The Billionaire's Wife (A Steamy BWWM Marriage of Convenience Romance Novel) (6 page)

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Chapter 8

Kiona

Two Days Later

Hesitantly, I sipped at a coke over
ice – with a light splash of rum on top to trick her – while Swaree
glanced over the couple of pages one last time. Her own drink, a whiskey and
coke, was condensing on the coaster nearby as she sat up in disbelief.

“Only you,
Key,” she muttered. “I mean, I
wanted
to
believe this whole thing, but this is insane! This looks official and
everything! I don’t know how it won’t be immediately smacked down by a court…”

Aiswarya, in
truth, was my secret weapon – not only my best friend, but also a
talented, professional paralegal with incredible memory for the law. I knew
that if there were
any
stupid flaws
in this entire thing, she’d be the one to spot them in a heartbeat.

“He says that
he has a judge who’ll honor it,” I mentioned, taking another small sip. “I
mean, Cole’s a billionaire. He already made sure to mention that he has a whole
legal department at the standby to defend this thing to Hell and back.”

Swaree bit
her lip. “Yeah…that’s the only thing. If this were, oh I don’t know, basically
anybody else,
I’d laugh hysterically at
the whole thing and tell you to marry him, get yourself onto some private
island with some money, then wait him out and have him served some divorce
papers or something…”

She looked up
at me, seeing my angry stare.

“You know,” I
told her, “He’s already paying me fifteen million to do this. I’ve never even
thought
about having anything with this
guy…until just a few days ago, I’d never even shared a word with him, let alone
considered being
married
to him… I’m
not looking to talk half his stuff. Fifteen million is enough.”

“Oh, I know!”
Swaree laughed nervously with a big grin. “Sorry… Greed is part of human nature
or something, I don’t know.”

“You’d do
it.” I teased.

“And I’d have
him thrown into traffic! No heirs or anything? Screw
half!
”

We shared a
laugh over our drinks. Swaree, still grinning, set the papers aside and turned
back to me.

“Well…I mean,
theoretically
this thing is air-tight
– but still kind of ridiculous. You could definitely fight it after the
fact, but that would mean facing off against him and it sounds like you’d be
better off walking away clean. What’s to stop you from just leaving with the
seven and a half million he gives you up front?”

“My pride and
work ethic?” I replied, laughing. “Look, I’m serious, I’m in this thing now and
you can’t tell anyone about it. You’ve read the non-disclosure agreement.”

“You worry
too much Key. Client attorney privilege! I wont’ say a thing. Are you
really
going to go through with this?”

“Of course!”
I grinned. “What’s not to like about being on the arm of a handsome billionaire
for a few weeks? He’s got it all, and this is a great opportunity for me…”

Swaree’s face
fell, and she turned away. I knew what she thought of my use of the word
opportunity
for things like this, but
that’s exactly what this was – a possible step upwards. I didn’t have a
clue where it would go, but I didn’t really see “billionaire’s ex-wife” as a
particular
con
for whatever the future
would bring.

“Have you
even really thought this through?” She asked suddenly, her wrist indicating the
documents.

“What do you
mean?”

She set her
drink down, looking me in the eyes. “Look, I know what you’ve been through, and
everything you’ve had to do to get this far…I get that. But one day, your
impulsiveness is going to really screw it all up for you. This constant
reinvention thing you’ve got going on… The things you’ve done… When is it going
to be enough?”

I contemplatively
took another sip of my drink.

“I’ll know
when it’s enough.”

*
      
*
      
*

The Thursday following
our meeting, I was invited back to Cole Andrews’ office for another luncheon. It
was hard to believe that so much had happened in a single week, but I was
taking it all in stride. So far I’d been holding it all together. The only
dicey moment was when I sent off an e-mail to an anonymous server letting my
old benefactors know I wasn’t going to complete my assignment. The reply had
been so cold and simple it almost came off as a threat: CONTRACT TERMINATED.

“Kind of have
a thing for fish, do you?” I chuckled, grazing my fork prongs across a plate of
blackened catfish, steamed and seasoned broccoli, and some sort of baked
crabmeat dish that I didn’t recognize.

“Fish suits
me,” Cole smiled. “Should I perhaps have something else prepared for next time?
Any particular tastes you’d like to take advantage of, while you have the
time?”

“No,” I shook
my head, “show me what you like. It’s easier to get a grasp of you that way.”

“Very well then.”

This time, I
focused on enjoying the meal rather than picking apart the eccentric
billionaire. Deceptively simple, everything tasted extraordinary with their
subtle blends of distinct spices, all cooked to perfection. Even the seasoned,
buttery broccoli challenged my existing hesitation on the otherwise bland
vegetable.

“I take it
you enjoyed,” Cole spoke again as we dabbed at our lips with our napkins,
indicating the meal.

“Very much so.
Thank you.”

He paused, a
smile threatening to cross his lips, but instead shrugged off my gesture of
appreciation. “It’s perfectly fine. As I discussed the other day, when we went
over this document, I am expecting a legitimate, legalized answer today. Have
you come prepared?”

I nodded,
withdrawing the one-folded papers from my
replacement
knock-off purse. It wouldn’t have to be knock-off for long. Soon, I’d have
a whole damn closet of purses. “Here you go. Everything should be in order.”

Cole wiped
his fingers one last time, taking the pages from me and thoroughly scanning the
fields. He studied them for a few minutes, flipping firmly through the pages
until scanning the final signatures.

“Your witness
signature…who is
Aiswarya Raina?
”

“My closest
friend,” I answered, impressed with his effortless pronunciation.

“What does
she do?”

“Does it
matter?”

“To me, yes.”

I scowled.
“She’s a paralegal.”

He glanced up
from the page. “Oh? That must be convenient for you…she read the contract I
take it?”

“Yes,” I
answered, growing impatient with his questions.

“And what was
her professional opinion?”

Now I was
starting to get angry. “‘Theoretically airtight’ and ‘still kind of ridiculous’
were her choice of words, if memory serves. She didn’t understand how any judge
would honor this, but advised me to not try and go against a billionaire in
court if I was going through with it.”

“Your friend
is intelligent,” he observed offhandedly, then folded the pages again and slid
them into an interior pocket in his blazer. Slowly, I watched him reach into
another pocket and pull out a small slip of paper, carefully handing it to me.

“What is
this?” I asked, looking down at the little yellow slip. The words Credit Suisse
were emblazoned across the top, and an extremely long number was stamped across
the center in a raised font I could feel with my fingertips.

“A swiss bank
account with your name on it. I’ve already made the first deposit. Feel free to
check the account if you must. It’s yours, but you won’t need it for the
duration of our arrangement. I’ll have my assistant provide you with a company
credit card that you may use for general purposes over the next few weeks.”

My hand shook
almost imperceptibly as I held the little piece of paper. Seven and a half
million dollars… More money than I’d ever dreamed of having in my entire life.
It was in my hands.

“Before you
think about taking that money and running before our arrangement is complete…”

“I’m not
running, Cole,” I replied, casting him a glare. “I won’t touch the account
until we’re finished here. You hired me to do a job, you’re going to pay me to
do the job, and I’m going to do that job.”

“Until a
higher bidder comes along?” he jabbed. “Your last employer might still be
waiting on your little USB stick.”

“Something
tells me you’re the only billionaire looking for a fifteen million dollar
wife,” I said, letting myself relax just a bit. “Besides, this isn’t just about
me.”

“You’re still
interested in my employees getting their fair share?”

“Of course.
I’m one of them. You think I’m going to turn down an extra million?”

Now it was
Cole’s turn to smirk.

“Lets get back
to business…you should probably count on us having these lunches every few days
from now on, with the exception of tomorrow.”

“Is that so?”
I wondered, glad to be off the topic of my personal life and quality of close
friends. “What makes tomorrow different?”

His eyebrow
rose. “It’s Friday.”

“What, you
take half-days on Fridays?”

“Usually, but
no. Tomorrow’s the quarterly party.”

“Oh.” With
the excitement of the week, I’d completely forgotten about that. “Right. Yeah,
that makes sense.”

“Speaking of,
I have some preparations to make,” Cole suddenly spoke, rising up and tossing
his napkin over his plate. I quickly rose with him, doing the same with my own.

“Make sure
that you attend this party,” he added, guiding me back towards his office.

“I don’t have
a policy of avoiding lavish parties thrown on the company dime,” I grinned mischievously.
“Of course I’ll be there.”

“Good,” he
answered, his hand sliding across my shoulder. I felt a small twinge of
surprising pleasure at his touch, as his palm clasped the bare skin.

“Oh, and
Key?” Cole whispered into my ear.

“Yeah?” My
breath caught slightly in my throat.

“Wear
something nice.”

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Chapter 9

Kiona

The Next Day

It was almost impossible to get any
work done – not only was it a typical, lazy Friday at the office, but it was
the day of the Quarterly Party. Still, Larry called the marketing department
into an early huddle, eager to keep productivity at a reasonable level.

“Now look,
guys and gals, I know we’re
all
excited
about this little throw-down tonight,” he chuckled as he glanced between all of
us. “But that doesn’t mean we’re not here to do good work. Lauren, Alexis, talk
to me about
Grainesbury
.”

Our immediate
supervisor turned from marketer to marketer in our little group, discussing the
various major clients and projects we were working on. Within a few minutes, we
had a firm grasp of what everyone was doing, and what was specifically expected
from us today.

He dismissed
us at the end, but not before directly calling me into his office.

“You’ve been
doing some excellent work here, Kiona,” Larry told me as he stepped behind his
two displays. “I just wanted you to know that I’m happy to have you onboard,
and that this isn’t going unnoticed – least of all not by me. And you
really saved my hide back there with the conference room.”

“My pleasure
as always, sir,” I answered humbly.

“I believe
it, too. Listen…” he continued, jotting something down on a pocket notebook
from behind the monitors, “there’s some talk that I might be moving up.” He
glanced up, making eye contact. “Nothing definite yet. But word is that
Coppersmith’s taking a leave from the company soon.”

“Coppersmith’s
leaving?”

“Yeah, I’m
lead to believe so,” he clarified. “Not of his own choice, either. There have
been some private conversations between some of the execs and myself…the
general impression is that he’s not working out. He’s starting to really clash
with some of the others, and they’re thinking that promoting him was a mistake.
The man’s on thin ice and he knows it, but I don’t think he realizes how badly
off he really is.”

“Is it that
bad?”

“It’s bad,”
he confirmed. “Real bad. They want him out, and they want me to move up into
his position…I won’t be a suit, not for a while. They’ve learned to be cautious
about that. But the nature of our talks tell me, at the very least, that they
want me as Director of Marketing.”

“That’s…incredible!”
I grinned madly. I liked Larry. Sure, he was an easy target when I was plying
my former trade, but he was a genuinely good guy. “You already know so much
about this stuff, and you’re great with people. You’ll be a perfect fit for the
role!”

“It’s not
guaranteed – I’m having lunch with half the table after the weekend,” he
told me, “but if these talks go well, and as long as I pick a successor,
they’re prepared to evict Coppersmith from the company and give me his role. I
mean, don’t get me wrong, the man’s great at his job–”

“No, he’s
not,” I cut in. “I barely see him around, he’s a nightmare to work for, and he
has ridiculous ideas and sets blatantly unrealistic deadlines.”

“–Be
that all as it may,” he chuckled nervously, “he’s my boss for now. He came into
the company early on with a pocketful of important contacts that seriously put
us on the map. Andrews always had a soft spot for him. He was instrumental in
the early years, and he earned his keep. I’m only taking the position if the
rest of them give me some solid proof that he’s a liability now…and if you give
me a
yes
.”

“A yes to
what?”

Larry
grinned. “Be my successor.”

“You’re…wait,
what?” I was stunned.

“Think about
it, Kiona! You’re a natural at this stuff. The first week you were here, I
wasn’t so sure about you, but you really pulled through and showed your stuff.
The rest of the team gets along with you, you’ve got a record for getting things
done and you have a keen eye for detail. On paper, you’re better at this job
than I ever was.”

“That’s very
kind of you to say,” I graciously replied, quickly processing this news, “but
there’s no way that I–”

“You’ve got
until early Monday morning. That leaves you the whole weekend to think it over.
Just spend some time and consider it for me, would ya? I can’t think of anyone
more qualified to take the reins of the team…in fact, if we’re going to be
totally honest, you’re the
only
qualified
candidate for it. I’ve seen your resume. Your coworkers do great work and all,
but I shudder at thinking any of them could honestly be up to the task.”

“Yes sir,” I
answered, blindsided by his trust and compassion. “Thank you, sir. It means the
world that you think so highly of me.”

Larry smiled
warmly. “You’ve proven your mettle, kid. I haven’t been oblivious to your
talents, and when your little stunt in the conference room checked out, it told
the board that you’re qualified for leadership material. Anyone else, I’d
really
have to try and sell…and it would
be an inevitable trial by fire if the board even agreed. But with Coppersmith
out of the way I can already guarantee that they’ll accept you in my role. Now,
this all stays just between you and me, you hear?”

I agreed with
a curt nod.

“Good. Now
that I’ve distracted you
even more
from
your work today, get out there and make me proud.”

Politely
dismissing myself from his office, a large grin crossed my lips. I had started
the week off afraid that my little ruse could be discovered at any point…and
now, so many opportunities had crossed my path.

I guess maybe
I wasn’t just good at faking it. I could do this for real… I couldn’t wait to
see what the future would bring.

And for a
few
hours at least, everything was right
in the world.

*
      
*
      
*

The Quarterly
Party was at a swanky venue downtown. Cole Andrews had spared no expense in
renting the entire upper floor of an in-demand restaurant, complete with half a
dozen servers to handle our needs.

Even with a
billionaire footing the bill, inevitably a third of the company didn’t show or
couldn’t make it to the event, but it was their loss. The servers, however,
were visibly relieved that they were serving fewer than fifty guests, as
opposed to around seven hundred. Complete with maroon chef’s shirts and long,
flowing, ankle-length aprons, they whizzed expertly around and refilled our
drinks, took dinner orders, dropped off libations, and remained on call for our
every whim.

The party was
a little more formal than last time – no karaoke machine or margarita in
everyone’s hand. At the same time, the music was kept low from the loft
speakers, and we were able to get a little rowdy with our celebrations.

Most of the
board members weren’t there, leaving Coppersmith mostly alone as he scowled
from the round table near the stage. The older woman from the conference room
was at his side, although she looked relatively disinterested in anything he
had to say.

Larry, on the
other hand, was a lot more popular. He passed between the tables, shaking hands
and welcoming people to the celebration – even those well outside his
department. I never got to see him interact outside of the Marketing group, so
it was pleasing to see how friendly he really was, and how well-liked he was by
the entire staff.

He’d make an excellent Director of Marketing,
I thought to
myself as I glanced over at Coppersmith again. The older man had his eyes
angrily on Larry, before turning to gaze furiously at me.

I didn’t have
time to consider how much he really knew before Cole Andrews took the stage. We
hadn’t made any eye contact, as he’d been preoccupied with the restaurant manager,
taking private phone calls, and doing whatever else he did to keep himself out of
the spotlight.

“Good
evening, everyone,” Cole called out over the crowd, as everyone began to calm
down and return to their seats. “I’m happy to have all of you here, and
delighted that you would join me in celebrating another four months with
Andrews Enterprises…”

He continued
on, trying to force an extroverted, friendly grin. It didn’t really work, at
least not for me, but the staff was hanging on his every word and eating it all
up. He explained some of the changes made since the previous Quarterly Party,
how positively the revenue percentages were looking, and called direct
attention to a few of his employees for above-and-beyond contributions beyond
the scope of their roles. Timothy got a nod for his late hours producing
brilliant graphic design, and so did someone in accounting, the international
sales rep, and the private chef.

“However,
there is also someone else I must call attention to,” he changed direction. “A
young woman who has proven herself highly capable in the last few months…”

Oh, for Gods’ sake, please don’t call me up
there.

“Kiona Walker,
join me for a moment.”

Goddammit.

Nervously, I
slipped out of my chair and did my own, private walk of shame between the
tables. There was some scattered applause, and I spotted Larry grinning up at
me as I passed by. Within a moment, I was standing conspicuously next to Cole
Andrews on stage, facing out over the people I worked with on a daily basis.

“Kiona Walker
has demonstrated remarkable skill in her role, and the tenacity to stand up to
my executive staff when the time is proper,” he continued.

I gritted my
teeth uncomfortably;
why is everyone
still making a big deal out of that?

“I have also
come to realize that she is a rather intelligent woman, highly ambitious, and
very, very clever when she puts her mind to it, able to slip into any role
that’s necessary…”

Wait…where is he going with this?
I smiled
awkwardly to nobody in particular.

“…Which is
how she managed to fool all of you,” he added, pausing with a quick cough.

My heart sank
in my chest.

“Kiona Walker
interviewed with several of my most competent, trusted employees; she
effortlessly duped people I trusted, people who have worked with me since
almost the very beginning…she also won over my personal assistant, and has fabricated
just about every relevant detail of her work history to accept this role. Every
talent that she exercises in her position, she learned covertly on the job…but
the truth stands. Her entire background was false. She made everything up.”

Why?
I asked myself, gazing hopelessly
over a sea of disillusioned, confused faces.
Why is this happening? What the hell?

“…Which is
why, effective immediately, Kiona Walker is terminated from employment at
Andrews Enterprises.”

No,
I pleaded in my head, clutching at my
chest. My gaze immediately turned to a horrified Larry. I couldn’t stand the
look in his eyes, and averted my vision…

Big mistake.
Coppersmith was grinning triumphantly, his vile face contorted into a wicked,
devilish smile.
He knows
, I thought
desperately to myself.
He knows just how
fucked he was. He knows that he’s safe now.

“But,” Cole
filled the silence, “this is not a moment of disappointment for me. I’ve known
all of this from the very start. Maybe it was cruel to put my signature on her
hiring form, but I was fascinated by her ambition, her blind commitment to
pulling herself up by her own bootstraps. I expected her to fail. But she did
not.”

My shame must
have been plainly written across my face. I realized that a camera was
flashing, and that the event photographer was probably snapping all sorts of
visual reminders of this moment. I’d never been so humiliated in my entire
life, and I was growing ever more furious by the moment.