Escorting The Billionaire #2 (The Escort Collection) (3 page)

W
e stayed
in bed for the rest of the day. The Red Sox managed to win. I now knew where I stood with James. Even though I’d felt as if he’d broken my heart this morning, his clumsy explanation about his feelings put it back together again. And then subsequently melted it.

He was a John, but he was the best John ever. He’d fucked me like I’d never been fucked before, and I was going to make enough money to keep Tommy in New Horizons for the near future and then some. I had the next nine days to look forward to with James, nine days of luxury and pleasure.

In theory, I should be sitting back and relaxing, counting all my money and all my orgasms. In practice, I felt as if my heart was about to break all over again. And this time, all James’s money and all James’s sexual dexterity wouldn’t be able to put it back together again.

I was in love with him. The realization spread over me with sick dread as I was getting dressed for the evening and James was taking a shower. He was an assignment that was only going to last one more week, and I was in love with him. I looked at myself in the mirror and laughed.
I sure know how to pick ’em,
I thought. It just figured. I finally fell in love and it was never going to happen. That was typical Audrey Reynolds luck.

Not only that, but I was finally going to have enough money to make things okay, all the things I’d been wishing for. And now I wouldn’t even be able to enjoy it. Because I was in love with James Preston, and he was going to leave my world next week, and my life was going to be ruined forever.

Way to go, Audrey.

My phone beeped, and I got up to look at it. It was a text from my mom.
Shit.
It was never good when my mom came looking for me. She either wanted money, or she was in trouble, or she wanted money because she was in trouble. But I wanted to make sure there wasn’t anything wrong with Tommy, so I called her back.

“Audrey,” she said immediately.

“Everything okay?” I asked, not bothering to say hello either.

“No, it is not,” she said. “I got into a car accident earlier, and the Sentra’s totaled.”

“Was everyone all right?” I asked. I meant,
were you high, and did you kill anybody?

“I’m fine,” she said. “I just ran off the road and hit some construction stuff that the stupid city workers left there. Can you imagine that? Just leaving concrete tubes and jackhammers and shit everywhere? It totaled my car!”

“It was on the side of the road, Ma. Not
in
the road.” I sighed. My mother always had a problem, and someone else had always caused it. I don’t think I’d ever heard her say she was responsible for one thing that had gone wrong in her life, not ever.

“So where’s the car?” I asked.

“I left it there.”

“Where are you?”

“I’m at a bar,” she said. Of course she was. I knew my mother. She was going to have a few drinks and tell the cops she’d been at a bar, drinking—
after
she’d totaled her car. They’d never be able to prove that she’d been drinking before, too, although they would expect as much. The cops knew my mom, and my mom knew the cops.

“Did you call anybody?” I asked.

“No. That wouldn’t have been a great idea,” she said. That was as close as she would come to admitting she’d been drunk earlier. “So I’m just in here for an hour. I’m gonna have a couple of drinks and then I’ll call them.”

“They might find you before that, Ma.”

“Whatever,” she said. She was muffled for a bit, and I heard her lighting a cigarette. “Hey, I talked to the clerk at Tommy’s center. She said you’d paid ahead through August. Business must be pretty good, huh?”

“It was a one-off. There’s no more money,” I said, bristling. I was disgusted that my mother was happy I was making money as a prostitute. I was even more disgusted by her tone—the one that told me she was going to be asking me for some of that money soon. “I gotta run. Be safe.”

“Have fun,” she said, and it made my skin crawl.

James came in then, a towel wrapped around his waist. “Who was that?”

“No one,” I said, and I meant it.

J
ames had
on another dazzling suit, this time with a lavender tie. “What should
I
wear?” I asked, going through the racks of designer clothes in my closet. I wasn’t used to this many choices.

“That dress you had on last night worked for me,” he said, grinning.

“I’m pretty sure that’s dirty,” I said and smiled back at him. “Plus, I don’t want to wear anything that’s going to have us going at it under the table again. I don’t think your mother would approve.” I pulled out a conservative grey sheath and showed it to him. “What about this?”

“It’s fine,” he said. “But we’ll still probably go at it. It doesn’t matter what you wear. I know what you look like underneath—and I
like
it.” I went to him and kissed him on the lips, dropping the dress onto the bed. He wrapped his arms around me and kissed me back, hard, and that wasn’t the only thing that was hard.

I ran my hands over him, relishing the feel of his enormous, sculpted chest, but then I stepped back. “Too bad we don’t have time for that right now,” I said innocently. “You have to be photographed for your
New England Brides Magazine
spread.”

He sighed raggedly. “This fucking wedding.”

I started to put the grey dress on. “I don’t know—I’m enjoying it so far,” I said, and I meant it.

He came and zipped up the back for me. “I am, too. And that was the last thing I expected.” He ran his hand gently down my back, sending shivers through me.

His phone buzzed, and he grabbed it, reading the screen intently. “I have to deal with this. Sorry,” he said, and started quickly tapping out messages on his phone. “But we have to get going, too.”

I put on some metallic sandals, lipstick, and a bunch of bangles. Then I grabbed his hand, leading him to the elevator and out to the car while he dealt with his business. It was beautiful outside, and Kai was waiting with a friendly smile. James was holding my hand while he barked into his phone. It all seemed so normal, so natural. For one moment, I imagined that this was my real life, and I was his real girlfriend.

It was perfect. It was absofuckinglutely perfect.

He was on his call during the drive to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, where the photo shoot was taking place. I took the time to look at my phone, worried that my mother had managed to end up in jail.

To my surprise, I had three voicemails. The first was from my mother. “Audrey, they towed the car, and I can’t afford to get it. Call me. Please.”

The second was from Elena. “Dre, call me as soon as you get this. On my cell.”

I looked over at James, and he was still on his phone, listening intently to something. Blowing out a shaky breath, I called her back immediately. “Dre,” she said after it had barely started to ring.

“Hi, Elena,” I said nervously. She rarely, if ever, called us while we were on a job. “What’s up?”

“Your
mother
is what’s up,” she said. “She came by the office this afternoon. She said she knew you’d made big money recently and that she needed some of it.”

All the blood drained from my face. “Elena, I’m so sorry,” I said.

“It gets better. I told her that she was not welcome in our office. She smelled, Dre. She was butt-ass drunk in broad daylight, and she was belligerent. I proceeded to tell her that you were making your regular salary and that I didn’t know anything else, and then I asked her to leave.”

“What happened then?” I asked.

“She went into the bathroom and stole a bunch of those mini hand soaps,” Elena said, sighing. “Then she left. But I have a bad feeling she’ll be back again tomorrow. Dre, I can’t have this sort of drama associated with my business. I run a
luxury
company. I can’t have your alcoholic, bag-lady-looking mother coming in and yelling at me in front of clients.”

“I know,” I said. I could feel myself turning crimson red. My mother had been ruining things for me since I was a child. I was so ashamed of her. For years, I’d felt bad because of that shame. I’d always felt as if I should be spending my time trying to help her more, not being embarrassed by her.

But now I was a grown woman, and I’d been taking care of myself for a long time. And I’d also taken care of Tommy because she couldn’t—and she never had. I’d seen her ruin everything that she touched, take advantage of everyone who came into contact with her. And now she was threatening my livelihood, the livelihood that was keeping her son healthy and safe.

I didn’t feel bad anymore that I was ashamed of her. She was worthy of my shame.

“I’ll talk to her,” I said. “She won’t be coming back.”

“I need you to take care of this and still take care of our most prestigious client. Don’t let your personal problems get in the way, Dre.”

“I won’t,” I mumbled. “I promise.”

I hung up and nervously checked my third voicemail. It was from Reina, one of the clerks at New Horizons. “Hey Dre, just wanted to let you know that your mom stopped by this afternoon. I need to talk to you about your account. Give me a quick call when you have a second.”

We pulled up in front of the museum. James was still on the phone, talking lowly. I hopped out of the car and called her back immediately, a pit of dread forming in my stomach. “Hey, Reina. It’s Audrey Reynolds. Is something wrong?”

“You need to change Tommy’s account here, hon,” she said. “Your mother is listed as a responsible party for him, in addition to you. She came in today and demanded that we refund some of the money you prepaid on his account. I couldn’t do it, because the manager had already gone, but I wanted to give you a heads up.”

“She didn’t. Please tell me she didn’t do that,” I said, my stomach sinking. But it was true, and I knew it: that was just like my mother. She would take Tommy’s rent money for herself. She really was that low.

“Sorry, hon,” Reina said. “I just thought you’d want to know.”

I thanked her and hung up, my hands shaking.

And then I turned to find James, standing on the sidewalk next to me, a worried look on his face.

“
W
hat’s wrong
?” I could tell that the phone call had made her upset.

“Nothing,” she said and shrugged. “Work stuff.”

I just looked at her for a beat. “I can tell you’re upset,” I said. “You can talk to me about it, you know.”

She nodded at me. “I know. Maybe after this.” She waved toward the museum entrance.

“Okay. If you’re sure.” I didn’t want to push her. She would tell me when she was ready, I hoped. I grabbed her hand and led her inside.

The Gardner Museum was gorgeous. It had an inner courtyard that looked like an English garden. I’d always loved it. As children, the Guatemalan nannies had been under strict orders to bring Todd and me here on a regular basis. We used to go back and forth between the Gardner and the Museum of Fine Arts, located a few blocks away. My mother thought it was important that we were cultured. So she left the instructions and went to lunch with her lady friends, and one nanny after another cultured us.

We went out to the middle of the courtyard, the ceiling soaring high above us. I saw Evie and her cousins all in fancy beaded dresses, sitting in an arrangement and having their hair and makeup fussed with. My family also was nearby, as was the camera crew and all their equipment.

I ignored everyone but Audrey. I watched her take in the glory of the space. “Oh. Wow,” she said, looking dazzled. “I’ve never been here before.”

“It’s perfect,” I said, and I didn’t mean the garden. I squeezed her hands and drank her in. She was so beautiful, it was as if it cut me.

“I love it here,” she said, still looking around, dazzled. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”

“We should come back here sometime,” I said. I drew her to me and kissed the top of her head. She didn’t say anything, but she hugged me, hard.

Todd came over, a hesitant smile on his face. “Hey, guys. I hate to interrupt.”

“So don’t,” I said, not letting go of Audrey.

Todd’s eyes widened a little, but he knew better than to say anything. He looked at me for a beat, studying my face, the way I was holding her.

I pulled back from her and gave him a wary smile. I needed to deflect attention from us. “Are they ready for me?” I asked, motioning to the camera crew.

“For both of you,” Todd said. He rubbed Audrey’s arm in greeting and beamed at her. “We want you both in the pictures.”

Audrey smoothed her dress and looked at me nervously. “I don’t need to be included, Todd. That’s really nice of you, though.”

“Nonsense. I insist. I want to remember everything about this time in my life, including you,” he said, holding out his arm for her.

“Okay,” Audrey said hesitantly. She smiled at him. Clearly, Todd had gotten the lion’s share of our family’s limited charm genes.

Pleased, I squeezed her hand in reassurance. We went over to my parents. Celia was watching us as closely as ever.

“Hello, Mother,” I said.

“Hello, James,” she said formally, mocking me. She turned to Audrey, inspecting her from head to toe. “And how are you this evening, dear? You’re looking very… satisfied.”

My mother was an astute observer. Plus, she’d been next to us at dinner last night. Looking at Audrey right now, I could see what my mother must have seen: Audrey’s skin was positively glowing, as if her every cell was lit up.

Audrey smiled at her without missing a beat. “I
am
very satisfied,” she said kindly and without irony. “Your son has been showing me a wonderful time.”

“I’m so sure,” Celia said, and she did not look pleased.

“Okay everyone, it’s time,” Todd called, breaking up the conversation and saving us. “We’re going to start with our family on one side of the fountain, Evie’s family on the other.” He grabbed Audrey’s arm and steered her toward the photographers, chatting happily.

My mother watched him, the look on her face shifting quickly from surprise to utter indignation. “These are family photographs. Where is
she
going?”

I gave her a savage smile and grabbed her arm, following after them.

“With the rest of us, mother,” I said loud enough for Audrey to hear. “My girlfriend is going to be in these pictures.” I unceremoniously dropped my mother in front. Todd winked at me as I went toward the back and grabbed a stunned Audrey’s hand.

I held it for every photograph they took.

“
W
ell
, that was… interesting,” Audrey said when we were back in the car. “I thought your mother was rooting for me for at least the rest of the wedding celebration, but now I’m pretty sure I’m on her radar. Her
bad
radar.”

“Oh, well.” I shrugged, not giving a fuck about my mother or her radar for the moment.

“And you didn’t have to say I was your girlfriend,” she said. I watched as a hot blush crept up her neck.

I played with her hair, brushing it off her face. “Yes, I did.”

“No, you didn’t.”

“Audrey.” I waited until she turned to look at me. “Not only am I paying you to act like my girlfriend, I wanted to say it. So let’s leave it at that, okay?”

“Okay,” she mumbled and looked out the window.

“Are you going to tell me about before? What that phone call was about?”

She sighed. “Honestly, you don’t want to know.”

“I can’t help you if I don’t know what the problem is.”

“That’s okay—it’s not your problem. It’s mine, and I’ll deal with it.” She took out her phone and looked at it. “I have a voicemail,” she said miserably. “I have to listen to it.” She was quiet for a minute, her brow furrowed. When she hung up the phone, she looked pale.

“What is it?” I asked.

“Do you think Kai can take me somewhere after this? I have to deal with something,” she said in a small voice.

“Of course,” I said. “I’m coming, too.”

She looked at me, her face reddening some more. “No, James. Please. You’ve seen enough. Let me handle this by myself.”

“Is it a guy?” I asked. I was suddenly, unmercifully angry.

“No,” she said, shaking her head. “I wish.”

“Then what?” I was surprised by the frustration in my own voice. I wanted her to stop being so stubborn, to stop holding back from me.

Audrey sighed. “It’s my mother, James. She’s just causing trouble. I need to go see her tonight.”

I was relieved it wasn’t a guy, some boyfriend I didn’t know about. I was also relieved that she’d told me. My anger eased back a bit. “Fine,” I said. “But I’m coming, too.”

F
or some inexplicable reason
, Cole was at the bar waiting for us, looking like the cat who’d just swallowed the canary. “I didn’t invite you here,” I said, clapping him on the back. “But it’s nice to see you anyway.”

“Todd texted me,” Cole said. “He wants me to come to everything I can. He said he wants to make you happy.”

“Aw, that’s sweet,” I said. I inspected him further. “You’re looking smugger than usual,” I said, making sure that Audrey was tucked safely behind me. “Why’s that?”

Cole beamed at me. “That’s why.” Cole pointed to a woman hustling into the room. She was walking fast and applying lip gloss, her curls bouncing and her voluptuous chest jiggling as she went.

It was Jenny.

“Ho my frickin’ God!” Jenny shouted when she saw Audrey. She practically bowled me out of the way to get to her.

“Yay!” she yelled, grabbing Audrey into a hug and jumping up and down. “You got me my own billionaire! I’m so freaking excited!”

“Oh, Jesus.” I said to Cole. “You didn’t.”

“Yes, I did. Ho my frickin’ God, I did,” he said. He looked very pleased with himself. “I’m gonna marry this girl. She’s got a mouth like a—”

“Cole,” I said, cutting him off. “My mother is ten feet away from us. Please.”

“I don’t have to finish the sentence, anyway,” Cole said. He was watching Jenny. “You know what I mean.”

I sighed. “I can guess.” We stood and watched the girls talking excitedly to each other.

“You’re the one who told me to call her,” Cole reminded me.

“I didn’t mean for you to bring an escort to my brother’s wedding functions,” I said.

He raised an eyebrow at me. “You should talk, bro.”

I glared at him, but I didn’t mean it. “Buy me a free drink. I need one.” He motioned for the bartender. “I’m happy you’re here and that Jenny’s working out for you. But I need to protect Audrey. No one but you knows the truth. It has to stay that way.” Cole slid a martini in front of me, and I ordered some wine for Audrey.

“Of course. I promise I won’t say anything about either of them,” he said. “I wouldn’t do that to you—you know that. But I have to say, for the hired help, you’re being very protective of her.”

“She needs my protection,” I said darkly. I took a sip of my drink, and the vodka warmed me instantly. “She’s a sweet girl. I know that sounds ridiculous, but it’s true.”

“It doesn’t sound ridiculous. But what are you going to do after this is all over?”

I shrugged. “Probably nothing.”

“
That
sounds ridiculous,” Cole said. “And I’m only saying that because you’re my best friend.”

“Sometimes I think I need to protect her from myself,” I said lowly.

Cole looked as if he was going to say something admonishing, but Jenny and Audrey came to the bar then, still happily chatting. I put my arm around Audrey and pulled her to me, kissing the top of her head. The two minutes we’d been apart were too long. Cole looked at me, reading me like a book, and just shook his head in mock disgust.

“I didn’t know you owned part of the Rhode Island Thunder, Cole. Jenny just told me. That’s so cool,” Audrey said.

The Thunder was the NHL farm team that Cole was currently obsessed with. “We have box seats tonight,” Jenny squealed. Cole put his arm around her and squeezed her against him.

“We can have box seats whenever you want, Princess,” he said and kissed her on the nose. Jenny smiled at Cole happily, and he beamed down at her. I didn’t know how sophisticated Jenny was, or how well she could read people. But I hoped she knew that Cole was a player, through and through. He would be happy to play with her and spoil her for a while, but he was not a one-woman man. Never had been.

Jenny snuggled up against Cole, and Audrey watched her friend carefully. “Jenny, come to the bathroom with me,” she said after a while, grabbing her by the hand. She flashed a dimpled smile at us. “We’ll be back in a few, guys.”

“What’s that all about?” Cole asked, watching Audrey drag Jenny away from him.

“I think Jenny’s going to get a talking to,” I said.

“About what?”

“Not getting her hopes up about the billionaire with the box seats,” I said.

“Huh,” Cole said, watching them retreat.