WIFE WANTED (A Billionaire Bad Boy Romance)
Read WIFE WANTED (A Billionaire Bad Boy Romance) Online
Authors: Bella Grant
WIFE WANTED
(A Billionaire BAD BOY Romance)
Plus Bonus Novel
By
Bella Grant
Copyright (c) 2016. All Rights Reserved
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Chapter 1
Riley groaned as he glanced out of the helicopter door. He hated these meetings. They were utterly pointless. Forced him to throw on a silk tie and shave his stubble. He rather liked having beard stubble. Brought all the ladies to his side. He smirked. Just like the girl from last night…what was her name? Jill? Jane?
He snapped his fingers towards his young assistant’s face and laughed. “Julie! She was the girl last night.”
Ben smiled. “You’re an idiot sometimes, you know that?”
“What? I can’t keep track of them all.”
“Don’t you think that’s a bit shallow?”
Riley shrugged and lounged back in the leather bench seat, making it creak against his leather belt. He might have admitted that his behavior was a bit on the shallow side, although he’d been a lot different in the old days. Back then, he was nothing more than a businessman working on running his grandfather’s company, which dealt with cyber security. It was such a growing industry that his grandfather’s tiny, one-room building had turned into a massive, modern skyscraper within ten years. He’d built an empire for his son to inherit…until said son and his wife died in a horrible jet crash. Riley had only been eleven, and his grandfather had taken him in and raised him to be a business-minded young man who knew the ins and outs of the company by the time he was sixteen.
“This is the future,” his grandfather had told him repeatedly. “This is
your
future. People always want to be kept safe and this…this is how we do that. It's how we make those dreams of a perfect cyber world come true.”
“Really? We actually manage to do all of that?” he’d asked, still dealing with his teenage angst and having lost his parents. “What if we fail?”
His grandfather had laid his heavy hands on Riley’s small shoulders and given them a gentle squeeze. “We do not fail in this family. We only succeed and build onto that success. You will one day be in charge here, and if you fail, I will come back and haunt you until the day you die.”
Riley smiled now as the helicopter banked and headed in the opposite direction of Cyber Vault, Inc.—his grandfather’s company, and now his. He had taken the reins when he was eighteen, and his grandfather retired, moved out of state to the country and, as far as Riley knew, was living the very relaxing dream of owning a ranch, of all things. For the first few years, Riley had lived simply, keeping the apartment he had, not splurging on fancy cars, and hardly ever dating. He’d been business focused. There were women—always women wanting to make a good impression on a billionaire—but he’d kept them at arms’ length. After all, he didn’t just run the company from a penthouse. He actually ran it from his office, working right alongside his employees. He was business driven, doing exactly as his grandfather had wanted.
Riley smiled a bit as he repeated in his mind what his grandfather used to say:
Expand the business and help keep people safe.
Then, almost four years ago on his twenty-second birthday, something happened.
Riley’s smile faded as he thought back to that night. The flashing lights, the sirens. The sound of squealing tires and the surreal sensation of watching everything he loved disappearing before him…
“Riley, we’re here. Do you want your notes?”
“Hmm? Oh yes, thank you, Ben.”
Riley straightened his tie and tried to force the dark thoughts from his mind. He’d get through this meeting, get back to work, then go home, and maybe tonight, he’d nurse a bottle of whiskey by himself. This close to the anniversary, he could use it.
The helicopter touched down on the roof of Benton and Sons law firm, through which Riley’s grandfather and his company did business. They’d called that morning with urgent news—probably more technicalities to go over for a new merger. Riley hadn’t even made it to the office yet. He scratched at his stubble, but his fingers met smooth skin and he frowned. He really hated these meetings. They meant he had to remove the silver stud from his left ear and make sure the tattoos on his arms were covered. He might be a CEO, but these lawyers refused to do business with him when he looked like a ruffian.
Riley stepped out of the chopper, the still-churning blades whipping at his black hair. They’d have to deal with his long hair today. He hadn’t felt much need to chop it off yet.
“Ah, Mr. Marston,” Mr. Benton, the team’s senior lawyer, said as he held out his hand for Riley the second he stepped inside the glass-walled room on the roof, which provided access to the stairs and elevator. “Sorry to pull you away from business so early this morning.” His eyes focused on Riley’s shoulder-length black hair and his lips thinned. “And from your morning grooming habits.”
“No trouble.” Riley smirked as he followed the older man and the four other members of his staff inside the building and to the elevator doors. “I’m still growing it out.” Actually, he was going to cut it all off soon, but meeting with Mr. Benton and seeing his look of disapproval were just too good to pass up. “What seems to be the trouble? Is it the merger again?” Riley watched Mr. Benton shift on his feet, and the others all lowered their heads. “Is the merger falling through?”
“Please, Mr. Marston, it would be best to hold your questions until we are in my offices.”
Something was wrong. Riley glanced at Ben, but his assistant shook his head. Riley reached up to tug on the silver stud in his ear then grimaced when he met only lobe. His heart started to thunder in his chest as they rode the elevator down to the sixth floor and followed the team of lawyers to a large conference room. A few others were there, people Riley vaguely remembered that he was related to through his grandfather’s side. For the life of him, he couldn’t remember their names. Two older ladies, a young one about his age, and two old gentlemen. They barely registered Riley as he sat down where Mr. Benton indicated, Ben standing behind him, and waited.
“We have summoned you all here this morning,” Mr. Benton stated at the head of the table after he took his seat, “to discuss some terrible news.”
Riley leaned forward, pretty sure everyone else could hear his heart pounding now, too.
“We received word at one-thirty this morning that Mr. Marston has passed away peacefully in his sleep. We are here to discuss his will, as he stipulated in his will that this should be completed within hours of his passing.”
“What?” Riley snapped, shaking his head. “I just…I just talked to him. He’s not dead. He can’t be dead!”
Ben gripped Riley’s shoulder as the others started to cry and protest as well. Mr. Benton raised his hands politely and told them he, too, was broken-hearted by the man’s passing. “However, I assure you, he has died. I am very sorry for your loss.”
The room shrank around Riley. There were sirens wailing in his head and flashing lights. He couldn’t be dead…that man was a tank! He’d been over six feet tall and a bear of a man, hearty and healthy all his life. And now he was gone? Riley’s fingers turned white as they clenched the edge of the table, trying to get a grip on something, anything, as Mr. Benton continued to speak.
“Now, you are all here because you are mentioned in Mr. Marston’s will. If you will watch, I will play the video he has left.”
Everyone quieted down, and Riley turned to face the large monitor on the far wall. One of the lawyers hit play, and his grandfather’s rough face appeared on screen. Riley smiled instantly, seeing the life in those deep, blue eyes—same as his. The same strong face, same stubble of the beard. Once, his grandfather’s hair had even been black like Riley’s, though in the video it was silver, and—to his amusement—long.
“Greetings everyone. This is the final will and testament of Riley Marston the first. I have several parts of my estate that I wish to leave to certain parties. They go as follows: To my two sisters, Bethany and Darcie, I am leaving my ranch in Texas and enough money for you both to live out your days happily.”
The two older ladies held each other and cried quietly. Riley remembered them now. They’d been very nice to him the few times he’d met them. They both acted just like their brother did. Kind and hard-headed.
“To my partner in crime, Jim, and our getaway driver, Larry,” the older Riley said with a smirk, “I leave the fifth wheel, the truck, and my cabin in the Rockies for you to continue our yearly adventures. Don’t worry, I’m sure I’ll be there to haunt your trips with my annoying quips and ways of getting us damnably lost.”
Jim and Larry nodded and shook each other’s hands. “Thanks, friend,” Larry said, wiping a tear from his face.
“To the woman I spent my final few years with… First, I’m sorry if you are just now learning of my death. You travel so much, so I have a feeling you won’t be nearby when I go.”
The young redhead smiled sadly and nodded, clutching a tissue in her hand.
“But I want you to know that I have left you that home we were going to buy together outside the city, away from the noise of New York, so you have a place to go. And I’m leaving you two million to take care of yourself from here on out.”
“What?” the woman snapped, and suddenly, the sadness was gone from her face. “That’s it?”
“Ma’am, if you please?” Mr. Benton whispered, holding a finger to his lips.
Her face turned red, but she clamped her lips shut, and Riley felt a sickening clench in his gut.
“Lastly, to my grandson and heir, Riley Marston the third, I leave you in charge of Cyber Vault, Inc., all of its assets, stocks, holdings, everything, along with the remainder of my estate.” His grandfather’s smile fell as he leaned into the camera. “However, I have one condition that you must adhere to.”
What condition
, Riley wondered.
What could he possibly want me to do now?
“From the date of this video, you have two full months to find a wife and finally settle down. My legacy must carry on, and you need to move on, Riley. Make yourself happy and stop being a workaholic. That is my condition. Any other questions can be addressed by my lawyers. I love you all, and hopefully, I won’t be seeing any of you too soon.” The old man grinned, laughing a little to himself, then shut off the video.
“I have…I have to get married,” Riley whispered in disbelief. “Seriously?”
But his musings were quickly drowned out by the rantings of the redhead as she charged across the room and smacked him across the face.
Chapter 2
Riley nearly fell out of his chair from the hit. His face stung, and he cursed as he jumped away from the crazed woman. “What the fuck is your problem, lady?”
“You bastard! You took everything that was supposed to be mine!”
She raised her hand to hit him again, but Ben stepped in and shoved her back.
“Get off of me! I demand you get off of me!”
“Ms. Chandler, I must insist you calm yourself or I will have security escort you from the building,” Mr. Benton yelled over her continued screaming. “Ms. Chandler!”
“Fine!” She promptly sat back down and crossed her arms over her chest, huffing deep breaths in and out so fast that Riley thought she was going to pass out. Probably be a good thing if she did. He’d never met this woman before, but the way his grandfather had described her was definitely not like this. She’d been kind and sweet to him—and rich enough on her own, so never once did Riley think she’d turn into a greedy bitch when his grandfather died.