Her Millionaire Master (17 page)

On Wednesday, she was walking home from class when her phone rang.

“Hello?” she asked.

“Bella, hello.” It was Mr. Joseph, the old man who currently owned her grandmother’s house.

“Hi, Mr. Joseph,” she replied. “How are you? And your wife?”

He sounded sad. “Not good, I’m afraid. My wife broke her hip, and we had to move into the assisted-living facility. Our son was taking care of the house, and I told him to call you about buying it, but I’m so sorry to say he didn’t listen to me. He sold it to someone else, Bella, before I even knew what he was doing. The papers are all already signed. I’m so sorry.”

Her heart sank. It couldn’t be. Not only had she lost the house, but she’d suffered because of her deal with Kane, a deal she’d made in order to be able to buy the house.

“I’m sorry about your wife,” she managed to say.

When she hung up, she felt like throwing her phone onto the street and stomping on it. She wanted to break something. She’d never been so pissed—and sad and frustrated—in her entire life.

As soon as she entered the apartment, Bella burst out in tears.

“Bells! What’s going on?” Claire’s eyes were big with alarm as she pulled Bella into a tight hug. “Come here. Let’s sit down.” Claire led her to the living room couch.

“Oh, my gosh, I’m so sorry, Bella!” said Claire after Bella had explained the situation. “I know how much that meant to you.”

“It makes it all so meaningless, you know? Everything with Kane, all the shit he’s put me through. It was for nothing!”

“Not nothing. You can invest the money. Or use it to buy another house.”

“I don’t want another house!”

“I know. I’m sorry.” Claire stroked Bella’s hair. “You could always end the deal. You’d lose the money, which would suck, but you could cut yourself loose from him.”

Bella was about to answer, when the doorbell rang.

“I’ll get it,” said Claire. A few moments later she returned with Charles. “I’ll be in my room,” said Claire, leaving the two of them alone.

Bella couldn’t help smiling at him, even though her most precious dream had just been crushed. And even though he was best friends with the biggest asshole she’d ever known. He swept into the room and sat down next to Bella.

“How are you, babe?” he asked. “Have you been crying?” He eyed her with concern.

She nodded. “Someone else bought my grandma’s house. Which is fine. It’s just a house.” Except it wasn’t. Still, she didn’t want to get mired down. It wasn’t worth it.

“It’s not just a house,” he said. “I’m so sorry.” He put his arm around Bella’s shoulders, and she leaned into him, enjoying the comfort.

“What are you doing here, anyway?” she asked.

“I’m not allowed to drop by on a friend?” he asked accusingly but with a grin. Then his face got more serious. “I have something for you. From Kane.” He handed her a plain white envelope.

“What is it?” she asked, taking it from him.

“Don’t know, babe.”

“I’m surprised he didn’t just have Bernie drop it off.”

“He did. But I told Bernie I’d take it instead.”

“You know he’ll be pissed when he finds out. He doesn’t like being disobeyed.” She rolled her eyes.

“Well, I can handle him. Plus he’s on a plane over the Atlantic right now. No worries.”

“Where is he going?” And why hadn’t he told her he was leaving? Surely he wouldn’t be back by Friday. Didn’t she deserve notice that he wouldn’t be around?

“Back home. Scotland. It’s the anniversary of his grandfather’s birthday this weekend. He’s hurting.”

“Kane doesn’t hurt,” she mumbled.

“He does, though. He just doesn’t like to let on.”

“Could have fooled me,” she said under her breath. “Should I open this now?” She held up the envelope.

“If you want. Or after I leave. Whatever you prefer.”

Bella slid her finger under the glued-shut flap and gently unfastened it. She pulled out a sheet of white paper, folded in threes to fit into the envelope. When she unfolded it, pieces of torn paper fell out onto her lap. The check. It was the check she’d written him, ripped up. On the paper he’d scrawled, “I’m sorry for everything, Bella. Our agreement is over.”

She should be happy. It was done. The money was hers. Instead, though, all she felt was loss. Loss over the house, the money reverting back to her too late. And loss over Kane. Despite his gruff exterior, she’d seen something there, under it all, and she’d wanted to see more. There was no more chance, now, with him. Not that there had ever been. But in that instant she recognized how any other guy she dated, though she hadn’t been dating Kane at all, would pale, miserably, in comparison. Nobody would ever turn her on the way he did. Or make her soul break open, letting her emotions sore, like he had.

A tear slipped from her eye.

“The check?” asked Charles quietly.

She nodded.

“It’s a good thing, Bella. You’re free from him now.”

“Yeah. A good thing,” she muttered.

“You fell for him, didn’t you?”

Bella took a deep breath. “Yes. It’s stupid. I know that. But I couldn’t help it.”

“You can’t help how you feel, babe.”

“Kane can. He has, like, no emotions,” she said, her voice angry.

“He just hides them.”

“He’s just an
asshole
.”

“He’s cold. It’s true,” replied Charles. “I probably shouldn’t tell you this. I should let you just move on and put this behind you. Because nothing will come of it. But Kane cared about you.
Cares
about you.”

Bella rolled her eyes. “Whatever, Charles.”

“I’ve known him for a long time. I’ve never seen him as preoccupied as I have since things began with you. And I’ve never seen him drop a deal like this without demanding full payment.”

“It’s just because he’s done with me. Bored with me.”

Charles shook his head. “I don’t know why, Bella. But I think it’s probably that he’s confused, though he would never, ever admit that.”

Bella didn’t respond. She didn’t know how to respond. Part of her hoped Charles was right, but a bigger part refused to even entertain the notion. She didn’t want to be disappointed.

“It’s funny,” continued Charles. “When he first told me about this agreement, I warned him that you would get hurt. I never thought he’d be the one getting hurt.”

“I didn’t do anything to hurt him,” hissed Bella.

“Oh, I know that. He’s hurting himself. He just doesn’t realize it. For someone so smart, he’s very uninformed when it comes to emotions, especially his own. The truth is, he lives a very lonely life. He had his grandfather. They were very close. And his mother, though she lives in Scotland and he sees her seldom. And me. Max, if you count that. Everyone else is simply a business partner. Or a sexual partner. He’s quite alone, when you really think about it.”

“By his own choice,” said Bella.

Charles shrugged. “True,” he agreed. “I hope someday he’s willing to take a chance. Open himself up. And you? You are an amazing person, Bella. You are going to rise above all this and shine. Got it?”

“Got it,” she managed, forcing a smile onto her face. Except she wasn’t sure she’d be able to do that at all.

* * *

Bella couldn’t stop thinking about what Charles had said, about Kane needing to take a chance, to open up. About Kane being vulnerable and sad. About the fact that he wasn’t close to anyone. She’d seen hints of that. He’d told her he didn’t have relationships; he had partners. And it occurred to her that the one person he’d been closest to, his grandfather, had recently died. She felt her soul constrict as she remembered how she’d spilled the Mortlach. It was just liquor, sure, but it had real meaning to Kane. Like her grandmother’s house had meaning to her.

It was stupid, she knew, after the way he’d treated her, but she couldn’t help doing a quick search for ‘Mortlach 70’ on the Internet. Pages of descriptions came up, including lots of information about the history of the distillery. But that wasn’t what she was looking for her. What she hoped to find—a bottle for sale—wasn’t there. Not that she was going to buy one. That would be a stupid waste of money, especially considering what an asshole Kane was. But what if Kane wasn’t the only one who needed to take a chance? She could do it too, right?

No, she argued with herself. Not to the tune of twelve thousand dollars, or whatever the bottle was worth. And it wasn’t like she could find one for sale, anyway.

Sighing, she clicked on one more link, promising herself it would be the last one she looked at. It was an online auction site, set up, it seemed, specifically for the sale of hard-to-find liquor. And someone was auctioning off a bottle identical to the one she’d spilled. The top bid so far was six thousand dollars with twenty minutes to go.

Shit. She wished she hadn’t found this site. Or that she’d found it twenty minutes later, when it was too late to even consider buying the bottle. Quickly she considered. Let’s say she spent seven thousand. She’d still have thirteen thousand left. It was sick to pay that much for liquor, but every time she thought of how much it meant to Kane she felt nauseous.

Hastily, she set up an account on the site, then, hands shaking, she typed in her bid. Seven thousand dollars. Her bid was the highest, and she sat back in her chair, her heart racing.

“What are you doing?” Claire came into the room and stood behind her, looking at her screen. Bella wanted to shut the laptop quickly, but she also didn’t want to lose the site she was on.

“Nothing,” she said casually. “Just looking at that expensive scotch I spilled.”

“You’re bidding on it?” screeched Claire. “Tell me my eyes are wrong, Bella! You cannot spend thousands of dollars on a bottle of liquor. For someone who treated you like shit!”

“I know. I
know
,” insisted Bella, but at the same time she was typing in nine thousand dollars since she’d just been outbid.

“Stop! Do I need to tie you up until the auction is over?” said Claire.

“No. I’ll stop at ten. I promise.”

“Ten fucking thousand dollars? Are you insane?” Claire sounded like she was the crazy one, yelling louder than Bella had ever heard.

“Probably,” she muttered. “Dammit,” she whispered. She’d been outbid again. With shaking fingers, she typed ten thousand dollars, knowing it was stupid, and half hoping she’d be outbid again.

“Jesus, Bella, stop!” Claire sat down next to Bella. “We’re going to make sure you’re outbid, and then I’m closing your laptop. Do you hear me?”

“Fine,” whispered Bella, staring at the screen.

Someone else bid twelve thousand dollars. Claire snapped the lid closed. “It’s over, Bella.”

“Yeah. It’s over.” Bella sighed. She was relieved she hadn’t spent a huge chunk of her savings on a bottle of scotch. But at the same time, there was disappointment. She’d wanted to do this for Kane. It was stupid and extravagant, but it would have meant something. And she’d failed.

* * *

The next few weeks passed quickly. Somehow, Bella was able to put Kane out of her mind, for the most part at least, and focus on classes and her internship. She’d taken on extra jobs walking dogs too, mostly to stay busy. Anything to occupy her time and her mind so she wouldn’t wallow in self-pity over the house and Kane.

She was heading home one day, passing The Castle, when she heard it. Kane’s voice. Low and harsh and unmistakable.

“Bella.”

She froze, then turned her head toward his house. There he stood, in an exquisite suit, his dark eyes piercing as they looked into hers.

“Kane.” The word sounded cold, and she was glad. She wanted to keep all her emotion hidden. Just like he did.

“I, um, would like to speak with you,” he said.

Bella was surprised by the ‘um.’ Usually everything he said was spoken with such confidence. For the first time ever she heard uncertainty in his voice.

“Go ahead,” she said.

“Would you come inside? Please?”

She stared at him for a moment, taking in his suit, his face, the hard planes of his jaw. The body she thought of more often than she wanted to admit. “Just for a minute,” she finally conceded. She followed him into the house.

“Sit, please,” he said in the living room, gesturing at the couch.

“I’m not staying,” she said, but still she sat, right on the edge.

Kane sat in a chair facing her. He looked tired, his face haggard, though he was as always impeccably dressed in a perfectly tailored suit. Bella noticed that the check was missing from the coffee table, obviously, since Kane had torn it up and given it back to her. The bottle still sat there, though. Was he
ever
going to get rid of it?

“What does
smelly belly
mean to you?” asked Kane suddenly.

“
Smelly belly
?” asked Bella. “It’s what my grandma used to call me when I was really little, but how would you know that?”

“When I was in Scotland, I decided to try to find another bottle of Mortlach. I came across one available on an auction site.”

Oh, crap!
Smellybelly
was the screen name Bella had used when she registered for the liquor auction website.

“I wish I’d realized sooner who
smellybelly
from Chicago was before I kept trying to outbid her.” Kane stared at Bella, his eyes intense, but a smile gentler than she’d ever seen before graced his face.

“I, um, yeah.” She wasn’t sure how to respond or even what, exactly, she wanted to say. “How did you know it was me?”

“The name. The location. And don’t forget, I’m a man of means. And ways.”

She didn’t want to ask if he’d tracked down her IP address or whatever it was people did.

“So is that the new bottle?” she asked, gesturing at the bottle on the table.

“It is. Although I ended up paying more for it that I would have if nobody else was bidding.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Bella, I…” His voice broke off, and he looked down at his hands, big and strong, in his lap. “To know you even considered buying the bottle, let alone actually tried to, means more to me than you know. I’m accustomed to deals. Arrangements. In my world, nobody does things for free. Nobody does things without wanting a favor in return. It’s rare for somebody to do something for me and ask nothing in return.”