The Lesbian Billionaires Seduction

by K C Luck

  “Well, what now?” I hear Lila say beside me and can’t help but smile at the calm and deliberate tone in her voice. She could be panicking right now, but instead, she is practical. It occurs to me she may well be even more experienced than I am when it comes to dodging trouble. Her travels to certain countries while lending humanitarian aid no doubt can be dangerous.

  Regardless, I give her hand a reassuring squeeze. “We need a phone. An iPhone or something with an established network signature.” I scan the street again and am happy to see from the choices of those open, one has car radios and other electronics in the window. “Let’s go see what they have.”

  Crossing the street, I look for any signs of trouble. No one is close by, and I appreciate the good luck. The last thing I need is to encounter a gang. Ducking into the store, a bell rings to alert the owner, who steps out through a curtain from the back. A glimpse of a stove with a pot simmering, the sound of a woman’s voice coming from most likely a TV, and I guess that the man lives here. I make a mental note he will undoubtedly have weapons hidden and be especially protective. “May I help you?” he asks, and I nod.

  “We need to borrow a smartphone. Preferably one already connected to Wi-Fi.”

  “Sorry, but no borrowing. Two hundred dollars,” he replies, and his tone leaves little room for argument. I scan the store and consider my options. There are smartphones on sale inside a reinforced glass display case, but forcibly taking one from the man is not something I will even consider.

  “Please. It’s an emergency,” Lila adds to my request. The owner doesn’t even bat an eye.

  “Still no.”

  “I can pay you three times that once my friend arrives,” I tell him.

  “I am no fool. Still no. I will call the police for you if it’s an emergency.”

  I consider this option. Police would take time and ask questions. It’s likely Lila’s name would get involved and hit social media causing unwanted attention. No, the police are not what we need. The best solution is to get through to one of the billionaires. For that, I need a phone. Before I can try to reason with the man, two young men come through the door. The looks on their faces do not reassure me they are here to make a purchase.

  “Well, damn, you’re right, Jay, some bitches did come in here,” one of the new arrivals says. “You come down here needing a new radio?” Jay laughs at this, and I step between them and Lila.

  “Actually, we need to borrow a smartphone. You don’t happen to have one you’d loan me, would you?” The two men share a look and then laugh.

  “You want to borrow from us?” the one called Jay asks. “How about we just borrow from you?” Now they laugh harder. It’s the sound of trouble and makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up. Slowly, I clench my fists and shift my weight onto the balls of my feet. They stop laughing.

  “Look at you getting all ready for a fight,” Jay growls and reaches inside his coat. I am about to lunge when the shop owner barks out an order.

  “Stop,” he says. “Not in my store. You two leave.” He waves at the young men. “These are my customers, so they are under my protection.”

  The first young man narrows his eyes. “You giving stuff away for free these days, old man? That’s not going to make Mr. Richie happy,” he says, and the owner walks around the counter to the display case with phones in it. He takes one out and waves it at me. I don't hesitate to grab it and power it on.

  “Loaning,” the owner says. “They will pay when their friend arrives.”

  This elicits a grin from Jay. “A rich friend, huh?” He slaps his companion on the arm. “Whatcha say we wait on the sidewalk? You know, like a welcoming committee?”

  “Yeah, a welcoming committee,” the other chuckles. “For the rich friend.”

  As the two men amble out of the store, I personally don’t care where they wait now that I have a phone. I will deal with them later. My finger hovers over the touchscreen as I consider my options. Madison comes to mind. Lila will have her number but calling her directly is impossible as she would never answer an unknown number. Any business call would only be held up by an assistant or some other gatekeeper. Then, I think of a new tactic. If I can’t get ahold of one billionaire, perhaps I can another. I open an internet application, go to a search engine and type in the words: Georgia DeLane. Hundreds of thousands of hits. Then I enter Lila’s real name. Another incredible list. Then my name, which comes back with much more than I like. After a moment, I include the word TROUBLE, which brings back random answers. I turn to the shop’s owner.

  “What’s the name of your store?” I ask. He gives it to me, and I enter it as yet another search term. And then we wait, hoping indeed big brother, or this case big sister, is watching. It takes three minutes for the store’s phone to ring.

  The owner answers it, pauses, and then looks at me. “Are you Jael? It’s Kris.”

  24

  When the small convoy of jet-black SUVs descend upon the curb outside the electronics’ store, it is no surprise that Jay and his friend wisely evacuate at a run. The cavalry has arrived, and as we exit the store, Madison leaps from the lead vehicle to rush across the sidewalk to Lila. “Are you hurt?” she asks putting her hands on her shoulders, taking a quick visual appraisal of her.

  Lila shakes her head, taking Madison’s hands in hers and squeezing. “I’m fine,” she says. “Thanks to Jael’s quick thinking.”

  “I'm fine too,” I add with a smirk, and Madison gives me a cool glance.

  “I can see that.” The moment holds as we stare at each other, tension thick in the air. Clearly, Madison blames me for what happened. Before I can explain, Lila steps between us.

  “Please you two, don’t start,” she says putting a hand on my chest while still holding onto Madison’s hand. “Not now. Chloe is in trouble. Georgia DeLane has her, and with every second is getting further away.”

  Madison's eyes widen. “What?” She pulls Lila toward the lead SUV. “Get in, and I'll make a call to Zena. Then, you can tell us the details.”

  Lila shakes her head. “Wait, she took my purse. My phone with our app is in it. We need to be careful, just in case.”

  “Fuck,” Madison growls as she climbs into the front passenger seat, and we jump into the backseat of the vehicle. I watch her take out her own phone and consider the screen. She clenches her jaw as she appraises the risk of making any calls from it. After another moment of deliberation, she picks a number. It connects immediately, and I imagine all her resources are on red alert. “Phones are compromised.” Then she disconnects and drops the phone into the center console. “Okay, that will be routed to Kris immediately. She will need to nuke the current phones. We’ve always known this could happen and prepared for it. New ones will be delivered by private couriers within the hour.”

  “Smart,” I say with a nod, impressed once again at the resourcefulness of the billionaires. Yet, even when they think things are safe… “We need to have a conference immediately.”

  Madison glances at me, and I think she might not like my use of the word 'we' but lets it go. As Lila said before, now is not the time. “Let’s move,” she tells the driver, and I hold up my hand to make her pause.

  “Wait. The store’s owner. He needs to be compensated for his help. Saved us from what could have been real trouble.”

  Madison doesn’t hesitate. “Lend me your phone,” she asks her driver, and he hands it over immediately. In thirty seconds, Madison has an assistant on the phone. “Send someone down here to reward the guy who owns the store.” She pauses to listen for a moment, then answers. “Make it life-changing.” She disconnects without another word and hands the phone back before looking at me. “We good now?”

  I nod, impressed at her generosity. For as much as the woman irritates me, I sense she is good at the core. No doubt one of the things Claire sees in her. “Yes,” I answer. “Let’s go. There’s no more time to waste.”

  The SUV pulls away with a screech of tires, and we ar
e in the complex Los Angeles freeway system in seconds. No one speaks, each deep in our own thoughts about the situation, while the vehicle races along. I take Lila's hand, and she turns to me, sighing. Sadness and regret fill her eyes. She clearly feels entirely responsible for Chloe's predicament, and I want to unbuckle my seatbelt and slide closer to comfort her, but that will have to come later. Right now, we need to focus on the situation at hand. Georgia DeLane has kidnapped one of the billionaires. Something she tried to do before at the Hollywood Gala but was thwarted. I have no doubt the evil woman is gleeful to have accomplished it this time.

  Madison’s estate, in the Pacific Palisades, is across the city, and traffic does not cooperate. “I should have sent for one of my fucking helicopters,” Madison curses. Thankfully, the driver is experienced and uses side streets to get us past the snarls. We soon race through an elaborate wrought-iron gate flanked by two brick columns. The winding driveway down the hill leads to a majestic home that I wish I had more time to appreciate. Perhaps someday I’ll ask Claire for a tour. For now, the SUV pulls up to the main steps, and Madison has her door open before the vehicle completely stops moving.

  “Welcome to my humble home,” Madison says while Lila and I climb out to catch up with her. She leads us inside, and Claire meets us at the door. Her blue eyes are full of worry, but her bearing is calm and elegant, as always. Madison greets her with a quick kiss on the lips as we step into a foyer bigger than my first apartment.

  “What’s happened?” Claire asks us.

  “Georgia has Chloe,” Madison says with a growl.

  Claire puts a hand to her mouth. “Oh my God,” she murmurs. “What does that woman want this time?”

  “To go to your wedding,” I answer seeing no reason to mince words.

  Claire and Madison both look at me, eyes wide. “What?” they say in unison.

  “Does she think all the members of the club will be Claire’s bridesmaids or something?” Madison continues. “Ridiculous.”

  “Not necessarily so ridiculous,” Lila explains. “I don’t think she expects all the club members to be there. She’s doing it more to show the world she fits in with us. I’ll explain more what I’m thinking when we get our phones and can call the others.”

  An hour later, from the privacy of Madison’s study, Lila does precisely that as well as fill in Zena, Kris, Val, and a few of the others on the conference call. Everyone is shocked at the audacity of the woman to intercept us at the airport. Madison looks furious when she realizes her request for a driver to pick us up was the weak spot Georgia used to gain access to Chloe, Lila, and me. Something so routine. It only makes me realize just how much Georgia has been watching them.

  “So, let me see if I understand this?” Val asks, her Eastern Bloc accent dripping with sarcasm. “She thinks she can become a celebrity? Be protected by popular opinion?” She snorts a laugh, but there is no humor in it. “What is it with you Americans?”

  I watch Madison bristle a bit at the jab before running a hand over her face in frustration. A glimmer of stress is beginning to show. “Unfortunately, the current state of things in my country seems to reward the incredulous. In today’s climate, Georgia’s plan might actually work.”

  “No. We won’t let her get away with it,” Zena snaps from over the phone. “She’s harassed us enough already. Particularly Lila.”

  I watch as Lila shakes her head. “No,” she interrupts. “I don't think all those threats were made by Georgia.”

  “I agree,” I add before anyone can comment.

  “What are you talking about?” Val interjects from the phone.

  I move closer to best be heard. “When I specifically mentioned the message on the mirror while we were at the ski lodge, Georgia looked surprised. Actually, she seemed offended we would think she would do something so amateur.”

  The phone is quiet for a moment, and I watch Madison’s face as she processes the new information. “Then that would imply someone else wants to make trouble for us,” Zena finally comments. “Perhaps completely unrelated to what Georgia is trying to accomplish.”

  “Well, that’s fucking fantastic news,” Madison growls. “So, there are multiple lunatics involved?”

  There is a bit of static on the line as I hear someone clear their throat over the phone. Then, Kris speaks up. “Whoever they are, they are clever. The threats against Lila on the Dark Web were made anonymously, but the assumption always was they were from Georgia’s people. An outside party never crossed my mind.”

  “Now that you know it, can you go back and retrace those threats?” Madison asks.

  There is the sound of a keyboard clicking over the phone. “I’m already sending a message to my network to do just that,” Kris answers sounding a bit irritated Madison even bothered to ask. I like Kris more and more.

  Lila leans forward to get our attention. “I don’t want to focus on that right now. We need to get Georgia to release Chloe.”

  Madison shrugs. “That’s easy. We move up the wedding and spread the word. Trick Georgia into showing her face.”

  I start to ask if that will be possible with such short notice but then reconsider. They have the power of money, influence, and connections. When they join forces, the billionaires can pull off anything.

  25

  The last week was a whirlwind of activity as the wedding moved up. Now, whether we are ready or not, tomorrow is the wedding. I try to help where I can, but my primary focus is Lila. With the idea another person or group may be after the billionaires, we cannot be cautious enough, so I am ever vigilant. Thankfully, no new threats have come up on the web. Madison continues to assure me her estate is the safest place for Lila, so we stay together in one of the mansion's suites. Regardless, I sleep with one eye open.

  The plan is still to use Madison’s sailboat for the ceremony, followed by a small reception onshore. Of course, small is a relative term in this case. Over one hundred people are invited to the exclusive VIP-only event. Lila assures me this is a minuscule amount of people, thus making invitations the ticket of the year. I wonder if Georgia DeLane plans to try and attend this, too. Surely, she won’t be that bold. Getting her discreetly on the boat could be hard enough. Especially since no one knows her plan. Kris has sent out veiled requests for a conference, but so far nothing. So, we wait and move forward with the wedding preparations.

  “I am so worried about Chloe,” Claire says over dinner tonight in the mansion's dining room. It is one of two, this one smaller and according to Lila, more intimate. Considering the table can still seat twelve, I wonder what the formal dining room looks like.

  Lila, sitting beside Claire, touches her arm. “I know. Me too, but I can’t think Georgia will dare do anything. In fact, the woman can be very gracious when it suits her.”

  “And if she does step out of line, she knows our agreement is off,” Madison adds before taking a bite of the perfectly prepared braised lamb chops. I agree with that thinking more than I believe Georgia is gracious. If only she would contact us to confirm Chloe is all right. As if my thought conjures the woman, Madison's new phone chimes the now-familiar billionaire's alert. She pulls it from her pocket to answer. “Go.” She listens and then disconnects.

  “Well?” I ask in no mood to exercise my usual patience. Madison pushes back from the table to stand.

  “That was Kris. Georgia wants to talk to me. Us actually. Including Claire,” she says with a frown. “In fifteen minutes.”

  “How?” Lila asks before I can.

  Madison shakes her head, disbelief mixed with dislike on her face. “She’s coming here. But we must meet out in the open, so let's go poolside.” As surprised as I am to hear Georgia is coming to the estate, I also understand why she wants it outside. Drones can watch us. I assume she has one, with the cost being no issue. And, with her team watching, if anyone makes a move to arrest her, no doubt, Chloe will pay for it.

  Moving to the patio around the dazzling blue infinity pool overlooking the
ocean in the distance, I notice we arrive just in time to see the sun setting. The view of reds, oranges, and yellow is breathtaking. “Beautiful,” Lila murmurs stepping closer to me while we await Georgia’s arrival. Putting my arm around her shoulders, I look forward to a night soon when we can appreciate what should be a romantic moment.

  “Well, isn’t that just splendid,” I hear Georgia say from behind me. I whirl to see the woman emerging from the house. She is dressed in black and strides towards us with a look of utmost confidence. Beautiful yet dangerous. I think for a moment of a cobra but then refocus. I can't let myself miss anything. Noting one of Madison’s junior assistants is with her, I realize this was the only person Madison wisely assigned to wait at the main entrance for Georgia’s arrival. She wants to ensure none of her security or other staff try anything stupid.

  “Let’s not waste time talking about the view,” Madison snaps, her voice cold as ice. “What the fuck do you want?”

  Georgia raises an eyebrow. “God, you are such an asshole,” she says in reply to the question. Her eyes slide to Claire. “Claire, you are looking fabulous as always.”

  When Madison sucks in a breath to say something most likely even more antagonistic, I raise a hand to interrupt. “Before we talk about anything, how are you going to assure us Chloe is all right?” I ask.