Rescued by the Billionaire (Billionaire Romance Novel) (9 page)

Kelly paused, reflecting on memories of her dad as images flashed through her mind of him screaming at her mom, balling his fists before he’d punch her in the face. Dave sympathetically looked at her, waiting for her to continue.
 

“My mom’s 10-year death anniversary was fast approaching. She died October 2
nd
, 2001—about a year after I’d graduated high school. Well, on
August 15
th
, 2011, I received a phone call from my dad’s friend Rich. He worked for a tow company and said that he’d just hauled my dad’s motorcycle from the cemetery where my mom was buried. Intuition told me at that moment that he’d taken his life. I was right—it was a single gunshot wound to the head.”
 

“How did his motorcycle get in the cemetery?”
 

“He drove there and killed himself on my mom’s grave. He left a suicide note but never said exactly why he did it.”
 

“Does that mean Emma never got to meet your mom?”
 

“Nope, she never got to meet my little Emma Buggy.” Kelly frowned.
 

“But she met your dad, right?”
 

“Yes, she was able to meet her grandpa, but they didn’t spend much time together. He was always wrapped up in working on motorcycles or hanging out at the bar. I guess he wasn’t exactly grandpa material.”
 

“Wow, Kelly. You’ve gone through so much, no wonder you’re such a strong woman. I admire you.” He sipped his coffee for a moment, “I bet your mom watches you from heaven and sees what an outstanding mother you’ve become. I’m sure she’s proud.”
 

“Well, that’s my story, how about your family?” She asked, turning the spotlight on him.
 

Dave sighed. Where would he begin? He couldn’t imagine telling her about his family’s
problems after hearing how both of her parents died and their problems.
 

“I have to warn you, it’s not nearly as colorful as your past.”
 

“I’d say we all have colorful histories, just different shades.”
 

Dave nodded, “I agree.”
 

He cleared his throat, “My parents were always wealthy. My mom always wanted to have children so when she was in her early 30s, they began trying to conceive. I was the end result,” he smiled.
 

“The earliest memory that I have is my mom telling me that I was going to be a big brother. At first, I was angry. I didn’t want a sibling to steal
away the attention, but I grew to accept it. I was happy, and I couldn’t wait to meet my new brother or sister. At the end of February, my mom gave birth to my little brother, Anthony—who we called Tony.”
 

He took another sip from his mug. “Tony was the apple of my mom’s eye. He was her everything—much like Emma is for you. It was sweet really. She never showed me the affection that she gave my brother, but I accepted the fact that he was the baby and the baby usually gets more attention. My dad was always busy traveling, making money—until my brother got sick.”
 

He looked at Kelly, trying to choose his words carefully. He didn’t want to say anything to upset her or alarm her, especially with everything going on with Emma. “My brother began experiencing odd symptoms in the fourth grade. Suddenly, every
subject became difficult for him to comprehend. He didn’t understand most of what was being taught. Prior to this, he’d always been an honor roll student, so he was a smart kid. Eventually, he began to exhibit problems with speech; he was unable to articulate thoughts and ideas. My mom took him to various doctors, but they had a hard time diagnosing him. Soon, he began to forget who people were—including us.”
 

Dave noticed that Kelly was hanging onto his every word by the way she was intently listening to him. “My mom began to lose it. She took him to every specialist imaginable. He was finally diagnosed with juvenile Huntington’s disease. His condition progressed rapidly, and he died his freshman year of high school.”
 

“Aww, I’m so sorry,” Kelly empathized with his loss.
 

“Thank you. After my brother had passed, both of my parents became very distant, almost detached. During the last few years of my brother’s life, my mom regularly took my brother to doctor appointments for a variety of treatments, which were supposed to delay the disease, but nothing worked. It was very aggressive. As a result, I spent most of my childhood being raised by the nanny. About a year after my brother died, my dad retired and he and mom traveled together extensively.”
 

“How did you cope with losing your brother? That must have been very tough.”
 

“Well, I hated being raised by the nanny. I longed for my mother’s attention and affection. Since my brother—and I don’t blame him for it—
got most of it, I buried myself in my academics, and later, my work.”
 

“I guess that’s why you’re so successful today.” Kelly smiled. “Your brother left you that gift.”
 

“I suppose,” he shrugged. “I still miss him a lot. He was so much fun. He liked to pull pranks on people before he got sick. If there were a way to rig something or set up a trap, he’d do it.” Dave smiled, thinking of some of the pranks his brother pulled on him and his parents.
 

“Wow. We’ve both gone through so much. It’s crazy, isn’t it?”
 

Dave nodded his head in agreement. “Very.”
 

“Would you like another cup of coffee?” Kelly asked, noticing his cup was empty.
 

“Sure.”
 

“Okay, let me go check on Emma real quick and I’ll make us some.” She tiptoed down the hall.
 

As she made her way to the bedroom, Dave snuck into the kitchen and fixed their coffee. It’s ironic, he thought, how much we have in common. Here she was with a great mom whom she’d lost, yet became the perfect mother herself, and he longed for that exact type of relationship. They’d both suffered a great deal of loss and had coped with the deaths of the people they loved the most. On the other hand, they were exact opposites. She was a hardworking waitress at a chain restaurant while he was living on Easy Street as a billionaire.
Well, they do say opposites attract. It amazed him how well he connected with her.
 

As he was making his way back into the living room, he saw Kelly carrying Emma down the hallway. He scurried to help her.
 

“Do you need some help carrying her?” he offered.
 

“No, it’s fine. I got her. She was awake and wanted to meet you.”
 

He peered down at the beautiful little girl and noticed he was right, she did look just like her mom.
 

“Hi, I’m Dave,” he said with a grin on his face as he looked at a much younger version of Kelly.
 

“Hi. Did you bring us dinner?”
 

Kelly and Dave busted out in laughter. “Yes, I did. Are you hungry? Your mom and I made you a plate, but you’d fallen asleep by the time it was ready.”
 

Emma nodded her head yes. “If you’d like, I can heat her plate up or I can carry her. Which would you prefer?”
 

“I’ll carry her to the kitchen table and you can heat up her plate.”
 

“Will do!” he said as he spun on his heel and did a silly march in front of Emma, in hopes of making her laugh. It worked. Emma giggled all the way to the kitchen.
 

They sat with Emma as she ate her dinner. Dave asked her all about herself, which she proudly and eagerly volunteered a wealth of information. She loved talking about herself, and it didn’t take Dave long to figure that out. As they sat together, he learned that her favorite color was purple, she loved to play Hopscotch, her favorite song was “Trouble” by Taylor Swift and that her favorite holiday was Christmas. Dave doted on the child as he listened to her.
 

Kelly was shocked to see that she had eaten most of her dinner as she spoke with Dave; it was such a relief to see her eat a whole meal for the first time in weeks.
 

“Would you like to listen to me sing?” she asked him as she licked the chicken juices off her fingers.
 

“Sure!”
 

“Not now, Emma.”
 

“But mom! He
wants
to hear me sing. Don’t you Dave?” she looked to him for support.
 

“Only if it’s okay with your mom.” He smiled at Kelly, nodding his head that he wanted her to.
 

“Okay, but then it’s time to rest. Got it missy?”
 

“Okay. Momma, will you get your phone and play my song?”
 

She grabbed her phone off the kitchen counter and loaded “Trouble”. As it began, she started dancing. Dave was amazed by the way she belted out the tunes; her voice was years beyond her age and very soulful. She entertained her mini
audience as the lyrics continued. When the song was over, she bowed her head as they clapped for her.
 

“I’ve never heard such a rich, expressive and passionate voice come from someone so tiny!” Dave complemented.
 

Kelly, a very proud mother, smiled at her daughter’s talent while Emma gleamed with pride. “Alright my little pop star, I think you’ve had enough excitement for one night. Let’s get you laid down.”
 

Emma frowned. “But I like Dave. Can’t I stay up a little longer?” she pleaded with her mom.
 

“It’s okay. We’ll hang out again soon. Your mom’s right, you need to get some rest.”
 

Over the weekend, Emma’s fever continued to come on in waves as her body gradually became stiffer. Kelly was scheduled to work Tuesday morning, but there was no way she was leaving her baby. It was exhausting for both of them to do normal daily tasks such as eating and bathing. Kelly grabbed the bull by the horns on Monday and went to speak with her manager. There was no way she was going to be able to come in that week, and he’d already given her three points the prior week—one for each day that she was gone.
 

“Brian, I’d like to talk to you about my daughter,” Kelly began. “I can’t help that she’s sick and you know that I don’t like missing work. It’s not fair to give me a point for each day that I miss.”
 

“Kelly, you need to understand that this is a business. I can’t operate a business with
employees taking off whenever they want. You can appreciate that, right?” he sneered.
 

“Yes Brian, but I’d like to point out that the days are all consecutive, for the same reason and again, I almost never call in. Hell, I even come to work when I’m sick. I’m one of the best waitresses that you have. Can’t you cut me some slack and make it one point?”
 

“If I did that for you, I’d have to do it for everyone. You’ve read what the employee handbook says. I can’t go around bending the rules whenever I want to.”
 

“Brian, I need this job. I work here because it allows me to work around Emma’s school schedule. The money’s not great, especially as of late, but the bottom line is, I can’t afford to get fired because my daughter’s sick. She’s gradually
declining and her doctor is working hard to find out what’s causing all of her symptoms.”
 

“What do you want me to say?” Brian said, visibly irritated that Kelly was still pleading with him.
 

“I want you to say that you’ll take back some of the points.” She was on the brink of tears; a lump began forming in her throat out of frustration and anger.
 

“I’m not doing it, Kelly,” he punched the desk. “I’m not bending the rules for you, or for anyone else.”
 

Kelly lowered her voice, “Well, I came in to tell you that I won’t be here at all this week; or at least, not until Emma gets better.”
 

“If you miss a whole week of work, your points are going to rack up pretty fast. You’ll be close to losing your job; the points don’t fall off until their one-year anniversary of the date that they were accrued.”
 

Kelly swallowed, willing herself not to cry. “So you’re telling me that you’d let me lose my job rather than work with me on this? Brian, I’m doing everything….”
 

He cut her off; mocking her. “Let me guess,” he rolled his eyes, “you’re doing everything you can. Well so am I! I’m running a business. Rules are rules. If I can’t depend on you, then I’ll have to replace you.”
 

“I’ll keep you informed,” she whispered, almost in tears, as she left his office.
 

Once she was in the safety of her car, she broke down. What the hell was wrong with Emma? When, she thought, would they find out what she had? Why was her boss such a jerk? Suddenly, there was a knock on the driver’s window of her car. She quickly wiped away her tears and looked over. It was her coworker, Sarah.