AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I would be lying if I said I hadn’t spent almost two hours researching everything I could about him. A regular old Nancy Drew I was. Most of the stuff I could find was on theWeekly Wet’swebsite. I had scanned article after article, shaking my head at each elaborate headline. These people were like bloodhounds. Once they’d gotten his scent, they were relentless.
They had pictures of him leaving the gym, picking up takeout food, and leaving clubs and restaurants with a different woman dangling on his arm each time. Each article hinted at the same thing—billionaire, playboy, sex addict, breaking hearts all over the city. The write-ups were both hilarious and sad at the same time. They spun a tale so convincing, yet showed no proof. I almost felt sorry for him, but then I remembered he was the reason I would soon be out of a warehouse, and I went back to disliking him again.
Besides the tabloid news, if you could even call it that, he was secretive about his personal life. I couldn’t find any women who had come forward giving juicy details about a relationship with him. It was mostly business stuff. He had started out as a broker, leasing commercial real estate. His first company had tanked, so he’d started buying, developing and reselling land, making an obnoxious amount of profit. Now he was one of the biggest property owners in the city. It was impressive.Hewas impressive. That still didn’t mean I had to like him, though.
At five til twelve, I was in the same lobby from the day before, minus Juliet. Ryzen had been clear I needed to come alone. I hadn’t wanted to ruin this opportunity to possibly get our lease back, so I’d agreed.
The same secretary kept glancing at me from the corner of her eye as her nails bounced off her laptop, making a clicking noise when she typed. I pulled my blazer tight around myself and sat up straight in the chair when Riddick walked through the door.
“Miss La Roux, nice to see you again. Please come this way.” He held the door open for me. I stood and walked towards him, stumbling slightly in my heels. Stupid heels. I preferred leather boots, or tennis shoes, rather than locking my toes in a tiny prison. But I was trying to play a part today. Man-eater slash desperate business owner, ready to do anything for this lease. Even some bondage scenes in Ryzen’s red room of pleasure, if needed.
Riddick didn’t acknowledge my stumble, just stood with a smile plastered on his face. He was good-looking too, in the way corporate attorneys were sexy. I could see why Juliet wouldn’t stop cooing over him.
We walked down the same narrow hall, with the same ripped security guy standing guard at the door. Instead of heading into Riddick’s office, we turned right and went through a set of wide double doors. Mr. Dimples—Ryzen Goodacre stood looking out of the floor-to-ceiling windows, hands in his pants pockets. He turned and gave me an assessing stare. His eyes roamed down my body to my toes and up again, landing on my breasts. I raised an eyebrow when he finally met my gaze again and my stomach did a somersault at the wolfish look in his eyes.
“Miss La Roux, thank you for coming.” Ryzen walked around his desk and held his hand out. It felt kind of odd shaking his hand considering I knew how his body felt pressed against mine, but I stuck my hand out anyway and he gripped it tightly. My hand tingled where he touched it, and I withdrew it just as quickly.We’ll be having none of that.
Ryzen led the way to a seating area with a plush black leather couch and matching chair to the side. He sat down on the couch, indicating for me to sit next to him while Riddick sat in the chair. I sat down and crossed one leg over the other, bouncing it up and down. Ryzen glanced down at my foot, the tattoo of a rose vine wrapping around my ankle going up my calf. It was one of the first tattoos I had gotten when I was seventeen. Yet another way to rebel against my father. He hadn’t been pleased when he had seen it, which was a win in my book.
I crisscrossed my legs and tucked my foot behind my calf, suddenly feeling exposed. Ryzen grinned, as if he knew exactly what I was trying to do. Riddick cleared his throat, and I looked past Ryzen at him, folding my hands in my lap.
“Thank you for coming back on such short notice.” Riddick laid out three folders on the coffee table between us. “We have a business proposition for you.”
Ryzen was relaxed on the couch, his arm thrown around the cushion in the middle separating us. We were close enough that I could see his dimple again. If I hadn’t been up close and personal with him in the elevator, I probably wouldn’t have noticed it. His eyes were on me, watching me as I watched him, and my heart did that thing it did when I drank coffee for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The side of his mouth lifted in a smirk and he ran his thumb over his bottom lip.
I blinked repeatedly and brought my attention back to Riddick. “I’m sorry, what?” He was saying something about a Southern man and a hotel. “Did you say you’re trying to buy some hotels from a cowboy, and you need my help?”
“Yes, well, that is one way to put it.” Riddick reached into his briefcase and pulled out a copy of the tabloid.
My face heated, and I pushed my hair behind my ear. I glanced at Ryzen, who hadn’t bothered to look down at the tabloid, his face showing no emotion. This was embarrassing, to say the least.
“This is a problem.” Riddick shook the paper in his hand. “It’s causing us—issues.” He drawled the last word slowly, as if not sure that was the right word to pick.
“Well, I didn’t take the picture. I didn’t ask to be trapped in an elevator, or to be—” I glanced at Ryzen, who still hadn’t said much at this point. “I didn’t ask to do that.” God, what was wrong with me? They put me on the spot and I could barely form two sentences. My Grams would cluck her tongue at me if she could see me right now.
The trick to being assertive, Nova, is to not let guilt manipulate you. You are a powerful, strong woman. Don’t let any man ever tell you otherwise.
Riddick leaned forward in his seat. “Miss La Roux, nobody is accusing you of doing anything. Please, just hear us out.”
Which I did. Riddick explained they were trying to close on a very lucrative real estate deal with Orville Covington. Everyone knew Covington Hotels. They were the top hotel chain across the United States. They had those gimmicky commercials on TV where they claimed you were one of the family when you stayed there.
“We’ve been working on this deal with Covington Hotels for six months. We have meticulously planned out every little detail about this purchase down to a T. We were poised to close the deal any day now. However, things have taken an unexpected turn.” Riddick loosened his tie around his neck.
“OK.” I looked between the two men. “I still don’t understand what that has to do with me and my lease, though.”
Ryzen turned in my direction and clasped his hands together. “Covington is a family man. His brand is of utmost importance to him. And as you are aware, his brand is all about wholesome family hotels with a luxury experience. The bottom line, he will not sell to anyone that could ruin his brand.”
I nodded, even though they still hadn’t answered my question.
Riddick nodded. “We have two problems now. The first is that someone leaked news about the sale, and we have at least four competitors looking to take over our deal.”
“And the second problem?” I quirked my eyebrow at him.
“The second problem is you.” He tossed the tabloid onto the table in between us. “The thing is…”
I held my hand up, and Riddick stopped talking. “Gentleman, for the sake of my sanity, please explain this to me like I am a five-year-old.” Nothing they were saying was making sense. Were all business executives this way? Did they talk to you in circles to confuse you, tire you out and make you agree to whatever they wanted?Well, not today, Satan.
Ryzen ran his fingers through his hair. I’d noticed he had done it several times when we were trapped in the elevator. Nervous tic? “What my brother is trying to say is that this picture”—he held up the tabloid—“has caused a series of events to take place, one of them being Covington thinking you are my fiancée.” Ryzen sighed. “Covington threatened to cancel the deal because this picture goes against his wholesome image. We were backed into a corner. Riddick told him you and I were engaged. There was no other choice.”
