The Billionaire's Secretary (Billionaire's Series Book 1) (12 page)

“Perfect.”

Aurora was a little confused as she made herself presentable to go out into public.

“Where are we going, Adrian?”

“I have a huge treat arranged for you. You need to de-stress a little.”

He was smiling broadly as he watched the mixture of emotions cross her face. When Gerald opened the door for them Adrian got out and extended his hand to help her out of the car.

“Wait here, I’ll just be a minute.”

Adrian swept Aurora through the doors of the fabulous salon and presented her to an awaiting attendant who promptly escorted her through the back.

“Adrian?” she managed to say over her shoulder, queryingly.

“Just follow Annemarie, Aurora. Go with the flow.”

Adrian turned to the receptionist and gave her a list of treatments that were to follow Aurora’s sauna and cold pool plunge and signed the charge card she presented to him. With a satisfied look on his face, he walked back out onto the street and got into the waiting car.

“Bulgari on Fifth, Gerald.”

“Very well, sir.”

“Umm, and could you get Tom and Linda on the phone? Miss Aldridge is going to need the perfect dress for tonight’s party.”

“Yes, sir.”

Chapter Thirteen

When Aurora stepped out onto Fifth Avenue two hours later, she looked and felt like a new woman. She had steamed in the sauna for half an hour and enjoyed a plunge in the cold water pool afterwards. The woman she came to know as Alice had retrieved her and enveloped her wet body in the most luxurious white terry robe she had ever seen then whisked her into the salon to have her hair done. They washed, cut and styled her brown tresses into an elegant up do, perfect for the party she would be attending later that evening. The picture was beginning to come together, but somehow in her mind, the hairstyle managed to outshine the dress she had brought along with her. She sighed in exasperation. There was nothing that could be done about that. When her hair was done, Alice escorted Aurora to yet another section of the salon and she was seated in a luxurious spa chair with a bubbling pedicure bath. There she was placed into the capable hands of Akiko, a Japanese cosmetologist who gave her a relaxing pedicure and manicure, polishing her toenails and fingernails in an elegant, demure white and peach french-tipped style.

When her last treatment was complete, Alice escorted her back to the waiting area at the front of the salon. She was offered a glass of champagne, which she accepted and sat, sipping it while she waited for Adrian’s return. Fifteen minutes later, she saw the car pull up outside and Adrian stepped out onto the street. She met him at the door. He looked her up and down and nodded his head in approval, then he put his arm around her waist and guided her to the car’s open door.

“How do you feel?”

“That was amazing. I really can’t say when last I took the time out to just do me. Thank you.”

“It was my pleasure. I know you take good care of yourself, but sometimes it’s nice to have someone plan those types of things for you.”

Aurora smiled and hugged him as they settled into the back seat of the car. She noticed there was a Georgio Armani garment bag and a Bulgari shopping bag on the seat opposite them.

“You really do like to shop when you come to New York,” she remarked, nodding toward his purchases.

“Oh, yes,” he said, blushing a little. “I picked up a suit for tonight. I felt it would be necessary if I’m going to be standing beside you for most of the night.”

“What do you mean? I just brought a black cocktail dress with me for the function.”

“You’ll see. I know you will be both surprised and excited by our next stop.”

Adrian smiled mischievously at her as she looked quizzically at him. She knew he was up to something, but she also knew how much he was enjoying spoiling her and playing at being a couple.

“The Bulgari is yours. Go ahead and open it.”

***

When Adrian and Aurora walked into the ballroom of the Waldorf Astoria at eight o’clock that night, every head in the room turned. He looked flawless in a perfectly cut, dark Armani suit. It had the faintest threadwork creating vertical pinstripes of ivory which were so delicate they were hardly detectable. Aurora had been enthralled by the rows of dress choices at Tom and Linda Platt’s studio, but having had a glimpse at Adrian’s suit, she chose a bias cut, floor length evening gown of navy blue satin. It had an asymmetrical neckline and a deep plunge that revealed the smooth skin of most of her back. An ivory ribbon accentuated her waist.

“You look gorgeous in that dress, Aurora. I can’t wait to take it off you,” Adrian whispered into her ear as they posed jauntily for the photographers.

“I know, it’s showing,” she mocked with a little glimpse down the front of his pants.

As Adrian was escorting Aurora to their seats, Aaron and Andrew Guyton approached them.

“How lovely you both look tonight. Don’t they, Dad?” Aaron offered with a sweet smile on his face.

“They sure do,” Andrew picked up. “Son, you two are stealing the show.”

“Thanks, Dad,” Adrian replied, uneasily.

For the next fifteen minutes solid, Andrew and Aaron engaged both Adrian and Aurora in a constant stream of conversation. To Adrian, it seemed that his father was making an honest effort to be pleasant to them to make up for Aaron’s poor behavior and that his brother was trying to make amends for his behavior in Atlanta. But Aurora was a bit more wary of Aaron Guyton than Adrian was and all the while, she kept wondering what he was playing at.

The conversation was interrupted when Adrian pointed out Tom Madison and Richard White talking over near the bar. She excused herself and went over to try to engage the men while Adrian made his excuses and ditched his family. They separated the two men easily and began to try to find out their connection to Chan Lue-Sang and the blackmailer. Believing that the evidence against them must surely have died with their blackmailer, both men eventually gave up the facts. Tom admitted that the blackmailer had been seeking out unconventional ways to use him to ruin people’s reputations at Guyton, but he wouldn’t go into details with Aurora. Richard told Adrian that he gained silence from the blackmailer with cold, hard cash. They questioned Jackson Thornbrook together. He broke down and confessed everything within a few minutes, telling them that he knew he had been set up, but thought that he had been the only person the blackmailer had been out to get. Satisfied, they took their seats at their assigned table and compared notes.

The award giving was in full swing by the time Aurora spotted two men standing in a corner. There was no reason at all why either of them should have been at the Guyton’s party. But as the ceremony went on, she lost sight of them and they blended in with the seated crowd. When dinner was about to be served, Aurora excused herself and went to find them. As she came around the corner from the ladies room, she tumbled into Joseph Richmond.

“Joseph, what are you doing here?” she hissed.

“Well, that’s a really nice way to greet an old friend, Aurora. I mean really.”

“Spill it, Joseph, I know that there is absolutely no good that can come out of both you and Axel Arlington being here, uninvited and unexpected.”

“If it wasn’t for the fact that I only came here to warn you, I would waste the next half an hour scolding you and trying to convince you that we were here legitimately, but I really don’t have the time or the stomach for all of this.”

“Joseph, what’s the matter? You look a little green.”

“Aurora, you’re in a lot of trouble here. What did you do to piss off Aaron Guyton so much that he would send a private investigator to dig me up, asking questions about our relationship in and out of the office?”

“I’m in love with his brother.”

“Dammit, Aurora. You always did have a knack for reaching for the high fruits.”

“What did you tell this detective?”

“The truth. That you came to us highly recommended by a colleague from the university and that based on that we felt you were merited to be treated as an off counsel intern immediately and that would be enough for you to prove yourself at the firm. As you know, it’s not uncommon practise when the recommendation is that stellar.”

“He stirred this up because of the rumors at the office before I left and graduated.”

“I know that much, Aurora. Remember, I am a lawyer myself.” Joseph laughed. “Nothing out of the ordinary happened, its just marred by the long-winded, ill sayings of a few jealous, unproductive minds.”

“Sometimes I feel that no matter how far I go or how hard I work in the profession, those rumors will haunt me forever.”

“I know, but don’t worry about it; you’re stronger than all of that. What I want to warn you about is that the detective offered me a substantial bribe to make it seem as if we were involved and tell your boyfriend a story along those lines. I know he made the same offer to Arlington; the difference is, I’m certain he accepted. He’s not doing very well financially these days.”

“What are you saying, Joseph?”

“He’s going to tell Adrian that you slept with partners at Plymouth to get your degree credit and graduate from college.”

Aurora was so shocked she couldn’t speak. Frantically, she looked around, searching the room for Adrian. It was too late; he was deep in a conversation with Axel Arlington and he looked furious. Axel seemed to be enjoying Adrian’s reaction to what he was saying and even though Adrian’s expression quickly changed to outrage, he kept going.

Aurora walked briskly across the room, trying her best not to draw attention to herself, but determined to get to Adrian before he heard anything else that venomous snake had to say. When she came up behind Axel Arlington, she put one arm around him and grabbed him by the waist of his pants. Under the cover of his jacket, Aurora placed two fingers into the pressure point near his right kidney.

“Why are you here telling him lies about me, Axel?”

“I’m not lying. Adrian, everything I said is the truth. You had better be careful...”

Aurora applied more pressure with her fingers.

“If you don’t want to bleed out in a nearby Emergency Room later on tonight, I’d suggest you tell him everything right now.”

The pain was excruciating. Axel Arlington could barely stand on his two feet any longer.

“Your brother paid me to do this,” he finally blurted out to Adrian.

At that, Aurora let him go and he ran out of the room toward the restroom doubled over in pain. The anger she saw in Adrian’s eyes was unmistakable. It was obvious that he believed everything that Axel had told him, despite the confession. Suddenly, he grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her from the ballroom. She didn’t resist him, but followed, trying to keep pace with his step so no one would see the grip he kept on her. When they reached the door, Aurora scanned the room and for an instant, her eyes met Aaron’s. He had clearly seen everything and knew that Adrian was furious with Aurora. A cruel, triumphant smile spread across his lips, announcing to his prey that he knew he had won the game.

Outside the ballroom, Adrian took Aurora down the hall to a secluded corner. She prepared herself mentally for the onslaught of questions and accusations that would most certainly follow, but just as suddenly as he had pulled her from the room, Adrian pushed her up against the wall in the corner and kissed her deeply. The fear she had felt subsided into surprise which quickly melted into the passion of his kiss. She threw her leg around his and he boosted her up onto his hips. They kissed until they were both out of breath and then he let his kisses trail off down her neck.

“Adrian, I can explain...”

“Aurora, don’t ever short change me again. Did you really think that Axel Arlington could ever convince me into believing a word about you or anyone else for that matter? The man is a pariah. Everyone knows about his dreadful gambling problem and how much debt he’s racked up. He’ll practically do anything for a dime right now.”

“Adrian, I don’t know what to say.”

“Aurora, I want you to believe me when I tell you I love you and that I have for a long time. I may have had other lovers through the years, but my heart stayed with you in Alpharetta almost from our first conference call. I’ve kept a tab on your career at Guyton and checked up on you with Mrs. Hardee to make sure you were doing well. Whenever I visited my Dad in Atlanta and I always asked about how you were doing, even though those visits didn’t happen often. Didn’t he ever tell you?”

“As a matter of fact, he didn’t. Perhaps he thought you were just being polite, knowing how fond of me he is.”

“Axel tried to tell me just now about how you had a sugar daddy and that’s how you paid for your nice apartment and never seemed in need. He implied that sugar daddy was my father. I had to laugh at him just to stop myself from punching him in the face.”

“I received a living grant the first year I was at Guyton from the school administration.”

“I know,” he said, stroking her hair. “But what you don’t know is that I set up that grant when I saw the place you were living in. Please don’t be angry.”