Page 40 of Mr. Billionaire's Second Chance

“She was talking about some documents that I supposedly signed, but I never did. If money is tied up in that property, I need to know about it,” I said.

“I’ll find out. Look, whatever is going on here, we’ll fix it, okay?”

“Yeah, that’s what I’m hoping for. Every day there seems to be something new popping up that I had no idea about. Doesn’t look good for being the head of the company, does it?”

“No, it doesn’t. It’s not too late to get ahead of this thing. I’ll go through the records, see what I can dig up.”

“Thank you, William.”

I spent the rest of the day struggling to focus, but couldn’t stop wondering how something like this could just slip through my fingers. I need to find out who the hell is behind this. I don’t know if I can wait for Katherine to be the one to tell me any longer. It’s time I take matters into my own hands.

I picked up the phone, dialing Richard’s number.

“Hello, Richard. Change of plans. I have a job for you.”

“Why the hell do you look so glum? Need a drink, darling?” asked Leighton, leaning close to my ear as she held onto my arm.

“As much as I’m here as a favor to you, I’m not enjoying myself. Now, can we just get on with the night so I can get out of here?”

“Not until you lose the damn attitude, Preston,” she snapped.

She kept up a smile as she moved through the crowd of rich, snobbish people, making small talk while I stood there waiting for this nightmare to be over.

I grabbed a glass of champagne from the silver tray in the waiter’s hand, gulping it down like water before I felt a tap on my shoulder.

“William? What are you doing here?”

“I thought Leighton would’ve mentioned it. I’m here to work the crowd and do a little damage control so our reputation isn’t tarnished. The tabloids are running rampant and someone needs to reel them back in. I’d like your help since she managed to drag you out after all,” he said.

“You two have been chatting?”

“She may be a pain in the ass, but you know she gets things done. All I’m trying to do is take advantage of her charm. We could use it right about now.”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

I followed him as we chatted, laughed, and worked to change the minds of every person in the room. William seemed rather happy for someone whose company was hanging on by a thread, but I just believed that it was him trying to look on the bright side. He really thinks he can fix this by talking to a few people? What is that going to do?

“See that man over there?” he asked, and I nodded.

“He works at the Times and he seems to be taking quite a liking to Leighton. Maybe we can finally set the record straight.”

“Maybe.”

Spending my time in this grand ballroom surrounded by lavish decorations and decadent hors d'oeuvres only made me miss Katherine. I missed the way she made me feel, how comfortable I am with her, and I wished she could be the one I had on my arm for the evening. You’ll have your chance. Once you set the record straight and she finally tells her client that there’s nothing to find, we can all move on. I know she’s going to do the right thing and she trusts me, so why do I feel like I’m missing something?

I headed home that evening, plopping onto my couch as I checked through my messages to see one from Richard. Nothing yet. Of course. Why the fuck am I even paying you?

I was about to toss it to the other side of the couch when I started dialing Katherine’s number instead. I was in desperate need to get away, to escape from all of the stress that was finally weighing me down, and just be with her. I didn’t care that it was after midnight or that I might wake her even though she had work tomorrow. I just wanted to hear her voice. You’ve got me hooked on you, Kat. I don’t think that’s going to be changing anytime soon. I thought.

“Hello?” she answered, sleepily.

“Hey there.”

“Preston?”

“I know it’s late, but I wanted to ask how you feel about blowing off work tomorrow.”

“And why would I do that?” she asked, teasingly.

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