Page 25 of The Playboy Billionaire

“You left,” I say.

Unsure if I’m talking about her leaving today’s meeting orthat she disappeared into the night without so much as agoodbyenote.

“I had a class,” she says sharply.

“I’m not talking about now. I’m talking about New York,” I say.

Sudden clarity. It’s the answer I’ve wanted since I woke up in an empty bed five months ago.

Her body tenses at my question, and she turns away. She picks up some papers before returning them to the almost exact spot.

“No point in drawing out the inevitable,” she says with her back to me, her shoulders shrugging. “No one wants the awkward morning-after conversation. You should be thanking me.”

I frown.

She inhales, her eyes locking with mine in the wall-to-ceiling mirror in front of her. “What do you want, Mr Frazer? I have things to do.”

It's my turn to inhale, and I run a hand through my hair.

“I didn’t know about your business. This morning was the first time I knew the business was here.”

April harrumphs, turning to face me once more.

“It’s the truth. We were told you were leaving,” I say, holding out my hands.

“So much for due diligence,” April says, her expression disbelieving.

“The information we were given was false.”

The words sound weak even to me. This is her livelihood, the business she talked about with such passion the night we met.

I take a step forward and stop.

“So, no one came to see the property before you purchased it?” she asks.

“Of course they did,” I say, knowing I sound exasperated. “I wouldn’t invest this kind of money in something we hadn’t viewed.”

“So you just didn’t care enough to ask? Speak to the current business owners?” she says, her voice incredulous. “You cared or didn’t care that much?”

I run a hand down my face. April’s eyes spark, reminding me of when I first approached her.

“Five months ago, my team came and scouted the property. The property was locked up throughout the entire week they were around. We were told you were moving out.”

“I’m always open. Someone on your team lied. I’m never closed. I even run classes through the holidays.”

She freezes, and her shoulders slump.

“The bastard.” She hisses. “New York. I let the landlord know the building would be closed in case of any issues.”

“And he invited the team to review the buildings that week,” I say, realising how we’ve been duped. “According to my team, he got the keys from your neighbours.”

“Yes, Don and Betty. They mentioned he’d been in when I got back. He told them he needed to carry out some maintenance work. They gave him the keys so he could let himself in.”

April drops onto one of the benches positioned around the perimeter of the room. “Not that it matters. My tenancy agreement is about to expire. He’s refused to renew it.”

I move across the room and lower myself onto the bench next to her. I watch her lips twitch as she takes in the awkward angle of my legs and knees.

April turns to face me. Memories of our time together spring to the surface as the scent of her shampoo and her perfume invade my senses. But that’s not why I’m here.

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