Seduced by the Billionaire: The Complete Collection

by Lee, Nadia

  “What I want is for the project to be completed by February. I’d prefer not to fire anybody…although frankly, I’m tempted. You should’ve come to me immediately if you had problems. I run lots of charities and foundations, and have connections to causes that support women and children. I would’ve been able to help you.”

  He sucked in a sharp breath, his eyes searching. She merely watched him. It was his move now. He twisted his hands together in his lap. “I’m so sorry.”

  “Don’t worry. My assistant is going to reach out to you and your family and see that you get the help you need to get through this.”

  His eyes widened. “Really?”

  “Really. I never joke about helping people.” Before she could talk herself out of it, she went around her desk and took his work-roughened hands in hers. “I don’t know what kind of management TLD had before, but that’s all in the past.”

  His grip tightened and he looked up at her, his throat working. “Thank you. Thank you so much.” The edges of his eyes pinkened, and he blinked away the tears. “I swear to god you won’t regret this. I’ll make sure the resort goes up by February.”

  She nodded. “That’s all I really wanted. Thank you.”

  After he’d left, she reached for her phone. She needed to see just how basic the company’s basic insurance policy was. And she needed to set Pattington on the trail of this mysterious saboteur. She didn’t like jerks messing with her people.

  Chapter Eleven

  By lunchtime, the tiny muscle near Meredith’s left eyebrow had begun twitching. She kept the phone glued to her ear as she used the stairs so she could keep talking to Pattington. There was no reception inside the elevator.

  “So there you have it. Everything checked out. And I don’t think Rob Benson was trying to hide anything, either, unless he’s stupid. He certainly didn’t hide his money trail very well.”

  That was an understatement; it had taken Pattington less than ninety minutes to dig up the relevant information. “Thank you. Is there a way we can find out who’s been bribing him?”

  “If you want to use him as bait. But you have the more pressing matter of the resort construction to deal with.”

  She bit her lower lip. “Do you think someone’s targeting us?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “We’re sending Simon Caldwell to jail for embezzlement. He might have the motive to do something like this.” She’d heard he’d been furious and had sworn revenge.

  “I can check, but I doubt it’s him. He’s been too busy trying to stay out of jail. Besides, he hasn’t left Houston since the embezzlement charges were made, and all his assets have been frozen. It would be difficult for him to engineer the sabotage, and it’s unlikely that people are going to want to help him. Guilt by association and all that. ”

  Meredith frowned. Gavin had cynically predicted everyone would throw Simon under the bus to save their own butts. Her brother had been proven correct again.

  Pattington continued, “If you want, I can look into the other members of the crew to make sure they aren’t under any undesirable influence.”

  “Yes, please. That’d be wonderful.”

  “No problem, ma’am.” He hung up.

  Meredith stepped into the lobby and rubbed her temples. What a mess. She’d never expected something like this would happen at her company.

  “Merry.”

  She nearly lost hold of her phone as her head snapped up. “Daniel. What are you doing here?”

  He looked gorgeous in a crisp, conservative suit. He must’ve shaved that morning, since his face was free of stubble. If he smiled, the killer dimple would appear—she’d seen it a few times when Judy was alive—but she had a feeling he didn’t smile much anymore.

  “Thought I’d drop by and see how the project’s going,” he told her.

  “Weren’t you going to spend the full week with Ella?”

  “Like you, I have things to do.”

  She nodded, then remembered what Natalie had told her. Maybe this would be a good time to let him know he ought to go through proper channels. It would also lessen the probability of him and Eric ever meeting each other. “I’ll be sure to have my assistant keep you in the loop. She’ll be happy to forward you anything you want to know.”

  “Thanks, but I prefer to go directly to the top. Given the circumstances, I think I deserve that much.” Then he leaned closer, his forehead creased. “Have you been crying?”

  “What?”

  “You have tear tracks on your cheeks.”

  “Oh. No. It’s just, um, bad makeup. I got up later than usual.” She took a deep breath. Well, she might as well tell him about the sabotage at the site. He deserved to know, and that particular matter wasn’t something she felt comfortable relaying through her assistant. “Do you mind if we go someplace private for lunch? Maybe the Ritz?”

  “We already have a reservation at Morton’s.”

  * * *

  One great thing about Morton’s: it wasn’t designed to cram as many diners in as possible. Daniel had chosen the location for great steaks, excellent service and relative privacy.

  Merry looked good in a stylish, dark green pants suit. But her eyes lacked the usual spark, and despite her denial, he knew she’d been crying earlier that morning. Was the work too much for her? It wasn’t easy to turn a company in TLD’s situation around, and he didn’t understand why her older brother Ethan, a man with quite a lot of business experience, hadn’t done his duty and taken over when things started going south. Or the next brother, Gavin, who obviously had a head for numbers.

  Then again, he thought sourly, it was probably easy to take one’s sister for granted when she was still alive.

  They ordered their lunch. She surprised him by ordering a mini steak rather than the usual salad crap that women liked to eat. She buttered the warm bread generously and nibbled on it. Every time her mouth opened and her lips closed over a bite, it was like it was happening in slow motion. Jesus. He’d never thought watching a woman eat bread could be this distracting. An insane urge to finish what they’d started on the beach in St. Cecilia—plunder her mouth and her body right there on the table…or up against the wall behind them—welled up and it took quite a lot of control to fight it back down.

  That wasn’t the only thing that was welling up. He shifted to adjust himself. Getting excited during a business lunch would be a misstep in dealing with her. She was just a necessary piece in his plan to prove himself to the board.

  Merry waited until the waiter brought out their lunch before leaning close to Daniel. She smelled like peach and jasmine. “I had Rob Benson flown over.”

  Daniel frowned. “The name sounds familiar.”

  “The construction manager we met at St. Cecilia.”

  “Oh, him.” Daniel remembered that asshole. “Did you sack him?”

  “No. But I learned something interesting.” She lowered her voice even further, so he had to lean in to hear. It also brought her lips closer to his, and his mind recalled the last time they’d been this close. Hot lust streaked through his body, and he reined it in again. This was not the place.

  “…suspicious, isn’t it?”

  Shit. Now he missed half the stuff she’d said. “I suppose so, depending. Do you have any other evidence?”

  “Other evidence?” She looked at him blankly for a moment, then scowled. “Weren’t you paying attention?”

  His gaze dropped briefly to her mouth. She was pretty even when she was upset.

  She flushed and sat up straight in her chair. “Rob told me,” she said, in a low and overly patient voice, “that he was being paid to sabotage the project.”

  “What?” Daniel’s fingers clenched around his fork and knife. “You demanded to know the identity of the person, right?”

  “I put our best investigator on it, but we don’t have a name yet. About all I can say at this point is that he’s certain Rob’s telling the truth. Everything’s checked out so far.” T
hen she told him a condensed version of Rob’s story.

  Daniel cursed under his breath. “Is this something internal within your company? If so, I can’t let this project stay with TLD.”

  “I know. And believe me, I’m curious about it too. Our man told me it’s got to be someone who knows the project well, but he’s not certain if the target is us or not. And he has a point.”

  “How so?”

  She was glad Pattington had taken her through the possibilities earlier. “Let’s say, if somebody wants to mess things up so they could run the stock price down and buy TLD cheaply.”

  Daniel nodded. “Quite plausible.”

  “Yeah…except none of us would sell. Even if we decided to merge with another company, the natural choice would be Sterling & Wilson, since they’re family now through marriage. And how many people could outmaneuver us in that scenario?”

  Daniel chewed on that. Sterling & Wilson ultimately had Barron Sterling in charge, even if he didn’t bother with the day-to-day details of the company’s operations anymore. Everyone knew what kind of an asshole Barron was, so most would just avoid taking him on altogether. “Okay, I’ll buy that.”

  “Right. So that leaves one other possibility. Someone from your side.”

  “Our side?”

  Merry shrugged. “I checked all of TLD’s other projects to see if any of them were in trouble. St. Cecilia is the only one.”

  Daniel clenched his jaw. It did sound pretty personal. But who would want to sabotage Aylster Resorts? Did the company have enemies it didn’t know about? Or was this whole mess about him? He knew not everyone on the board had been thrilled when he’d taken over. Some thought his uncle Claude might be better suited to lead, even though Claude had never sought the top job.

  “Hey, we can figure this out together.” Merry gave him a sympathetic look. “And I’ll make sure the resort is ready by February.”

  Daniel looked at her, certain she hadn’t meant that. Most people never said, “We can do it together.” And those who did never meant it.

  Except that Merry looked so sincere. No wavering gaze, nothing in her eyes that urged him to turn her down. Her lips were curved in an encouraging smile, like she wanted him to take this offer, and there was nothing in her expression hinting that she expected something in return.

  She was either a very good actress or meant every word. He wished she were a more blatant poser. Then he’d know exactly what to do. “Interesting,” he said finally. Rejecting her outright would be impolite. “I’m not sure how we can work on it together.”

  “Well. As I said, I have someone looking into it, and I’m sure Rob will cooperate.”

  Daniel gave her a pitying look. “He’s betrayed you once. He’ll do it again.”

  “You seem awfully sure.”

  “I am, and it’s because of his track record. If he needs money again, he’ll do it again. Not to mention that if he gives you another sob story, you’ll forgive him again.”

  Her spine stiffened. “I will not.”

  “Yes, you will. You forgave him before you checked out his story, didn’t you?”

  “But he cried!”

  “Tears are cheap, Merry. And hardly sufficient to prove his story is true.”

  Sighing, Merry shook her head. “You’re so cynical, Daniel. People aren’t all horrible, and you shouldn’t go around judging everybody all the time like that. You might have done the same thing if you were in his shoes.”

  “I might have,” he admitted. “On the other hand, I might not. We’ll never know, will we?”

  “So does this mean you suspect everyone might be out to get you? You must think anybody could’ve paid Rob.”

  Daniel chewed a piece of steak and considered. “I have no clue. I need to do my own investigation.”

  “So let’s combine forces. It’s likely to work better if we share notes.”

  The word “no” was about to roll down his tongue, but he swallowed it. What would it hurt if he cooperated with Merry? She didn’t have any motive, and with the time pressure the project was under, it was undeniable that two teams of investigators would have a better chance of getting to the bottom of the mystery than one. As much as Daniel distrusted everyone, he knew he needed an ally whose interests aligned with his, even if only temporarily. “I’m planning to leave the work to my own team. I can have them talk to yours if you want.”

  She nodded eagerly. “Very much. It bothers me that somebody got to one of my people that way.”

  “But something else bugs you even more.”

  “I can’t believe Rob didn’t come to me first.”

  Daniel shrugged. “The man wanted an easy solution.”

  “No, I mean before he was even offered the money. If he was in trouble like that, he should’ve told me.”

  “Why?”

  Merry’s jaw dropped. “Are you serious?”

  “What could you have done? Company-wide fundraisers?” He would’ve felt sympathetic but uncomfortable if one of his workers had shown up and given him a long sob story.

  “No. I run charities and foundations in addition to TLD. There are tons of organizations dedicated to helping people like Rob’s wife and kid. I would’ve made sure they were aware of his situation and helped him, so he wouldn’t have had to worry so much.”

  “What if…” He waved his fork as he contemplated a scenario. “What if there weren’t any, or they didn’t have any resources to help him? Then what?”

  “Impossible. But even if that were the case, it wouldn’t matter. I’d find a way to help him out. It’s just money. It’s not fair that people suffer over something that insignificant.”

  Daniel eyed the pricey designer suit and platinum jewelry she was wearing. “That ‘insignificant’ stuff is what’s giving you the lifestyle you’re accustomed to.”

  “I’m not saying people don’t need money. But we don’t make it to just admire our bank account balance or buy as many things as possible. Money should be used meaningfully, to make the world a better place. And there’s nothing more meaningful than helping those in need.”

  “You’re going to be poor if you give it all away. And then what are you going to do? Who’s going to come to your rescue?”

  “You’re viewing it from the wrong perspective. I’m going to be richer, not poorer.”

  “Ah. Because of the inner peace and good will such actions will bring you?”

  She smiled. “That, but also in an objective sense. The people around me will be better off, and the whole community will be lifted. Of course I’ll be better off as well.”

  Daniel didn’t understand where her conviction came from…assuming it was genuine. He’d never heard of anybody believing something as crazy as what she was saying.

  Or as idealistic and lovely.

  He might have believed it a few years earlier, but now…no. He shifted, not liking that at all.

  Merry tried to pick up the tab, but he waved her off. “Let me,” he said, handing his credit card to the server.

  “But this is business, and you’re the client.”

  “I don’t care.”

  She flushed. “Well, I do.”

  “Fine. I’ll bill your firm for it. Happy?”

  She sighed. “Why do I have a feeling you won’t?”

  He chuckled and led her outside after scrawling his name on the receipt. “See you this evening.”

  She was clearly startled by the announcement. “Uh, I have plans.”

  “So do I.” He gave her a lopsided grin. There was something so sweetly sexy about the way she gazed at him. No guile, just luminous honesty. Even if it wouldn’t last forever, he wanted to enjoy it while he could. “See you.”

  Chapter Twelve

  “You what?” Meredith said, then lowered her voice when she felt her son’s gaze on her. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  Ethan barely glanced up as his knife chopped fresh oregano and thyme with machine-like precision. His kitchen was as well-equipped
as a professional one, just on a smaller scale. The counter was perfect stainless steel, installed in the last two months. Apparently it was easier to make pasta on. “I didn’t know we needed your permission to invite Daniel over for dinner.”

  “Who’s we?”

  “Alex and I,” Ethan said, referring to his best friend and Natalie’s husband, who was currently in the living room with Eric.

  “What do Kerri and Natalie think about this?” Meredith asked, recalling their advice to keep things impersonal with Daniel.

  “Kerri said, ‘Oh, good, I’ve been wanting to meet him.’ As for Natalie, I have no clue.”

  Meredith closed her eyes. “Daniel’s a TLD client.”

  Ethan finally paused and looked at her. “So?”

  “So? Don’t you think it’ll be awkward?”

  “No. He’s also a friend.”

  “How are you guys friends?” Daniel had mentioned it once, but she hadn’t realized they were “invite each other to dinner at home” type friends.

  “When I was in Europe, he and I hung out together sometimes,” Ethan said with a shrug.

  “Why wasn’t I told about this?”

  Ethan gave her an exasperated look. “Maybe because I don’t have to report all my social activities to my little sister?” He dumped the chopped herb into the simmering tomato sauce. “He’s also very good friends with Alex. When we heard that he’d moved here, we had to invite him over.”

  Meredith watched Ethan stir his sauce. She didn’t want Daniel near Eric. Her son might get attached to Daniel as another father figure. Or was Ethan enough? It was difficult for her to figure out how many father figures and role models were right for Eric. If she’d had a husband it would’ve been easier, but being a single mom without the boy’s father anywhere in the picture, it wasn’t always easy to decide what was best for her son.

  She didn’t want him to lack for anything, even if he was growing up without a father. “You guys could’ve gone to a bar. I think I look unprofessional in my dress,” she groused finally. She was in a pink and yellow dress that barely reached mid-thigh.