Rise of the Billionaire (21 page)

Eyes dancing with humor, Abby said, “I’m not positive that’s what she’s thinking.”

“If he says one rude word to her, I’m throwing him out the front door.”

Abby placed a soothing hand on Dominic’s tense thigh. “He’s a diplomat. I’m sure he knows how to behave himself at a social gathering.”

Dominic glared at Romario. “You wouldn’t think so if you’d heard him talking to Jeremy.”

Abby rubbed her husband’s thigh beneath the table until his attention refocused on her. “Tell me you didn’t get involved in their family dispute.”

Instantly attentive, Dominic lowered his head and whispered suggestively, “Move your hand a little higher and I’ll tell you whatever you want hear.”

Abby slapped his stomach playfully. “I’m serious.”

Dominic kissed his beautiful wife’s neck, knowing there was no way to avoid her lecture but enjoying the delicious pink it brought to her cheeks. “So am I.”

Despite the desire that lit her eyes, Abby chastised her husband playfully. “You are incorrigible.”

He kissed her neck again, but also offered her what he knew she was waiting for. “I may have exchanged a few harsh words with Romario.”

Abby’s head cocked to the side
in doubt. “May have?”

It was impossible to stay upset when his wife smiled at him that way. He conceded, “He doesn’t think Jeremy is good enough for Jeisa.”

Tongue-in-cheek, Abby asked, “Is any man good enough for a father?”

“Do not mock me, woman
,” he said, but there was no bite to his words.

Instead of continuing down the
teasing thread, Abby took Dominic’s hand and laid it on her small belly bump. “It couldn’t have been easy for Jeisa’s father to come here today. He doesn’t know any of us, and from what I’ve heard, Jeisa wasn’t entirely honest with him about what she’d been doing here in the States. He flew over here because he was worried about her and he met a suitor he’d previously never heard a word about. Can you blame him for being protective? How would you feel if Jeisa were our daughter?”

Dominic shook his head ruefully
. “I’d want to kill the bastard.”

“And?” Abby pushed.

With a groan, Dominic conceded, “And I might not want her to hang around with people who have been in the news for as many questionable reasons as we have been.” He closed his eyes for a pained second. “Don’t ask me to be nice to him. I’m only human.”

Abby smiled up at her husband. “Do you know what I think?”

Looking down at his wife’s beautiful, concerned face, Dominic said, “No, but I’m sure you’ll tell me.”

“
You know that Jeremy looks up to you.”

Dominic
waved one hand in the air in frustrated emphasis. “He’s just so . . . naive. He doesn’t understand how the world works.”

Tears of emotion filled Abby’s eyes and she said huskily, “And you want to protect him. Oh, Dominic, you went through hell and it shaped how you see families.
But this isn’t the same, and Jeremy needs to work this out on his own. He’ll be fine. He knows how to love through adversity. Romario is not like your father. It’s too easy to judge him by what we see today, but he’s trying to protect her. Today must be difficult for him. There is nothing worse than watching your child do the exact opposite of what you consider safe for them. It unhinges even the nicest person.”

Dominic ran his hand lovingly over the nape of his wife’s neck. “Is there anyone you hate?”

Her lips thinned. “Yes. The man who stole your childhood from you.”

Dominic kissed Abby’s forehead. For the millionth time since he’d met her, he wondered how he’d earned this second chance.
Given the time, she might have redeemed even his father.

“Have I told you how much I love you?” He loved the way her eyes filled with tears again, but this time with happy emotion.

“Not since this morning,” she said cheekily. As dessert was served, Abby said, “Jeremy does need you, but not as his defender. Your opinion matters to him. Show him that you respect his kind of strength, too.”

Dominic looked across the table to where Jeremy was once again attempting to engage Jeisa’s father in polite conversation and had to admit that Abby was right. Any other man would have gotten into a shouting match with Romario, but
instead Jeremy had a stoically determined look on his face.

That kid doesn’t give up.

After dinner, the guests spilled out onto the patio and lawn. The sun, on this warmer-than-usual November day, was valiantly delivering its last hour of light, and some of the younger Andrades had shed their jackets and were tossing a football around in what looked like a lethargic attempt at the sport.

Although Jeisa had spoken to people throughout
dinner, she couldn’t remember a single conversation. All she could think about was what would happen when she and Jeremy were finally alone.

What if he doesn’t ask me?

Of course he’s going to. Why would he tell his mother if he wasn’t serious?

Maybe my father scared him off.

She scanned the room for Jeremy and found him engaged in a conversation with Jake Walton and his parents.
He can handle my father.

Maddy and Lil approached
, and every muscle in Jeisa’s stomach clenched in anticipation.

Lil’s smile was infectious. “Are you ready?”

Maddy said, “We’d better hurry. We lit so many candles we may set off a fire alarm.”

Jeisa was half
-led, half-dragged to the kitchen by the two excited women. She caught her breath at the beauty of what they had done. Each table was covered with a white tablecloth and candles of all sizes scattered in every direction. In the fading light of the day, the large kitchen could have passed for a romantic restaurant. Jeisa hugged the two women who had scrambled to transform the space. “It’s perfect,” she said.

Maddy
assessed their work with a critical eye. “It’s not subtle, but he was going to ask you anyway—you’re just giving him the perfect place to do it.”

Lil confided
, “Jake told me Jeremy bought three rings because he wanted to make sure you had one you loved.” She sighed dreamily. “That’s so romantic.”

Or indecisive
,
Jeisa thought, then hated herself for thinking that.

Jeremy made his decision and it’s me.

Maddy grabbed Lil by the hand. “We can’t stay. I already told Richard to get Jeremy as soon as he saw us leave. He should be here any second.”

They each hugged Jeisa one last time.

“Good luck,” Maddy said.

“She won’t need luck,” Lil
declared. “He loves her. We’ll be toasting your engagement before dark.”

Jeisa waved to them as they left her.
She stood in the middle of the floor, her breath growing shorter as her excitement and nervousness grew.

And she waited.

Jeremy regretted mentioning his Tenin project in front of Jake. Although Jake’s parents hadn’t seemed
fazed by his slip, Jake brought up the subject again as soon as they left the conversation.

“You’re working a deal with
Alvo? His time in power is coming to a fast end.”

Jeremy
dismissed his concern with a shrug. “Then I’ll help the other side.”

“You sound exactly like Dominic used to.”

Jeremy puffed with pride. “Thank you.”

Shaking his head in
disgust, Jake said, “That wasn’t a compliment.”

Jeremy
hid his confusion behind an accusation. “Who are you to judge my ethics?”

Calmly raising a placating hand, Jake said,
“I’m not judging you. I’m cautioning you that you’re going down a dark road.”

A dark road you paved yourself.
“It wasn’t so bad when you and Dominic made your fortune doing something very similar.”

Before Jake
could answer, Dominic stepped into the conversation and said, “Jake, give me a minute with Jeremy.”

After Jake was out of earshot, Jeremy said, “That guy is
—”

Dominic
cut him off. “Always disgustingly right when it comes to things like this.” He put a hand on Jeremy’s shoulder and cautioned, “Before you follow too closely in my footsteps, Jeremy, you need to know that even I don’t want to be me.”

In shock,
Jeremy asked, “What is that supposed to mean?”

“I made my money by siding with whoever had the bigger wallet. I didn’t care who got hurt as long as I won. But even when I thought that was how the world worked, I paid a price for that lifestyle. When money becomes an obsession, there is an emptiness that seeps into you like a poison.
Nothing can fill it. Nothing I built or bought brought me happiness because I hated myself. I still do sometimes, even though Abby brings me comfort.” There was such pain in Dominic’s eyes that Jeremy didn’t question his sincerity.

Not sure what to do with his idol’s confession, Jeremy asked,
“Why are you telling me this, Dom?”

“I can’t undo what I’ve done, but you don’t have to repeat my mistakes. Helping a dictator suppress his people will change you, but not in the way you seek. You are brilliant, Jeremy. Don’t sell your soul to make your fortune.”

Jeremy put his hands in the pockets of his trousers and rocked back on his heels.
It’s too late.
“I can’t back out of the deal now.”

“If you don’t, Jeremy, it will destroy everything you love.”

The sadness in Dominic’s eyes was testament to the truth in his words. It was also a sign that Jeremy was no longer an outsider. What do you say when your idol bares his scars as a warning to you?
Nothing.

One of the house staff interrupted and said, “Excuse me, Mr. Kater?”

“Yes,” Jeremy said.

“There is someone in the foyer who would like to speak with you.”

Jeremy followed the uniformed man toward the main entrance. Richard met him halfway across the room and said, “Jeremy, can you come to the kitchen for a minute?”

Jeremy spoke while he kept walking. “I can’t right now, Richard.” He didn’t wait to hear the Frenchman’s answer.
Whatever he needed, it could wait. Right now he had a pretty good idea who was waiting to speak with him, and the faster he addressed her concern and got her to leave the better.

Alethea was pacing the enormous marble foyer impatiently. The click of her black suede Rupert Sanderson pumps echoed through the empty space. She needed Jeremy to come with her so she’d worn a revealing cherry-red Versace gown to further entice him. She rushed forward when she saw Jeremy and said, “They wouldn’t let me in. Can you believe that? The one time I decide to announce myself and I’m not welcome.”

“What are you doing here, Alethea?”
He didn’t sound happy to see her, nor did he exhibit any signs of being impressed by her attire. His lack of attention irritated her, but it also wasn’t worth wasting time on, considering the direness of the situation she and Jeremy had gotten themselves into.

“I’ve been calling you, but you’re not answering my calls or texts. I tried to reach you through the office and the receptionist said you were away. Did you get any of my messages?”

“I told you I’d call you back next week.” The same confidence that had impressed her the first time was now nothing more than an annoying speed bump.

Sorry to disturb your party with reality
. “This can’t wait until next week.”

“
It will have to. For once, you’ll have to be patient.”

Had she not heard his cold, dismissive tone with her own ears she
wouldn’t have believed him capable of it. Any other time, she would have gladly taken up the challenge, but her reason for crashing the Andrade celebration was serious. “This isn’t about me. It’s about our project in Tenin. We have people planted in the compound. Remember the ones you set up the communication network for?”

“Of course I remember.”

“Well, someone has blocked me out of it. I can’t contact our people.”

Finally she had Jeremy’s attention,
even if he was giving it to her reluctantly. “I can look into it as early as tomorrow morning.”

“We don’t have the luxury of time, Jeremy. I have it
from a good source that the next strike against Alvo is going to be a military one that wipes him out—and it’s going to happen tomorrow. We have to get our people out of there and pull out of the deal. This is bigger than what I thought it was. We’re in the middle of a war over there. We’ve got to warn Alvo, but first we’ve got to get our people out. Do you have your laptop with you? Can you work your magic from here?”

Jeremy rubbed his forehead in frustration. “I didn’t bring it.”

Alethea’s jaw dropped. “You never go anywhere without it.”

Jeremy said, “
Today was different.” He looked up at the ceiling as if he could see through it to what was upstairs. “The Andrades won’t have a computer here with the ability to do what I need. If we’re locked out, I might need to piggyback on a government server. I’m going to need either my stuff or . . . I could use what’s at the New York Corisi building. I have access.”