WIFE WANTED (A Billionaire Bad Boy Romance) (19 page)

“Yeah, I need you to try and track something for me.”

“That sounds exciting. Just add it to the rest of the spy skills I’m suddenly acquiring.”

“You want a raise?”

Ben shrugged. “Wouldn’t complain. What do you need?”

He told Ben about the laptop missing from the safe and how Chandler was apparently the last person there. If anyone took it, it would’ve been her. The question was, what was on it that she wanted so badly? Ben tapped his pen on the desk as he listened.

“You think your grandfather…what, kept company secrets on it?”

“No,” Riley said as he paced around his office. “I think as much as the man trusted me, he had his ways of keeping track of what was going on at this company.”

Ben stopped his tapping. “Like a backdoor into the network?”

“Why not? He built this company. He was brilliant, so why not create his own backdoor to spy on his grandson and make sure he doesn’t drive it all into the ground?” Riley asked with a twitch of a smile. Trust the old man to say one thing and then do another, just to make sure his grandson was still doing what was right. “We need to see if there is any trace in the system of such an intrusion.”’

“He would’ve covered his tracks pretty well, but I’ll see what I can do.”

Riley started to thank him when they both heard Linda’s voice rise outside his office. He hurried to open the door, Ben right behind him, to find Diane Chandler standing there, wearing red stilettos, a short black skirt, and a red top with a plunging neckline. She slammed her hands down onto the desk just as Linda hopped up from her chair, looking ready to hit the woman.

“What are you doing here, Ms. Chandler?” Riley said calmly as he motioned for Ben to grab Linda before she hauled off and threw something at the redhead. “I do not believe we have an appointment.”

“No, we do not, but as I was trying to tell your hard-of-hearing assistant,” Diane snapped, “I need to speak with you about our deal.”

“What deal?”

“Oh, sweetie,” she said, stepping towards him and running her fingers down his chest. “You know exactly what deal I’m talking about.”

Riley gritted his teeth and grabbed her hand, preventing it from going any lower. “I have never, nor will I ever, make a deal with you, Ms. Chandler. Now, you will please remove yourself from my presence or I will have security do it for you. Again.”

“You don’t have much time left.”

“I have plenty, and who says I need a whole two months?”

Her eyes narrowed as she glanced around. “No, you couldn’t have found one yet.” He didn’t answer, didn’t say a word. Instead, he motioned for Linda to call security, and a few minutes later, two guards appeared on either side of her. “This is not over. I’ll be back the second you call me to save what you hold dear.”

“Good, then I’ll never have to see you again.” He waved her off as the guards each took an arm and marched her to the elevator. Riley and Ben started to head back to his office when they heard the elevator ding open and someone called out Ben’s name.

Riley froze as he whipped around. “Anna?”

Linda smiled even as Ben laughed, and Riley tried hard not to panic. He grabbed his friend’s arm and put a finger to his lips as Anna hurried their way. She looked a bit red in the face, as if something had upset her.

“I was hoping I’d catch you. They said you were up here somewhere, talking to your boss.”

“We were, yes, just got finished with a quick meeting. Is there something wrong?”

“Can we talk…somewhere else?” she whispered, leaning forward.

Riley nodded and steered Anna through the rows of desks until they reached a smaller office, Ben’s real office. He motioned for her to have a seat in front of the desk, then promptly shut the door so no one would eavesdrop. He turned around to find her crying.

“Anna,” he said, at her side in an instant to hold her hand as tears streamed down her face. “What’s wrong? Is it your mother?”

She nodded and wiped her eyes on her jacket sleeve. “This morning…a heart attack, but she’s awake.” She leaned on his shoulder as he wrapped her arms around her, trying to soothe her the best he could. “I just…it changes everything. I can’t…I don’t know…”

“You can tell me anything, Anna. I’m right here for you.”

“Can we meet tonight? But not my place, it’s not exactly safe.”

He frowned, watching the fear suddenly creep into her eyes as they darted towards the door. “What do you mean? What aren’t you telling me?”

She looked straight at him, and he saw a fight going on in her eyes. Whatever was bothering her was bad, really bad. Was she trying to break up with him? There was no reason to, not after the weekend they had spent together. Whatever happened that day, he needed to know so he could stop her from ruining this thing growing between them. He wrapped her up in a tight hug and told her everything would be fine.

“I’ll pick you up tonight at seven. We can crash at my place, all right?”

“Are you sure?”

He cupped her face gently in his hands. “Yes, Anna. Of course I am. Seven o’clock.”

She nodded, and he kissed her lips. “I guess you think I’m a bit crazy, huh?”

“Never. Go home and rest, and I’ll see you tonight.”

Riley escorted her back to the elevator, ignoring the eyes of everyone on the floor watching them intently. Once she was in and the doors closed, Ben and Linda started clapping and hollering his name across the floor.

“Really, boss, I’m glad my office could be of use to you.”

“Can it, Ben. Get on that project we talked about. Have Linda help if need be. Oh, and make sure the car is ready at six thirty. I have a date.” He ignored the rest of the mutterings behind him and closed himself in his office.

***

Phoebe wiped her face once more before she exited the elevator, hoping she didn’t look too upset. If only she could go home for the rest of the day, but she had to get back to the office. Except that woman…she’d been so upset she’d almost missed her, but it was definitely the new lady who was supposed to be working with her.

“You—Ms. Baron,” a voice called across the lobby.

Phoebe glanced up and groaned. She’d been right. It was Ms. Chandler hanging out here. Why? “I thought you worked for William Yancey,” she snapped before she could stop herself. “What the hell are you doing here?”

Her heels clicked loudly across the hard floor as she strode up to Phoebe and glared. “That is none of your business. I would like to know what you are doing here.”

“I was seeing the guy I’m dating.”

“Which guy?”

“Ben, not that it’s any of your business.”

She frowned and shook her head. “No, Ben is seeing that Linda woman. I saw them together at a function.”

“Last time I checked, Linda was dating Frank,” Phoebe said, confused, thinking back to the other night. “Who are you talking about?”

“Riley Marston the third.” She glanced around and pulled out her cell phone, as Phoebe thought about booking it out the door. She might be able to beat her back to Yancey Securities if she caught a cab and had them hurry across town. “This man. Is this the person you’re seeing?”

Phoebe was getting ready to tell the woman to leave her alone when she saw the photo on Diane’s phone. “Yeah, that’s him. Ben.”

“No, that is Riley Marston the third, the CEO of this company and heir to nearly a billion dollars.”

“Wait…what?”

Phoebe hadn’t heard her right. She couldn’t have. There was no way the CEO of this company would be dating her. They’d met by chance! Or, was it really by chance? She stared at the picture until Diane pulled it away.

“I am only going to tell you this once. You are to stay away from Riley Marston.”

Phoebe shook her head, trying to focus. “Why? You like him or something?”

“You are not going to ruin my chance of getting what’s mine. You stay away from him and don’t even think about marrying him.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she said, her mind whirling with possibilities.

Diane glared at her long and hard, then smirked. “You really don’t know about it, do you?”

“Know what?” Phoebe hadn’t meant to yell, but too much was happening for her to keep it all straight. Ben—or Riley—had taken the files from her place. Not because of any weird reason but because he was the CEO of the competing company. Why hadn’t he just told her who he really was?

“He has to marry within two months or he forfeits everything he has, including this company.”

“I don’t understand…” But then she remembered the mysterious Bruce Wayne on the website. “Has to marry in two months…that’s why.”

“What are you muttering about?”

“Nothing, just…I have to get back to work.”

Phoebe tried to push past her, but Diane reached out and grabbed her arm in a tight grip. “You are to say nothing about this to anyone. Understand? If you do, I’ll be sure that Yancey fires you on the spot, and you and your poor, sick mother will be screwed.” She squeezed hard enough to make Phoebe wince, leered at her, and stomped off, her heels striking the floor harder than they had before. She tossed her hair over her shoulder and disappeared through the front doors.

For a long minute, Phoebe just stood there, her arm throbbing from the woman’s touch. Riley Marston. She was dating not a pirate, but freaking Bruce Wayne. And he hadn’t even told her. There had to be a good reason. Maybe the two-month-marriage thing? Whatever the reason, Phoebe felt herself growing angrier by the second. She’d trusted this man with so much of herself, and he had lied to her. Flat-out lied. What was to say it wasn’t a setup to get information from Yancey? She couldn’t help him bring down her own company! Furious at herself, she stormed out of the lobby and hailed a cab. The whole way back to her office, all she could see was his face and the truth of just how many lies those blue eyes had been hiding.

***

Ben made his way back upstairs, staring at the papers in his hands and trying to understand what he just saw in the lobby. Things were not adding up all of a sudden with this Anna woman, who may or may not be who she claimed to be. The file in his hands told a completely different story of a woman who looked a lot like her. It was going to kill Riley if it turned out to be right. Ben wanted to hide it all, but he couldn’t do that. Whatever was going on with Yancey and Chandler involved this woman too.

That, and Mitch Harper, of all people, had been her date at that damn function.

Everyone knew that Mitch was the major problem solver for anyone with deep enough pockets. She had to know who he was, which meant the night Riley had run into her had to have been a setup. The whole thing was a lie. A damned lie. Ben thought it had been bad enough when Meredith died. But this? This wasn’t someone dying. It was a betrayal.

“Ben? What’s wrong?”

Linda came up to him and glanced at the file in his hand. “Is that on Anna?”

“Yeah, and it’s not good. Just saw her and Diane having a pow-wow in the lobby downstairs.”

“About what?”

“Don’t know, couldn’t hear anything except them say Riley’s name.”

Linda shook her head. “But Anna thinks his name is Ben.”

“Exactly. Where’s the big man at?”

“He’s having a drink to calm himself down. Diane really got to him this time,” she said as they headed towards Riley’s office. She started to sit back down behind her desk until Ben asked if she’d go in with him. “Is it that bad?”

“Let’s just say, with you present, he might not decide to throw something at my head.”

Linda nodded and together, they walked back into Riley’s office. He was staring out the window, drink in hand, when they told him he might want to sit down. But he didn’t turn around. Just sipped on his whiskey again and told them to say whatever it was they had to say.

“Not like this day could get any more interesting.”

“Actually, I think it just got a whole hell of a lot worse,” Ben said. He set the open file down on Riley’s desk as his friend turned back around. “Anna is not who you think she is.”

Chapter 20

A little before seven, Phoebe paced around her apartment, trying to control her emotions. She’d been by the hospital again, unable to even set foot in her office. She’d received quite a few calls from Yancey and ignored them all. She didn’t have time to deal with him. She needed to understand what was happening, who this man was who had appeared in her life so suddenly.

And then lied to her about who he really was.

Not that she had been completely honest with him either, but it had barely been a week! They’d had only officially had one date, which then turned into a weekend that she would never forget. But finding out who he really was… Riley Marston was the richest man in the city, one of the top five in the country last time she checked. How could she possibly compete with something like that? Mitch was loaded, but not like that. She’d never been put in the spotlight or had to deal with people like that in her life before.

“You should just stop now,” she muttered out loud as she stared at her reflection in the bedroom mirror. “If he lied to you, then he clearly isn’t going to choose to stay with you.”