Undercover Billionaire Boss: A BWWM Contemporary Romance (12 page)

* * *

R
aina’s nights
were bliss as she spent them in Christopher’s arms. But her days? Her days were hell as she tried to avoid Roger at any cost.

She never went to her office anymore, preferring to set up a mobile office in a well populated area like the front desk lobby, where Roger would be afraid to make his moves in front of important guests.

Raina was jumpy, always certain Roger would jump out at her from a corner. She had not seen Roger at all, but she knew that he was lurking on the premises and that he could strike at any time.

She was proven right when she saw him one afternoon approaching the front desk. Raina gasped, shaken by his presence. She had not seen him come in. Her mouth went dry and her hands trembled.

“Beautiful Raina,” he said, edging closer.

“Roger,” Raina said, smiling until her lips ached. Her heart was pounding so fast she thought the entire lobby must be able to hear it.

He walked round to her desk and stood behind her. The hairs on her neck rose and she could feel his presence sucking all the air out of the room. He laid his hands on her shoulders and massaged her. Raina forced herself to be still. If only a guest would walk in, Raina thought desperately, glancing at the revolving door with pleading hope. But the lobby remained deserted

Raina froze.
She could not believe that Roger would be so bold in the open like this and she didn’t know how to react.

Roger did not stop his movements and at that moment she felt his mouth on her neck, and his hands slipping between the buttons of her shirt. Her mind however did not register what Roger was up to as she was planning her next move.

What she did not see was Christopher turning a corner and entering through the back door behind the check-in counter, just out of her and Roger’s point of view.

“I take it you’ve made your decision about the promotion then? You and I will have a lot of fun together and you’ll get a
nice little chunk of change
.” Roger’s words filled the room.

He swung her chair around and knelt down so that they faced each other. Raina was boiling with rage, but helpless as he took her in his arms and smashed his lips against hers, his hands gripping her ass as he pushed her on the counter and stood between her legs.

The fear coursing through her, knowing how vulnerable she was, made every instinct within her aware of her safety and that the best course of action was to play along until she could get safe.

He was already pushing her skirt up and she didn’t put it past him to try and take her right there on the front desk of the hotel. Damn it, where was everyone in this blasted hotel!?

“Roger … dear…” her voice was honey. She had to get him to back off, even if that meant playing along. “You know how much I’ve been looking forward to our time together … but now is not a good time.…”

His lips were moving down her neck, his stinking breath filling her nostrils, his hands buried in her hair. “You’re mine, Raina. Bought and paid for. Do we have a deal?”

“Yes, yes—
it’s a deal
, Roger. You can have me, just—not here. Not now …” Even to her own ears, her voice sounded high and squeaky with panic. She tried desperately to cover herself up without making it seem like she was rejecting him.

“Tonight then.” Roger’s voice was loud with triumph. “
I get you … and you get that raise you’ve been angling after
. Seems like a fair trade, doesn’t it?”

“Sure. Sure Roger, anything you want.” Raina was struggling now, and she would have said anything to get him off of her, unaware that in the shadow of a large palm Christopher was standing and taking in the entire scene.

She looked at the bags under his eyes, the wrinkles on his face and neck. He seemed to believe that she would agree to be his lover or whatever it was he wanted.

Raina shuddered as his lips crushed hers again, but he seemed to take her shivers as a sign of her passion and desire for him.

“
Tonight
.” He jotted down an address. “I will expect you there.”

Still frozen, Raina accepted the paper passively, trying to keep herself from retching.

Smirking, Roger strode out of the hotel with a self-satisfied swagger, and Raina could only watch in horror as she stared after him.

Think. Think. Think. Come on, Raina. Think.
The time had come to ask for more help. She was in deep trouble, and she wasn’t sure she could handle this alone anymore.

Christopher.
Her mind turned to him immediately, and her body flooded with relief. Somehow she felt certain he would know what to do.

She needed to find Christopher as fast as possible.

Raina whirled to the hallway just off the lobby and nearly barged headlong into Christopher’s broad chest.

“Christopher?” she said. “Oh, Christopher, thank God! You’ll never—”

But then her eyes met his, and instead of seeing the warmth and care she usually found there, they were cold and unforgiving and unlike the Christopher she knew.

“Are you alright?” she ventured hesitantly.

“What do you think? I thought you were different Raina but I see that you’re like all the others—never satisfied with what you have. That’s the ‘
nice chunk of change’
you said you were getting? A nice little promotion? A little of your
tit
,” he snarled crudely, “for tat?”

Raina was shocked at the vehemence in his voice and the harshness of his words.

“You—you saw?” Raina’s voice trembled as she tried to make sense of what he was saying. “Me—and Roger—you—thought—you think—?”

Christopher shook his head and threw up his hands. “Actually I don’t really care,” he said in a resigned tone. “Just one more time I’ve been an idiot to believe a woman could be interested in something other than money and self-interest.”

“It wasn’t like that Christopher. Hear me out—!”

He was walking away from her, and she was pleading with him, pulling at his sleeve, begging him to stay and listen to what she had to say.

But he pushed past her like she was nothing and walked out, throwing his cap on the ground as he stalked out of the hotel.

“Christopher! Christopher!” she screamed his name, again and again, begging him to hear what she had to say. Surely she could reason with him. Surely he would—surely. He had to believe her.
He just had to!

Raina could not believe his reaction. How could he not let her explain? After everything between them? How could he not?

But as she thought back to what he must have seen … as she thought back to what he must have heard … her stomach lurched. She was beginning to see why he might have thought she was a willing participant in Roger’s evil machinations.

But surely—surely he would understand once she told him what she’d been struggling with.

I’ll give him a few hours to cool off and then try again
, she told herself.

* * *

B
ut as it turned out
, she did not get the chance to try again. That evening when she returned home, she went to the basement to talk to him … and saw that he had cleared out his backpack and few belongings.

When she rang his cell phone it just kept going to voice mail.

Still, she told herself. Christopher was reasonable. He had to know something was amiss. She knew it was anger and betrayal controlling him and would soon calm down.

She looked for him everywhere, to no avail. She knew that he was avoiding her and she resigned herself to not seeing him that night.

The day dragged on and when she welcomed the kids home that night, Christopher’s absence was obvious.

“Where’s Uncle Chris?” Jeremiah asked at the dinner table.

Raina looked at the three pairs of eyes waiting on her to give them an explanation. This was exactly what she had wanted to avoid.

She had introduced Christopher into their lives, and they had grown attached to him, and now he was gone. Pain pierced her heart and she missed him with an intensity that left her drained.

And something else—anger stirred in her heart. Anger that he had pushed her aside, yes, but more that he had pushed the kids aside too. Knowing what they had been through, knowing their loss—how could he leave without saying a word to
them
?

But she could not even sustain the fleeting anger she felt at the children’s disappointment. She had to hold on to some hope that he would return to her and to them, that they would be able to put this misunderstanding behind them.

Perhaps he had decided to get his own place now and that they needed some space. Raina could handle space, what she couldn’t handle was losing Christopher just when they had found each other.

The worst bit of it was that it wasn’t her fault. Bloody Roger! He had to go on and spoil everything good in her life. Her mouth tasted bitter and she knew that her eyes were sparkling with unshed tears. Raina swallowed hard and plastered a smile on her face. Self-pity was not a part of her and she now shook off the despondency that had descended on her.

“He’s gone on a short trip, that’s all.” Raina lied.

“Did he die, like mama and papa? They went on a trip, and then they died.” Jeremiah asked. Raina closed her eyes and no matter how much she tried, she could not hold back the tears.

“No. No, he’s not dead, sweetie. Just on a trip.” Raina tried to keep her voice calm and upbeat.

“Then what is it Aunty?” Chantal asked in that solemn voice she used, more mature than her age. “Are you thinking of mama and papa?” Raina nodded and wiped off the tears in her eyes blinding her.

“I miss them too, but I know they are always with us. Isn’t that what you said?” Chantal said.

Had she said that? She nodded. It was a comforting thought to know that her sister and her husband watched over them all the time.

“I got used to it now,” Crystal said, flicking her long curly hair back. “I miss them so much but I also like living here with you Aunty, and with Uncle Chris too.”

At the reminder of Christopher, Raina felt a wave of fresh tears but this time she fought them off. “I’m glad you’re happy. That’s all I want for you and it’s what your mama and papa would have wanted.” Raina sniffed.

The children went to bed soon after dinner, and after clearing up the dishes, Raina went to the hallway to check the mail. She took the bunch with a deep sigh, knowing that more bills likely awaited her. Still, it was her life, and she had to deal with it, not run away from it.

She sat on the living room sofa, her mood pensive. She set down the cup of coffee she had just poured herself, and glanced at it. It was now a painful reminder of the cups of coffee she and Christopher had shared over many evenings.

She missed him. She was worried about him.

Raina had called the shelter to see if he might have gone back there, but the staff had not seen anyone by that description.

Still,
she thought, squaring her shoulders as she wrapped a soft knit, white cardigan around herself,
it was time to take control of her life
.

First things first. She needed a new job. She needed a new job like—yesterday.

Ugh.
She glanced at her watch. She knew that Roger was in some seedy hotel room someplace waiting for her to show up. She shuddered at the thought. If she hadn’t needed a new job before, there was no doubt she would need one after tonight.

And second things second. She would also need to speak to her financing company about the mortgage payments. There had to be some way to work out a payment plan of some sort to get herself back on track until the house in Arizona sold. Refusing to respond to their queries was not helping her situation in any way.

That decided, Raina felt brave enough to tackle the official looking letter she held in her hand, and ripped it open, mentally bracing herself for what was inside.

It was from her insurance company and she shuddered inwardly at the sight of their letterhead.

She smoothed out the letter and began to read. As Raina took in the contents of the letter, her eyes grew wider and her fingers shook.

Finally, her fingers let go and the letter dropped back into the plush sofa cushions.