Billionaire Broken: My Billionaire Boss, Part 8 (A BDSM Erotic Romance) (2 page)

"This is half my company too."

He must have seen me glance up at the roof.

"Don't worry, I've disabled the security cameras. And I don't have a gun."

"Good, then I can break your fucking nose," Mr. Stone replied.

"You could try but then there is the matter of the pyromaniac here. Seems she burned down Stone Pharma and can you believe, a few other places as well. Then she kept souvenirs in her apartment."

"Don't drag her into our problem Matt. She's innocent."

"I don't care! Give me the contracts or she goes to jail forever!" Mr. Black suddenly shouted, leaping up from the chair.

"We can pay off the money. I'll help you. Then we'll split up the business and go our separate ways. You don't have to do this."

"Or ... you can pay off the money, we'll split up the business and you'll leave with nothing."

"We have thousands of people working for us! They have mortgages and families. Don't you care?"

Mr. Black laughed and rolled his eyes. "Oh please, Jackson. You don't think your pile of money is pure as the driven snow do you? You remember those kids sleeping next to the machine, right? Which room of your mansion do you think their blood money bought you?"

"We ended that," Mr. Stone said, gritting his jaw.

"You didn't have the stomach for what had to be done so you looked away while I did what we had to. Are you pretending that you didn't know anything about poor little Bedford?"

What was Mr. Black talking about? Mr. Stone had sworn to me that he had nothing to do with what had happened.

"I knew that you were an untrustworthy snake. My error was in believing that you could become a better man."

"I am the better man and now I'm going out on my own."

"How much will it take?" Mr. Stone asked.

"Everything."

"Have you set it up?" Mr. Stone voice was a flat monotone.

"It's just a neat little split and swap. You know how it's done."

Mr. Stone nodded and sat down behind his desk. He dropped the contracts beside him. Mr. Black stepped out of arm's reach.

"You don't have to do this!" I couldn't let this happen. He was going to give it all up for me?

"Trust me," Mr. Stone said. He drew out the pause. "I do."

"Blah blah, get it done," Mr. Black sneered.

Mr. Stone tapped his keyboard and then his phone buzzed. Mr. Black checked it before handing it over to him. He tapped the phone and then let out a sigh before standing up and walking over to me.

"Just wait a moment please," Mr. Black said, holding up his hand. His phone buzzed and he began tapping away.

This is what it took to destroy a company? To strip it all away from Mr. Stone and give it to Mr. Black?

"We're done. You can go. But remember ... I have the little pyromaniac's evidence just in case you think of doing anything stupid."

"Oh, don't look so concerned," he said to me. "The rich hardly ever go to jail. He'll pay some fines, bankrupt some businesses but at night he'll still be sleeping in that ridiculous mansion of his with your mouth wrapped around his tiny dick."

"Fuck you."

"I know you want to but I don't fuck whores."

Mr. Stone turned around, fury in his face.

"You're a fool. I was willing to help you but you're not going to talk to Delilah like that."

"Oh, that true love thing again is it Jackson? You know she wanted to fuck me, just like all your other girlfriends. This is getting boring though. Get out of my office."

"Maybe you should check all those investors you had lined up. Did you complete your due diligence I wonder? That was never your style. Too boring wasn't it? Too busy trying your hardest to fuck everything that moved."

Mr. Black glanced down at his phone.

"I'd check SBU. And Richmond Associates. Then move on to Delfrey."

Mr. Black's reached into his suit pocket and pulled out a black and silver pistol.

"I lied. I do have a gun. Stay right where you are."

Mr. Stone stepped in front of me, shielding me from the gun. Over his shoulder I saw the moment it happened as Mr. Black tapped his phone: his face drained of all color except for two red spots high on his cheeks. He went so pale I thought he might pass out right then.

"What did you do?" he said. His voice was trembling and so was the arm holding the gun.

"Only what you taught me," Mr. Stone said. "By the way, we have your men who broke into my house. There were tracking dots on those papers. You really should pay more attention to what we actually make in this business."

Mr. Black waved the gun towards the computer. "Undo it. Put it back."

"You know it doesn't work like that. Put the gun down."

"Undo it or I'll put a fucking bullet in her head!"

Mr. Stone was fast, I knew that. He was quiet too. But I'd never seen anything like this. One moment he was in front of me and the next he was grabbing Mr. Black. A shot went off, an impossibly large explosion, and wooden chunks flew out of the door. But Mr. Black didn't get another chance. I heard the sound of breaking bone, a meaty crunch that echoed across the room as Mr. Stone broke his nose and knocked him out in one blow.

"Delilah, there are handcuffs in the drawer," Mr. Stone said. He kicked the pistol away from the unconscious Black and turned him over, pulling his hands behind his back. I rushed over to his desk and opened the bottom drawer. Eeep ... a vibrator. For some reason I found this incredibly hilarious and started laughing even as I opened the next drawer up and found the handcuffs. I gave them to Mr. Stone who was watching me with an amused look on his face. He snapped them on Mr. Black and at the sound of the metal clicking shut I burst into a fresh round of laughter.

"Do ... you want ... the vibrator ... too?" I could barely speak I was laughing so hard.

Mr. Stone turned his business partner over on to his side and made sure he was breathing before walking over to me. I was gripping the edge of his desk, laughing so much that tears were streaming down my face. He took hold of me and pulled me into his chest and in that moment, my laughter turned to crying.

"Shh," he said, stroking my hair.

"I don't know why I was laughing," I said.

"I couldn't have done this without you. Let's go."

He led me out of his office and into the elevator. We reached the lobby just in time to see the police arrive. Mr. Stone let them in and began to explain what happened. It took a long time but he never let go of my hand.

Not even for a second.

*

It was nearing dawn by the time we returned to the mansion. The police had hauled Mr. Black away and in a few hours Mr. Stone would have to go to the police station to hand over more evidence. There had been more cameras in Mr. Stone's office than Mr. Black had known about and the whole thing had been captured in glorious high-definition full color.

We went to Mr. Stone's study. I was wrapped in a red blanket, sitting by the crackling fire. He handed me a coffee and I took a sip and then breathed out.

"Your coffee has some brandy in it," he explained, pouring some into his own cup.

"My brandy has some coffee in it," I said, taking another sip. I felt the warm down my throat and spreading through my body.

Sometime during the long wait with the police I'd calmed down. Maybe# that was why they always took so long - just to make sure no one was going to keel from shock the second they walked away.

Mr. Stone sat down on the chair facing me, our knees almost touching and sipped his coffee.

"Without you, I could never have done it," he said.

"What is
it
? And what did I do?"

Mr. Stone laughed and then took my hand. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I suspected that Black had bugged my house so I could only say what I wanted him to hear. Otherwise I would have told you the moment I saw your amazing diagram."

"Of the companies?"

"That was it. I'd been searching so hard for the links and you had drawn it all up in black and white. I'd had some evidence myself and had various shell companies in place trying to draw out more information but it was you that helped me see it clearly."

"So all that stuff on the computer with the split sell..."

"He'd set up some stock trades on my behalf. I don't know if he intended for me to put them through or maybe he just wanted to rub it in when we arrived. But I already had my pieces in order and as soon as I put through what he wanted, mine kicked into gear and destroyed everything he'd done."

I gulped down a mouthful of my mostly brandy coffee, feeling muscles I didn't know were tensed relax one by one.

"So you didn't really give the company away for me then?"

"I did. If I had even one little bit of that wrong then he'd have everything and I'd have nothing. I was prepared for that. I'd rather have you than every bit of money I've ever seen."

"You're one sneaky, underhanded, gorgeous bastard is what you're saying?"

He laughed and lifted his cup to mine before his expression became serious.

"What he was saying about Bedford. I didn't know, not one bit of it but it was still my fault. I've known for years that he liked to play on the other side of the line, out where the law gets very grey. I was totally committed to our business, even to the point of ignoring what my heart was telling me. I could have looked into Stone Pharma years ago. I should have and because I didn't, it ended up ruining Bedford. I'm sorry and I will fix it."

I nodded, unsure of what to say. I felt the words
I love you
trembling on my tongue.

"Did you know he'd be there?" I finally said.

"No. I thought by sounding so broken down, so defeated, that he'd make a move. That was just a coincidence ... good or bad I'm not sure. I never would have put you in danger."

He paused and we sipped our drinks, the silence stretching out between us.

"What do you see when you look at me?" he asked.

I felt I was teetering on a knife-edge. Should I say I saw the raw heart of him? I took a breath and decided to tell the truth.

"I see a man who was hurt. Destroyed. And then he put himself back together and covered himself with iron and a wall of ice so he couldn't be hurt again. It has taken many years for this man to trust again."

"You see a lot," Mr. Stone said softly. He bit his lip as though thinking of something and I suddenly realized he was nervous. He had rushed at a man holding a gun and now he was nervous here with me?

"I have something else to say ... to ask. Would you close your eyes?"

I closed them, relaxing against the sofa. He took our cups and placed them on the side table. In the quiet I heard the fire's low crackling, the wind outside rushing through the trees and the distant sound of the waves thudding on the shore. I could hear all this but not my silent man. I strained my ears but all I heard was a faint rustle of fabric on fabric.

"Hold our your hand," Mr. Stone whispered from directly in front of me. Although I knew it was coming, I almost jumped out of my skin. I opened my hand and felt him press something into my palm.

I opened my eyes and looked down at the tiny battered golden heart sitting in my hand. It was tarnished with age but still beautiful.

"My grandfather gave this to my grandmother and she wore it every day of her life. When she died, I inherited it along with a very stern letter from her telling me that our hearts are made to be hurt. They're made to be battered and bruised but we must still take them out into the world until we find someone who will care for our heart and protect it. She saw what no one else saw."

He swallowed and I saw he was trembling.

"When I met you Delilah I was ... I was broken. Parts of me were missing because I'd locked them up inside me. And then you ... I trusted you with my heart. I trusted you with my secrets. I never thought I'd find anyone I could give my heart to."

I felt tears prickling in the corners of my eyes. I couldn't look away from Mr. Stone. Jackson Stone, the man I loved but had never admitted I loved.

"Please care for my heart," he said and reached into his pocket. He pulled a small black box out and opened it in front of me to reveal a ring set with a cluster of diamonds.

"I love you. Will you do me the honor of marrying me?"

Time froze and my breath caught in my throat. I realized I was shaking, just as he was. To marry this man ... to be his ... and for him to be mine. I slid off the sofa and on to my knees in front of him, holding the tiny golden heart in my hand.

I kissed him with all the passion in my body. I kissed him like the world was ending and this was the last minute. I kissed him.

And he kissed me back.

Our kisses became a hug, our bodies pressed together, my breath hitching in my throat.

"I love you. Yes, yes, I will," I said to him when we finally pulled apart. He took the ring from the box and slipped it on to my finger.

I looked down at the ring and saw the diamonds were red in the firelight. Then I looked at Jackson and saw that my tears had landed in wet circles on his shirt. He looked down at the damp fabric and then grinned at me.

"I guess I'll have to take this off," he said.

He tore his shirt off in one swift move, causing my heart to leap in shock. Then he reached into the edge of the fire and picked up a tiny piece of dead coal. He touched it against my shirt before throwing it back in the fire.

"Oh no ... I guess you'll have to take that off," he said.

We stood up together, the blanket falling to the floor quickly followed by my shirt. As Mr. Stone kissed me a sudden odd thought zipped through my mind. I hadn't been back to my apartment in days ... and I'd left some dishes in the sink ... and I'd bought Mr. Stone at the bachelor auction. I giggled at the thought of him washing them, glowering at me and counting down the minutes until midnight when he'd no doubt smack my ass red.

"What are you laughing about?"

"The idea of you cleaning my apartment," I replied, my hand on his belt.

"I'll have you know I look quite good in a maid outfit."

"Me too," I said and dropped his pants to the floor.