More Than a Billionaire (19 page)

“Do you remember the asset you recruited in Russia?”

How could he forget? He’d spent two weeks there, ingesting Russian food and pretending he enjoyed it. Russia was well known for many things. Their fine cuisine wasn’t one of them.

“Nadia and her mother are in California this week. She decided at the last minute to attend a fundraiser in Los Angles. I want you to stop in and spend time with her. Our people thing she will have some new intel for you.”

At least he didn’t have to fly out to Russia today. “Where and when is the party?” Asking if someone else could go was futile. He already knew the answer.

“Starts at seven tonight at The Astoria. Black tie, of course.”

Fuck.
“I’ll take care of it.”
And when I get back, we need to talk, Randall.
 

The bedroom door opened, and Kiera walked out. She’d pulled on a t-shirt that reached the top of her thighs, and her hair hung in a riot of curls around her shoulders. His heartbeat doubled as she walked toward him.

He turned off the phone and memorized the way she looked, the way she moved, the way she smiled at him. In another second, he doubted she’d be smiling anymore.

“You need to stop disappearing from bed like that.”

“Sorry. The phone rang and I didn’t want to wake you.” He pulled her close, wishing she was naked.

“Problem at work?”

“Something like that.” Damn, he wished he could tell her the whole truth.

Kiera’s smile disappeared. “You need to go, don’t you?”

“Unfortunately. Come with me. Call in sick or see if someone can cover for you. I’ll have you back here in two days.”

“You know I can’t do that. My family doesn’t own the restaurant. They don’t write my paychecks, which means I can’t make my own hours like you do.”

He didn’t have as much freedom as she thought, and definitely not as much as he once did.

“You’re right, and I understand. But I wish you were coming with me.” He kissed her forehead. “Can you to do something for me while I’m gone? Your birthday is in three weeks. Take that whole weekend off, including Friday and Monday. We’ll go away. I won’t even take my phone with me. No one and nothing will disturb us.”

Kiera nodded. “I have that Saturday and Sunday off already. I’ll talk to Robin and see if he can work that Friday and Monday. I covered a bunch of his shifts in the fall. I think he’ll agree. Then, I can talk to Pierre and tell him Robin’s willing to help me out.”

“Remind me to send Robin a big, expensive bottle of champagne when he agrees.” Gray rubbed her silky skin, his body aching to join with hers again.

“I thought you needed to leave,” she whispered against his mouth.

Gray slipped his tongue into her mouth and lifted her at the same time. Immediately, Kiera wrapped her legs around his waist.

“First, I need to make love to you. Pleasure you enough so that you won’t think of anything else until I get back. Then I’ll go.”

It took him a long time to leave.

***

Gray handed his bag to Becky and took his usual seat. If nothing else, the flight to California would give him a chance to rest. He hadn’t realized how tired he was until he left the hotel and drove to the airport.

As the plane got positioned for take off, Gray rested his head against his seat and closed his eyes. He wanted Kiera’s birthday to be extra special. No matter where they went or what they did, he didn’t want work spoiling it. So far, she’d accepted the last minute changes that kept coming up. He wasn’t sure that would always be the case. Unfortunately, as long as he found himself on the Agency’s payroll he couldn’t guarantee work wouldn’t interfere in their lives.

Now where should they go? If they had more time, he’d pick Paris or maybe Venice. A long weekend wasn’t much time for that kind of trip. An island in the Caribbean might work. He loved both Anguilla Island and St. Barth’s.

With two possible destinations settled on, he needed the perfect gift.

He leaned his seat back. What were some intimate gifts? His mind kept coming back to one specific type of jewelry.

Gray could picture the type of engagement ring she’d like. It would be simple. A classic design that wouldn’t call attention to itself, nothing like the diamond his cousin, Sara, wore.

Yup, when he got back to New York he’d find the perfect ring for Kiera.

Warm air greeted him hours later, a stark contrast to the chilly temperature he’d left behind. He would’ve gladly given up the sunny skies and warm breezes if he could be with Kiera. The next time he traveled for work, hopefully she’d be able to come along.

Gray walked to the waiting car. After he handed over his carry-on, he gave the driver instructions and pulled out his phone. Even with the time difference, he might catch Kiera before she went into work. By the time he got back to his hotel after the fundraiser tonight, it would be rather late.

She picked up on the fourth ring.

“Hi, Gray. I can’t talk long. I’m almost at work.”

“I’ll be quick. I don’t think I’ll be able to call tonight. I wish you’d come with me. Maybe next time.”

“I wish I was with you too. I’ll take care of getting my birthday weekend off.”

At least he had that to look forward to.

“I need to go, I just pulled into work. Love you.”

He put the phone away and watched the traffic outside, letting his mind focus on the night ahead. Once he got work handled, he could get back to more important things.

Kiera dried her hands, then checked her appearance in the mirror above the sink. She looked the same as she did every night. It didn’t seem possible because she no longer felt the same. Happiness warmed her from the inside. Gray loved her. He made her feel cherished and desired. How could all of that
not
show?

She adjusted her toque and headed for the kitchen. She passed two waitresses and smiled. They each glanced at her, gave her half-smiles and walked away, whispering to each other. Kiera dismissed their behavior and entered her domain. The usual sounds and smells greeted her, and she jumped into her usual routine.

At first, she ignored the sideward glances and whispers. An hour after punching in, Erica walked by her with a whispered, “You’re so lucky.”

Before she asked what made her so lucky, Erica walked away, dinners in hand. After that, Kiera couldn’t ignore the glances from her co-workers, and recalled the whispered conversation between the waitresses in the hallway.

She wanted in on the secret and she knew just who to ask. If anyone wanted to know what was going on, they asked Erica. She always knew what was going on in the restaurant. So when Erica walked by again, Kiera waved her over.

“Do you have a minute?” Kiera asked.

“What’s up?”

Kiera kept her voice low. “What did you mean when you said I’m lucky? And does it have anything to do with why everyone’s giving me funny looks tonight?”

“You’re lucky because you’re dating Gray Sherbrooke. I’d give my right arm for a night with a guy like him,” Erica answered. “Actually, I’d give my right
and
left arms.”

“How do you know I’m seeing Gray?”

“Social media exploded last night with pictures of you two together. Then, this morning a picture was featured on
The Star Report
’s Internet edition.”

Kiera had expected the media’s involvement, and her mom had warned her.

“Does everyone know?”

“I think so. I heard the other waitresses talking about it in the employee locker room. Was last night your first date? You two looked so cozy that I told my roommate it couldn’t have been.”

People were discussing her love life? Could she hide out in a closet somewhere for a little while?

Kiera swallowed down her groan. “We’ve been together several weeks now, but we’ve known each other a long time.”

“That’s why he was here that night. Makes sense now. I can’t wait until I tell my roommate I was right.”

Erica walked away leaving Kiera speechless. If everyone at the restaurant knew, Joanna and Stephanie must know, too. She was surprised that they hadn’t already called demanding all the details. Maybe she should invite them both over tomorrow afternoon. That way, they could both grill her at the same time and save her the trouble of repeating everything.

Gray smiled and made the appropriate small talk as he entered The Astoria, a posh restaurant and nightclub owned by actor Anderson Brady. He’d been inside once before during Uncle Warren’s presidential run three years ago. Anderson and his father, Patrick, the current California Congressman, had thrown a fundraiser for Uncle Warren’s campaign.

“Gray!”

He recognized Selena Cruise’s voice. Since she was here, that meant Nikki was too.

“Selena, hi.” He gave her a smile.

“We missed you at Nikki’s party. How are you?” She kissed him on the cheek. “Does Nikki know you’re here?”

“No, I haven’t seen her.”

“Well, she’s here with Anderson’s brother if you want to say hi.”

Anderson joined them just then and slid his arm around Selena. “Glad you could make it, Gray.”

“I was in the area and you know how much I love your parties.” Gray scanned the room but so far, he hadn’t seen Nadia.”

“I’m sponsoring another Clean Water Matters fundraiser here in June. I’ll put you on the guest list.”

“Bringing clean drinking water to countries in need is crucial. I’ll try to make it. Even if I can’t, I’m more than happy to support the effort.”

“If you’re interested, I’d love to have your official backing and help with this project. You’d draw in a lot of other big donors.”

“Call me. We can discuss it and my donation.”

Anderson smiled. “Will do. Have fun tonight. Nikki’s occupied with my brother, but I saw Angelina Troy walk in alone. She could be Mia’s twin. Did you know she just landed her first movie role?”

He’d forgotten America’s Sweetheart, Mia Troy, even had a sister. “I’ll keep my eye out for her.”

Gray left Anderson and Selena and crossed the dance floor in search of Nadia.

He spotted her legs first. They were damn hard to miss. She’d trained as a ballerina for years and it showed. She knew it, too. And wore the shortest skintight dress she could find and high heels to show them off.

Three men chatted around her while she sipped a cocktail and looked bored—until she saw him.

“You’re here.” She hugged him, her overly sweet perfume reminding him of cake.

“I said I’d come. Just got stuck in traffic.” Actually, he’d arrived late to miss the paparazzi that would be camped outside the entrance.

Nadia wrapped her arm around his waist, leaning into him, and he fought the urge to push her away.
This is part of our cover.
 

“Please excuse us. We have some catching up to do,” Gray said to the men she’d been talking to.

“There are some empty booths near the back,” she said in her accented English.

The crowd made it impossible to keep much distance between them, and Nadia took full advantage of the situation. More than once, her breast brushed his back. He knew they had to make it look real, but he hated this.

“This is about as quiet and private as we’re going to get in here.” Gray stopped at the booth farthest from the crowded dance floor.

“If I knew for sure my mother and he latest boy toy were gone, I’d invite you back to our suite.” She sat down and slid in further.

He never approved of extramarital affairs, but in this case, it kept him safely away from Nadia’s hotel room.

“But here, we can have a few drinks, and discuss business.” He sat next to her, and she moved closer to him right away.

Gray looked around for a waiter. He needed a very strong drink.

“You’re right. We can have fun here.” Nadia’s hand disappeared under the table. “I wanted to see you when I was in New York last month.” Her hand traveled up his thigh. “I heard you were out of the country.”

Damn it.
She was really playing up the role tonight. Reaching under the table, he removed her hand. “I’m overseeing several international projects right now, including some in Western Europe which my brother used to handle.”

“You must be busy.”

He wanted to wrap this meeting up. “So do you have any information for me?”

Before Nadia could answer, Gray heard his cousin’s voice.

“I thought I saw you come in. Christopher didn’t believe me.”

If he didn’t look up, he could pretend he hadn’t heard Sara’s voice, and she’d go away.

“When did you arrive in California?” Sara asked, not taking the hint.

So much for that idea.
“Hi, Sara.” Gray looked at his cousin and her fiancé. “Christopher.”

“She’s never going to let me live it down that I was wrong,” Christopher said.

Sara ignored Christopher and looked at Nadia.

“Nadia, it’s nice to see you again.” Sara looked at him again.

“You’ve met?” Gray asked.

“When I worked on The Hill for Senator Healey. We both attended a party at the Russian embassy.”

“My uncle throws excellent parties,” Nadia said.

“He does. I thought you were in Boston this week, Gray?” Sara gave him the same glare his Aunt Elizabeth had used on him when he’d spent the night at Cliff House and had done something he shouldn’t have. If Sara had children someday and used that glare on them, they were in serious trouble.

“Sudden change in plans.”

“I can see that,” Sara said, one eyebrow raised.

“I’ve been working on a new hotel project in Moscow. Nadia’s family owns the land that we want to build on.”

Sara considered his words, and he held his breath. The way Nadia sat pressed against him looked bad. Judging by Sara’s comments and they way she glared at him, she’d seen pictures of him and Kiera online today. Normally, Sara was great at keeping secrets, but in this case she might feel it was her responsibility to tell Kiera what she’d seen tonight. Well,
thought
she’d seen because there wasn’t anything going on between Nadia and him. If not for his damn mission, he would still be with Kiera.