Billionaire's Tragedy (Standalone Book) (Billionaire Bad Boy Romance) (22 page)

CHAPTER
THIRTY-TWO

Olivia

Linc's
secretary led me into his office and asked me if I'd like something to drink. I
declined, and she quickly left to go find her boss. I looked around the office
while I waited and it dawned on me that this environment, as beautiful as it
was, was also rather sterile. There were no mementoes or pictures of family and
friends anywhere in the office. I thought that rather strange, and as I looked
out of the window that overlooked the Potomac, I wondered why that was.

"Ms. Moore, it's
good of you to drop by," Linc said as he walked into the office. I turned
and inhaled sharply as I saw him walking toward me. He was more handsome than I
remembered, and every time I saw him anew, I was surprised by his good looks.
"What can I do for you?"

"Linc, listen to
me," I said as I turned and met him half way across the floor. "I've
found evidence that I think proves Bangor and Russo were part of a group that,
at one time, were aiming to overthrow the government."

"That's
insane," he said with a dismissive nod. "Bangor is a senator who has
been in Congress for over twenty years and Russo, although an idiot, is hell
bent on preserving constitutional rights. I don't see either one of them as
rebels plotting to over throw the government. Try again."

I knew he was mad at me
for hurting his feelings the night before and I also knew that if I was going
to be able to help him and help the paper, I was going to have to swallow my
pride and meet him more than half way.

"Linc, listen to
me," I said as I moved closer and reached out to rest a hand on his chest.
"I'm sorry about last night. I know you had good intentions and I know you
thought that I was just trying to use you, but I wasn't."

"Humph." He
looked at me, then looked away.

"I'm not using you,
I'm trying to help," I said softly. "I'm also struggling mightily
with what to do with all the things I'm feeling."

"What do you
mean?" he asked as he looked down at me. The veil of defense in his eyes
lowered a little bit as he stared at me.

"I mean, I don't
know what to do with you," I said as I moved closer and rested both palms
on his chest. "I've got a job to do, but I also have feelings for you. And
you make it so difficult for me any time you're anywhere near me..."

"I make it difficult
for you?" he asked as though he hadn't heard me properly.

"You make it hard
for me to breathe," I said as I leaned against him running my hands up to
cup his face. "I don't know what to do with all of the things I feel when
I'm near you. I want you more than I've ever wanted anyone, and yet I also feel
afraid of what that means, so I feel it and then I feel like I need to run
away. It's confusing."

"You can say that
again," he muttered as I stroked his cheeks and then tilted his face down
so I could look him in the eye.

"I want you; you can
believe me when I say that," I whispered as I felt him wrapping his arms
around my waist. "I want to feel you pressed against me, kissing me,
inside of me as we move against one another-"

Linc bent his head and
cut me off with his lips. I could feel the need in his kiss and I reciprocated
as I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him closer to me. I trailed my
tongue across his lips as I teased his mouth open and then felt his tongue
pressing against mine while his hands gripped my bottom and pulled me tightly
against his body.

I could feel his need
pressing against my thigh as he kissed me, and in an instant, he lifted me up
and carried me over to the edge of his desk. He set me down and pushed my skirt
up around my waist as his fingers found the warm, wet place between my legs and
began stroking me slowly. I moaned into his mouth, and when I did, he quickly
pushed my panties aside as I unzipped his pants and pulled out his swollen
shaft.

"I need you,
Olivia," he whispered into my lips. "And I'm going to have you right
now, right here on my desk, in my office."

"Yes," I
whispered, and I felt him spread my thighs and quickly thrust himself deep
inside me. I cried out as I took his entire length inside me. He grabbed my
waist and held me tightly as he thrust into me over and over. I leaned back and
laid my hands flat on the desk behind me so that I could push my hips forward
to meet his thrusts. I let my head drop backwards as I focused on the sensation
of him moving in and out of me, over and over, as he leaned forward and slowly
dragged his tongue up my neck. Then sensation of him thrusting and licking me
forced a deep, low moan from my lips as he covered my mouth with his and kissed
me.

"Linc," I
whispered into his mouth as he slid one hand between us and used his thumb to
firmly stroke my clit. The sensation nearly drove me out of my mind when he
continued thrusting, and it wasn't long before I was moaning as he took me
dangerously close to the edge.

"I want to fly with
you, Olivia," he whispered into my lips. "Let's do it together."

I nodded as I kissed him
and then raised my arms and wrapped them tightly around his neck as I let go
and let the orgasm take me. I groaned loudly as I tried to push him deeper
inside of me, and seconds later, I felt him shudder violently as he reached his
own edge and fell over with me. One final thrust and he was throbbing and
pulsing inside of me as we clung tightly to each other.

"What are we
doing?" I asked quietly as I pressed my forehead against his shoulder.

"I don't know, but I
can't stop it, Olivia," he replied as he stroked my hair. "And I
don't want to."

"I don't either,
but..." I trailed off

"But what?"

"But I'm
scared," I whispered.

"Of me?"

"Yes...no...I don't
know," I admitted.

"What are you scared
of, Olivia?" he asked as he pulled back enough to be able to cup my chin
and tip my head up so I was looking into his eyes. "Tell me what you're
afraid of."

"This...all of
this," I said as the tears welled up threatening to spill over. "I
can't do this again."

"Do what?"

"
Fall
,"
I said as I looked away. "I can't fall again."

"What if I catch you
when you fall?" he said softly.

"That's what they
all say, and then when things get rough or difficult or someone needs
something, they let go and I crash," I said as the tears began flowing
down my cheeks.

Linc stepped back and I
immediately felt his absence, which made me cry harder because it confirmed all
my fears. He raised his hand and wiped the tears from my cheek as he looked
into my eyes.

"Olivia, I'm not
everyone else," he said. "I know you have no reason to believe me
right now, but I swear to you that I'm not like the rest of them."

"Don't tell me
that!" I cried as I pushed myself off of the desk and walked to the
window. I rested my forehead against the glass and closed my eyes. A moment
later, I felt Linc's arms winding around my waist as he pressed himself against
me from behind.

"Time will
tell," I said as I carefully balanced myself between him and the window
and wondered how I would ever sort this all out. I was unsettled and
uncomfortable, and I knew I needed to escape. I slowly peeled his hands off of
me, turned, kissed his cheek, and then quickly walked out the door.

CHAPTER
THIRTY-THREE

Linc

I
scowled all the way from my office to the car as I thought that maybe Olivia
and I could have turned a corner this afternoon. I wasn't sure if she'd
rejected me or if it was just her modus operandi of running away before she
allowed me to get closer, but I knew I could never give her up. I didn't kid
myself into believing that this would be smooth or easy; in fact, I anticipated
many more bumpy roads as we tried to figure out how to make this work.
Something about that made the path ahead seem navigable even if it was dark and
cloudy.

I arrived at the
restaurant before Mo did and had already settled into the table with my first
drink when I looked up to see her and Brant approaching me.

"What are you doing
here?" I said looking at Brant.

"We've discovered
some useful information, and I thought I'd better come with her to explain
it," Brant said as he sat down and signaled the server. He ordered a
whisky for himself and a glass of merlot for Mo, and waited for them to be
delivered before he spoke.

"Will someone please
tell me what's going on?" I said.

"We think we've
figured out at least part of what Russo is up to," Brant began. He looked
at Mo and then said, "It was actually Mo's discovery, but once she shared
it with me, I connected it to the Chinese contract and realized that Russo is
after something bigger than we'd thought."

"And that is?"
I said looking back and forth between the two of them.

"He's trying to get
the bill killed because he's going to steal the technology, Linc," Brant
said. "He's got a cut-rate software engineering firm that's managed to
duplicate our GRIPTech, and he sees the potential for profit if he can deny you
the ability to market our product under law."

"That makes no
sense," I said shaking my head. "Wouldn't he benefit, too, if the
bill were passed? It would make smart gun technology mandatory, and there's
enough business for all of us."

"No, he knows that
his technology is sub-standard and it doesn't have the kinds of safeguards
we've spent all this time developing," Brant said. "But he knows that
if he recommends the product, as the head of the AWN, then the members will buy
what he tells them to, and the money will come flooding in."

"But wouldn't we
make money, too?" I said, shrugging off the suggestion that we'd be
rendered irrelevant if Russo deemed us so. "We'd still have the
technology, and ours is better. Market forces and all, right?"

"Lincoln, you don't
know Davis Russo the way I know him," Mo said quietly. "I've known
him for years and he's a man who will stop at nothing to get what he
wants."

"But he's been
arguing that grip technology on guns will undermine the second amendment and
telling his supporters to oppose it," I said, getting more frustrated as I
tried to untangle the mess of motives. "Wouldn't his move into the tech
field and recommendations sound rather disingenuous to the followers who are
now opposing the technology?"

"This is what I'm
trying to tell you, kiddo," Mo sighed. "He doesn't care. He doesn't
have a problem with changing course or advocating things he's vehemently
opposed to if it benefits him financially or increases his power within the
AWN. This is not the first time he's done something like this, and I fear it
won't be the last."

"So, what are we
supposed to do? Lie down and take it?" I said, growing more irritated as I
listened to them talking about all the ways in which the business could fail
and how the odds were stacked against us.

"No, actually we
were talking about this earlier and came up with a plan to expose Russo,"
Brant said. I shot him a questioning look as I noticed Mo resting her hand on
top of his while he spoke, but he didn't acknowledge my look, only moved his
hand away and continued talking. I looked at Mo, but she was signaling for the
server as if nothing had happened. "We think that if we can draw Russo out
into the open and expose his plan, we can still get the bill passed."

"And, how do you
propose we do that, Brant?" I asked.

"Get Olivia to write
an article and publish it in tomorrow's paper," Mo said.

"Absolutely
not," I said as I shook my head. "I'm not going to use her."

"But she's a
journalist," Brant said. "She's used to writing things that have
political purpose."

"She's been burned
before; I'm not going to be the one to do it again," I said.

"You love her, don't
you?" Mo asked. I looked at her and carefully considered my response. I
wasn't sure how I felt about Olivia aside from the fact that when I was away
from her all I wanted was to be near her.

"I don't know that
I'd go that far," I said warily.

"You do love
her," Brant said as he stared at me. "I know what that looks
like."

"Then you'll
understand why I don't want to use her to get what we want for the
company," I said as the server approached and then took our dinner orders.
"She's been used before and it hurt her, I don't want to be the one to do
it again."

"But we need her to
expose Russo," Brant said. "We need this, Linc. We need to save the
bill and save the company."

"She'll understand,
kiddo," Mo said as she looked at me and then at Brant. I saw something
pass between the two of them, but it was too quick for me to hold on to.
"She knows that this is important. Just talk to her, will you?"

"Alright, I'll talk
to her, but if she says no, then I'm dropping it. Is that understood?"

Brant shot Mo a worried
look, but they both nodded in agreement.

"I'll go see her
after dinner," I said. Then looking at them both, I asked, "What the
hell is going on between the two of you?"

"We're just working
together to save GRIPTech and bring down Russo," Mo said as she patted my
hand. The look on Brant's face resembled that of a kicked puppy, but it
brightened when Mo patted his cheek and said, "No worries."

My intuition told me
there was something afoot, but my brain had already moved ahead trying to think
of just how I would approach Olivia and ask her to help me expose Davis Russo.

#

Two
hours later, I stopped
by the
Sentinel's
newsroom and was
admitted by a woman who very closely resembled a human owl.

"Olivia is down at
the other end of the newsroom," she said after having checked my
identification and decided I was someone who would be safe to allow inside the
inner sanctum.

I walked down the hallway
into the wide-open room full of desks and computers. There was a television set
mounted to the wall and I stopped when I noticed that Davis Russo was, yet
again, being interviewed on some nightly news program.

"So Mr. Russo,
you've said that your opposition to house bill HR 8212 is purely
constitutional," said the interviewer. "But some sources have
suggested that you've got another agenda that hasn't been mentioned. Would you
care to elaborate on that?"

"James, whatever
people are saying behind my back, it's out of spite and envy, so it can't be
trusted," Russo grinned magnanimously and then shifted his face so that it
reflected pity for the poor misguided souls who were accusing him of such
misdeeds. "I'm afraid that there are some very powerful forces in the
anti-gun lobby that are working overtime to bring me and the AWN down to our
knees over this smart technology issue."

"How is that?"
the interviewer asked.

"Well, we believe
that every citizen has the right to own a gun, and that if they are denied that
right, we are walking perilously close to entering into a society where only
the criminals are armed and good citizens are left to roam the streets
unprotected," Russo began.

"Don't you think
that's a little dramatic?"

"Not at all, James.
I can see places even in the United States where citizens without guns are just
not safe," he said shaking his head sadly. "We need to be armed, but
being armed should not cost an arm and a leg, as Mr. Redding is suggesting it
should."

"But Lincoln Redding
isn't suggesting gun ownership should be expensive, he's simply saying that we
have the technology to prevent many accidents and deaths, so why don't we
mandate the use of smart technology and ensure that safety?"

"No, what Mr.
Redding is saying is that only the rich should be allow to own guns,"
Russo declared angrily as he clenched his fist and pounded it on the anchor's
desk. "He's saying that only people who can afford to dress up their guns
like they're smart phones should be allowed to own weapons, and he's making no
bones about the fact that his billionaire interests are the only thing he's
concerned with."

I shook my head as I
listened to Russo's illogical argument and his stubborn attempt to drive a
wedge between people who might otherwise agree.

"That man is a
menace," Olivia said as she stood behind me. I turned around, surprised to
see her standing there.

"Olivia, I was
looking for you," I said.

"Got waylaid by the
television, Redding?" she asked, then added with a grin, "Happens to
the best of us."

"I need to talk to
you. I need a favor."

"Oh, really?"
she eyed me suspiciously and then escorted me to her desk where she pulled up a
chair and gestured for me to sit down. "Sorry this isn't as hospitable as
your deluxe office, but hey, we're on a shoestring budget."

"I see that," I
said looking around at the empty office and it's rather shabby furnishings and
ancient technology.

"What do you need,
Redding?" she asked as she sat down and dug in one of her desk drawers
before bringing out a bottle of whiskey and two plastic cups that looked rather
well worn. "Clean,” she assured as she poured a shot for each of us and
handed me one.

"I need you to write
an article exposing Davis Russo's plan to get HR 8212 shot down so he can
profit financially," I said.

"I see," she
nodded as she looked at me. Her voice was flat when she said, “So, you came
down here to get me to do your bidding?"

"No, not like
that!" I protested. I could tell I'd offended her, and I didn't blame her
for being mad. "I'm not trying to use you, Olivia. I'm just trying
to..."

"Get your way,"
she said. "I get it, you have an agenda and you need someone to help you.
Who better than a reporter with access to the front page of a major
newspaper."

"Olivia,
please," I said as I reached out to touch her. She pushed my hand away as
she turned toward her computer.

"Go ahead, dictate
what you want in the article and I'll make it happen," she said in a flat
voice.

"Olivia,
please," I said as I moved toward her and wrapped my arm around her waist.
It was an awkward position with both of us in desk chairs, but I wanted her to
know that I wasn't trying to use her. "I'm not using you, I just
thought...I don't know what I thought. I need help and I don't know who else to
ask."

I nuzzled her neck
through her thick red hair and then pushed it aside so I could kiss the side of
her face. She leaned in for a moment and let me cuddle her, then she turned and
said, "Do you want me or do you want Russo?"

"What kind of a
question is that?"

"A real one,"
she replied. "Would you be willing to give up the Russo story to have
me?"

"Yes, of
course," I said less than enthusiastically.

"Yeah, not terribly
convincing," she said, turning back around.

"Olivia, listen to
me," I said, knowing that this was the moment when I had to decide to tell
her the truth or walk away. "I'm going to tell you the truth, then you can
decide what to do with it. I won't tell you what to write or how to write it or
even if it should be written. I'm just going to tell you what I know and then
you can use it as you see fit. Okay?"

She nodded, but didn't
turn around. I spent the next thirty minutes telling her my entire history,
from my parents’ deaths to the fact that my company was now hanging in the
balance because Davis Russo was intent on ruining me. I couldn't tell what she
was thinking, but I could see her taking notes. She asked a few questions, and
then when she was done, she looked at me and nodded.

"Will you write the
story?" I asked.

"I don't know
yet," she replied. Then she turned around and looked at me as she put her
hand on my cheek. "But I appreciate you telling me the whole story. It
makes a difference. Now, I'm going to tell you what I know."

Olivia quickly filled me
in on the theory that Russo and Bangor had brought in a third man to
assassinate the senators, but I couldn't figure out who he was. She told me
about their involvement in the BAR during the ’70s and the way in which Russo
had flipped and gone to the AWN when the money called. I listened carefully and
then asked her again.