The Boss Vol. 6: a Hot Billionaire Romance (13 page)

H
er grandmother had kept
the clock, so of course she’d kept the contract I’d signed too.

More nails in my coffin of glass.

Grace rolled her eyes. “Right. The contract she asked you to sign. Make her the bad guy. She paid you off to keep your distance from me, and you did it. You told me yourself you needed money to start your company.”

“I did.” It took everything I possessed to keep my voice even. I wanted to grab her shoulders and force her to see things the way they’d been for me, but I couldn’t.

The cards had already been laid on the table. Now I had to play where they landed.

“I told you what I came from. What I had to break ties with.”

“So what, Blake, you figured it counted as legit if you took money from an old woman rather than the mob? Except we both know the truth there. If my grandmother was paying you to stay away from me, that meant she feared what kind of person you are. She wouldn’t let you near me.”

I couldn’t stop myself from fisting a hand in her hair and jerking her up to her toes until our gazes were closer to even. It always surprised me she wasn’t as tall as me, since I’d never been with someone whose presence more filled up a room.

“I’ve been near you. I’ve been all over you.” I lowered my head until our noses were nearly touching. “You smell like me right now.”

She shoved me back with the hand still gripping the proof of my betrayal. That I hadn’t even known her then, not for real, didn’t seem to matter.

Because she’d loved me, past tense, and somehow, I should have known to fight for that love even before we’d ever had a conversation.

Worst of all, she was right.

“I cleaned myself up for you.” Saying it aloud felt like telling a joke with no punchline. Correction—the punchline was me, and my stupidity.

As if someone who’d come from what I had could’ve made myself clean enough to be worthy of a Boston blue blood like Grace Copeland. Rich, poor, she carried herself with a class I’d never have.

Fucking her hadn’t given it to me. Becoming a millionaire before thirty definitely hadn’t. Nothing would, because the dirt from my father was permanently scored into my veins.

“Right. Sure you did.” She pushed me again with the paper crumpled in her fist. It was damp now, from her sweat or her tears. Those wet blue eyes tore me open in ways that words never could.

“I made this clock for you. Every piece of it, I put together in the hopes of impressing you into giving me a chance. It’s a clock, Grace. You know why? Because every day I was waiting for you.”

This time when she shoved me back, I didn’t resist. I made myself return to the computer and pulled the gun out of my waistband. The thud of the barrel as I laid it on the desk seemed as final as if I’d cocked the trigger and placed it against my own temple.

I’d already lost her. How many times could I expect to win her back? I’d need my half brother’s sorcery to accomplish that again, and I didn’t believe in magic. So I’d give her the one thing I had left.

The truth.

I reached up and took the picture of Harbor off the wall. Behind it was another safe. I’d gone closer to traditional in here, because what I kept in that safe wasn’t something a thief would want.

I could’ve just recited it to her from memory, but she needed proof. She needed to hold something with more weight than the burden of my lies.

After undoing the combination, I pulled out the single item the safe contained. The paper was as yellowed as the one she held was pristine.

Even my paper didn’t hold up to the test of time.

I turned back to her and held out the letter. “I sent this to you three days before your grandmother made me sign that contract.”

She gripped it in fingers that shook, reading it silently. I started to speak again before she’d finished.

I couldn’t wait. Not any longer.

“She got the letter and she invited me to the house when you were out with your friends. I brought the clock I’d made for you, foolishly hoping you’d be there.”

Lips trembling, she lifted her head. And said nothing.

“You weren’t.”

I took a breath and grazed my fingertip along the crack in the glass. The fragility of the piece was all the more poignant for its flaw.

“She promised me if I truly cared about you, the best thing I could do was to stay far away. She’d been in love with my father, and he was no good, just like me. Everyone knew I was a thug, just like him. A street criminal. But she’d help me, since she’d once cared about someone she shouldn’t too. She’d slummed with my father, but she wanted more for you. If I loved you, I would leave you to the world you belonged in.”

“You couldn’t love me,” she breathed, shuddering so hard that she barely remained standing. “You didn’t even know me.”

“I loved you from the first moment I set eyes on you.” Saying it aloud seemed like coming full circle. Like I been razed by fire, scorched to the marrow and burned clean.

Her eyes brimmed and overflowed. “You took a million dollars to pretend you’d never even seen me.”

“And I built a company where every piece of it was a testament to you. Every goddamn pane of glass. Every clock on the wall. I’m still fucking waiting, Grace. I would’ve waited until the end of time for you even if you’d never stepped foot into the shrine I’d built.” I gripped her shoulders, but I didn’t shake her. I didn’t need to, since I was shaking hard enough to rock us both. “But you did. You walked in and your first words to me were lies. And I didn’t care, because even a lie from you was more than I’d ever hoped for.”

She yanked back from me and took a step away. Two. Then she bowed her head, and it was all the opening I needed. I enfolded her in my arms and spoke against her cheek, barely conscious of the thud of my racing heart. It filled my head, pulsed through my body. She probably could feel it right through her back.

I hoped she did. Maybe then she’d believe me.

“I love you. I’ve always loved you. If I’d known then that this was even a possibility, that you could’ve needed me, I never would have signed. But I thought I was doing what was best for you.”

She reared out of my arms and whirled to face me. Words, I would’ve been prepared for. Even screams.

For her to swing at me—not so much.

Her fist glanced off the corner of my mouth and the sting caught me by surprise. She had more power in those knuckles than I’d given her credit for. When matched with the overpowering fury in her gorgeous eyes, she was beautiful in a way I couldn’t comprehend.

And fuck, my lip was throbbing.

“You have no right, absolutely no right to decide what’s best for me. You got that, Blake Carson? You didn’t back then, and you sure as hell don’t now.” She gripped the lapels of my shirt and dragged me down until my bloody lips were on hers.

Jesus, she’d hit me hard enough to make me bleed, and she was still kissing me. Still raking her nails down my chest as she pulled me down into the madness of her, so far down I’d never be able to see my way clear again.

I didn’t want to.

Just as abruptly, she pushed me back and wiped her mouth. “You’re bleeding.”

There was no reason I should’ve found that funny. Especially now. But Christ if I didn’t drop my head back and roar with laughter.

“I did that?”

“You did that,” I affirmed, wiping away the evidence.

“Oh.” Her brow furrowed then smoothed. “Well…good. Now you know I mean business.” She went toe to toe with me. “This is the last time. If you ever tell me another lie, I’m gone. I don’t care if you reimagine the Taj Mahal for me out of glass and slap my name on it in neon pink lights, I’m finished. I won’t be with someone who doesn’t treat me as an equal or keeps me in the dark. My grandmother hid things from me for years, and now I don’t think there’s a single thing that happened between us I can trust.”

“You can. There’s one you never have to doubt. She loved you with all her heart.”

Grace started to turn away but I cupped her cheek. “She asked me to stay away from you because she believed you were better off without me. I truly believe that.”

“And then she died and left me all alone. If there hadn’t been you…” She shook her head, shaking off the tears that had formed in her eyes again as if she could make them disappear just as easily. “I can’t forgive her for that.”

Her stubborn tone brooked no arguments. In time, I thought she’d change her mind.

Time was the one thing we had now.

“But wait.” Her throat rippled as she looked back at me. “You said she begged you to buy her house. Why would she do that if she wanted you to stay far away from me? She knew how I felt about that house. I wouldn’t just forget about it.”

Of everything I’d said aloud, this was the most difficult.

I cupped her damp cheek, rubbing my thumb over the tears she’d cried over us.

Me and her grandmother, illicit conspirators in a war I’d never known I was fighting.

I did now. Now I knew what was at stake.

“Because she knew she’d be leaving you alone, and she was giving us back the chance she’d stolen from us.”

M
y head was
full of cotton. There were far too many realizations in one day to comprehend. There was no way I could stay in the office when I looked like I’d been hit by a bulldozer. Not to mention that I was still wearing my work overalls.

Christ, I hadn’t even put a bra on.

I was a mess.

“Did you talk to Jack? Did he find anything in the iPad?”

“He’s still trying to crack it. Lucy found a back way into the network mainframe, but she has to figure out which is actual data and which is the fake.”

“All right. I’m going to head back to the house and get cleaned up. We’ll go over everything he’s found.”

Blake nodded. “Are we okay?”

“We will be.”

I wrapped the clock back up into the oil cloth. “I’m going to fix this. How handy that you gave me a workshop to do it in.”

“You don’t have to.”

“Of course I do.” Anger laced my voice. I smoothed it out. “My memoir is going to read like a damn thriller. And this clock is going on the front cover.”

He laughed. “You are one of a kind, Ms. Copeland.”

“And don’t you forget it.” I leaned over his desk and dragged his mouth to mine. “You are mine and I’m not going to lose what we’ve built. No way, no how.”

The kiss was ragged around the edges, just like him. I loved all of him, not just the polished pieces he thought he needed to show the world.

“I’ll see you at home,” I said.

“Definitely. Jack’s coming down with the information and I’ll be right behind you.”

I pushed through the doors of the research floor and took the elevator down. I passed Vi on my way out and waved to her.

The ride home was on autopilot. The days were shorter now and full dark had already come by the time I got home. When I pulled up the driveway, I frowned at the car waiting there.

Danny Donnelly got out and met me on the porch. “Hey, Grace. I just got a call from Vi to meet you guys here.”

I frowned and looked down at my phone. “I don’t have a text.”

“Vi said that she had something she needed to ask me to help her with. Something that had to do with Philomena Stanwick. Which I can’t figure out for the life of me, but she said you guys would explain everything.”

Wouldn’t Blake have told me? I frowned and opened the front door. “All right. Come on in.” I hugged the clock against me as I plugged in my code at the door. I flicked on the switch as soon as we crossed the threshold. “Blake’s on his way.”

Danny gripped my arms and pushed me inside. “That’s fine.”

“I believe you have something that doesn’t belong to you, Grace,” came a voice behind me. A voice that usually made me smile for as long as I could remember.

I struggled against Danny, but his grip was unrelenting. “Get inside.” He shoved me into the living room and down into the chair.

Philomena came in after him. “No need to be so rough, Daniel. She’s not going anywhere.”

“Did you really think I wouldn’t notice that iPad was missing?”

My heart raced and climbed into my throat. “Kind of. You made me handle all your affairs at the gallery.”

“Sure, the simple ones. Besides, if I looked inept then you would come save me. That’s what you do, darling. You save people. Always a fixer. You wanted so badly to fix Annabelle, too. Do anything to make her happy.”

“Because I loved you both.”

“And I love you. Obviously I love you or Daniel would have killed you weeks ago. I’d hoped that I could get all of Annabelle’s paperwork, but she had to go and play her Nancy Drew games. For God’s sake who hides a thumb drive in a cove? It’s ridiculous.”

“It was our special spot.”

“Yes, well she was always a sentimental old fool. Just wanted to spend the money and stir up trouble. She didn’t see the bigger picture. Do you realize how much money we laundered? I’d be gone with the money by now if she hadn’t pulled this stupid stunt.”

“She wanted to come clean?”

“Yes. And go to jail? God, no. But she wanted to stop and I couldn’t just stop. You don’t stop working with these people. And now I have to clean up after her.”

What the hell did that mean?

“What did you do to her?”

“To Annabelle? Nothing. I didn’t have to. I thought everything was going to be all right when she died. I thought I was home free.”

“Then why are you still here?”

“I need that iPad. It’s the only thing that links back to me. All the other garbage I can get around, but that iPad. I need it.”

“I don’t have it.”

“What do you mean you don’t have it? You just took it last night.”

“It’s with Blake.”

Phil stalked around the room. Her face red and splotchy. “God, you ruin everything.” She whirled at Danny. “You’re going to have to kill her.”

Danny opened his arms wide. “Are you out of your mind, lady? I didn’t sign up to kill her. We’re going to the Caymans and we’re getting out of here. That’s the deal.”

The front door slammed open and Danny stumbled into the middle of the living room. I screamed and we both toppled to the floor.

I was under him so I couldn’t see what was going on around me. I heard footfalls and voices.

“No!” Danny’s voice was in my ear as he pushed off me. His huge gun digging into my side.

The shot was deafening. When I looked up Jack was over me with a gun smoking. Danny slumped over me and there was nothing but blood.

So much blood.

And screams.

Vi collapsed beside me, her huge eyes filled with tears.