His Strict Requirement: Billionaire Secrets - Book Five (6 page)

"That's the bones of it."

"And you know all of this because you fucked Dale in order to get the story." He spoke quietly but his rage was all the more evident because of it.

"I. Did. Not. Fuck. Him."

They glared at each other for several tense seconds.

"Whatever." Marco said, breaking off. "We can discuss that later. Komerov is rescued by Clay Hargrave and his brother Dale, who you deny fucking," Lindsay rolled her eyes, "and Ruben Mayweather of the notorious Mayweather Services private security giant. Then, instead of going to the authorities they imprison him on a remote island owned by Mayweather. Am I clear so far?"

Lindsay nodded her head.

"Then his mafia buddies bust him out with the help of Nadia's mother but the billionaire boys' club save the day again. Somehow you get involved as a random hostage--"

"It wasn't random. They grabbed me to shut me down and then used me as a hostage to put pressure on Mayweather and the Hargraves."

"So, they took you hostage but the incredible Billionaire Brothers and their sidekick Boy Mayweather saved the day and rescued you all."

"Why are you treating it like a joke Marco? This story is huge and it could put AltNews on the map, generate clicks, bring in advertising revenue--"

"If you had proof for any of it then yes, maybe, but all I have is your word against the Hargrave and Mayweather legal teams. We have nothing Lindsay, do you understand me? Nothing. Nada. Rien. Nichts. And you…" He looked shamefacedly down at the floor, "you need to find another job."

He looked back up at her and had to steel himself. Those beautiful eyes had haunted him since he first met Lindsay Day back in grad school. They had taken media and journalism classes together and she had always been a rule breaker even then. He had always been the worrier, the uptight one and he had always known she didn’t go for guys like him. It had pained him throughout college to watch her go from one irresponsible boyfriend to the next while he waited, hoping that one day she would wake up and see the good thing that was sitting right in front of her nose.

Five years after graduation and one short lived marriage and divorce later it had seemed like things were somehow coming full circle when he had been in a position to offer her a job with his new start up interactive news website. It was the only way he could think of to bring her back into his life, messed up as it was, but now it had come to this in the end. He was firing her.

Way to go Marco. Smooth as ever.
He berated himself.

She still hadn't said a word.

"Did you hear me Lindsay?"

"I heard you." She half whispered. She looked stunned, but how could she have not known this was coming?

I'm sorry Lindsay. Truly, but that's the way it is. I warned you this was your last chance and you let me down again."

Now it was Lindsay's turn to drop her eyes in shame. He was right. Her goofy friend from college had made good and put some trust in her and she had screwed it all up for both of them and for Nena as well.

"It's okay Marco. It's me who should be sorry. Look, I won’t make this any harder for you than it already is, but I swear to you, if give me just one last chance at this I promise you I can come up with all the evidence we need."

Marco shook his head.

"Is this supposed to be making it easier for me Lindsay?"

"Okay, Marco, look, go ahead and fire me, that's fine, but you can't stop me working this story and when I have what we need--"

"No. Lindsay, Jesus Christ, can't you just let it go?"

"Marco, I know you don’t believe me--"

"I didn’t say that, I just don’t have the means to back you up on this one. Those guys are barracudas, they'll chew us up if we don’t have solid evidence. I'm all for taking these guys down, and I will, but right now you don't have squat."

"I'll get the evidence. I'll get documents, I'll get photos, I'll get video, I'll even get sworn on-the-record statements, the whole deal, but all I need is a little more time."

"And money. You would need money too."

"Okay, yes. And money. I might need a little."

"Then you need a job."

"Take me on as a freelancer and pay my expenses. Just until I can break this story. I swear to you this involves government, the mob, famous playboy billionaires, the hi-tech and security industries, government contracts, false imprisonment, hostages, kidnapping and possibly multiple homicides."

Marco sat up, concerned.

"Did you see people get killed?"

"No, nothing like that, but Boyevik and his guys have disappeared off the face of the earth again. It's the missing piece of the puzzle, the part that Dale refused to share with me."

"So you're telling me that Mayweather and the Hargraves executed these Mafia guys for screwing with their girlfriends?"

"I'm saying that I don’t know what happened to them but that I will definitely find out and it that it won’t take me a long time to do it."

Marco sat staring at her. He was a very good looking man in his own way. Tall, but not massive like Dale, more of a Johnny Depp style pretty boy than the rugged, powerful beast that Dale Hargrave was. He drummed his delicate fingers on the desk.

"Does it involve you screwing Hargrave again to get pry secrets out of him?"

The image that flashed through Lindsay's mind was like a brush fire in July. She almost felt that massive, powerful body crushing against her, surging upwards from below as she pressed down on him. Fuck, the experience would be worth having for a whole lot less than a business and career saving story, but still it would be using him in a way that she couldn’t condone.

Not to mention using her own body in way that would sicken her for the rest of her days.

"No way." She said.

Marco stared at her.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure."

"Then what's this?" He said, pushing an envelope across the desk at her. She stared at it uncomprehendingly.

"Open it." Marco said.

Her stomach twisted slightly. It had only been hours since she had been with Dale and she had been ready to sleep with him until Marco banged on her front door. She pulled open the envelope and drew out the documents inside.

'Copies for you.' The attached sheet of paper read. 'Copies for the gossip press have been retained.'

Underneath the sheet was series of photographs of her pressed against Dale Hargrave standing in her half open front entrance.

Her mouth dropped open in shock.

"Where did you get these?"

"They were delivered here by courier this afternoon. I presume they were taken shortly after you asked me to leave your apartment."

"That fucking asshole."

"Yes. Quite."

She threw the photos back down on his desk.

"So what's the real story Lindsay. Is that why he flew you and Nena home? Are you his MILF? Or more accurately his ALF - the auntie he’d like to fu--"

"Stop it Marco. I swear to you that nothing happened between us. He made a pass at me and I turned him down, so get over it already."

"These photos," he held one up, "tell kind of a different story."

Lindsay swallowed hard. She was struggling. There was no doubt about it, the couple in the photo were locked in one hell of a passionate embrace, Dale was all over her, lost in
that
kiss, and she was molded into him like he was her all and everything.

A chill ran through her. They looked like lovers but obviously the cold, cynical bastard had arranged to have these photos taken. A hot kiss taken in the doorway of her home must have been part of his sick little plan.

"I pushed him away. Right after that. Are there photos of that too?"

Marco shook his head.

"Of course not. Jesus Christ Marco, what does this even mean? What's he trying to do?"

"He's trying to discredit you and he's doing a damn good job. You try to release any dirt on him without watertight evidence to back it up and it's just the spite of a jilted lover, of which this guy has plenty."

Of which this guy has plenty.
Those words hurt the most. She was just another one of his stupid, air-headed playthings. Or so the bastard thought anyway.

"I'm taking this guy down." She said.

"No. Absolutely not. These guys are big league and if what you're saying about what they did to Boyevik is true, then what makes you think he won’t have you taken out of the picture as well?"

She thought of how sweet he had been to Nena, how thoughtful he had been to her as well. She still couldn't believe he would be that bad.

"He wouldn't do that." She said. "I just know it."

"How do you know it? You think because he wants to bone you that he'll sacrifice the reputation of his billion dollar company and put himself at risk of going to jail? Don't kid yourself Lindsay and don't throw your life away on this. Even if it is all true, no story is worth that."

"Let him release the pictures. It's just a kiss for God's sake. Once I have the evidence I need then this shit," she grabbed up the pile of pictures and then slapped them down in a heap onto Marco's desk again, "won’t mean jack."

She stood up to go.

"Where are you going?"

"Where do you think? I'm going to work this story before it gets cold."

"Not on my dime you're not."

"You already used that one Marco. This story isn't yours anymore, I'll sell to the highest bidder, make a million bucks for my new employer and you can read about it on the net like everybody else."

Marco bit down hard. She was confounding him again. Lindsay was a woman who just couldn't be controlled - she always threw a curve ball no matter how hard you tried to stay one step ahead of her.

"Jesus Christ Lindsay, okay. Look, I'll keep you on the payroll but I want hourly updates on where you are and who you're with."

The trembling woman looked at him. Lindsay wasn't the kind of person to keep a lot of friendships and Marco, despite all the weirdness, had been a good one over the years. In fact, he was one of her longest, oldest and most loyal friends and here he was coming through for her again. She bit her lip and looked away for second, then turned and ran around the desk to throw her arms around him. He couldn't have been more surprised as she planted a kiss on his cheek, ruffled his hair and squeezed his head into her shoulder. Not exactly employer and employee protocol, but then again, nobody had ever truly been Lindsay Day's boss.

His cock stiffened in his pants and he silently cursed the damn thing.

"You're one of the good one's Marco. I'll never forget this."

Before he could respond she was out the door, leaving him behind, still stunned, conflicted and slightly thrilled.

"God damn it." He hissed. "What is it about her…."

Chapter Four

When Lindsay reached her apartment she dived for her ficus plant as soon as the front door clicked shut behind her.

"Okay asshole, you screwed with the wrong girl this time. Lindsay Day isn't some z-list, gold-digging bimbo. You broke the law and you you're going to pay for it, no matter how rich you are."

She had made a good job of tearing his card into tiny pieces and it took a while to fish them all out but eventually she had them all pieced together on the living room table.

"Great." She hissed. "Now it's Showtime." She picked up her phone and stabbed in the number. On her way home she had come up with a plan. She would tell him that the story was dead, that her boss had squashed it and that now she was up for that date. She would play up to him, string him along, keep the arrogant bastard interested while she scoured his brain, his home, his personal technology and his people for any kind of evidence. Hell, it might be as easy as getting him to speak openly off the record while she recorded everything secretly. He would learn that two could play dirty and that when it came to truth and accountability then she could be a very dirty girl indeed.

The phone picked up and there was a short silence before his voice came to the phone.

"Who is this?" His deep, sexy voice was so immediately recognizable to her now.

"Who would you like it to be?" She replied.

There was another pause.

"There's only one person I can think of."

"Is that a fact? And who would that be?"

"It's the beautiful lady I'm taking out to dinner tonight. The elegant and very, very smart lady who finally changed her mind."

"Elegant?" Lindsay laughed. "I don't think anyone's ever called me that before. Are you sure you're thinking of the right person?"

"Oh I'm pretty sure alright. There's only one Lindsay Day and I know my favorite investigative journalist will play whatever game it takes to get her story."

Lindsay froze for a second. Was he onto her already?

"I'm always looking for a story Hargrave, but this one is just about two people. Would you like to find out how it ends?"

"I can hardly wait. I'll send a car over to pick you up. Eight o'clock okay?"

"Uh…" She hadn't planned on things happening quite
so
quickly. "Just give me time to get a babysitter for Nena and--"

"Consider it done. I'll send a nanny with the car. The very best D.C. has to offer. I don’t want either of my ladies neglected tonight."

Smooth
,
arrogant prick.
She thought, although it was kind of fun too. As long as she could keep him out of her pants and get the information she needed this might not be such a bad assignment - if only there wasn't so much riding on it.

"Great." She said. "What should I wear?"

"Think… sultry, low cut, close fitting and easily removed."

"How about low key, casual, comfortable and easily washed?"

"You're turning me on baby." He gave a deep, sexy laugh and for a second she could almost believe that they were going to get along, if the two of them hadn't been lying through their teeth to each other.

Focus Lindsay, he's the story, that's all he is. The stinking, sneaky, lowlife, blackmailing story.

"You're easily pleased." She said. "I'm not sure I like that. I'll be ready at eight. I might even take a shower."

"You're a dirty girl." He laughed. "Just the way I like it. See you later and Lindsay…"

"Yes
Dale
?"

"I'm really glad you called."

A lump came to her throat. He always sounded so goddamn sincere.

Focus, focus.

"Me too. See you later." She ended the call just as Nena bounded into the room followed by her babysitter.

"Aunt Lindsay, you're home early!" The thrilled little girl ran up to her. The babysitter eyed her suspiciously.

"Is everything alright Ms. Day?"

"Oh sure, sure. You can take off Miriam, I'll pay you for the whole day, don’t worry. I'm just working from home today. I know you've got plans this evening. I'll catch you tomorrow."

"Okay Ms. Day, that's great thanks. I really appreciate it." The young woman took her leave and Nena continued to buzz around the room.

"Can we play princes and princesses today?"

"Sure we can. We've got all afternoon to hang out, but tonight I have to go out."

"Oh no, no, no, no, you're always working late Aunt Lindsay, can't you stay home just one day?"

"I'm here now Nena, and a really nice lady is going to come and look after you tonight--"

"I want Miriam to look after me. I don’t like other minders."

"This one is different, she's special. Like Mary Poppins special."

"I don't want Mary Poppins, I want Miriam." Nena folded her arms and grimaced. If it was one thing she shared in common with her Auntie it was her ability to be a stubborn little ass. This could turn out to be a very long day for Lindsay if her little miss wasn't content.

"Do you know who I'm meeting tonight?" She said.

"I don’t care who you're meeting. They can go jump in a lake."

"Okay, I'll tell him that. I'll tell Dale Hargrave to go jump--"

"Dale?" Nena's eyes opened nearly wider than her head. "You're meeting Dale?"

She began squealing and running around the living area in wild circles.

"I knew he was your prince charming, I knew it, I knew, I knew it."

Lindsay began to regret her tactic, even if it had worked.

"It's just a date Nena, like a play date with one of your friends. He's not my prince charming. Girls like me don’t have Prince Charmings."

Nena darted around the room, then back up into Lindsay's face, grabbed her by both ears and pressed her tiny nose up against her aunt's.

"You can't fight love aunt Lindsay? Don’t you know that?" She shook her aunts head from side to side to put some sense into it.

"Even
I
know that and
I'm
only eight years old."

********************

Nena was sitting in between Dale and Lindsay, gazing up at the man who had become more like a superhero, prince, oversized playmate and giant cuddly toy every day since he had started to regularly date her beloved Aunt Lindsay. It had been six weeks already and not only had he been coming to visit them at their place, but they had been on visits to his
places
, several of them, many times over the weeks and there was always some special treat in store for the little girl.

This time, however, the treat was extra special.

They had been in the air on his private Gulf Stream for quite a while and Nena had already reached several peaks of hysterical excitement, each to be followed by comatose naps only to awaken again into even more excitement.

Lindsay was tired just looking at her. She couldn't imagine that the little girl would have any energy left for when they arrived in Disney World.

She was squealing with excitement again.

"Shush Nena, please." Lindsay squeezed her hand.

"Come on Lindsay," Dale said, "can't a girl squeal a little when she's having fun?"

He smiled down at her and Lindsay had to catch her breath. This was getting way, way out of control. Her fantastic ploy of dating Dale Hargrave for information was beginning to feel like a bad decision which had been followed by a subsequent series of even worse choices and as yet she was no closer to finding out what had happened to Boyevik and his men. It was the final piece of the puzzle she needed and the one which he scrupulously avoided discussing.

On the other hand, she had certainly succeeded in making Nena fall more and more in love with Dale Hargrave the awesome father figure of the little girl's dreams and the longer it went on the worse she felt about it.

"Please don’t do that Dale." She said. "I asked her to be quiet and now you're saying it's okay for her not to be. I'm the one who has to live with her, raise her, speak to her teachers and all of the other things that come with being a parent, not you."

Dale went silent and gave a wink to Nena before putting a long index finger quietly to his lips. The little girl did the same thing and then sat there grinning uncontrollably from ear to ear. Lindsay was silently crumbling inside. Over the years she had told a lot of lies in order to get the truth out to the public and never second guessed her integrity for a moment. Deceiving Dale Hargrave was no more than the bastard deserved but what she was doing to Nena was rapidly turning into the most unjustifiable, unforgivable thing she had ever done in her whole life.

This thing had to end and the sooner the better. Thus her master plan.

Today was the day.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket. That would be Marco. Every hour on the hour for weeks, relentlessly, he always checked in. His dedication to making sure she was safe had begun to slowly change her feelings about him. Maybe he wasn't just a goofy friend after all. Maybe he was really something special. He was possibly the only man who could ever truly understand and accept her career, he knew her inside and out, warts and all and he always stood by her. It was just a pity that Nena had never warmed to him. Kids could be so superficial. Dale with all his money and trips and beautiful friends made poor old Marco and his anti-social dedication to exposing ugly truths to the American people seem like some kind of internet troll personified.

"Who's that?" Dale said as she tapped a short message back to her boss.

"No-one." She said testily.

Dale watched her as the limo cruised on. She had been distant for days and that wasn't what he wanted.  He had never given so much time to a female prospect in his entire life. Not since that one and only let-down in high school. He had never let a woman get on top of him since then, emotionally or in any other way and he was used to getting what he wanted. Lindsay Day however, obviously hadn't been included on that memo. The crazy woman just didn't fit into any mold of humanity, male or female, that he could think of.

Not that he had considered giving up the chase for a moment. No way in hell. She would break eventually, they all did and the longer it took the sweeter it was in the end.

He knew she was still trying to dig for a story but he was equally determined to outplay her and Nena was the key to that. The only problem was that he had never used an innocent bystander like that before and it had never been his intention to take it so far. She was a cute kid, but he had no time for little people, cute or not, even if they always seemed to take to
him
for no reason. A smile here, a gift there was all he had thought about to keep her happy and most of all to make aunt Lindsay soften up and let down the draw bridge to that confounded fortress she was protecting. But it had been six weeks now and damn it if he wasn't becoming attached to the little lady on some level. When he eventually did take her hot aunty to bed and demolish her beneath him it would be hard as hell to jettison the waiflike pair from his world they way he knew they had to go in the end.

Meantime, he was running around in circles to keep this whole thing secret. If Clay or Ruben found out he was still messing around with the one outsider witness from the whole Boyevik, Point Nemo thing and that she was an investigative journalist snooping around his home for more details, the uptight pair of assholes would have a dozen canaries between them.

Even with his legendary energy and drive the billionaire was beginning to feel a little ragged around the edges. Something would have to give, something would have to change if this were to continue.

This thing had to end and the sooner the better. Thus his master plan.

Today was the day.

The limo pulled up and when the door opened Nena was speechless, if Lindsay had been worried that her niece would be too tired to get any more excited, then that had just been foolish adult thinking.

Everyone from every movie she had loved throughout her short childhood was there to meet and greet her. Even Lindsay was impressed. She had known about the Disney World trip in advance but something was fishy here. They were already inside and it looked as though the whole place was reserved just for them.

"What's going on?" She said in a serious voice. "Dale, what have you done?"

He looked down at Nena and winked.

"Every princess should have a kingdom, right?"

Nena looked at him in amazement and nodded her head.

"Well princess Nena, welcome to your kingdom. Welcome to Disney World."

Speechless didn’t describe her reaction. A fairytale princess reached out her hand to welcome the tiny guest as music and fairy dust floated down through the air.

She looked up at Dale who smiled and nodded.

"Go ahead princess, it's all yours." 

Nena floated away, surrounded by mythical beings, puppets, heroes and heroines from all of her favorite stories.