FRAGILE: A Billionaire Romance (Part Two) (2 page)

“Me too. It’s weird, too, because I can tell that something bothers him and he doesn’t want to talk about it, so he doesn’t like to get close,” I say. “I still don’t know much about him, but I got him to open up just a little bit more.” I share everything I know about Eli’s past with Larisa.

“I bet something bad happened to him, with his family,” Larisa says. She adjusts her glasses. “Probably running from his past.” When I shrug, Larisa gives me a sly smile. “Or, maybe he’s a murderer?”

I chuckle, shaking my head at her. “I doubt that.”

I almost tell her about Eli rescuing Jason yesterday, but I decide against it. I had already lost some sleep worrying over Jason, imagining him almost dropping to his death, along with thinking far too much about Eli and hoping our relationship will go somewhere. Eli had made it very clear from the start that he wasn’t interested in anything that could be defined as a real relationship. We were supposed to be lovers—that was all. Unfortunately, my heart was getting other ideas, and I was mad at it.

“So what’s on the agenda for today?” I ask.

“Getting your new line ‘Tension’ started, Miss Jennings!” Larisa exclaims. She shoos me with her pencil and legal pad. “Go talk to Davy! I’ve got emails to read and voicemails to respond to, and you’ve got a new product to work on.”

I share a smile with her before I head down the hall, excited. I haven’t had a new design line in almost a year, and I’m ready for the change.

***

Despite the great start to the week, when Thursday rolls around, I’m nervous about my upcoming meeting with Jeff Hendricks, CEO of Chargene Jewelers who is a distributor of ours. I reviewed all the reports my team got for me from Chargene Jewelers, and it doesn’t look good. While they’ve moved some product, it isn’t much, and what they have moved was sold at deeply discounted rates, like there weren’t any takers and they practically had to bribe people to buy the pieces. On top of that, some products didn’t sell at all. I’ve never seen a jewelry line botch so bad, and I can’t help but wonder if the problem is my jewelry or some setup issue.

Jeff Hendricks is an older, squat man with a very round belly. Normally, he’s all smiles, but when Jeff walks in today, I can tell that he’s mad, and I’m positive I’m losing a distributor.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Hendricks,” I say.

“Miss Jennings,” Jeff say, jumping straight to business. “I’ve seen some reports recently that have just flabbergasted me. I’m completely shocked.” He lays out reports of the sales on Chargene Jewelers’ side, and I see the same numbers my team pulled for me. “I haven’t seen a jewelry line flunk this bad in…in years!”

“I’m very sorry to hear that, Mr. Hendricks,” I say. “Do you have pictures of the setup—”

“We’re cancelling our contract,” Jeff says.

The immediateness of his decision throws me off. “Mr. Hendricks, your contract runs for another seven months,” I say carefully. “I’d be happy to help by switching to a different line, or if you’ll let me look at the setup, maybe I can make some suggestions?”

“No,” Jeff says. He slaps his folder on to the desk, startling me. I’ve never had a client get this upset before. “We’re done. And if you’re going to charge us your ridiculous fee for ending the contract early because
your product
sucks, we’ll sue you.”

I stare at Jeff. His small eyes are glaring at me, but I notice they shift back and forth, like he doesn’t want to linger here a moment more. I don’t know what to make of it. Leaning back into my seat, I watch him a little longer.

“This doesn’t sound like you even want to work out a deal,” I say slowly.

Jeff shakes his head. “We’re finished. We’ll send our remaining products back to you.”

“Very well,” I say. I’m trying not to cry, and I make myself smile at Jeff, as I stand and offer my hand. “I’m sorry it didn’t work out, Mr. Hendricks.”

“You should be,” Jeff says. Ignoring my open hand, he storms out of the room, swiping a mint from a box on Larisa’s desk as he goes down the hall.

It was a bizarre meeting, one of the strangest I’d ever had, but I’m so stunned and hurt that I’d lost a distributor so quickly that I sink slowly back into my chair. My headache this morning has returned, and I pop a few more pills and then rest my forehead on my hand for a second. I glance at my phone, hoping Eli’s finally texted me, but there’s nothing.

Heaving a sigh, I gather all the papers up. I’ve got a phone call to make.

***

The phone rings once after the secretary forwards my call. “Hello, Ruby!” Jonah Varrihan greets cheerily. Jonah’s my lawyer, and another friend of mine.

“Hi Jonah,” I say. I can’t even hide my deflated spirit, and my tone comes out almost dead.

“Ruby? What’s wrong?” Jonah asks.

“Just had the worst meeting of my life,” I say. I take a breath. “Chargene Jewelers wants to back out of their contract early.”

“And I take it they’re upset enough that you’re not going to charge them, given you’re calling me,” Jonah says.

“Yep. Jeff’s pretty pissed. Their numbers are terrible. He wouldn’t even let me work out a deal or anything,” I say.

“So you saw their reports?” Jonah asked.

“Yeah. I’ve never seen a line bomb that bad,” I say. Sighing, I shake my head. “Anyway, I’m sure there’s something legal I need to do to let them know that we won’t charge them even though that’s what it says in the contract.”

“Yeah, just basic paperwork,” Jonah says. “I can draft up something for you today and email it. You’ll need to sign it and send it back, or you can stop by.”

“Go ahead and send it, and I’ll either email it back or just stop by,” I say.

“Sounds good. I’m sorry to hear about Chargene Jewelers. Any news about Marnvell Jewelers pulling out?”

Marnvell Jewelers is another distributor of ours, and it just so happens that Eli Richardson is the CEO of Marnvell Jewelers. Jonah’s asking, because only a few weeks ago I had beat Eli over the head with a rock because I thought he was stealing jewelry when he wasn’t. As if that wasn’t ironic enough, it was a piece that Ruby’s Jewelry sold through Marnvell Jewelers. I’d received a warning about harassment charges from the incident.

“No,” I say. “But Larisa mentioned to me this morning that they have a contract with us for four more months.”

“Ah. So they might just wait out the contract and not renew?”

“Yeah. I’m just not sure,” I say.

“Hm,” Jonah says. I can hear papers shuffling in the background. “It was an honest mistake, really. I’m not sure it’s necessary, but given that Chargene Jewelers is backing out so abruptly like this, you may want to continue keeping up positive relations with Marnvell Jewelers, especially Mr. Richardson.”

I’m all too happy to turn my thoughts to Eli and keeping up “positive relations” with him. “That won’t be a problem,” I say brightly.

“It just wouldn’t be good to lose another big distributor.” There’s a pause. “You’re not dating Mr. Richardson, are you?”

I hesitate, surprised that Jonah guessed it. My tone must have given it away. “Not exactly,” I say.

“Ruby,” Jonah says warningly.

“We’re not officially dating. Just seeing each other, kind of,” I say. Even that wasn’t official.

Jonah sighs heavily into the phone. “Ruby, you’re playing with fire. You do realize Mr. Richardson can turn your visits into a real harassment case?”

“Eli wouldn’t do that,” I say. I’m not sure if I’m trying to convince Jonah or myself. The thought that this could be a ploy by Eli for money has never crossed my mind, and although I don’t believe it, I can’t help but worry about it.

“Has it been at your place or his?” Jonah asks after a second.

“That’s none of your business!” I say, embarrassed.

“It is if Mr. Richardson is using you,” Jonah says. I can hear the protective tone in his voice, and I calm myself. Jonah’s just looking out for me.

“At his place.” I hesitate. “Well, and we went for a hike last Sunday.”

“And do you have any media records of this? Emails? Calls? Texts?”

“Of what? Going out?” I ask.

“Of Mr. Richardson inviting you.”

I scrunch my nose as I think back. “Uh, no, actually.”

“Nothing? Have you just been showing up at his place?” Jonah asks, his voice strained.

I gape at a painting of New York City hanging above my desk. “Well…I mean, he invited me after my appointment with him two weeks ago. And then we ran into each other last Saturday while I was volunteering, and we hung out then.”

“But outside of the appointment at his office, Mr. Richardson’s never once invited you by anything other than word of mouth?” Jonah asks.

The fact that Jonah’s pressing for this is scaring me, and I twirl one of my curls around my finger as I think back over the last couple of weeks. “No.”

“Don’t you dare visit Mr. Richardson again—unless he asks you via some sort of device where we can get a hold of the records,” Jonah says firmly. “And I don’t care if he teases you with pictures of his dick or whatever; you need some sort of confirmation that Mr. Richardson is actually asking to see you. You can’t just show up at his place without record of being invited. Not right now.”

I hide my face in my hands. “I’m sorry.”

Jonah sighs. “Ruby, you’re a very passionate person. You just need to be careful that you don’t leave any room for that passion to be misinterpreted. And unfortunately, your first run-in with Mr. Richardson had you on the wrong side of the fence. The incident actually shows your sense of justice, but it just went down badly. People can take advantage of that.”

I nod and then remember that Jonah can’t see me. “Yeah.”

A silence follows for a few seconds. “You don’t really want a guy who won’t pursue you, do you?” Jonah asks, his tone softening.

“No,” I say. My hands are trembling, and I curl my legs up into my chair. “You’re right. I’m just scared now.”

“It’s not the end of the world,” Jonah says. “No one’s dying.” Jonah pauses as I give a sad laugh. “I just don’t want to see you lose time and money because some guy takes advantage of the fact that you made one mistake,” Jonah says. “Okay?”

“Okay.” I take a deep breath. “Thanks, Jonah.”

“You’re welcome. Take care, Ruby.”

“You too.” As soon as I put the phone down, I lay my head on my desk. That’s how Larisa finds me ten minutes later.

“Miss Jennings?” Larisa asks.

“Jonah thinks Eli might be trying to get money out of me,” I say. My head’s still on the desk, and I finally lift my head up, looking for my headache medicine.

Larisa stares at me, watching as I pop three pills. “What do you think?”

“It would certainly explain why he doesn’t like talking about himself,” I say. I feel miserable. Probably because my heart’s being smashed into little pieces. “I don’t want to believe it. But…”—I brush my hair back, not sure if I want to cry or punch the wall—“I guess we’ll see.”

Her red lips pressed together tightly, Larisa sits across from me and puts a hand on mine. “Maybe it’s just circumstance.”

“That’s what I’m hoping,” I say. I glance longingly at my phone on the desk, wishing Eli would send me a message. One text, one call, one email, and I could stop worrying. There’s nothing from Eli, though, and eventually I make myself turn back to my work.

At least I have a new design line. “Tension” will keep me busy and my mind off the stress in my life from abruptly losing a distributor and the stress surrounding the mysterious, hot guy who’s amazing in bed, makes me feel alive, gives me a headache, and now a heartache.

              My devil in a god’s body is waiting for me by the front doors to the complex where my penthouse is Friday after work. I try to keep myself poised, ready to heed Jonah’s warnings, but as I walk up, I can feel my resolve draining. I’m so glad to see him again. Eli is dressed as smartly as ever, in a black suit again, and when I’m close enough, he reaches out and takes my hand, giving me a knee-rattling smile.

              “Hello Ruby,” Eli says, his deep voice rumbling through me.

              “Hi.” I keep my face impassive besides for a smile, but my body betrays my true feelings. It wouldn’t take much for Eli to find out I’m already ready for him.

              “How are you?” Eli asks.

              “I’m much better now,” I say. “Why haven’t you called or anything?”

              “I had a lot of thinking to do.”

It comes out so smoothly that I want to believe him, but I can hear Jonah’s voice warning me. “You want to come in?” I ask.

              “I was actually hoping I could take you out for dinner,” Eli says. “I haven’t properly treated you yet.”

              I can’t help myself as I give him a grin. “I’m not sure about that. I’ve definitely felt well-treated when we’ve been together.”

              Eli shares my grin, and he leans down and kisses me on the lips. “Do you need anything before we leave?”

             
Say yes,
I think.
Come up with an excuse. Say you need to check on Buttercup. Ask to meet him for dinner and have him text you when and where to meet him. Do anything, but don’t just go with him without some sort of record of his invitation!

“Nope! I’m ready to go,” I hear myself say.

My head is scolding me, but my heart is thudding with anticipation and my body’s quivering. Eli holds his arm out, and I take it as he guides me to the street. I’m about to ask if he’d like me to drive so we don’t have to call a cab when I spot a black limo waiting on the side of the road.

Eli walks straight for the limo, and the driver of the limo, who’s dressed in a white suit, holds the door open for us. I glance down at myself, glad that despite how terrible I felt this morning I had decided to wear my red cocktail dress today. I have my less-than-fancy waist-length plaid black jacket on, but I figure I’ll just shed it once we get to wherever we’re going.

Inside, it’s one of the nicer limos I’ve been in, and dance music is blasting in the background, something that surprises me. I’d assumed that Eli liked classical music. Or maybe the driver picked it and Eli hadn’t changed it. Regardless, I like it.

“What were you going to do with the limo if I said I was busy tonight?” I ask.

“I figured I could persuade you to cancel any other plans you had,” Eli says. He sits close to me, his hands wrapping around my waist, and he kisses my forehead, my cheek, my nose, and then my mouth. I’m starting to pant when he gets to my neck, and I glance up to make sure that the limo driver can’t see us.

“Is it a long enough drive?” I whisper.

Eli laughs. “No. I probably should stop, shouldn’t I?” He leans back, smiling at me, and pulls out a bottle of champagne. “Would you like some?”

“Yes, please.” I feel giddy with hope.
Maybe Eli feels about me the same way I feel about him?
This certainly implies as much.

Eli pours me a glass and then pours one for himself. “So how was your work week?”

“Awesome and terrible at the same time,” I say.

Eli’s brow comes together. “Why?”

I take a sip of my champagne as I debate my next words. “The bad part was I lost one of our distributors.”

“Really?” Eli asks. “Can I ask why?”

“They had a line of ours completely botch,” I finally admit after a pause. I wasn’t sure if this was something I was supposed to talk about with, technically, a competitor to the distributor I’d lost. But I hadn’t mentioned the name of the distributor, so I don’t worry about it too much. “Like, low numbers I’ve never seen before. And they didn’t even want to work anything out. It was a bad meeting.”

Eli puts an arm around me, and I’m glad for the comfort. “I’m sorry to hear that,” he says. “What was the good part of your week, then?”

“I actually came up with a new design line that I’m really excited about.”

“Oh?” Eli asks, looking intrigued.

I smirk up at him. “I can’t tell you anything until it’s ready. Trade secrets, after all.”

“Can you really keep anything from me?” Eli whispers into my ear. His hot breath across my cheek sends a chill down my spine.

“These lips are sealed.”

“Is that a challenge?”

I bite my lip as I smile at him. “Maybe.”

Eli’s eyes take me in, as he sips from his glass, and I shudder with desire.

“So what about your work week?” I ask.

“Mine was good,” Eli says. “I had a lot of meetings, but they all went well.”

“Glad your meetings went better,” I say. I’d ask him more questions, but by now I’ve figured out that springing personal questions on Eli doesn’t usually go over well. “So where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise,” Eli says.

“Everything’s a surprise with you,” I say. “Which I like. But it also frustrates me.”

“You don’t like secrets, do you?”

“I do and I don’t. I like the idea of a secret. For about five minutes.”

Chuckling, Eli kisses me on the cheek. “We’re going to dinner. Does that satisfy your curiosity?”

“No.” I glance around for a window, but the windows by the doors are very, very dark, and it’s hard to see anything outside. “But I guess I’ll find out, won’t I?”

Eli grins. “Yes, indeed.”

A few minutes later the limo comes to a stop, and the limo driver walks around and opens Eli’s door. Eli exits first, and then he holds his hand out for me, and I follow him out. And I stare.

We are parked in front of one of
the
most expensive steakhouses I’m aware of in Atlanta. I had been here once before, and it had been to treat my mom and myself after my business had started to see a lot of success. It was one of those places that didn’t even list prices on the menu. If you had to ask, you couldn’t afford it. While I certainly had the money, the fact that Eli had picked this place makes me feel all buttery in my legs, and I’m convinced at this point that our relationship is going to the next level.

“Are you sure?” I whisper to Eli.

Eli chuckles. “Was it a good surprise?”

“Yes.” As we walk up, I glance at him. “How’d you get a reservation here so soon?”

Eli just smirks, as he offers his arm. I take it, completely overwhelmed with the mystery that clings to him and the smell of his cologne. He walks me into the building, and a smartly-dressed host takes one look at Eli before smiling.

“Good evening, Mr. Richardson. Your table is ready.”

“Thank you, Lee,” Eli says.

I sneak a peek at Eli’s face, trying to figure out how and why the host knows Eli so well that he recognizes him on sight and why he’s on a first-name basis with the host. Perhaps Eli’s more regular to places like this. Me, I’m still getting used to the idea that I don’t have debt anymore, let alone that I have money to spend in extravagance. I’m not the richest person by any stretch of the imagination, but I’m already wealthier now than I’d ever thought I’d be in my lifetime. The fact just hasn’t sunk in yet, despite the fact that I live in a penthouse.

Lee leads us upstairs to a white-covered table for two towards the back, a candle already lit. Lee takes my jacket, Eli declining to remove his suit jacket, and then he presents us with menus.

“I hope you enjoy your dinner, and please let me know if you need anything, Mr. Richardson,” Lee says.

“Thank you, Lee,” Eli says.

Lee nods his head and walks away, my coat in his arm. Not a second later our waiter appears, setting goblets with water in them in front of us.

“Welcome, sir, ma’am,” the waiter says. “What would you like to drink?”

Eli, who was observing the drink list, looks up at me. “I assume you like red wine?”

“Yes.”

“I’d like a bottle of the best pinot noir you have,” Eli says.

“Of course, Mr. Richardson.” Our waiter gives us a run-through on the specials and then leaves to get the wine.

I know I probably shouldn’t jump to conclusions so quickly, but I can’t help it. Everything about this is making me hopeful, and my heart is just about to fall over itself to fly across the table.

I smile at Eli. “Any special occasion I should know about?” I ask, a little more pointedly than I meant my tone to be.

“You are a special occasion,” Eli says. We chuckle, me blushing a little, and Eli takes a sip of his water. “You were really brave last Sunday,” he says gently.

Surprised, and now wondering if maybe this dinner was more of a closure for the hiking accident, I smirk. “Thanks, but you were the real hero. Remember? I was just the sidekick.”

Eli snickers. “Sidekick or not, it was quick thinking on your part to tear apart the fence. Don’t be so quick to ignore your own participation.”

“Well, thanks,” I say again.

Eli takes another long drink of his water, sighs, and sets his glass down as he looks at me. “I can’t stop thinking about you, Ruby.”

“Nor I you,” I say. I’m feeling more and more breathless, and I take a gulp of air, afraid I’m going to pass out I’m so dizzy.
This is it,
I think.
He really does feel the same way about me.

One hand playing with the edge of the napkin rolled around his silverware, Eli eventually looks back up at me and smirks. “You’re the first woman in a long time that I’ve seen more than once,” Eli says.

I want to trust him, but I can’t help raising an eyebrow at him in surprise. “I have a hard time believing that.”

Eli shrugs. “You may choose to believe it or not. It’s true.” Our waiter arrives at this point with the wine bottle, and he pours some into our glasses before taking our orders. “I’ll have the steak,” Eli says. “Well done.”

The waiter nod and looks at me. I can see his eyes start to follow my neck before darting back up to my face. “And you, ma’am?” he asks.

“I’d like the spicy shrimp and pasta,” I say.

“Of course.” The waiter bows his head, as he takes our menus, and he leaves.

I share a smile with Eli. If he’s being sincere, I’m positive he’s on the verge of professing his love to me.
Maybe he just needs a little encouragement to draw it out of him,
I think. “Why?” I ask.

“Why what?”

“Assuming you’re telling the truth, and I’m the only woman you’ve seen more than once in a long time, I want to know why that is.” I take a long sip of my wine, watching Eli’s face over my glass. My heart is thudding with anticipation.

Eli’s eyes drop down to the tablecloth. “I don’t want many friends,” he says at last, so quietly I almost mistake his voice as part of the soft music playing in the background.

I’m startled by his answer. I had been anticipating more of a romantic statement, not a sincerely reserved, almost pained answer. He’s being really honest with me for once, and I don’t know what to make of it.

“Why?” I ask.

The wall returns to Eli’s face, and he leans back, holding his wine glass between him and me as if to use it as a barrier as well. “Unlike you, Ruby, I’m not interested in people knowing everything about me,” he says, his tone a little distant. “I like being private.”

Shocked by the way the conversation is going, a part of me wants to just drop the matter and talk about myself, fix the awkwardness, and hope that we get back to the romantic evening.

“I get that, but you’re more than just private,” I hear myself say. I cringe inwardly. That was anything but romantic.

Eli’s green eyes narrow on me a little. “Am I?”

I’m trying not to ruin the mood that Eli’s set for the evening, but I can’t help but lean a little closer, making sure I have his full attention. “You don’t like to talk about stuff that shouldn’t bother someone normally. Like about your family, or your work,” I say. “I feel like I’m prying teeth out when I ask you questions.”

“Is that so bad?” Eli’s tone has become cool, and I know I should stop. It’s his warning that I’ve gone far enough. However, I can’t stop reaching. The truth is so close I can almost touch it.

“No, it’s not bad,” I say. I want to reassure Eli, and I hope I can get this conversation back on track. “Whatever issues you’ve got to work through, that’s cool. I get it. No hard feelings about past junk. But don’t pretend that it’s just because you’re an introvert or you don’t like to talk about yourself or you’re picky about your friends. It’s more than that for you. I think you’re afraid of getting attached to people, so you keep everyone at arm’s length from yourself.”

Eli’s eyes freeze on my face, and I blink in surprise, as I realize what I had said. It was honest, but it definitely wasn’t the nicest thing to say. Or the best thing to say for such a romantic setting.