Rise of the Billionaire (9 page)

She shook her head
. “I am not going to sleep with you to help you figure this out.”

With a confident smile that was a blend of the man he’d always been and the man he was becoming, Jeremy winked at her
. She caught her breath. “Who said anything about sleeping?”

Jeremy’s phone rang again, but this time when he checked it he looked relieved. “That’s the gym reminding me that I have a session with Ray this morning. I’m in a lot less pain the next day if I don’t make him wait.” With one final quick kiss, he said, “I’ll see you
Monday.”

He was already inside the elevator and out of
earshot by the time Jeisa mustered a response. “I didn’t say yes.”

Oh, who am I kidding?

What kind of woman agrees to give a man a week to choose between her and someone he spent the last decade lusting over?

Only a woman in love would be that stupid.

Marie, what if you’re wrong?

Jeisa closed the door of her apartment and leaned against it.

Or what if while fighting for what you want, you discover that you don’t like who you are? I’ve spent too much time avoiding confrontation and wondering why I never get what I want. I run. I hide. I make excuses for my weakness.

But I can change.

When has anything wonderful come to those unwilling to risk something for it?

The road back to respecting myself starts he
re. I’m going to give Jeremy that week he asked for because if I don’t I will always wonder what might have been. This isn’t something I’m giving him, it’s something I’m giving myself.

And if he breaks my heart?

I’ll survive, because that is what strong women do. They pick themselves back up and move on.

An image of Marie flit
ted through Jeisa’s mind like a gentle reminder of something else she needed to address.

I should call my father and tell him everything.

Jeisa picked up the phone and just as quickly replaced it. He was not going to be happy.

I’ll tell him after Thanksgiving.

Later that morning, after an hour-long boxing lesson with Ray and an extended run, Jeremy headed into Corisi headquarters in Boston. His custom-fit navy-blue Caffrey suit was comfortable yet bold. He wished he could say the same for his mental state. Neither the extra miles he’d added to his morning run nor the long, hot shower he had indulged in afterward had slowed his racing thoughts.
Jeisa.
Alethea.
And a kiss that rocked everything he thought he knew. Jeremy sought out the one man he knew could help him and breezed by the secretary who would normally have stopped him.

Dominic Corisi was on the phone when Jeremy entered his office. Jeremy walked up to his desk and plopped into one of the chairs just in front of it.

“I’ll call you back,” Dominic said into the phone and hung up. Jeremy didn’t take offense to the glare the other man gave him. That was Dominic.

Jeremy cut right to the reason he was there
. “I need your help.”

One dark eyebrow
rose in doubt, but Dominic remained silent.

Never having been good at niceties, Jeremy strove to find the right lead
-in to the conversation he wanted to have. “We’re sort of friends, aren’t we, Dominic?”

“No, not really,” Dominic said in a somewhat dry tone.

Jeremy shrugged. “I might deserve that. I do enjoy trying to piss you off.”

Dominic expelled a harsh breath. “Is there a point to this?”

“Is it possible to be in love with someone while you lust after someone else? Or as soon as you realize that you lust after someone else, does that mean you were never in love?”

Not a muscle moved on Dominic’s face
, and his silence continued to the point of awkwardness. Eventually Dominic said, “Get the fuck out of my office.”

Jeremy didn’t budge.
He’d never gotten anything from backing down. “I’m serious. I respect your opinion. What do you think?”

“I think you picked the wrong person to give you the birds
-and-bees speech.”

Shaking his head, Jeremy persisted. “I don’t think so. You’ve been linked to countless women in the press. I assume they were all women you wanted to be with sexually. How did you know that Abby was the right woman for you?”

Jeremy thought that Dominic was going to tell him to leave again—or perhaps even call security—but Dominic’s expression softened at the mention of his wife. “I realized that when I was with her I was a better man.” A small smile stretched his lips and he added, “For example, she’s the reason you’re still alive.”

Jeremy nodded as he mulled Dominic’s answer.

If he based his decision on which woman made him want to be a better man, Jeisa won hands down. She was patient and supportive. She didn’t judge his weaknesses, and therefore he had never hidden them from her. They shared an honesty he couldn’t imagine ever achieving with someone like Alethea.

I want Jeisa, and if I don’t do something fast, I’m going to lose her.

Dominic leaned forward onto one elbow and said, “Now get out.”

Despite the harshness of Dominic’s command, Jeremy stood and smiled. He’d gotten the answer he’d come for. “Thanks, Dom. I know what to do now.”

As he was leaving, he said over his shoulder, “See you Thursday at the Andrades’.”

He heard Dominic swearing as he closed the door and chuckled.

I’m growing on him,
Jeremy thought as he sauntered down the hallway.

A million things to do that day, but first
—and most important—Jeremy had a date to plan.

Where do you take someone when you can
afford to take her anywhere?

A few hours later, Jeremy was sitting in his office in the Corisi building, being far from productive. He listened to voice messages from two senators, a handful of headhunters, and a reporter he had no intention of calling back. He even listened to a message from Alethea. She was heading back to Tenin to double-check something and she wanted to know if he could join her. She suggested they celebrate Thanksgiving abroad while looking into something she didn’t want to discuss on the phone.

There was a time when he would have given anything for such a message from Alethea
. Today, it left him cold. All he could think about was Jeisa and how he wanted to spend the week getting to know her better.

Bold
plans for a man who had no experience in such things.

Why the hell did I say I’d pick her up
on Monday? I should have given myself more time to come up with something amazing.
Still seated at his desk, he was staring out the window of his office when Marie knocked lightly on the door and entered. He stood to greet her.

Marie studied his face. “I’m glad to see you’re sporting fewer bruises these days.”

Jeremy smiled. Marie’s visit felt like sunshine after a storm: welcome, warm, and an uncomplicated joy. “Good to see you, Marie.” He held out a chair for her and sat across from her. “What brings you here?”

“Have you seen Jeisa since you returned?”

He felt his face redden. “Yes.”

“So, you know she’s quitting?”

“I talked her into staying for one more week. She and I will be at the Andrades’ house with you for Thanksgiving.”

“That’s
wonderful! How did you convince her?”

His face warmed even more.

A huge smile lit Marie’s face. “You don’t know how happy this makes me.”

Jeremy cleared his throat and cautioned
, “Marie, don’t make it more than it is. We haven’t even had our first date yet.”

“Well, what are you waiting for?”

He leaned back in his chair and covered his face with one hand. “I told her I’d pick her up on Monday morning and to have an overnight bag ready.”

“You did that?” Marie asked
with happy surprise.

Jeremy grinned, unable to conceal
the pride he felt in his confident order. “I did.” Then he sobered. “Now I have to figure out where to take her. Where did Dominic take Abby on their first date?”

Suddenly serious, Marie leaned over and placed a hand on Jeremy’s. “It doesn’t matter where they went
. This journey is all about you and Jeisa.”

Jeremy shrugged, uncomfortable with her correction. “I don’t want to disappoint her.”

Marie lightly squeezed his hand. “When a man plans something special for a woman he cares about, there’s no room for disappointment. Choose something you know she enjoys doing.”

Feeling a weight settle on his chest, Jeremy admitted, “That’s a problem, then, because we’ve spent most of our time together talking about my goals and what I want. I don’t really know what she likes.”

Marie smiled again. “She likes you. Even I know that. A smart man like you will figure the rest out.”

Jeremy stood, sudden inspiration hitting him. “I
’ve got it.” He returned to his desk and started typing on his laptop. “You’re a genius, Marie. I know how to find out what she likes.”

Marie went to stand behind him. “Jeremy
.” She stretched out his name as a warning.

Jeremy was too excited by what he was uncovering to let her concern slow him down. “She doesn’t even use number
s or symbols in her passwords. That was the easiest code to break. I’ll have to talk to her about that.”

Marie put a hand on his shoulder. “This wasn’t what I meant, Jeremy.”

Jeremy pointed to his screen and said, “Marie, you said that I need to know what she likes. Well, what better way to do that than to check out her recent searches online?” He tapped the screen when a local florist came up. “She has a standing order for a weekly delivery of a bouquet of flowers native to Brazil, but she states that she wants it to be different each week.” He took a moment to digest what it meant. “So, she misses Brazil and likes surprises.” He continued to scroll through the information, his fingers furiously taking him from link to link. He paused on one page and said, “Hey, she searched for information about me while I was gone.” He smiled back at Marie, who simply shook her head at him.

His
lightheartedness fell away as his searches revealed more. He covered the page with his hand when he stumbled upon a personal purchase. Heat filled his face. He said, “I love that she has one, but you shouldn’t see this, Marie.”

Marie stepped away from the computer and cautioned Jeremy
, “Just because it’s easy for you to do, Jeremy, doesn’t make it right.”

Jeremy reassured her. “I won’t read more than I need. I promise. As soon as I find something that makes for a perfect date, I’ll stop.”

Marie leaned over and closed the laptop on his fingers. “Take her to California. There is a university out there that is working on a prototype for a toilet they say will improve the living conditions in third world countries. Jeisa is very interested in that research. Interested enough to consider moving out there to be part of the project.”

Jeremy eased his fingers out of his laptop.
His own mother had never tried to rein him in, perhaps because she’d always felt guilty for how much she’d asked of him. Marie had no such qualms. He had a greater respect for her and her relationship with Dominic now that he’d seen this side of her.

Toilets?

Marie was never wrong, but Jeisa hadn’t given any indication of being interested in them.

Toilets, huh?
He couldn’t suppress his smile.
Is it possible that beneath her sexy façade there beats the heart of a geek?

While
cautiously watching Marie out of the corner of his eye, he slowly reopened his laptop and did a quick search for the project she’d mentioned. After reading the university’s article on the subject, he said, “These prototypes are amazing! And solar powered. That is so cool. The site talks about saving the world and I can see how they could. Just amazing.”

He closed the laptop and looked across at Marie dubiously. “Can I really build a romantic trip around visiting a waste
-disposal facility?”

Marie smiled, her good mood returning. “Normally, I would say no, but it’s a passion of Jeisa’s. You know how they say that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach? The way to a woman’s heart is through appreciating whatever she loves. Let me make a few phone calls. I’ll set everything up. All you have to do is get in the limo I send for you.”

Jeremy crossed the room and hugged Marie. She protested lightly and brushed him away, but she was smiling as she did so.

“I don’t know what I’d do without you, Marie.”

Her smile was kind when she said, “I get that a lot.”

Jeremy stared
absently out the window long after Marie had left his office. His phone rang several times, but he didn’t answer it. His body might still have been in the office, but his heart and mind were already imagining California with Jeisa.