The Billionaire's Secret (19 page)

The water in the shower had long since
turned cold. She toweled dry and slipped into sweatpants, a
T-shirt, and jogging sneakers. Exercise normally helped clear her
mind, but today she found she could not run from the truth. As she
returned home the realization hit her. There was nothing for her in
New York without Jon, and now, for the first time ever, it felt
like there was nothing for her here, either. Yes, she may have
planned to live here, to grow old here, but now she was here
without Jon, and her life suddenly felt . . . empty.

She picked up the phone and called the
office. “Hi, this is Lizette. Is Elaine available?”

Quickly, she was transferred. “Hello,
Lizette, how are things in New York? Are you all settled in?”

“Everything is fine. Mr. Vinchi has been
updated with all the financials for the past twenty-four
months.”

“Perfect.”

“Since my commitments in New York have been
addressed for the moment, I was hoping I could use some of my
vacation time. Would you mind if I took the next two weeks off? I
will be back in time for the month-end processing.” She needed to
get away, to think, to plan—and to recover from saying goodbye to
Jon, if that was possible.

“Lizette, in five years you’ve never taken a
vacation. Of course you can take whatever time you need or want.
It’s about time. Don’t worry about us, you just enjoy yourself—you
deserve it. And by the way, let me be the first to say
congratulations. I wasn’t sure if you would end up like me, totally
absorbed in work and never meeting Mr. Right. I truly am happy for
you, Lizette. Happy for you both.”

“Thank you. I will contact you once I
return.” She ended the conversation quickly, worried her voice
would crack as she fought back tears. The lie was so deeply rooted
there was no place here to hide. Time off would give her the
strength to face it later. Maybe after a couple weeks the truth
would have been revealed, and she wouldn’t have to be the one to
explain it. How could she explain it to others when she couldn’t
explain it to herself?

Shaking off her despair, she picked up the
phone and called her parents. She explained she wanted to get away
for a few days but she would check in periodically. “Where are you
going?” her mother asked. “Is Jon going with you?”

“No. Things have all changed so fast over
the last several days. I just need a little time away, time to
adjust to everything.”

“Lizette, I never butt in, but I have to
admit I’m worried about you. You seem to be so torn. For once in
your life, let yourself feel. Don’t think so hard and try to
rationalize everything. Love doesn’t work that way. Just let
yourself feel. You’ll find your heart won’t steer you wrong.”

“Please, Mom, I don’t want to get into it
right now. I promise I will explain everything when I return.”
There was a long pause. “I’m okay, Mom. It’s no big deal. I’ll call
and let you know where I am.”

“Lizette, whatever you are going through, I
hope you know I’m always here if you need me, okay?”

“I know, Mom. Thanks, I love you.”

“Love you too, dear.”

Her last call was to the local travel agent,
who she visited at least twice a year, even though she never
actually booked anything. She gave her all the instructions as to
where she wanted to go. The agent laughed and said, “Finally!” She
confirmed her flight and hotel. There was one last detail, which
was the most important: finding out if there was space available at
her final destination. She had to spend twenty minutes on hold
while the agent checked, but she was eventually able to tell
Lizette that, due to a last-minute cancellation, there was one spot
left in the class and it was hers. Yes, this was going to be good
for her. It was something she had always dreamt about, and soon she
would be there.

She spent the next few hours packing. She
was only going to be gone for two weeks but she wanted to make sure
she had everything she needed. Funds were going to be tight once
she got there, even though she had been saving for this trip for
five years. Good thing she didn’t need to worry about sightseeing
while there. Everything she needed was going to be provided by the
instructor.

Opening her desk drawer, she pulled out her
passport. Flipping it open, she knew it was empty. But after this
sixteen-and-a-half-hour flight, it was going to get its first
stamp.
Japan, here I come.

***

The FDA came back with their approval on
Wednesday. That should have been cause to celebrate; however, Jon
jumped back into work, planning the next phase of the job. His
staff was accusing him of being extra-demanding—well, that was what
he was told to his face; he was sure they made much harsher
comments once he left the room. No one dared to voice their
displeasure too loudly, except Ted, who didn’t seem to get the hint
even after Jon told one worker if he weren’t happy at Vinchi
Medical Engineering, he was welcome to look for employment
somewhere else.

Once they were alone, Ted asked, “Doc not
refill your happy pills, Jon?”

“If you don’t have enough work to do, Ted, I
can arrange for more.”

“You know, Jon, we’ve been working together
since you started this company. You’re my boss, but I would like to
think we’re also friends, so I’m going to risk it and tell you the
truth.”

Jon was tempted to jump down his throat, but
Ted was right. He was more than just an employee. He was his
right-hand man, levelheaded, hardworking
,
and trustworthy.
Over time, yes, he had also become a friend. “Friend or not, Ted,
there are things I don’t want to talk about.”

“You can’t continue to shut out the world.
Rumor has it you are deeply involved with a woman named Lizette
Burke.”

“This is one of those things, Ted. Don’t go
there.”

“Jon. What you do here is important. It
makes a difference in so many lives, and that is why I love working
for you. But at the end of the day, I have my wife and children to
go home to. Don’t tell me you built this empire so you could enjoy
it alone.” Jon didn’t respond. “If the rumors are true, and I
happen to believe they are, then don’t risk losing her. You’re
willing to fight the FDA for what you want. You need to take that
same drive and fix whatever you did to screw things up with her.
That is, if you want to fix it.”

It was true. Everything Jon had built here
was for nothing if he couldn’t share it with the woman he loved.
That woman was Lizette. Since she had walked out of the penthouse,
he had done nothing but work. It had taken all his power not to
stop her, not to try to reason with her or even just block that
fucking door. But she had said, “If you care about me at all, you
won’t try to stop me.” Jon looked at Ted. Normally he would have
told him to fuck off, but this time he was right.

“Ted, go to Matt for anything you need and
take charge of the rest of the team to ensure everything goes
smoothly while I am gone. I think it’s time I take a vacation.”

“Damn, for a minute I thought you were going
to tell me to pack my shit!” Ted said, laughing.

Jon got serious for a moment, and asked,
“You got this, right? If anyone understands what is riding on this,
it’s you.”

“No problem, Jon. I know exactly what needs
to be done, and if I have to I’ll be the hard-ass you are to ensure
the project stays on target.”

Jon didn’t doubt that for a moment. He
jotted down a few outstanding details for Ted and then headed back
to his office.

Jon stopped to update Matt. “I left Ted in
charge, but everything needs to go through you. I don’t want anyone
calling me. I am going to be unavailable but will touch base with
you daily in case there’s anything urgent.”

“Yes, sir, I understand. Your conference
call is already in progress, but I believe they were waiting for
you. Would you like me to inform them you will not be able to
join?”

He was tempted, but he did have unfinished
business with those guys. “No, I’ll take it in my office.”

“Jon, glad you could take time to join us
today. Thought for sure you were going to blow us off again.”

“Yeah I was tempted to, Trent, but I didn’t
want to deal with any of your surprises, and we have some things we
need to discuss.”

Drew laughed. “Good thing we didn’t bet on
him showing up, Trent. But on a serious note, Jon, as we discussed
last month, we need to decide how we are going to proceed with
Takes One. So far we’ve operated only on a domestic level, but
we’re considering expanding our operations globally.”

“All of us have grown our own businesses
over the past five years,” said Ross. “That has brought us to this
crossroads. How do we maintain what we started with Takes One, and
also expand it without losing sight of Brad’s mission? To do this
it may be best to bring in another person who could help with the
daily running of the organization. Someone who could perform the
research necessary to make our donations most effective. So the
four of us can remain anonymous.”

A month ago Jon would have let them decide,
as he had always only been invested on a financial level. After
seeing and hearing everything a small not-for-profit like Another
Chance was doing, he wanted to become more involved. Maybe not,
say, personally picking up trash, but he definitely wanted to be
more hands-on. “I think that’s a great idea. It’s time we take this
organization to the next level. Anyone have any suggestions on who
would be right for such a role?”

Trent jumped right in. “Yes, I do. Elaine
Manning from Another Chance.”

Jon laughed. “Elaine Manning? What makes her
the perfect choice besides the obvious, Trent?”

“Elaine has been involved in community
service most of her life. For the past ten years, she has
personally researched the needs in her town and, with very limited
funds, successfully provided more assistance to the community than
many larger not-for-profit organizations. Her entire life has been
dedicated to charity work. She is passionate about helping others.
And she would be a great public face for Takes One, while also
being able to follow through and bring us to the areas where we’re
needed the most.”

“Wow, Trent, how long did you and Elaine
talk after I left you two at lunch a couple weeks ago?” Jon
asked.

“Jon, this is not personal, this is a
business decision only. You of all people should know she’s not my
type.”

“Oh, you mean intelligent?” Drew joked.

“Yeah, whatever, Drew.” Trent said. “I don’t
see you in a long-lasting relationship either.”

“Oh, relationship, is that what you call
them?” responded Drew. “I thought you would at least need to know
her favorite color or something to call it a relationship,
Trent.”

Ross, the mediator as always, said, “Okay,
back to business. So do we all agree? We move forward with the
offer to Elaine Manning and bring Takes One to an international
level?”

“Agreed,” they all said.

“Perfect, I will give her a call and let her
know I have a business proposition for her,” Trent said.

“Are you sure you wouldn’t rather have Ross
or me call?” Drew asked. “I mean, she has met you before. If you
didn’t scare her away the first time, you just might the second
time.” He laughed.

“Drew, I do more business negotiations in
one week than you do in a year. I think I have this.”

“Okay, guys, since we seem to have concluded
our Takes One business, some of us would like to take a moment to
ask Jon a question,” Ross said.

Drew continued, “Jon, we’ve been friends
since we were eighteen and we had to hear about your engagement
from the rumor mill? Really, buddy? What the hell is that about? I
thought we would have been on the first-to-call list and at least
be celebrating over beers.”

“That’s all is it, Drew, a rumor,” Jon
replied.

“No way. My sources say you were the one who
let it slip at the hospital. Hey, how is she, by the way? All
recovered? No long-term effects?” Drew asked.

“Yes, I believe so. Well, I’m not exactly
sure,” Jon admitted.

“What do you mean you’re not sure? Isn’t she
with you?” asked Ross.

Jon told his friends the entire story. He
told them about the terms of the sponsorship; how he had lied to
the nurses, doctors, and Lizette; how it ended with her reaction
when he’d told her the truth.

“Jon, what the hell has gotten into you? We
all know the reputation I have with the ladies and I have never—and
I stress
never
—let the word
fiancée
—slip by
accident,” Trent said. “I have to say, it’s nice to see one of you
fuck up worse than me for once.”

“Jon, this is not like you,” Ross stated
more seriously. “You’re one of my best friends, and one thing we
can all agree on is you are always in control of everything you say
and everything you do, and always have been. I saw the way you
looked at her that night. And then followed the stories of you
volunteering with her at a park in Rhode Island. There is something
between you that led you to say it. Now you just need to figure out
what that is before it’s too late.”

“Yeah, you blow it with Lizette and you
might just find yourself like Trent, and none us wishes that on
you, buddy,” Drew added.

“Guys, keep everything I said between us. So
far, the world believes Lizette and I are engaged, and if I have my
way, it’s going to stay that way.”

“Go get her, Jon,” Drew said.

With that he hung up the phone and left the
office. He knew exactly where to find Lizette tomorrow night. Every
Saturday night she had dinner at Ma’s house. If he didn’t catch her
at home first, he would have no choice but to meet up with her
there. For now, he had some planning to do.