Marry Your Billionaire: A Modern Cinderella

by C. J. Anaya

  At first, she determined to ruin him for his callous rejection, hoping he would crawl back to her and beg her to be with him. Then when her private investigators discovered he was in talks with Corbin Knightly about shooting a reality TV series in order to repair the damage she had inflicted, she knew she had to be on the show. It was perfect, really. Brody would see her in a different light, all would be forgiven as their love story played out on national television. Their engagement and subsequent marriage would be the talk of every existing social media platform. She’d make this man, this stupid, stupid man fall in love with her, and just maybe she would consider sticking around and loving him back.

  And now this…this little girl thought she could win his heart.

  She has no idea what I’m capable of, but she’ll find out soon enough.

  “I want to know everything about Madelyn Knightly. Her interests, her secrets, anything I can use to blackmail her into going away. Do you think you and your pathetic group of investigators can handle that?” She speared Liz with a dangerous look.

  The contestant quickly agreed, pulling out her cell phone and rattling off instructions.

  Felicia had thought it a stroke of genius to have a spy on the show using a completely different name, giving her useful details about the progress between Brody and any possible rivals. The young lady was good at her job, for the most part, and a little sabotage on her end would help maintain Felicia’s standing in the competition.

  The stakes for this game were high, and Felicia Davenport intended to win.

  Chapter Nine

  Midge punched her pillow several times, picturing her father’s face and then Brody’s in quick succession. Each pummel with her fist filled her with a sense of sick satisfaction.

  She’d been duped once again by her father’s manipulative tactics, and now Brody had joined forces and was in on it.

  She was stuck on the show at the mercy of the egotistical billionaire until he decided when to let her go. Confusion blossomed within her as she considered the conversation she’d overheard. It contradicted the soft side Brody had presented to her during their quick conversation before the diamond ceremony.

  A man intent upon taking care of his own mother the way Brody had couldn’t be capable of such cruel behavior. Could he? The consultant angle made more sense. Maybe he simply needed her there to coach him through this entire ordeal. He was in desperate need of a publicist, crafting a specific image for fans and viewers to latch onto, taking advantage of her many years in the film industry just like so many other men in her life had.

  On the one hand, it made practical sense for Brody to use her like this. She might have agreed to the advantageous idea if he had been upfront with her about his true motives. All of that nonsense about his interest in her being sincere instead of casual irked her. Why lie to her face when all he had to do was ask for her help? Her normally implacable feelings were now involved, and she was stuck on the show for the foreseeable future with a man who wanted nothing more than someone to groom him for live TV.

  A devilish smile took hold of her features. Oh, the mischief she was going to make on a reality TV show’s set knew no bounds.

  Jumping from her bed she walked to her bedroom door and opened it, pausing for possible sounds of movement from any of the girls on the floor. Satisfied that most everyone was sleeping she tiptoed across the hall, down the long, ornate staircase and then made a sharp right toward the enormous kitchen. She needed food coloring. Purple, green, and blue to be exact. She nearly giggled at what she was about to pull. She hadn’t pranked anyone like this since her freshman year of college and hadn’t forgotten how fun it had been.

  She couldn’t believe the level of immaturity she was sinking to in order to get kicked off the show, but desperate times called for desperate acts of sabotage. It felt good to take back a little control over her circumstances in the process. Nobody used Midge Knightly as a pawn in their own games.

  Nobody.

  Speaking of games, she wondered again what Felicia Davenport’s endgame might be. As much as she hated the corner Brody had backed her into, she despised the snotty debutante even more. The little message she had managed to slip into Midge’s purse had been so predictable.

  “I’m warning you one last time. Leave Brody to the big girls, and I’m not referring to my size, which is a size four by the way.”

  Typical.

  Before she left the show she planned on revealing all of that woman’s secrets and exposing her real purpose for being here. Not to help Brody, of course. No. That woman simply deserved to be thwarted.

  But first, round one of Escape from Billionaire Island.

  Midge awoke from her troubled sleep with the sound of a surprised yell followed by a few angry expletives. She smiled and threw off the covers, rushing to her door and wrenching it open, but not before she placed an innocent yet concerned expression on her face.

  It had been a little disconcerting to discover that Brody’s room was not only on the same floor as hers, but also right across from her. She assumed the bachelor would be separated from the girls to avoid any hanky panky, though it wouldn’t have been too hard for some determined contestants to find his separate quarters and infiltrate the premises.

  As she looked across the hall and waited for Brody to emerge she couldn’t help but thank her lucky stars that he had still been up planning events with her father last night, leaving his room blessedly empty and free for her to roam about and enact part one of her plan. Her father really needed to consider putting locks on the doors. All sorts of people with nefarious intentions could do anything if they really wanted to.

  She allowed herself a wicked smile, but quickly reached for that mask of innocent concern as Brody came flying out of his suite wearing nothing but a towel around his waist and appearing ready to throttle the next person he came in contact with. She had to swallow hard at the surprising sight of his bulging chest muscles, well defined abdomen, and broad shoulders. They were spectacular to behold…even if they were tinted a deep shade of green.

  Midge had found it convenient that he used body wash rather than regular soap. It was also helpful that his toothpaste had been in the shower along with his shampoo and face wash.

  He was quite the primper for such a manly individual.

  “Knightly,” he shouted.

  “Brody, what on earth happened?”

  He turned to look at her in surprise and then gave her an ugly glower.

  Midge studied her handiwork and did her best to keep her expression acceptably horrified at his appearance.

  He let out a feral growl, exposing his perfect porcelain teeth. That is, under normal circumstances they would have appeared porcelain, but at the moment they were dark purple. His normally jet black hair was now a shocking shade of blue. She noticed that some of the blue dye had managed to create spots along his chest and shoulders. He looked, Midge thought, absolutely perfect.

  “It’s like staring at a strange mash-up of The Hulk and Body-Builder Smurf.” Midge said in awed tones. “I had no idea we were dressing up as one of the Avengers today. Can I be Black Widow?

  He took a menacing step forward, but she was too mesmerized by the satisfying results of her sabotage to feel intimidated.

  “How in the hell can we film today with me looking like this? Who in their right mind would put dye in my toiletries in the first place?”

  Midge raised an eyebrow, giving him a coy look. “I’m sure it was simply someone interested in helping you with your image. You have to admit, this is quite an improvement.”

  Brody’s eyes narrowed and he took another step forward.

  “What are you saying, Midge?”

  Her eyes widened coquettishly.

  “Why, I’m simply offering up a possible answer to your question. Though I do have a few words of advice to go with it.”

  “And they are?” he asked through purple gritted teeth.

  “This particular individual will probably s
top being so helpful as soon as you eliminate her from the show.”

  Brody’s eyes bulged. “You…?” he choked.

  She yawned, demonstrating her total indifference to his emotional state and her sheer boredom with the entire ordeal.

  “Well, I’d better go get ready for the day. Wouldn’t want to miss out on all of the fun.”

  She spun around, allowing a wide grin to take over as she entered her room. She turned around just before shutting it and took in Brody’s incoherent spluttering. She allowed him to see her wicked grin for the first time and his eyes narrowed even further.

  “Half a cup of lemon juice and a few teaspoons of vinegar,” she suggested in a cheery tone.

  “What?”

  “Scrub, scrub, scrub.”

  She closed the door in his face, allowing herself a good laugh in the process.

  She took a victory lap around her expansive suite humming the theme song to Rocky. She even threw in a few punches for good measure.

  Success. There’s no way he’s keeping me here now.

  Instead of getting ready for the day, she headed over to her laptop and turned it on with a happy sigh. She doubted The Hulk would be filming anything anytime soon.

  Now that round one of her plan had been executed with some imaginative flair, it was time to find out a little more about Felicia Davenport.

  Brody stood gaping at Madelyn’s closed door like an idiot with a mental disorder.

  She’d sabotaged him and wanted him to know it was all her doing. He’d never expected this reaction from her. He assumed she might be upset at being tricked into staying on the show for a few hours, but then she would calm down and see the situation for what it truly was. A handsome billionaire intent on making her his own. He was a catch, wasn’t he? He could have any woman he wanted. No one had ever turned him down, turned him away or…turned him green and blue…and purple.

  Bottom line: no girl had ever put up so much resistance at the idea of dating him, sending him on a merry chase that was sure to drive him crazy in the long run, and before he knew it he was grinning, grinning at the closed door and still looking like a mentally disturbed moron in the process. His grin widened further. He couldn’t believe her nerve, her fighting spirit, the lengths she had taken and might possibly continue to take in order to get off the island and away from him.

  If she thought to discourage him then it was clear she had no idea who she was dealing with. He was a predator and Madelyn Knightly was his prey. The harder she fought and the longer she ran the more compelled he would feel to chase her until she was good and caught—until she understood how he truly felt about her—and then he would make Madelyn Knightly his.

  With one final shake of his head, he entered his room and ordered up some lemon juice and vinegar from one of the staff members. Madelyn may have won this round, but there were several more to go, and he intended to be the victor in the end.

  Midge’s research into Felicia’s background turned out to be quite fruitful. Finally. The daughter of a rich senator from Virginia, Felicia had been kicked out of every private boarding school the senator had managed to place her in, probably by greasing the hands of certain school administrators with a convincing amount of money if her pitiful academic career was any indication.

  She might have felt sorry for the way Felicia’s parents had handled her childhood if the young lady in question hadn’t behaved like a heinous wench. She had a penchant for dating wealthy men, most of whom ended up dealing with one scandal or another around the time they were involved with the frightening debutante. Midge wondered if the airing out of those scandals had anything to do with Felicia. It couldn’t be a coincidence.

  She concluded that Felicia needed more investigating and decided doing something illegal might prove absolutely necessary if she intended to protect Brody from any further damage…er…that is…if she intended to nail this girl as she most definitely deserved.

  Taking her focus from her laptop, she dove into her monstrous handbag where any and every item imaginable tended to disappear and then reappear a few months later—always after she actually had use for the dang thing. Fortunately, a small pocket existed within the lining of her purse where her cell phone currently rested.

  “Hello,” said a sleepy voice.

  “Lisa.” Midge glanced at her wrist watch and cringed. Midnight her time meant three in the morning for Lisa.

  “I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize how late it was?”

  “Didn’t realize—shouldn’t you be getting home today?”

  Midge snorted. “I wish.” She quickly explained her current predicament. “I’ll be on the show until Brody finally decides to let me go.”

  “You’re kidding yourself if you think that man has any intention of ever saying good-bye to you. I saw that YouTube video of you guys making out. Sweet heavens, it was hot! I can’t believe you never told me you actually knew the guy.”

  “I don’t know the guy. This whole thing has been a mistake.”

  “Or it’s just plain fate. You don’t seem to recognize how everything is coming together on yours and Brody’s behalf.”

  “Lisa, I’m staying long enough to save him from his own bungling, and in order to do that I need some help from you. I’m interested in one of the contestant’s backgrounds. Are you in the mood for a bit of sleuthing?”

  “Really? I thought you told me that hacking computer systems was going to eventually land me in jail where I’d become some lonely woman’s new prison wife.”

  “Harsh. I seriously doubt I put it quite like that.”

  “You described my future wife in vivid detail, right down to her buzzed head, tattooed forearms, and alarming chin hair.”

  Midge bit down on her bottom lip. “Are you telling me my speech actually convinced you to turn from your criminally lucrative ways?”

  “Of course not, but I did spend the rest of the week checking to see if any unmarked vans were following me.”

  Midge rolled her eyes and then moved to the mini kitchen to grab a bottled water from the fridge.

  “Are you willing to help me out with this or not?”

  “Who are we talking about, here?”

  “Felicia Davenport. You know anything about her?”

  “Only what the tabloids report. She accused Brody Prescott of breaching his company’s privacy policies. It tanked the guys credibility.”

  “Yeah, well, she is one of the contestants for this season’s show, and I’m trying to figure out her angle here.”

  “It’s interesting that she, of all people, would be pursuing this reality TV series,” Lisa mused.

  “I know, right? She attacks the guy and now she wants to be his wife? It doesn’t make sense.”

  “Maybe Prescott’s involved in something shady. How well do you know this guy?”

  Midge considered skirting the details, but decided Lisa would need the entire picture in order to know what to search for when checking into Felicia’s past. She did her best to make her two run-ins with Brody Prescott before the show sound as inconsequential and meaningless as possible.

  “You’re in love with Brody Prescott,” Lisa squealed.

  So epic fail on that.

  “That’s not at all what I said.”

  “Of course it is. Why else would you want me to dig up dirt on this woman? She’s full of crap and you want to save your man by discrediting her claims. Bravo and brilliant. I’m super excited to start working on this.”

  “Lisa, you didn’t hear a word I said. I simply want her to pay for her behavior toward Brody and me. Plus, I don’t like the idea of that woman ruining my father’s show.”

  “Whatever. I’ll start looking into her relationships with these other wealthy guys and check into her finances. Should make for some riveting reading.”

  “Just be careful, Lisa. Otherwise, that fictitious future wife of yours could become a full blown reality.”

  “I’ll call you when I’ve got the goods.”

/>   Midge signed off and then made her way to her bed. As she climbed under the cool, crisp sheets her thoughts returned to the handsome billionaire. He might be a ladies man, but he’d still managed to build a business over the years and make it a success. She hadn’t forgiven him for imprisoning her on the show or for being so darn underhanded about it, but she didn’t want him to lose everything he had worked so hard for. What kind of affect might the fall out have on his mother?

  Yes. That’s it. Blanche Prescott was a good, honest woman. She didn’t deserve to watch her son’s good image dragged through the mud again, and that Felicia chick seemed more than capable of repeating history.

  Having convinced herself that her desires to expose Felicia had nothing to do with her feelings for Brody, Midge finally eased into her pillow and within minutes fell asleep.

  Chapter Ten

  The previous day ended up being a bust due to Brody’s impromptu, full body scrub down. She might have felt guilty for destroying her father’s carefully planned schedule if she didn’t think he had it coming. Let his world get turned upside down for once. See how he liked it.

  This day brought with it a full scheduled itinerary, signaling that Brody no longer resembled The Hulk.

  What a shame.

  Midge hadn’t seen Brody since the previous morning, and anticipation coiled within her gut. She didn’t necessarily want to see him. No, absolutely not. She wanted to see if he was still angry and how she might use that to her advantage. She wasn’t scared to prod and push this particular bear until he yielded. It was better to focus on that than the atmosphere in the room.

  Surrounded by superficial beauties and cold, sterile cameras set Midge’s nerves on edge. The air was heavy laden with floral shower gels, shampoos and copious amounts of perfume, preventing her from inhaling enough oxygen to keep the room from tilting side to side. Either that or she was poised on the precipice of some monstrous panic attack due to nerves, anxiety, and impatience at Brody’s delayed arrival.