The Billionaire's Secret: Billionaire Obsession (Tycoon Billionaires Book 5) (4 page)

She stood up straight and caught Adam and Dylan exchanging a glance. “If what you say is true,” Dylan said, “then obviously we won’t be investing in Graves’ project.”

She zipped up her laptop case. “Good. I think having anything to do with Mr. Graves could be a dangerous mistake.” She glanced toward the door. “Let’s hope he’s not loitering in the foyer, in wait for me.”

She chuckled lightly, but she was actually gravely serious. After last night, who knew what he’d do?

“Would you like to wait here for a while and have some coffee?” Adam asked. “Perhaps you could tell us more about this email you’ve received?”

Astrid softened. She was reluctant to bump into Graves again – and her hangover was screaming out for coffee. “Well, I can’t show you the email, or reveal the source, but I’d be glad to explain all the details.”

Dylan threw her a sincere smile. “Great. Well, I’ll just grab some coffee, then why don’t we sit back down and you can tell us all about it?”

Astrid left the Quinlan Brothers’ office feeling optimistic that they’d pull out of the funding for Graves’ irresponsible project. She’d spent a pleasant hour with them, drinking coffee and chatting about business – and also finding out about their partners, Amy and Sarah, who they seemingly adored. She realized perhaps she’d gotten them wrong.

She strolled across the busy marble foyer toward the exit, but the pull of the muffins in the window of the coffee shop made her halt. She still hadn’t eaten anything today and her hangover was pounding in her head and stomach. A muffin would be the perfect treat. But she knew she should resist. A moment on the lips was a lifetime on the hips…

A figure appeared beside her and she tensed with terror. Graves
had
waited for her all this time!

“They look good, don’t they?” he said.

She exhaled and tried to suppress her grin at Jake’s masculine gravelly voice.

She tried to remain cool. “Yes. Shame about the sugar and fat content.”

They held eye contact in the reflection of the window. His presence made her feel like a goofy teenager – but also as free as a butterfly. Standing next to him like this, she could see him in all his six-four, muscular, handsome glory. More Greek God, than man.

He looked her up and down with playful eyes. “I hope you’re not telling me you’re dieting.”

She sighed. “Simon says I could do with losing a few pounds.”

“Well, he’s either blind or stupid. Which is it? Maybe both?”

She laughed. “Thanks. I know I shouldn’t really care what he thinks.”

“You shouldn’t.”

They gazed into each other’s eyes. Astrid felt intimidated by how handsome he was. He was like a superhuman – like Adam and Dylan in a weird way. She was just a small-town girl, feeling lost in the big city. The only thing a man like this could realistically give her was heartache and pain. He
had
left last night – probably in disgust at her drunken clingy behavior. Oh god, and she’d broken down into tears just before she’d passed out, hadn’t she? Her skin tried to crawl inside her bones with embarrassment as the memories slunk up and taunted her.

She severed eye contact in the reflection and turned away. “Nice to see you anyway, Jake… bye.”

“Wait, Astrid…”

She froze at his command.
Don’t turn around… just keep walking.

He stepped over to join her. “Er, I was just wondering…”

“Yes?”

“If you… feel okay after last night?”

“Oh. Yes, I feel okay.”

“Just craving fat and sugar, huh?” He smirked. “I’m sure one little muffin won’t hurt – go on, treat yourself.”

She chuckled. “If you’re so worried, why don’t you join me for a coffee?” She bit her lip as her blush swept fiercely over her body like an inferno.

Jake winced apologetically and opened his mouth, probably to make his excuses.

“I’m sorry.” She turned and hurried away – pushing through the crowd of swarming suited people, not waiting to hear his rejection. He caught up with her and gently grasped her arm in his strong grip. “Astrid, it’s okay. It’s not that I don’t want to – I just don’t know if I
should
.”

She studied his gorgeous face. “You don’t have to explain… I understand.”

He caressed her cheek, taking her breath away. “There’s nothing to explain. I want to have coffee with you – it would be a pleasure.”

“I should go home – I’ve got work to do.”

“I know your work’s important, but we all need to take time to smell the flowers sometimes, right? To drink the coffee – don’t you agree?”

She nodded shyly, unable to look away from his gorgeous eyes. “That’s true.”

“Come on, let’s go in.”

“Okay, thanks.” She started to walk with him, but then she frowned and halted. “Hey, did you have a meeting here or something?”

His face flashed with concern, but he shook it away. “Nothing that can’t wait. Come on, I’ll buy you that muffin.”

The coffee shop was clean and corporate with wooden tables, chrome fixtures, and smart uniformed staff. It was manically busy inside and noisy because of the sounds of the coffee grinder, milk steamer, and general chatter – competing with the tinny tune on the radio. Jake told Astrid to grab the last free table, then he stood at the glass counter and ordered two coffees – and a chocolate muffin for her. He felt terrible, and he knew a paltry cake couldn’t make up for the terrible things he’d done by spying on her. He didn’t usually care – and he was annoyed for actually giving a shit. It was stupid to get close to a target like this – to let her get under his skin. What the hell was wrong with him? He was always in control of his emotions. It was always mind over heart with Jake. But there was something engrossing about her.

He should’ve said no last night when she’d invited him for this coffee. Hell, he never should’ve even intervened when Graves had been hassling her. But she was captivating, and he was intrigued by her. She pretended to be so hard and professional superficially, but that vulnerable woman who’d cried in his arms last night could easily wrap him around her little finger with those big blue eyes…

He shook himself out of it and paid for the coffee, wishing his conscience would go fuck itself. He needed to pull himself together and stop being so goddamn emotional. It was that stupid family reunion that had done this to him. He’d never cared about anyone before, but now suddenly he had people who were showering him with love. And he adored his twin sister Clara and his little brother Joseph more than anything on this planet. More than himself – which was unheard of.

Family just made you feel… guilty. Because that was another thing – he ought to be upstairs with his brothers right now.
That’s
why he’d actually come here – to tell Dylan and Adam about the email to Astrid he’d intercepted after he’d gotten home last night. Apparently some insurance broker had informed her that an employee of Graves’ had possibly been injured – then bribed into silence. Jake could tell this whole scheme was shady, but it wasn’t his job to give his brothers business advice. He was just here to report the facts. If they decided to go ahead and invest in the project after he’d given them his info – most of which had come from eavesdropping on Astrid’s emails and calls – then that was their choice.

He grabbed the coffees and took them over to Astrid, who was typing on her phone.

“Thanks,” she said, dropping her phone in her purse.

“You’re welcome. Enjoy the muffin.”

She chuckled. A warm silence drifted between them as they shared a smile, then she glanced up at the window, where the rain was lashing down hard.

“Hopefully that rain will stop soon,” she said.

He smiled. “Hopefully.”

He could see she was nervous, and he guessed it was probably because she liked him. But truthfully this couldn’t happen between them, not while he was investigating her from afar. There was too much at stake. His loyalties lay with his newly reunited brothers. How would they react if they walked in now and caught him having a coffee with the woman they were paying him to trail?

Unless he pulled out of the case and stopped working for them…

He shook away that stupid thought. Why would he give up this well-paid job for a woman he hardly knew? Besides, he wasn’t the sort of guy she was looking for. And he couldn’t let anyone get too close to him. Not unless he wanted to end up revealing the dark secret he’d been harboring all these years. Which he didn’t. He’d rather be alone. He’d always been a loner and he was happy that way – well, not
happy
, but it made things easier. Having his new family around was enough to deal with. He didn’t need the hassle of a woman in his life…

She sipped her coffee and absentmindedly licked her lips, making her look incredible. Then she stuck her fork in the chocolate muffin and groaned orgasmically as she tasted it.

Jake was grateful he was already sitting down…

“Good?” he asked.

“Amazing,” she said. “I love chocolate. Thank you.”

“No problem.”

They exchanged a smile. “So,” she said. “What do you do for a living?”

“Uh…” Jake faltered. He’d never been good at small talk, and this question wasn’t one he was keen to answer. Not least of all because he already knew everything about
her
since he’d spent the last two weeks reading her emails and listening to her phone conversations. Maybe a double-bluff would throw her off the scent.

He grabbed a sugar packet and poured its contents into his coffee. “Well, I’m actually a secret double-agent. Don’t tell anyone. Lives are at stake.”

She laughed. “Oh, okay! And who are you investigating at the moment?”

He smirked. “Someone in this very room.”

She bit her lip and suppressed her giggles, happy to play along. She opened her mouth to speak, but the sound of a guy shouting at the counter grabbed their attention.

“Hand over the cash now!” the guy yelled.

Jake glanced over and saw a scruffy young man waving a gun in the cashier’s face. The cashier was frozen to the spot. She could barely speak, but managed to splutter, “Please don’t hurt me.”

A ringing silence gripped the room – even the walls and ceiling seemed to hold their breath. Without thinking, Jake stood and drew his gun, pointing it at the back of the guy’s head. He knew the guy could see him in the mirror behind the counter, so he stared directly into his eyes. Jake realized this kid was young – and from the look of him, he was withdrawing from drugs.

“Drop it, asshole – unless you want me to decorate the wall with an interesting shade of brain – which
you
won’t be around to appreciate.”

Jake could see the gun shaking in the guy’s hands. This armed robbery was clearly some desperate attempt to get money to fuel his habit. But at this moment, Jake had no sympathy. He couldn’t let anyone die... Never again.

Jake stepped forward. “I said put the gun down. Now. Slowly…”

The kid was wavering now, unsure what to do – this hold-up had gone very wrong. He hadn’t factored-in the ruthless armed ex-cop in the coffee shop…

Jake took another step forward. “Put the gun
down
.”

The tense atmosphere smothered the air. Jake watched the kid for another tense few seconds, waiting to see what he planned to do. Jake opened his mouth to tell him again to put the gun down, but something inside the kid shifted. His posture softened slightly and he slowly lowered the gun to the counter – seemingly relieved it was over.

“Put your hands where I can see ‘em or I’ll blow your fucking brains out.”

The terrified kid held up his shaking hands.

Jake launched himself and landed on the guy – knocking him forward. He pushed the kid’s head down to the glass counter, then he grabbed his gun.

He wriggled in Jake’s grip. “I’m sorry,” he wailed. “I didn’t want to hurt no one.”

Jake glanced at the lady behind the counter. “You okay, ma’am?”

She swallowed and nodded in a daze. “Think so.”

“Good.” He tightened his grip on the struggling kid, who was thrashing around like a fish on the shore. “Could you call the cops please?”

Another server grabbed the phone on the wall and made a frantic call to the NYPD. Jake grabbed the guy’s shirt and flipped him around on the counter, then he growled into his face. “You need to sort your life out, kid. This is your last chance. Don’t fuck it up.”

He nodded frantically. The police arrived five minutes later – but it wasn’t anyone Jake knew from his time with the NYPD. They led the guy away in handcuffs, asked Jake a few questions, then left.

The coffee shop exhaled with relief, and slowly eased back to normality – back to the business of selling hot drinks and cakes. The chatter trickled in, and Jake looked around for Astrid, expecting for her to have fled now she knew he was the sort of guy who carried a gun.

But she was sitting there, bolt upright, glaring at him.

He slid back onto the seat and took a sip of his coffee. “Urgh, it’s cold.”

One of the servers called over. “I’ll get you another one, sir. On us.”

Jake smiled modestly. “Thanks.”

Astrid didn’t take her eyes off him. “You want to tell me who you are? You’re a cop, right?”

He sighed. “I’m an ex-cop.”

“An ex-cop… meaning you currently work as…?”

He
never
told anyone what he did for a living – confessing was not only a sure way to jeopardize his cover, but it also prevented people from acting normal around him. But there was something about Astrid… he wanted to tell her everything. He was tired of lying and pretending. He leaned forward and spoke quietly. “You can’t tell anyone.”

She shook her head. “Discretion is part of my job, Jake.”

“Yeah… well, I currently work as a private investigator.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means – since they kicked me off the force – I follow people around for living, watching them, intercepting calls, checking emails, that kind of thing…”

He let this hang in the air. Would she guess
that’s
why he’d been nearby last night when Graves had been hassling her? Perhaps the unconscious reason he was telling her all this was so he could confess the truth and she’d tell him to take a hike.
That
would solve the problem of him liking her way too much.

She stared at him. “Why did they kick you off the force?”

“You don’t wanna know.”

“I do. It’s okay. I’m tougher than I look.”

He gazed pensively at her.

“I won’t tell anyone,” she said. “You can trust me.”

“I know I can… I don’t know why, but I’ve got this feeling about you… All right. They kicked me off because I killed some scumbag drug dealer during a raid. He was unarmed. They said it was unnecessary force. And that was the end of my career with the NYPD. I was on track to be a detective. So I guess this job seemed ideal.”

“And you still carry a gun? Is that
really
a vital piece of equipment for stalking people?”

Irritation cracked in his chest.
This
was why he never talked about his work or even got close to people. They wanted to pick and pick away until they got down to that slimy festering sludge behind the wall he’d constructed to protect himself against
this
sort of assault.

The server brought over his coffee. He thanked her, then focused back on Astrid. Usually he would just walk away from questions like this – to sever all ties and never see the person again. But with her for some reason he felt compelled to defend his position. “Look, I know it’s not the perfect career, but we’ve all gotta pay our bills and it’s not like I’m an assassin. I haven’t shot anyone for years… Well, there
was
this one guy in Texas with my brother… But look, I don’t want to do this forever. Just until I find my fortune.”

Her expression remained totally blank. “And how are you planning to do that?”

He sipped his coffee. “I’ve got a map. A treasure map.”

He expected her to laugh in his face, but actually she smiled excitedly. “That sounds cool.” Her stern posture softened and she smiled into his eyes. “Look, what you did just now – saving the day – it was a bit of a shock, but most people wouldn’t ever dare to do anything like that. You’re a hero, Jake.”

“Nah, not really... Do you think so?”

She laughed. “Yes. And your treasure map sounds fun. I wish you luck with it.”

“Thanks.”

They shared a smile. He wanted to tell her more, to open up to her – she really seemed to understand him. But how could he tell her
everything
? That he’d been spying on her for his brothers. He felt like a slimeball.

She leaned forward. “Jake, you know when we kissed last night…”

“Jesus, how could I forget?”

“You seemed so tender… passionate. Gentle yet strong. It made me tingle all over.”

He laughed. “It made me more than tingle, Astrid.”

She bit her lip, making her look adorable. “If two people are very lonely, and just want to take comfort in each other’s arms, there’s nothing wrong with that. Is there?”

He gazed sadly at her. He was desperate to take her up on this suggestion – to carry her off into the sunset and make love to her all night. Even just once, to know what it was like. But there was no way… “Astrid, I’ve gotta be honest with you. I can’t give you what you’re looking for.”

Her expression morphed to disappointed. “You don’t know what I’m looking for.”

“You’re a nice girl. You want commitment. A dependable, reliable guy who can give you his all. But I can’t. That’s not what I’m about. There’s too much…” He shook his head.

“Too much what?”

“Bullshit.”

“Don’t you think you deserve to be happy?”

“I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You won’t.”