The Billionaire's Ruthless Affair (Rich, Ruthless and Renowned)

by Miranda Lee

  But it was the unique bridal party that dazzled Harriet the most. It wasn’t often that there were no bridesmaids, just the bride, groom and two best men. She didn’t know whose photograph to take first, they were all so good-looking. The bride, of course, was more than dazzling. Harriet had already known Bella was beautiful. She’d seen her on television and in the gossip magazines. Dressed as a bride, however, she was breathtaking. Yet her gown was simple, a sleek floor-length sheath in pearl satin which skimmed her figure rather than clung. She wore no veil. With that gorgeous mane of white-blonde hair, she didn’t need a veil. Her jewellery was just as simple. A fine gold chain with a single pearl pendant, along with pearl-drop earrings.

  She and Sergio looked brilliant standing together, his darkly handsome looks the perfect foil for Bella’s exquisite blonde beauty. Harriet took heaps of photos, including several of the three friends together. She didn’t have an opportunity to meet Bella before the actual ceremony, but Sergio had spoken to her at length as she’d walked with the men from Sergio’s villa to the countess’s. Such a nice man; a real gentleman. He’d made her feel so welcome, which was good of him, considering she was a wedding crasher.

  The countess had been very sweet as well. Her name was Claudia and she was a widow. But a very merry one, Harriet deduced by her flashy clothes and flirtatious manner, especially towards Jeremy. Not that he seemed to mind. Alex had eventually confirmed her suspicions that the two of them might have been lovers at some stage, despite their age difference.

  Which didn’t surprise Harriet. Nothing would surprise Harriet about Jeremy’s behaviour where women were concerned. She even caught him winking at the mother of the bride, who was still attractive and possibly younger than Claudia. The only other guests were Sergio’s housekeeper, Maria, and her husband, Carlo, who obviously thought the marriage a marvellous idea, judging by the wide smiles on their faces.

  By the time the celebrant—a portly and loquacious Italian named Giovanni—pronounced Sergio and Bella husband and wife, Claudia and the mother of the bride were dabbing at their eyes, though not enough to spoil their make-up.

  Harriet felt teary herself, partly because she always cried at weddings, but mostly because she knew she would never marry the man she loved. Oh, dear God. She did love Alex, didn’t she? There was no longer any doubt in her mind. She’d suspected as much yesterday but had pushed the dreaded thought away. When her eyes automatically went to him, more tears threatened. Fortunately, he didn’t notice; the official photographer—a tall, thin woman in her forties—had pounced on the bridal party for more photos, leaving Harriet to battle her emotions in private.

  Time to get a grip, girl, she lectured herself after slipping her phone back into her black clutch bag. Go talk to the countess. Or Bella’s mother. Whatever, just do something, and for pity’s sake, no more silly crying!

  * * *

  Alex felt impatient for the reception luncheon to be over, despite the happiness of the occasion and the quality of the food. They were sitting at the sumptuous table in Claudia’s opulent dining room, being given course after mouth-watering course. Harriet was on his right side and Jeremy on his left, both of them obviously enjoying the lavish meal a lot more than he was. His mind was definitely elsewhere, his gaze drifting over the table to Sergio and Bella, who didn’t seem to be eating much. They were too busy gazing adoringly into each other’s eyes. Alex finally agreed with Jeremy that Bella did love Sergio; the way she looked at him was rather persuasive. But he would reserve judgment till their marriage had passed the hurdle of Sergio abandoning the family business in order to move to New York with her.

  They were actually flying there later this evening, which was the reason for the morning wedding. Knowing this, Alex had booked a hire car to pick both himself and Harriet up at her hotel later that afternoon and take them straight to Venice, where he’d booked them into one of the city’s most luxurious hotels. The suite he’d picked had cost a bomb, but he didn’t care. He worked hard. Why shouldn’t he spoil himself? Alex suspected, however, that it was Harriet whom he wanted to spoil.

  He watched her out of the corner of his eye, thinking how lovely she looked today. She was wearing the same red cocktail dress she’d worn to the charity dinner earlier this year, the one which had given him wicked thoughts all that night. Or had they been jealous thoughts? He certainly hadn’t liked the thought of her going home with that dullard Dwayne. She’d always deserved someone better.

  But you’re not better, that annoying voice piped up once again. Except perhaps in bed. You’re selfish and ruthless, and a total waste of time. She’d be better off without you in her life. Really, your behaviour has been quite shameless. So do the right thing, Alex, and once you get home let her go.

  But he didn’t want to let her go. He couldn’t. Not yet.

  * * *

  Harriet tried to pretend she was having a wonderful time, but she wasn’t. The food was marvellous, yes, but there was way too much of it. The only reason she kept eating was that she didn’t want to offend the countess, who’d obviously gone to a lot of trouble to make the wedding a success. She couldn’t wait to get out of there and be alone with Alex once more; couldn’t wait to go to Venice. Lake Como was lovely, but somehow seeing Sergio and Bella getting married here today had temporarily spoiled the place for her. Venice would be much better. Out of sight was out of mind, or so they said. She didn’t want to think about love and marriage. She had to get her mind back to reality, which was that she was having a strictly sexual affair with Alex. Nothing more.

  Before she’d left Sydney to come to Italy, Harriet had vowed to enjoy the trip for what it was. But somehow the enjoyment she’d experienced yesterday was in danger of disintegrating. Which was a shame. When she sighed, Alex gave her a nudge.

  ‘None of that infernal sighing,’ he muttered under his breath.

  Harriet gave him a rueful smile. ‘It’s just that I’m full,’ she whispered. ‘I can’t eat another bite.’

  ‘Then don’t.’

  ‘I won’t,’ she said and put down her cutlery.

  Jeremy leaned forward and shot a questioning glance down the table. ‘You don’t want your dessert?’

  ‘I’m full,’ Harriet answered.

  ‘Pass it along to me. I need added fortification for the night ahead.’

  ‘Don’t even ask,’ Alex informed her drily as he passed along her dessert.

  * * *

  ‘He really is very naughty,’ Harriet said after Jeremy had dropped them back at the hotel in Sergio’s speedboat. The happy couple had by then departed, and Alex wasted no time in getting Jeremy to drive them across the lake. The hire car he’d booked was due to pick them up in less than an hour.

  ‘But you can’t help liking him,’ she added as they hurried up the steps towards the hotel entrance.

  ‘You don’t fancy him, do you?’ Alex said, his voice sharp.

  ‘Don’t be silly. He’s not my type at all.’

  ‘Why not?’

  ‘He just isn’t. You’re my type, Alex, as you very well know. There’s no need to be jealous.’

  ‘I’m not jealous,’ he denied. But he was. Fiercely jealous. The thought of Harriet even fancying another man brought a sour taste to his mouth. The thought of her having sex with another man didn’t bear thinking about. The only man allowed to have sex with her was him!

  ‘How long will it take you to pack?’ he asked her.

  ‘Not long. Why?’

  He gave her a look which spoke a thousand words. Less than a minute later, Harriet was up against the bedroom door, her panties in tatters on the floor, her legs wrapped around Alex’s waist while he pumped up into her with primal passion. As they both came, Alex thanked his lucky stars that he’d had enough foresight to put a condom in his jacket pocket that morning, perhaps anticipating a moment such as this. He shuddered at the thought of what he might have done if he hadn’t.

  Alex held her close, not wanting to let her go. But he really
had to. Time was moving on.

  Slowly, gently, he eased out of her, then headed for the bathroom. What he saw there brought a groan of dismay to his lips. Talk about life being cruel. After flushing the toilet, he adjusted his clothes, washed his hands and walked slowly back into the bedroom. Harriet was sitting on the side of the bed, looking slightly dishevelled.

  ‘What is it?’ she asked straight away on seeing worry stamped on his face.

  ‘I hate having to tell you this,’ he said, his heart sinking, ‘but the condom broke.’

  ‘Oh,’ she said, then just sat there, silent and thoughtful.

  ‘Is it a dangerous time of the month for you?’

  Chapter Twenty-three

  HARRIET DIDN’T HAVE to think too long to know that it was. Extremely dangerous.

  Her first reaction to the possibility of falling pregnant by Alex was despair. If it had been anyone else, she might have had a chance of being happy about having a baby. She’d always wanted to be a mother by the time she was thirty. But she knew having a child would be the last thing he wanted.

  It took a while for Harriet to see the situation with a calmer mind, but she eventually came to a decision. If she had been unlucky enough to fall pregnant—or lucky enough, depending on how you looked at it—then the problem would be hers.

  Finally, she looked up. ‘I won’t lie to you,’ she said. ‘There is a chance that I might fall pregnant. It’s close to the middle of my cycle. But I also might not. Pregnancies don’t always happen, even when people are trying to have a baby. We’ll just have to wait and see.’ She’d already decided not to tell him if she did. Still, whether she did or not, she was going to resign. She simply could not go on having wildly passionate sex with Alex and pretending it was just lust. She loved the man. But if she told him so, he would dump her cold. Even if it turned out that she wasn’t pregnant, how could she continue to work for him under such circumstances? It had all become impossible. Going to Venice with him was impossible, too.

  She smothered a sigh and made the hardest decision of her life.

  ‘I’m sorry, Alex, but I can’t go to Venice with you. Not now. I just want to go home.’

  ‘But there’s no need to do that. We could go buy you one of those morning-after pills. Then you won’t have to worry.’

  You mean you won’t have to worry, Harriet thought unhappily. Still, she supposed it was a sensible suggestion and one which she hadn’t thought of. Silly, really. It would solve the problem. Though not all of her problems.

  ‘I still want to go home, Alex,’ she said, the stark reality of their affair having finally sunk in. She simply could not go on pretending that she didn’t love him; that all she cared about was fun and games. ‘Look, I’ll buy a morning-after pill at the airport. They always have pharmacies at airports. Then neither of us will have to worry. Now, please...just take me home.’

  He stared at her for a long moment. ‘All right,’ he finally said, and Harriet let out a huge sigh of relief.

  When they arrived at the airport, Harriet found a pharmacy and asked for the morning-after pill. But, as it turned out, the rules in Italy were different from some other parts of the world. You couldn’t just buy one over the counter; you had to have a doctor’s prescription to get the pill. She was told that the public health clinic in Milan would give her a prescription, but it wouldn’t be open till the following morning, and there was often a several-hours wait to be seen.

  Harriet decided fate was telling her something and they boarded their flight without said pill.

  ‘But what if you are pregnant?’ Alex asked, face grim.

  ‘I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. But you don’t have to worry, Alex. If I am pregnant, then I’ll take care of it.’

  ‘What do you mean by that?’

  ‘I mean I’ll take care of it,’ she snapped. ‘Now, if you don’t mind, I don’t want to talk about it any more.’

  Chapter Twenty-four

  ALEX WENT TO work extra early that Monday morning, mostly because he’d been awake for hours. Sleep had been elusive during the two and a half weeks since his return from Italy, something he wasn’t used to. It had been especially elusive last night, knowing that Harriet had made a doctor’s appointment for first thing this morning to find out if she was pregnant. She’d refused to use one of the home testing kits you can buy over the counter—despite being a few days late—claiming they weren’t always accurate and she needed to be sure. She’d also refused to do other things, like talk to him more than strictly necessary. She wouldn’t even have coffee with him.

  The past two weeks at work had been sheer hell.

  The moment Alex let himself into the office, the cat sauntered over to him, purring as he wound himself around his ankles.

  ‘At least you still love me,’ Alex muttered.

  Not that Harriet had ever loved him. But she had liked him. And desired him. Now she couldn’t seem to stand the sight of him, which really wasn’t fair, in Alex’s humble opinion. It wasn’t his fault that the damned condom broke.

  ‘Come on, Romany,’ he said with a weary sigh. ‘Let’s go get you some food.’

  That done, he made himself a mug of black coffee before taking it into his office and slumping down behind his desk. As he sat there, sipping slowly, he tried to work out exactly why Harriet was so angry with him. And she was. She tried to hide her antagonism towards him, but it had been there, in her body language, right from the time they’d had the disastrous news about the morning-after pill. Harriet had even looked perversely pleased when he’d informed her that the only seats left on the first available flight home were first class. Alex had soon twigged that this was because she would have her own space and not have to sit next to him. Or talk to him. From the moment they’d arrived back, she’d cut him dead, saying it was over between them and taking a taxi home.

  Every day since, Alex had tried to work out what he would do and how he would feel if she was pregnant.

  Clearly, Harriet had no intention of keeping the baby if she was. Her savage ‘I’ll take care of it’ had indicated exactly what she would do. Alex knew that if he’d accidentally impregnated any other girl he’d been involved with over the years, he would not have objected to this course of action.

  But you didn’t love any of those girls. You love Harriet, he accepted at long last. If she is going to have your baby, you will want her to keep it.

  Shock at this astonishing realisation propelled Alex forward in his chair, some coffee sloshing onto his tie and shirt front. Swearing, he banged the mug down on his desk and stood up, reefing his clothes off before the coffee burned his skin. Fortunately, there was a brand-new shirt and tie in the bottom drawer of his desk, courtesy of his brilliant PA, who thought of every eventuality before it had even happened.

  What in God’s name would he do without her? Alex’s heart lurched at the very real possibility that Harriet would soon exit from his life altogether. She hadn’t said anything yet, but he could feel it. She meant to move on, and there was absolutely nothing he could do to stop her. As time ticked away, he began to hope that she wasn’t pregnant. Maybe then things might settle back to normal.

  Not a very logical thought.

  The next two and a half hours were agony. He couldn’t think about work. Instead, he tried filling in the time till Harriet arrived by ringing his father and then Sarah. His father didn’t want to talk. He was off to his morning exercise class, his perky voice actually irritating Alex, which was perverse. Sarah couldn’t talk, either. She had to drive the kids to school, then go on to work, saying she would talk to him later. He contemplated calling Jeremy and confiding the situation to him. But it would be the middle of the night in London and no doubt Jeremy would not be alone.

  In the end, Alex wandered downstairs into the café where he’d taken Harriet that fateful day not all that long ago. After ordering a bagel and another coffee, he sat down at the same table and stared through the window at the passing parade whilst hi
s inner tension escalated to a level he’d never experienced before. By the time a pale-faced Harriet showed up for work shortly before eleven, Alex’s temples were pounding and his shoulder blades ached.

  At least she didn’t keep him waiting. She came straight into his office, stood in front of his desk and said bluntly, ‘I’m not pregnant. So you can breathe easier now.’

  He actually did let out a huge breath, having found that his heartbeat had been temporarily suspended. He could not help but notice that she noticed, a small, rueful smile on her lips.

  ‘The doctor said I’m late because I’m stressed,’ she went on before he could say a single word. ‘Which leads me to my next announcement. I’m resigning. Right now. I can’t work for you any more, Alex. I’m sorry to leave you in the lurch like this, but you can get a temp till you can fill my position permanently. There are plenty of good agencies who specialise in excellent temps. I seem to recall you were working with a temp before you found me, so you’ll know what to do. I’d take Romany with me, but animals still aren’t allowed in my building. Besides, he’d miss this place now. It’s his home. I’ll ask Audrey to keep an extra eye on him on my way out.

  ‘It’s been a pleasure working for you, Alex,’ she finished up while he just sat there, pole-axed. ‘Up till recently, that is. Still, what happened was as much my fault as yours. You didn’t force me to sleep with you, or do any of the other things we did together. As for a reference, I’m sure that when asked you will give me a good one. You might be a selfish man, but you’re not a vindictive one. Goodbye, Alex. No, please don’t say anything. I’ve made up my mind and you won’t change it.’

  So saying, she whirled and was gone, Alex staring at the empty doorway without moving a muscle till Audrey stormed in a couple of minutes later, looking outraged.