“More than I ever imagined.” Michael frowned, pain hitting his chest like a dozen metal-tipped darts. “How is it possible, after only a few weeks? I’ve been trained my whole life to not get too attached to people, things, or ideas. Business was business, and I was great at it. That’s how I made my fortune working for my father. I thought this would be just like that, but she had to go and bulldoze me over. How did that happen?”
“Ahhh.” Lorenzo hummed, his eyes lighting up. “You’ve been bit by the love bug, my friend. And there’s no cure for an illness like that, I’m afraid.”
Michael grimaced. Outside of his mother and little sister, love was a foreign entity to him. Something to be bottled and sold in an app, not a real life emotion. He’d never even considered love as a possibility for someone like him.
“Oh, don’t try to fight it.” Lorenzo laughed, clapping him hard on the back. “That only makes things worse. Why, I remember falling for my Rosie some fifty years back, may she rest in peace. She was a firecracker, I tell you what, but it was love at first sight. Asked her to marry me three days later. Never did recover. Not even with her ten years gone now. Amore grabs a hold of you and never lets go. Best to just give into it before it eats you up alive.”
Michael stared at his plate, trying to comprehend Lorenzo’s words. Did he really love Emily? He’d never felt this way before now, as if the world had lost all color and vibrancy. All he could think about was her. He had a desperate need to hear her voice, even if all she did was yell at him again. It wasn’t a common experience for him. He was in uncharted territory.
“I see you need a minute to take this all in,” Lorenzo said with a hearty laugh. He pushed himself out of the chair. “I’ll bring a piece of my tiramisu. It always helps in a crisis. President Kennedy himself had a piece right before the Cuban missile crisis. My dessert saved the nation, I tell you.”
Michael didn’t hear Lorenzo laughing as he walked away. All he could think about was Emily’s scornful last look at him before she walked out of his life. Could he really be in love with a woman who hated him?
And how would he ever recover?
Chapter Twelve
Emily gazed up at the imposing Linex Investments office building, feeling quite small in its shadow. She’d driven past it a hundred times during her time in Silicon Valley, but she’d never had the desire to go inside the insanely tall building until the disaster of last month’s app launch.
And here she was again.
She took a fortifying breath and marched into the lobby. An attractive slim woman with a sleek ponytail eyed her over the metal countertop.
“Do you have an appointment?” she asked coolly.
“Um...no.” Emily swallowed, holding a wrinkled envelope in her hand. “I’m here to see Michael Knight. My name is Emily Sevenson. I can wait around, if he’s busy.”
She picked up the phone and pressed a few buttons, holding it to her ear. “Emily Sevenson to see Michael Knight. Yes, I’ll hold.”
As they waited, the secretary swept her scrutinizing gaze over Emily’s red sun dress and strappy sandals. Instantly, Emily wondered if she should’ve worn something more office appropriate. She crossed her arms over her chest and attempted to cover her bare shoulders with her hands.
“He’ll see you,” the secretary said suddenly, hanging up the phone. She dropped a visitor’s badge on the counter. “Take the elevator to the thirtieth floor. His office is to the right.”
Emily breathed a sigh of relief, grabbed the badge, and padded lightly on the cement floor toward the elevators. She pressed the silver button and instantly, a door popped open. As she rode the elevator up toward Michael’s office, she went over the speech she’d rehearsed in her head. If she went in prepared, he couldn’t distract her with his boyish good looks and charm. At least, that was her hope.
All too soon, she arrived at the thirtieth floor and the doors slid open to reveal none other than Michael Knight himself, standing there in a black suit that fit his tapered torso like a glove. Her breath caught in her lungs when they made eye contact. His hooded eyes pinned her with a heavy expression, one full of pining and regret. He flexed his hands at his sides, closing them into fists and then releasing them again.
She hesitated, wishing for one moment that she hadn’t come. It had been a month since she’d last set eyes on Michael Knight, but this was too hard. Already, she could feel herself being drawn to him, like a moth to a flame. It wasn’t fair.
“My office?” he offered quietly.
She nodded, her voice suddenly gone. He led the way and she kept a safe distance behind him, desperately trying not to stare at his shapely back. They passed a few secretaries and offices along the way. Emily kept her head held high, as if this were just another business deal. The employees stared at her, but no one said a word. It was eerily quiet on the whole floor.
“After you.” Michael opened a heavy wooden door and indicated for her to enter.
She walked past him, unable to stop the shiver that ran down her back as their shoulders brushed. Already, her body was betraying her. She’d better make this quick.
“Look, I’m not sure what the big idea is, but I can’t accept this,” she said, waving the envelope as he closed the door behind him.
He frowned at her and then took a step closer. Her heart pounded so loudly, she was sure he could hear it.
“It’s only fair,” he said, crossing his arms. “We used a good portion of your business practices to create this application. The app is a success. You should profit as well.”
She slipped the check out of the envelope and looked at it for the millionth time. There were far too many zeros on that thing for her comfort.
“I won’t accept this.” She walked toward him and held it out. “If I take this, it’ll make what you did seem okay. It wasn’t okay. I don’t condone your methods and I won’t be bought off.”
His face was unreadable as he slowly reached for the check. Their hands brushed, sending a bolt of electricity up her arm. She bit hard on the inside of her cheek, willing herself to get a grip.
“What I did wasn’t okay,” Michael said, frowning at her. Sorrow filled his eyes. “I used you and for that, I am so sorry. It was despicable. But take the money, Emily. Even if you still hate me. I don’t deserve your forgiveness, nor do I expect it. But this is rightfully yours.”
She blinked hard, feeling a wave of emotion wash over her. It was impossible to hate Michael Knight, even after everything he’d done. Because even under the facade, he’d treated her better than any man had ever done before. And she knew now that it hadn’t all been an act. It couldn’t have been.
“I don’t hate you,” she said quietly, looking at the ground.
“You don’t?” Michael shifted closer, hope evident in his voice.
“No.” She bit her bottom lip and looked up at him, her quivering voice giving her away. “I could never hate you.”
Intense relief washed over his face and for one moment, Emily was afraid he was going to take her into his arms, right then and there. She closed her eyes, worried that her emotions had run away with her again.
Lydia had talked her through her feelings, starting with the betrayal. The truth was, with or without Michael’s deception, her business still would’ve failed. There was no keeping up with the modern advances of matchmaking. Her mother’s pride and joy had been a dying art and she’d had to bury it. That wasn’t his fault.
What Michael had done was wrong, but that didn’t mean what had happened between them wasn’t real. She was choosing to remember those good moments. The ones not altered by lies or deception. The pure memories. The feel of his comforting touch on her hand. The glint of overwhelming emotion in his eyes when he looked at her. The sound of his laughter. Those were the things she chose to hold onto. The rest would fade with time.
Turning toward the brilliant view of his corner office, she swallowed and forced a small laugh. “Linex Investments is incredible. I’ve never s
een a place like it. Are you really in charge of all of this?”
She could feel him step closer, his warm breath on her neck making her quake with need.
“Most of it. Would you like to see it?”
She smiled and turned to look up at him. This was the Michael she wanted to remember. The one who earnestly wanted to please her and made her feel like the only woman in the world.
“Do you happen to know the perfect tour guide for the occasion?”
A grin twitched on his lips as he stared down at her. “Yes. And he’s quite handsome, too.”
❖
Michael led Emily around the divisions he was in charge of and tried not to overwhelm her with too much boring information. But she soaked in his every word, gazing with wide, intelligent eyes at the investment charts he showed her. She charmed everyone he introduced her to, even the grumpy old men in the finance department.
She was like a breath of fresh air blowing through Linex Investments. He couldn’t take his eyes off her in that stunning red dress. She really had no idea what effect she had on him. He would give up all his billions at that moment to have another chance with her. But he’d screwed up, royally. He didn’t deserve her.
His heart ached at the thought.
“I have one more place to show you,” he said as they left accounting.
She glanced up at him curiously.
“It’s my favorite department,” he added, pressing the elevator button for the fourteenth floor. “But don’t tell anyone. I tell them all they’re my favorite.”
She smiled behind her fingers, her eyes lighting up. He longed to take her hand and interlace his fingers with hers, but he maintained his composure and stood silently beside her as the elevator lowered. Finally, with a ding, the doors opened and the scent of coffee hit them like a tidal wave. A techno version of some classical song played loudly from one of the offices and cheers echoed down the hall. Emily glanced up at him in shock, her pink lips parting slightly. It was such a change from the rest of the floors.
“Yeah, I know.” He raked a hand through his hair and grinned. “Try as we might, we can’t keep them contained. It’s like a zoo down here.”
He led her down the hall into the open conference room where several team members stood, analyzing graphs displayed on a giant TV screen. They clapped all at once and cheered, as if they were a basketball team getting ready to run onto the court. Then, the meeting dissolved and they filed out of the conference room and back to their offices, smiling as if they’d each just won the lottery.
“Mikey, my man,” Smithy called, wheeling toward him. He held up a fist and Michael bumped it with his own. “Things are looking up, up, up. Dude, we couldn’t be more blessed.”
“Emily Sevenson, I’d like to properly introduce Kevin Smith,” Michael said with a smile, placing a hand on her lower back. His skin sizzled from the brief contact. “He’s the brainiac behind the Spark app. Everything you see here is because of him. I’m just the checkbook.”
“Call me Smithy,” he replied, holding out a hand to her. “Sorry about the way we met last time. I should’ve kept my mouth shut. But according to my mother, I was brought into this world without the ability to be silent for one single moment. The poor lady has the gray hair to prove it. Please forgive me.”
Emily shook his hand and smiled nervously, biting her lower lip. “Nothing to be sorry about. I should apologize for the way I jumped down your throat.”
Smithy waved a dismissive hand. “Bygones. And besides, we owe a lot of this success to you. Spark wouldn’t be the app that it is today without your family’s legacy. Here, let me show you.”
He wheeled toward the TV and grabbed a tablet from the wall. With the click of a few buttons, he pulled up a line chart that shot dramatically upward.
“See, these are our quarterly projections. Spark is taking over the market. We expect that by Christmas, one in three smart phones will have it installed. It’s only a matter of time before everyone fills out an application. We’ve harnessed the power of curiosity by allowing people to sign up and fill out their information for free. Then, we show them their matches. Once they sign up, they can contact them. It’s been an effective sales tool.”
Smithy went further into detail as Emily stared at slide after slide of graphs and charts. Michael couldn’t help but allow his gaze to settle on her, reveling in the small signs of amazement on her face. Smithy had blown her away, just as Michael expected. Maybe, after this, he could convince her to take the check back. It was rightfully hers. Every cent.
He’d personally mailed it, without a return address or a note. He knew that she’d never accept it with an apology attached. At the time, he thought she’d simply cash it and that would be the end. He never dreamed it would cause that stunning woman to march into his office only days later. If he’d known that, he would’ve sent it ages ago.
“So, you see, we’re doing quite well,” Smithy said, finally placing the tablet back in its holder on the wall.
“More than quite well,” Michael added with a smile. “You’re blowing it out of the water. And that’s thanks to you, Emily. It really is.”
She parted her lips slightly and gazed up at him, her cheeks tinged with pink. He searched her face, hoping for a sign that she had changed her mind. That the idea of Linex Investments wasn’t so repelling to her anymore.
“Michael, we need to talk.”
He swallowed when he heard that familiar low voice, the hairs on the back of his neck standing straight up. Turning toward the conference room door, his eyes took in the sight of his father studying them, his face impassive. He wore an elegant black suit and a pair of Alexander McQueen’s banded leather loafers. Holding his wrist up, he glanced pointedly down at his Rolex and raised his eyebrow.
“Of course,” Michael replied in a low voice. “But first, I’d like you to meet Emily Sevenson.” Once again, he placed a hand on her lower back, if only to shield her from the cold northern wind that had swept into the building. “Emily, this is my father, Henry Knight.”
Henry nodded curtly. “Ms. Sevenson. Now, if you’ll please, I need to speak to my son.”
Michael clenched his jaw, recognizing that tone of voice.
This wasn’t good.
Chapter Thirteen
“Smithy, would you mind showing Emily to your office?” Michael asked, gritting his teeth.
The conference room had gone suddenly cold and he couldn’t help but notice the sudden absence of music thumping down the hall. It was as if the entire floor had withdrawn into their fox dens, waiting for the threat to pass.
“Sure thing.” Smithy eyed Henry Knight standing in the doorway and then offered his arm to her. “Shall we, my lady?”
“Michael...” Emily squeezed his arm and looked up at him, concern washing over her face.
His heart melted at the sight. She must have retained some feelings for him, despite how badly he’d messed up. Here she was, concerned about him after he’d practically committed espionage. He really didn’t deserve a woman like her.
“I’ll come find you when I’m done,” he said, trying to comfort her with a small smile. “Hopefully, before Smithy convinces you to take a ride in his new van. I’m really not sure who approved his driver’s license.”
Smithy huffed as Emily smiled and took his arm, allowing him to wheel her toward the door, past Michael’s father. With one final look over her shoulder, she disappeared into the hallway.
“We were supposed to meet in your office to go over the newest quarterly reports. Your secretary said you were giving a tour of the facility,” Henry Knight grumbled as he adjusted his tie and stepped further into the conference room. His gaze swept up over his son and settled resolutely on his face. “Knowing how valuable your time is, I expected to find you down here escorting Elon Musk or Mark Zuckerberg. Imagine how disappointed I was to find you wasting your time with some woman.”
Michael’s field of vision tilted violently in front of his eye
s as rage filled his head. Emily wasn’t just some woman. She was everything to him. His cheeks burned bright and he forced himself to take a calming breath.
“Dad, I’m sorry that I forgot our meeting, but that was Emily Sevenson. It was her family’s business that inspired much of the transformation of Spark into the success it is today.”
“Sevenson?” Henry’s brow wrinkled in thought. “I know that name. Wasn’t it Sevenson Selective that matched your mother and me? They used to be matchmakers for the elite.”
“Yes,” Michael nodded, eager for his father to understand. “Don’t you see? We owe so much to Emily.”
Henry’s lips twisted into an unimpressed frown. “Didn’t I just read in the paper this morning that her business had gone under? As far as I’m concerned, we owe her nothing. She couldn’t maintain her own business, so she certainly would bring nothing to the table for ours.”
Blood rushed through Michael’s ears. He closed his eyes for a moment, waiting for the roaring sound to abate. This was just like his father to downplay anyone else’s achievements. It had been this very attitude that had sent his sister halfway across the world to work in some nasty diner while she pursued a modeling career. It had driven his mother into finding friendship and comfort elsewhere, filling her days with volunteering and endless fundraising.
How he wished they could’ve had a normal home. One filled with laughter and love. But the man standing in front of him was too broken to allow that to happen. He’d been unhappy his whole life and wanted everyone else to feel his misery, at the cost of their own happiness.
“Dad, I won’t discuss this with you any further,” Michael said, closing his hands into fists. “Emily is important to this project and I alone decide what my time is worth. I apologize again for missing our meeting. I will have my secretary reschedule.”
He strode toward the door, intent on leaving, when Henry’s hand wrapped around his upper arm.
“Don’t go mixing business with pleasure, son,” Henry growled as his dark eyes studied Michael’s face. “I saw the way you looked at her. You weren’t just giving her a tour. Leave your personal business outside of the office, do you hear me? You’ll destroy your company and your reputation if you carry on like this.”
The Billionaire and the Matchmaker Page 8