The Power Billionaire: The Complete Series (BBW Erotic Romance Trilogy) (6 page)

“Weren’t you curious about it?”

I shrugged as I played with my coffee. “He said he was meeting people. What difference does it make if he’s discussing the transition of scalable paradigms or incubating bricks-and-clicks convergence?”

“You seem to know the lingo.”

“I hear it all the time at my job. Most of it is just a way for executives to justify the hundred grand they spent on their useless education. The words don’t mean anything. This is another reason I didn’t ask Grayson about the details of his meetings.”

“So you never saw who he was meeting with?”

“No.”

“If I showed you pictures, you wouldn’t be able to tell me if you’ve seen them?”

“The only people I saw, Special Agent Evartt, were the hotel staff and restaurant waiters. I don’t know anything about anything.”

“Merrin, you’re not saying this to protect him, are you?”

“Protect him from what?” I blurted out, not even realizing we were now on a first-name basis. I leaned forward across the table. “Why are you questioning me about him? Why is Homeland Security interested in Grayson Holmes?”

He stared at me with those mysterious eyes for long seconds before standing up. As he reached into his pocket to get a business card, his charcoal suit opened up. I not only saw his ominous sidearm but I also realized I was correct about him being muscular. His white shirt clung to him in such a way that I couldn’t avert my gaze.

“If you learn anything, if you suddenly decide to talk, give me a call, all right?”

He handed me the business card and our fingers made contact. My breath caught in my throat. I hadn’t felt like that since first meeting Grayson.

*   *   *

I was actually shaking when I got back to my grandmother’s apartment. In hindsight, the questions had been innocuous. But why was Homeland Security interested in Grayson in the first place? Had he done something wrong? Did he know something that could hurt the government somehow?

What if this was some sort of ploy from a competitor? I’d read enough books to know that deception was often at the heart of corporate shenanigans.

Fortunately, Grandma Edna wasn’t home when I got there. She left a note saying she was meeting Mrs. Allendorf for, her exact words,
a demonstration on waxing our Brazilian
. At least I wouldn’t have to explain anything to her. And I needed to think. What should I do?

Should I completely forget about Grayson? After all, if he was involved in anything shady it would be wiser for me to stay away. Then again, what if it really was a set-up from one of his enemies? Shouldn’t I warn him?

I settled on Option B. It would give me a genuine reason to call him without appearing needy. As much as I told myself it was strictly business, there was no suffocating the butterflies in my stomach. I sat down at the kitchen table and dialed his number using my grandmother’s phone since she had a nationwide long distance plan.

What if I got his voicemail? I started to panic and silently went through a casual-but-serious version of what I would say. It kept ringing.

“Yes?”

It was his voice! My heart lurched. It was incredible how I missed hearing it. I never would’ve believed our short time together would have affected me so much.

“Hello? Anyone there?”

“Uh, hi! Grayson, it’s good to hear from you.”

What had I just said?
Doofus!

“Who is this?”

“It’s me, Merrin.”

“Oh, what’s the matter?”

That’s it? No
how are you
,
I’m happy to speak to you
, or
I apologize for being such an insensitive jerk and didn’t call you for two days after all the sex we’ve had
? I was bristling.

“I’m sorry,” he continued with a softer tone. “I didn’t mean it like that. How are you, Merrin?”

“Uh, I’m good. I’m having a lot of fun with my grandmother,” I lied. “Right now we’re playing this card game she learned at the senior center. It involves putting teaspoons between your toes. It’s a lot of fun.”

I considered covering the mouth piece and yelling something to my imaginary grandmother but decided it was probably too much.

“Sounds like you’re having a blast. I wanted to call you but it’s been pretty hectic around here. As soon as the plane touched down in New York we’ve been in kind of a crisis mode regarding some contracts, or lack thereof, in Azerbaijan. Every time I have a second to myself I fall asleep.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have called.”

“No, no, it’s fine now. Was there something specific on your mind or…” He lowered his voice. “Or did you want me to tell you how sexy you are? I bet I could make you play with yourself right now for me. Did you ever have phone sex?”

At the mention of this, at hearing his honey-dipped voice, my defenses crumbled. I remembered all the things we’d done together. I pictured his throbbing erection in my hand, his thrusting between my legs. I recalled all the sensations he gave me in such a limited timeframe. Flashes of heat spread through my abdomen and my breath came out in spurts.

“Grayson, no. I have to talk to you.”

“You sure I can’t talk to you into using your fingers to caress yourself for me? I love hearing you when you come.”

I closed my eyes and shook my head. I couldn’t let him get the upper hand.

“This is important. A man came to see me today.”

“Hmmm, and did he do things to you? Did you enjoy what he did?”

“Stop it, I’m serious. He said his name is James Evartt and he’s from Homeland Security. His credentials looked legit.”

“What did he want?”

His voice was back to normal, strong and professional.

“He asked questions about our trip to Thailand, especially Bangkok. He wanted to know what you were doing, who you met with.”

“I see. And what did you tell him?”

“Nothing. There was nothing to tell. We were together only at the hotels so I didn’t see anyone.”

“Right. It’s probably nothing.”

“Is this real, Grayson? Is this a for-real federal agent asking questions about you?”

“What do you mean,
a for-real federal agent
?”

“Well, I thought maybe it should be one of your competitors. You know, a gambit to make you – or me – spill the beans on some secret deal you’re working on.”

That made him laugh good-naturedly. “I think you’ve read too many books and seen too many movies. And to answer your question, yes, that’s probably a for-real federal agent. Impersonating federal personnel carries such a penalty – we’re talking prison here – that nobody’s done that since the 90s.”

I nodded emphatically as if he was in the same room with me. I wished he was.

“So you’re sure it’s nothing then?”

“Well, on second thought, maybe it would be better to find out.”

“Are you gonna put one of your security people on it?”

“I have a better idea. The federal agent would just see right through my people. However, there’s one person he would never suspect.”

“Who?”

“You, Merrin.”

“You’re kidding me, right?” I said with my mouth hanging open.

“I don’t just want you to question him. I want you to finesse all you can out of him.”

“I can’t do that, I can barely finesse myself into a pair of pants.”

He snorted back a chuckle. “Give yourself more credit. It’ll be easy. You go to him and you flirt.”

“Yeah, like that’s gonna work. Besides, I can’t just flip on a switch and suddenly be some sophisticated femme fatale.”

I thought about how I looked. I was plus-size and so outside what the average femme fatale looked like.

“Merrin, you have no idea how much power you yield. You don’t have to be anyone else, you just need to be yourself. Your eyes, your mouth, your magnificent curves, let them work in your favor. Seduce the information out of him.”

“That will never work.”

“Wear the necklace I gave you and use your charms to ease into that conversation.”

I shrugged.
I’ll play along
, I thought.
I’ll pretend I can actually do these things
.

“But what if he wants more than just a conversation?”

“Are you willing to do anything to reach your goal, Merrin?”

“Yeah but…”

“But what? Are you willing to do anything to help
me
?”

“What if… What if it actually turns into a situation where... my seduction works? What if… What if he wants to have sex?”

“Do it.”

Chapter 3

I was shocked. I didn’t realize the phone was no longer clutched to my ear.

“Merrin? Merrin, are you there?”

“You want me to have sex with another man?” I finally said.

“You’ve seen him, right? You’ve seen this Evartt guy? Is he an old person?”

“No, in his 30s.”

“Is he repulsive?”

“No,” I replied as I pictured the federal agent. He was the opposite of repulsive. He was yummilicious.

“Then there’s no problem, is there?”

“There’s us. Is there an us?”

“I like to think that there is. I like you very much, Merrin. You know that. If you mean, am I happy to share you with another man? The answer is no. But am I willing to do that? Absolutely. If you do that for me, if you’re willing to go that extra mile, I would forever be grateful.”

“I don’t know...”

I thought of the expensive jewelry he’d given me, of the once-in-a-lifetime trip to Asia. Didn’t I owe him? On the other hand, thinking along those terms made me feel bad. It made me feel cheap, like a prostitute. Yet, at my very core I wanted to return the kindness he had shown me.

“Most people would be delighted to be encouraged to sleep with someone else,” he said. “You’re getting a free pass.”

“But still.”

“Anyway, I think we’re getting ahead of ourselves. I’m not sending you a buck naked to his bed. You’re just going to start a conversation. If you make him talk, the whole debate becomes moot.”

Grayson was right, of course. My fears were all hypothetical. He would most likely not be interested in me even if I jumped him with a pork chop around my neck. The worst that would happen was that he would see right through me and brush me off.

“Okay, I’ll do it.”

*   *   *

The business card was unnecessary in contacting Special Agent James Evartt. Grayson had a much more devious approach. Once he was certain I would go to in this, we hung up and I went to take a bite to eat and a shower. An hour later, I was dressed to the nines and Grayson called me back. He told me what hotel the federal agent was staying at in Fort Lauderdale. I was impressed. It was useful to have a father who was a U.S. Senator.

I took a taxi south and in less than a half-hour I was dropped off at the hotel. It wasn’t located on the beach – or even on the Intracoastal, for that matter. It was a mid-range establishment, clean and probably rather affordable. Evartt wouldn’t be criticized for being a big spender.

The most important thing Grayson told me when he called me back was the agent’s precise location. He actually had GPS coordinates of where he was standing in real-time. This was spooky and I wondered how he’d even gotten such information. The billionaire didn’t call me back while I was in the cab which told me the man was still at the same position.

I walked into the hotel and headed left toward the restaurant. Scanning the unimpressive crowd, it was easy to spot Evartt. He was sitting at the bar nursing a colorful concoction and toying with his iPad. I took a deep breath, remembered what I was going to say, and marched forward. My new Louboutin heels made me taller and somehow made me feel more confident. I kept my head high and pretended I was Lauren Bacall.

“Well, that’s a surprise!” I said as I sat next to him and feigned being taken aback by him.

His first instinct was to frown. I knew right away he was a seasoned federal agent. He didn’t take well to coincidences.

“Ms. Rexford, what are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same thing.”

“I’m staying here, this is my hotel.”

“Really? Small world! I’m meeting a friend here. She’s in town for the pharmaceutical conference.”

This was another piece of information Grayson had given me. There was indeed a convention of Pfizer employees at this hotel.

“Oh,” he said. “I reckoned perhaps you’d come here to talk to me again. Maybe you decided to do the right thing, decided to talk.”

“Sorry, I already said everything I knew. Say, what are you drinking?”

“Pink daiquiri.”

“Sounds delicious.”

I waved at the bartender and ordered one for myself.

“Put it on my tab,” Evartt said.

“Thank you, that’s so nice! So you’re not located in South Florida?”

“What makes you say that?”

“We’re meeting at a hotel, aren’t we?”

“Maybe I live nearby. Maybe I just like the way he prepares pink daiquiris.”

That gave me pause. I was about to concede the point when I noticed for all its wonder, his skin was too pale for a Florida resident.

“No, you were raised somewhere in the South but you live in a cooler place now.”

“Good observation. You should be one of us.”

I beamed as I watched the barman mix together white rum, maraschino liqueur, lemon juice, simple syrup, and grapefruit juice. He vigorously shook the stainless steel mixer and then strained the drink into a martini glass.

“To getting a tan,” Evartt said, raising his glass.

“To getting a tan.”

We drank and I used the silence to think about my next move. How could I go about making him talk?

“So, will you be returning home soon?”

“I was thinking about finishing this drink first.”

“I meant…”

“I know what you meant,” he answered with a smirk. “I just love how bold you are. It’s like you’re fishing for walleye with dynamite.”

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about, Special Agent Evartt.”

I took a sip to cover my nervousness. It was already falling apart. I knew I wasn’t gifted with this sort of thing.

“Call me James.”

“All right, James. But that doesn’t change the fact that I’m only making conversation.”