The TROUBLE With BILLIONAIRES: Book 1 (12 page)

Grabbing the laptop from my desk, wondering when exactly Rawn’s assistant would be back from her my honeymoon to collect it, I went to the reception desk and settled myself in. It was actually quite cozy behind the high desk, like my own little office. The only deterrent was the rather large phone in front of me. It had more buttons than a rain jacket. Scratch that. A closet full of rain jackets. As I tried to make sense of all the different colors and codes that accompanied the buttons, I wondered if, “Please call back in two weeks,” was an inappropriate way to handle the calls.

Certain there must be a key guide around somewhere, I scrambled through the desk, but I stopped when a sticky note caught my attention. The handwriting on the sticky note was scratchy, but its message was clear.

Don’t trust Conrad

“You must like volcanoes,” I mused, watching with awe as orange lava spewed in the air, glowing bright against a night sky, like a firework. “First Vesuvius, and now this.”

I thought today would be a normal day. At least, as normal as the day could be working at Cepheus Scientific. I had sat at the reception desk, like Russell had asked. Surprisingly, I’d gotten a lot done, even with the calls I received, which I somehow manage to transfer okay without hanging up on anyone important. At least, I hoped so. That was the problem when the line went dead after the transfer. I didn’t know where the person had gone. But no one called back, so I took that as a good sign.

The last hour of the day was the team meeting, where I occasionally peeked over my notepad at Conrad, wondering about the sticky note. I could usually read people well. He seemed like a candid person. There was no doubt that he was a bit of a rascal, in the sense that he didn’t mind adding a bit of spice to his sugar, but he seemed warm-hearted.

I knew Mellissa had not written the note, because she had never met Conrad, based on the mistake he made the first time we met when he thought I was Mellissa. But someone had written the note. Was it Russell? Did he know something about Conrad that I didn’t? Was this his way of trying to help me…or to sabotage me?

This was not the type of mystery I found intriguing. It was frustrating. If Conrad was up to something, and if that something involved me, such as the product launch, then I wanted to know what it was.

But it was hard to believe there was anything to worry about as I watched how easily he interacted with everyone at the meeting. He listened carefully to the opinions of others and answered any questions they had regarding the PR of the launch. Not that he led the meeting. Rawn did. The table was full of representatives from almost every department within Cepheus Scientific, especially the manufacturing department, who had to be on their best game since the launch was only two months away. Rawn was the boss of them all. In charge, as he liked to be.

After work, Rawn had asked me to join him in his car. I thought we were heading to our secret room. I hadn’t expected to drive to the airport or to board the private jet.

I hadn’t expected Hawaii.

We were only on the island for a few hours—long enough to visit the Mauna Kea Observatories. Rawn said it was for inspiration regarding the product launch, but I knew better. Italy had been a business trip, but this, Hawaii, was all for me.

But we couldn’t stay long, not with all the work we both had to do. There would be no hotel, no ornate bedroom. Our jet would leave before the sun rose, delivering us back to Portland, to our commitments at Cepheus Scientific.

“Perhaps it’s my Leo side,” he said, answering me in regards to the volcano. “Fire is the sign of the Leo, so I’ve heard.” The color of orange reflected against his face as he spoke, even though the Kilauea volcano of the Hawaii National Park was in the far distance from our spot on an adjacent high ridge. “Or maybe it’s just you. You bring out the fire in me.”

I grinned and focused back on the volcano. The lava ran into the sea like a waterfall would a river. It was excruciatingly picturesque in a wild kind of way. It charged me with a renewed energy.

Kilauea was only a detour for us, an appetizer to the main event. Soon, we would head to the Mauna Kea Observatories—the most important astronomical observatories in the world. Hawaii was ideal for studying the stars. There were very few cloudy nights, the air was clean, and the preservation of the islands meant less habitation and less light pollution. Moreover, the mountain on which the Mauna Kea Observatories sat was high enough above sea level to escape water vapors in the air.

Visiting the Mauna Kea Observatories was an astronomer’s dream. Not many got the opportunity. Not in person, like this. Astronomers went their entire careers wishing for what Rawn was offering me now. I felt a little guilty knowing I was bouncing far ahead of others in my field, those who were much more worthy than I.

But not as much as the guilt I felt regarding Luke.

I needed to tell Rawn. He deserved to know. Technically, I did nothing wrong. After Italy, I’d had no intention of pursuing a relationship with Rawn. We had gone our separate ways. Romantically. We still worked together. But when a person shared their body with someone the way I did Rawn, there was nothing technical about it. It was all heat, energy, and emotion.

Tell him now
, my conscience urged.
He’ll forgive you in a place like this.

Are you crazy?
my ego countered.
Nothing happened with Luke. You ran off before it did. Don’t tell him anything. There’s nothing to tell.

I knew I wasn’t promiscuous. I knew I had only been following a fantasy. One that was undoubtedly misguided. But I was still ashamed.

Just tell him
…

“Rawn,” I said, opening my mouth just as the volcano erupted again, sending sparks flying into the night. “Rawn, there something important I have to tell you. Well, I don’t know if it’s important. I just know it’s something I have to say. I should have told you before, but I didn’t think it mattered. But now, standing here with you on this lovely evening, I know it does matter. What happened may not be important, but me telling you about it matters.”

“Madison, you’re rambling.”

He looked concerned, which made it even harder to tell him. But I had to. “After Italy, I went to a rave with Annie. At the rave, I met my friend Luke. I was drunk and feeling reckless. So, I invited Luke to follow me to the woods.”

He cringed, and so did I. The woods were our memory, one we were meant to share alone, for better or worse.

“We went to an alleyway and we kissed, kind of. I had every intention of sleeping with him, but when I felt his lips on me, all I could do was think of you. I couldn’t go through with it. You were the only man I wanted. And so I left before anything happened.”

Rawn said nothing. He merely looked towards the volcano, stoic and silent. I hated how he could do that, how he could hide his feelings completely. I could not tell if he was hurt or angry, but I assumed he was. He had done so much for me. He had built an entire room for me, knowing I would come back to him. That was how much he believed in our attraction to each other.

“Say something,” I pleaded.

“Madison,” he began, “we have known each other for such a short time. You are young. Of course you want to explore your options. I understand. But I have to ask this of you… While we’re together, no more other men. I can’t commit myself to you in the way most men can commit themselves to a woman, but I do promise to share my bed only with you, as long as you do the same for me.”

I was so relieved to hear it. I truly thought he would have taken it a lot worse. Though, if I was being truly honest, part of me did want him to be angry. It was a strange mix of emotions. I didn’t want to lose him, and I didn’t want to hurt him, but I wanted him to react to what happened between me and Luke. I wanted him to care.

“I do promise,” I answered. “And I want to say just how grateful I am for this trip to Hawaii. It means a lot to me. I’m just sorry I can’t do the same for you.”

“You don’t have to do anything for me,” Rawn said, running a hand through my hair. “Just stay by my side.”

I would stay by his side, as long as I could.

“Anyway,” Rawn added before I could respond. “If Luke is the reason you came back to me, if kissing him made you discover your feelings for me, then I should shake the boy’s hand. I won’t. But I should. Is this why you were so quiet at the team meeting?”

“No, it was…something else.”

“Tell me.”

“I’m not sure if I should.” It was ridiculous. If I could tell him about Luke, I could tell him about the note I found regarding Conrad.

He scowled. “Something worse than Luke?”

“Oh, god no!” I exclaimed, realizing he had the wrong idea. “Russell asked me to take charge of the reception desk while Mellissa is out sick. When I was looking for the key guide to the phone, I found a sticky note that said not to trust Conrad.”

His scowl turned into a frown. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t know. That’s all the note said. Don’t trust Conrad.”

“I’ve known Conrad a while now. He’s one of the most upright people I know. Such a warning is unwarranted. I can’t possibly understand what it means. Conrad is soft. It makes him terrible at shooting pigeons. He hesitates when it comes to pulling the trigger.”

“Aren’t the pigeons only made out of clay?”

“My point exactly.”

“Then, it’s not worth discussing further,” I said, realizing Rawn was upset for his friend. “It doesn’t matter.”

There was a moment of silence between us, both of us lost in our thoughts.

“You sure you’re not mad about Luke?” I eventually asked.

“Mad… no. But it’s probably better I never meet him.”

“Don’t worry. I embarrassed him as much as I did myself. I don’t think we’re friends anymore.”

With the matter settled, I turned back to the volcano, thinking of the goddess Pele.

Pele, the goddess of volcanoes, had a sister—the sea goddess, Namaka. Filled with passion and ambition, Pele was wild, an eruption of emotions. Namaka could be just as wild, but she was guided by much more sense, often warning Pele of the consequences to her actions. Originally, Pele was meant to be a water goddess like her sister, but when she discovered fire, she knew her true self.

Unfortunately, knowing herself didn’t mean having control over herself. While testing the fires of the underworld, she set her home island on fire, destroying much of what she loved. Wrathful, Namaka threatened to flood the land, washing away all of its fire. To escape her sister’s punishment, Pele made her home on the mountain Mauna Loa, which was so high, her sister could not destroy her fire with the sea.

This caused war to break out between the sisters. It was a war of elements—fire against water. Pele proved to be the more powerful, raising her fire from the earth in the form of lava so that it pushed the sea away. But like her sister had always warned her, there were consequences to her actions. Such power was too much for her. It destroyed her. At least, her physical body. Her spirit survived, and she inhabited the island now known as Hawaii as a shape shifter, able to take on any form. Immortal.

My sister and I had never been at war. The only thing we had ever fought over was clothing or who got the bigger bedroom after she went away to college. But I still considered my sister like Pele, the livelier of us. I had thought her unstoppable. There was no sea that could wash away her fire. That’s what I’d thought. I had been wrong. But like Pele, I was certain her spirit lived on.

“You’re thinking of your sister,” Rawn observed.

“How can you tell?” I asked, surprised.

“The expression on your face. It’s filled with both love and sadness. It’s the way you always look when you think of your sister. Can you tell me what happened to her?”

“Not tonight,” I told him. “Tonight is for us. How much longer do we have before our tour at the Mauna Kea Observatories?”

“The researcher I was in contact with is in the middle of a project, but he said we could stop by after midnight. So soon.”

“I can’t wait,” I said eagerly. “This volcano is like nothing I’ve seen before. I’m glad we saw it at night. I think the night brings out its true colors. But to see the Mauna Kea Observatories—it’s a chance of a lifetime. Knowing it’s so close…it’s hard to stay still.”

Rawn stepped away from the metal barrier of the ridge. “Then I guess we better get moving.”

“Where? I thought you said we had to wait until midnight.”

“Another detour,” he hinted, but he refused to say anymore.

We returned to the Jeep Rawn had rented upon arriving in Honolulu. I was disappointed it wasn’t another Ferrari, certain I could win another bet, but when we started to drive, I understood the practicality of a Jeep. Hawaii was nature, and lots of it. It’s what made the island so illustrious. My only regret about visiting Hawaii was that we wouldn’t have time to explore the smaller islands that I knew held their own intrigue and beauty.

We drove for several miles until we reached a marina. It being nighttime, most of the extensive yachts and fishing boats were fastened tightly to the dock, resting until the fire of the sun gave life back to the island. However, one boat had its lights on. It was a decent sized trolley with a fresh paint job. I couldn’t make out the lettering on the side of the boat, but it had the flair of a tour company.

“Are we going for a cruise?” I asked as we left the Jeep and started towards the marina.

“Something like that,” Rawn said mischievously. “I know I have your trust, Madison. I don’t take that trust for granted. Nor would I ever try to test it. If it has to be tested, it’s not trust at all. If ever we do something that scares you, know that I insist upon it for your own good. I demand your trust, but for your benefit as much as my own.”

It was the same as when we were in bed together, but this was Hawaii, not our secret room. I had never given Rawn full control over my life, but I supposed once I told him he had my trust, I had never made a stipulation as to how far that trust went, so I didn’t argue.