The Billionaire Bum (14 page)

“He hasn’t left your side,” he said. They were talking about me, and I realized that I was once again eavesdropping, but I was far too curious to care. “Are you sure that you know what you’re getting into with this one?”

“He’s great, Dad,” Alissa said, “I mean, I haven’t really known him very long, but he’s been very good to me.

My heart sunk. It wasn’t true. I had deceived her, practically stalked her, complicated her life, and inexcusably put her in danger. The truth was, I was very bad for her, and I hated that truth with all of my being. I wanted to be the man she deserved. I wanted to give her the every desire of her heart, but I didn’t deserve her.

“He put you in danger, Alissa,” Chief Allen said. He was absolutely right.

“No, Dad,” she said sternly, “It’s not his fault that Nick wanted his money. It’s not a crime to be successful.”

I couldn’t listen to this. I cleared my throat and stepped into the room making my presence known. Her face lit up with a brilliant smile, and I knew in that moment that I wanted to spend the rest of my life making her smile like that.

“You’re looking better,” I said.

She ran a hand over her hair as if trying to smooth it. She blushed. I loved her blush, but I should have kept my damn mouth shut about her appearance. I hadn’t meant to make her self-conscious.

“I spoke with your doctor a minute ago and he said that you could leave just as soon as he writes your prescription and gives you your discharge instructions.” She looked relieved.

“However,” I continued, “you’re not supposed to be alone for the next day or two.” Her dad was looking at me now. He knew something was up. Apparently he had excellent intuition, which was a useful trait for a cop. I guess you didn’t get to be police chief, even in a small town, without some skills.

“So,” I kept speaking. I had a feeling this would be a tough sell, but it certainly wasn’t the first time I’d made a sales pitch. “I was thinking that it would be best if you came home with me.”

I looked at the chief. If I was going to get away with this I was going to have to appeal to his over-protective nature. “I have excellent security in my home, and until the police have Kayla safely behind bars, I would prefer not to take any chances. There is also the media to consider. I am afraid that this may have caused quite a stir, and I would hate for them to harass you while you are recuperating. I can provide you with privacy and security for a few days while the police do their jobs.”

“No way,” Mark interrupted, “you’re coming home with me, Alissa.” He put his hands on his hips, which incidentally brought his gun into view. I wasn’t convinced that it was an unconscious gesture. He looked like a wild west gunslinger ready to defend his daughter’s honor.

I just wished the gesture wasn’t directed at me. Truthfully, my feelings were probably identical to his; we both wanted the best for Alissa. I just had to prove to him that she was safe with me.

“Knock it off, you two,” Alissa’s gentle voice chimed in, interrupting our staring contest.

“I’m not going home with either of you. I am going back to
my
home. I have a restaurant to run.

It’s probably in shambles, and I have a million other things to do. I will be fine.”

Alissa

The nerve of these guys! Honestly, I was a grown woman, not a four year old. Did no one take my business into consideration? I knew that Tyler would do his best, but I hadn’t left any money for him to do the shopping, and there wouldn’t really be enough supplies to get through the whole day. My employees had probably just put a note on the door and closed up shop.

The idea of going home with Jackson was, of course, appealing, but not under these circumstances. I was not his ward to be guarded, and I was certainly not a charity case who couldn’t manage her own life. He was not going to throw his high-priced security at me and sweep me away to some exclusive hideaway. I had a life to lead.

And my dad! One little trip to the hospital and he’s ready to pull me out of my life and make me go back home. I don’t think so. He was always a little on the over protective side, which never really bothered me before, but this was ridiculous. I was not afraid of Kayla. I just wanted to go home.

“Your business is not in shambles, Alissa,” Jackson said, breaking me out of my internal rant.

“How would you know?” I said. Great, now he’s going to tell me how to run my business. “I didn’t leave any instructions. There is no food...”

“I hired a temporary manager for you. He can run things until you are ready to return to work.”

My jaw fell open. “You did what?” I couldn’t quite keep the anger out of my voice.

“I called my personal assistant, who contacted a chef that we use on occasion for formal affairs, and he agreed to manage your kitchen for a few days. They contacted Tyler, who I believe is your second in command, and he let them in to your business and got everything running. They will keep things going smoothly for a little while. You don’t need to worry about your restaurant. I assure you this chef is quite good.” I was speechless. I didn’t know whether to be extremely angry that he had made all of these decisions without consulting me or relieved that he’d just absolved every fear that I had about my business. “How are they paying for the food?” I asked. I already knew the answer, but I wanted to hear him admit it.

“I gave them a temporary credit card so everything will be recorded and accounted for. I will gladly pick up any expenses that they incur,” Jackson replied. He looked at the floor. “I didn’t mean to overstep my boundaries, Alissa. I’m sorry if you’re upset. I just know how important your restaurant is to you, and I wanted to keep things going as normally as possible for you. It’s my fault that you’re in the hospital instead of working, and I don’t want you to be stressed out over this.”

My dad was staring at Jackson like he was from another planet. Apparently, neither one of us expected Jackson to be so proactive. Honestly, it was really thoughtful of him to go to all of the trouble. I just wasn’t sure I could accept it. I was used to doing things on my own, and suddenly having help from a man with unlimited resources was a bit unsettling.

I opened and closed my mouth several times. I wasn’t sure what to say.

“Alissa, please,” Jackson continued, “don’t be angry with me. I just want to keep you safe until this whole situation is resolved. Just stay with me for a day or two until we are sure that it’s okay for you to be alone.”

I sighed. He sounded so sincere that it was really hard to be angry with him.

Finally Mark chimed in, surprising me. “Alissa, I hate to admit it, but I think he’s right. It seems like he’s thought this through pretty well, and while I’d much rather have you home with me, if you won’t leave the city, I’d feel better if you stayed with him for today. I’ll have the local PD work with Jackson’s security people to ensure your safety.” He frowned at Jackson.

“Actually, it’s the least you can do for my daughter after getting her into this mess...”

“Dad!” I interrupted. I was stunned, to say the least. First he tells me that Jackson’s right and then he starts verbally attacking him. This was making my head spin. I was still very tired, and I honestly didn’t have the strength to try to fight.

“Okay,” I said, “I’ll go with Jackson, but I want to call to Tyler and make sure everything is okay. If your chef sucks and gives my restaurant a bad reputation, you’re in trouble. And this is for today only. I am going back to work first thing tomorrow.” After a few more grumbling comments from my dad and a couple of outgoing text messages from Jackson, we had a plan. I would stay at Jackson’s for the rest of the day and sleep over tonight. He would return me to my restaurant in time to do my shopping tomorrow morning.

We were all hoping that they would catch Kayla between now and then, and Jason should have a good handle on the press by then as well.

The doctor released me. My dad and Jackson left the room so that I could get dressed. As I was pulling my shirt over my head it finally sunk in. I was going to spend the night in Jackson’s apartment.

Jackson

The whole way home I was nervous. I was so busy this morning making preparations that I hadn’t really stopped to think about how she would feel seeing my home. Was she anxious? Was she going to take one look at my apartment and freak out? Why did I have to live so damn ostentatiously?

She started asking questions about my house on the way there and answering them became awkward. I figured I should be honest with her; she was going to see it for herself in a few minutes anyway.

“I own a building that used to be a hotel. We renovated it into apartments, and I live in the top two floors” I explained.

Her eyes went wide. “You have two whole floors of a hotel? And you live there all by yourself?”

Yeah, I know it’s overkill and it’s not half as comfortable as your cozy apartment. I’ll move! Just don’t judge me for this.

I didn’t answer her. I just let the silence become more awkward. It got worse when she asked what kind of car I drove.

“I have a few cars. I’m actually a bit of a collector.”

“Well that was cryptic,” she replied.

It was clear that she was finally retaliating for all the questions that I had asked her the first day that I met her. I deserved the inquisition, but I didn’t like it.

What if she liked the bum and hated the billionaire?

I sighed. “My everyday car is an Audi S4.”

“And your not everyday car?”

“I’ll show you sometime.”

How did you tell someone about your collection of sports cars without sounding like a self-absorbed rich prick?

We pulled up to my private level of the parking garage, and I helped her out of the mini-van that the hospital had provided for our getaway. I looked down the line of cars. Why did I not realize how much material shit I had?

Could you make it seem more like you’re throwing your money in her face? You are such
a show off.

I guess spending a couple of days as a homeless person will really make you look at things differently. What was I thinking when I bought all of these? I never even drove most of them. She was going to hate it here.

“Oh, wow,” she exclaimed, looking at the cars. “These are beautiful. Is one of these yours?”

One?

“Jackson?” she asked.

I didn’t trust myself to speak. I felt like I was on trial. I considered lying, but I didn’t think I could ever lie to this woman.

“Um. They’re all mine, Alissa.”

But, I’ll sell them all if you don’t like them!

Please like them. Please like me.

Alissa

I was trying desperately not to hyperventilate. This was no big deal, right? It was just an apartment.

Jackson’s penthouse apartment, my brain reminded me.

Shut up.

He just feels guilty because he somehow thinks that it’s his fault that Nick is a
psychopath. He’s just helping with the security for a couple of days. It’s not like he’s taking you
back to his place after a date. There hasn’t even been a date.

But he did tell your dad that he wanted to date you.

Yeah, but he was probably in shock—one too many hits from the crazy guy.

He held you while you slept.

But I practically forced him to, and he was gone when I woke up.

I looked around. I hadn’t really been paying attention to where we were going. Jackson had this amazing ability to make me completely unaware of anything but him. The van pulled up next to the elevators and stopped. Jackson opened the door and put his hand under my arm to help me out.

“Oh, wow.” There was a whole line of expensive sports cars on this level of the garage.

“These are beautiful.” Most of them were a shiny black or silver, but there were two reds, one yellow, and one blue. I was no expert, but I thought each one was unique. By the elevator were two more cars, a silver Audi, which I thought was probably Jackson’s, and a black Mercedes.

“Is one of these yours?” I asked.

Jackson wouldn’t look at me. What was up with him? He was usually so open and genuine with me. Did I do something to offend him?

“Jackson?” I asked willing him to look at me.

Finally he met my eyes. “Um. They’re all mine, Alissa,” he said quietly.

“Oh,” I said stupidly, “of course.”

Smooth Alissa.
He told you he was a collector. It’s no wonder that he’s being uncommunicative. He finally realized how uncultured and beneath him you are. You don’t belong in this world… his world. You never did.

“They’re uh, nice…” I finished lamely.

Nice? Did I really just call his multi-million dollar sports car collection “nice?” I was such an idiot. It was no wonder that he wouldn’t tell me about his cars. Listing them alone would take an hour.

The elevator arrived. He slid a special key into the slot, which gave us access to the top two floors. The elevator stopped at the thirty-third floor for most people. Jackson had thirty-four and thirty-five.

He looked really tense. I had to stop this.

“Jackson, I’m sorry,” I blurted out. “This was a bad idea. You clearly don’t want me here, and I don’t want to make you uncomfortable. Maybe you should just take me home. I’m sure that everything will be fine. I can have my dad get one of the guys on the force to stay with me for a little while if we need to…”

“You think I don’t want you here?” he asked, finally looking at me. His eyes now looked panicked.

“Well, yeah, I mean… I know that I don’t really belong in a place like this, and I am sure that you have a lot of work to do, and I don’t want to intrude…” He let out a nervous little laugh and then ran his hand through his already disheveled mess of hair. He was looking at me like he couldn’t believe what I was saying.

He moved so fast; I never knew what hit me. One minute I was expecting him to stop the elevator and take me home, the next he had me pressed up against the wall, and his warm lips were pressing against mine. His hands tangled in my hair.

He was all I could feel. My whole body was alight with a consuming fire. He was all I could breathe, all I could taste. My everything.