Page 6 of The Billionaire's Temptation

He stood up and walked around to the driver’s side. Thankfully, she was too stunned by his words to jump out of the vehicle. So he was already on the highway by the time she recovered.

“Is this some sort of sick joke?” she demanded, her voice softer now.

“Not a joke,” he replied, merging over to the next lane. It took him twenty minutes to reach the house. The gates slowly opened after he entered the security code. Thankfully, Clarissa was too busy staring at the ornate gates and the massive house to argue.

A moment later, he pulled to a stop and shut off the car. “This is your house,” he announced, and stepped out of his vehicle.

He watched as Clarissa bent forward, trying to see up the top of the house through the windshield. It was a three story, stone house, built back in the eighteen nineties. The main floor had obviously been designed to impress guests. The second story was for the family. He knew that it contained several bedrooms and a few small parlors. The top floor was divided into about thirty small bedrooms that had been built for the servants. The entire house had been renovated several times over the years, expanded and updated with the latest technology. It was one of the largest in Philadelphia.

Clarissa shook her head disbelievingly and leaned back in the leather seat. “This isn’t my house.”

He didn’t sigh, but did wonder what it would take to get her to understand. “This is Arthur Fuque’s former residence that he left to you in his will. As I mentioned before, you are his only living relative. You own not only this house, but four others. One in Paris, one in Lake Tahoe, a villa in Italy, and a penthouse in London.”

She snorted. “Right.” Leaning back in the soft leather of his passenger seat, she crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. “I’m putting an end to ‘making fun of the poor chick’ scenario. Take me back to my apartment.”

Turning, he rested his forearm on the steering wheel so he could look into her eyes. “Clarissa, this is not a joke. This is real. And right now, you might think this is all a dream, but with this kind of wealth comes a great deal of responsibility. The first of which is for you to take control of your inheritance so that your step-siblings, who really are a pair of horrible people, don’t steal it all out from under you. I’m guessing that they are doing everything within their power to steal your inheritance. If they can’t do it through legal means, they’ll do it through illegal ones. There are about a hundred thousand employees that now depend on you for their financial well-being. If you don’t step up and take charge, then the company that your father, and grandfather, built up over the past one hundred years, will flounder and all of those people will be out of work.”

Clarissa swallowed hard. That was a heavy load to dump onto her shoulders!

“What do I do?” she whispered through suddenly numb lips.

Levi’s features softened ever so slightly. “First of all, you walk through that door and introduce yourself to the staff. They’ve been fighting off your step-siblings, but they have no real power. But you do.” He paused, letting his words sink in. “If nothing else, claim this house. Martha, your housekeeper, and her husband, Joseph, have been working for your father for thirty plus years. They are worried about their jobs and their future.”

“That’s not fair!” she hissed, trembling with the enormity of his words.

He shrugged dismissively. “You’re an heiress now. Nothing in your world is going to be fair.”

Clarissa didn’t like the sound of that. But she’d never backed down from the challenges in life. She refused to start now.

“Fine,” she whispered, pressing her lips together. “I’ll do it.” She reached for the door handle, but hesitated. “Are yousure? I mean, are you absolutely positive that I’m this guy’s daughter and he left everything to me?”

“Yes,” he replied firmly, nodding to emphasize his words. He pointed out the windshield to the man in a dark suit coming down the stairs. “That is your new lawyer. Mr. Silverman will confirm everything I’ve told you. He will also defend your rights to this house and everything in it.” He paused, putting a hand to her arm. “He’s a good man. He’ll be an invaluable resource to you during the next few weeks.”

Clarissa looked at the man who was standing patiently at the bottom of the stairs. He looked nice. But if what Levi was telling her was true, was this Mr. Silverman strong enough to help her?

“Yes. He’s one of the best lawyers in the country,” he said, replying to her unspoken question.

Clarissa scowled at Levi for a long moment, then took a deep breath and pushed the door open. “Right.”

As soon as she stepped out of Levi’s luxurious sedan, Clarissa remembered that she still wasn’t wearing a bra. Darn him! Why hadn’t he given her time to change clothes?

Oh, right. Because she’d been too busy being stubborn. Darn. Her fault.

Well, she’d just plow through the awkwardness. If what Levi told her was true, she was an heiress. She had money. How much money, Clarissa wasn’t sure. Time to get details!

“Good evening, Mr. Silverman,” she greeted the man, extending her hand to shake his.

The man didn’t bat an eye at her disheveled appearance as he shook her hand in return. “It is a delight to finally meet you, Ms. Fuque,” he replied.

“My name is Clarissa Donata,” she replied. “If that’s a problem, then I can–”

“Not a problem at all, Ms. Donata,” Mr. Silverman replied, smiling at her. “That was my error. Mr. Harris was gracious enough to allow my staff to find you after your father changed his will. I won’t make the mistake again.” He stepped back, extending his arm outward. “Would you like to go inside? This is your house now.”

Clarissa turned to look up at the house again, still in shock at the size. “Just how big is this place?”

Levi came up beside her and answered, “It’s about fifteen thousand square feet.” He paused and she sensed him sliding his hands into his pockets. “That’s not including the garage that houses five vehicles, or the pool house. I think there are four bedrooms in the pool house as well.”

Clarissa nodded, not sure what to say. That’s a big house!

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