All That He Loves (Volume 2 The Billionaires Seduction) (8 page)

Miranda smiled coyly. “If you want to know what one looks like, check with Ms. Ross tomorrow evening. I’m sure her suffering – because of
your
stupidity, I might add – will be an excellent preview.”

My stomach twisted, my blood ran cold, and I thought I might cry – until I heard a voice behind me:

A very loud, very
gay
voice.

“Oh my GOD, if it isn’t the Addams family – and their
little dog, too!”
it finished in a gleeful mimicry of the mean old lady from
The Wizard Of Oz
.

A chair dragged up right between me and Connor, and Sebastian stuck his face in the gap between us.

His voice dropped to a sympathetic murmur, as though he were explaining things to a child. “If you don’t understand the metaphor, Miranda, it means that
you’re…
the
bitch.
”

“Oh, it’s the pet homosexual,” Miranda sneered, though with barely a change in her expression. “I was surprised when you didn’t show up on Connor’s chain.”

“Darling, if you’re into BDSM, I’d be
happy
to superglue a ballgag in your mouth,” Sebastian offered. “That way we wouldn’t have to hear you, and
you
wouldn’t have to orally pleasure Vincent’s little cocktail wiener anymore. Win-win all around. No offense, Vincent. Besides, I’m sure she wasn’t any good at it, anyway.”

Vincent was getting mottled red again.

“Oh my GOD,” Mrs. Templeton snapped as she got up to leave. “Augustus, it’s time to leave now that Sodom and Gomorrah has arrived.”

“Oh, Lenora, I didn’t even see you over there! It really
is
like the Wizard of Oz! The Wicked Bitch of the East…”

Here he gestured at Mrs. Templeton with one hand, and then at Miranda with the other.

“…and the Wicked Bitch of the West. But where’s a good
house
falling out of the sky when you need one?”

Miranda smiled coldly and stood up. “You should have been here earlier. You could have stalled a few minutes longer with your stupid insults.”

“No, no,” Sebastian said, waggling his finger, “the insults aren’t stupid…
you
are. But that’s alright, I don’t expect you to figure it all out at once.”

“Goodbye, Connor,” Miranda said. “Enjoy the last few hours of anonymity you have left. And Ms. Ross… I’d say I’m sorry… but I’m so,
so
not.”

She walked away from the table, not even waiting for Vincent, who scurried after her like a rodent.

The bodyguards flanked the elder Templetons and escorted them out of the restaurant.

“Bye, bitches!” Sebastian called out. “Watch out for buckets of waterrrrr!”

There was a moment of quiet as we sat there alone in the restaurant.

Sebastian looked over at Connor and winced. “…too much?”

Connor grinned. “Not enough, in my opinion.”

Sebastian looked relieved. “Good. I figured that might be my last time I ever see them face to face, so I decided to go with the nuclear option.”

“Like a big, gay, atom bomb,” I said, grinning in spite of myself.

“And don’t you forget it,” Sebastian said as he give a little kiss to Javier. “Oh, my, you look
amazing.
”

“He did extremely well. Thanks again, Javier,” Connor said as he stood and helped me to my unsteady feet. “What happens now?”

“The jet is waiting at the airport, ready to fly us to New York. All our things are already down in the Bentley.”

Connor looked impressed. “You
have
been busy.”

“Unlike your ex and your horrid family, I don’t sit around congratulating myself on how wonderful I am.”

Connor laughed as he hooked his arm through mine and escorted me out of the restaurant, with Johnny, Javier, and Sebastian close behind. “Thank God for that.”

“I heard your little speech as I arrived,” Sebastian said. “About destroying Miranda being your new life’s work.”

“And what did you think?”

“Charming. But you’re going to have some competition.”

“Who?”

“
Me.
Because I’m going to kill that bitch if it’s the last thing I do.”

“Get in line,” I muttered, and wondered how long I had to start making my phone calls.

We went down to the lobby and out to the valet circle where the Bentley was waiting for us. The valet handed off the keys to Johnny, but before we could get in, Connor turned to Javier.

“You’re welcome to come with us,” he said to Javier, then added to Sebastian, “If you want him there for moral support – ”

The smaller man smiled. “Thank you, but I must be getting back. I have a shoot in two days, and I know Sebastian will be very busy, so – ”

“I’ll make it up to you when this is all over,” Sebastian promised.

“You do what you need to do and don’t worry about me.”

Connor smiled. “Thanks for the help up there.”

“It was very… interesting.”

“That’s putting it mildly,” Connor laughed darkly, then turned to Sebastian. “Did you book a flight for him?”

“Of
course
– first class back to LAX, leaves in an hour and a half,” Sebastian said, like he was insulted Connor would dare suggest he didn’t have things in order.

“We’d drop you off if we could – ” Connor started, but Javier waved his hand.

“Don’t worry, Sebastian’s already got a cab waiting for me.”

“Johnny, be a darling and get his things, will you?” Sebastian asked.

While Johnny retrieved the two pieces of luggage from the trunk, Javier shook hands with Connor and gave me a hug. When he pulled back, he gave me a sympathetic smile. “I hope this works out alright for you.”

“Thank you,” I smiled back, then frowned a little. “But… why aren’t we giving you a ride to the airport?”

“He’s going to McCarran, we’re going to Henderson,” Sebastian said as Javier shook hands with Johnny. “Now shoo, shoo, all of you get in the car, I have to tell my man goodbye.”

We grinned at each other, said our last goodbyes, and got into the Bentley, then waited until Sebastian opened the door and settled in beside Connor. This wasn’t a stretch limo like the kinds with seats facing one another, so I had to look across Connor to see Sebastian’s expression.

He looked wistful. And a little bit conflicted, like he wanted to stay.

Johnny’s voice came over the intercom.
“We good to go, guys?”

Connor didn’t answer. Instead, he looked at his right-hand man (literally).

“Let’s do it,” Sebastian answered. He rolled down the window and waved goodbye as Johnny pulled out. The last I saw of Javier was through the rear window: a short figure in a killer suit, waving goodbye to us before he stepped into the open door of a cab.

I hadn’t understood when Sebastian said,
He’s going to McCarran, we’re going to Henderson,
but it quickly became apparent. The airport we drove to was small, with just two runways and a series of buildings in the darkness. Johnny checked in at a guard station off a side road, and then he drove the Bentley past a series of medium-sized hangars and right out onto the tarmac, about 50 feet away from a small jet plane. Like, an actual
jet
plane. No propellers or anything. It was all white, about 100 feet long, with eight small, circular windows set into the side. ‘G650’ appeared in blue along the tail. A door near the cockpit was folded down so that it touched the tarmac. I could see the steps molded into its interior and the glitter of the chrome handrail in the Bentley’s headlights.

“Holy crap,” I whispered as we parked. “This is what I call door-to-door service.”

“Of course,” Connor frowned, like,
What were you expecting?

We got out of the car. Sebastian walked over to talk to a couple of men in dark uniforms I assumed were the pilots. Johnny started unloading our bags from the trunk.

“This is your plane?” I asked Connor wonderingly.

“One of them.”

“
You have more than one private jet?!”

He looked at me like I was being unintentionally hilarious. “Yes. I do.”

I looked around. “Where’s security?”

Connor pointed at Johnny.

“No, I mean, the guys who check your luggage and stuff. TSA.”

“There is no security line or luggage check when you fly in a private jet, Lily,” he said, grinning. “That’s one of the many reasons to fly in a private jet.”

“Wow,” I said, totally blown away. It made sense, but I’d never thought about it before. Then a stab of panic hit me. “Wait – what’s going to happen to the car?”

“Sebastian handled it,” Connor assured me.

“Yeah, but what’s going to happen to it?”

“We’ll get somebody to drive it back to LA.”

I stared at him, flummoxed. “You have employees who drive quarter of a million dollar cars back and forth between LA and Vegas?”

“Johnny does it,” Connor teased.

“Yeah, ‘cause
somebody
sneaks off by himself all the time,” Johnny snapped, then looked at me like he was afraid he might have upset me.

Actually, I
did
suffer a little twist in my stomach when he said it – but not for the reason he thought.

“The Lamborghini – what about the Lamborghini?!”

“Sebastian handled that, too,” Connor soothed me as he took my arm and guided me towards the plane. “Stop worrying about my stuff, that’s not your job.”

“You just have a whole fleet of people who move empty cars around the country, don’t you,” I said reprovingly.

“I have a whole fleet of people who do what I need done. We all set?” he asked Sebastian as we approached.

“Take off’s as soon as Johnny can get the bags stowed,” Sebastian confirmed.

“Thank you,” Connor said to the pilots, who were all smiles as they shook Connor’s hand. Then he guided me up the steps into the cabin.

It was amazing.

The interior was cream-colored with dark wood paneling. The seats were all dark brown, plush leather – at least half a dozen single chairs, with a couple of doubles in loveseat style that faced one another across a wooden table. One long sofa ran flush with the side of the cabin.

There were also televisions – a 36” screen across from the sofa, and a series of smaller screens accessible from the seats. A couple of Apple laptops were fastened to some of the single seats with adjustable metal frames.

“Where do we sit?” I asked Connor.

“Anywhere you want,” he grinned. “I’ll be right back, I’m going to use the restroom.”

He disappeared into a wood-paneled alcove at the back of the plane.

“Would you care for a drink?” a woman’s voice asked behind me.

I turned around to see a woman in a crisp white shirt, navy jacket and skirt, and a scarf around her neck. She was a few years older than me, and very pretty.

“Who are you?” I asked, astounded.

She just smiled. “I’m part of the flight crew. Can I get you anything?”

I looked around the cabin. There were seats for twelve people – and it
was
an airplane. I guess it made sense…

“Um… water?”

She looked a little surprised. “Just water? I could get you a drink, if you like. Champagne, a variety of wines, mixed drinks – ”

“Just water, please.”

“Bottled?”

“Uh, sure.”

“Sparkling or flat?”

This is WEIRD…

“Just a regular bottle of water is fine,” I said.

She smiled and started to walk away, but as she did I called out, “Um… can I use one of these computers?

She nodded enthusiastically. “Of course. Help yourself.”

Then she disappeared down the same alcove where Connor had gone.

I looked down at the laptop, my stomach churning… then sat down and opened up the internet browser. Typed in TMZ.com.

I shouldn’t have done that.

Beneath the website’s scarlet red header and a series of smaller pictures of celebrities was the headline,
“Billionaire Bangs Back-Alley Babe For 50K.”

And then right beneath that, the top of a photograph. Only my face and the top of Connor’s head were visible until I scrolled down.

I shouldn’t have done that, either.

It was one of the shots where Connor’s face was in full profile. My mouth was open and I was making an outlandish ‘O’ face. My dress was down near my waist, and my breasts had two tiny red blocks placed strategically over the nipples.

My hands started shaking as I scrolled down further.

“
The rich really ARE different – as in freaky … Connor Templeton, of the world-famous billionaire Templeton family, can be seen here getting nasty with a young woman he allegedly paid $50,000. For what? You be the judge.

“TMZ broke the story from an anonymous source … seems Connor, who usually avoids the spotlight, decided he wanted to get it ALL out in the open … on a Las Vegas condo property. It happened near the Strip – which seems very appropriate, considering how little clothing his female friend is wearing in these photos …

“The woman has been identified as Lily Ross of Los Angeles. Ms. Ross worked for a big LA consulting firm until yesterday, when she was reportedly fired. Looks like she found other employment pretty quickly …

“Our sources tell us $50,000 was paid directly into Lily’s bank account, and ever since then, she’s been accompanying Connor on a tour of Las Vegas, “Pretty Woman”-style …

“We have to say, Lily is definitely cute ... but with a series of supermodels and Hollywood A-listers in his romantic past, did Connor really get his money's worth? Seems for that price he could have had a bevy of hot women – all at once. But maybe Lily has hidden ‘talents’ that only Connor knows about … although neither of them seems too shy about showing the world …

Beneath that were a whole series of other pictures, with the text ‘Click to see more’ underneath them.

I almost threw up.

And then someone’s hand reached from behind me and slapped the screen closed.

Connor.

I turned and looked up at him scowling at the laptop. Then he looked at me, and his expression softened. “Don’t read that trash. Don’t even look at it.”