She began to feel uncomfortable; this was way out of her league. “What exactly does that mean?” she asked meekly.
“Basically, I acquire retail spaces and lease them out. Occasionally I’ll unload them if the price is right, but I find that it’s better to rent them so I have continuous revenue coming in off a single purchase. The stocks are just that. I buy, sell and trade them; they’ve made me a small fortune,” he smiled at her.
“What commercial properties do you own?” Kelly asked as she nibbled at her entrée.
“I own South County Mall and the Crossford Apartments as well as the Chase Run golf course. I also own other commercial retail spaces, a few more apartment complexes, and two more golf courses, but they’re all back home.”
Dave did an outstanding job impressing her. She couldn’t believe she was having lunch with the man who owned one of the most prestigious living communities in the area as well as the busiest mall and an extravagant golf course.
“Back home?” Kelly asked. “Where’s that?”
“I’m originally from Los Angeles, California. I moved to St. Louis about three years ago.” He explained, taking a bite of his chimichanga.
“Wow,” she emphasized as she drank her water. “You’re not from here? Why did you move here?”
“Mostly business. I don’t like to purchase investments blindly. I wanted to visit the area, the commercial properties that surrounded the ones I intended to buy and get a feel for how much I could turn out to profit.” He took a drink, “I also needed a break from L.A.”
Kelly nodded, “I see,” she said, not sure what to say at that point. This man carefully planned every detail of his life it seemed. She didn’t know where she’d be in ten years from now, but he certainly had a plan.
While the two of them got better acquainted over lunch, Kelly’s phone went off with a text alert; it was Dawn. Kelly excused herself to the bathroom and left the table.
As she walked away, Dave admired her long legs in her short skirt, which seemed to start at the floor and go all the way up to her neck. His eyes stared at her toned, round ass as it shifted while she walked across the restaurant. Biting his lip, his mind raced thinking of all the naughty things he’d like to do to her.
In the bathroom, she called Dawn to tell her how well their date was going.
“He’s been a pure gentleman! He’s opened all my doors, pulled out my chair and has told me so much about himself, but I don’t know if it’ll work.” Kelly said, worried how their relationship would play out.
“Why do you say that? He sounds great!”
“He’s a little too perfect. Like, he owns all of these commercial spaces—including South County Mall! And he also owns the Crossford Apartments and some golf course—and that’s just here in Missouri! He owns more properties and businesses in L.A., that’s where he’s from.”
“What’s wrong with that?” Her friend asked quizzically.
“Dawn, I think he’s loaded! I don’t want him to believe I’m with him for his money. And what if he ever invited me to some fancy event? What would I wear? My T.J. Maxx special?”
She laughed, “It’ll be okay Kelly. Really. And so what if he’s rich? You’ve never dated a man because he’s had money. Hell, most of the guys you’ve gone with don’t even have jobs. You go and enjoy yourself. I’ll see you when you get home.”
Dave was scrolling through his phone as she made her way back to the table. “Sorry, I was just checking on some things. How is your lunch?” he asked her.
“Good. Yours?”
“I have to say, it’s delicious! I haven’t been here for quite a while.”
As the two finished up lunch, Dave motioned to the waitress for the bill by signaling a check sign with his finger. Kelly texted Dawn to let her know that they would be heading home soon and promised to fill her in on all the details about their date. During the ride home, he reflected how great it was to have lunch with such an amazing lady. He considered himself fortunate; it had been so long since he’d met a real woman. His friend Charles had tried to set him up with women from the moment he’d arrived in St. Louis. Most of them were shallow and only had one thing on their minds: his money. He didn’t get that vibe with Kelly. He could tell that she was completely devoted to her daughter and wasn’t interested in him for his money. She was the polar opposite of those types; she was friendly, thoughtful, gracious, warm-hearted and somewhat guarded. Though she’d answered all of his questions, she didn’t volunteer any extra information about her work, daughter or her past. He wondered about her history and asked why she was so private about certain matters.
Pulling up to Kelly’s house, Dave could see a small girl sitting in the living room window. He turned to Kelly and grinned.
“I sense you have someone awaiting you.”
Her face lit up as she saw Emma eagerly waiting for her to get out of the car. “She always does that; sits there and waits for me. It doesn’t matter if she’s at home or Dawn’s house. It’s what she does,” she smiled.
“There’s nothing wrong with that. I bet that little girl loves her mom,” he admired, wishing he had children of his own.
“Nope, not at all. Dave, thank you for lunch. I had an excellent time. I hope you did too.”
“I had an excellent time,” he elaborated, grabbing her hand, delivering a gentle kiss to the back of it. “Will you call me later?”
Kelly blushed. Again, no man had ever kissed her like that. Chills ran down her spine. “Maybe,” she teased as she laughed.
“I certainly hope so. I’d like to take you out again sometime…. soon.” He added.
“I guess I should get in there before Emma comes out to charge your car. I’ll call you later.”
Kelly made her way inside as she waved goodbye to her date, still beaming a brilliant white smile.
“So how was it?” Dawn pressed.
“Momma!” Her little love bug exclaimed throwing her arms around her mom’s waist.
“Hi, Emma Buggy. Why don’t you play while I talk to Aunt Dawn?”
“Okay, mommy.” She giggled, making her way off to her bedroom.
“Let’s go in the kitchen while I make us a pot of coffee. I had a really great time.”
Kelly filled her friend in on the juicy details of their luncheon, including the hand kiss in his Escalade. As she recounted the afternoon, her mind raced a mile a minute. She hadn’t had that nice of a date in her entire life—and all they did was sit and talk over a meal. It was obvious that she had the hots for Dave.
“If I didn’t know you any better, I’d say that you’re doting over him,” Dawn said as she poured creamer into her coffee.
“Well, he was amazing, and I had an awesome time. He was just so… different. He’s not like anyone I’ve ever met; not even close!”
“So do you foresee going out with him again?”
“It’s funny you asked that. He actually told me, before I got out of his car, that he wanted to see me again soon!” Kelly was as giddy as a high school girl who’d had her first kiss.
“Well let me tell you what I found out while you were on your date,” Dawn said, matter-of-factly. “I did some research on the computer and you were right when you thought he was rich. He’s not just loaded, he’s a freaking billionaire!”
“Oh my God! Are you serious? I was out with a billionaire?” Kelly’s mouth suddenly went dry as she sat in disbelief. “Are you kidding me? Please tell me that you’re messing around. You’re playing with me, aren’t you?” She couldn’t get over what she heard.
“I’ll show you. Come here, I might still have it up on the computer.” The ladies walked over to the desktop and Dawn pointed to his name on the list of the top United States billionaires.
“Oh my God!” Kelly gasped. “If I would’ve known that he was a billionaire, I would’ve dressed much nicer. I can’t even imagine this.” Kelly’s smile began to return as she played with the thought of going on a date with a billionaire.
&n
bsp; “It’s fantastic to see you smiling. I hope things work out in your favor; you deserve it.” She commended. “I like seeing you so happy.”
“I promised him that I’d call him later,” Kelly said, sipping her coffee. “And I intend to do just that.”
Chapter Four
When she returned to her job on Tuesday, she filled her coworkers in on all the details about her date—and who he was. As they listened to her story, the girls were shocked.
“It sounds like a fairy tale, Kelly!” Heather exclaimed.
“I know. It just seems so surreal. I’m still trying to wrap my head around it.”
“You should go for it,” Sarah encouraged her.
Business was usual; they were painfully slow once again. On her break, she called to check on her daughter, which she typically did anyway.
“Hi Kelly,” she answered the call.
“Hi. I was curious what you guys were up to today and was wondering how my munchkin is.”
“We’re not doing much to tell you the truth. She’s just been hanging out with Derek. He’s been working on painting the deck red so she’s been his big helper.”
“Oh, I bet he loves that,” Kelly chuckled.
“Actually, he is! She’s a great drink-taker.” She snickered. “When you dropped her off this morning, I meant to ask you if you’ve gotten a hold of Dave since your date.”
“No, I haven’t. I don’t want to seem too eager or desperate.”
“Ah, gotcha. But if I were you, I wouldn’t keep him waiting too long. With his kind of cash, I’m sure women are lined up waiting to date him.” She raved.
“I’m more interested in an actual relationship and finding Emma, a good dad. We don’t need millions or billions of dollars to be happy.”
“Yeah, that’s right.” Her friend chipped in.
“You never know. What if he has all this money, but he’s a complete asshole or what if he’s always gone or what if he’s abusive somehow? I don’t want to rush things only to find too late.”
“I understand. So when do you expect you’ll talk to him again?” She pressed.
“I’m not sure. I figured I’d hold out at least a couple of days. If he’s actually interested in me, then he’ll wait, but I better hang up. My break’s almost over and if Brian comes in here and catches me on the phone, he’ll flip out. I’ll see you later.”
As soon as it was quitting time, she hung her apron in her locker, grabbed her purse and dashed out the door to pick up her cutie pie. She was glad her shift was over; her tips were hideous and business wasn’t picking up. Thoughts of calling Dave preoccupied her brain during her trip to Dawn’s house. What if she was right? What if the ladies actually were lining up to date him? Would he take any of them up on it? If they ever became an exclusive item, would he be faithful to her? Her mind finally shut off as she pulled in front of the house. Without fail, her sugar bug was waiting and watching through the window.
“Hi sweet pea,” she greeted her daughter, making her way through the door. “I heard you helped Uncle Derek paint the deck?”
“Yep, I sure did!” She announced beaming with pride of her accomplishment.
“I bet it looks beautiful. Can we go take a look at it?”
“Oh no, momma. We can’t walk out there. It’s wet!” she proclaimed.
“I’m glad you’re here,” Dawn teased, walking into the room. “Would you like to tell your mom what else you did today?”
The tiny girl glimpsed down at the floor and shook her head no.
“What did you do?”
“Nothin’.” She lied; smiling as she peered at the walls.
“I’ll fill you in on what she did,” Derek interjected, joining the conversation. “She was helping me paint the deck—doing a splendid job—until she had a great idea to pull a prank on me.” He paused, staring at her bright blue eyes. “Your lovely angel took my paint brush while I came in to use the bathroom to paint her tongue red.”
Emma interrupted him, “I thought it would be funny to trick him into thinking I bit it and made it bleed.”
“Yeah, but there’s more. She realized how awful it tasted so she ran inside and grabbed the mouth rinse to wash her mouth out.” Derek began laughing so hard, it prevented him from continuing with the story.
“She took a swig of it and swooshed it around her mouth,” Dawn continued. “Only except, it wasn’t mouthwash—it was peroxide. Once she started foaming at the mouth, she spit a mixture of paint and peroxide all over the bathroom counter!”
At this point, they were all laughing hysterically.
“Ah, that’s my little Emma Buggy.” She boasted as she ruffled her child’s hair.
“I’m just glad she pulls most of her stunts while she’s with you,” Dawn laughed.
After they had gathered up all of her things, they headed home, following their usual nightly ritual of a bath and a bedtime story before Kelly put her to sleep. She lay in bed that night contemplating if she would call Dave the next evening once Emma was settled in for the night. Surely a few days wouldn’t make her seem desperate, she thought. Soon, she dozed off with the remote control still in her hand.
In the morning, she was surprised that Emma hadn’t run into her room to wake her up. Normally she was up before Kelly’s alarm clock sounded off. She must be zonked, Kelly theorized as she climbed out of bed to go check on her. When she opened Emma’s door, she found her curled up, crying.
“What’s wrong baby?” she wondered as she sat down beside her daughter.
“Momma, it’s my knees again. They hurt so badly, and my back too.”
“Is it as bad as it was before?”
“Yes, but worse! My toes and ankles are sore, too.” She cried as her mom pulled the covers down to determine if the swelling had come back.
It had. Her knees were the same as before, but this time, her ankles and feet looked swollen too. She placed her hand on her daughter’s forehead to see if the fever had returned, and it had.
“I don’t know honey. Were you kneeling down or squatting when you helped Uncle Derek paint the porch yesterday?” she asked her daughter.
“No, I was sitting next to him on the steps.”
“Hm. I’ll get your ibuprofen. It seemed to help the last time.” She implied, getting off the bed.
When she returned, Emma told her more. “Momma, if I tell you something, do you promise you won’t think I’m crazy?”
“No baby, what is it?” Kelly insisted.
“My fingers hurt too.”
“Your fingers?” She picked up her hand to examine it.
They didn’t appear swollen. She had no clue what would cause all of these different symptoms.
“Okay, you take this and I’ll phone the doctor. Here, open up,” Her mom ordered as she administered the dose of medication.
Before she hopped in the shower for work, she called the doctor’s office. They weren’t open yet, she’d have to wait until it was closer to the time they’d leave. She rushed around, getting both of them dressed and out the door. In the car, she tried once more while on her way to Dawn’s house.
“Dr. Hinton’s office, this is Wendy. How may I help you?”
“Hi, Wendy. This is Kelly Hall again. Dr. Hinton examined Emma last week and said that he thought it was a bug or something, but her symptoms have returned and now she’s complaining that her fingers hurt. Is it possible to get her in this week?”
Wendy looked over the schedule. “Yes, we have an opening on Friday at noon. How does that sound?”
Kelly hesitated for a moment. She knew that she was scheduled that day and her boss gave her hell for attempting to take off the week before. She quickly decided that she would see if her friend would drive her to the appointment. “Yes, that’ll be okay. I have to work so can my best friend bring her?”
“Sure, no problem.”
When Kelly dropped Emma off, she told Dawn how the symptoms had returned and explained the Friday appointment. She agreed
that she would take her.
While working, she worried about her all day. She also thought about how much these doctor appointments would affect her bank account. Since the business had died down and her tips had dwindled, she was only clearing around a thousand dollars a month. They were barely scraping by as it was. While she was grateful that her friend didn’t charge her for babysitting, she felt guilty that she had her running all over town taking her to her doctor appointment. On this particular afternoon, she was glad that the restaurant was slow. She had so much on her mind. There was her sick child, the worrisome bills and the billionaire—whom she still needed to call.
Rescued by the Billionaire (Billionaire Romance Novel) Page 4