The Billionaire Saved My Life (BWWM Billionaire Love Story Book 1) (4 page)

“So why didn't you like her? If you don't mind me asking.”

“I don't know. I just didn't trust her.”

“But why?”

“Just a feeling. She didn't like me because of how close I am to Kurtis. But Kurtis is like my brother. We went to school together. Our fathers do business together. But she hated me having anything to do with him. Now, it just seems to me that if she could be so worried that Kurtis would cheat on her, then possibly
she
had a guilty conscience herself.”

“You mean you think she was cheating on Kurtis?”

“I wouldn't put it past her. She was all cozy with Kurtis's best friend.”

“James McConnagh?”

“You met that sleaze?”

“No. I just heard some stuff about him.”

“Well keep away. He's trouble. He started hanging around Catherine and then started telling Kurtis they were sleeping together behind his back like some sick joke of his. He loved to get Kurtis riled. I don't know why Kurtis put up with him.”

“So it wasn't true? James didn't sleep with Catherine?”

“I think Kurtis questioned her and she denied it, but James wouldn't let it rest.”

“Is that why they fought? James and Kurtis? That fight in club?”

“You have been doing your homework. Yes, that was the end of their friendship. Not that I ever approved. I knew James from school too, and as much as I loved Kurtis, I always wished he wouldn't hang out with him. James knows to keep away from me.”

“Wow, so many things I don't know about Kurtis.”

“But don't worry, Tanya. Kurtis is a good man. You can trust him with your life. I do.”

“Thanks, Jeannie.”

“But you know, if there's anything you want to know about Kurtis, he's the only one to ask. Don't listen to what anyone else says about him.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Just don't. Okay?”

“Okay. Well, Jeannie I have to go. I've got a client at three o'clock and I'm going to a show with Kurtis tonight.”

The girls stood and kissed each other on the cheek.

As Tanya walked away, the New York skies opened and it began to rain.

“Damn,” she thought to herself, “why now?” The truth was, she was already fed up and feeling drained and the heavy rain would not help.

She realized that she had talked about Kurtis for almost two hours. It was exhausting finding out about her boyfriend from other people. She'd always felt that if Kurtis wanted to talk about his past, he would. She'd asked questions and sometimes he was forthcoming but at other times he'd clam up and have that sad or worried look in his eyes. She just wished he would open up more. What did he have to hide?

Chapter3

Tanya got ready for her night out at a Broadway show with Kurtis. He was picking her up at six thirty for pre-show cocktails at the theater bar. She looked out of the window. It was still raining. The rain poured down in streaks on her bedroom window as she knelt on her brass bed and looked out across the street.

A strange feeling came over her. She felt cold and scared. It was like the night of her accident. She'd put it to the back of her mind because all she had was cloudy, frustrating memories, nothing concrete, and she just tried to blot them out. Every now and again, an image of that night seemed a bit clearer in her mind. This was one of those times. Perhaps it was the rain, but she was seeing a vivid image.

The road she was driving on was ahead of her and so was the bridge. She turned to drive across the bridge. Memories of the music she was listening to filtered into her mind, the cell phone she used as a microphone, the person she thought she saw, the cell phone dropping on the floor and then the person on the bridge.

It was a man; he was about to jump off. She knew that now.

Her doorbell rang and instantly the images fell away. That must be Kurtis at the door and she wasn't ready. She flew down the stairs to let him in, still in a silky dressing gown.

“I'm sorry, give me ten seconds and I'll be ready.”

“Ten seconds?” He laughed as he followed her up the stairs.

She began wriggling her curvy body into a tight fitting black dress. Kurtis laughed at her because she was trying to push her feet into three-inch pumps at the same time.

“Zip me,” she said.

Kurtis laughed again and obliged.

“It's okay, you know I can wait for you forever.” He swung her round and placed a soft kiss on her lips.

“Quick, where's my lipstick?” She rushed to the bathroom and returned to the entrance of the living room door. “Ta da!”

“Beautiful,” Kurtis said, “but that was longer than 10 seconds.”

They drove through the New York streets in the pouring rain and Tanya kept having flashback after flashback of the man on the bridge. She knew now that he was about to jump, but why? Who was he and why hadn't Kurtis mentioned seeing him?

Tanya decided that a second before stepping into a theater on Broadway with Kurtis's arm around her waist, was not the time or place to bring it up. She was stressed out enough by ghosts and shadows. She would have to time it right. As they entered the foyer of the theater, Kurtis was accosted by the business manager of one of the acts on his record label.

“Could I get a quick word, Mr. Reed? It won't take long.”

“Fine,” Kurtis said. “I'm sorry, Tanya. Do you mind? I'll meet you up in the cocktail bar.”

“That's no problem honey, take your time. I'll be the one drinking a Cosmo.”

She waved and entered the bar where expensively dressed theater-goers were taking drinks before the show. The bar was crowded and she edged her way to the bar.

“A Cosmopolitan please,” she said. “And a whiskey sour.”

“I'll get those,” a voice on her shoulder said. She spun around.

A tall, rugged man with an unshaved chin was smiling at her. His teeth were brilliant white and he had creases at the corners of his hazel brown eyes. He put out his hand to shake hers.

“I'm a friend of Kurtis's. We go back a long time,” he said. “I heard he was dating and someone just pointed you out to me.”

“Really?” Tanya said.

“Yes. Really. You have to realize that you're just as high profile as your billionaire boyfriend. Everyone knows you, too.”

“Why do you call him that?”

“What?”

“Why did you call Kurtis my billionaire boyfriend instead of using his name? I thought you said he was your friend.”

The barman put down the drinks she ordered and her companion threw some money onto the counter.

“You didn't have to pay for these,” Tanya said.

“I'm just being a friend.”

“Thank you, but you haven't told me your name.”

The barman came back to the bar with a silver tray and the change for the drinks.

“Keep it,” the stranger said.

“You’re full of generosity tonight, Mr...”

“McConnagh. James McConnagh. But just James to my friends.”

Tanya froze. This was not one of Kurtis's friends. If she hadn’t met with the girls earlier, she would’ve thought James was being genuine, but she knew full well that this was Kurtis's enemy.

She took a step backwards and looked through the gathering crowd of people towards the doors. Where was Kurtis? Just then, she saw his tall figure edging his way through the crowd. He was smiling at her. She looked back to see what James McConnagh would do but James had gone. Slipped away as quickly as he had appeared.

What did he want with her and should she mention this to Kurtis? Kurtis had a big smile for her and kissed her lips when he got to the bar. She decided that this was another thing she should keep to herself for now.

The rain still continued to fall as Tanya and Kurtis returned home to his penthouse suite. They kissed as they took the elevator up and were holding hands as they entered the living room.

“You seem a bit quiet, Tanya. Is everything all right?”

“Yes, fine.”

“You like the show?”

“It was great. I did, I loved it.”

“Well, you could say it with a little more enthusiasm than that.”

“It's all this bad weather, makes me sluggish. It's like the night we met.”

“The night we met? You mean your accident? Can I get you a drink?”

She sat on his sofa and slipped off her pumps. Kurtis always did that. Whenever she brought up the night of the accident, he changed the subject.

“I'd like some hot chocolate if you have any,” she said, watching the way he shuffled from one foot to another.

“Coming right up.”

She followed him to the kitchen and sat on a high stool on the circular counter in the middle of the room as he made the hot chocolate.

“Speaking of my accident, I remember something,” she said.

“Do you want this milky?”

“Yes, please. The rain brought it back. It rained a lot that night, I was driving home but I was being careful. I know that. I sensed it wasn't my fault from the beginning.”

“No one said it was, did they?” Kurtis opened the fridge to get the milk and poured a measure into a saucepan.

“No, but I was always afraid, especially with it being on the news every few seconds, that people would think I was a bad driver. You know what I mean?”

“No one would think that, Tanya. It was just an accident; no one's fault. Everyone knew that.” He poured boiled milk into a large cup with heaped spoons of chocolate in it.

“It was me being careful that caused me to crash,” Tanya went on. “You see, there was a man, a man standing on the bridge. I saw him. He was about to jump. He took a step up, saw my car, and turned to me. I thought he was about to run out in front of my car for some reason and that's why I swerved. I guess because it was so slippery I lost control.”

“I'm glad you remember,” he said, placing the hot chocolate in front of her.

“But what about you, Kurtis?”

“What about me?”

“Well, didn't you see the man?”

“No.”

“You must have done. There was a man on the bridge. If you were walking along and saw me crash then you must have seen him.”

Kurtis left the kitchen, went back to the living room and sat on the edge of his sofa with his head in his hands. She knelt down in front of him and moved his hands away.

“What are you not telling me, Kurtis?”

His deep, blue eyes penetrated hers. “It was me,” he said.

“What was you?”

“The man on the bridge. It was me. I was about to jump when you came along.”

She held his hands and moved closer. “You're telling me you were about to commit suicide?”

He turned his head away.

“Kurtis. You wanted to kill yourself because you couldn't live without Catherine? Is that what this is about?”

“It's a little more complicated than that, Tanya.” He did not hold her gaze for a while but spoke looking down at the floor. “I let her die, I was the one.”

“Go on.”

“The boat was out of control because of my shoddy repairs. It crashed into some rocks in the middle of the ocean. Catherine went overboard. I jumped right in after her but I couldn't see her. The boat was about to blow.

I had to find her and start swimming for safety but I couldn't find her. I couldn't find her. I dove in time after time after time until my lungs were about to give. I wouldn't have had the energy to swim away. Because I saw them, you see? The first sparks to the engine about to blow. After searching for Catherine I pulled myself up to inspect the engine and I knew I'd have seconds to escape. So I did. I swam as fast as I could...and I left Catherine to die.”

Tanya got up on her knees and held his face between he hands. There were tears in his eyes.

“It's not your fault, Kurtis. You did everything. You never would have just left her there. You
did
try to save her. You were her hero, just like you were mine that day.”

“No, Tanya, can't you see. On the bridge that night, I wasn't your hero. You were mine. I didn't jump over because I saw you.”

She threw her arms around his neck, pulling him to her, leaving kisses all over his wet cheeks.

“You saved me, Tanya. You saved me.”

His kisses were deep and hard, pressing into her lips until their faces were like one. Hurriedly he ripped at her clothes and she responded in the same way, pulling apart the buttons of his shirt so they flew in various directions.

Stripped naked, they rolled on the floor in front of the sofa, he biting into her nipples so that she was screaming with the intense pleasure it gave and pulling his hair from the very roots. He jammed himself into her, lurching deep thrusts inside her again and again. She tore at the skin on his back arching her body and demanding a deeper penetration. They climaxed in an almost simultaneous beat, lying panting on the carpet, sweat on their temples and the last tears of despair gone from his eyes.