Page 22 of The Billionaire's Temptation

Levi chuckled at his friend’s grumpy attitude. Of all the men in the world, Sean really was an ass. A brilliant businessman. But still a grump.

“I just watched two women distribute homemade muffins to a homeless shelter.”

Sean’s eyes narrowed, the glass of beer frozen halfway to his mouth. “What’s the catch?”

Levi hesitated, then shook his head. “I don’t know. I’ll tell you as soon as I find out myself.”

Sean, Levin and Matteo were barely tolerated here. It wasn’t that they were illegitimate that distinguished them from the other club members. It was that the trio were “new”. The older members didn’t know how to take the three men, who had so much control over the world economy. They were wary of anyone they didn’t “understand” and who shifted away from the old, more “gentlemanly” ways of conducting business. And worse, the older men couldn’t control the trio. The older patrons didn’t like that Sean, Levi and Matteo were wealthier, more powerful and faster at every new business opportunity, even though each of them were at least twenty years younger than the old business leaders who had failed to evolve with the changes in the business world.

Sean frowned thoughtfully and leaned forward, resting his elbows on the bar. “They just…brought muffins to the shelter?”

Levi sipped his beer, nodding. “Yep.”

There was another long silence, then Sean asked, “What are they getting out of it?”

Levi set the glass on a coaster, and shook his head. “No idea.” He spotted someone off on the other side of the room. “What’s going on with Harry and Chad?” he asked. His interest peaked at the idea of Clarissa’s step-brother chatting with Harry, who was a bit of a loser since he relied on his daddy’s money. “They’re looking rather chummy.” Both men were in their twenties and had been members before Levi had inherited the club. Harry had money set aside in a trust fund from his family, but Chad…if the idiot had applied for membership today, he would be denied. In fact, it would be a miracle if even Harry could afford the club’s monthly membership dues. Chad had been accepted simply because of his friends, but Levi didn’t think that Blaire’s brother had any source of income.

Sean glanced in that direction as well. “They’ve been here for about an hour. I’ve seen the idiot boy meet with about four of his trust-fund cronies.” He wiped the countertop. “Something is going down with them.”

Levi had a bad feeling about Chad’s intentions. “I think it’s time to investigate.”

“I doubt there’s a great deal of substance being discussed. They aren’t the brightest bulbs in the box.”

Levi agreed, but thought it would be best to find out what’s going on. Unfortunately, as soon as he sat down at the table, Chad and Harry stopped talking.

“Having a good time?” Levi asked.

Chad sneered, failing to keep his disgust in check. “Levi, I know that you were good friends with my father, but I doubt you and I have much in common.” His tone was condescending and his eyes moved disdainfully over Levi’s casual clothing with disapproval.

“Why’s that?” Levi asked, already knowing the answer. They didn’t have anything in common since Levi worked to build up his empire while Chad…was a leech. He didn’t actually do or accomplish anything. The guy and his sister flitted from one party to the next, endearing himself with the people who had money. He pretended to have the pedigree, but in reality, he only offered subpar networking.

“Perhaps because you are a bastard, literally and figuratively,” Chad replied, picking up his drink and taking a long sip. “Or maybe because you embarrassed my sister the other night by taking Clarissa away from the party.”

Harry snickered, but he smothered his amusement quickly, hiding behind his glass of bourbon.

“You’re absolutely right, Chad,” Levi said, fighting to keep his expression pleasant. It wasn’t a good idea to alienate the enemy when one was trying to discover what the enemy was planning. Espionage was a skill. “So, what’s on your agenda for the week? Flying off to Greece? I hear that Aristo is out of rehab.”

Chad actually perked up at that news. Aristo was the son of a Greek shipping tycoon, but had gotten into some pretty heavy drug usage last year. Aristo’s parents had threatened to take away his trust fund if he didn’t straighten up and end the drug use.

“Aristo is a great guy,” Chad replied. “I’ll give him a call.”

Levi lifted his glass in a mock salute. “I’m sure you will.” He turned to Harry, correctly guessing that he was an easier target to find out what was going on. Today at least. Harry’s eyes were a bit glassy from whatever drug he’d sniffed or smoked, or however one did drugs. Levi clenched his glass, resisting the urge to toss Harry out of the club. Drugs were not allowed. Unfortunately, without a blood test, Levi couldn’t prove that the kid had taken something while on the club grounds.

“What are you up to this week? Anything new and interesting?”

Harry rolled his eyes. “As if there was something new and interesting here in Philadelphia.”

“You could hit the greens. I thought you and your father were avid golfers.”

Harry shrugged. “I like to hit the balls around, but we have other plans for the week.”

Chad chuckled knowingly. “Much more interesting plans.”

Harry grinned and took a long swallow of his bourbon. “We’d invite you tonight, but…” he chuckled again. “You wouldn’t really know anyone.”

Levi’s attention was caught, but he continued to appear unconcerned. “Too bad. I don’t have plans tonight.” It was a Sunday. What the hell were these two idiots planning?

Chad hissed at his friend and suddenly, Levi suspected that the plans for tonight had something to do with Clarissa.

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