All That He Loves (Volume 2 The Billionaires Seduction) (4 page)

That was always nice to hear.

Javier leaned over and shook my hand. “Don’t worry, Bastian is only mean to the people he likes,” he whispered.

‘Bastian’… how cute!

“Is he mean to you?” I whispered back.

“No, because I
love
HIM,” Sebastian announced loudly, then put his hand to his mouth. “Oh my God, it really
is
the Mai Tai’s.”

Javier grinned as he winked at me. “One day he will be mean. When he gets tired of me.”

“Never happen. But… and I hate to ask you this…” Sebastian winced. “…would you mind going out for awhile? We have to discuss some fairly touchy things…”

“Not at all,” Javier smiled, and turned around to Connor and me. “It was very nice to meet you. Johnny, a pleasure.”

Johnny shook his hand, and Connor and I murmured our goodbyes.

“I’ll call you when we’re finished,” Sebastian said as he walked him to the door, then had to lean waaaay over to give him a quick peck on the lips before Javier slipped quietly out of the penthouse.

Sebastian shut the door, and suddenly he was all business.

“All right, tell me exactly what that bitch said.”

It took about fifteen minutes, but Connor briefed Sebastian on the entire situation – land deal, solar company, politicians, blackmail, the works.

Sebastian sat on a couch opposite us, scrolling through the pictures on the iPad’s cracked screen. “Wonderful impulse control, Connor.”

“I was
angry,
” Connor retorted.

“I meant the photos, not the iPad. But now that you mention it, remind me not to make you angry,” Sebastian said as he tossed the tablet to the side. “Well… what do you want to do?”

“I
want
to hire a hitman to take out the lot of them,” Connor growled.

Sebastian shrugged. “I can make a couple of calls.”

“SEBASTIAN!” I cried out.

Connor looked up into the air. “Um, NSA, CIA, FBI? That was a joke. No hitmen are going to be called.”

“Well, I
could,
” Sebastian said, then sneered, “I
hate
that bitch.”

“You keep saying ‘bitch,’ singular, like Miranda’s the only one behind it,” I pointed out.

“While I’m sure the
other
bitch – excuse my language, Connor, I know how much you love and revere Lenora – went along with the plan willingly, as did your asshole father and spineless brother… this has ‘Miranda’ all over it.” He looked at Connor. “I always told you that woman was no damn good, didn’t I?”

“Yes,” Connor groaned, like he’d heard this particular ‘I told you so’ a couple of thousand times before.

“As much as I hate them, your father and mother are a bit too prim to hire someone to follow you around and get photos of incriminating nookie. And Vincent’s not smart enough to pull it off. Which raises the question – how did she know where to find you? They had to have been tailing you… unless they just stumbled across you while you were ‘doing it’ behind every dumpster in Vegas.”

“EWW,” I said pointedly.

“Don’t look at me, darling,” Sebastian said with one hand clasped to his chest. “I keep it classy – and
indoors.
”

I sighed. “I guess Miranda could have followed me when she came up to me at the Venetian…”

“Whoa, whoa, WHOA,” Connor said. He scooted backwards a foot and looked at me in shock.

Sebastian and Johnny stared at me like I’d grown a second head.

“…oh… I guess I forgot to mention it,” I said meekly. “She came up to me at the Venetian.”

“Why didn’t you
tell
me?!” Connor said angrily.

“I didn’t know who she was!” I protested. “I thought she was just some chick who liked my dress!”

“Johnny, was Miranda dressed the way she normally does?” Sebastian asked.

“Yeah.”

Sebastian looked at me from head to toe. “And you were wearing
this
when you saw her?”

“Yeah, so?” I asked defensively.

Sebastian held up a single finger. “So that should have been your first clue something was wrong.”

“I looked
better
before I got all hot and sweaty,” I snapped.

“Aah! Aah!” Sebastian said, wincing and waving me away like I’d offered to show him my lady parts. “Don’t want to hear about it.”

“Well, actually, if you must know, I thought she was hitting on me.”

“…reeeally,” Connor said, his eyes widening. His tone was a whole lot more… mellow and accommodating.

I could almost hear the porn music playing in his head:
bow chikka BOW BOW
.

Now it was
my
turn to get angry. “Are you actually thinking about me and her together?!”

“Well…” Connor said, with the tiniest of shrugs.

“Oh God, PLEASE, make it stop,” Sebastian said as he put his head in his hand.

“That’s
so
– UGH!” I fumed.

Connor looked over at Johnny like,
Hey, come on – RIGHT?

In silent ‘bro-speak,’ Johnny shrugged and grinned like,
Yeah, that would be pretty awesome.

“That’s DISGUSTING,” I snapped, then looked hurriedly over at Sebastian. “Not because it’s two women, that’s fine, I just – ”

“No, I agree with you on this one, IT’S DISGUSTING,” Sebastian said, staring down Connor. “We have enough problems with Miranda trying to destroy you and Lily,
please
keep your See You Next Tuesday ex out of your private little fantasies. Because that’s just twisted.”

“Thank you,” I said to Sebastian.

“Don’t even,” Sebastian said, eyes half-closed, waving me off like I shouldn’t have to thank him for saying what was so patently obvious.

Connor threw his hands up in the air. “I’m a guy,” he protested, like that was some sort of excuse.

“Yes: a stupid straight guy. Which is why you’re in this mess,” Sebastian snapped. “So – wait. Wait, wait, wait. Lily – did she give you anything?”

I paused. “What do you mean?”

“Did she give you anything like an electronics device, or – ”

“No, she just stopped by my table and made chitchat for a minute.” As I recalled what she’d said, I closed my eyes in pain. “Oh my God, she kept asking about my boyfriend and if we were together in Vegas…”

My eyes snapped open and I looked over at Connor in panic. “Not that I – you know, I wasn’t assuming – that we’re –
she
was the one that said ‘boyfriend’ – ”

Sebastian snapped his fingers twice. “Lily. Focus. You can have the DTR talk later.”

“DTR?”

“‘Determine the Relationship.’ Could she have put anything on you, or inside your purse?”

“No, I don’t…”

I trailed off as I recalled where Miranda had been standing.

“…oh my God,” I murmured. “My purse. My purse was on the chair next to me… and she was standing next to it…”

“Bring it to me,” Sebastian commanded. “Now.”

Sebastian dragged a glass coffee table over between us, and I put the purse on top of it. Johnny came out of his bedroom with a small briefcase, opened it up, and produced a metal rod that looked like something TSA agents wand you down with at the airport.

He held it over the purse, and it gave out an electronic squelch.

“What does that mean?” I asked, alarmed.

“Nothing good,” Johnny growled. “Dump it out.”

Sebastian upended the purse and spilled the contents over the coffee table. Johnny wanded the empty purse, which was now quiet, and then started examining my cell phone, my wallet, my makeup case –

“That,” I said, my stomach turning as I pointed my finger. “I don’t… that’s not mine.”

It was a black plastic pen, the kind you might buy at Office Depot for 79 cents. Shiny clicker at the top, and a metal clip to pin it to a pile of papers.

Johnny wanded it.

SQUUEEEELLLCCCH.

My stomach dropped.

He unscrewed the plastic halves of the pen and shook them.

A small strip of metal with a miniature circuit board fell out on the glass.

“Oh shit,” I whispered.

“GPS unit,” Johnny said as he picked it up and inspected it.

“Microphone?” Connor asked.

“I don’t think so,” Johnny said, then dropped it on the floor and crushed it under his heel. “Especially not now.”

“Well, that’s
one
mystery solved,” Sebastian said. “Miranda probably had two photographers following you around with the tracker. As soon as they saw where you went, one stayed at ground level, and the other one broke into a nearby room when you – wait. Didn’t you say they were waiting in here for you? Your parents? With four bodyguards?”

“Yes,” Connor said, then closed his eyes in pain. “SHIT.”

Johnny and Sebastian both looked around in panic.

“What?” I asked.

“They might have bugged the room,” Connor said, standing up, his face furious. “Johnny, tear this place apart if you have to – no, forget it, there’s no telling where they put it. Just check out every piece of luggage, every article of clothing we own. Sebastian, call down and get us new rooms
now
.”

Sebastian and Johnny both nodded and hopped to.

I stared at Connor. “Are you serious? Isn’t that a little paranoid?”

“Lily, they just blackmailed me and threatened to ruin your life to avoid losing billions of dollars. You think they really wouldn’t bug the room?”

I sucked in my breath, then nodded. “I’ll get my stuff.”

We wound up in a suite that wasn’t nearly as palatial as the penthouse, but your ordinary millionaire high roller would have been thrilled to stay there. I suppose for Connor it was merely adequate.

Johnny had checked out everything we owned, down to some embarrassing things in my overnight kit. Ever had a man search your emergency tampon stash? No? Not exactly fun.

But he found nothing.

We were safe to continue the discussion.

“What I don’t understand is why you didn’t tell me about your plans,” Sebastian sniffed.

Connor was pacing back and forth in front of the suite’s picture window – which was considerably smaller than the penthouse’s. “You knew about the solar company. And you knew about the meetings with the politicians, too.”

“I thought that was about opening a casino – you didn’t tell me how it all fit together.”

“I wanted to play this one close to the vest.”

“You told
her,
” Sebastian said, sounding miffed, like a little boy whose sister had gotten more ice cream than him.

“Yeah, the night before it all clicked into place,” Connor snapped.

“And look what happened.”

“Hey,” I said, slightly wounded. “I didn’t tell anybody.”    

“It doesn’t matter,” Connor said, still pacing. “Is there a way out of it?”

“Of course,” Sebastian said, and sprawled back on the sofa. “In fact, I’m shocked you haven’t seen it yet.”

Everyone – including me – stared at him.

“Seen what?” Connor asked.

“Miranda’s plan is to make you the most famous person in America by 8 o’clock Eastern Standard Time tomorrow morning,” Sebastian said. “Correct?”

“I suppose you could say that,” Connor agreed grimly.

“Every media outlet in the country is going to want a piece of you. They’ll be
begging
for interviews.”

Connor’s anger faded away into complete and total shock. “Jesus, why didn’t I think of that?”

“You’re too close, that’s all,” Sebastian said with a self-satisfied smile.

I raised one hand timidly. “Wait, hold on. I guess I’m a little slow – ”

Sebastian snorted rudely.

“Hey,” I warned him.

“I’m a little lost, too, guys,” Johnny said.

I gave him a silent
thank you
with my eyes, and he smiled back in response.

“Once those pictures hit and it comes out that the billionaire black sheep of the Templeton family was schtupping a mystery woman in an alleyway, every talk show, every morning show, every late night show, every reporter, every writer in print and the web is going to want to get an interview with Mr. Scandalous here.”

“So?”

“So Miranda’s whole goal, supposedly, is to tar and feather Connor. Instead, she just handed him a hundred million dollars worth of free publicity,” Sebastian explained. “That is, if he takes the opportunity.”

I looked over at Connor. He was grinning like a madman.

“I mean, seriously, she couldn’t have
been
a better PR agent for you,” Sebastian said. “
If
you get out in front of this thing
fast,
and you sell, sell, sell.”

“Sell what?” I asked.

“Clean energy. Free power for Nevada. Cheap power for the western United States – hell, for the
entire
United States,” Connor said. “Benefitting every man, woman, and child in the nation – and eventually the world.”

“And you’re being framed by your evil, nasty, horrible family who want to pollute our air and water, keep down the poor, rape the planet, and give cancer to everyone and their dog,” Sebastian added.

“Um… isn’t that laying it on a little thick?” I asked.

“NO. Not when you’re handed an opportunity like this.” Sebastian turned back to Connor. “Not to mention your ex, who’s not only an evil One Percenter bitch, but who’s insanely jealous and is trying to destroy the love of your life.”

My mouth dropped open and I looked up at Connor.

His eyes shifted towards me… and then looked away.

My heart dropped.

“Lily can’t just be ‘some girl,’ Connor,” Sebastian stressed. “For this to work, this has to be an attack on the woman
you love
. It has to be a fairy tale – Prince Charming protecting Cinderella. If the public buys the line about prostitution – ”

“I got it,” Connor said testily. “I can handle it.”

My heart dropped a little more.

He was uncomfortable with the whole ‘love of your life’ thing. I could feel it.

Hell, I was embarrassed to hear it out loud – but only because, deep down, it was what I wanted to hear him say to me, more than anything else.