The Billionaire's Masquerade: Betting On You Series: Book Two (16 page)

The food had arrived a few minutes earlier. So the knock on the door meant Lizette was running a bit early. When Elaine opened the door all she could see were dozens of the most beautiful red roses blocking a man’s frame. Her first thought was it better not be that jerk, Tony because she would have no choice but to bring his unprofessional behavior to Trent. Sighing with relief, she looked him over.
I would recognize those Italian leather shoes anywhere.
What is Trent doing here in the middle of the day? “Trent? Is that you behind that spectacular bouquet of flowers?”

“Aren’t you going to invite me in?” he asked. “These are for you. Where would you like me to put them?”

There were far too many for her to take them from him. “How about the coffee table? She let him pass and followed him to the living room. “Are you sure you can see through all those roses?” she teased.

She had her answer when he bumped into the edge of the couch and swore under his breath. A soft giggle escaped her lips at the sight of this corporate tycoon, struggling to win the battle with the roses. “Thank you. They are beautiful. May I ask what the occasion is?”

“Do I need a reason to bring you flowers?” he asked as he finally set them on the coffee table.

That didn’t answer my question.
“No, I guess you don’t. So how did you know I was home?”

“I asked your driver.”

Oh, that was one of the drawbacks of using someone on his payroll.
No secrets.
“I couldn’t concentrate very well in the office today, so I thought I would work the rest of the day from home.”

“Funny, I was having the same issue. That’s why I’m here.”

She was positive their reasons for distraction were not the same, but she wasn’t about to drudge up the encounter with Tony earlier. It would only ruin the mood. “So how do you think we should remedy this situation?” she teased.

In one swift move he lifted her off the ground and carried her to the couch.
Yes, this is exactly what I need today, a little afternoon delight
. He laid her on the couch, kissing her feverishly—the need within them both was so strong. She pulled his shirt out of the waist of his pants and ran her hands underneath. A moan escaped his lips into hers. Her hands trembled as she tried to unbutton the shirt. She couldn’t get them undone quickly enough. Trent reached up to assist, popping the buttons right off the shirt. Not the most practical way, but she liked the results. As he reached for her again, there was a knock on the door.
Ignore it
. Then it came again.

“Elaine? Are you home?”

It was Lizette.
How could she have forgotten she was coming over? “
It’s Lizette.”

“She’ll go away,” he said as he continued to touch her.

Brushing his hands away and trying to gain her composure she added, her voice only a whisper, “No, she won’t. She knows I’m home. I invited her for lunch.”

“You might have wanted to mention that a few minutes ago.” He laughed.

They both stood up, and she called out, “One minute, Lizette. I’ll be right there.”

She took a peek at herself in the mirror, her cheeks still flush with passion, but it was a bit warm in her apartment today.
I’ll blame it on the heat!
Confident with her excuse she headed to the door.

“Hi, I’m a few minutes early, hope you don’t mind.”

“No, not at all. Come on in. The food’s already here.”

When they entered the living room Elaine’s jaw dropped. She’d forgotten that Trent no longer had buttons on his shirt.
I really need to invest in a sewing kit.
She laughed softly; it couldn’t be more obvious there was something going on when she knocked.

“Hmm. Looks like you decided to start with dessert.” Lizette chuckled as the sight.

Elaine blushed a deeper red.
What can I say?
The evidence was standing there looking sexy as hell with his shirt wide open.

“I have a few things I need to attend to. Why don’t I leave you ladies to enjoy your lunch? I will see you tonight,” Trent said. “Lizette, I hope we are still getting together with you and Jon again soon.”

“Definitely. Maybe we will meet at a restaurant instead,” she teased.

Oh boy. How am I going to live this one down?
Before
Trent left, he bent and gave Elaine a light kiss, saying, “We’ll finish this tonight.”

“I’m so sorry, Lizette. He just stopped by without calling.”

“You don’t have to explain. I’m happy for you, but next time send me a text, and I won’t interrupt.”

Next time?
She was lucky it was only Lizette.
What if it had been someone else?
She would need to be more diligent about keeping this secret. So far they had been failing miserably at it. Because Elaine never let people get that close, she hadn’t had these issues before.

“I’m starving. How about we eat, and you can tell me how things are going with the wedding plans.”

“Sounds good; that’s why I’m here. My mother is coming up next weekend to go wedding dress shopping with me. I thought maybe my bridesmaids would like to come too.”

“I would love to. I promised Jill she could stay with me when she comes.”

“Fantastic. Also we wanted to get together for a little dinner party afterward at the penthouse. You, Trent, my parents, his mother, Jill, Drew, and Ross. Can I count on you for that also?”

She really didn’t want to attend another party with Trent, exposing their relationship to even more people. But how could she say no? She was in the wedding. At least it was a small affair. Manageable. She hoped it would go smoother than the brunch with Trent’s family. Reluctantly she answered, “Count me in.”

Lizette gave Elaine a huge hug. “I don’t know what I would do without you.”

Squeezing her back she said, “I feel the exact same way, Lizette.” She fought back tears. Elaine might not have a family, but when she was with Lizette, it felt like she was part of one. Their friendship meant a lot to her.
Is this what it’s like to have a sister?
Whatever it was, it was nice.

It had been a long week trying to avoid everyone in the office since the incident with Tony. As soon as she arrived Wednesday morning, what appeared to only be a rumor was confirmed to be accurate. Tony had been suddenly relocated to Canada. No one, including her, believed it to be a coincidence. She wasn’t sad to see him gone, but this only meant speculation about her and Trent’s relationship could increase. There was only one way to make sure that didn’t happen and that was to stay as far away from Trent as possible, not only in the office but anywhere in public.

Looking at the clock, it was almost time to leave. Another week almost over. This was going to be her first quiet “stay at home with nothing to do” weekend since she arrived in New York. In the past this would have been exactly what she was looking forward to, but things had changed. How she wished she could put on another mask and enjoy another masquerade party with Trent.

Maybe that was the problem. She’d been going non-stop for the last month; she’d forgotten how to stop. Maybe a quiet weekend wasn’t what she wanted but more what she needed.

A knock on her door interrupted her musings.

“Hi, Wendy. Do you need something?”

“I’m hoping you can do me a favor. My daughter called; my granddaughter has a fever, and she would like me to go with her to the doctor. Trent is on a conference call and cannot be disturbed. I sent him an email, but he has someone waiting for him. Would you mind working from my desk for the rest of the afternoon just to cover for me?”

That was the last place she wanted to sit—at the desk right outside of Trent’s office. “I’m in the middle of something, are you sure there isn’t someone else who could cover?” Not a total lie. She was working on something.

“It won’t be long. Maybe an hour tops. Trent is . . . well let’s just say he doesn’t like many people knowing his business.”

She must be joking. His life was as public as one could get. His picture was in the tabloids every other week, showing what he was involved with.

“Please, I really hate to ask, but I don’t have a choice.”

Apparently neither did she. “No problem, Wendy. I’ll be right there. Go take care of your granddaughter.”

When Elaine arrived at Wendy’s desk she was surprised to see it was Drew waiting to see Trent.

“Drew, it’s nice to see you again.”

“How are things, Elaine? All settled in New York?”

“Yes. I’m already in love with the city that never sleeps.”
Perhaps I should clarify that I’m liking the city. Between work and Trent’s house, I haven’t really ventured far away from my apartment. The few walks I had been on had been brief but good though. No, I think I’ll keep that little secret to myself now.

Drew shook his head. “Not you, too? No wonder you get along with Trent. I have been trying to get him to relax, get away from all the lights and noise. I see now this is one bet I won’t win.”

Does he know?
“I’m sure he does what he wants to do, no matter who tries to influence him.” She smiled.

“You do know him well. So I hear we are all getting together at Jon and Lizette’s next weekend. That should be interesting.”

Interesting.
That was a strange way to describe it. “It should be nice. I’m very happy for them.”

“Yeah, I saw that one coming a mile away. Jon needs someone like Lizette. Someone who shows him there is more to life than work. I’m betting you are that someone for Trent.”

“Drew, there’s nothing . . .”

“I know. Just business. Trent explained everything. The secret’s safe with me.”

Safe with you? It doesn’t even seem to be safe with Trent.
“Thank you for your understanding.”

“I didn’t say I understand it. I only said I won’t say anything.” He smiled.

“Looks like Trent’s going to be on this call longer than he thought. I’m going to head out and see if I can catch Jon at his office before he’s off for the weekend. When you see that
boss
of yours, tell him next time he’s going to stand me up, at least text me.”

“I’ll pass along your message. See you next weekend.”

The next hour she did as she had promised Wendy. She sat at her desk, though she didn’t know why she had to. There was not one call, and no one came by after Drew left. It appeared Wendy was not going to return to work after all. It was getting late and everyone else had left for the day. She knew she would have gone too if it was not for this last-minute request.

With her project finished she decided to do some research for the wounded soldiers’ fundraiser. Mary had said she didn’t care what the plans were going to be. What started as Elaine helping and giving advice, was quickly turning into her handling the fundraiser. Not only did she need to come up with a theme, but also the location and time, which basically meant everything. There were a lot of other events scheduled. Later this month there was a 5K run in California. In another state, there was a triathlon.

She wanted to do things differently. That is when it came to her; they could do a silent auction for fine wines. Ross Whitman’s family was known for their vineyard. That would be awesome. It would draw a lot of people from all age groups. She started an email to Mary with the details and nearly jumped out of her seat when she heard him behind her.

“Can I talk to you?”

Elaine swiveled around in her chair to face him. “Talk?”

“Yes, talk, in my office, where it is more private.”

She looked around to confirm there was no one nearby, but to be safe she kept her voice low. “I’m not sure that is such a good idea. There has been a lot of whispering going on this week, and I don’t want to give them anything more to talk about.”

“I’ve heard. That’s what I want to talk to you about.”

She was glad he wanted to discuss it, but not so happy about his timing or choice of location. Since she wanted to hear his explanation, she agreed. “Okay, let’s talk.” When they entered the office Trent locked the door behind him. “What are you doing?”

“Preventive measures.” His tone was serious.

“Preventive measure for me or for you?” she challenged.

Trent laughed. Arching his brow, he said, “The jury is still out on that.”

Elaine crossed the room and took the seat facing his desk. When he didn’t follow her she turned to him and said, “You wanted to talk, let’s talk.”

Trent sat across from her but not behind the desk as she had hoped. Instead, he leaned on the front of the desk, only inches away from her. Any other time she would enjoy the view, however they were in the office, and she couldn’t afford a replay of the last time she was here alone with him. “I have a lot of work to do, Trent. You said you wanted to talk about the rumors going around.”

“You seem to be avoiding me. Why?”

“Our paths rarely cross at work, so why would I need to avoid you?” It was true; she was avoiding him as well as everyone else in the building.

“If I knew the answer, I wouldn’t have asked.”

She rose from her seat. “Trent, let’s discuss this later.”

He reached out and grabbed her hand. “Elaine, I want you to talk to me. Tell me what’s going on.”

“Did Tony’s relocation have anything to do with me?”

“It had everything to do with you.”

She was shocked at his honest answer. “You shouldn’t have done that. People are talking.”

“Let them talk. He is lucky he was only relocated. When I heard how he treated you . . . well, let’s just say a
relocation
was very generous. It wasn’t my first choice.”

She didn’t want to even think what his first choice was, but she was glad he didn’t go with it by the sound of his voice. Even the look on his face when he spoke said he was still angry. “It wasn’t that big of a thing. You should have spoken to me about it.”

“Elaine, my business decisions are mine to make. I would have done this no matter which employee he harassed.”

I doubt that.
“Well, I’m glad it didn’t have anything to do with me personally. Thank you for clearing that up.” She looked at his hand still holding hers. “If that’s all, can I go back to work now?”

“Elaine, what are you afraid of?”

“You know the answer.” It was the same thing from day one. Did he really believe that someday she wouldn’t value her reputation?

“Everyone is gone for the day. It’s after five on a Friday, there are just the two of us, and the cleaning crew already left. What are your plans this weekend?”

“Why?”

“Because you’re coming with me.”

What does he have planned now?
No matter how hard she tried to read him, she couldn’t. “Where?”

“A place where you won’t have to worry about anyone talking about you. I’ll have the driver pick you up at nine. Bring your passport.”

Passport! Leaving the country?
Okay, she had to admit, she did trust him. She wasn’t always sure why, but deep down, she knew he wouldn’t hurt her. So her fear wasn’t that he was taking her away to torture her and dispose of the body. But like Trent, she also liked to be in control, not of everything, but at least of herself. “Trent, I’m not going anywhere unless you tell me where we are going.” She waited for him to answer, and when he didn’t, she tried a plea. “Trent . . .”

He interrupted. “You’re the one who likes secrets. Elaine. Get your passport; be ready at nine.”

Actually I don’t like secrets.
Trying to argue that point was only going to bring them back to the topic she would rather not discuss again. “How can I pack clothes if I don’t even know where I’m going?” She tried one last time.

“I will give you a few hints. Someplace far away that is warm and surrounded by the ocean. That’s all I’m telling you.” He grinned. “Oh, in case you haven’t noticed, I love the way you look in lace.”

Hmm. Pack light. What are you up to?
Why on earth are you taking me away? Is this about me avoiding you?
Or was there something at this secret location he wanted?
There had been times when he could be romantic like the roses the other day, but this felt different.
What are you planning?
What did it matter? Elaine wanted to be with him. “I better get going so I won’t be late.” She gave him a quick kiss and headed out of the office. There was a little adult boutique she passed each night on her way back to the apartment. If she hurried, she might have enough time to pick up something new for their getaway.