Page 10 of Loving a Billionaire

Austin dialed his friend’s number and waited for him to answer.

The other line clicked on. “This is Ariki.”

“Hey, it’s Reeder. I want to thank you for your birthday gift.”

There was a lengthy pause on the other end of the phone instead of the laughter Austin had expected.

“What birthday gift are you talking about?”

Austin chuckled. “You know what I’m talking about. I have to admit, though, she’s one sensual woman. I’m surprised you didn’t keep her for yourself.”

“Reeder, I’m serious. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Confusion filled his head. “I’m talking about Talia, the woman you sent me yesterday.”

“I didn’t send you a woman.”

“Quit joking. I know she came from you. In fact, she told me you had sent her.”

“Reeder, I don’t have any women friends named Talia.”

The elevator doors opened, and Austin walked into the underground parking. His nearly new, cherry red, Porsche was parked in his normal space. “She’s about five foot, four inches tall. Her body is very slender, but toned. Her eyes are brown and she has long, black hair.”

“Are you kidding me? You described most women I’ve met on the island,” Ariki snipped. “Reeder, I promise, I didn’t send anyone to you. You told me not to because of your business deal, so I didn’t.”

Finally, Austin realized his friend was telling the truth. His gut clenched and confusion filled his head. “How can that be?” he shouted as he clicked open his car and climbed in. “She was at my place yesterday. I asked her if you sent her and she said yes.”

“She’s lying! I didn’t send her. I swear it.”

Austin closed the door and started his car. “If you didn’t send her, who did?”

“Did she say she was there as your birthday gift?”

As he backed out of the parking space, his mind tried to recall her specific words. “I think so.”

“Man, I don’t know what to say. She didn’t come from me.”

Austin gritted his teeth. This couldn’t be right. Did he dream what had happened yesterday? No, he’d tasted her sweet lips all night long, and her lilac scent still clung to his robe.

“Well, I want to find her. I won’t rest unless I know what she was doing in my penthouse apartment.” He gripped the steering wheel tighter. “Ariki, I know you can find her. I don’t know what it is about you, but you have a woman-radar.”

Silence stretched on the other end of the phone. Austin waited for his friend to answer. During the wait, he tried to think of some bribes for his friend just in case he said no. Finally, a ragged sigh came from Ariki.

“Fine. I’ll try and find her, but I need you to describe her the best you can. Tell me any of the outward flaws or interesting features she may have that will help me notice her.”

A smile stretched across Austin’s mouth. He couldn’t help it. Thinking about her, made him this way. “She’s very beautiful. Her wavy, jet black hair, tumbles over her shoulders to her lower back, and she has the most amazing brown eyes I’ve ever seen. Her hands are immaculately delicate with trimmed nails, but not the fake kind women like to wear nowadays. She’s probably in her mid-twenties, and she’s about five foot, four inches tall, with very shapely legs. Her chest is not too large, yet not too small. And her body is toned like she works out a lot.”

Ariki chuckled. “But that could describe a thousand girls.”

“No, Talia is one in a million. Her lips are slightly pouty, just the way a man likes just before he devours them, and she has a cute little button nose. Although her eyes are brown, they’re really not quite that color, but almost rusty instead.”

“Rusty?”

Austin’s smile widened the longer he pictured her. “I know it sounds funny, but when you see her, you’ll see what I’m talking about.”

“Is there anything else?”

“No, I think I’ve covered every inch of her. When she came to see me, she wore a red and white floral dress. The short sleeves hung off her shoulders, and the dress was short, showing off her shapely legs. Her hair had been pulled back in a bun. She looked like she was going to some fancy party. I don’t know if that will help you to find her, but that’s about all of it in a nutshell.”