Page 34 of Merging with the Billionaire

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Once everything was settledat the picnic with the police, Conrad took Tiffany home. Though she looked exhausted, which was to be expected, she was still the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

“How does it feel to be out in the open with me? I mean, when we walked back to the tent, we were holding hands, so I’m sure everyone knows by now.”

She smiled, squeezing his hand with her own. “I’m okay with that.”

“Good, because so am I,” he leaned over and kissed her on the mouth. “I still can’t believe the cops found out that Daniel Maddox was the one who sent an email telling Brianna that Marcus would be at the picnic.”

“Me either, I mean, I heard he was furious when he got fired, but to sink to the level of helping Brianna take Marcus seems unreal to me. He really is a horrible man.”

“Well, he thought his life was ruined before, he’s going from simply being unemployed to being arrested on conspiracy charges for felony kidnapping. His need to seek revenge is going to result in him spending a lot of time behind bars.”

The Town Car pulled up in front of Tiffany’s apartment building. The driver got out and opened the car door for them. They climbed out, then stood on the edge of the sidewalk.

“Should I walk you upstairs?”

Tiffany shook her head. “I’m fine. I don’t want to be tempted into inviting you inside, or I’ll never get any sleep.”

“So, no movie marathon tonight?” Conrad teased.

“Nope, I need like two full days of sleep,” she jested back, “Or least a solid six hours of uninterrupted pillow time.”

He leaned forward and gently kissed her lips. “All right, I’ll call you in the morning.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Tiffany agreed with a smile. “Talk to you soon.”

“Not soon enough.”

Conrad watched as Tiffany made her way upstairs, then climbed back into his Town Car. While they drove towards home, Conrad thought about how happy he was. Not only did he finally have a healthy relationship with a woman that was amazingly smart, funny, and drop-dead gorgeous, but his business was doing better than ever, and he had a newfound faith.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Tiffany’s wallet. It must have fallen out of her purse. He could get it back to her tomorrow, but he liked the excuse of going back and seeing her one more time before bed.

He instructed his driver to turn around. A few minutes later, he arrived back at Tiffany’s apartment. The doorman greeted him, recognizing Conrad. “You’re back to see, Miss Boswell, already? She seems rather popular tonight, but who am I to judge.”

Conrad’s brows came together in a furrow as he tilted his head to the side. What did that mean?

“Miss Boswell forgot her wallet in my car. I just want to return it to her. Can I go ahead on up?”

“Sure thing, Mr. Gaines,” the doorman permitted as he opened the door to let Conrad inside.

He took the elevator up to the top floor, then headed down the hallway. Before Conrad reached the end where her apartment was located, he saw Tiffany standing at her door with a man he recognized from Roger and Celeste’s wedding. It was Artie Frankhurst. Tiffany’s ex. What in blazes was he doing here?

Conrad stopped in his tracks, and from around the corner, debated whether he should intervene and kick Artie out of the apartment building or let Tiffany do it for him. Before he could make his decision though, something unexpected happened. He watched as Artie leaned forward and kissed Tiffany on the mouth. What was more shocking was that she didn’t pull away from it.

Disgusted, enraged, and hurt, Conrad ducked back and let himself droop against the wall. What did he just witness? What did that kiss mean? She’d never really talked about her ex or why they broke up. Had it been only temporary, or was it worse? Had she been playing both of them all this time?

Every negative thought he ever had about himself and about the old money elitists were confirmed when he saw the two of them kissing. Artie was raised in the same social set as her, and they were from the same world. Perhaps she was having second thoughts about who the better match was for her. Maybe she didn’t want to be with a foster kid from Florida who didn’t have the pedigree that Artie Frankhurst did.

Conrad rushed from the apartment building after leaving the wallet with the concierge downstairs, wanting to put as much distance as possible between himself and the woman who had just broken his heart.

* * *

When Tiffany swungthe door open to find Artie standing on the other side, all she could do was let out a heavy sigh of frustration.

“What? Not happy to see me?”

“You know I’m not. I’ve told you more times than I can count to leave me alone,” she snapped.

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