Billionaire Decoded (9 page)

Heather laughed. "Nothing like
that, Mom," she said. "My boss just suggested that I take the week
off-"

"Didn’t you just start work
there?" her father asked. "You didn't get fired, did you?"

Again, she laughed at the surprised
expression on her father's face. "No, Dad, I didn't get fired. Actually, I
think this is one of the perks of the job."

"What do you mean?" her
mother asked, leaning forward in her chair. "What kind of place are you
working where you get a week vacation right after you start?"

Heather could imagine how this
looked. "There's a bit of an issue going on at work right now, an issue
that has nothing to do with me," she explained. She certainly wasn't going
to tell her parents about the man who had been following her, taking pictures,
nor the fact that she seemed to have been targeted for some type of…she didn't
even know what to call it.

"Does it have anything to do
with the article that was in the
Times
over the weekend?" her dad asked.

Of course, her father was well
informed, despite the fact that he lived out the middle of nowhere in the New
Hampshire wilderness. "I'm not quite sure," she replied honestly.
"I do know that Brecken – Mister Shaw – did express some concern that it
might be a disgruntled competitor, and he thought that it would make me feel
more comfortable if I took a little vacation while he gets it all figured
out."

Heather wasn't sure if she had
expressed herself correctly. Her excuse sounded kind of funny, even coming from
her own mouth.

"Honey, were both extremely
proud that you landed that job, but at the same time, I have to be honest and
tell you that your mother and I are a bit concerned, especially after we read
the article in the paper. These accusations…tax evasion…offshore accounts… You
can't be too careful these days."

"Believe me, Dad, you're not
thinking anything that I haven't already." She tapped the side of her head
with her finger. "You raised a pretty smart cookie here. If my instincts
tell me that something illegal is going on at Shaw & Burks, you can rest
assured that I’d give my notice."

"We just don't want you to get
caught up in anything that is not your doing," her mother said, reaching
forward and placing a hand on her knee. "Now tell us about your new
boss."

What to say? She certainly didn't
want to admit how she really felt about Brecken Shaw. That he made her hot.
That she wanted to have sex with him. That she was incredibly attracted to him.
She couldn't tell her parents that every time she saw him she felt an intense
sexual pull toward him. She certainly wasn't going to tell them about the nasty
relationship he had with his ex-fiancée.

"Well, he's good-looking, not
anything I would've expected. After all, he's a computer geek, isn't he?"
She tried to laugh. "He gave me my own office, and Mom, you should see it!
I swear it's probably as big as my apartment in the city." She shook her
head. "I haven't had too many interactions with him, but those I have gave
me the impression that he’s considerate, serious about his business, but at the
same time, he knows how to have fun and-"

"What kind of fun?" her
dad interjected.

Without thinking, she replied.
"Well, he does like to drive Formula One race cars as a form of stress
relief. He invited me to join him once, and I did. It was-"

Her mother's eyes widened. "You
drove in a Formula One race car with your boss?"

Still remembering the incident,
Heather smiled and nodded. "There’s a track just outside of the city where
people can rent-"

"And just how fast did you
drive around this race track?" her father interrupted.

Heather glanced at him and saw the
beginning of a disapproving frown appear on his face. Then, she realized she
shouldn't have blurted that out. "I didn't drive the car, Dad, he did. And
before you ask, yes we were buckled into the safety harnesses. As far as how
fast we were going, I have no idea. It was fast." She shrugged. "To
be honest, I had a blast." She offered a small laugh.

She saw the expression on her
parent’s faces and tried to soothe them. "You guys, please. It wasn't
dangerous, he wasn't being reckless, and I had a good time. I'd never done
anything like that before-" She held up her hand as her father acted like
he was about to say something. "And, I'm not going to make a habit of it,
either," she finished.

She didn't know how to explain.
"Let me put it this way. Brecken Shaw is incredibly intelligent, savvy,
and focused on his company. But he also knows how to have some fun, and of that
kind of balance is important, don't you think?"

"There's a difference between
fun and reckless, dear," her mother said.

"I do know that Shaw &
Burks has made quite a reputation for themselves over the past few years,"
her father said. “But what exactly is it that they do there?"

There was the question again. She
answered as she was instructed. "They do computer programming, Dad."

"And, what exactly does that
mean?"

"Well, he does private-sector
programming and development programming. From what I understand, the company
deals with strategic interventions… I'm the new manager for only one part of
his overall accounting needs, Dad, and I'm not involved in any business dealing
in regard to day-to-day development and organization. I mainly deal in accounts
receivable, invoicing, and some lower-level employee payroll." She paused,
recognizing the look of concern on her father's face. "Dad, I've only
worked there for about a week. I'm sure I still have a lot to learn about the
company. Try not to worry, okay?"

Heather could tell that he didn't
quite know what to think, and to be quite honest; she didn’t know what to think
either. She, like her father, had her own questions about exactly what Shaw
& Burks did. Computer programming covered a wide field, but since she had
not been hired to partake in any involvement in the day-to-day operations, she
didn't think it was any of her business.

For now, she decided that the less
her parents believed she had personal contact with her boss, the better.

"Tell me, honey, have you met
anyone?” her mother asked. “We haven't seen you for a while. Are you
dating?"

Heather smiled; glad for the switch
in conversational topic, even though this was another conversation they had
practically every time she visited. They were unhappy that she hadn't found
someone to settle down with and start a family. Her parents had gotten married
in their early twenties after having met in college. She certainly couldn't
tell them how she felt about Brecken now, not after their less than stellar
comments about him following the publication of the newspaper article.

"No, Mom, I'm not dating
anyone, at least not steadily. I've been pretty busy."

"Well, we'll talk after supper.
I'd better finish cooking it or none of us is going to eat!" Her mother
stood and gazed down at her. "I can't tell you how happy I am to see you,
Heather, and your Dad and I are looking forward to spending more than a couple
of days with you."

"You bet," her father
said, smiling. "If you're not too tired, you want to get up early in the
morning, take the canoe out, and try hooking a couple of fish for supper
tomorrow night?"

Heather grinned. “You're on,
Dad."

He smiled and she rose from the
sofa. "I'll go into my room and unpack."

"I'll go help your mother in
the kitchen," he said, also rising. Before she ventured down the hallway,
her father wrapped her in a warm embrace. "I ditto what your mother said,
Heather. It's going to be nice to visit with you for more than a rushed
weekend."

She nodded, returned her father's
hug, and then left him to go help her mother. Someday, she wanted a relationship
like that. After forty years, her parents’ marriage was still going strong.
Sure they had their ups and downs, but they were, and always had been, devoted
to each other. They helped each other. They were rarely separated, and as far
as Heather could see, their marriage was just as strong now as it had been when
she was growing up.

She ventured into her old bedroom,
saw the suitcase lying on the bed, and sat down next to it. She didn't make any
move to unpack, but stared out the window at the sunset. The setting rays of
the sun filtered through the trees. The birds chirped. She watched with a smile
as a deer emerged from the wood line and ventured into the small lawn in the
backyard, surrounded by a flowerbed. It was too cold now for the flowers to
bloom, but soon the flowerbed would be filled with white, blue, yellow, and
violet flowers. Her favorites were Forget-me-nots, but there would be Floating
Hearts, Pink Maidens, Purple Pitcher Plant, Jack-in-the-pulpit, and Bluebells.

She couldn't keep her thoughts from
drifting back to Brecken. He would be on his business trip, but would his
security staff really deal with the issues with the photographer? Was it really
a disgruntled competitor? She couldn't get the image of the photo out of her
head. Who would do something like this to her? It had to be someone crazy.
Someone jealous. And then, it hit her like a ton of bricks.

Alyson.

Was Alyson behind it? Trying to
drive her out of her job because of jealousy? She couldn't imagine why. The
woman owned half the company. She didn't need to be threatened by anyone, let
alone Heather, a new employee who didn't even have a top-level job in the
business. Soon, she dismissed Alyson as a possible culprit.

Heather thought she knew a lot about
this industry, but maybe she didn't know everything she needed to. After all,
there was only so much you could learn from books. She'd never been in this
position before. This kind of thing might be perfectly normal for a company
like Shaw & Burks. Still, it left her with an unsettled feeling.

"Computer programming, my
ass," she muttered into the growing darkness of her room. "What the
hell is going on?"

"I'm telling you to keep them
away from her!" Brecken was in his hotel room, pacing, his anger building.
"Do you hear me?"

The voice on the other end of the
line assured him that it would be taken care of. Without saying anything more,
Brecken hung up and moved to stand by the window. He didn't need this. He had
enough trouble to deal with. He liked Heather and was furious that someone had
the balls to not only have her followed, but to photograph her and scare her. He
was still trying to figure out exactly who was behind it, but none of the
possibilities was comforting.

His phone beeped and he glanced down
to see he had received a text message. He pressed a button and swore when he
saw that it was from Alyson. He opened up the message.

The baby is yours and the baby is going to have a father
.

Again, he cursed. He rued the day he
had ever laid eyes was Alyson. All the beauty in the world couldn't make up for
the type of person she was. When she didn't get what she wanted, she turned
into a holy terror. When she got what she wanted, she just wanted more. You
could never win when it came to her.

Now, this talk about a baby. Was she
telling the truth or was she just playing him? Was she pregnant? He wanted
proof. When he got back to Boston, he would insist that he get just that.

The thought of Alyson being a mother
made him cringe. If the child was his, he couldn't let a child grow up alone,
without support, with someone like Alyson as a mother. She would probably
shuffle the kid off to nannies, boarding schools, and yet still try to control
every aspect of the child's existence. At the same time, he didn't want to be a
father. He wasn't ready to be a father.

He stared down at the message, his
emotions whirling. He had no reply. Suddenly feeling an overwhelming urge to
wring his ex-fiancée’s neck, he sank down onto the side of the bed, tossed the
phone onto the bedspread, and placed his head in his hands.

"Why?" he asked the empty
room. "Why?" That he was feeling so overwhelmed surprised him. He had
always been more than capable of managing his private and public life,
balancing each. His company took a great deal of his time, effort, and
intellect. He thrived on that. He wasn't good at this emotional stuff. That was
not to say that he didn't like women. He liked women. He loved women. He loved
having sex with them. But all of that had ended when he met Alyson.

He had thought she was the woman of
his dreams, a woman who could be as true partner in life. Now look what had
happened. She had turned into a monster. She had turned his life into a living
hell. Perhaps part of that was his own doing because he couldn’t keep his dick in
his pants, but the plain fact of the matter was that he couldn't trust Alyson
further than he could throw her. And yet, she was tied to him until, and if,
she ever decided to take him up on his offer to buy her out. He had a sinking
feeling that she would never let him go. She had him in her clutches and would
never agree to a buyout. She seemed to live to make him miserable.

It'd gotten to the point where every
time he saw Alyson, his stomach acids churned. He grew agitated, flustered, and
found it difficult to concentrate. He couldn't afford to experience those
thoughts and emotions in his line of work. He needed to be at the top of his
game. Every day. Every minute. Alyson chewed him up and spit him out.

He wished things had gone better
with her, but he had no one but himself to blame. He had allowed his dick to
rule his behaviors and actions. Just because sex with Alyson was explosive and
passionate, he allowed himself to be sucked into her black hole. The minute he
realized the truth about her, he had broken it off. There was no hope for their
future.

He didn't know how to deal with the
situation. While he didn't toe the line all of the time when it came to his
business or legal maneuverings, he couldn't think of any way that he could get
rid of Alyson that wouldn’t eventually bring suspicion back on itself. Wait. He
shook his head. Why was even thinking such thoughts? He would never go that
far. Never. But he knew why he was thinking it. Because every time he thought
that Alyson might be moving on, she returned to up the game.

If Alyson was truly pregnant and the
child was truly his, he was totally screwed. Not only was she holding the
company over his head, she would hold the child over his head, too. She would
threaten, bribe, cajole, and manipulate him to do everything she wanted. He had
no doubt that she would use a child as a bargaining chip to get what she wanted
out of life, out of him.

He shook his head; once again ruing
the day he had ever laid eyes on her.

His watch alarm went off, startling
him. He sighed, stood, and completed packing. His driver would be here soon to
take him to the plane. He thought of Heather, visiting her folks in New
Hampshire. It sounded wonderful. Instead of heading north, he was heading
south, far south. His destination? Bolivia. He didn't want to go, and certainly
didn't want to deal with this new headache, but he had no choice.

Like his dealings with Alyson, his
business was beginning to unravel. Secrets could be divulged – dangerous
secrets. He had to regain control and the only way he could do that, at least
in this aspect of the business, was to travel to Bolivia. He didn't like those
people, but he was in bed with them just as much as he was in bed with Alyson.
Until he could find a way to extricate himself, he was stuck.

He shook his head and sighed. His
life had turned into shit. He might be a billionaire, but even that couldn't
get him out of the web of deceit, subterfuge, and secrets that he had woven.

Shit.

*

The following morning, Brecken sat
across the table from several men wearing camouflage fatigues. The fatigues
were old, well worn, and scuffed around the cuffs and shoulders and buttons.
The cup of coffee in front of him remained untouched as he eyed each of them. They
were serious, no-nonsense looking men. One of them was a colonel. He didn't
like these people, didn't like being here.

Usually, he brought one of the
security guys down with him, an ex-black ops guy now loosely termed as a
mercenary. One of Brecken’s most trusted men; he was often in Central and South
America, ensuring that his business ventures proceeded smoothly.

But Brecken’s presence had been
"requested" – and to come alone this time. He had agreed, although
his man was nearby. Brecken wouldn't have it any other way. He had seen him as
he entered the combination restaurant and bar, sitting at a table alone on the
outside patio of a popular Bolivian hangout.

They had a private corner of the
patio all to themselves. He couldn't wait to complete the meeting and get the
hell out of here. For some reason, thoughts of Heather kept drifting into his
head, and he wasn’t just thinking with his brain. He would love to see her. She
had a soothing effect on his troubled spirits. He didn't know why, and he
wasn't about to dig deeper beneath the surface. Not now.

"The plan will just have to
wait for now," he said. He had already told them once, heard their
muttered grumblings, and then repeated himself.

"That's unacceptable," the
colonel said, his black eyes riveted to Brecken's. "We had a deal."

"I understand that, but
unforeseeable circumstances would not make it wise to continue at this
time-"

"Your problems are not my
concern," the colonel said. "We need the information and we need it
quickly, as you promised."

"They've got eyes on me-"

“Then get around them," the
colonel interrupted. “If we don't have the information we need, and at our
pre-agreed timeframe, there will be consequences. For you. For your
company."

Brecken stared at the colonel and
tried not to let his emotions show. These people could smell fear and anxiety.
They didn't want to hear about his troubles, and he understood that. He didn’t
give a hoot in hell about theirs. When it came to business, he didn't care what
kind of troubles afflicted the lives of those he dealt with. Still, he didn't
like to be threatened. He said so.

"No one likes to be threatened,
Señor," he said.

"You've made too many enemies,”
the colonel grinned. “We don't care what you like. We had a deal. You will
stick to it."

Brecken knew that they knew that he
could hurt them. At the same time, they could hurt him just as much. These were
not people who tolerated a lot. Neither were most of his clients. It was a
tricky business, no doubt about that. He often had to walk a tightrope,
especially when dealing with South Americans. There was something about them,
perhaps their history of internal conflicts that gave them a sense of
recklessness. They would take anyone down who crossed their path, and they
didn't care who got caught in the crossfire. After all, these were soldiers who
wiped out entire villages. They had no concept of right or wrong. They would
kill everyone in a village without blinking an eye, so he knew that
double-crossing them or getting on their bad side would cause very serious
repercussions. Finally, he offered a short nod.

"I will have what you need, as
agreed," he said. "All I am asking is for a little extra time to make
sure that the information is passed with no one the wiser. Are you going to
tell me that after waiting years a couple of days is going to make that much of
a difference to you?"

The gaze of the colonel hardened,
but Brecken didn't break his stare. He didn't look at the colonel's aides, but
kept his gaze fastened on those black, emotionless eyes that stared at him from
across the table.

Finally, the colonel nodded. "I
will give you three extra days. No more. If we don't have the information we
want by then, you will be hearing from me, and not in a good way. You
understand?"

"I understand," Brecken
said. He didn't break his stare. "But I don't like to be threatened. You
understand that."

With that, he rose and left the
table. Inside, his stomach was churning. He was getting in too deep. Either
that or he was losing his ability to deal with it. He had no doubt that his
personal life was having a very detrimental impact on his ability to focus.
Damn Alyson! He shouldn't let her have such control over his emotions, but what
was he supposed to do? She wasn't just showing up at his place of business
causing problems, she was dropping bombshells on him.

A pregnancy. Sending him thinly
veiled threats in text messages.

The baby is yours and the baby is going to have a father
.

Brecken had never hated anybody in
his life; he didn't want to be carrying around that kind of emotion, but Alyson
was making it extremely difficult. He was learning how to hate. He was willing
to contemplate things he never contemplated before. He didn't want to go there,
didn't want to cross that line, but God, what was he supposed to do? She could
bring him down. The fact that she would go down with him didn't seem to make a
bit of difference to her. He felt like he was on the Titanic. No way out.

He had originally planned to stay
the night in Bolivia and catch his plane back to the States early the following
morning, but all he wanted to do was get the hell away from here. He notified
his security guy and then called his pilot. He wanted to take off within the
hour. It would be a scramble, but they could do it.

He wanted to go home to Boston and put
the dirty streets of Bolivia behind him. He wanted to get that distasteful
feeling out of his mouth after meeting with the colonel and his cronies. Had he
got himself too deep this time?

*

By the time Brecken returned to
Boston, he felt exhausted, physically and emotionally. It was afternoon when he
landed, but he told Cynthia to take the rest of the day off. Without a word,
she nodded, saved what she was working on at her computer, and then grabbed her
purse out of a desk drawer.

“Have a good evening, Brecken,"
she said as she headed away from her desk and toward the elevator.

Brecken mumbled a reply and then
headed into his office, closing the door softly behind him. Here was where he
felt safe. Here was where he felt most in control. Still, uncertainties niggled
at the edges of his consciousness. He had to tread carefully. He was involved
in some precarious business dealings. The kind of dealings where one side could
easily bring the other side down. Was it getting to be too much for him? While
he certainly didn't doubt his motives, he was beginning to feel the strain.

Issues with Alyson weren’t helping
any. Then, he thought of Heather. She was a breath of fresh air. It wasn't like
she was naïve. She was just a nice person who made him feel better. He didn't
know her at all, but she seemed to be the complete opposite of Alyson, so in
his book, she got high marks. She didn't seem to be impressed by him or his
money whatsoever, another refreshing aspect of her character. As he thought of
Heather, he thought about her fear when she'd come into the office to tell him
about the photograph and the phone call. He frowned, ignored the hardening of
his dick when he thought of her, and picked up his phone. He punched in an
extension.

When a voice answered on the other
end, he spoke. "What did you find?"