Page 43 of The Billionaire and I

He dabbed his mouth with his napkin and frowned. “She’s an escort. She works for an agency in the South End. I know all about them.”

I raised my eyebrows. I didn’t want to ask how he knew about AccommoDating.

He shook his head as if he anticipated my train of thought. “Nothing like that, son. But I do have some colleagues who’veused the agency before. Enough about that—the point is, you can’t be linked to a prostitute. If it gets out, it’ll be a scandal. And scandals are fine except when you’re in the real estate business because, in real estate, it’s?—”

“All about the relationship. I know, I know.” I motioned to a passing waiter, and he brought me a coffee. “But I’m not worried about a scandal, Father. You might be. But I’m not.”

My father took a deep breath. For the first time, I noticed that he had dark circles under his eyes. He looked tired.

“You’ll care about a scandal if it gets in the way of your inheritance. I know how cocky you are, trust me.” He sat back in his chair. “But what if I told you that if you don’t break it off with this girl and bury the story, you won’t get my empire when I die?”

I blinked at him. Part of the reason I’d built my immense wealth was to inoculate myself from a threat like this. I didn’t need his money. I had plenty of my own. Still, I was an only child. There was nobody else but me. “Who are you going to leave it to, Dad?”

He smiled at me, and it wasn’t a nice smile.

“Remember that coach you fired last month?”

I shook my head, confused. Since when did my father pay attention to theThunder’sstaffing changes? “Yeah… Of course, I do. Because I fired him last month.”

“I’m going to givehimall the money. And maybe to the two lousy neighbors that’re trying to get you evicted.”

“TheWindsorsister? And Todd, the hockey coach?” I could barely remember the guy’s last name. He’d only worked for me for a little while.

Dad’s smile was now a gloat. “Yes and yes. Further, I’m going to track down every person you’ve ever disliked in your life, and I’m going to givethemthe money. It’s not like I’ve got anythingbetter to do. Ramos still hasn’t given me those approvals,” he said bitterly.

“You’re serious about this?” For so long, my father had only elicited a vague response from me, a yearning to avoid him. But now I was stunned. “You’re going to name my enemies as beneficiaries in yourwill?”

“You know, Cole, your mother would be so upset if she could see you now.” A flush crept up the old man’s cheeks. “She raised you to be a good person. But all you’ve done is squander your life. Yeah, you’ve made money. But you’ve got no family, no kids. Never even brought a girl home for Christmas. And now you’re dating a prostitute.” He practically spit the word out. “I expected more from you.”

“Yeah, well.” I rose to go. “That makes two of us, Dad.”

“Don’t you walk out on me,” he called, his voice menacing.

But I didwalk out, and I didn’t stop. My father could threaten me all he wanted, but it didn’t matter. He was dead to me.

And I wasn’t afraid of ghosts.

CHAPTER 21

Jenny

Cole was gonewhen I got up. I read his note, which was cute. I was also looking forward to the wedding and wearing the dress he’d picked. Todd and Evie were in love. Today was their special day, and then we were all going to theCaribbean. I wanted to pinch myself!

The sun was shining, and I had a butterfly feeling in my chest as I took out the breakfast that Cole’s chef had prepared. It was some oatmeal concoction with a ton of fresh fruit, and it wasdelish. I sighed happily as I ate it, looking out at the glittering harbor below.

But the butterfly feeling in my chest soon gave way to a sensation I was all too familiar with. It got sharper, edged with anxiety. Time on my own, without the benefit of Cole’s hand on my ass and nine rum punches, meant time to reflect.

I really hated this part of the job.

Cole was the best and the worst client I’d ever had. He was the best because he was the most handsome, the richest, the most fun, the easiest to get along with, the kindest, and the best in bed, courtesy of his rock-hard body and magic cock. He was so amazing, he was ridiculous.

He was so amazing, he was awful. Because never had I ever had feelings for a client before. If I was being honest with myself, which I was not, never had I ever had feelings like this for any man before. But Cole was different, and that’s why he was both my greatest dream and my worst nightmare.

He was mine, but only for a little while longer.

I wasn’t one to sit around feeling sorry for myself. I’d never had space in my life to be that indulgent. When I was little, I’d learned the hard way. If I dared cry over something that had happened, it only meant more trouble for me.

And I had enough trouble.

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