The Billionaire's Proposition (The Romero Brothers, Book 4) (3 page)

Carl decided just then that he
was
going to announce his candidacy. But
he was going to do it, not as a bachelor, but as a doting husband and family
man. Of course, marriage could never be on his agenda for long term. His past
with women had already dictated his fate. He could never trust a
woman—again. But it wasn’t just about having had his trust betrayed, was
it?

His heart squeezed in his chest at the
thought of the hell he had gone through with his ex-girlfriend, Nea. He thought
she was
the one
, until he found out
that she’d been sleeping with his best friend—his ex-best friend. That
really did a number on his nerves and smashed his heart and soul to pieces.
Since then, commitment was always an issue with him. He wasn’t going to give
another woman the chance to hurt him that way again.

Anyway, he wasn’t going to waste another
thought on it. He had a campaign to run and a plan of action to implement.
Marriage to Venus, assuming she accepted his proposition, would be for the
purpose of image only. It would be short term. Nothing more. He knew she was
going through a difficult patch in her own life and often talked about wishing
she had more support. Well, this would be a win-win situation. They would both
benefit from being married—to each other.

Hell, he was going to do
anything he could
to boost his
reputation so he could
win
that seat and make the changes necessary to keep his end of the deal he’d made
to his mother on her deathbed.

He was going to run for mayor of the city.

And he was going to win.

“Okay, sweetie,” Venus Jackson directed her
two-year-old son, Tristan, “just remember to breathe into this little chamber.”
She held the Disney designed aero-chamber in front of him. He was always fussy
when it came to taking his asthma medication.

She glanced at her watch. It wasn’t easy
being a single mother who worked outside the home. Venus was constantly
juggling between taking care of her sweet little angel with his medical needs
and the workload of an executive assistant to an extremely busy employer. A
charming boss, but busy nonetheless. She had heard her cell phone ringing
moments ago but couldn’t answer it. Not while she was giving Tristan his
medicine. This part of her morning routine always took forever.

Her little boy shook his head and wrinkled
his nose.

Venus was already running late for work.
She was supposed to meet Carl Romero in his office at the main office at R.M.
Fitness Center. They were expecting the latest state-of-the-art equipment for the
facility. But that wasn’t all. She was going to be helping him with his
campaign. She was all too eager to take on the new role as his assistant
campaign manager while transferring her current administrative duties to a
fellow employee.

Oh, she daydreamed about Carl sexy-as-sin
Romero almost every waking hour. It was as if fantasizing about him kept her
going in more ways than one. A grin warmed her face just thinking about Carl
with his tall six-foot-two-inch frame. It was no surprise that he would run a
successful health and fitness center franchise with his brother since they
embodied fitness. Carl was muscular and firm. He was well dressed in his dark
designer suits when he attended meetings and filled out deliciously with his
broad shoulders and lean frame. But when he was in his gym gear, it was heaven
to her eyes. Venus often surreptitiously glanced at him while he worked out in
the gym on the weights, his smooth skin and ripped muscles glistened with
moisture. The health club was bright and airy and had a unique design with
offices overlooking most of the facility. Her office had a window that overlooked
part of the main gym. She often saw other female employees ogling her boss, but
she never openly let her own feelings about him be known. It wasn’t as if she
even had a chance with him.

She’d always harboured a secret attraction
to her boss. But she could never reveal that. She’d come close to letting
herself go in Jamaica at his brother Zack’s wedding but she knew that she was
destined to be a single mother. She could never be with any man. Not now. Not
ever. It would be too dangerous, given her past and the lie she was forced to
live.

“Okay, now one, two and three, breathe in,”
she chanted, pulling a funny face so that Tristen would laugh. It often calmed
his nerves down a bit. He giggled at first then he allowed her to place the
mask portion of the aero-chamber to cover his mouth and nose so that he could
inhale. She squeezed the blue inhaler into the chamber and he inhaled as she
counted.

Tristan breathed in and out slowly into the
smooth, long, plastic chamber.

“Good, sweetie,” Venus praised him. She was
just grateful that he was allowing her to give him his medication this morning.
At times, she would have tumultuous days when he was literally screaming at the
top of his lungs and refusing to put his lips close to the mask. He needed to take
his puffers daily for a maintenance dose to keep his lungs from getting
inflamed again—according to her son’s pediatrician.

After she finished giving him the two
required inhalation doses, Venus took Tristan to the bathroom to rinse out his
mouth. “Okay, honey, remember what the doctor said. After you have your blue
puffer then your orange puffer, you need to rinse your mouth.” She helped him
onto the stool so that he was at the level for the sink and she reached for a
disposable cup from its holder and filled it with tap water.

“Cup!” Tristan shouted.

“Yes, that’s right, honey. We’re going to
fill the little cup with water. And you’re going to sip and spit the water back
out, okay?”

He nodded, looking more jovial. Tristan
loved this part.

While she was assisting Tristan, Venus’s
cell phone rang again. She wondered who could be trying to reach her so
desperately at this time of the morning. It wasn’t as if she had plenty of
people calling her these days. It had to be her handsome boss, Carl, or perhaps
her friend, Blue, who was now married to Carl’s brother, Zack.

She smiled at the memory of her time in
Jamaica for Blue and Zack’s nuptials just a couple of weeks ago. It was much
needed rest and relaxation she craved.
Aside from Blue’s
wedding, of course.
And Tristan had a wonderful time, too. The island’s clean
air had done his lungs wonders. The resort where they stayed had a splendid
daycare that was free to guests. It was a remarkable package that didn’t come
cheap. Venus would have been all too glad to pay her own way but the Romeros
insisted they pay for everyone.

Prior to working for Carl, Venus was
employed by his brother Zack at the Romero Winery and Vineyard after her
placement there. She was in college part time advancing her studies in Business
but she would often take time off to look after her little guy. Finding
affordable daycare was always a bitter challenge. Sometimes, Venus didn’t know
how she could go on like this. But it was a blessing when the Romero family
took her on. They had a reputation for treating their employees like family. At
times, when Venus’s babysitter did not show up, she would be stuck but Zack and
now Carl always insisted that she bring her toddler in. At the Romero Estate,
they had someone who could watch over Tristan. And currently at R.M. Fitness,
where a daycare was located in the building, Venus often left Tristan there
with comfort knowing that her son would only be a few steps away from her and
in good hands. Sometimes, she felt indebted to the wonderful and powerful
Romeros. Venus was a hard worker and would do almost anything for that family.
Almost anything.

Finally, after Venus assisted Tristan with
his jacket, she was ready to head out the door. After she buckled him in his
stroller, she answered her cell phone that had rung yet again.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Venus.”

“Yes?”

“It’s Amber Johnson-Murray from the
Murumbian Consulate.” The young woman on the other end of the phone line had a
smooth, low voice that sounded slightly hoarse. Yet, her voice delivered words
that Venus did not want to hear.

Venus felt her heart thump hard in her
chest. Goose pimples sprang up on her skin. A chill filled her body like
nothing she had felt before. Except for…that fateful night.
The Murumbian Consulate?
That could only
mean one thing, and one thing only.
Oh,
God!
She dreaded the day she would receive a phone call from them.

“Y-yes?” Venus tried to calm the emotion in
her voice. Instinctively, Venus knelt beside her son’s stroller and placed her
hand on his while he played with his soft toys on the hand rest of the pushchair.
She remembered meeting Amber once, a long time ago, when Venus arrived in
Canada. They had a brief conversation and Amber told her that everything would
be okay and that Venus should not hear from them again, unless…

“First of all, how are you and Tristan
doing?” Amber sounded calm but Venus wasn’t convinced. She knew what was
coming. Why didn’t Amber just cut the casual
chit-chat
and tell Venus the real reason for the unexpected phone call?

Venus’s fingers were trembling. She looked
at her son in the stroller. He was cheerfully playing with his toys and didn’t
even have a clue that his mother was on edge. That was good. Protecting
Tristan’s
well-being
was the only thing that mattered.
“We…we’re fine,” Venus answered, breathless. Her breathing was becoming shallow
to her chagrin. Why was she nervous? She knew what she had to do. It would be
that simple. She was going to have to run again. So what? She knew this day
might come.

“Good to hear that, Venus,” Amber
continued, breathing a deep sigh over the phone. “Listen, Venus. I’m not going
to take up too much of your time but you probably realize the reason for this
call.”

Venus was silent yet her heart pounded
loudly in her chest.

“Well, as we had discussed before, if Eduardo
ever got released then-”

“No!” Venus squeezed her eyes shut. Her
body trembled. “Don’t tell me anymore.”

Startled, Tristan looked up from his toys.
“Mama?”

She opened her eyes again and tried to put
on a courageous face for her son. “It’s okay, baby. Mama’s fine,” she said, her
voice soft and wavering.

She stood up with the cell phone pressed to
her ear. Her eyes stung with moisture. She would not cry. She was not going to
cry today. How could this be? How could Eduardo be released?

“How could they release that…monster?”
Venus said, gasping for a satisfying breath. She hugged herself as she leaned
against the door for support, facing her son in the stroller. She was supposed
to be heading out the door to work but how could she work now?

“He was not released, Venus.”

“But you just said-”

“I know,” Amber’s voice sounded apologetic.
“Listen, can we meet sometime today?”

“Why? What is it that you want to tell me?”
Venus grew more concerned.

“Venus, Eduardo has escaped. The consulate
got the news this morning.”

Venus felt her blood run cold.

“Escape?
But how?
He was supposed to be in maximum security!”

“I’m sorry. You know his background. That’s
all I have to go on right now. We will update you further but-”

“It’s okay. I’m…I have to find another
hideout.”

“No. Venus, please don’t do anything rash.
Now, the last time we spoke you told me that you have a wonderful job and
career and a safe home. The worst thing you could do is
make
any drastic changes. There is no way he can find you.”

“No way? How can you be sure?”

“We’re keeping a very close eye on this
situation, Venus. Think about it. He is all the way in Murumba. With the way
the new international laws and flight security has been since 9/11, I doubt
very much that even if he tried to use his connections to change his identity,
he could not receive a valid passport to travel.”

Venus slumped to the floor. She held her
head down. Amber had a point. What was she worried about? She would be more
paranoid than ever and do everything to protect her son but she would not do
anything too rash.
At least not now.

“Just continue to keep a low profile and
everything should be fine. I’ll keep you posted on any new developments. Okay?”

Venus nodded. “Okay.”

Venus could do this. Eduardo had ruined her
life before as well as Tristan’s. She was not going to give him the opportunity
to do it again. No way! She had to be brave. She couldn’t keep running. She
would not have any quality of life. What would happen to Tristan?

After Venus hung up, she dried the tears
from her face and drew in a deep breath. She was going to march into work and
do her job to the best of her ability and carry on as if nothing out of the
ordinary just happened. As if her life was still okay. Working for Carl was one
of the only things she had to look forward to every day, outside of her miracle
son, Tristan.

She wasn’t about to give it up now. Eduardo
was thousands of miles away across the Atlantic Ocean. He couldn’t hurt her.
Not anymore.