WIFE WANTED (A Billionaire Bad Boy Romance) (9 page)

He cringed and hung his head with a shamed smile. “Yeah, I’m sorry. The people I’m used to being around, they’re not very nice. Makes me a bit of a brute.”

“Well, brute, keep it in check or our deal is off.”

He laughed. “Deal. But if you’re worried about something to wear, don’t worry, I’ll have something sent over. Pick you up around seven?”

Don’t say yes, don’t do it! This guy is crazy…you can’t possibly be considering this?

“I’ll see you at seven,” she said, ignoring the nagging in her head.

“All right, then.” He slid his sunglasses back on, waved, and headed down the hall as Charlotte was coming up the stairs. He passed her with a smile and a very happy hello, leaving Charlotte with a very confused look on her face.

“Did I miss something? I thought you said last night was horrible?”

“It was.”

“But isn’t that the picture you texted me? What’s going on, Phoebe?”

“Pretty sure I just made a deal with the devil,” she muttered. “How about some wine?”

Chapter 10

Riley tapped away at his keyboard as he set up the new security program for a client. Most of the work was done by his techs, but he was still a geek at heart and messing with programs, getting to write the code that would be used by his company, was what he lived for. He worked just as hard as the rest of his guys. And now that this dating nonsense had started, all he wanted to do was stay in his office and keep on working.

“Riley,” Linda said as she knocked on his open door. “Your one o’clock is here.”

“Already?”

“Yes. You haven’t taken a break all morning, sir. Would you like some coffee? Lunch?”

He saved his work and locked his desktop. “Coffee, please, and let them know I’ll be right in. Where’s Ben?”

“He’s getting them settled into the conference room.”

“Good, that’s good. I always hated having to do that part. I’d rather just go in there, give my speech, and disappear while he deals with all the messy bits,” he said as he met her at the door. “Don’t tell him I said that.”

Linda laughed. “Don’t worry, my lips are sealed.”

Riley headed down the hall and through the main workspace of the upper floor where his supervisors worked out of their offices. Everyone was hard at work as usual, but they made a point to say hello when Riley passed by their doors. He was a social CEO, liked to know his employees, liked to know they were doing well. It was what his grandfather had done, and he was going to continue to carry on that legacy. As long as he got to keep the company.

No one else knew of his predicament, and he wanted to keep it that way. Last thing he needed was an in-house uproar over the situation. He knew, if he asked, most of his people would follow him to a new business, help him start his own. But he couldn’t do that to them. This business was successful. They needed to keep their jobs for their families. Riley had no family. He’d be fine if the worst happened.

“Gentlemen,” he said as he entered the conference room. Every seat was taken. In the early years, he’d been nervous at times like this, but now it was the easiest part of his day. “I have very good news to discuss with you all.”

Ben got up and closed the door, then dimmed the lights so they could do the presentation.

“We hope so,” the bald man in front said. “We have had an offer since last we spoke, Mr. Marston.”

“An offer? May I ask who from?”

“Yancey. He’s saying he has the exact same program, but it's about ten thousand cheaper than you are. We thought you said this technology was new? Never used before you created it for us.”

Riley’s hands clenched the edge of the table as he glanced at Ben. “Where did Yancey say this program came from, exactly?”

“He didn’t, but I must say, Mr. Marston, if the death of your grandfather is going to affect you too much to keep up with your competition, we will take our business to them. Now then, are you certain your product is worth the ten thousand more?”

Forcing himself to take a deep breath and not tug at his earring, Riley straightened and smiled. “Of course. Let me show you what we have done…”

***

“How the hell did Yancey get a hold of my programming?” Riley yelled in his office. The door was closed, but he saw Linda peek out from behind her desk, a worried frown on her face. He waved her away after mouthing an apology and went back to pacing. He wanted to throw something…no, he wanted to throw Yancey out a window!

“I don’t know, and I doubt we have a mole…wait, you don’t think Chandler did this?”

“How could she have gotten into the system?”

“I don’t know, but I’ll start digging around some.”

“Fine, and set up a meeting with Yancey. I want to have a little chat with our dear friend across the way,” Riley snapped. “I’ll even be so kind as to meet him at his office.”

Ben glanced up from his tablet. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

“Yes, anything to throw him off balance is good. He’ll be suspicious.”

“You could put it that way. Fine, I’ll set it up,” Ben said as he got to his feet. “Oh, how were your latest dates…? Never mind,” he muttered when Riley glared at him. “I’ll…uh, go set up that appointment.”

He left Riley still fuming. When did everything decide to go wonky again? He thought life had kicked him enough times when he was down, but now this? His company was being sabotaged by someone, and he was no closer to finding a damn wife. He glanced at his grandfather’s picture hanging on the far wall.

“You’re getting a real kick out of this, aren’t you?”

But the picture didn’t answer him back. The old man would give him no more advice. Riley was on his own. He sat down at his computer and forced himself to start looking through some more profiles of women. But none of them were the one he wanted to see. The girl from Friday night…he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her. The date on Saturday had been a bust. The woman didn’t even show. And last night…last night had not been as bad as Trisha, but the girl was too nice for his world, too shy. He’d kissed her hand in a gentle goodbye and walked her to her door, but that was the end of it.

“Why can’t I find you, Anna?” he whispered, scrolling through the profiles, not even reading them. “You have to be around somewhere, so where are you?”

Chapter 11

On Wednesday morning, Phoebe was shaking like a damned leaf as she tried to finish up her archiving from the day before. But it was too hard to focus. Last night, she’d received a package from Mitch with a note that said it was for the function tonight. A very classy, black-tie, expensive, champagne-drinking function where Phoebe knew she would not fit in. Ever. They’d spot it in a second, and she’d become the laughing stock of the rich and beautiful.

Especially in that dress. The gorgeous, black, lace and silk dress, floor length, flowing out from her waist, off the shoulder sleeves and plunging neckline…she found herself staring off into nothing, remembering what she’d looked like last night.

“No, don’t be an idiot. You’ll stand out because you don’t belong there, and this is a very, very bad idea.”

“What is?”

Phoebe jumped and dropped her files all over the floor. “Damn it,” she muttered and bent down to pick them up until she saw the patent leather shoes in front of her. Slowly, her eyes scanned higher until she was staring into the face of William Yancey himself. “Oh, Lord, I’m so sorry, Mr. Yancey.”

“It’s quite all right…Ms. Baron, is it?”

“Yes, sir. I didn’t hear you come in. Was there something I could help you with?”

He bent down and helped her scoop the files back together, then stood as she made her way back to her desk—all alone in the archival room. “Yes, I need the files pulled from the latest programming for FN-275. I’m having a meeting today, and I would like to be well-prepared for it.”

“FN-275…just one moment. I think I finished those right before I went on vacation.”

“Vacation? Ah, and how was that?”

Phoebe frowned with her back turned. Why the hell was he making small talk? She typed the file name in her database and waited for it to give her the exact location. “I’m afraid I didn’t get to go anywhere. Taking care of an ill mother, if you recall.”

She didn’t turn around to see if anything registered on his face, and when he didn’t reply, she knew he’d completely forgotten about her frequent requests for help. But it didn’t matter. She had a rich boyfriend now and all her problems were solved.

Yeah, except now you have to dress up like some Barbie doll and parade around with him
.

Phoebe told herself to get a grip as she dug for the files. “Ah, here we go. It’s a pretty thin file—are you sure there wasn’t something else that went with it?”

“Are you questioning your boss?” he snapped as he took the file from her hands.

“No, just trying to be helpful.”

“Well, do yourself a favor and don’t. Go back to your filing and stop asking questions.”

Her brow furrowed as she sat back down at her desk. “I wasn’t asking questions—”

“If you tell anyone about this, I will ensure that you have no income to support your mother. Understood, Ms. Baron?” He turned on his heel and stormed out of the archives.

Phoebe sat there for a long time, trying to understand what happened. Prick. All she did was ask about the file… She glanced out into the hallway, but it was clear. “Let’s see why you don’t want anyone poking around,” she whispered as she entered a new database, typed in the file name, and clicked the search button.

After a few minutes of her cursor spinning, the search came back empty.

“What? That can’t be right. If I have the hard copy, there has to be data.”

She tried it again and again, but still, nothing came up on her screen. Had he given her the wrong file number? Maybe that was an old one, before she’d started the new system. Her fingers tapped nervously on her keyboard as she tried to decide what to do. If she’d given him the wrong file and he looked like an idiot in front of whoever he was meeting with, it would fall back on her head. That was something she couldn’t afford. But then again, watching him be embarrassed was almost worth it. Almost. But not quite.

“Shit.” Phoebe sprung out of her chair and raced out into the hall, impatiently waiting for the elevator to reach the basement. When she finally made it to the fifth floor and the doors dinged open, she knew she was in trouble. He was probably already in his meeting. She took off at a sprint…and ran straight into a very tall, very strong man.

With a pierced left ear.

“Pirate…I mean, Ben?” she asked in shock as he righted them both.

“Anna?” He stared down at her with a crooked grin. “Did you call me a pirate?”

“What no…I, uh…I have to go…wait, why are you here?”

“I have a meeting with Yancey. Why are you here?”

Phoebe glanced around. People were starting to stare. “I work here, and I have to go, sorry.”

He had a meeting with Yancey? Who the hell was that guy? She glanced over her shoulder to see him following her. “I’m not letting you run off a second time.”

“You don’t have much of a choice unless you want to be late.”

“Then I’ll be late.”

This couldn’t be happening. She was already nervous about tonight, and now he had to show up? “Look, I really have to get back to work…just…please. Don’t follow me.”

“Then give me your number.”

“What? Why?”

“So I can find you again.”

Phoebe turned around to confront him, but when she really looked at him, she lost all sense of what she was going to say. The night they’d met, he’d looked good in his jeans and leather jacket, but now, he wore a black tailored suit, red shirt, and black tie. He was the most beautiful man she’d ever seen…and she was standing there like a gaped-mouth idiot. “Are you going to keep following me ‘til I give it to you?”

He shrugged those impressive shoulders of his and stuck his hands in his pockets. “I have nothing else to do today.”

And that smile! Why did he have to smile so crookedly? There was more stubble on his cheeks, too, like he was growing in a beard. He’d look good with a beard, a beard she could run her fingers through and tug on… Phoebe shook her head and sighed. “Fine, here.” She reached for his hand, pulled a pen from her hair where she kept one in her ponytail, and jotted her number down. “Don’t lose it.”

“Oh, I won’t.”

She narrowed her eyes at him, trying to look annoyed but failed miserably, knowing her cheeks were probably bright red with embarrassment. Without a backward glance, she took off for the elevator and forgot all about the file Yancey had taken from her.

***

Riley was still staring down at the penned number on his hand when William Yancey stepped out of his office to greet him. “William,” Riley said as he shook the man’s hand.

“Riley. Always a pleasure to run into you, though it’s normally not in my own offices. What can I do for you?”

“You can tell me how you managed to get your hands on my new programming.”

Riley watched his face fall as his grip suddenly tightened. “I assure you I have no idea what you’re talking about, but why don’t we take this conversation inside? Somewhere a bit more private.”