Touchdown Daddy (142 page)

Bonus Book 29: Seduced by the Billionaire Shifter

By:
Eliza Moon

Description

A BBW breaking away from her ex-boyfriend PLUS a sexy billionaire shifter with a secret PLUS a dangerous enemy who is after revenge!

Quinn Astley is a curvaceous blonde trying desperately to release the grip of her possessive ex-boyfriend Mike. Heading into court Quinn expects to win her case but what she doesn’t expect is to meet the sexy law firm director who comes to witness her case.

Derek is charming, rich, and devilishly sexy. Having inherited the law firm after his parents’ death, he has become a rich and successful man early in life. But he has a dark secret that he needs to keep and a dangerous enemy on his heels...

Finding her full figure too tantalizing to stay away from, Derek’s self control is put to the test in this steamy romance. Is Quinn ready to accept the man that Derek is behind the perfectly poised firm director he is on the outside?

Will they escape their enemy? Find out now!

It was a Tuesday morning just after her second cup of coffee that Quinn Astley discovered a life-altering secret that blurred the line between what is real and what is fantasy.

Being a hard worker her entire life, it was no surprise that the curvaceous blonde found herself in a well-paid real estate job right out of college. She had studied business at the University of Waterloo in Ontario and always had a knack for attracting people and finding good qualities in the worst situations. At the age of twenty-six, Quinn had been in the real estate world for three years, steadily rising in sales as well as ability.

That's where Michael Biers was concerned. Quinn had been seeing Mike for about a year when she came to the conclusion that he only hoped to live off of her earnings and do nothing in the way of work for himself. In all honesty, though, he was good looking--classically handsome. That's what originally drew Quinn's eye, but she needed more than that selfish neediness in a man. Depth, determination, a loving persona, power, were the adjectives swishing around in her mind when she chose to end things with Mike and move on. None of those words ever seemed to suit Mike. Loud, excessive and arrogant maybe did a better job.

So the ties were cut and Quinn focused in on her job, which always made her happy. Hard work came naturally to her and it had a way of elevating her spirits to know there would be a reward to her toils over the long run. The right guy was out there somewhere; she just didn’t know where to look. The previous evening she had seen a meme of prince charming stuck in a tree and it had made her snicker.

Tuesday morning came and Quinn rolled out of bed, pulling on her floral robe as she shuffled down the hall to the kitchen. The robe had lately become her new favorite article of clothing. Found on the discount rack at Addition Elle a few weeks before, the vibrant colors on the black base of the robe simply called out to her so she took it to the changing room and slipped it on over her full frame. The robe hugged her body in all the right places and although trying on clothes in stores often made her nauseous, Quinn turned and looked at herself in the slim mirror and smiled at her assets. She did have a lot going for her. Her golden hair fell in loose tidy waves to her ribcage and her green eyes shone brightly in response to the vibrant colors of the robe. Her hips were wide with muscular legs to support them and she had a voluptuous torso topped with beautifully round breasts. The robe made her feel empowered as she stood in front of the mirror. For the first time in months, Quinn left the changing room eager to purchase what she had just tried on. 

Coffee was brewing. Hugging herself as the coffee dripped through the filter and into her cup, good thoughts filled Quinn’s mind as they often did this time of day. But today, she was due in court by noon. Mike had moved out over a month ago and had taken his things with him. But Quinn could tell he was not ready to move on.

A few weeks prior to the break-up Mike had begun to be more possessive of her. A jealous rage seemed to grow within him and she just couldn’t take it anymore. Between his lack of desire to pave a path for himself and his newfound jealous behavior, Quinn had had enough. It took some time for Mike to find a place of his own and he had to crash on her couch for an extended couple of weeks. Once he had finally gotten out of her apartment and off of her couch, the calls began. Along with the emails, the texts, and the late night (unexpected) visits. After a solid week of this, Quinn called the cops for a restraining order to be placed on Mike. It didn’t work.

One night, in a drunken stupor, Mike stumbled up to her door and when she refused him entry, he lost all manners of self-control. Grabbing the baseball bat the little boy down the hall had left on the front lawn, he smashed the headlights and rear windows of Quinn's brand new Mitsubishi. He tore apart the seat covers, rounded up all her personal belongings and threw them into the street in a heap. For fear of being attacked, Quinn called the police and, looking out the window, witnessed all her personal items being set afire. Included in these things now burned to ashes were Quinn's Italian leather jacket and personal documents which would seriously cost her to have replaced.

Now, here she was preparing for the court date set by the judge. She was preparing to sue the bastard for breaking his restraining order, the damage done to her car and the destruction of personal items, each of which had been appraised over the past few days.

It was a quarter past eleven when the coffee had run dry and her robe had been replaced with a crisp black pantsuit and red tank top. She really looked like a million bucks. Red was always Quinn’s color. If her case wasn’t strong enough to win, her style was definitely enough to distract and provoke the judge in defense of it.

While tightening her seatbelt as best as she could, she rolled out of the driveway and onto the road. The next few hours were going to be brutal. Upon arrival at the court building, Quinn was greeted by a kind gentleman in a grey suit who escorted her to the main lobby where she was to grab an elevator up to her courtroom. On the second floor, the elevator came to a stop and in stepped Derek Harting.

Looking up from her phone just in time to see the handsome stranger step aboard the elevator, Quinn couldn’t help but stare. If she had not felt her mouth water suddenly, she was sure she would have continued to stare the entire ride. Pulling her jaw back up from the floor, she put on a sweet smile and looked away embarrassed.

Dear God
! She thought to herself as he smiled back in her direction.

Quinn had seen and known many a handsome man before, but this guy had it all! Dark hair swept back over a sturdy brow, a smile whiter than freshly fallen snow, and piercing grey eyes that buried themselves deep within the spirit of anyone who dared to look at them.

“I’m Derek,” he said with a sideways glance.

“Quinn,” she replied and held out a hand to shake.

He took it.

“Are you here for the crazy ex-boyfriend case?” He raised a perfectly shaped brow.

“Mhm, that’s the one, pretty silly huh?” She responded with a little bit of shame.

He looked at her for a moment, concerned he might have offended the pretty girl in the elevator.
Quinn, that was her name, so pretty
.

“Actually, Quinn, to be perfectly honest with you, I think you are justified in taking him to court and that you have a very strong case against him. I am confident you will do well,” he said finally.
What was he thinking?
He shouldn’t ever discuss cases like this.

“Thanks,” Quinn replied maybe a bit too quickly, wondering how he knew about her case. “Well, this is my stop, have a good day!” She called as she bolted for the exit.

When she turned to look back at the apparently empty doorway to the elevator, she almost ran headfirst into the hypnotizing man she had just stumbled upon. What is he doing? Following me?

“I’m sitting in on your case Miss...” his voice trailed. He didn’t know her full name.

“Astley, Quinn Astley,” she smiled, saving his need to ask.

“Miss Astley,” he whispered, and shook her hand once again before turning into the courtroom and leaving her alone in the hallway.

A few moments later Derek found himself turning around and around waiting for the beautiful blonde he had just set eyes on. But he couldn’t see her anywhere in the room.

She had better get a move on, it would be a shame if she were late, he thought mildly concerned. Derek knew that in any perfect courtroom scenario, it was more than simply a matter of being polite to arrive on time or even a little early. It could make or break a case depending on the mood of the judge, and the allegations being made.

Derek’s golden rule to court dates was: twenty minutes early, thirty minutes late. It was something he picked up from when he watched his parents run the law firm and got to see the odd court case. If you arrive twenty minutes early you have time to prepare, to assess your surroundings and to piss. Nothing could be worse than sitting through anything, let alone a legal hearing, being able to focus on nothing but how bad you have to go to the bathroom. The thirty minutes late referred to leaving thirty minutes after the hearing ends. In this time, if your case is won, you may ask questions if you have any. You can take the time to find your lawyer and thank them, hug your family and friends. And if your case loses, console your loved ones, ask more questions, and find out your next steps.

For Derek, success always came at a price. Sure he was now one of the richest men in Toronto and had one of the most powerful law firms out there. But the price of this success? His parents.

When Derek was young he would love to follow his father to court cases that were gentle enough for his innocence. When he got a little older he started to take courses in law in high school graduating with straight A’s. By the time college rolled around Derek was more than willing to join in on the family business and head to law school after four long years doing an undergrad in English Literature and Business.

Upon completion of law school, Derek's parents made him heir to their firm in the case of their death and began showing him the ropes of more intricate matters of law. By the time he was twenty-six years old Derek was on first name basis with the majority of his father's clients and was continuously assisting his mother in the paperwork for those cases.

That was the year he became a billionaire. At twenty-six years old, already vastly more accomplished than many of his peers from the University of Toronto School of Business, and steadily rising, Derek came face to face with his first major heartbreak.

A car crash caused by a drunk driver at the corner of Queen and Spadina took the lives of both his parents and the future of the law firm fell on his shoulders. The driver was charged and arrested on scene and the trial was held at the courthouse just a few blocks away from the Rachel and Jerry Harting Law Firm. It was the first trial Derek had sat in on since his parents had passed and it quickly became a ritual for him to attend the hearings and trials of those he was responsible for at the firm.

That’s what brought him to the courthouse on Tuesday.

Although it was a smaller case and one he had not been personally involved in himself, the subject of possessive ex-boyfriends always made him nervous. When he heard one of his employees talking about an upcoming case involving a psychotic ex-boyfriend who trashed a woman’s car, he had to know more. He had to make sure he was served his justice if there was any way he could help.

Derek had the past. Hell, who doesn't?
Quinn had the past and so did he
, he thought as he finally saw her come through the door. Her matching red heels and tank top seemed to glow in the midst of the black pantsuit she had on. It caressed her curves in the most attractive way and for a moment he caught himself staring.

He couldn’t go there. Stopping his thoughts before they got ahead of him, he distracted himself from her by watching the door to the judge’s office until he came out from behind it.

The trial was short and as Derek predicted, Quinn won her case and came out being just shy of twenty grand richer. He could hardly recall any of the proceedings as he had spent the majority of the duration admiring the shiny blonde curls that hung just a few rows in front of him.

She rose and hugged a friend nearby but hung around a few moments longer until the courtroom had all but cleared. So he stayed, intrigued, pretending to be busy on his cell phone. He watched as she approached the front of the courtroom, waiting patiently for the judge to re-emerge from his office. When he finally did, Quinn stepped towards him with a smile that could melt a man to liquid in seconds. With admiration for her professionalism, he remained in the back of the room as she shook hands with the judge and asked some further questions about the case. With a reassuring hand on her shoulder, the judge assured her that she would not have to deal with Michael Biers anymore.

Derek planned to leave the room before she noticed his lingering presence but failed as she turned around quicker than expected and froze at the sight of him.