His Big Reveal: An Interracial BWWM Billionaire Romance (BWWM Alpha Males) (5 page)

~

Miri’s week was off to a shitty start. Two of the women had taken their kids and went back to their abusers, while she was on her ill-fated final date with Ryan. Each time a woman returned to a volatile situation, Miri felt it like a kick to her heart. She held her breath and hoped the women defied the odds, that they wouldn’t be part of the statistic. Unfortunately the women usually returned, more battered and bruised than before. And that’s
if
they returned at all.

Even though she hated the situations that forced the families into the shelter, she was grateful for the distraction it provided after her disastrous weekend with Ryan. She was proud of herself, she had only thought about him a few dozen times since the cab left his property late Saturday night. Sleep had not come easy, either. Every time she closed her eyes, that one moment of silence played over and over again. That moment when she knew he was looking for a polite way to decline her invitation. God it was so humiliating.

The only good thing about her embarrassment was that she didn’t have to worry about making this mistake ever again. Ryan was a mostly decent man yet he still managed to put a big dent in her ego and if she was honest, her heart and that let her know more than anything else, that she wasn’t cut out for relationships. Sure, there had been a moment when she thought
maybe
they could have been something special, something real, but she’d been wrong and at least she figured it out before any real damage had been done.

“Hey boss you better come out here.” Amelia delivered the message cautiously and ducked back into the reception area.

She was perplexed by her friend’s strange behavior, but Miri had learned quickly not to ignore those odd looks and eye rolls. “Okay, I’m here. Now what?”

Amelia stepped aside so Miri could see the flowers clogging up the lobby. “Apparently someone sent flowers.”

She released a frustrated sigh and dropped her head down. “Remove the cards and give them to the mothers. It’ll brighten their day.”

“But don’t you want them?”

“No, I don’t.” She turned and locked herself in the office to catch up on paperwork. Thanks to Ryan’s donation there was a surplus of toiletries, so that was one less thing she needed to order. By the time lunch rolled around she’d put a significant dent in her paperwork and she was in desperate need of coffee. “Amelia can you do a coffee run? I’ll buy your latte and one of those giant brownies you love.”

Amelia gasped. “You had me at latte.” She stood, swiped the cash from Miri’s hand and was out the door in a flash.

She smiled at Amelia and secretly hoped the world didn’t dim her light. That woman had been her rock at the shelter over the past few years and despite what they witnessed every day, she didn’t seem any worse for wear. The buzz of her phone in her pocket startled her out of her thoughts. Her instinct was to ignore it, sure it was another text from Ryan, but it could be a woman in need so she pulled it out slowly and stared at the screen.

Please answer. I really need to talk to you. xo Ryan

She rolled her eyes at his message. “The time for talking was on Saturday,” she said to the screen before sliding it back into her pocket. Several more messages came in quickly but she decided to ignore them. The frustration wasn’t worth it and he couldn’t say anything to make it better anyway. The one saving grace was that they’d only been on a dozen or so dates and she wasn’t all that attached to him.
Liar, you’re attached and you more than like him
, her inner voice reminded her.

She pushed back from the Amelia’s desk, resolved not to think about Ryan any more today. Or ever. She picked up the phone to set up more job skills classes for the women and she was deep in conversation when Amelia breezed in with a wary smile on her face.
Incoming
, she mouthed.

Before Miri could comprehend her meaning, a tall blonde with green eyes that haunted her dreams stood staring at her with a scowl on his face. She held up a finger for him to wait and swiveled the chair until her back faced him. “Alright, Trisha that would be great. I’ll talk to you soon. Bye.” She placed the phone on the receiver, took a breath to steel her nerves and swiveled back to Ryan with a questioning gaze.

“Can we talk?”

She pushed herself up and met his cautious stare with one of her own. “I don’t think that’s a good idea Ryan. We had fun but we should call it.”

“No, we shouldn’t.”

She held up her hand. “You got what you wanted and it was fun for me, but obviously we don’t want the same things.”

His fingers tunneled through his hair and left his locks sticking up in all directions. “We do, dammit. My mind was racing with all the things I needed to tell you and I…chickened out.”

“What haven’t you told me, Ryan? Are you married?”

He shook his head. “Not yet,” he gave her a sheepish smile that made her shiver. “God I don’t know how to say this without making you hate me,” he began when an angry pounding began on the door behind him. He turned and saw two men pounding and kicking the glass. “Are you going to call the police?”

His worried expression was so sincere and so cute she almost forgot she was pissed off at him. “The silent alarm had already been triggered, but you’re stuck here until the police arrive. Plus the security guys will keep them out there.”

His face paled and he knew he needed to tell her now, before the uniformed officers arrived. They all knew him and knew this building and the shelter was his, and they had no reason to think that information was classified. “I can’t.”

Miri shrugged. “You should have thought of that before you came over here. Our protocol is to not open the door when abusers show up, at least not until the boys in blue arrive.” She buzzed the door for entry. “You might want to come back here just in case they breach the entrance.”

He wasted no time joining her on the other side of the bullet proof class just to be safe. “I guess this isn’t an ideal time to talk?”

“Definitely not.”

“Okay, how about tonight after you leave? We can meet up somewhere, anywhere you want, so I can tell you everything.”

His green eyes pleaded with her for understanding, for time. A second chance. What was it about this man that attracted her? Why was he so compelling when other men weren’t? Why had she fallen for another man who wanted nothing more than a quick and easy release? She released a heavy breath. “Yes. Okay, fine. I’ll meet you at Maggie’s Diner at eight.” The force of the smile he sent her knocked the breath out of her but she couldn’t muster up the same energy for him.

“Great.” He couldn’t get enough of her and tonight he would make her understand why he’d been less than truthful.

“Stay here until you get the all clear,” she told him and quickly left to escort the police inside. The two men had already left and the chances of them being caught were slim. “Good afternoon officers, thank you for coming.” Miri spent the next half hour outlining the situation to the officers, who told her there wasn’t much they could do without names for the men. “I didn’t want to traumatize them any further so they stayed in back and I’m guessing at least one of them has a wife or girlfriend inside.”

“Is that Mr. Scott inside,” one of the officers asked.

She nodded, confused. “Yes, what do you need with him?”

The young officer looked at her like she’d lost her mind. “He owns this building.”

“And he founded the shelter. Lila is his mom,” the older officer threw in.

Miri felt the air push its way from her lungs at their casually issued statements. Now she knew Ryan’s big lie, and it was a whopper. What she couldn’t understand was why he would lie about it. Was it all about the chase, a piece of black tail to add to his collection? No, even though he was a liar she knew that wasn’t his reason. Money. That had to be it. He hadn’t told her because he was afraid she was after his money. “Shit,” she muttered to herself and gave the officers a kind smile. “Thanks for coming guys. Sorry you missed them.” She waved them away and stomped back inside, straight past Ryan and behind the door to her office, where she silently cried.

By the time Miri’s day was over she was exhausted, mentally and physically. Now that she knew Ryan’s secret there was no reason to meet, other than to tell him she couldn’t,
wouldn’t
see him again. She only hoped this brief affair wouldn’t impact her job. If it did, she would move on the way she always did. “Goodnight,” she waved to the ladies who worked the night shift and gave a friendly nod to the security guards at the doors.

“Miss, why don’t you let one of us walk you to your car?”

She shook her head. “Don’t worry about me guys, you’re here for the women and children inside that building.” She gave a small smile and patted them both on the shoulder. “Goodnight.” Miri was happy the day was over even though she wasn’t looking forward to this chat with Ryan.

“Hey bitch, you think you can keep my family from me?”

One hand slid into her purse and she turned slowly and looked up into the angry black eyes of one pissed off Hispanic man. “I’m not keeping anyone from you, that would be your behavior.” She gripped the pepper spray and flipped the cap off, poised to squeeze the button.

“Screw you bitch,” he leaned forward and hit her with something hard, really hard.

Miri felt her body crumble to the ground and her world went dark.

Ryan was furious with Miri. He’d fallen in love with her and she treated him like he didn’t matter. At all. He’d waited for more than an hour last night and she never showed up. She hadn’t even called to say she wasn’t coming. He knew she was pissed off but this was unacceptable and he was on his way to the shelter to tell her so.

His phone rang and he picked it up. “Yeah?”

“Where the hell have you been?” Casey’s voice was loud and shrill in his ear and he switched her to wireless.

“I’m in the middle of something right now, Case.” He heard the edge in his voice and he knew she heard it too.

“Don’t do anything you might regret Ry. Seriously.”

He sighed and came to a stop at a light. “Oh, I won’t regret it one bit. Do you know Miri never even showed up last night? She just left me hanging for seventy-five minutes.”

“She had a good reason, Ryan.”

He slapped the steering wheel hard enough to sting. “I can’t believe you’re taking her side, Casey! All she had to do was show up and listen.”

She growled into the phone. “Dammit Ryan listen to me! She would have shown up, was in fact heading to her car to meet you when one of the boyfriends showed up and knocked her out. With a pistol.”

“Shit, where is she?”

“Are you calm?”

“How can I be when the woman I love was just beaten!”

Casey sighed. “Well try because she has a severe concussion and they’re not sure yet if she’ll have damage to her eye socket. She needs you calm, Ry.”

“Fine, I’ll be calm when I get there.” He disconnected the call and soon pulled into the visitor’s lot of the hospital. He spotted Amelia as soon as he walked in. “How is she?”

She gave him a watery smile. “She’s better than she looks, but her concussion is pretty bad. She was out back for a long time before I found her. I thought…I thought she was with you.”

Ryan pulled her into his arms. “Well I was on my way to the shelter to yell at her for standing me up.”

Amelia pulled back. “She needs you Ryan. She’ll never tell you or ask for your help but they won’t release her without someone to watch her and I want to do it but she’s insisting I’m in charge until she gets back. Her mom is dead so it’s just me and you Ryan.”

She sobbed into his chest while he ran a soothing hand along her back. “I’m here for her Amelia, don’t worry. She probably hates me right now but I love her and I won’t let her down.”

She smiled, more clearly now. “I knew it!” Her smile sobered, “She was really pissed off after speaking with the cops yesterday, any idea why?”

“Shit. I do, actually. I haven’t been totally honest with her about some things, which is why we were meeting up last night.”

Amelia patted his chest. “Well you have some work to do Ryan, but I’m counting on you to get her out of here. She hates hospitals.”

He nodded his understanding. He hated them too. It came from too many visits to too many hospitals in an effort to hide the abuse. “I get it and I’ll get her out of here one way or another.”

“Atta boy,” she patted him again. “I guess it’s a good thing I gave Casey a call, then?”

She couldn’t have surprised him more if she’d slapped him. “You knew?”

She shrugged. “I figured it out pretty easily actually. Casey showing up with gifts from a mysterious benefactor was my first clue, then the computers from you, but when I found a photo in the storage area of Lila Foster, those green eyes were a dead giveaway.”

“Why didn’t you tell her?”

“I had no reason to think she didn’t know. I mean I didn’t think you were a liar.”

His skin flushed at her words. “Me either, but the more time that went by, the harder it was to tell her. Wish me luck,” he told her and turned to find Miri.

“Room 139!”

He waved and followed the numbers until he stood outside Miri’s door. “Here goes nothing.”

~

Miri’s head throbbed like she’d been cracked upside the head by a baseball bat. It hurt to open her eyes and the constant beeping beside her bed just made it worse. One eye opened and closed immediately.
God, it was so damn bright in here
. Why? Shit, what time was it? She missed her meeting with Ryan. “Ryan,” she rasped out.

“What do you need, Miri?” His voice was soft and soothing.

“Ryan? What are you doing here?”

He saw her struggle to open her eyes, brows furrowed in pain. “I came to yell at you for standing me up last night. “You really hurt my feelings, babe.”

“Sorry.” Her voice was so scratchy and dry.

“Here you go, take a sip.” Ryan held a hard plastic cup and pushed the straw to her lips. “Better?”

She nodded. “Thanks. Where am I?”

“You don’t remember anything?” She shook her head but had yet to open her eyes. Ryan told her everything, from their fight last week—which she remembered—to the nuisance yesterday at the shelter. He told her what he knew about her attack. “Apparently it was the butt of a gun that caused your current headache, no one knows who did it yet, the police are waiting to speak to you.”

She nodded. “I remember a little. He was Hispanic and I’m mad at you but I don’t know why.” She felt the bed dip at her side, his large warm hand sat calmly on her thigh.

Ryan sighed. “I promise to tell you as soon as you can open those beautiful golden brown eyes to glower at me.”  He leaned forward and placed a kiss on her forehead. “Before we get to that we have another matter to discuss.”

“We do?”

“Yep. I’m springing you from this joint, if you’ll allow it.”

She had a concussion and she hated hospitals, what choice did she have? “I’ll allow it but you’d better tell me why I’m mad first.”

“Shit. Okay. Well I’m guessing one of the cops must’ve told you because you came through those doors like a bat out of hell afterwards. “My name is Ryan Scott and it has been since my eighteenth birthday, but before that I was Ryan Foster, son of Garrett and Lila Foster.”

Her eyes widened but still didn’t open, and she winced at the pain caused by light seeping in. “You’re my boss.”

He chuckled and the sound warmed her chilled bones. “Not quite. I own the building and I started the foundation that funds the shelter, but the fundraiser you invited me to is all my mother’s doing. The shelter doesn’t
belong
to anyone.”

“But Lila’s son is a billionaire…you’re a freakin’ billionaire, Ryan? Why didn’t you tell me?”

He sighed. This was the moment of truth. “I was awed by your beauty when I first saw you at the coffee shop but I hadn’t worked up the courage to ask you out. Then I saw that asshole attack you and you smiled at me and I was lost.”

He smiled down at her and Miri didn’t know if her heart hurt more or her head. “Charmer,” she murmured.

“Anyway we had a really good time on that date and I knew you’d be someone special to me. But I had to make sure I was special to you. As a man.”

“Oh Ryan, you are special.” Her hand moved shakily up to cup his cheek. “I thought you were just using me for my body.”

“Well that body definitely doesn’t hurt, but Miri I’ve fallen for you. I planned to tell you the truth, I swear. That’s why I didn’t answer about the fundraiser right away, because I knew I’d have to come clean before then.”

“Okay Ryan you can take me home,” she mumbled and began to drift off to sleep. “Love you too,” she said seconds before she started to snore softly.