The only good thing was that the rent on our building was cheap. Mr. Mosley, the old owner of the bookstore also owned the building and hadn't raised the rent on us, even though this was a desirable neighborhood. If it weren't for that, I don't think I would have been able to keep the shop open. I hated to think about even closing the shop, not only for myself, but for Miguel and Doris too.
"Bad news?" Miguel asked.
I looked up from the letter in my hand to find Miguel and Doris staring at me worriedly. "Nah, you know just some bills and junk mail," I said, plastering a smile on my face.
I could see they didn't believe me and were about to say something when the door jingled. We turned our attention to the visitor. A delivery man walked in holding a large bouquet of flowers.
"I've got a delivery for a Lily Hayward," he said.
"That's me," I said, holding my hand up.
He placed the flowers on the counter in front of me and took out a little slip for me to sign. I scribbled my name carelessly as I stared at the beautiful bouquet of lavender hydrangeas, pink lilies, and freesias arranged in a square glass vase.
"Well, who are they from?" Doris asked excitedly as she pointed to the card attached to the bouquet.
As I opened the card, I had to blink several times to make sure I was seeing things correctly.
--Roman
I turned the card over, thinking there might be more to the message, but it was blank. He'd just signed his name and that was it. My mind was in a flurry. Why would Roman Conrad be sending me flowers? And what could it mean? I wondered. I stared at the lilies and felt an involuntary flutter in my chest. No one had ever sent me flowers before.
"Hello? Earth to Lily."
Doris' question startled me out of my thoughts and I gave my head a tiny shake to clear my mind.
"I'm sorry, did you say something?" I asked.
"Who's it from?"
"Oh just some man I met this weekend," I said, feeling the color rising to my cheeks.
She drew in a long breath and smiled brightly at me. "I'm so happy for you, Lily. You deserve this."
"Whoa, wait a minute," I said. "What are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about the gentleman who is obviously smitten with you enough to send you flowers at your work," she explained.
"No one's smitten with me."
"Honey, men don't send flowers to women they aren't interested in," she explained as if she were talking to a two year old.
"It's true, boss. I'd never send a girl flowers if I didn't like her, like her, you know what I mean?"
"No, I have no idea what you mean, Miguel."
"Well it's like this. If I liked a girl, but not in a romantic way, I wouldn't send her flowers because I wouldn't want her to think that I liked her like that," he explained.
I closed my eyes and rubbed my temples. "This conversation is giving me a headache."
"Ok I'll break it down for you simple. This guy has it for you bad if he's sending you flowers after just having met you a couple days ago. This bouquet ain't cheap either," he added.
"All right you two, stop getting the wrong ideas. There is no "romantic" anything going on between me and this guy. Now I'm going to the back office to get some work done, and you two should get to work too," I said, looking at them pointedly.
Their discussion about my romantic prospects was making me even more confused. I needed to get away and think for a minute alone without their speculation clouding my reasoning. I grabbed the bouquet to take with me as I headed towards the back of the store. Once inside my office, I sat back and stared at the bouquet, as if it held all the answers. After about five minutes of this, I blew out a frustrated breath and got up from my chair.
There was no point in thinking about it any further. I was no closer to figuring out why he would send me flowers. The card was annoyingly vague, and despite what Doris and Miguel thought, I knew Roman Conrad wasn't at all attracted to me romantically. At most, he might have felt sorry for me and thought sending flowers would be a nice gesture.
I decided to put it all aside and do something productive, like work. Since I was gone the whole weekend, there were a lot of things I needed to catch up on. I spent the morning dusting the shelves and going over inventory lists, while Miguel and Doris took turns helping me and watching over the front of the store. The issue of the flowers wasn't brought up again, and by noon time, I had almost forgotten about them completely.
"You guys can head out to lunch now," I told them. "I'll stay and watch the shop."
Miguel and Doris left the shop minutes later as I sat down by the front register and pulled out my own lunch. I was just about to dig into my left over pasta salad when I heard the door jingle. Thinking one of them had forgotten something, I looked up smiling.
"Did you for--," I began. My words died on my mouth as I watched Roman Conrad stride into my little book shop.
He seemed to fill up the space with his presence. He was dressed impeccably in a black suit with a grey and black checkered shirt and a black tie. The suit fit him perfectly, like it was molded to his tall athletic body. He moved with casual grace across the shop until he stood in front of me a mere inches away.
My mouth must have hung open in shock and I noted the faint amusement lighting his eyes as he watched my discomposure. My fingers twitched, but I resisted the urge to pat down my hair. I must have looked like a hot mess with my clothes all dusty, and I was sure there were cobwebs in my hair. At least I wasn't wearing my glasses today, I thought consolingly. That was the one thing I could be glad of.
He leaned in until he was just a breath away from my face and for a moment I was sure he was about to kiss me. My eyes fluttered and I took a deep breath inhaling the scent of his cologne--a fresh crisp scent with hints of citrus and amber. He reached out his hand but instead of pulling me in, he wiped a smudge of dust from my nose.
When he leaned back, I let out a long sigh. This man was completely messing with my equilibrium. He must have known the effect he was having on me as he continued to stand cool as a cucumber, the amusement deepening in his eyes.
"Wha--? Why--? Um...How can I help you?" I stammered.
"Hello. It's nice to see you again too," he laughed.
The smile that crossed his face made him look even more handsome than he already was. The corners of his eyes crinkled and the dimples on both sides of his cheeks deepened. I could see now why he had women throwing themselves at him. Even without the billions of dollars to his name, he was still dangerously appealing.
"You're a hard woman to find, Lily Hayward," he continued.
"You were looking for me? Why?" I asked.
"Because I wanted to see you again," he said simply.
I blinked three times not believing my eyes or ears. Roman leaned his elbow on the counter and looked around the book store in interest. That gave me some time to try to get myself together.
"You have a nice place here. It's very...cozy," he said turning back to me.
"Thanks. So what brings you here today?" I asked with some semblance of calm.
"Did you get the flowers I sent?" he asked.
"Yes, I did. I guess I should thank you for those," I said.
From the flowers, to the unexpected arrival in my shop, to his confession that he wanted to see me again, and even the delicious scent of his cologne, I couldn't help but think he was up to something. He was trying to throw me off balance. I frowned as I thought about his motives, whatever they were. Why would someone like Roman Conrad go to all the trouble to track me down and send me flowers? Nothing about it made sense and the more I thought about it, the angrier I got. I was sure he was playing a game and I was the butt of the joke, as usual.
He looked at me, his eyebrow lifted quizzically. Even though he tried to keep his face impassive, I could see his lips twitch as he tried to fight the smile that was threatening to break free, and at that moment I didn't know whether I wanted to kiss him or smack him. I shook my head. Where did
that thought come from?
I knew nothing about this man and I wasn't one of those weak willed fawning woman who just throws herself at any man that shows her interest. Guys couldn't be trusted and the sooner I remembered that, the better off I'd be. And I just had a feeling that Roman Conrad was up to something.
"You didn't like them?" he asked.
"I liked them just fine. I just wondered why you sent them to me in the first place," I said.
"Does there have to be a reason?"
"Come on now. We only met for like two hours on Saturday. Do you really expect me to believe you just send flowers to random women you barely know?"
"No, I don't. I send them to women I'd like to know better. Not everyone has an ulterior motive," he said.
I noticed the gleam in his eyes as he spoke those words and wondered if I'd hurt his feelings. Somehow the thought of Roman Conrad getting his feelings hurt never crossed my mind. I'd always thought he was larger than life, unflappable and calm in all situations. Yet, here he was looking vulnerable and human, and I regretted my attitude and suspicions immediately. After all, he'd never done anything to make me dislike him. In fact, it was quite the opposite.
"You're right, I'm sorry for doubting you. It's just not an everyday occurrence that I get sent flowers and visited at my work by handsome billionaires," I said.
"Oh, you think I'm handsome?" he asked, perking up immediately.
"Don't give me that," I said rolling my eyes. "You know perfectly well you're not bad to look at. I'm sure this isn't the first time you've heard a woman call you handsome."
He studied me a moment before bursting out into a low chuckle.
"You are a breath of fresh air. I've never met anyone quite like you," he said. "And that's a compliment. Don't go looking for any underlying insult in that."
"Uh...thanks," I said.
"There is a reason I came today," he began. "I wanted to know if you'd go out to dinner with me."
"You want to go out with me?" I repeated, almost not believing my ears.
"Yes, and don't even bother asking me why. Let's just say I'm trying to expand my social circle," he grinned, throwing out my own words at me.
I bit my lip in thought. My mind was trying to come up with every reason why this was a bad idea, but my heart was jumping to say yes. He stood there patiently, watching me wage war within myself, an engaging twinkle lighting up his eyes.
"I'm not sure that's such a good idea," I hedged.
"Why not?"
"I'm kind of busy with the shop," I lied.
"I haven't even suggested a day yet," he shot back. "Just say yes. I can tell you want to, and I promise you'll have a good time. I'll be on my best behavior."
"I don't know--"
"It's just dinner, I promise I won't bite."
It was hard to resist his charming persistence. He knew all the right things to say to ease my worries. I knew I was being overly cautious and suspicious about his motives. Yet he hadn't given me any reason to distrust him. I was the one who owed him my gratitude for helping me out of that unfortunate situation with Max Stein.
"All right," I finally gave in. "I guess I owe you for coming to my rescue on Saturday night."
He smiled brightly at me. "Great. I'll pick you up here tonight at 7pm," he said before turning around and walking out the door.
I stared at his retreating form, surprised by his sudden departure. It took a moment after he had exited my shop for it to finally sink in what he had just said. He'd pick me up tonight! The dinner was tonight! I almost ran out the door to tell him I couldn't make it. I had to close the book shop tonight, which was open until eight. Miguel and Doris came back from lunch as I was coming out from behind the counter to try and catch him.
"Who was that gorgeous man that just walked out of the shop?" Doris asked as soon as she came in.
"Don't got time to talk. Got to catch him," I said, heading for the front door.
"You won't catch him," Miguel said. "He got into a car and he's gone."
I blew out a frustrated breath and walked back behind the counter.
"That was Roman Conrad."
Doris looked at me in shock. "The Roman Conrad?" she asked.
"Who's Roman Conrad?" Miguel asked.
"Just the most eligible bachelor in the city. Hell, maybe in the whole country. If only I was about 40 years younger, mm mm mm," she said nodding her head.
"What's so great about that guy?" Miguel asked.
"How about the fact that he is handsomer than sin and has a real estate empire that surpasses Donald Trump's. Don't look at me like that," she added turning to me. "Unlike some people, I do enjoy reading the gossip magazines now and again."
"What was he doing in the shop? Did he buy a book?" Miguel asked.
They both looked at me expectantly. There was no point in hiding the truth from them since they'd find out about it sooner or later. Besides, I needed one of them to close the shop for me tonight while I was out on my date with Roman. I'd decided there was no point in trying to cancel or reschedule, he would probably show up anyway. It might have even worked out better for me this way, since I wouldn't have days to sit around in anticipation.
"He actually came to see me," I said. I watched the expressions cross their faces and had to bite my lip to keep from laughing out loud.
Miguel recovered first. "Why?" he asked simply.
"He asked me to go out with him. It's actually tonight and I'm going to need one of you to close for me," I said keeping my voice neutral.
Doris looked like she was ecstasy and threw her hands up. "I knew it! I told you you'd meet a nice man at that gala, and it came true. He was the one who sent you those flowers, wasn't he? Of course he was," she said answering her own question.
"I'd love to help you out boss, but I got class tonight," Miguel said.
I turned to Doris, "Can you close up tonight?"
"You don't even have to ask," she replied without skipping a beat.
So it was settled. Tonight I was going on a date with Roman Conrad, Lord help me.
Chapter Four: Roman
I arrived back at the book shop in Greenwich Village promptly at 7pm. It had taken me a long time to find it earlier, tucked away off a little side street. It was a quaint little store that looked well-kept and I had to admit to being impressed. When I had hired my investigators to dig into Lily's background, I hadn't expected her to be so accomplished for her age.
She was only 26-years-old and had been running her own bookstore for five years. She'd bought the place from her old boss, a Mr. Gerald Mosley, who still owned the building. Her file was pretty thin--there weren't any black marks against her, no arrest records, or any other dirty little secrets. She had enrolled at Parsons after high school, but dropped out after she took over the book store.
After I had read through her file, I had decided to check the store out on a whim during my lunch break. At first, I was only going to scope the place out from the outside, but my curiosity got the better of me. I wanted to see what it looked like inside and a part of me was almost looking forward to seeing Lily Hayward again, strange as that was.
Since meeting her for the first time on Saturday night, I hadn't been able to stop thinking about her. It was pretty unsettling and a little out of the ordinary for me. No woman had ever had that effect on me and it wasn't because I was attracted to her. At least I didn't think I was. It wasn't a feeling of unbridled lust where I just had to tear her clothes off and get her in my bed. Something else drew me to her. I didn't know what it was, but I was helpless to keep away it seemed.
I saw her as soon as I walked in. She was behind the counter ready to tuck into her lunch. At first, I almost didn't believe it was the same woman. She wasn't wearing those comically large glasses, which was an improvement. On the down side, she was covered up to her neck in a black turtleneck sweater, hiding her fetching breasts that I'd found so attractive the other night.
She was shocked to see me, and I co
uldn't blame her. I could tell when that shock soon turned weary and suspicious as she wondered what I was doing there. Truthfully, I didn't know what I was doing there either. I hadn't planned on stopping by. I had planned to take things slowly, deciding to send her flowers at first. But once I was there, I knew I couldn't leave without wrangling another meeting with her. It had taken some convincing, but once she had finally agreed, I told her I'd pick her up that night, and left before she had a chance to change her mind.
When I walked into the bookshop, I was surprised to find it empty. There was no one standing behind the front counter, and a quick glance between the shelves turned up no one. I had the sudden misgiving that she'd stood me up. Before that thought could settle, an old woman walked out one of the back rooms and rushed towards me holding her arms out. I stiffened at her approach, wondering who she was and what she was doing.
"Oh you must be Roman Conrad!" she gushed. "You're even more handsome in person."
"Thank you. I'm sorry, who are you?" I asked, a little taken aback at this woman's forwardness.
"Oh dear. I'm sorry for accosting you like this. I'm Doris. I work here. Lily is still in the back office. I'll just run back there and tell her you're here," she dashed away, before I could utter another word.
She reappeared a minute later with an apologetic smile on her face. "Lily's coming right out. You wait right there," she said.
"Not a problem," I said to her. I turned and began to browse the shelves of books, not really seeing the titles.
I frowned to myself at this woman's obvious agitation. It was like she was afraid I'd run out the door any second. I wondered what Lily had told her back there to make her so tense and uneasy.
"Ah there she is!" she nearly shouted.
I lifted my head just in time to see Lily patting her hair down as she exited from her office. Once she caught me looking, she dropped her hands and flushed guiltily as if she didn't want me thinking she cared about what she looked like.
Now that I could see her fully, unencumbered by the front counter, she looked remarkably enticing in her fitted gray skirt, black sweater, and knee high black boots with black stockings. Her blonde was tied back in a messy bun, and there were loose strands framing her face. My fingers twitched with the urge to tuck one of those loose strands behind her ear. Instead I clenched it in a fist and held it behind my back.
The Wager: A Billionaire Romance Page 4