Marrying the Millionaire (15 page)

Running late, he flung back
the covers and hopped out of bed. As he ran toward the bathroom,
the scent of pancakes streamed up his nostrils.
Kayla. She’s making breakfast.

He would never forget a
single detail of how Kayla had looked so damn desirable in her
lavender bathing suit last night. How she’d awakened him and made
his sex drive escalate. How her fine behind had caused him to
masturbate.
Nope. She had to
go.

Richmond had no idea how he was going
to tell Kayla she was fired. Somehow, some way, he had to find the
right words to let her go. After the way she’d caused him to
self-pleasure himself last night, he clearly understood she was a
threat to his heart. Like a poisonous snake, she could possibly
strike him at any time and possibly have him submitting to every
waking need. Hell no. There was no way in the world he was going to
let that happen. He’d already learned the hard way with Salina.
Women couldn’t be trusted.

After he showered, with a long work
day at the Equestrian ahead of him, he hurried to his cramped
walk-in closet. Searching for something to wear, his eyes roamed
over his assortment of shirts on the hangers. Kayla probably
thought he was nuts for not sleeping in his master bedroom
upstairs. But forget what she thought. Ever since Salina had died
in their bedroom, he’d been unable to sleep in there. Truth be
told, he could barely stand going in there, period.

Dressed in a pair of tan trousers and
white collared shirt, he reentered the bathroom, sprayed cologne on
his neck, then pulled open the door of his bedroom. Walking down
the narrow hallway, making his way toward the kitchen, scents of
sizzling bacon traveled up his nose. Zeke was right, having a fine
woman in his house like this was way too much. It’d be damn near
impossible for him to keep his hands off Kayla. When his last nanny
Sarah had been here, he didn’t have any of these kinds of problems.
But then again, Sarah wasn’t a match for Kayla. If anything, it was
the other way around.

Coming to the end of the hallway, he
rounded the corner into the kitchen. Kayla stood over the stove,
flipping bacon with a fork. Swallowing the hard lump in his throat,
his eyes clung to her backside. Wearing a pair of grey jeans and a
white collared shirt, she looked scrumptious. Tasty enough to lick,
eat, kiss, and suck.

Telling Kayla she was fired was going
to be difficult, but he had to do it. Richmond cleared his throat.
“Good morning.”

Transferring the bacon to
the napkin, Kayla looked back over her shoulder at him. Her cute
mouth pulled into a carnal smile. His heart twirled like a sunny
afternoon inside his chest.
Hmmph.

“
Good morning. Thanks for
letting me get in the Jacuzzi last night. I really enjoyed
it.”

I enjoyed seeing you enjoy
it, too. That’s why I’ve got to fire you.
“I’m glad you enjoyed it. Is Isabelle up yet?”

Wiping her hands on the front of her
apron, Kayla turned. “Yes. She’s up and already dressed. She and CJ
are upstairs watching Sesame Street. I’ll go get them in a few
minutes.”

“
Okay.”
Here goes. Jesus Christ, I hate telling her this.
“Kayla, there’s something I need to talk to you
about.” He sure as hell hated lying to her about why he had to fire
her. But then again, it wasn’t like he could say, “You’re too fine
and too attractive to work here.”
Or how’s
this?
I have to let you go because you had
me playing with my dick last night.
Nope.
He couldn’t say any of that. He’d just tell her he didn’t like the
way she’d interacted with Isabelle thus far. Or maybe he’d tell her
he was firing her because she’d fled into Salina’s bedroom, which
she knew full well he disapproved of from the get-go.

Kayla walked up to Richmond and tilted
her chin upward to glance up at him. Just as he parted his mouth to
tell her she was fired, Isabelle and CJ ran into the kitchen,
giggling their little hearts out.

Ecstatic, Isabelle ran up to Richmond
with all these colorful bows in her hair and a pretty dress on.
“Daddy. Daddy. Look what Kayla did to my hair. It’s so pretty.”
Smiling, she twirled the end of one of her ponytails with her
finger.

“
You look so pretty,
Isabelle. I love your hair.”

“
Me, too,
Daddy.”

“
I like your dress,
too.”

“
Thank you, Daddy. Ms.
Kayla help me pick it out. You never let me wear dresses. Can Ms.
Kayla and CJ stay the night again?”

CJ clapped his hand. “Yes. Again.
Again.”

Hell no!
“Let Daddy think about the spending the night
thing, okay?” Glancing down at his precious Pumpkin with all those
ponytails tied with bright, colorful ribbons, Richmond smiled.
Isabelle looked so girly with her dress and sparkling shoes on. He
had to admit, Kayla had definitely spiced his daughter up.
Considering Isabelle would benefit from Kayla’s upbringing, he
decided to second think firing her.

Towering over the children, Kayla
stated, “Guys, it’s rude for a person to wear out their welcome
when someone invites them into their home. CJ and I will be going
home tonight. I have a lot of things I need to take care of.
Richmond, do you still need to talk with me?”

Linking his gaze with Kayla’s, his
heart swelled with a feeling he had thought was long deadened. “I
just wanted to tell you thanks for the wonderful job you did
yesterday. Isabelle hasn’t smiled or played this hard since before
her mother passed.”

Her lips broke into a wide, open
smile. “I’m glad I’m able to help.” After the kids took their seats
at the table, Kayla walked over to the stove and started fixing
their plates. Richmond stared at her backside so hard, he was
surprised he didn’t burn a hole in her buttocks.

Buzz.
His cell vibrated inside the clip hooked on his belt.
Noticing it was Don, he excused himself from the kitchen and went
into the den. “Hello?”

“
Good morning. You sound
like you’re already up.”

“
Good morning. I’ve never
slept late a day in my life,” he said, pulling the string on the
blinds to let the morning sunlight stream inside the room. A bird
flapped past the window, then flew towards the marsh.

Don added, “That’s what I thought.
Anyhow, I’m calling you this morning because last night I spoke
with an insurance agent, and he informed me that two years before
Salina’s death, she took out a life insurance policy for two
hundred and fifty thousand dollars. And you’re not going to believe
who her beneficiary was.”

Preparing himself for more
disappointment regarding Salina, Richmond sealed his eyes tight.
“Who was the beneficiary, Don?”

“
Jason.”

His eyes shot wide open. “Jason! My
employee, Jason Chamberlain?”

“
Yes, your employee, Jason
Chamberlain,” Don confirmed.

“
Well, I’ll be got
damned!”

KAYLA SAT AT THE KITCHEN table with
Isabelle’s daily calendar clenched in her hands. Lowering the
calendar to the table, Richmond marched past her with an angry look
on his face. Seeming infuriated, he twisted the doorknob and flung
open the door leading to the garage. When he slammed the door
behind himself, the whole kitchen shook.

What’s wrong with
him?
Whoever had called him must’ve upset
him, must’ve have given him some bad news.

Hoping everything with Richmond was
okay, Kayla tapped the calendar button on her cell to input
Isabelle’s upcoming activities. This precious angel was the busiest
little girl she’d ever come across. Yesterday, she’d had ballet and
horseback lessons. Today, she had piano and soccer lessons, and a
playdate with some kid named Logan. Tomorrow, she had a birthday
party to go to at the Equestrian. Then afterwards, she was
scheduled to go shopping with her grandmother, Leslie.

Finally having the information stored
in her phone, Kayla began walking toward the den, where she’d left
Isabelle and CJ after she’d cleaned the kitchen earlier. “Guys,
it’s time to start your school lessons.” Cartoons on the television
blared throughout the house as she entered the den to find it
empty. Hmm. Now where had they gone?

At four years old, Isabelle was such a
smart little girl, and at three years old, so was her little wild
rascal, CJ. The two of them were like peas in a pod
already.

Holding onto the handrail at the foot
of the staircase, Kayla’s eyes traveled up the steps to the second
floor. “Isabelle! CJ! Where are you?”

Let’s see, today was Friday, and she’d
prepared a hands-on math lesson using manipulatives for those two
today. Until she’d met Isabelle, she’d never understood how
valuable homeschooling could be for a kid. Smart beyond her young
years, Isabelle made the perfect candidate for such a thing. And
considering she had a Bachelor’s Degree in Education and had always
wanted to be a school teacher, this homeschooling, nanny thing was
a perfect match for her job-wise.

Those two are up to
something.
Ascending the steps, her hand
glided along the rail. Reaching Isabelle’s room, she wondered why
in the world she and CJ had shut the door. She grasped the doorknob
and pushed it open. The room was in total disarray. Nothing like
she’d left it this morning.

Toys, playful dress-up clothes, and
pictures scattered the carpet. Isabelle sat on the floor playing
with her dollhouse while CJ sat in a corner pushing a truck up the
wall.

Kayla hurried over to CJ and gently
gripped his wrist. “CJ, don’t do that. You’re going to get black
marks on the paint,” she said, lowering his hand and the truck from
the wall. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you two. I need you
both to clean up this room. After you’re done, I’m going to teach
you some math, then shortly thereafter it’ll be time for your piano
lessons, Isabelle.”

While the children dumped the toys
into the toy box beneath the window, Kayla picked up the photos
from the floor. Coming across a picture of Richmond, Salina, and
Isabelle, Kayla’s heart softened. She brought the photo closer to
her eyes. Isabelle couldn’t have been any older than one in the
picture. Ah, just look at the happy family. Richmond and Salina
looked so in love. So happy. Full of life. Like the perfect couple.
Gosh, Salina was so very pretty.

Isabelle peeked up at Kayla. “That’s
my mommy.”

Kayla glanced around the pink room and
noticed Richmond didn’t have a single picture of the child’s mother
or him anywhere. “I know, sweetheart. Would you like to make the
picture bigger and put it in a frame to keep inside your
room?”

Nodding, Isabelle fisted the material
of her dress near her waist. “Yes, ma’am.”

“
Okay, after your piano
lessons, I’ll take you to the store and have one made. And I’ll let
you pick out a pretty frame to put it in.”

Isabelle threw her arms around Kayla’s
leg and hugged her tight. “Thank you.”

Falling head over heels for Isabelle,
Kayla caressed her back. Keeping the photo she’d plan on enlarging,
she put the rest of the photos back in the drawer where Isabelle
claimed they belonged, grabbed her and CJ’s tiny hands, then
marched their little behinds back downstairs so they could learn
some math.

AT THE EQUESTRIAN, RICHMOND PACED back
and forth inside his office. Pissed the hell off, he balled his
fists. Cramps kinked inside his stomach. Salina had been a
sneaky-ass liar. For many years, she’d complained about the many
kind things he’d done for his own single mother. Yet, she’d gone
behind his back and left an insurance policy to his employee,
Jason. She’d had the insurance policy for years, too. Why on Earth
would she do such a thing? Was she having an affair with Jason? Was
Jason Salina’s killer? Got damn that sneaky woman. Desiring to
punch a hole in his office wall, he nibbled the nail of his thumb
instead.

Richmond paused in his tracks in the
center of the room. Clenching his molars, his temper flared.
Pulsing knots rolled at the sides of his temples. He had to calm
the hell down before he made himself sick. Before he had a stroke.
He was so angry, he felt he could have a heart attack and die from
a broken, betrayed heart. From this day forward, he was not going
to let Salina’s death stop him from living. She’d proved she wasn’t
worthy of his faithfulness anymore.