The Unknown Billionaire (Captured by Love Book 6) (8 page)

They stepped out into the vast outdoor entertaining area, punctuated by the oval-shaped swimming pool, and went back inside again through a set of double doors leading to the library with floor-to-ceiling shelving filled with books. It was hard not to be impressed with the house’s understated grandeur and the homey feel that permeated it.

Marilyn quickly showed him the study, powder room and a downstairs guest room before they headed upstairs, where Marilyn started with the two spacious guest rooms. Then she showed him her parents’ impressive master suite, with its own sitting room, study, cavernous dressing room and stunning bathroom with marble floors.

“There used to be six big bedrooms up here when my parents bought the house when I was around ten,” Marilyn said. “Then when Mum and Dad had it renovated, they took three of the bedrooms to form this suite into the sanctuary they’d always wanted.”

“It’s a beautiful house. Very solid bones and full of character and warmth,” he said, admiring the detailing on the cornices.

“Yeah. I even stayed until I was twenty-one before I moved out, when my parents bought me my current place. In the beginning, I felt like coming back here was coming home. But working on the renovations at my place for two long years finally made me feel like my house
is
my home.”

Jarryd looked at her in surprise. “It took two years to renovate your place?”

“Because I wanted the salary I earned to pay for the renovations, not the money that came from the family trust fund. So I had my place done up little by little, as I was able to afford it.”

He smiled at her, more than impressed. Marilyn could have grown up a spoiled brat, being an only daughter of ultra-wealthy parents who were quite obviously supportive. But she hadn’t.

“What?” Marilyn asked with a laugh as he continued to stare.

He pulled her to him. “You’re so special,” he murmured.

She snickered. “Why? Because I used money that was a product of my hard work to pay for my home renovations? I don’t think that makes me special. You’ll find millions of others doing that around the world. Heck, I didn’t even buy my own house, so you could say I’m less than impressive.”

“You know what I mean.”

She shrugged. “I’ve learnt long ago that being wealthy has its own set of drawbacks. Sometimes they can be extreme. There are people who never bother to get to know me, and only see me for who my parents are, not for who I am. Either they put me down, believing I’m just another rich bitch who’d thumb my nose at them, or they put me on a pedestal, thinking knowing me is the best thing for their careers, social life, or whatnot. I’m not saying that to complain, because I know how blessed I am—how lucky. All I’m saying is as far as I’m concerned, whoever we are, we all have challenges and blessings—just in varied areas of our lives. Some people have big issues with money, but they’re lucky in love. Some have health problems, but they’re rich with support from friends and family. Others are estranged from their loved ones, but are setting the world on fire with their careers. What I’m trying to say is we all hurt and rejoice, just for different reasons. In that sense, we’re really all equals.”

Jarryd gawked at her, touched by her words.

He was trying to tell her she was special
to him
. But was this her way of saying she didn’t care that he was a guy of average means while she came from a rich family? That she saw him as nothing less than her equal?

That was so sweet, but he didn’t want to discuss financial status right now. The time wasn’t right. He’d have to outright lie if they did. “You haven’t shown me your old bedroom yet,” he said to change the subject.

Marilyn grinned. “This way.”

He followed her to the room at the far end of the hallway. Marilyn opened the door and he was greeted with furnishings similar to the ones she had at her place—which instantly reminded him of what they’d done in her bed before they’d come here. “How many times do you stay here overnight?”

“Not very often. Usually only when we have parties here and I don’t feel like driving home after having too much to drink.” Marilyn ran her hand on the bedspread in a smoothing gesture.

Jarryd’s cock stirred. Marilyn and her bed. He knew what he’d prefer to do with both right here, right now, but it wasn’t possible. Still, he couldn’t help but tease at the very least. “Would be nice for us to try that bed,” he murmured, looking at her lasciviously.

Marilyn’s eyes widened. “Now?”

“I didn’t have a particular time in mind, but since you’ve said the word
now
...” He pulled her flush against him.

Marilyn gasped. “Dinner is almost ready. They’d look for us if we’re gone for longer than expected.”

“We still have about,”—he checked his watch—“six minutes. That’s enough for a quickie.”

“You can’t be serious.”

Biting back his laughter, he kissed her passionately.

He’d expected her to resist, but Marilyn let out a soft moan, curving her arms around his neck and moulding her body to his.

His dick got hard with the speed that only Marilyn could arouse. “I’m only joking, honey,” he murmured against her lips. “I don’t want your parents to have a bad impression of me.”

“Don’t tell me you’re choosing my parents over me,” Marilyn said, her oh-so-naughty hand going to his crotch and rubbing.

“Babe,” he groaned, stopping her as his erection got bigger. “Don’t, please. I can’t have a hard-on right now.”

“I can’t believe you just said that.”

“You’re such a tease.”

“You started it.”

He gave her a loud kiss before moving away from her. “Let’s get out of here or I won’t get the image of you naked and writhing under me out of my head.”

“Ugh, now who’s being a tease?” Marilyn said with a glare before heading out of the room.

He grinned. “Good to know I’m not the only one feeling frustrated here.”

Marilyn chuckled.

He adjusted himself as he followed her, his dick still uncomfortably hard. He better think of something that would make it go down before they rejoined Alice and Barry.

What about the reason for his coughing fit earlier? His erection softened quickly. He couldn’t believe he’d almost forgotten about that. “Hey, what’s with you being invited to
Biz Q&A
?” he asked nonchalantly.

“Oh, that. Well, Patrick O’Neill originally wanted Dad or Mum to appear on the show as a mentor, but they both declined,” Marilyn said as they climbed down the stairs. “Then Patrick called me. It seems he’s keen for one of us Grants to be on the show. I’m finding it hard to make up my mind, though. I’m still tossing over the pros and cons of it in my head.”

“I guess the biggest thing would be the loss of some of the privacy you enjoy now.”

“Yeah, that’s the main drawback that I can think of. But my parents are thinking of acquiring another business that they want me to head, so appearing on
Biz Q&A
might actually be a good move if I decide to return to the Grant Ace fold.”

His heart thudded hard. No way he’d want Marilyn to work with Patrick O’Neill. “What business are your parents planning to buy?”

“A company that retails gemstones. It’s all hush-hush at this point, so I can’t talk about it, but my parents want me to tell them if I’m in or not by Friday.”

He swallowed hard. A company that retailed gemstones? Not Well of Brilliance, surely.

“Great timing,” Barry said as they walked into the kitchen. “Dinner’s just about ready.”

Jarryd did his utmost to push his worries aside during dinner, but it was difficult. Fortunately, most of the conversation centred around Marilyn’s childhood in the mansion, and Alice was more than happy to do most of the talking.

Soon, dinner was over, to his relief.

“Jarryd and I will do the cleaning up,” Marilyn said during a lull in the conversation after they’d finished dessert.

Alice and Barry happily stepped out to the pool area to enjoy the rest of their wine outside.

“Is everything okay?” Marilyn asked when they were alone.

“Yeah. Why?”

“Just sensed that you were somewhere else at times while we were eating.”

“Yeah, I was still upstairs in your old bedroom,” he said in a loud whisper.

“Oh, really? But you didn’t look like you were thinking about sex.”

He suppressed a sigh. “Actually, the mention of
Biz Q&A
earlier reminded me of a problem at work that I’ll have to deal with first thing Monday morning.”

“Something stressful?” Marilyn asked sympathetically as she transferred some leftovers to a smaller dish.

“A bit. You know how it is with delayed projects.”

“You want to call it a night after we finish here so you can have a good rest? We did have a very tiring afternoon,” she said with a grin.

He chuckled, warmth suffusing him both from her sweetness and her naughtiness. “You know, I think I’ll need more loving than rest tonight for me to feel completely relaxed for Monday.”

“Uh-huh. Who are you gonna call for that?” Marilyn asked as she started to load the dishwasher.

“What?”

“I said who are you gonna call for that?”

Did Marilyn not hear him right? “I said I’ll need more
loving
tonight.”

Marilyn glanced up at him, her expression casual. “Yeah, I heard you.”

“
Who am I gonna call for some sex?
” he asked incredulously.

“Yes,” she said, deadpan.

He scowled at her, his chest compressing. Hadn’t they agreed this
wasn’t
a casual relationship?

A goofy grin appeared on Marilyn’s face. “So I’m the only one you want, right?”

“What do you think?” he asked with a huff.

Marilyn walked to him, a cute, irresistible, forgive-me smile on her beautiful face. “Just teasing you.”

“If your parents weren’t close by, I’d give you a smack on that hot bum of yours for asking such a ridiculous question,” he said with a growl.

Marilyn giggled. “I think it’s the wine. It’s making me playful.”

And just like that, she’d made him horny again.

“Can we go home after cleaning up here?” Jarryd asked in a low voice, sending her a heated look. He would have taken her in his arms, but that would guarantee an obvious erection that he couldn’t afford with her parents about.

“Okay,” Marilyn said readily, running a hand down his chest. “Then I can give you all the loving you need.”

He inhaled through his mouth. “Chop-chop, then. Let’s finish up here quick smart.”

They did finish cleaning up in record time.

And Marilyn did give him incredible loving that went on for the whole weekend.

He hated that he had to lie to her about why he had to leave her bed so early on Monday morning. But he had a meeting with the CEO and COO of Greeves Minerals.

J
arryd walked down the corridor leading to several meeting rooms in the Greeves Minerals headquarters in Sydney. He wasn’t looking forward to this meeting with Olivia Greeves and her son Elliot—who was now the company’s chief operating officer. Olivia and Elliot each owned twenty-five percent of Greeves Minerals, since they’d received the shares that would have gone to Harold and Margaret’s son when Harold had died.

Lilah, the young receptionist, let him inside a modern light-filled room with a round six-seater table in the middle. “Mrs. Greeves and Mr. Greeves will be with you shortly, Mr. Westbourne. Can I get you anything in the meantime?”

“I’m fine, thank you, Lilah.”

The receptionist closed the door and Jarryd looked around, that surreal feeling descending on him again. It was plain crazy. He had little knowledge about mining or the workings of this multibillion dollar company, yet his slice of the pie was larger than anybody else’s. Whatever did he plan to do with it? What the hell was he doing here?

“Hello, Jarryd.”

He twisted to smile at Olivia Greeves, who looked striking in her black suit and white dress shirt. He gestured for a handshake. “Olivia, good to see you again.”

“Thank you. You too. Elliot is still on a phone call, but he won’t be long. Have a seat, please.”

“Thank you.” Jarryd sat on the leather chair opposite Olivia.

“Have you decided whether or not to sell us some or all of your shares?” Olivia asked.

He hid a smirk. Olivia was straight to the point. “Not yet. I’d really like to take my time before I make a decision. Right now I’m happy with the current arrangement—to be a shareholder and leave the management of the company to you guys.”

Olivia nodded. If she was disappointed by his answer, she didn’t let on.

Part of him did want to sell his stake in the company to Olivia and Elliot as soon as possible. After all, they were the ones running the show. Mother and son had worked here for years in managerial positions under Harold and Margaret’s direction, and this business had to mean more to them than it did to him.

But Margaret had chosen to leave
him
her fifty-percent shareholding in Greeves Minerals. That fact had a massive effect on his decision. Even though his adoptive parents were loving and wonderful folks, Margaret O’Neill had plugged a hole in his heart that he hadn’t even realised existed until they’d met. He was still grieving for his birth mother, who’d shown him genuine love in the one year they’d known each other, so he couldn’t bear to sell the shares. It touched him deeply that he’d meant that much to Margaret.

Plus, he had that secondary reason of not wanting to touch his inheritance while Patrick was thinking of challenging the will. He didn’t want anyone questioning his honesty.

The door opened and in came Elliot—a slightly built man who was about his age. “Sorry I’m late,” Elliot said, extending his hand towards Jarryd.

Jarryd stood up and shook it. “No problem. I just got here myself.”

“So have you decided to sell us your shares?” Elliot asked as he sat down.

“I was just telling Olivia that I’m happy with the status quo for the time being.”

Elliot stared at him, clearly dismayed. “What makes you want to hold on to the shares? Were you always interested in mining companies?”