The Sweetest Kiss: A Billionaire Love Story (9 page)

I
had never felt so
nervous and yet confident in my life. Nervous to finally meet Ethan’s father and confident in kicking Stephanie’s ass on this story. We were told we would both get fifteen minutes with Max Wayland. They gave us a list of questions we were not allowed to ask and then a few suggestions on what might be good areas to touch on. It made a change from the usual rich people I had interviewed in the past. A lot of the time they came with their own questions. This allowed them to control the interview. It was refreshing to not have to stick to some carbon copy of questions.

We took a seat in a waiting area. Stephanie kept checking her phone.

“Hoping to hear from Markus, are we?”

“I told you. I’m not seeing him anymore.”

“I have to ask you. Why? Why did you do it?”

She shrugged. “He was charming at the time.”

“But you knew I was dating him.”

“If you don’t look after a man in the sexual department you are going to lose them. It’s as simple as that.”

I frowned. “Are you saying that this was purely about sex?”

“Damn, Hayley, you really are more naïve than I thought. Of course it was. He had a lot to say about you.”

My eyes widened, I could begin to feel myself becoming flushed. Had he opened up to this woman about our sex life? How embarrassing and humiliating. Was I bad at sex? I thought back to my time with Ethan. He looked more than happy by the end of it. Sure Markus wanted to do all this weird stuff in the sack and I wasn’t into that, but was that what she was referring to?

“Well, I’m flabbergasted.”

“I thought you might be,” she said, looking at herself in a mirror and applying some extra lipstick. If she added any more she would start to look like a clown.

“But didn’t you think for one moment how I would feel in it all?”

She began trimming her nails. “Actually, I did. But then the sex was just great.”

I was fuming inside. But was this all part of her plan to throw me off my game before we went in and spoke with Max? I wasn’t going to fall for it.

“Well, I’m glad you got something out of it. I thought the sex was pretty weak.”

“Oh, had better, have we?”

“Oh most definitely. Actually just recently.”

Stephanie’s eyes narrowed.

“Ethan. You’ve slept with Ethan, haven’t you?”

I suddenly realized that maybe I had put my foot in it.

“I don’t know what you’re on about.”

“Really? I saw the way he looked at you. I’m not a fool. You are sleeping with Ethan Wayland. Now what a juicy story that would make.”

I snapped. “Stephanie, you really can be a bitch.”

“I know,” she shot back. “But it’s the bitches that get the promotions and I plan to get this one. So tell me what was it like?”

Right at that moment one of the staff came out of the office and beckoned us to come in. I breathed a sigh of relief. The last thing I wanted to do was get into an argument with her. She already had me riled up.

Inside the office I caught sight of Max Wayland. He was every bit like the man I had seen in the magazines. Dressed impeccably in a dark suit with a red tie, and white shirt. Every single strand of hair in place and muscles bulging. I could see why women fell for him. Ethan took after him in many ways. In fact, all three of the sons were gorgeous.

“Good afternoon, ladies. Can I get you a drink?”

“Coffee for me,” Stephanie said, giving her hand to him and letting him kiss it.

I just took a seat. He cast a glance over me and studied me.

“I’m guessing you are Hayley Fields?”

“That’s correct,” I replied, trying to look professional and bringing out my sheet of questions.

“Hmmm,” he said, returning to his seat and studying me some more. Obviously Ethan had said something as Max was looking at me as if trying to determine my net worth.

“So, what questions do you have for me?”

The following half an hour was interesting to say the least. We went back and forth fishing for answers about the way he conducted business all the way through to how he managed to juggle that with his personal life. I specifically wanted to get his views about the marine conservation. I could tell he was giving pat answers. They were well thought out as if he was trying to paint a flawless picture of his family. He must have known the paper would taint it, so why bother?

As the interview came to a close we thanked him for his time and I was about to leave when Max asked if he could speak with me. Stephanie looked as if she had been kicked off the high school cheerleading team. She slinked out and closed the door behind her.

“So it’s come to my attention that my son has taking a liking to you.”

On one hand it was nice to hear that he had spoken about me, but I could tell this wasn’t going to be a welcome to the family kind of conversation.

“I thought we could have a talk?”

“Sure.”

M
ax Wayland exuded confidence
. Was it his wealth, business achievements, personality, or all three that made him come off as fearless? I was about to find out. He got up from his chair and came around. Leaning against the edge of the desk, he rested his palms and crossed his legs. He was in no rush to talk. Everything about the way that he carried himself told me that he was used to controlling situations.

“First, my condolences on the loss of your sister. I’m sure that was a very hard thing to go through.”

“For her, yes.”

“Right.”

He nodded, studying me. “How long have you been working for the
Enquirer
?”

“Many, many years.”

“And you enjoy that kind of work?”

“If I didn’t I wouldn’t have stayed there.”

“But you left to come and run these cottages.”

“It was something my sister wanted me to do. Give it a year and see how it went.”

“And what do you think of… this cottage business?”

“Hard to know right now. Ask me in a few months.”

He ambled around the room slowly, keeping his eyes on me. I felt like prey about to be pounced on.

“What attracted you to the position at the
Enquirer
? I mean there are much better companies to work for.”

“I wasn’t attracted to them. It was the only one I could get into. I had my eyes set on the
New York Times
.”

“Really. I have friends who work there. Tell me, Hayley, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you like my son?”

I hesitated before replying.

“Unsure?” he asked.

“No, I just don’t like to jump the gun and say anything.”

“But you must know how you feel for him.”

“We barely know each other at the moment. I mean we’ve spent some time together.”

I thought about how quick I had been to jump into bed with him. Then again most women would have done it had they seen how gorgeous he was.

“Then maybe you might consider an offer I have for you.”

“Maybe.”

He got this glint in his eye as if he had taken ground he hadn’t with my sister. I wasn’t my sister and as much as I admired her resolve to take a stand against the Waylands, I had to wonder if she might have been shooting herself in the foot. I mean, if they were going to throw millions of dollars at her, why not take it? She could have bought numerous cottages elsewhere. Why that island? Sure, she may have known about her diagnosis and maybe this was her last stand. The one thing she wanted to do before she died, but was it really that? Or just pride?

“What if I could get you a job at the
New York Times
, and fill your bank account with a nice tidy sum for those cottages?”

Now I wasn’t stupid. I knew the game he was playing but I was curious as to why. Was it about owning those cottages or getting me out of Ethan’s life?

“Why?”

He smiled. “You’re not going to ask how much? You would prefer to know why?”

“Well the way I see it, you have a reason, what is it?”

“Let’s just say I like to keep things in the family.”

I pursed my lips then spoke, “By that you mean?”

“Ethan has a good heart but he tends to let his heart get away from him. You’re not the first and you won’t be the last woman he shows a good time to. That’s what he’s done, right?”

Was this part of his game or was there some truth in this?

“Look, Hayley you seem like a nice woman. Attractive. I can see why my son would be interested in you. But sometimes he needs a little direction. A nudge, so to speak.”

“He’s a grown man, Max. I think he can decide for himself what he wants to do.”

“No, I agree, but when he’s involved in my business, I have to keep making sure that his extracurricular activities aren’t going to affect the bottom line.”

“How much?”

Max smiled.

“How much do you want for them? Bearing in mind that I would also be getting you a foot in the door of a well-known and respected company.”

“How much did you offer my sister again?”

“Eight million.”

Just the very mention of the figure made my mind go into overdrive. What could I do with eight million? It was more money than I would spend in a lifetime. I wasn’t someone who shopped a lot or lived frivolously. Heck, with eight million I could retire or invest in a few companies, or even start my own. The opportunities were endless.

“But I’m willing to give you ten million.”

My eyes widened. I tried not to look too shocked.

“I can’t.”

“Why not? Is it not enough?”

“It’s not that. I am obligated to run this business for a year. It was a prerequisite.”

“So you hire someone to do the work, you go work for the
New York Times
or whatever and come back in a year, sign the papers, and you can be on your way.”

I contemplated what he was saying. It was true. I didn’t exactly have to be here as long as I was in possession of the property for one year. The offer was tempting and even more so after Max had mentioned that Ethan had wooed other women. Was I just another in a long list of women? How long would it be before he moved on to the next woman?

“I need to think about it.”

He stood in front of me. “Sure. Here is my number.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a gold business card holder. He handed me his card and then opened the door for me.

“It was a pleasure to meet you, Hayley. I look forward to speaking to you soon.”

I shook his hand on the way out. Stephanie was in the waiting area. A look of curiosity mixed with a flurry of questions made it clear that she wanted in on whatever had been shared. But I wasn’t going to tell her one damn thing.

T
hat evening
Ethan was acting strange. He had dropped by in the afternoon to tell me he was going to take me out for a special meal that evening. That afternoon I got a hold of James to let him know that we got the story and were in the process of trying to find an angle to spin it. As much as I was keen to know how Stephanie was going to write hers, I avoided going over and spending any more time with that woman than was necessary.

The reality was there was very little that Max had given us that was bad. There had been no sightings of him or his kids at parties for the past few months. He hadn’t swindled anyone out of money, and he certainly hadn’t been involved in any dubious activities. Of course there was the offer that he had given me. Ten million dollars to stay away from his son. Of course he didn’t phrase it that way but he certainly made it clear in a roundabout way that the reason he was willing to give me ten million plus a foot in at the
New York Times
was because of his son.

I couldn’t help think of the different headlines that could be written for this article. It certainly would have a lot more appeal to it than the scraps he had given me and Stephanie. Those almost seemed pre-written. Like the way the president’s speeches were pre-written so that he wouldn’t look like an ass or say something out of sorts.

As I sat there looking over my notes and listening to my recording of the interview I couldn’t help hear my sister’s voice in my ear. It was subtle. What would she have wanted me to do? She would have wanted me to bury Max Wayland. To make him look like a buffoon. But writing a piece about how he’d offered me ten million for the cottages and to stay away from his son seemed almost unbelievable. No one would believe it. I would need something in writing. An agreement. Something the paper could print. But did I really want to do that?

I wouldn’t only be taking Max Wayland down but his son as well. It didn’t matter what Ethan thought of his father. It was still his father at the end of the day and he wouldn’t take kindly to having someone drag him through the mud even if he was a controlling freak.

T
hat evening Ethan pulled up
. He had on a white shirt, dark pants, and gleaming shoes. He immediately reminded me of his father except much better-looking. I caught the aroma of his cologne, it was spicy. He had dropped off a dress that afternoon and I was wearing it. It was a beautiful white one.

“You look amazing.”

“Why, thank you.”

He leaned in and kissed me. I felt my stomach do jumps as he held the back of my neck and pressed his lips against mine.

“You ready to go?”

“Yep, let me grab my purse.”

Outside Jamaal was waiting by the jeep. He opened the door and smiled, and I stepped inside.

“You look lovely tonight, Ms. Fields.”

“Thank you, Jamaal.”

As we drove over to the north end of the island wind whipped through my hair. It was warm out. The bright orange sun was still coming down but would soon be swallowed by the sea. We pulled up outside a beautiful little restaurant by name of the Santa Anne. I came to find out that it had been one of the first on the island. It offered fish mainly but served in a variety of creative ways.

They had placed a table and two chairs down by the beach. It was a short walk from their main building. I removed my flip-flops and felt the warm sand between my toes. It was beautiful in so many ways. To feel his hand in mine and not be surrounded by tourists or the busy folks of New York.

I ordered a piña colada and Ethan bought a beer. As we sat there looking out at the ocean, both of us went to speak at the same time.

“So how did it go with my father today?”

“It wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be.”

He smiled. “Perhaps you got him on a good day.”

“Is he that bad?’

“Let’s just say that he knows how to rile people up. Especially me.”

“Um.” I pursed my lips together after taking a sip of my drink. It was nice to feel the alcohol taking over and making me feel relaxed. For the first time in my life I didn’t feel out of control of my life. Either way I went with this. If I stayed here and ran the business it would probably go well. If I sold it in a year, I was liable to earn a nice bundle, and then of course there was the offer which was incredible. Yeah, things were starting to fall into place. Except for a few parts. I still wasn’t sure if I wanted to keep running this business. Hell, I hadn’t really got started. Until the cottages were up to scratch I wouldn’t really know what kind of stress or responsibilities were involved. Right now I was living life like I was on vacation.

“So what did he say?”

“Enough.”

“Why do I get the sense you don’t want to tell me?”

“I’m still trying to figure out how to spin the article. Plus, I’m going to have to go back to New York for a few days.”

“Why? Don’t you just email it over?”

“No. You have got to be joking. I need to be there at the office and make sure that they are not butchering it.”

“But they will do that anyway.”

“This is a big one for them, Ethan. They aren’t just going to toss this out there. They will go back and forth with this, having numerous meetings and tearing it apart sentence by sentence until they get the angle they want.”

“Was that all?”

“All?”

His eyebrow went up. “You know what I mean. Did he offer you anything?”

“How do you know?”

“Because he’s done it with others and well… you are Emily’s sister.”

“He did offer me something.”

“I knew. How much?”

I hesitated before replying. “Ten million.”

Now most people would have choked or spat out their drink. Not Ethan. “What a cheapskate. Ten million, is that all?”

“Why do I get the impression that was low?”

“Let me guess. Eight million for the cottages and two to stay away from me?”

“Something like that.”

“I will double it.”

“What?” Now I was the one choking.

“Twenty million and you stay with me.”

I put my drink down. Now you have to understand this was mind-blowing. To be offered even a million dollars was a lot to me. But twenty? I could retire for life but not only that, what did he mean by stay with him?

“Ok, hold on a minute. What are you suggesting?”

“Marry me, Hayley.”

“Okay, I think I’m going to be sick.”

“Wow, do I really turn you off.”

I laughed. “No, I just… I’m not used to this. You and your father throwing figures around like it’s pocket change. Do you know how hard I have had to work to get even just a sliver of what you have just said? I mean literally. People work their ass off every day of the week and in their lifetime they will never see that kind of money. And now I have two of you offering me money.”

“So is that a yes?”

I immediately shot back, “Look, I’m not getting married for money, Ethan.”

There was silence.

“When I do it, it’s going to be for love. With the right person. And that person might not have much money. But what matters to me is that I love him and he loves me too.”

“But I do love you.”

And there it was. The words that I hadn’t heard but I had been wondering when I would hear them. As much as I wanted to believe they were true, how could I? Sure we had spent a wonderful couple of days together. Experienced sex beyond anything I had before. He had wined and dined me like a queen. But did I love him? Love wasn’t determined that quickly… or was it?

I was like any other woman. I wanted to believe in love at first sight. It was the stuff of movies, dreams, and romance. But that wasn’t real, was it?

I breathed out hard trying to get a grip on reality. It wasn’t just the fact that large sums of money were being offered. It was that I had finally met someone who treated me well. Who was absolutely a delight to look at! Whose company and conversation made me feel alive, sexy, and valued.

“I’m not marrying you for money.”

I couldn’t believe I was saying this. How many women would turn down twenty million? Most got married to ugly people for less. This guy had rock-hard abs, a billion-dollar personality, and the money to back it all up. I loved him. Or at least I felt I did in that moment. But enough to marry him?

“But I would marry you out of love.”