Dangerous (The Dark Billionaire, #4) (2 page)

He was perfect in many regards but at the same time, he had something deep inside of him that she had never suspected: he could be very cold-blooded and dangerous. It was a dark side of him she was experiencing for the very first time. Bruce was a billionaire but beyond the fancy and glamorous lifestyle, there was something frightening about him. Could he really be a murderer? Or was he simply fantasizing about it? He was definitely an intriguing, mysterious and dark man.

What scared her the most was that Bruce was actually capable to kill someone - or have somebody else kill for him. There was no doubt in her mind that if he wanted something, he always managed to get it. Bruce was that kind of man and that dogged determination had served him extremely well in business. However, that same quality was also very dangerous and could bring him down a very dark path. With all his money and his influence, he could do pretty much anything he wanted if he put enough time to prepare it. Jennifer had always admired his ability to get anything done until recently. If there was one thing she did not want him to actually do, it was to destroy himself and his entire life by letting the past blind him into murder. She would never allow it to happen.

However, Bruce was cold and distant. He still had his bodyguards around his mansion and Jennifer didn’t like it. She didn’t feel comfortable and wanted more privacy. She knew she had to give him time and space. She could only imagine what it felt like to have been so close to death. Bruce needed to recover and she perfectly understood it. She wasn’t mad at him but she couldn’t keep trying to cheer him up day and night. It was her role to do so, but it was also Bruce’s responsibility to make an effort. He barely talked and Jennifer was often left having a conversation on her own. After several failed attempts to make him smile or relax, she had decided to leave him alone and to focus on her own life and future.

Indeed, Jennifer had her own worries and uncertainties about her career. Her trip to Bangkok, Thailand was supposed to be a business workshop to sharpen her education. Instead, Bruce had looked her down - even though he didn’t want to admit it - and had almost died. Now, she was back to square one. She still needed to get going to launch her own business sooner rather than later. She had been quite distracted with everything that had happened recently, but it wasn’t a reason to stop trying. She had to fight to find her own path in the business world. She didn’t want to be ‘Bruce’s girlfriend’ or ‘the billionaire’s new crush’ forever, or anything that implied that she was with Bruce for his money. She wanted to be known for who she was and for what she was able to do. She would never become a trophy wife, spending Bruce’s hard earned money all day long. She was determined to be independent and financially strong, whether she was with Bruce or not.

It was easier said than done, though. Jennifer was used to receive a paycheck like clockwork and now, money had stopped coming in. It felt both weird and scary. She couldn’t stay like this for too long.

Jennifer didn’t really know where to start. Working for Bruce as his assistant had been very time consuming and she hadn’t really cooked for a while. She couldn’t remember the last time she had taken the time to open a recipe book, actually. It was scary, very scary. She suddenly felt very insecure about her projects. How could she ever open a cooking school when she wasn’t cooking on a regular basis? Was it just a childish dream? Who would ever want to learn from her anyway? She had no name in the industry. Who would accept to even try her food?

God damn it!

Jennifer shook her head and took a deep breath. She was thinking in a negative way and it wasn’t going to help. She took a few minutes to calm down and to push away her fears, and went to her kitchen. There, she grabbed an apron, rolled up her sleeves and washed her hands: she was going to cook something, right now.

She picked a random recipe and realized she didn’t have all the necessary ingredients. She figured she also needed a jury, someone to try her food once she was done. She called her grandmother and asked her if she was available to give her feedback on her cooking skills. Margareta accepted and also agreed to bring her the missing ingredients.

When she hung up, Jennifer noticed that Bruce had tried to call her many times earlier in the morning. Her phone was on vibrator mode and she hadn’t heard anything. She called him back right away.

“Honey, what’s going on?” She said. “I didn’t hear you calling, sorry.”

“Jen, this is bad. Real bad,” Bruce said. She had never heard him so worried and felt her heart race in her chest. What was it this time?

“What happened? Are you okay?”

“It’s about my joint venture with Kenichi. It’s a complete disaster...”

“What do you mean? How bad is it? You don’t make as much money as you expected?”

“I’d be happy if I was actually making a single dollar on this deal. I’m losing money every day.”

“Jesus... A lot?”

“Millions, every day.”

“Oh my God, why? Something you didn’t plan? Is there an economic crisis again? What is it?”

“We don’t know yet. My team of lawyers and accountants are working on it.”

“Did you talk to Kenichi?”

“I can’t reach him for now so I’m waiting but yeah, we have to see what’s going on.”

“Bruce, I’m so sorry. I wish I could help. I don’t realize how bad it is for you and your company though. What does it mean for your business as a whole?”

Bruce sighed. “That’s the scary part. If we continue at this rate, all my shareholders and investors will run away in a week or two. If all of them pull their capital at the same time, I’ll be out of business in a month if I’m lucky...”

Jennifer couldn’t believe her ears. She was stunned. Was it possible? Could Bruce lose everything that fast? Could it be the end?

“What?” She said. “Are you serious? You’re going to go bankrupt?”

“We’re doing everything we can to prevent that from happening but this is where I’m headed. I can’t focus, Jen. I’m completely messed up. I haven’t slept since Bangkok and now, I’m about to lose my company. It’s never been so tough. It’s my biggest failure so far and I have no idea how to handle it.”

“Bruce, you’ve always made it. You will be okay.”

“I don’t know, this time it’s different. It’s not just about me. We’re a bigger company today than we’ve ever been and there are a lot of parties involved, including Kenichi’s side.”

“Are they helping you? Kenichi’s guys? I mean if you’re losing money, he’s probably losing as much as you do, right? He must be freaking out as well!”

“Yes, I know. It’s a big mess in here, we’re really busy but I just wanted to let you know. I don’t think we’ll be able to see each other for now.”

“I understand. Do what you have to do, honey.”

“I love you.”

“Me too. Take care.”

Jennifer hung up and stared at her window. She couldn’t believe that Bruce was in trouble. She realized it was unrealistic, but she had always imagined that he could deal and handle pretty much anything. At least, it was the image many people had about him. He was one of the most powerful men in New York City and that status came with a sort of God-like aura. Now that she was behind the scenes with him, she could see how much pressure and stress he had to cope with. He had to deal with problems that most people would never come close to in their entire life. Bruce had billions to lose and it was probably a very scary thought.

She thought about him and realized she couldn’t do anything. The only thing that was under her control was her own decisions. She absolutely needed to take care of herself and become independent as soon as possible. She imagined the worst case scenario and decided that if Bruce ever lost everything, she would be there for him, both emotionally and financially. She wouldn’t be able to match his current lifestyle but she would give him all the love he’d ever need to get back up and succeed again.

But in order to do so, she had to get her new business off the ground and she needed to start cooking again. Her grandmother called to tell her she would arrive in thirty minutes, and Jen waited, lost in her thoughts. All of a sudden, she started to cry, completely overwhelmed by guilt and sorrow. It took her a while to realize that she was crying for June and his daughter, but also for Bruce. The man she loved was going through one of the worst period of his life and she couldn’t do anything to help.

Then, a strange idea came to her mind. At first, it was just a meaningless thought, just like a flash. But it kept coming back again and again, persistently. There was one thing she could do to make things a little bit easier for everybody: they had to adopt June’s daughter. Her father was dead and Bruce felt guilty about it. Plus, he couldn’t have kids and she knew it was hard to accept for him. It wouldn’t improve the situation with the joint-venture, but maybe it would give Bruce a little bit of hope for the future. A child would brighten up his life and give him the strength to overcome any obstacle. Jennifer wanted to give him everything he needed to be happy and successful, and this idea of adopting an orphan was the most natural thing to do.

However, there was one major problem. Jennifer couldn’t adopt by herself and even as a couple, she and Bruce had to be married in order to be considered for adoption. She couldn’t take the initiative alone and now wasn’t the right time to talk about this. Bruce was under a tremendous amount of pressure and Jennifer had no idea how he would receive her idea.

Actually, there was another question that needed to be answered before everything else: was he even considering getting married with her?

J
ennifer felt slightly discouraged. Nothing worked. She had spent hours and hours over the last few days cooking, trying new recipes as well as familiar ones. She had definitely lost it. Her grandmother had told her that it wasn’t that bad but Jen didn’t know if she could believe her: she was too nice to tell her the truth.

Jen was convinced that she could do much better. Actually, she knew she could. She had done better in the past and couldn’t accept to be so average after all the time and effort she had put into it before. She used to be really skilled and to have a natural thing for cooking. Everything used to flow so well and she felt frustrated to be so slow and clumsy.

“Stop trying to be so perfect,” her grandmother said.

“Grandma, I want to make it my business. It has to be perfect!”

“You’re too tight, Jennifer. I feel that you’re too tensed. That’s what I mean. I think you’re trying too hard and you’re upset. Your emotions are all over the place.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. I’m just supposed to follow the instructions. My mood has nothing to do with it!”

“That’s where you’re wrong. I can clearly remember a time when you used to put your heart into it. Your mindset and your emotions were playing a huge part in your ability to come up with something tasty, original and unique. I don’t see any of that today.”

“You think I’ve lost it?”

“I think you’re not completely into it. You’re not really trying to make good food. You’re trying to get things done, it’s different. Maybe you should stop focusing on the business aspect and just do it for pleasure. Just like you used to.”

Jennifer threw a towel on the table and crossed her arms. She was really pissed and frustrated. “I don’t have time to do it for pleasure, Grandma. This is serious now, I have to make it. I have to be successful and be my own boss. I don’t want to be a secretary anymore and I don’t want to see Bruce in trouble.”

Margareta kept silent for a moment and looked at Jennifer. She was trying to read her mind. “What’s going on? Listen to yourself! You put so much pressure on yourself, it’s impossible. You will never make it if you keep thinking that way. Nothing good can come out of a heart under pressure. You want to be at the top right away, now, immediately. That’s not possible. It takes time and it takes heart. You have to be yourself and allow the creativity to flow.”

“I know,” Jennifer admitted. “But I feel that I must be successful as soon as possible.”

“Young people always feel the need to have everything as soon as possible. They don’t know how to deal with patience.”

“Bruce is in big trouble, Grandma.”

“He’s a big boy. He can take care of himself.”

“No, that’s not what I mean. He’s losing millions every single day. Do you realize? Millions of dollars every time he wakes up to go to work. He’s going to lose everything.”

Margareta said nothing, considering what to say. “I’m sorry, Jennifer. I didn’t realize it was that serious. Is it because he’s still shocked about the explosion? He’s making bad decisions?”

“No it’s about a deal he’s made before. It’s not working at all.”

Margareta said nothing and nodded. A long silence followed and Jennifer didn’t know if her Grandmother was upset because of her or if she was just thinking.

“Grandma? Are you okay?” Jennifer asked.

“Yes. I was thinking about what it means for you to see the one you love losing everything. You think you’re responsible, right?”

“I have to do something, yes.”

“By that, you mean launching a new business off the ground in a few weeks?”

“Yes, if possible so I can help Bruce in case things go really bad.”

Margareta smiled and shook her head. “You really love him...”

“Of course,” Jennifer said, blushing.

“Well, your love cannot save his business, Jennifer.”

“That’s harsh Grandma...”

“But that’s the truth. However, your love for cooking can change things.”

“How? I don’t get it.”

“Stop focusing on him. It distracts you and everything you do is based on something you don’t need: fear. You’re afraid for his company, you’re afraid to lose him, you’re afraid to fail in business. Well, that’s too much fear to do anything worthwhile. I’m not a business woman but in my experience, that’s not the way to be successful. Get rid of that and fall in love with cooking again. Stop doing it for the money. The money will follow. Just do it right, with your guts and with your heart. Only then, will you start having great results again.”