The Scandalous Billionaires Collection (11 page)

His stern gaze circled the assembly.

"If you can say that, then I salute you and I
ask you, can you say that you work even half as hard as this little
girl does every day to make the world a better place?"

There was an awkward, stony silence in the
chamber. Heads of state averted their gaze and avoided the scrutiny
of the world's cameras.

Jason continued.

"I know
I
can't say that. And I work
very hard for what I have. Now I've only got a few minutes to speak
to you important people, so I won't waste time. It's up to you.
Save your applause. Change the world. Do it now. Make it so that
every child, every little girl and boy can go to school without
fear of prejudice and don't you dare lift up your heads with pride
until that day has come."

He picked the child up into his arms and
whispered something into her ear. She nodded and then they turned
to the microphone together.

"Listen." He said intensely. "Listen to the
voice of someone much more important than me or than any of you
being paid to sit here in this room."

The silence was electrifying. Jason had
already used up his time but no-one dared approach the pair who had
locked the attention of the world.

When the tiny girl finally spoke the
confidence resounding in her innocent voice was a shock to the
world leaders and to everybody watching.

"Help me to go to school." She said in her
polite, childish and heart-melting African English. "And help all
the children of the world go to school. We want books, not
bombs."

They stood for several more tense and
emotionally charged seconds until they were ushered away from the
stand. It was an awkward moment for the world dignitaries. If they
applauded were they ignoring the message? If they didn't were they
saying they disagreed? And the little girl? Who could not applaud
that voice of powerful innocence?

The girl was shaking with nerves in the
billionaire's strong arms but he was smiling that incredible smile
that could win any woman over whether she was eight years old or
eighty. It was obvious that she adored him as she buried her head
in his broad shoulder and then shuddered with laughter as he gently
tickled her in the ribs on the way down the steps.

A sputter of hand claps broke out as they
walked away and then gradually built to a crescendo of enthusiastic
applause. Several heads of state were obviously moved to tears.

Melissa and Suzy were both frozen in stunned
silence.

The next story rolled around on CNN; Finnbar
the ferret who thinks he's an iPhone.

Melissa lowered the volume and allowed her
breathing to settle itself. She hadn't even noticed the tears
streaming down out of her own eyes.

"Is that the guy you're spending the day with
tomorrow?" Her sister's voice was filled with awe.

"Yes." She croaked. "What the hell should I
do? It's still not too late to cancel. Should I call him now?"

"Melissa Price…" her sister said in a low,
intense voice, "don't you dare touch that phone."

********************

Jason put the little girl safely down into
the back of the limousine and carefully strapped her into the
booster seat he had provided for her. On one side of the limo were
her mother and father beaming with pride; on the other was Beth
Lindsay, Channel Five reporter of recent upskirt fame. The
ambitious young news woman sat in floods of tears. She had watched
the whole speech on the small flat screen TV in the limo's
entertainment center and now she was looking at the little girl
next to her and feeling the presence of the man who had carried her
down the steps of the United Nations assembly in his powerful,
protecting arms.

"You were awesome." She whispered to the
little girl who was already distracted by the tall buildings of
mid-town Manhattan outside the limousine window.

"Thank you miss." She said. "Why are you
crying?"

Beth began to bawl. The girl's parents looked
uncomfortable and confused. Jason put his arm around her.

"It's okay Beth. If you feel so strongly
about it then maybe you can get us something on the Channel Five
news to help promote the cause."

"Are you kidding me?" She said blowing her
nose into a handkerchief discretely slipped to her by Jason.
"They'd kill to get you guys on there for an interview."

Jason smiled and looked into her eyes. "It's
all yours if you want it."

Beth was speechless. She knew what a huge
favor this was. Jason was saving her after the panty-gate incident.
Her boss wouldn't be able to touch her if she brought these people
in fresh after their address to the United Nations. She didn't know
too much about art but she sure as hell knew who Fernanda Salazar
was. The woman was in line for the Nobel Peace Prize for God's
sake.

"We're headed to the Empire State Beth.
Kisima has never been so we've got the observation deck reserved
just for her and her parents. I'd love to invite you along but
there's a security clearance thing."

"That's okay." She snuffled. "I've had the
most amazing day of my life Jason. Thank you. Thank you for
everything."

"If your boss gives you any more trouble,
just let me know."

She puckered up and went for his lips but he
diverted expertly so that the kiss landed on his cheek. The car
pulled over and Jason helped her out. Another car and driver were
waiting for her.

"Take her anywhere she needs to go." He said.
"Stay with her until she gets home."

Beth got into the car and gave Jason a
pleading look before the door closed.

"Is this it?" She said.

Jason stared at her for a moment then walked
over to the car and leaning on the open window came in close to
her. He looked around for any signs of Chauncey Tales or Fame TV.
They were alone.

"We'll be seeing each other very soon
Beth."

"Really?"

"Make the interview happen. Kisima and a
billion other children around the world need all the help they can
get. And I'm sorry about what happened the other night. Those are
the risks of being seen with me these days, but like I promised you
then, I will make it all okay. A promise is a promise. You don't
need to worry about your job or your reputation. I guarantee
it."

"Jason--"

He stood up quickly, still smiling, and
nodded for the driver to go. He had fulfilled his promise to Beth
but that was it as far as he was concerned. He had no interest in
her other than a feeling of responsibility for her having been in
the wrong place at the wrong time and getting caught up in his
stupid, messy world. She didn't deserve to have her career ruined
for that.

He turned around and saw Kisima's tiny
beaming face in the doorway of his Limo.

"Jason sir, Jason sir. Are we really going to
that big tall building over there?" She pointed to the illuminated
top floors of the Empire State peeking out among the other
skyscrapers of Manhattan.

"We sure are Kisima, all the way to the very
tippy top! But we have to hurry, because we have
another
plane to catch tonight."

"Another plane Mr. Jason? Yesssss!" She
squealed with delight.

Melissa was exhausted and apprehensive the following
morning. She had hardly slept all night. After she watched Jason on
the news with her sister they had talked some more but none of it
really helped and she had spent the night tossing and turning
before getting up at her usual time of 5am to go through her
morning ritual like an automaton.

All she could really think about was him.

Although she hadn't articulated it clearly in
her mind, every part of her that counted knew what her decision
was. She would spend the day with him and worry about being found
out later.

Her heart wouldn’t stop beating and the
jitters just wouldn't go away.

Find out who he is.
She told
herself.

The thought flashed through her mind. She was
amazed she hadn't done it before. She had never snooped for
personal information on anyone before, let alone a client but she
had never been involved with anyone quite like Jason Demovic
before.

Screw it.
She thought.
This is
about more than me. What if I can't look after Suzy anymore.
The thought made her choke up with emotion. If she couldn't pay
Suzy's medical bills she had no idea what would happen to them.

She looked at her watch. It was only seven
thirty. She still had time. She ran to her laptop, lifted the lid
and then held her fingers in mid-air over the keyboard.

Still she hesitated.

Hadn't she learned enough about him last
night watching him address the United Nations? What else did she
need to know? The man was a saint and a sex God all rolled into
one.

But David had said that he had a problem with
female therapists and was effectively destroying the careers of not
one but two of her peers.

Her sister had said something about his
interest in women's rights stemming from his father's treatment of
his mother.

She had watched him climb into a limo with
three bimbos, one with no panties on, but then last night she had
seen him stand next to her idol, Fernanda Salazar, surrounded by
women who he was helping to empower with the financial clout of his
personal empire.

How did all these pieces of the puzzle fit
together?

She reached up to close her laptop just as a
Facebook PM came through. It was from Suzy.

'Make sure you dress sexy tomorrow. You've
got competition! Check out this link.'

Melissa took a deep breath. Did she really
want to see whatever highly edited piece of internet gossip her
sister had sent to her?

"Damn it!" She hissed, and then clicked
through. It was a video clip on the Fame TV website.

There he was again being hounded by the
abominable Chauncey Tales. This time he was coming out of an
exclusive Manhattan lingerie boutique with a thin and extremely
attractive blonde woman on his arm that Melissa recognized as the
girl who had been involved in the upskirt-no-panties debacle.

The woman didn't look happy.

'Did you buy panties for Beth Lindsay Jason?'
Chauncey Tales asked.

God that woman is annoying
. Melissa
prayed she would never meet her in person. She represented
everything Melissa did not understand about modern celebrity
culture. She marveled at the patience with her that Jason
displayed.

'We bought a lot of things Chauncey. In fact
we just spent over ten thousand dollars, but that's nothing when it
comes to my beautiful baby here.' He turned and kissed the skinny
woman next to him.

Melissa felt her temperature rise.

"Screw you!" She heard herself say, but she
couldn't take her eyes off the screen.
Damn you Suzy.
Her
sister could be so insensitive. This was the last thing she needed
to see.

She paused the video and scrutinized Beth
Lindsay.

So he likes skinny blondes with blue eyes.
Quelle surprise.

She looked at her own soft auburn hair,
fuller figure and green eyes in a wall mirror and hated herself for
feeling unhappy about her appearance. The very idea was
ridiculous.

She hit play again and Chauncey Tales'
grating voice assaulted her ears once more.

'Does that mean we won't be getting any more
upskirt shots from Beth now that she finally owns a pair of
panties?'

Jason smiled again. Nothing seemed to faze
him.

'No way. This girl is all mine now.' He
squeezed Beth Lindsay to him and Melissa felt another hot surge of
jealousy go through her. "Isn't that right honey?" Beth just
nodded. There was no mistake, she was clearly in a foul mood and
obviously she wasn't as used to dealing with the gutter press as
Jason was.

The couple got into a limo and Chauncey and
her crew chased after them but the clip ended there.

Melissa hit play again.

She paused on each clear shot of Jason hoping
to learn something about him. What that could be she had no idea.
His look was enigmatic. Did he really love that girl? Were they
really an item?

"Bitch." She hissed and then found herself
siding with Chauncey Tales.

'Does that mean we won't be getting any more
upskirt shots from Beth now that she finally owns a pair of
panties?'

She played the sound bite again and chimed in
herself; "Yeah really, put on some drawers you skank."

She paused on each clear shot of Beth
Lindsay. She couldn't say she hated her really. In fact she looked
quite normal, intelligent even.

Something was off about the whole thing.

Still she felt her strong competitive streak
rise.

"Who does that panty-less little whore think
she is?"

She watched the limo pull away again and hit
repeat a few more times. When she came up for air and looked out
the window she had to do a double take. The exact same limo had
pulled up outside her apartment.

She looked at her watch. It was exactly half
past eight.

"Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God." She jumped
up. She was only half dressed and hadn't had breakfast. She had
spent a whole hour playing and replaying the video clip
obsessively.

"Oh my God." She ran to the bedroom to find
her clothes but the doorbell was already ringing.

"Shit." She smoothed down the old t-shirt she
was wearing and pushed back her uncombed hair. The doorbell went
again. Still she didn't move.

Her cell phone went.

"Christ."

Then the doorbell and the phone at the same
time.

"Oh crap."

Now there was the thump of a fist on the door
and she heard Jason's deep resonating voice penetrate her front
door.

"Melissa. Are you in there?"