Scandalous Billionaires Collection - Introducing the Demovic family
Scandalous: Download Volume One for free right now!
Outrageous: Volume Two
Totally Inappropriate: Volume Three
The Scandalous Billionaires Collection: Volumes One, Two and Three
Resisting the Billionaire Series - Introducing the Drummond brothers
Teased: Volume One
Tempted: Volume Two
Tamed: Volume Three
Resisting the Billionaire Collection: Volumes One, Two and Three
Erotica
The Billionaire Threesomes Trilogy
WARNING Please note that these books contains the same characters, story lines and events as portrayed in the resisting the Billionaire Series (above). These versions contain more explicit erotic content! If you have read the Resisting the Billionaire Series then please carefully consider if you wish to continue reading these ultra-hot versions of the books!
Teased by Two: Volume One
Tempted by Two: Volume Two
Tamed by
Two: Volume Three
The Billionaire Threesomes Collection: Volumes One, Two and Three
Sample Chapters: Scandalous
Scandalous Billionaires Volume One
Chapter One
"This looks like an intervention." Jason Demovic said drily. He wasn't smiling and neither was anybody else. His mother had asked him to come by the family home for a private talk but instead he found himself confronted by Rodney Smyth, the Demovic corporation CFO, Ernst Pitchford, the family lawyer and his two brothers, Zach and Harrison.
Jason wasn't the type of person to back down; something all these people knew very well.
The atmosphere was tense.
In looks he was very alike his two brothers. All three were Mediterranean in skin tone, hair and eye color, but tall, angular and Scandinavian in their build. All three were strikingly, impossibly good looking by any standards and a picture of the three brothers together at a function or a night spot was pure gold to the local celebrity media.
At just twenty-nine years of age Jason was the eldest of the three.
"As nobody here seems to want to speak, let me begin." He said. "What exactly is this all about?"
An uncomfortable silence reigned for five long seconds.
"Jason," his mother said in a frail voice, "we all appreciate that what you are doing is good. Good for the world, good for the individual charities involved and in many ways good for the Demovic Corporation as well."
"I agree. So why are we here?"
CFO Rodney Smyth interjected.
"You've given away nearly 10% of Demovic in the last six months alone Jason. This can't go on."
"The current net worth of the Demovic family remains at over 75 billion dollars." He replied with a cold economy of expression. "There's plenty more we can give away before anyone has to cut back on the champagne."
Zach, the middle brother of the Demovic family and its technical genius, weighed in.
"I think we're all aware of the numbers here Jason, so that's not the issue and neither is the champagne, but if you continue to donate like this then there won't be anything left to give. If we want to maintain the philanthropic tradition of our family then it needs to be done at a sustainable rate."
"I understand that Zach, and you don't need to worry. I know exactly what I'm doing." His face betrayed no emotion but his steely gaze spoke volumes. It was a gaze that inspired loyalty in some, fear in others, but obedience in everyone.
Nearly everyone.
Today he was speaking to his inner circle; his fierce independence of spirit and natural leadership was matched by almost everyone he could see. It was the reason his mother had invited them; not only was he looking at the entire board of directors of the Demovic corporation, but if anyone in his world was able to stand up to him, then they were sitting right in front of him.
Harrison, the youngest of the three brothers, spoke up. If the impulsiveness of youth had long ago left the two older brothers, Harrison still held an edge of fieriness that his mother and older brothers hoped would soon soften with age.
"We all get it Jason, we all miss dad--"
"You? Miss dad?" Jason said accusingly. Harrison hesitated, looking briefly away from his older brother before continuing.
"We all respect the tradition of giving, but this is just crazy. Give it all away and then what happens? We're just as poor as the people we're trying to help. That's no good to anybody."
"Every donation is tax deductible. Charity is good for business." Jason said, refusing to give an inch.
"Don't patronize us Jay." Zach said. "We all know that, but 10% of Demovic in just six months? It's financial suicide. Speculation in the media that something is wrong at the heart of Demovic Inc is rife and sooner or later it's going to affect business."
Jason held up his hands and the group went silent, waiting for him to speak as he looked each of them in the eye, slowly, one by one.
"I'm acting CEO of Demovic Corporation." He said. "Now unless there's something else to discuss, I have somewhere I need to be."
He stood up to go.
"Sit down Jay." Zach said. The tension in the air was near unbearable. The Demovic family was not accustomed to internal strife in business matters since the passing of Mr. Demovic senior. Normally they spoke as one voice, guided by Jason's acknowledged razor sharp business sense.
That guidance had been accepted without resentment or question until his seemingly endless spree of philanthropy threatened to bankrupt the corporation.
Jason gave Zach a long, cold look before he sat down. Like all of them, he was used to giving orders, not taking them.
"This better be good." he with quiet intensity.
Their mother spoke quickly, hoping to defuse the situation.
"It is good Jason. Good for everyone. We have come together today simply to discuss how much money Demovic Inc. should give away in philanthropic contributions in any given financial quarter, that's all."
"I've already decided how much that should be." Jason said.
"Jason Demovic does not equal Demovic Inc," Harrison said with evident irritation, "no matter what you think."
Jason looked at him, his expression giving nothing away.
"Of course I don't think that, but this specific decision is mine and mine alone, just as our father said it should be and as the board, including everyone here agreed upon. Now if you'll excuse me--"
"If you won't discuss this with us then we will have no choice but to ask you to stand down as CEO." Zach said. Jason was motionless for a moment. The two brothers had fought many times as children but never as grown men. They had always been equally matched and neither feared the other.
The room held its breath as Jason looked to Ernst Pitchford, the family lawyer. He didn't need to say a word to the tough old legal shark.
"It can be done." Ernst assured him.
Jason looked around the room again. If Ernst said it was true then it was true. No one in the world knew the Demovic family legal affairs like Ernst Pitchford. He had been defending the family's interests since the brothers were in diapers.
Jason took a long deep breath and then looked at Zach.
"Give me a proposal and I'll think it over. Now if you all will please excuse me--"
"There's one more thing." Zach said.
Jason waited, his face still betraying no emotion but his family knew him well; he was surely enraged at this challenge to his authority.
"Well?" he said.
As confident and strong willed as Zach was, the words stuck in his throat. It fell to their mother and her 49% interest in the Demovic Corporation as a whole, to save the moment. Her voice was frail but her power in the corporation was formidable.
"We'd like you to consider getting some help son." She said softly.
"I already have all the help I need. My team is excellent, the best in the world."
"That's not the kind of help we mean."
Even the human barracuda Ernst held his breath in anticipation.
"Exactly what kind of help are you talking about mother?"
She reached into a small pocket in her pleated skirt and put a card on the table.
"This person comes highly recommended."
Jason Demovic read the details from where he sat. He didn't deign to pick the card up. It was the name and contact details of a psychological counselor in Manhattan.
He looked back into the eyes of his family and then to Ernst who returned his gaze with all the steel he could muster. The lawyer was capable of staring down a high court judge without flinching an eyebrow but his heart skipped a beat as he nodded his head to assure Jason Demovic Jnr. of the binding nature of what his family was 'suggesting' to him.
Jason stared defiantly around the room again. The board of directors held its breath…
Chapter Two
One Month Later
"Mr. Demovic will be about ten minutes late." The smooth, feminine voice informed Dr. Melissa Price. "Please wait for him." S
he started to thank the caller but the line went dead.
She sat back in her leather bound chair, realizing that she now had twenty minutes of free time to kill. She decided to call her little sister. She liked to check in with her frequently, even if only for the briefest of exchanges.
"Hey Suzy, how are you feeling today?"
"I'm doing great." Her sister tried to sound enthusiastic, but her voice was listless. "Just a little tired. You know how it is. Sometimes the dialysis is like that. I'll be better in a few hours."
Melissa knew that the treatments had been taking more out of her sister each time. She needed to get that kidney donation fast but they had been waiting for years. Melissa would have donated herself but her blood type was incompatible.
"If you need anything at all, just call me."
"I'm fine, now come on, leave me alone, you've got work to do."
"Actually I'm free for--" The call ended without even a goodbye. "--the next twenty minutes." Her voice trailed off. The shortness bothered her but she knew that even a phone call could be exhausting to Suzy on some days so she held her peace and put the phone down. Her eyes wandered to the degrees and certificates on her office wall. Her graduate degree was from Harvard and her doctorate from Stanford. She had attended both colleges on scholarships and graduated in the 97th percentile. Although an outstanding student she had not been in practice long and was still trying to build up her business. From struggling to study and pay bills with evening work, now she finally had the letters after her name but less money than ever since you can't be a psychotherapist and a waitress at the same time.
This made her current situation with the ethics committee even more galling. One tiny mistake, one human error after years of study.
It didn’t seem fair. It was a beginners mistake and she prayed they would see it like that too.
Just hang in there. She kept telling herself. We've been through worse times than this, the light is there at the end of the tunnel. Just a little longer now. We can beat this.
Her Sweet Liberation: Billionaire Secrets - Book Six Page 11