Romance: The Billionaire's Desire

Romance: The Billionaire’s Desire

Kelli Sloan

Romance: The Billionaire’s Desire

Kelli Sloan

Copyright © 2014

Published by Run Free Publishing

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.

This is a work of fiction.  Any resemblance to any person, living or dead, is purely coincidental. 

Also by Kelli Sloan:

Romance: Housekeeper for the Billionaire

Romance: The Billionaire’s Secrets

Romance: The Billionaire’s Lust

This story is dedicated to all the magnificent people in my life.

Chapter 1

Arresting the Billionaire

“You can’t go in there.”

“You see this badge,” I flash my New York City Detective badge in front of the assistant, “This means I can go in anywhere.  It’s my free pass to any door I want opened.”

The young, blonde secretary stares at me and does not respond. 

“Thanks,” I smile as I push open the heavy boardroom door.

The boardroom is an impressive luxurious space that overlooks the city skyline with floor to ceiling windows.  It sits on the seventieth floor in one of New York’s most impressive structures.

“May I help you?”

The man at the end of the boardroom stares at my partner and I, surprised by our intrusion.

“My name is Detective Sarah Morrison of the New York City Police Department and…”

“That’s great,” the man cuts me off as he looks back down to a document in front of him, “But Detective, this is an important business meeting that should not be disturbed.  If you will please excuse yourself from this room.”

I am shocked at his arrogance.

“You must be Nathan David Templeton.”

His reputation precedes him.  Every woman in this city knows who Nathan David Templeton is.  He is splashed on the social pages of every magazine in the country, month after month.  Handsome, impeccable, charming and charismatic, Nathan is the city’s most eligible bachelor. 

Nathan looks up from his document and stares straight at me with a piercing glare, “I am Nathan Templeton, yes.”

He is even more handsome in real life than on the pages of the magazines I read.

“Then you are under arrest, Mr. Templeton.”

“What?” he stands up from behind the boardroom table and a collective gasp comes from the other people in the room. 

Detective David Pageant, my police partner, is quickly up to Nathan and grabs him to begin reading his rights. 

“I have no idea what this is about,” Nathan looks to me with eyes full of confusion.

I am usually a good judge of character and I would say that Nathan clearly does not know what we are talking about.  Although he does not resist the handcuffs, Nathan continues to protest his innocence, “I really have no idea what this is for.”

“We can talk about it in more detail at the station.”

“I’m not going to the station,” he states with a defiant shake of his head, “I have a business to run.”

“We wouldn’t want you to resist arrest, Mr. Templeton,” I state firmly.

“Are you going to spank me if I do?”

I hear those sort of sexist remarks all the time in my line of work.  Although it is not acceptable, I am not fazed by it.

“Let’s talk about it somewhere more private,” David states to Nathan decisively as he pushes him out of the boardroom.

The eyes of everyone in the room follow us as we march out the door.  Being a good detective is as much about the performance as anything else.  If you want to climb the ladder, you have to be seen to be making the important arrests.  So when the name of one of New York’s richest men landed on my desk, I jumped at the chance to make this arrest.

“Explain to me what is going on,” Nathan demands once we are alone in the elevator.

I look up to Nathan’s broad frame as he stands a head taller than both David and I, “You are being arrested for the theft of an expensive ‘Vin Gang’ painting that was on the premise of a Fifth Avenue address earlier this month.”

“I still have no idea what you are talking about.”

“We have found your DNA at the scene of the robbery and we also have a witness who saw you at the time of the event.”

He groans, “This must be a set-up.”

“You are our only suspect,” David cuts him off.

“This must be a set-up because I have no idea what you are talking about.”

“Set-up or not, you’re being arrested,” David is firm with Nathan.

“What happens now?”

“We will take you down to the station and process you.  After that, you may be released on bail, depending on your circumstances,” I reply as the elevator doors open to the foyer.

I love this city.

In the ten minutes that it took us to arrest Nathan, word has gotten around quick enough for a mass of journalists to be gathered outside. 

Word travels fast in the time of social media.

“Keep your head down and try not to say anything stupid,” I say to him as we walk out into the frenzy.

“Mr. Templeton!  Mr. Templeton!” the journalists wrestle each other for the next question.

I open the police car door and David gently guides Nathan into the back seat. 

This story should make the front page tomorrow.

Chapter 2

The Charges

Nathan is obliging as we escort him to the station, but we leave him sitting in the interview room for an hour while we discuss our next steps with the Captain.

“This arrest better be sound,” the Captain booms to us. 

“You signed off on it,” I bite back.

“I’m saying you’d better have done this by the book, Sarah.”

Captain Sean Patterson and I have a varied history.  I try hard to do this job well and the Captain tries hard to make sure I do it by the book.

“In the interview, you both better…” 

“I’m going in alone,” I interrupt his orders.

“You’re going to interview him alone?” David questions me.

“I think he’ll open up more if it is only a woman questioning him.”

“I don’t think…” David disagrees.

“I agree,” the Captain stamps his authority, “But take me through what we have on him first.”

“We’ve got his DNA at the scene of the crime and a witness who places him there.”

“And this is the first time we’ve talked to Nathan about this?” the Captain questions.

“You know how these guys work, Captain,” David answers, “If we give them a sniff of an arrest they’ll jump out of the country.  We had to do it this way.”

The Captain nods, “Tell me, what’s his motive?”

“He wants that painting,” I reply, “He has a collection of Vin Gang paintings in his mansion, and the owner of the stolen painting wouldn’t sell it.  This is a man with a history of bending the rules to get what he wants.  He’s very sneaky.”

“He’s tried to buy the painting before?”

“He has.  He offered the woman twice as much as it was worth but she said no.  She said that he has made six offers in the past two years for that painting.  But it was her prized possession, so she wouldn’t budge on it.”

“And have we found the painting yet?”

“We’re working on that, Captain.  We’re searching his properties now.”

“He wouldn’t be stupid enough to keep the painting at one of his properties.  I can’t imagine that we’ll find the painting anytime soon,” the Captain replies.

“You never know,” David adds, “Some of these rich guys are so arrogant, they think they can get away with anything.  And this guy seems like one of those.  He even asked us to leave his boardroom when we showed up.”

“I’ve read about him,” I add, “He has a reputation for being very rude.” 

“Who’s the lawyer?” the Captain continues his questions.

“That’s Derek K. Turner,” David responds, referring to the other man in the interview room.

“Derek K. Turner - the famous criminal lawyer?” 

“This guy only employs the best.”

“I thought Derek K. Turner worked out of Washington?  How did he get here so fast?”

“He was in town on another meeting.” 

“That lawyer would be worth thousands of dollars an hour.  How long have they been waiting in there?”

“An hour,” I smile.

“Good.  They won’t be happy with that but they’ll accept it.  When you go in there, let them complain about it, and apologize for the wait.  And be careful with that lawyer, he’ll be tricky.  Don’t play any of his games.”

“Shouldn’t be too hard to work past him,” I smile as I approach the door.

“Try and get a confession Sarah.  Wrap this up quickly.  I imagine that even if he admits to the crime now, he’ll be out that door in the next hour.  Lawyers like Derek K. Turner have connections and they get their clients out the door quickly.  So try and get a confession.” 

“Yes Captain,” I reply with a cheeky tone.

“We don’t want a repeat of the last time he got off the charges.  If you start to lose your grip, we’ll come in.”

Nathan Templeton has been charged with numerous criminal offences before but he has avoided any convictions due to legal technicalities.  That is one of the frustrating things about being a cop – even if you know someone is guilty, it has to stand up in a courtroom before anything happens.

“Wait,” the Captain stops me, “Just do it by the book, ok?  No more of your fancy tricks.”

“No tricks?”

“No tricks.  Do it by the book.”

“I don’t think I’ve read that book, Captain.  You’ll have to tell me what happens in it,” I wink at him.

“Get a confession Sarah.  Wrap it up.”

I smile back to the Captain, “Whatever you want boss.”

Chapter 3

Interviewing a Billionaire

“Hello Nathan.  Hello Derek,” I greet both men politely as I enter the interview room.

Derek K. Turner stands as I enter and greets me with a charming smile and a nice handshake, “Pleasure to meet you, Detective…?”

“Detective Sarah Morrison,” I return his smile.

Nathan does not greet me. 

Instead he sits with his shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows, his arms folded and an angry look on his handsome face.

“Do you know how much I am worth?” he states arrogantly.

“I’m sorry Nathan, I don’t know that information.”

“I’m worth more than two billion dollars.  I make more than a million dollars a day.  That’s around fifty thousand dollars an hour.  And I’ve just spent the last hour sitting here doing nothing.” 

“That’s unfortunate,” I respond.

“You owe me fifty thousand dollars.”

“I owe you nothing,” I snap back at him.

He is surprised by my abruptness. 

“Impressive,” he smiles.

“What’s impressive?” I ask.

“You’re sexy enough to be seductive but sassy enough to kick butt when needed,” he nods.

As hard as I try to resist being impressed by that comment, I can’t. 

Nathan is the sexiest man I have laid eyes on, and I can’t resist that charm.  His eyes are so dashing and his looks are seductive.  He is tall, strong and very confident.

I am silent while I try to gather my thoughts.

“Please excuse my client, Detective.  He is angry about the circumstances of his arrest.  He was in the middle of a very important business meeting when he was interrupted.” 

“The law does not run to your business schedule Nathan,” I blunt with him but he grins back.

Damn.

That is a beautiful grin.

“Can you please explain the charges against Nathan?” Derek’s question brings me back to reality.

“Yes…um…” I become flustered under his gaze as I flick through the documents, “Right…”

“Take your time,” Derek states.

“Nathan is charged with the theft of a Vin Gang painting from an address on Fifth Avenue on the night of April fifth,” I regain my composure. 

“And what is the basis of these charges?” Derek asks while Nathan stares at me. 

It is very disconcerting.

“We have a witness who places Nathan at the scene of the theft and Nathan’s DNA was also found at the scene.  The resident of the address advised that Nathan had never entered her apartment previously.”

“And how did you match Nathan’s DNA?”

Derek has read the file in front of him and knows the answer but he asks the question anyway.

“This is not a courtroom, Derek.  We don’t play games here.”

He nods, “My apology, Detective.”

The best lawyers try two different tactics when dealing with the police.  They either go in ‘hard’ and argue every point, or they go in ‘soft’, and try to charm every officer.  I much prefer when they go in hard.

“We matched Nathan’s DNA to the file from when he was arrested last year for fraud.”

“And found ‘not guilty’, I might add,” Derek smiles.

I nod.

Nathan was charged with fraud last year, but got off in the courtroom due to a legal technicality.  The police department was made to look like a bunch of idiots when the whole city was watching.  That made a lot of people here very unhappy.

“And may I ask where you were on the night of April fifth?”

“You may ask that,” Nathan smiles back at me.

I don’t play his games and instead I raise my eyebrows.

“Ok,” Nathan nods and leans his broad frame forward on the table, “I was at home.”

“Alone?”

“Yes, I was alone.”

“All night?”

He nods.

“And can anyone verify your whereabouts on that night?”

He shakes his head, “No.  I was home alone.”

“Do you have security footage for that night, showing the time you arrived or left your house the next morning?”

“You already know the answer to that question, Detective,” Derek interrupts, referring to the information we received earlier in our investigation.

“You’re right.  We do know the answer to that question.  The security footage for that night is missing.  Do you find it strange that the night in question is the only night where security footage is missing?”

“I do find it strange, Detective.  I find it very strange, but I have no control of the security footage.”

“I think you do,” I reply, “And I think that you disposed of the footage from that night to cover your tracks.”

Nathan shrugs his shoulders, “Maybe I did.”

“Maybe?  Or you did?”

“Disposing of my own security footage is not a crime, Detective.”

“Stealing a painting is.”

“I haven’t said that I disposed of the footage, Detective.”

“Do you like art, Nathan?” I question him.

“I do.  I appreciate beauty.”

“Are you a fan of the artist Vin Gang’s work?”

“I am.  I am a big fan of his work.  I love the sensuality that he brings to his artworks.  He depicts the female form in the way it should be admired.”

Nathan is clearly undressing me with his eyes.

“And do you know of the painting that has been stolen?  It is titled ‘Lady by the Lake’.”

“I do know the picture.  It is only a small painting but it shows a woman standing naked by an English lake.  The woman is strong but sensual and there is an element of seduction in her beauty.  She is much like you Detective.”

My heart skips a beat.

Damn.

I know he’s playing me but I can’t help to be drawn in by his charm.  I look to him and Nathan’s eyes catch mine.  In that moment, time seems to stop.  His eyes are so deep.

He is too amazing to resist.

I gather the strength to look away from him and gather my thoughts.

“Do you own any other Vin Gang paintings?”

“I own five.”

“And how much do you think the stolen painting was worth?”

“I’m not sure.”

“It was valued at just over two million dollars.”

He nods as if it is not a lot of money.

“Did you steal the painting?” I ask.

He shakes his head, “I did not.”

“Did you want to steal the painting?”

He looks away and does not answer the question.

“Have you ever met the victim before?” I pass across a photo of the victim to Nathan.

“Maybe.  I meet a lot of people.”

“Can you explain how your DNA was found at her apartment on Fifth Avenue, the scene of the crime?”

“No, I can not.”

“Please try,” I look at Nathan seductively.

“It must have been planted there.  It must be a set-up.”

“And who would want to set you up?”

“Let’s not play anymore games,” Derek interrupts us, “You have charged my client with theft.  Please tell me when the bail hearing is.”

“I’m not sure we have finished the interview yet, Mr. Turner.”

“What else would you like to know, Detective?” Nathan asks.

“I would like to know who would set you up.”

Nathan leans forward on the table with a smirk stretched across his attractive face,

“There are lots of people that would want to set me up.  I can be very bad, Detective.”

“How bad?”

“Maybe you would like to find out?” he smirks.

Hmm….

I do like them bad.

“I guess we’ll have to wait and see how bad you can be,” I comment. 

“Excuse me,” Derek interrupts us again, “Can we please have the information for Mr. Templeton’s bail?”

I nod and indicate to the camera for my partner to come in to continue with the formal part of the interview.

This is going to be one very interesting case…