The Billionaire Bum (10 page)

I couldn’t help it. I slid down the counter to the floor with my head in my hands. No. No.

No. I knew he was too good to be true. I knew that no one as amazing as he was could ever be on my level. I made such an ass out of myself. Of course, he didn’t want to sleep on my couch. He probably had a fifty thousand dollar sofa.

I thought I could impress him with a couple of pieces of French toast? I was so stupid.

“‘Lissa?” Lexy was on the floor with me now, holding me as the tears came down my face. “Alissa, honey, what is it? What did he say to you? If he did something to make you sad, I’ll kill him. I don’t care who he is.”

I couldn’t respond. I couldn’t even breathe.

At some point I noticed that my employees had arrived. They were standing awkwardly in my kitchen watching me sob all over Lexy. I couldn’t bring myself to care. I just kept picturing that beautiful crooked grin and hearing his laugh in my head.

What was he doing with me? Did he just show up here two days in a row to humiliate me? Did he think it would be funny to go flirt with some stupid girl who can’t even manage a crate of live crabs? Was he after my restaurant? I hadn’t been open that long, but we’d gotten pretty good reviews. Maybe he wanted to buy me out. Why the hell would he tell me he was a bartender? The whole fucking thing made no sense.

Everything that I thought I knew about him, which admittedly wasn’t much, was a lie. I had spent two fabulous mornings falling for a guy that I could never in a million years have. I hadn’t known until this very moment how deeply I felt for him. You don’t know what you have until it’s gone, I guess. Not, that I ever really had him anyway. I could never have been worthy of him, and if I was honest with myself, I had always known that.

He said I was observant. He must have been cracking up inside on that one. Nothing was further from the truth. I was so clueless. I knew his jeans were expensive. I saw how he carried himself. Why couldn’t I put two and two together?

I felt Lexy tugging me up to a standing position. I couldn’t do it on my own, but she was pretty tough despite her size. She was giving directions to my employees. Part of my brain registered that Tyler was taking charge of the kitchen. Lunch would still be served on time.

Lexy dragged me upstairs to my apartment, trying to spare me any further embarrassment. I don’t know why she even bothered. My mortification was already complete.

Jackson

I settled into the room and looked around. It was by far the ugliest hotel that I had ever set foot in. I had cheated and used my iPhone for a quick visit to Expedia. I rationalized it away, thinking that I could have done the same thing at the library; it just would have taken longer.

The hotels were cheaper in the less desirable parts of town. I couldn’t bring myself to stay at the hotels that rented by the hour, so I settled instead for a Days Inn that looked mostly respectable.

The hotel cost $70 a night, and I had to pay an extra $10 to be able to check in at 10 am, instead of 3 pm. I thought it was worth it for the extra hours of sleep. I was working again tonight, so I thought it would be okay.

Between my late dinner, the hotel, the new subway pass, and the flower for Alissa, I had spent just over $100. I had $48 remaining in my wallet. I needed some clothes, a toothbrush, and a razor pretty badly, but I thought they could wait until after I got some sleep. I was exhausted.

I text messaged the hotel information to Jason, set the hotel alarm clock, and fell asleep on top of the blanket. When I woke, I was disoriented. It was 12:30. Jason would be here soon. I got up and went to use the hotel shower. The soap left my skin feeling dry and itchy, but I did feel cleaner. I didn’t really want to put my dirty clothes back on, but for now I didn’t see much of a choice. As soon as Jason left, I would go out for some supplies.

A knock came to my door a few minutes later. Jason came in carrying a takeout bag. I wasn’t particularly hungry after the huge breakfast that Alissa had fed me, but it smelled good nonetheless. I insisted on paying Jason for my portion of the lunch, and then we settled in to make our phone call.

Jason called and after being put on a hold for a few minutes was finally transferred to Nicholas Carver. I kept quiet as Jason explained to Nick that he’d listened to the tapes and was very upset with me. I could hear the excitement in Nick’s voice as he became more and more convinced that Jason and I were on the outs. Finally, Jason dropped the bomb.

“So the only thing I don’t understand, Mr. Carver, is why you did not accept my brother’s offer,” Jason said. “He offered you more money, and any reasonable man would have accepted it.”

There was a pause on the other end of the line. His answer would determine our next steps. I needed to know what he was after.

“I want to sell my company to Hayes Industries,” he said. “Because I want a seat on your board, Mr. Hayes. I believe that you and I could take this business to a whole new level together if we were not limited by the restrictions posed by your bother. I think you’ll find that the other members of your board agree as well. It is time for a new CEO.” Ah, so he was after my job. Well that made sense. If he managed to split Jason and me up with this ploy, then he could move right in during the disputes and take over a significant chunk of my business. That wasn’t going to happen. I signaled for Jason to end the call, which he did diplomatically, without giving Nick any more information.

A comfortable silence filled the room after the line went dead. “I guess we know what he wants,” said Jason. “I’m sorry I doubted you man. I had no idea he was that power hungry. What do we do now?”

“I guess we call a board meeting and cancel the negotiations. I don’t want to have anything to do with him. Unfortunately, I don’t think the rest of the board will feel the same way, which has me worried. I wonder what he meant when he said our board would agree with him.

Do you think we have a rat inside the company?”

“I dunno man,” Jason said. “I’ve always trusted the guys that we work with, but maybe it’s time to buy some people out and move on. We can’t let this kind of stuff happen. I’ll call Ben today and see if he has any updates for us. What’s your plan?”

“Well,” I said, thinking it over in my mind, “I guess there is no major hurry. The board still thinks I am away in Hawaii, and we should probably keep it that way for now. Let’s see what Ben turns up, and then we’ll make a decision. If we bring this out in the open too early, I’m afraid we won’t be able to sniff out the rats. There could be lasting implications from this that extend beyond the Carver deal.”

Jason agreed with me, so we decided to wait until we had more information before proceeding. I needed to get some supplies, and I wanted to take another nap before my shift at the bar tonight, so I showed Jason out and agreed to meet with him again for lunch the next day.

I collapsed on the bed and let my mind run wild. Nick was trying to take over my business, and I couldn’t even bring myself to care. My mind continued to turn back to only one thing: Alissa Allen. I couldn’t wait to see her again. I felt so relaxed with her; it was like nothing else in the whole world mattered when she was around. I was beginning to worry though, about how she would react when she knew the truth of who I was. I wasn’t going to be able to keep it from her too much longer. She had a right to know. If I wanted her to be in my life, then I needed to know that she could accept me, and that meant being honest about myself. I just hoped that she would understand. I never expected to feel this strongly for her. I never meant to deceive her either. I just wanted her to get to know me without all the hype. That was okay wasn’t it? She was strong. She would understand. I would tell her tomorrow. I would go and buy a change of clothes, take a nap, work my shift at the bar, and then I would meet Alissa first thing in the morning and tell her everything.

God, please don’t let her hate me for this.

Lexy

“Well, it’s about time.” Alissa finally accepted the warm washcloth in my hand and wiped her tear stained face.

She groaned.

“Are you going to explain to me what that massive over-reaction you just had was all about?” I asked.

“Over-reaction? You can’t call it an over-reaction when you have no idea what’s going on.”

“Silly Alissa. Of course I can. Number one, I know you, and I know how you over-react.

Remember that time in high school when you hid in the janitor’s closet for two days because you thought Eric Lerner was going to ask you to that dance?” She shot me a death glare, but she kept her mouth shut. She knew I was right.

“Number two, I spoke to you three days ago, and at that time Jackson Hayes was not in the picture, which means that you met him either today or yesterday. Nothing could have possibly happened in two days to merit that kind of reaction. You’re freaking out over nothing.”

“I am not freaking out over nothing,” she defended. “I am freaking out because I just discovered that everything I know to be true about that beautiful, funny, warm, thoughtful, homeless, superhero is a lie. I wanted it to be true, Lexy. I never wanted anything to be true so badly in my life.”

I rolled my eyes. What a drama queen.

“Listen to me, Alissa. If I hadn’t walked in here and told you who he was, you would be busy gushing over him right now. The only thing that has changed is that you know he has money. I know you well enough to know that the money doesn’t matter to you, which means that it’s fear that is driving this reaction. You’re afraid that you won’t be good enough for him, because you have always felt that way about yourself. So what if he’s rich? Clearly you had a good thing going, and I’m not about to let you screw this up just because you’ve decided that he’s out of your league. Now get your damn ass out of bed and explain to me how in the hell you met Jackson Hayes.”

Alissa

God she’s pushy. She’s probably right though. I am being a bit on the over-dramatic side.

I just… well, I don’t even know. I had no idea that one person could have such a strong effect on me. What is wrong with me?

My head hurt from the crying, and I felt more tired than I should. I asked Lexy to get some coffee, and then I settled in to tell her the whole story. She remained pretty quiet through the whole thing, which surprised me, and then she studied me carefully for a few minutes after I finished.

“That has to be the most bizarre thing I’ve ever heard,” she finally said. “Jackson Hayes in dirty clothes, smelling like a homeless shelter, and looking like he was in a fight. That makes no sense at all.”

“I know, right?” I said. “He’s a total stinking mystery. I was completely convinced that he was a homeless bum until you waltzed in here and told me that he was a billionaire.”

“And he came back to go to the market with you today?” I nodded my head to show that she had it right.

“Well,” she said thoughtfully, “there’s only one logical explanation. When he met you, he was behaving like someone else – only God knows why - and he liked you more than he thought he would. He’s afraid that he’ll lose you if he tells you who he really is, so he’s keeping up the pretense. He wants you to like him, and he’s afraid that you’ll reject him when you find out the truth.”

I looked at her like she had grown a second head. “Lexy, that is the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. First of all, why would he be pretending to be someone else? Secondly, he does not like me, he likes my French toast, and he probably feels sorry for me. And third, he can’t possibly fear rejection. He could have any woman he wants.”

“I’m telling you, Alissa,” she said. “He would not have come back today if he wasn’t interested in you. There are a lot of pieces to this story that don’t make sense yet, but there’s only one way to separate the truth from the lies. You have to make him be honest with you.” I stared at her dumbfounded. My head was spinning. Lexy thought he liked me, but what did she know? I couldn’t just call him out on it.

“So here’s the plan, Alissa. You’re going to go downstairs and finish your lunch service.

After that, you’re going to let me dress you, and then you are going to march right over to Hayes Industries and demand to see him. If he can come to your business, you can go to his. You’re going to walk right into his office and tell him to lay it all out on the table.” She was completely nuts. I couldn’t do that. Could I?

I made my way back down to the kitchen with Lexy on my heels. The lunch prep was well underway thanks to Ty’s leadership, and I was glad to see that someone had chosen a lunch special based on the available ingredients. I was still unsure of what I had purchased this morning.

Jackson had certainly done a good job of messing up my head. I couldn’t devote any more time or energy to this. Lexy was right. I was going to have to face this straight on. As soon as lunch was finished, I was going to find the infuriating man and demand an explanation. I had let him into my life, and now he was going to let me into his. If he didn’t want to see me again, then so be it.

I fell into my usual easy rhythm of cooking and directing. The mood was a little more subdued than was typical for my kitchen, but thankfully none of my employees felt the need to ask about my melt down this morning. The time passed quickly, and before I had a chance to blink, the lunch crowd was on the way out.

Lexy reappeared as I was making my way upstairs to change. She dressed me in a black pencil skirt, button down shirt, and a pair of three-inch heels. It was one of the nicest outfits that I owned. I didn’t usually have a need for more formal clothes, but I was glad that she insisted on this. These clothes made me feel stronger and more mature. I might not be in his league, but I wasn’t about to show up at his corporate office in my fish-gut shoes either.

I can do this. I can do this. I can do this. Fuck, I sound like the little engine that could.

As she was doing my hair, Lexy gave me directions. His office wasn’t that far from here, but I didn’t want to risk getting sweaty on the walk over. I would take a cab.

I took a deep breath and tipped the cabbie. I couldn’t help but look up at the building as I stood on the sidewalk. The entire place screamed intimidation. The building was massive, and looking up at it made me feel about as big as an ant. So much for feeling powerful in this outfit.