Billionaire's Lies: A Novel (8 page)

"What was that about?" I asked, finally breaking the silence.

"The real estate deal didn't go as well as the press was reporting," Blake responded, his hands clenching into a fist. "Nothing of importance today," he turned and flashed me a bright, award-winning smile.

"Blake, what happened?" I asked gently, seeing through the smile he was shooting me.

"Entertainment websites and news shows thrive off of celebrity gossip, even when they're unsubstantiated. Their latest favorite was claiming that I'm working together with another real estate agent and that I was only interested in the property to prevent her from selling it to someone else. She became nervous, and now she is backing away." He shrugged.

"That sucks," I said sympathetically. I didn't know exactly what the deal was with this new property Blake was looking at, but I knew that it was extremely important to him and his business. I'd read that if he was able to secure it, then his profits would double over the next five years--how true or false that was, I didn't dare ask. "So, what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to have to finagle my way into it," he responded coolly, his face hardening into a neutral mask.

"Is that a nice way of saying kiss her ass?" I joked, trying to lighten the mood.

He turned to me and smiled widely. It wasn't the smile he usually flashed me, and I couldn't read what it meant. He gave me a sweet and short kiss on the lips. "You could say it's something like that..."

"Like what?"

"That is why I can't get you out of my system."

"So you've tried?"

"Ten years is a long time." He laughed but then he stopped. "You never became serious with anyone during that time?"

"No! I would have told you." Blake nodded his head in response knowingly. "Besides, when would I have had the time?"

"That's true."

"And what about you? Have you gotten serious with anyone?"

The car was silent. When he finally decided to open his mouth, the driver rolled down his window.

"Sir, I have sent out the message and rescheduled all of your... meetings for the following day." He looked at him through the rear-view mirror. I tried to make eye contact with him but he refused to look my way.

"Excellent. Thank you. That will be all." The driver nodded and concentrated fully on the road after closing the partition.

"I thought you said that today was your free day?"

"It is."

"Then why did you have to clear some meetings?"

"Only a few. Nothing really important." His dull green eyes looked back at me.

I shook my head at him, laughing. Did it really matter what he had to clear? He had cleared it for
me
and that meant the world. "You're ridiculous," I laughed. "Thank you for making the time for me, Mr. Slate," I whispered huskily. His eyes returned to emerald.

"We're going to make a day of this." Blake took my hand in his and squeezed gently, my heart flipping with it.

"Does that mean you're going to tell me where we're going?"

"That's a surprise." His eyes twinkled and I just leaned back in the car, looked out the window, and watched buildings zoom by.

We pulled up to a lot and I glanced out the window to see a sleek, white private jet. I looked at him and he just smirked.

"I think you can handle this."

"But I can't." My palms were already sweating and I was trying real hard to stop my knees from shaking. Helicopters, jets, it didn't matter--heights were heights and I was going to start serious freaking out.

"You did it before, you can do it again." My door opened and I rocked slightly back and forth. "Trust me?"

The question lingered in the air. I've known him for ten years. When we first started to chat, I just remember the butterflies I would get in my stomach. How could someone you barely know make you feel this way? He would send me messages every morning and when I found out that I was hired at my job, there were roses waiting for me. In fact, with every celebration, he somehow managed to send me a gift. I guess that could have been a clue to the millions to billions of dollars that he had, but I wasn't thinking about that. I was stuck on the fact that a man seemed to always have me in his thoughts. Although he never told me those three little words, he made sure I felt it.

"Yes, I trust you." A calm washed over me, along with a new determination to brave this out for Blake.

We were off. We walked hand-in-hand to the jet. I put on my seatbelt and grabbed a hold of the luxurious seat. I tried to not look around too much, but the elegant decor and modern finishings on it kept catching my attention. I knew I was playing with fate flying again in this piece of heavy machinery, disrespecting gravity. But with every rub Blake circled on my back, I calmed down a little bit more. That was one of the things I loved about him the most: the way he knew exactly how to calm me down.

"At least look out so you can see the views."

"If I wanted to see pretty views, I'd Google them," I joked, but I took him up on his offer and glanced out the small window.

After landing, I ran out of the helicopter and fell to my knees on the ground.

"We landed fine. We are okay." Blake laughed as he saw me put my cheek against the ground.

"It's a miracle." I was being dramatic and I knew it, but heights had that effect on me. "Just promise me that on the ride back, you give me something strong that'll knock me out."

"Fine," he laughed. "Now come on, the car is waiting."

Chapter 9

The car pulled up to the destination, and I couldn't believe it. I looked over at Blake and he was just smiling. How could he be so calm and make plans like this so easily? I guess it came with the money.

"Are you excited?" His grin showed that he really was pleased with the effort he put into this surprise.

"I'm... speechless."

"Considering we did ten years of strictly talking, that's saying a lot," he joked, and I playfully hit him on the arm.

"It's so beautiful here." I was still looking out the window. The crisp air hit me and I breathed it in deeply. It was so refreshing. The driver made his way to my door and I locked it before he could open it.

"I thought you were excited."

"Blake!" I looked at him wild-eyed. "I don't have the right clothes for this weather."

He was silent for a second. Suddenly, he erupted with laughter.

"Don't worry, I have everything covered." His door opened and the driver was on the other side.

"How could you-"
possibly know my size?
I wanted to ask, but stopped myself. I just nodded my head knowingly. Blake has this way about him where he's in control of all things at all times. Of course he'd know everything about me.

It took a while for my shoes to get used to the snow of Colorado. I didn't want to slip and fall but it was so gorgeous out here that I could hardly pay attention to my steps.

We were walking up to the largest log cabin I'd ever seen in my life. Even though it was set in the middle of nature, it exuded luxury. It looked like one of those houses you'd see on one of those reality TV shows. You know, the ones where you're not really paying attention to the people on the screen because you're too busy looking at the furniture and the decor. When I told him that joke, he seriously nodded his head and said maybe he should rent it out to some networks. I started to laugh but when I saw the color of his eyes, I knew he was serious. Can't blame him for wanting to make a little bit more money off of this place. The high ceilings, the decadent furniture, and the huge fireplace alone made you think that you were on the set of some cheesy soap opera.

"This place..." I looked around. "This place is so breathtaking."

"Yes. Now let me guide you to your room."

"My room?" I asked, confused. "Aren't I staying in your room?"

"Of course. That goes without saying. But I know how you women get. You want to come in, take a bath, eat something light, and maybe a little nap. I just thought it would be nice for you to have the option of having your own space."

"Oh."

"But understand that at the end of the night, your place is in my bedroom." I chuckled as a warmth spread through my core and even lower, and he laughed right after. "Now go take your shower, there's a change of clothes in your room, and after dinner...we're going to have some fun outside."

"You've done this before?"

"No, I've thought about doing this before, I just had no one special to do it with. Now, please go get ready."

The grand bedroom had stunning cherry wood furniture all over the place. The bathroom that was attached looked like it could fit at least the two of my bathrooms easily. After my shower, which somehow seemed even more relaxing and luxurious than the ones I tended to take at Blake's loft, I got dressed and headed toward his bedroom. He was standing up, looking in the mirror, fixing his outfit. I walked over to him but stopped short when I realized he was on a call using his speaker phone.

"Mr. Slate, Ms. Madison has left several messages for you."

"Has she?" There was a smirk across his face.

"Yes, sir," the woman, who I can only assume is his secretary, told him. "Do you want me to read you the messages?"

"No, I have a clue of what they entail. I will check them when I come back to the office tomorrow afternoon."

"Yes, sir."

"In the meantime, please tell her that I'll get back to her after I finish work." I got a quick glance at his dark green eyes through the mirror, they almost looked black.

"Yes, sir. I'll let Ms. Madison know that you are tied up with work and that you'll talk to her when you come back."

"Please make sure you forward that message."

He hung up. I looked back and contemplating tip-toeing back to the bedroom. I could pretend that none of this ever happened. I could go plop on the bed and act like I never left the room at all. If only I could be the type of woman who didn't really attack things head on. It's just who I am. That's why I'm so successful in marketing. If you don't go for things at full speed, you will never get the results you want or the answers you seek. And right now, I think I'm due for some answers.

"Am I work? Is that what we're calling me?" I walked into the bedroom with my arms crossed protectively over my chest.

"What?"

"Your secretary called and you said you were at work. Ms. Madison thinks you're working?"

"She has to."

"Huh?"

"Remember, her and I are going through this business deal. She's trying to play around with the deal. I need her to think that I have other options." He walked over to me and kissed me on the cheek. "It's all business, nothing personal."

He led me to the dining room and the weaker part of my mind gave in to his excuse. With all of the effort he's putting in for me, how could I believe there was some other reason for his lie? Blake wants
me
, he's made that more than clear.

There were candles everywhere and the lights were low and soft. It was so breathtaking. He pulled out my seat for me like a true gentleman, and I did a little exaggerated curtsy before taking my seat. Dinner was already set: lobster bisque as the appetizer, flame charred steak as the main, and a light raspberry sorbet for dessert. Everything was impeccably put together, like he'd given it a lot of thought and given the chef strict orders. We were laughing and cracking up the whole time. The candlelight highlighted his face. When he smiled and his green eyes glowed, I couldn't help but blush back. Somehow, Blake made every night we spent together more perfect than the last.

"That was fantastic," I said sleepily, patting my mouth with the cloth napkin. "Remind me to leave a note for the chef, thanking them for everything."

"How are you so sure that I didn't cook the meal?" he asked, bemused.

"Do I really need to remind you of how financially blessed you are? I suspect you know a few good chefs."

"That is true." He sipped on some wine, hiding the small smile I coaxed out of him.

"Also, in the ten years we've spoken, you've never once brought up the fact you can cook."