Page 45 of The Billionaire's Temptation

“That’s…very sweet of you.”

“And then I had to fly down to Brazil to deal with an emergency. I kept trying to text you, to let you know what was going on, but I…” he sighed and shook his head. “I didn’t know the right words, Clarissa.” He reached out, sliding a tentative finger down her arm. “And there’s more.”

Her eyes widened. “More?”

He moved even closer, his fingers bringing her body into contact with his own. “I promise that, if you give me another chance, I will never leave you like that ever again.” He added a gentle kiss to her lips to seal his promise. “I will love you and treat you like the princess that you are.”

Love?

Helovedher?

He couldn’t love her. They didn’t know each other well enough for love!

And yet, his departure that morning had hurt her more than any other man had hurt her. What did that say about her feelings for this man?

Clarissa didn’t want to examine her feelings. She preferred the anger that she’d been nursing over the past several days. Anger was something she understood, something that would…keep her safe.

Another disturbing thought.

“I need to be angry with you, Levi,” she blurted out.

Her words obviously surprised him and she held her breath, waiting for his burst of fury. Instead, he surprised her right back by grinning.

“I understand,” he replied. For a brief moment, he tightened his arms around her. Then he kissed her forehead and released her, stepping back. “We’ll work on anger.” He walked over to his desk and pressed a button. “Tammy, can you get Brett Murry on the phone?”

Clarissa wasn’t sure what he was doing, so she walked back over to the sofa and picked up the purse she’d left there. “I’m going to speak with Mandy about taking over my accounting tasks.” She tucked the purse under her arm. “Thank you for your help today. Your reassurance and suggestions were…very helpful.”

“Hold on, Clarissa. Tammy is calling my personal attorney.”

Clarissa waited, then sat down on one of the chairs around Levi’s table until the phone in the center beeped. Levi pressed a button and, after a few pleasantries, quickly explained to the attorney, Brett, what was going on. Immediately, Brett started to give her legal advice. He gave her a list of action items that she’d need to take care of, and he also suggested several actions that her own attorney should take to circumvent Ian Montrose from gaining control of her funds and companies. Clarissa glanced at Levi, overwhelmed by the thought of trying to find an attorney smart enough to take on someone like Montrose.

Levi immediately understood the silent message. “I think Clarissa needsyouto handle those issues, Brett. If you email an agreement to Tammy, she’ll print it out, get Clarissa’s signature, and then you can become her personal attorney.” He looked at Clarissa. “He’s good, Clarissa. And you can trust him. Brett loves taking down bad guys.”

Clarissa sighed with relief and smiled, nodding. “Thank you.”

A moment later, Tammy walked into the office and handed Clarissa the paper and a pen. Clarissa signed the document, which was a simple agreement giving the attorney the right to act on her behalf, then Tammy walked away, promising to email the scanned document back to Brett’s office at once.

“I need someone like that!” Clarissa whispered, awed by Tammy’s efficiency.

Levi grinned. “She’s one of a kind. But yes, you probably will need a personal assistant to handle all of the invitations, social, and business issues that are going to come your way.”

Clarissa groaned, rubbing a hand over her forehead. There was a chuckle from the conference phone. “I’ll get started on all this from my end, Clarissa. I’m glad that you trust me enough to take on Montrose. I’ll let you know what’s happening as soon as I get a response from your current firm.”

Levi put a hand on Clarissa’s arm, sending alarming tingles throughout her body.

“Brett, get everything ready, but hold off on contacting Montrose. I think we should hear his opening shot before we file anything with the courts. He might surprise us with even more problems.”

“Good point,” Brett replied. “Clarissa, when is your next meeting with Montrose?”

She looked startled. “I don’t have another meeting scheduled yet. Should I?”

“Yes,” Levi replied with a curt nod. “At this point, Montrose should be meeting with you regularly to discuss each of your businesses, explaining the details, problems and profits of each.”

“That’s what Mandy is doing with me. But she has to do it in secret. She doesn’t want Montrose to know that she’s explaining the thick binder that Montrose didn’t want me to take home.”

There was a silence from both Levi and Brett. “Is that bad?”

“Yeah, the fact that Mandy is afraid of what her firm will do if they find out that she’s explaining the details of your assets to you is a huge problem,” Levi confirmed. “It implies that he doesn’t want you to know what’s happening. And makes me even more suspicious.”

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