S*x and Secrets: Alpha Billionaire Forbidden Romance (25 page)

Jake exhaled sharply. “This is blackmail.” His hand ran through his hair, pushing it back off his face.

I smirked. “You think?” I rose to my feet and towered over him. “If you think I’m kidding, I dare you to test me. Trust me, I have friends in high places, including the media, and they’d tear you up like a pack of hungry wolves. Is that what you want, Jake? For the whole of the world to know what you’ve done?”

He swallowed hard, his eyes on the offending file. “You can’t come into my space unannounced and threaten me like this. I’ll—”

“What, Jake? What will you do?” My voice was low and menacing. I’d had enough of this prick’s attitude and rage swelled in my belly. Montana’s safety was not negotiable. “I swear to God, you touch one hair on Montana’s head or hurt her in any way, you will wish you were never fucking born.”

I picked up the file and took five long steps toward the door and unlocked it. I pivoted on my heels and turned to Jake. “I’m tired of playing Mr. Nice Guy.”

“What the fuck are you doing?” Panic was evident in his voice as he bolted out of his chair and stormed toward me, winding me with his shoulder in my stomach while trying to grab the file from my hand. My jaw clenched as I watched the papers in the file go flying all over the floor.

“Christ! Where did you get these?” Jake’s eyes bugged out of his ugly contorted face as he scrambled to pick them up. I couldn’t care less; these copies were disposable anyway.

“That’s beside the point. The media frenzy these photos will cause is going to be almost as much fun as hearing your resignation live on television.”

“You wouldn’t do such a thing. That’ll mean the end of my career.”

“Exactly. As I said, karma’s a bitch, and you never know when she’s going to pay you a visit. Seems your day has come, and she’s not going to be half as nice to you as what I’ve been.”

I glanced at my watch. It was nearly time for Jake to go live. He was so shaken that I doubted he’d be able to perform at all. As I turned the doorknob and opened the door to leave, I nearly bumped into one of the staff members. Half of the papers and photographs were still strewn over the floor.

Jake lurched forward and slammed the door shut inches from where I stood. It rattled in the doorframe and then I heard a click.

“Jake,” the gofer called out, “you’re on in ten minutes.”

“Fuck off and leave me alone,” Jake yelled in a high-pitched voice.

The man looked to me. I gave him a grin and shrugged. “I think he’s having a bad hair day.”

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M
y cheeks were flushed and my eyes wide as I listened to Red, Beckham and Levi tell me how they’d worked together to bring Jake down. I couldn’t believe they’d gone to all that trouble to get him to leave me alone.

Levi dived into a generous steak while I scratched around in my salad, mixed emotions tearing through me. We were at the same restaurant he’d used the Kegel balls to drive me wild and I had to fight hard for flashes of that night not to distract me.

At first when we’d walked in I was mortified, thinking that all of the staff would remember me, but apparently they had different people working that evening shift because nobody even gave me a second glance. But then again, this was New York, and they were probably used to seeing all sorts of weird things. Either that or they were professional as hell.

Other than the wink Levi gave me when he ordered the steak, he too had acted as if we didn’t fuck like tigers in the parents’ room causing so much heat we could’ve set off the fire alarm.

I drank a few mouthfuls of sparkling water to cool me down and bring my attention back to the moment. My head still spun from what they’d told me and it was taking me a while to absorb it all.

Red and Beckham had ordered steaks too after Levi’s recommendation, but Red had hardly touched hers as she animated wildly with her fork in her hand while relaying her part in Jake’s demise. Her eyes were bright and her satisfied grin was proof that she believed Jake deserved this.

He did.

Yet a part of me couldn’t help feeling sorry for Jacqui/Jake, because I knew firsthand how hard it was to shake off the demons of the past. The difference was that Jake’s devils still drove him to exact revenge whenever he felt wronged.

It was easy to see how someone else should change to become a better person. Not so much when I had to do it myself, and that was probably why I’d chosen to lock my demons away and protect my heart with vows to my mother, even though they now stood in the way of what I wanted.

Red took a sip of the expensive Napa Valley Merlot that Beckham had insisted on ordering for her and washed down the mouthful of steak she’d hardly chewed in her excitement. “After his meltdown this morning, the station reported that Jake had come down with a violent bug and was going to be off-air for an indeterminable time. I would’ve loved to be a fly on that wall today, watching as Jake’s carefully constructed world came crashing down.”

Beckham looked at her with stars in his eyes. My boss was smitten—he’d never looked at me that way, even when he’d thought he wanted me. Red could ask him for the freaking moon and he’d get it for her. He pulled her closer to his chest and circled his arms around her. “Montana, your friend really is as brilliant as she is beautiful. But remind me to never get on the wrong side of her. I can’t believe how Red coerced so much information out of everyone.” The adoration in his expression would make me yak if I didn’t think Red deserved a great man like Beckham.

I laughed. “That’s her special talent. Trust me, I know how she can be. I never could keep a secret from Aspen.”

“Aspen?” Beckham said with a confused look. “I’m talking about Red, my fiancée right here.”

Red—born Aspen Marianne Lancaster—glared at me, making a cut sign across her neck with her fingers. I ignored her. Payback for all the times she’d interrogated me to within an inch of my life and other shit she’d put me through.

I smiled sweetly at my boss. “Yeah, didn’t you know your fiancée was conceived in and thus named after the famous ski resort?”

“Monty . . .” Red’s cheeks turned a dark shade of pink. She hated me telling that story of how her mom seduced her dad on the ski slopes within hours of meeting him and falling pregnant there and then. That was where the whole insta-love thing started, between her parents, and it was a running family joke.

“What?” I shrugged, pretending I didn’t notice her squirming. I wasn’t sure why I was acting as childish as what I was. I was grateful for what she’d done for me, and yet I couldn’t help myself. Maybe it was because underneath my hard, protective shell, I wanted what she had—a man who claimed every inch of me in public without hesitation—even though I denied it with every fiber in my being. I softened my bitchy tone to a playful one. It wasn’t Red’s fault. “Beckham’s going to find out when you fill in all those forms to get married, silly. You can’t hide that kind of shit from him forever.”

I took a big gulp of wine to hide my shame. I wanted the best for my friend and I hated that I was being petty when she’d gone out of her way to help me. It wasn’t that I wanted Beckham—hell no—she could have him with pleasure.

“Aspen,” Beckham said with an amused grin. “I guess they didn’t know at the time you’d be born with flaming red hair.” He pulled away a few inches and played with her hair as if it were made from pure spun gold.

Red met my eyes for a few moments and started chuckling. “Red hair and insta-love runs in the family.” If she’d caught my envy, she was letting me off lightly by making fun of herself and deflecting my insecurities. “Apparently my great-grandmother and maternal grandmother were the same as me and my mom.” She wrinkled her nose. “It’s a curse.”

Beckham looked down at her with a grin. “Does that mean we’ll have a red-haired daughter, too?”

“Probably.”

“Well, I’m getting a shotgun to keep the boys away then. That should end the insta-love curse, because no way will that happen to my baby girl.”

Levi laughed and slapped Beckham on the back. “Good luck with that, buddy.” He turned his attention to me, his gaze burning into my eyes. “I’d be that lucky to have a daughter that is the splitting image of her beautiful mother. Just imagine a little Monty as a playmate for Little Red.”

My mouth went dry and I couldn’t even smile. Men talking about babies made my skin itch, like some kind of allergic reaction.

Red raised an eyebrow as she turned to Levi. “You didn’t get the memo that Monty’s never having kids? That’s why I asked you to be the godfather of our babies.”

“You mean like a consolation prize?” Levi gritted his teeth. His good mood evaporated while my stomach dropped to my shoes. I couldn’t bear talking about babies. It still sat heavily on my heart and turned me inside-out every time. A few weeks ago they’d been invisible but suddenly I saw them damn near everywhere. Every time a baby came near me lately I turned and cooed at how cute it was.

A surge of panic flooded my body. What the hell was happening to me? Thoughts of marriage and babies were fucking with my normally logical mind, and the cool-as-a-cucumber front I put up was crumbling faster than I could handle.

Beckham looked straight at me then at Levi with sincere pity in his expression. “She told me she was never getting married. Sorry, buddy.”

“Hey, guys, I’m sitting right here. Don’t talk about me as if I’m not,” I huffed, holding on to my belief system with every grain I could muster as I crossed my arms over my chest, frustration oozing from my pores.

What’s the big deal?
I wasn’t stopping Beckham and Red from getting hitched or having a team of kids, and I’d agreed to be Levi’s girlfriend, so what was all the damn fuss about? It was all good as far as I was concerned.
Or was it?

My eyes moved up to meet Levi’s. The sorrow flashing through his took my breath away. The whole evening was turning to shit even though we were supposed to be celebrating.

“I’m hoping some day soon Montana will change her mind about all of that.” A small smile twisted the corner of Levi’s mouth, but he didn’t seem at all happy.

My heart squeezed for him. I wanted to take his pain away, but I was so damn scared I froze. I reached for my glass and took another huge gulp of wine, letting it slide down my throat to wet the dryness that threatened to choke me.

“Can we please stop all this nonsense talk and get back to Jake? What’s happening next?”

Levi flinched but didn’t say anything as he placed his glass on the table. The whole mood had shifted and it was all my fault.

Without warning, Levi’s chair scraped back as he rose to his feet. “Please excuse me. I have some important work to finish and I’m expecting a call from China.” He leaned forward and pecked my forehead. His lips were cold and dispassionate. A shiver ran down my spine, but I kept my eyes glued to the empty wine glass that was about to shatter under the pressure I was squeezing it with.

Levi tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, but still I couldn’t look at him. “Good night, sweetheart. I’ll leave Red and Beckham to fill you in on the rest of the story. It’s a good one; you’ll love it.”

Ironic isn’t it?
Now he was about to leave I wanted to grab his hand and pull him back down, beg him to stay, to wrap his arms around me and tell me the future was going to be bright.

But I couldn’t. The words froze in my throat and tears prickled the backs of my eyes.

You’re a damn fool, Montana. Levi has laid his heart at your feet and you’re letting him walk out like this.

It was Red who sucked in a deep breath, because I just sat there, lifeless. When my eyes rose to meet hers, the words mulling in my head were echoed on her face. She thought I was an idiot, too; I could just tell by the way she pursed her lips, as if stopping herself from telling me outright.

Watching Levi’s wide shoulders and stiff back as he walked away nearly killed me.

It’s better this way. I can’t give him false hope because I can’t promise him I’ll change.

Sure, I wanted for it to be different. I wanted to be as excited about getting married and having kids as what my two best friends were. But there was still something blocking me and I didn’t know what the hell it was. Why was I still so damn afraid? I knew what kind of husband and father Levi would be, and he’d be nothing like Adrian, so why couldn’t I just let my shit go and give him what he wanted?

“Monty . . .” Red’s tone was neutral, yet her eyes screamed at me to do something.

Was I really going to let the man of my dreams walk out and not go after him?

I caught a glimpse of Beckham’s face. He was confused as fuck and I couldn’t blame him. Yeah, in business I was one of the smartest women around, but when it came to my fucking heart, I was as clueless as a teenager.

Bile rose to my throat and I felt sick. I pushed to my feet as soon as Levi left through the restaurant door and it closed behind him.

“Bathroom,” I said, as I stumbled away like a drunk. It felt as if the entire contents of my stomach were in my throat and my head was spinning.

Luckily the distance to the bathroom wasn’t much, and I cupped my hand over my mouth until I let it all out into the bowl of the toilet. Violent spasms tore through my body, but it wasn’t the loss of food that caused me distress.

Red’s heels clicked on the tiles as she followed me in and closed the door behind us.

“Shit, Monty, you okay?” She placed her hand on my forehead. “Eeew, that smells. Lean back so I can flush it away.”

It took all my strength to raise my head off my arms that were crossed over the cold porcelain.

Red hit a button and I watched as everything disappeared down the bowl. Had I just flushed my chances with Levi away like that?

Without looking up, I bent my head and rested it back on my arms. My forehead was sweaty yet it felt cold, and shivers ran up and down my spine as if I had a fever.

What the hell had just happened? One moment I was all cozy with my boyfriend; the next he’d walked out the door as if he was never coming back. A million thoughts ran through my brain and my whole body shook violently.