The Billionaire's Secret (20 page)

Lizette’s car hadn’t been parked outside her
house, and, as he drove up to Ma’s home, Jon saw it wasn’t there,
either. He was just about to pull away when Bobby approached his
car.

“Hey, Jon, you here for dinner? Ma just
called my brothers inside to get washed up.”

“Hi, Bobby. I was actually looking for
Lizette. Have you seen her?”

“Not yet. You might want to come in and ask
Ma—she knows everything. Trust me, whenever I try to hide
something, she finds out. Ma says she has eyes in the back of her
head, and sometimes I think it’s true.”

Before Jon could stop Bobby, he was already
calling for Ma. She appeared on the porch with her apron on, having
just finished making dinner.

“Well, Jon, are you going to sit there in
your car or are you going to come in for dinner? I don’t want it
getting cold.”

It was too late to just pull away. What
excuse could he give for not entering without appearing absolutely
rude? He put the car in park, turned off the engine, and went
in.

There was already a place set for him, or
had it been set for Lizette? This dinner was different from the
last one they’d shared. The boys ate quickly and then scooted off,
leaving Jon and Ma alone at the table.

Ma broke the silence. “So, Jon, I could tell
from the moment I saw you, you were expecting Lizette to be
here.”

He nodded. “She wasn’t at home, so I thought
your place was a good guess. I was wrong. Do you know where I can
find her?”

“Missing a fiancée, are we?” she inquired.
Jon didn’t answer. “Lizette stopped in Thursday morning on her way
to the airport. She didn’t tell me what had happened between the
two of you, but I could tell there was trouble in paradise.”

“Airport? Did she say where she was
going?”

“Sorry, I asked but she wouldn’t tell me. I
told you before, she has more layers than an onion. And by the
looks of it, she just discovered a layer even she wasn’t prepared
for. I know she loves you very much—it was written all over her
face when she spoke of you—but whatever she’s going through, she’ll
have to figure it out on her own. Before you know it, she’ll be
back in your arms, and you can start planning that wedding. Trust
me—just give her a little time.”

Give her time? Time was his enemy right now.
If he couldn’t find her and fix this mess, it would eventually get
out that they were not really engaged. Once that happened, he knew
he might lose her forever.

“How about some coffee and pie?” she
asked.

“Ma, thanks for dinner, it was absolutely
delicious. I’m sorry, but I can’t stay for dessert. I really need
to speak to Lizette now. Did she give you any hint where she might
have gone? Maybe a name of a beach, an island, or a state? Anything
at all?”

“No, nothing like that.” Pausing for a
moment, she continued. “She did say she was doing something she’d
been dreaming of since she was a child. I have no idea what that
could be.”

A smile crossed his face.
Perfect
. He
knew exactly what that was. He got up quickly and gave Ma a kiss on
the forehead. “I know exactly where she is. Thanks, Ma!”

With that he went and sat in his car and
searched for the local travel agent. Who would have thought they
all closed at noon on Saturday? In New York, some are open
twenty-four hours a day. No problem, by Monday morning he would
have the information and, if his guess was right, he’d be with her
by midweek. She left Thursday, but exactly where was the question.
He thought back to the magazines in her home. They were all about
Japanese cooking, so he knew her destination had to be Japan, but
he was going to need more information than that. Jon picked up his
phone and told Matt to have his jet fueled and ready for an
international flight on Monday.

He found a hotel and spent the next
thirty-six hours planning how he was going to convince her to
forgive him. No, not just forgive him, but come home with him.
Where exactly that home would be wasn’t clear. New York City was
where he had always envisioned himself staying, but spending time
with her in a small town reminded him of the charm of the his
childhood neighborhood. He could see why Lizette loved it so much.
People actually greeted you when they passed by. No one seemed
rushed; you could actually say they were strolling past. What a
difference from the hustle and bustle of his lifestyle today.

Lying on his hotel bed, he opened the
complimentary local newspaper in the room. He could not remember
the last time he’d actually flipped through a printed newspaper
instead of reading it online. As he turned the pages, one article
jumped out at him: billionaire jonathan vinchi to wed local lizette
burke. He skimmed through the article, catching what could only be
called excitement from the local media. No wonder she needed to get
away. He was used to the attention, good or bad, that came with
being a successful businessman. Everything he knew about Lizette
said she lived a low-key, peaceful, and private life—not something
she’d been able to do since he came into her life. Part of him
thought he should correct the media, inform them there was no
engagement, and let her come home to live the happy life she’d had
before meeting him. That thought was quickly brushed away by the
overwhelming emptiness he’d felt since she’d left the penthouse.
No, he had no choice but to move forward with his plan. Tuesday
night he would be in Japan and there was no way he would be coming
back without her. No matter what it took, she was coming home with
him. They belonged together; he just needed to convince her of
that.

***

Lizette wasn’t sure if she was still
suffering from jet lag, but she wasn’t herself. This trip had been
her dream since childhood—studying with a master Japanese chef and
learning his craft firsthand. Yet it was her fifth day here, and
she found herself simply going through the motions, without
emotion.

Each day she rose at four and, with the
other students and the instructor, went to the street market to
purchase all the fresh ingredients she’d need that day. That in
itself was a learning experience, how to choose the right fish and
how to tell its freshness. And the variety of vegetables! She’d
never even seen some of them before. They tasted everything raw,
then cooked them in various ways: steamed, poached, or fried. It
was the endless flow of knowledge she’d been yearning to learn. So
what happened to make her so numb? What had changed? Where was her
passion?

The answer was always the same: Jon. Somehow
when she walked out of that penthouse she’d forgotten to bring one
thing with her—
herself.
She had thought that getting away,
keeping busy, would fill her void inside. She’d been wrong. If
anything, it was making it worse.

She sat on her third-floor balcony
overlooking the busy, loud streets of Tokyo. Her hotel was small
compared to the ones in the heart of the city. It appeared no one
else could sleep either, as she was surrounded by the sounds of
horns honking and music blasting. She dreaded going to bed; she
knew exactly what would happen. She would dream of her last few
days with Jon, only to wake crying as she heard him telling her the
truth—they weren’t engaged. If that had been the only problem, she
could have gotten past it. But to be haunted by the fact that she
had fallen in love with a man who didn’t return her feelings—well,
it was a heartbreak she was unsure she would recover from.

She wasn’t going to let her thoughts go
there, not tonight. She downed the last sips of her rice wine and
headed to bed. She only had two days of classes left. She wasn’t a
quitter. Besides, she had spent her entire life savings on this
trip; she might as well see the classes through.

***

Jon found it easy to locate Lizette’s hotel,
thanks to the help of the travel agent. On the phone she had
insisted she could not divulge any information about Lizette’s
trip, yet when he showed up in person she sang a different tune. He
could hear Ted’s voice in his head as he convinced her she should
tell him exactly where Lizette was. Yes, Ted would have said he was
being an intimidating ass. He had no issue with that opinion as
long as it meant he got the information he was looking for.

Now, standing on the street of her hotel, he
contemplated what her reaction would be when she saw him. He could
still hear her last words clearly: “If you care about me, you won’t
try to stop me.” He did care about her—loved her, in fact—and had
regretted letting her walk out his door ever since. All he’d wanted
was to grab her, kiss her, and make love to her until she forgot
he’d lied to her. Yeah, what they’d shared in bed had been
great—okay, unbelievably fantastic—but who was he kidding? No
matter how great the sex was, it wasn’t going to make her forget
what he’d done. Could he blame her if she never forgave him? He was
sure if the shoe were on the other foot he wouldn’t be able to. But
she was different, special, a better person than he was. Therefore,
there was hope. Hope when she opened the door and saw him, she
would cry tears of joy, wrap her arms around him, and invite him
in. It definitely beat the alternative. She could swear at him,
slap his face, and slam the door. Yep, he really didn’t know which
way this was going to go.

As he stood on the sidewalk among the loud
crowd of people, he could see the balcony of her hotel room. The
lights were still on, a good sign. It was late; maybe she couldn’t
sleep. Maybe she had company—he hadn’t thought of that until now.
There was no reason to believe she was there with someone. That
wasn’t something he wanted to contemplate.

As if responding to his question, she
appeared on the balcony, alone. Even though her room was on the
third floor, he could see the exhaustion on her face. Was it from
the trip, the classes she was taking? She should not be pushing
herself so hard soon after recovering from a concussion. He was
just about to cross the street to enter the hotel when he saw her
down the last of what was in her glass and go back into her room.
The lights went off. He knew where to find her. She had two more
days of classes that had been her childhood dream. Yes, he wanted
to go knock on her door and claim her as his, but tonight wasn’t
the night for that. She had made it clear, not just to him on the
day she left, but to Ma and others as well—she needed her space. He
would give it to her for now, but only for now. Let her finish what
she came here to do. Then it would be his turn, and nothing would
stop him from doing what he came to do.

The next forty-eight hours were not as bad.
Maybe it was the topic that made her feel more engaged. The last
two days were dedicated to the art of sushi. Yes,
art
was
definitely the right word for it. She learned how to cook the
perfect rice and form it into shapes to hold a piece of her
hand-sliced shrimp or paper-thin salmon. She watched and learned so
much in the last two days, and at the end, she was able to create
something very pretty. It was a start to fulfilling her childhood
dream, but that was the extent of it.

What had she hoped for? She knew there was
no way in seven days she could have become what her childhood
dreams was, become a sushi master. No, that wasn’t realistic. But
it had been a beautiful dream and, in actuality, this was an
experience she would never forget. She was happy she had come and
fully expected to utilize her new talents during the potluck office
parties one day. No more being the one to bring the cookie tray!
And for her, that might just be enough.

She was a gifted accountant, able to
calculate numbers in her head more easily than most. Sadly, though,
her job was just something she did, not something she truly
enjoyed. So many people had tried to talk her into working for big
corporate companies where she could make five times her current
salary, but no money could increase her enjoyment of the job. The
only thing that brought her some pleasure in her job was working
for Another Chance. She had seen firsthand what the company did for
the community, and she was proud to be a part of it.

It was still early in the evening and her
plane did not leave until mid-afternoon the next day. She decided
to pack now and sleep in a bit tomorrow.

As she arranged her things in her suitcase
she came across the brochures of tourist hot spots she had picked
up at the airport when she first arrived. If she’d had the money
she would have loved to have seen the sights of the city, but she
had spent everything she’d ever saved just to take the classes.
Maybe someday she would come back and experience the rest of Tokyo.
She looked the brochures over one last time, then let them slip
from her fingers into the wastebasket. Who was she kidding? She was
never coming back. This was a once-in-a-lifetime trip. As with many
things in her life, she would go home and find a way to be content
with that, just as she had with everything in her life, including
her job.

If only she could find a way to be content
without Jon. That was something she wasn’t sure she could ever do.
Loving someone who didn’t love you back—well, that pain you can
cover up, but the wound doesn’t ever heal, not all the way. No
matter what her future held, she was positive her time with Jon was
something she would never forget. If only he felt the same. If only
he had stopped her from leaving, maybe they would be together now.
Maybe he could have grown to love her like she did him. She shook
her head; thoughts of
maybe
could drive a person crazy.

She put the last of her things in her
suitcase and closed the latch. Lizette was just about to take a
shower when there was a knock on her door. Opening it, she found
the hotel manager standing outside.