Rise of the Billionaire (22 page)

“Then let’s do it.”

“I have to tell Jeisa that I’m leaving.”

“Your image consultant? Does she have you on a short leash?”

At least one part of Jeremy hadn’t changed. He didn’t hedge the truth. He said, “I love her, Alethea. Today I was going to propose to her.”

Shit, we don’t have time for this.
In an instant she had an angle she could use. “Isn’t she the daughter of a diplomat?”

Jer
emy said, “Yes.”

Alethea
drove her point home. “Does she know that you’re making your money by propping up a dictator?” When his face reddened, she said, “I’d say as little to her as possible about this while we try to get ourselves the hell out of this situation. You think her father is going to let his daughter marry you if Tenin becomes a massacre that has your name linked to it? It’ll be all over the news—an American hacker involved in a foreign civil war. The press will crucify you and anyone associated with you.”

As convincing as Alethea was, Jeremy knew what he had to do. He’d think of something, hopefully before he saw Jeisa,
which would smooth the situation over. “I can’t leave without saying something to her.”

“Fine. Two minutes. Tell her whatever you need to, but don’t tell her enough to jeopardize our people. This is bad, Jeremy. This is really bad. Do you have a car here?”

“I have a helicopter.”
Full of fucking roses,
he thought with disgust.

“Great. We’ll take that. Tell your girlfriend we’ll be back before the party is over.”

Jeremy nodded and walked away, his pace increasing as he searched the solarium for Jeisa. When he saw Lil, he asked her, “Have you seen Jeisa?”

Looking a bit confused, Lil
glanced at the woman beside her as she answered, “Maddy and I left her in the kitchen about fifteen minutes ago.”

Maddy scanned the room and asked,
“Didn’t Richard ask you to go to the kitchen?”

Frustration mounting, Jeremy
grated, “I think so. I don’t know. I couldn’t go. Alethea is here and she needs me to do something. But I can’t leave until I see Jeisa.”

Lil’s eyes widened. “Alethea is here?”

“Who’s here?” Abby asked as she joined the group.

Lil groaned
. “Alethea.”

“Lil, tell me you didn’t invite her
. . .”

Jeremy
cut in, “I’m going to the kitchen. Maybe Jeisa’s still there.”

With a wild wave of one hand, Maddy asked,
“To tell her that you’re leaving with Alethea? I don’t think that’s a good idea. She probably isn’t there anymore. Right, Lil? Why don’t you check the kitchen and I’ll take Jeremy on the patio to see if she’s out there.”

“I’m on it
,” Lil said.

As Jeremy followed Maddy onto the patio, his mind was racing. He wanted to tell Jeisa everything. Hell, normally he would
have taken her with him and even asked her for her opinion on how to resolve the situation. But Alethea was right. If there was a massacre in Tenin tomorrow, there would be an investigation, and his affiliation with Alvo would be in all the papers. For the first time since he’d charged forward into this endeavor, he had to face the fact that he may have gotten himself into a much more dangerous situation than he could handle.

A month ago, when he’d felt like he had nothing to lose, he was numb to the sting of fear. But now that he’d begun to imagine a life with Jeisa, one that included not only his family but hers
. . . he could see the far-reaching consequences this could have. He might become a liability to Romario’s political career, and the fallout of that would be he would lose Jeisa—even if she found a way to forgive him.

Unless I fix this.

Somehow.

Ten minutes dragged into fifteen. Some of the glow of anticipation faded from Jeisa’s cheeks. How long do you wait for the man you love to come to you? How long do you stand there, torn between being the happiest you’ve ever been and giving in to the growing fear that you’re making a fool of yourself?

He’s not coming.

He changed his mind and can’t face me to tell me.

No, if he doesn’t love me, why would he tell my father that he does?

Just two more minutes.

Give him two more minutes.

But still, he didn’t come.

How much of my life a
m I going to spend waiting for happiness to come to me? What had Marie said—you discover who you really are when you’re willing to fight for what you want? I am going to go out there to find Jeremy and tell him that I am sorry.

I’m not going to hide anymore.

Jeisa took a deep breath and stepped out of the kitchen and into the hallway. Her step faltered when out of the corner of her eye she saw something that sent a cold chill down her back.

Although she’d never met her, there was no mistaking the impatient
redhead pacing in the foyer of the Andrade home. Her desire to find Jeremy was forgotten as her feet carried her toward one of her greatest fears.

Alethea stopped and shook her head as Jeisa approached
, looking at her as if she were an inconvenience.

Unable to help herself,
Jeisa asked, “What are you doing here?”

“You must be Jeremy’s little image consultant
,” Alethea said sarcastically.

The disappointment of waiting for a man who never came swirled and meshed with suspicion. “And you must be the woman who only comes to see him when she needs something.”

Alethea rolled her eyes. “Don’t go getting your panties in a wad. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t important. I’ll have Jeremy back in a couple of hours.”

Oh, no, you d
on’t.
You don’t get to come here and ruin everything. He loves me, and all of the arrogance in the world isn’t going to change that.
Jeisa said the words she desperately wanted to believe. “He’s not going to leave with you.”

Alethea sighed impatiently. “I’ll let him explain it to you.”

Jeisa stepped closer, real panic making her heart race. “Why did you come here? Can’t you let him be happy? Or are you afraid you’ll lose your meal ticket? Everyone knows you built an entire career on his hacking skills, but he doesn’t want you. He wants me. So whatever you ask him to do, he’s not going to choose you.”

Red spread over Alethea’s face
, and her claws came out as she snapped back, “The only reason you’ve had him at all is because I didn’t want him until now. But I might just take him from you to prove that I can.”

“That’s enough,” Abby’s
authoritative voice rang out across the foyer. The click of her heels echoed in the heavy silence that had enveloped the room. “Alethea, you need to leave.”

When Alethea
realized her comment had been witnessed by a growing crowd, she deflated a bit. “I don’t know why I said that.”

Abby stepped between Jeisa and Alethea
. “You said it because you don’t care who you hurt as long as you win. But this time you didn’t check to see if you were alone.”

Alethea looked around and sought the support of her best friend. “Lil, you know I didn’t mean it. You heard what she said to me. I just lost my temper.”

Near tears, Lil joined her sister and stood beside Jeisa in support. “You should go, Al. We’ll talk later.”

Jeremy came rushing into the foyer. “Jeisa, there you are!”
He reached for her, but she stepped back.

Time froze and for a moment everyone else disappeared
, leaving only Jeremy and a question that could not be denied. “Is it true, Jeremy? Are you leaving with her?”

Despite the audience of people, he kept his focus on her as he said, “Yes, but only for a couple of hours. I’ll be right back.”

Jeisa’s stomach flipped painfully. “That’s all I need to know.” For a moment she thought she might pass out, and the voices around her grew faint and distant. Her greatest nightmare had become a reality—and a humiliatingly public one at that. “Go. Don’t let me stop you.”

He grabbed her hand
. “Jeisa, if I could explain this to you I would. I swear I would.”

She ripped her hand out of his and was
instantly enveloped into the protective arms of her father, who said, “You little bastard. Get out before I wring your neck with my bare hands.”

Stepping into the mix, Marie said,
“Romario, there has to be a reason.”

Above his daughter’s head, Romario growled, “Do you have children?” Marie shook her head slowly, sadly
, and took a step back. “If you did, you would understand why I don’t care what his reasons are. I’m getting my daughter out of here and away from this toxic place.”

Still in shock, Jeisa numbly let herself be led away by her father.

Dominic cursed and said, “I’m going to kill him.”

Jake asked, “Which one?” Dominic glared at the departing Romario and Jake said, “I’m with you on that one.”

In a few long strides, Dominic crossed the room to Marie’s side and pulled her into his arms. For once the woman
, who usually fussed when being touched, welcomed the embrace, knowing it meant Dominic loved her.

Abby stepped aggressively toward Alethea. “Are you finished here, or is there anyone else you’d like to upset before you go?”

A cold determination fell over Alethea’s face. “Come on, Jeremy.”

Therese
clung to her son’s forearm. “Don’t go with her, Jeremy.”

Jeremy looked around the room helplessly,
gently removed his mother’s hand, and straightened his shoulders. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

As they walked away, Jake hurried after them
and said, “I sure hope whatever you’re doing is worth it, Jeremy. Do you need help?”

Jeremy looked to Alethea
, who vehemently shook her head. “No, this is something I have to do alone.”

With that, Jeremy stepped outside with Alethea and motioned to the helicopter pilot to start up the engine. He gave him instructions to head to Corisi
headquarters and helped Alethea into the main compartment. Once they were both settled into the flower-ridden seats and had left the ground, Alethea said, “You couldn’t tell them, Jeremy.”

“I don’t want to talk about it
.” Jeremy turned away from her to watch the Andrade mansion quickly disappear behind them. Would Jeisa wait for him? For the first time since they’d met, he wasn’t sure.

“We’ll fix this.
” Alethea said. “You’ll get a message to our people. We’ll warn Alvo so he can live one more day, and then we’ll pull out of this deal. No one needs to know what we’ve done if we cover our tracks well enough. Jeisa’s angry with you now, but she’ll forgive you.”

“I hope you’re right,” Jeremy said tiredly
, staring out the helicopter window.

During the silent ride into the city, Alethea had a lot of time to regret her impulsive words. Jeisa had been right in part. When Jeremy had announced his love for another woman, it had shaken her. Not because she loved Jeremy, but because she’d always assumed that he’d be there for her.

Selfishly.
It hurt to admit that to herself.

Abby’s harsh words hadn’t hurt as much as the look in her best friend’s eyes
had.
Lil should have defended me. Who stood by her when she found out she was pregnant? Who risked everything to make sure Abby was safe when Dominic’s motives had been questionable?

I did that.

But sitting across from Jeremy, amid the evidence of his love for another woman, knowing that she might have ruined his chance with her, Alethea was struck by a real sense of shame that she had never felt before.

I used this man.

I took advantage of the feelings he once had for me.

I risked his life
more than once without giving it a second thought.

What kind of person am I?

I could have reassured Jeisa. She could have come along.

But I didn’t care about how this hurt him or her.

I wanted what I wanted.

Maybe I’m exactly the person Abby has always said I am.

Her voice husky with emotion, Alethea said, “I am so sorry, Jeremy.”
Sorry for more than I could even begin to apologize for.

He didn’t acknowledge her words
, and she didn’t repeat them. She just let them hang in the thick, rose-scented air of a ride that would forever change how she saw herself.

Alone with her father in the library, Jeisa struggled to find her emotional footing within an embrace so tight she could barely breath. No matter how many times she ran the foyer scene over in her head, it felt surreal. Why would Jeremy go to so much trouble to convince her that he wanted her only to pick Alethea?

“Get your purse,
Jeisa. We’re leaving. I’ll get a car to take us straight to the airport. We’re going home.”