by Diana Nixon
LEO
BY DIANA NXON
***
Bachelors on Sale
BOOK WO
***
Leo
(Synopsis)
Do you believe in love at first sight?
Me neither.
Why? Because I know how much love costs. Money can't buy it, because you pay with your heart.
But you can buy a list of secrets that will help you make even a sworn bachelor fall hopelessly in love with you.
My name is Madison Hall, and I’m the most popular marriage broker in New York.
But this story isn’t about me.
It's about revenge that made Olivia Lambert come to my office.
I sold her everything I knew about Leonel Cohen.
I never sold men’s secrets for revenge.
But in this particular case, it was worth it.
A love story that was never supposed to happen.
Two poles apart that will collide and make the air between them burn.
They have no idea how fast hate can become something different…
***
Another romantic comedy from the USA Today & International bestselling Author
Diana Nixon.
Read it & Love it!
Cover Design by: Amina Black
LEO © Copyright 2021 Diana Nixon
Prologue
Love is such a weird thing…
No one knows how it looks like, or where to find it. Some people never find it at all. When others - spend their whole life fighting for it. But sometimes it hits you when you least expect it, so hard it feels wrong and unwanted. And what happens next, might become a surprise for everyone… Even for those who never thought they were capable of feeling it so deeply.
I can’t call myself an expert in love, but I’m an expert in marriages and men who would never give away their freedom willingly. My name is Madison Hall, and I’m the most popular marriage broker in New York. I know everything about the most wanted bachelors of Manhattan, and I know how to use my knowledge to get an invitation to another wedding of the year.
I helped dozens of girls find what they were looking for - men who would worship every breath they take. I shall admit it - I love making people happy. Even if they need to pay well for their happiness.
All of the clients who cross the threshold of my office know exactly what they want to have in the end, even the size of the boxers their future husbands need to be wearing.
But Olivia Lambert’s visit was not exactly what I was used to…
“I wanna kill him, and I don’t give a shit how much it will cost me,” she said, entering my office one April morning.
“Oh… What’s the name of your victim?” I motioned for the nice-looking ‘murderer’ to take a seat. She didn’t look like one of those desperate creatures who usually came crying on my shoulder because they couldn’t find a husband. On the contrary - she looked like a woman who could get any man she wanted by simply saying his name out loud. She was beautiful and well-dressed, and she obviously wasn’t having trouble with finding dates. Except this time, she wanted a date with the lion. And she, in this particular case, was a little sheep against him.
“Leonel Cohen,” she spit the name as if it were poisoned.
My eyebrows rose in surprise. It’s been a while since anyone came asking for his files. Last I checked, Leonel’s dates started hating him even before their first joint dinner ended. Poor things, they thought they knew everything to tie a knot with him. Except his job was to break marriages, and not to help them last longer. He was too damn good at what he did for a living, and he never lost a single case.
Beautiful bastard.
“You know he’s a divorce lawyer, don’t you?” I asked Olivia. This is exactly why none of the previous girls who tried their luck with him succeeded. The man simply didn’t believe in marriage or in the long-term relationships to start with. The longest dates he had started with unzipping his pants and ended when he zipped them back up. Sometimes I wondered if he knew women were not made for sex only. Because occasional hookups were the only times he let women close to him. But never close enough to stay for the whole night, not to mention a lifetime.
Young Miss lambert spoke through her teeth, “I don’t want to marry him. But I do want to cut off his balls.” She sounded determined and self-assured. I already liked her, and I mentally wished her good luck with Leonel. She had no idea how much of a lost cause the man was. But still, I hoped her hate for him was strong enough to teach him a painful lesson.
“May I ask you a question?” I started carefully. Judging by her narrowed, hard eyes, she was about to burn my office to ashes if she didn’t get what she had come here for.
“He hurt my sister,” she said, even before I managed to ask my question. “He broke her heart and ruined her life. And now I want to show him just how bad his life will be when the tables turn.”
My mouth twitched, fighting a smile. I didn’t want her to think I was laughing at her. “Well… It sounds fair.”
I never sold my files for revenge. And honestly, it was the first time someone wanted to pay for the bachelor’s secrets without a single matrimonial thought in her head. But this time, I decided to make an exception. Why? Because I had personal reasons to share Olivia’s hate for Mr. Cohen. He helped my third husband steal a six-figure sum from my bank account during our divorce process, and losing money, unlike men, was one of those things I never forgave easily. Besides, I was kind of tired of sweeping the dust off Leonel’s files. Maybe it was time to throw them away and give up on the idea of seeing a wedding band on his finger. But you never know what’s gonna happen at the end of the game, right? So, why not give Mr. Cohen another chance to prove he was worth Olivia’s time and mine? And finally, feel the long-wanted satisfaction from making his life a little more complicated.
I opened one of the drawers in my desk and pulled out a thick file, full of Leonel’s secrets. The man just didn’t know how to be anything but an asshole with a capital ‘A’. He broke so many hearts; I stopped counting his love victims when the number hit two dozen.
“Here you go, darling.” I gave the files to Olivia. “Nail him.”
She opened the first file and looked at me with an unhidden surprise in her eye. “I didn’t know he was on sale now.”
“Lucky you, you’ll get his records half-free. Just one condition…” I hesitated for a moment.
“What condition?” Olivia shut the files and put them into her bag.
“Give him what he deserves.” I wasn’t a feminist, and I loved good-looking men. Otherwise, I would have never let five of them become my spouses. But Leonel Cohen dared to destroy one of my favorite marriages of all the time, and I always wanted him to pay for it.
Olivia chuckled. “So it is the plan.” She took her valet and pulled out a stack of cash. “Hopefully, I’ll make him return every penny I spent on his dirty secrets.” She stood up and walked to the door.
“Olivia,” I called after her.
She stopped and turned to look at me. “Yes?”
“Be careful with him. Men like Leonel Cohen tear hearts to shreds as if they were made of paper.”
“Don’t worry, Madison. I’ve got my own shredder in my bag, and I know how to keep my heart safe. Especially when it comes to protecting it from Mr. Cohen.”
Chapter 1
Olivia
“Thank you for another one hell of a night, little devil.” I kissed Bella’s hair and pinched her soft pink cheek.
“It wasn’t my fault I couldn’t sleep,” the three-year-old said, yawning. “Those spiders I saw in my dream before I woke up wouldn’t let me go. I tried to run away from them, but they
kept following me, tickling me with their long hairy legs.” She pressed her yellow teddy bear tightly to her chest; guilt filled her big brown eyes. “I’m sorry, auntie. I didn’t mean to keep you awake all night long.”
My heart melted, and I smiled gently at her. “It’s okay. I know it wasn’t your fault. Nightmares happen.” I sighed and poured some milk into Bella’s cup. “Finish your breakfast and go get dressed. Rose should be here any minute.”
“Won’t you stay with me today?” She took a spoon and dipped it into a bowl with chocolate corn flakes.
“No, darling.” I knew she wasn’t happy to hear it.
Her shoulders fell. “Where are you going?”
“I got a new job, and I can’t be late on my first day there.”
“A new job? Where?”
“In a law firm.”
“What’s a law firm?”
“It’s a very boring place. Trust me, you don’t want to go there with me.” I knew how much Bella hated staying with her nanny. Not that Rose was a bad nanny; she was kind and funny, and she was ready to comply with Bella’s every wish. But my niece didn’t want me to leave. Period. I spoiled her with my attention and care; I just couldn’t help myself. I loved her so much. But I didn’t have a choice but to leave her with Rose today.
After I lost my job almost five months ago and my savings were getting closer to zero way too fast, I really needed a new job so that Bella and I never felt the lack of what we needed.
“If it’s a boring place, then why would you work there?” She asked, sipping her milk.
I took a seat next to her at the kitchen table and pulled her dark-brown hair in a ponytail. “How else would you recommend finding money to live on?”
“Mom once said dad left her money to support me. You could use them.” Bella never saw her father and knew as little about him as I did. But she was too smart for her young age, that’s for sure.
“Yeah…” I forced a smile. “It was a long time ago.”
And we’ve already spent everything your one excuse for a daddy left for you.
But I was going to fix it. The bastard was gonna pay for everything he had done to Bella and my sister who lost her mind over him, literally.
Winter had always been so different from me. I dreamed about becoming a lawyer, she - about becoming a famous singer. She would spend days and nights composing new lyrics and humming new songs that she was so fond of writing. I never got her passion for music, careless life and wine. At some point - the day she met Bella’s future father to be exact - all her passions turned into an obsession. She was obsessed with the guy who became her every thought and wish. She would sell her soul to him if he was a devil. Well, he was a devil to me. Because I never thought my sister could be that lost in a guy she barely knew.
I didn’t recognize her. She behaved like a stranger, never told me anything about their relationship or wished to invite him for dinner so I could finally meet him in person. I got worried about her. As it turned out later, there was a good reason for it. She stopped going to the college, moved in with her boyfriend and forgot about me and the family she had. Thanks to all the lies I had to come up with, mom and dad thought she was too busy studying. But the truth was so much worse than that...
About a year later, Winter showed up at my place with a suitcase in her hand and a newborn baby in a stroller.
Shock was not a strong enough word to describe what I felt back then. Every inch of me went on pause. My lungs struggled to take a breath I needed so much to catch up on the thoughts running through my head. Winter said the girl’s name was Bella. Her father broke up with my sister right after the little girl was born.
I felt so sorry for Winter. I wanted to help her as much as I could.
And so, I let her stay with me. I took Bella to the doctor to make sure she was all right and didn’t need any medical help. I bought the two of them everything they needed, because Winter was too weak and stressed to find a job or help me take care of her daughter. She would fall asleep and wake up with a guitar in her hands - the only reminder of Bella’s father, whom I was dying to kill with my bare hands. Thanks to him, my life complicated to the max. I just got my first job, and I needed to do my best to keep it to survive.
I had to wake up earlier and go to bed when everyone was asleep, after I was done with cleaning the apartment and cooking. Winter and Bella became my responsibility.
One day, I returned home from work and saw my sister’s motionless body in the bathroom. I would never forget the view of the red water she was about to drown in. She tried to kill herself by cutting her veins, but I got there just in time to save her. After that, I took her to the rehab, because I couldn’t be there with her 24/7, and someone needed to stay with Bella when I was working. Winter was no longer an option.
This is how Bella and I started a new life. A life where there was no place for anything, but my desperate desire to punish the man who ruined my sister’s life and left her with a newborn baby. I didn’t even know his name; Winter refused to give it to me.
So, once she was no longer there to stop me from going through her things, I did a small research and found a picture of her and the man whom I hated to the bone even before I met him.
“You’re the love of my life,” was written on the flip side.
I took a picture of his face and searched the net for a match, hoping to learn at least his name.
When I found him, I knew exactly why he didn’t want to be a father for Bella or a husband for Winter.
Leonel Cohen turned out to be a famous divorce lawyer and a no less famous bachelor. Wearing a tailored suit and what I supposed was his trade smile, he looked like a more mature version of the guy from the picture I found, but it was still one and the same person. Winter once said she never told him anything about her family, and he didn’t know she had a sister.
But unlike him, I knew everything I needed to know to destroy him. And I was going to do it now.
I looked at the picture of my enemy one last time, hid it into my bedside table and started dressing for the day. I didn’t choose Leonel’s law firm for no reason. I wanted to look him in the eye and make him pay for what he did.
There wasn’t any certain revenge plan in my head, yet. But there was a strong desire to fry Mr. Cohen’s balls and I wasn’t going to give up on that idea. Especially now that I had a diploma in family law and could pretend to be the best assistant in the world.
***
“Are you Molly Adkins?” I asked a woman in her late forties, sitting at the desk in Leonel Cohen’s waiting room.
“That’s right. And you must be Olivia Lambert.”
I nodded and smiled politely. I was all nerves, and even smiling felt like the most difficult thing to do. I had been waiting for this day for so long; I couldn’t screw up anything. But my shaking hands told me I was about to lose the game even before it started. I hoped Mrs. Adkins couldn’t hear my teeth chatter. It would be so embarrassing to look like a complete coward.
“Please, take a seat.” She nodded to the chair across from her. “Do you have all the documents I told you to bring with you?”
“Yes, of course.” I pulled out a black folder out of my bag and gave it to her.
“Mr. Cohen is in a meeting now.” She quickly looked through my files. “He should be ready to see you in about thirty minutes. Meanwhile, I’ll give you a tour around the office. Follow me please.” She put my files aside and stood up. “Don’t worry, he’s not as bad as everyone thinks he is.” A reassuring smile followed her words.
I bet he’s much worse than that, I thought to myself. But said the following, “I’ve never worked in a law firm as big as this one. I guess it’s why I can barely form my thoughts into sentences.”
Molly chuckled. “Courage girl, Leo likes girls with brains. And judging by your recommendations, you have them. Do not disappoint him.”
“Leo?”
“I mean Leonel. He rarely lets anyone call him Leo. But I’v
e known him for what feels like forever. I used to work for his father, Brian, as well. After he decided to hand Leo the reigns, I stayed here and started working for him. Brian wanted me to keep an eye on Leo. He had always been too passionate about his profession, and his father was worried it would complicate Leo’s work as the head of the firm. Brian always said that a true lawyer should be cool-headed but never heartless. Sometimes I feel like Leo still needs to learn how to listen to his heart, and not just to the facts.
Listen to his heart. I smirked. Does he even have one? Judging by how easily he gave up on his own child, there was a stone inside his chest and not a heart.
We went out into the hall and the tour started.
“Here’s the meeting room.” Molly motioned to one of the doors to her right. “It’s adjacent to Leonel’s office. You can enter it from here or through the door inside the office.” We walked to the next door. “Here’s our restroom. Leo never comes here, but the rest of the personnel do. We have a coffee machine in here and a TV. But I wouldn’t recommend you watching it too often. Not that you’re gonna have time for it of course. Other employees think Leo’s assistants have too much power over him, that’s why don’t expect much love from them.
“Why would they think that?”
“Well… I’m sure your duties will be different from those the previous girls had.” There was a double meaning in her words, and I wondered if Leonel’s previous assistants were here to entertain him, and not to work for him.
“Why were they fired?”
“They were not fired. They never worked here in the first place. Leo kept them as...distractions.” Molly’s furrowed brows told me she didn’t approve of it. She hurried to explain herself. “Work is his life. He can stay day and night here, working on a new case. He rarely goes on vacation or gives himself a break in general. We shouldn’t blame him for his small weaknesses.”
“And by weaknesses you mean women…” I summed it up. “Great, just great. Now everyone will think I’m here to be his new toy.” I swallowed my anger that was like a fireball, growing in my chest.