The Billionaire Wins the Game (20 page)

“Have you seen my wife?” he asked with
a bite to his voice. She turned toward him, with her brows
puckered. “She left a while ago,” she said perplexed, as if he
should know this. That was when he shouted at her.

He immediately felt bad and calmed
himself down. “I apologize, Rosa,” he said. “It’s just that she’s
gone and all I have is this note,” he said as he thrust the note in
front of her.

She scanned the note and then her
breath hitched as she re-read it. She looked at Lucas with
suspicion on her face. He knew Amy had become friends with Rosa and
the two of them spent a lot of time together.

“I didn’t cheat on my wife,” he began
defending himself. He didn’t need to explain anything to her, but
he didn’t like the censure he saw in her eyes. She immediately
looked down, as if she knew she’d been glaring at her
boss.

“It’s not my business,” she
stated.

“Can you tell me where Amy has been
today?” he asked.

“Didn’t you see her, Mr. Anderson? I
packed her up a lunch and she was bringing it into your office. She
said she wanted to surprise you with a romantic lunch because
you’ve had to work so late every night. She was very excited when
she left.”

“She came home much sooner than I
expected she would, but I assumed she’d just forgotten something,
because she was only here for about fifteen minutes and then rushed
back out the door without saying another word.”

Lucas suddenly sank down into the chair
next to him. He felt like his legs wouldn’t support him any longer.
“No,” he cried out with such devastation in his voice that Rosa put
her hand on his shoulder.

He knew she must’ve come by the office
when Laura was in there. If she’d been there at the right moment,
it may have looked like he was having an affair. He slowly got to
his feet. “I have to make some phone calls,” he said as he walked
out of the room.

One hour later, he again cupped his
head in his hands. He’d spoken with his security guards and found
out that, yes, she’d been there at noon and had left within five
minutes. She’d been there only minutes before they’d escorted his
unwanted visitor out.

So, she thought he was having an
affair. It seemed to him that her not trusting him was a little
convenient. Why had she not marched in and asked what he was doing?
He assumed she was thinking she’d found him in the arms of another
woman so she could get past the prenuptial agreement and take him
for all he had. She thought wrong.

He called up the banks to find out how
much she’d taken. After another half hour he hung up the phone and
once again felt shame. She’d taken nothing. He’d put a trace on all
the credit cards to find out where they’d been used and found she’d
not used any of them.

Not only had she not used any of them
today, but she hadn’t used them once since his mother and she had
furnished the house. There were zero purchases. Why had he not paid
attention to any of that? He never noticed she hadn’t been out
shopping, or gone anywhere, for that matter.

He wandered into their bedroom, once
again, feeling an aching need for her to be there. He liked going
baby shopping with her. She was so excited about each new purchase.
He thought back over those trips and how they’d pass through the
malls and she never even looked at the jewelry stores, or many
fashion boutiques.

He looked into the small jewelry box
his mother had given to Amy and noticed the few pieces he’d picked
up for her were still in there. She’d taken nothing but some
clothes and the car, which she said she’d return.

The car!

He was suddenly jumping to his feet and
running back into the office. He’d been feeling hopeless on how to
possibly find her, since she wasn’t using the credit cards, when he
realized there was tracking on the vehicle. He always added it on,
in case of theft or an accident.

Within moments he had the vehicle
located. He glanced at his watch. It was eight at night. He called
his pilot and told him to get the jet ready. They’d be heading to
Eugene within the hour.

Lucas jumped in his car and dialed his
father as he drove toward the Seattle Airport. His father listened
as Lucas explained everything that had happened. “Get her back,
son, she’s the best thing that’s ever happened to you,” his father
said when Lucas got everything out.

“I’ve been so stubborn and stupid, Dad.
I love her and was afraid if I gave her my heart she’d have
everything. I finally realize it doesn’t even matter anymore
because without her in my life it doesn’t matter if I have a
beating heart or not,” he finished on a strangled note.

His dad gave him a moment to compose
himself and then let him know he and his mother would be there for
him if he needed anything at all.

Lucas felt a bit better after talking
with his father. He knew how much his parents loved Amy. He
couldn’t have a single conversation with them without hearing them
praising Amy about one thing or another. Amy could often be found
at their house during the day, working on one thing or another for
the baby.

His mother had also helped
Amy finish the nursery. They’d made beautiful stencil designs on
the walls and sewn curtains. He’d asked one day why she didn’t just
go buy the items and she’d looked at him like he was a
child.
“It means so much more when they
come from the heart. When our child grows up, she’ll know that her
grandma and mom loved her so much they wanted to make her first
room the best place ever,”
she’d simply
stated.

Lucas reached the airport and was in
the air within thirty minutes of his arrival. “The flight will only
take about forty minutes, Mr. Anderson,” came the pilot’s voice
over the intercom. His attendant brought him a much needed drink
once they were airborne.

He arranged transportation to his
wife’s location to be waiting for him the minute he landed. He
stepped off the jet and into an awaiting town car. He gave the
driver the address and was horrified when he reached the
destination.

He knew she was there, by seeing her
car sitting out front, looking out of place

“Would you like for me to wait?” the
driver asked.

Lucas handed him several bills, “No
thanks. I have other transportation,” he said as he walked toward
the front doors.

The clerk behind the filthy counter
looked Lucas up and down in awe. “You looking for a room?” he asked
looking past him. Lucas figured the man was looking for the cheap
hooker he was planning on bringing there. Lucas wasn’t full of
himself, but he also knew the guy didn’t get clients like him
there, ever.

“My wife checked in here earlier today.
I need to know which room she’s in. She’ll be checking out,” Lucas
said with authority.

“I can’t give out information about my
customers,” the man’s voice shook as he didn’t quite meet Lucas’s
eyes.

Lucas was ready to grab the weasel of a
man by the shirt and throw him against a wall but he knew if he
remained calm he’d get his way more easily.

Lucas placed a hundred dollar bill on
the counter and he saw the little man practically drool. “Amy
Anderson’s room, please,” was all he said as he kept his fingers on
the bill.

“She’s in room twelve,” the man said
without any further argument. He handed Lucas the key and snatched
the bill off the counter before the rich man could change his mind.
Without another word, Lucas walked out and didn’t stop until he
reached door twelve.

He stood listening and didn’t hear any
sound, so he inserted the key and the knob turned easily. He
started to push it open when a chain halted him. He peaked through
the crack and saw her lying on the bed, shivering in her sleep, and
curled into herself, with her hand protectively over her
stomach.

Lucas pulled the door back toward him a
few inches then gave it a quick jerk inward and the chain snapped
without much effort. He was aghast at the lack of security in the
building. Amy didn’t even wake as he stepped into the
room.

The smell of the place was enough to
turn his stomach. He needed to get her out of there fast, before
there was any lasting damage to her and his child.

He sat on the side of the bed and
gently shook her. Amy jerked awake and sat up, her eyes round with
terror.

“Oh, thank goodness it’s only you,
Lucas,” she said as her breathing came under control. Considering
the area of town she was in, as well as the sleazy man at the front
desk, he understood her uneasiness.

Her happiness of having it be him, and
not the desk clerk, was quickly forgotten as she realized Lucas was
sitting in her room.

“How did you get in here? How did you
know where I was?” she questioned.

“There is tracking on your car, Amy,
and before you start shouting about me spying on you, there’s
tracking on all our vehicles. It’s a safety precaution in case any
of them are stolen,” he held up his hand as he tried to delay the
fight.

“I know you have a lot to say about
what you think has happened, but I’m really uncomfortable with
having you and my child in this unhealthy environment. I’ve already
reserved a suite at the Valley River Inn, which is only a few miles
from here. Let’s head over there, get some food and have our talk,”
he said with his usual calm, commanding voice.

He didn’t wait for Amy to say anything.
He just gathered her things, which was pretty minimal, considering
nothing was unpacked. He walked her bag out the still open door and
placed it in the rig.

When Amy still hadn’t said anything or
budged, he walked into the room, scooped her up in his arms, as if
she weighed nothing, and gently deposited her in the front
passenger seat of the car. He placed a couple more hundred dollar
bills on the nightstand with a note that said ‘for the lock,’ and
then quickly pulled out of the slum motel’s parking lot.

Lucas programmed the hotel address into
his GPS and was at the Valley River Inn within ten minutes. There
was hardly any traffic that night. Amy said nothing on the drive
over. She sat in the passenger seat with her head turned away from
him and her arms crossed.

Amy had so many emotions running
through her at once and didn’t know what to focus on. The emotion
on the forefront was love. She loved the man so very much. Her life
without him seemed so endless and empty.

She loved him too much to be able to
sit back while he had affairs with different women. She knew the
redhead wouldn’t be the last. He was vibrant, handsome, and every
woman’s dream. Look how quickly she’d fallen for him.

They reached the hotel and she
obediently followed him in. She was too exhausted, emotionally and
physically, to fight him anymore that night. She’d just have to
rationally explain she wasn’t the type of woman who would sit back
while her husband slept around.

They entered the beautiful suite and
her nerves were stretched to the breaking point. He hadn’t spoken
to her since he’d whisked her out of that disgusting motel. She
wasn’t sorry to see that place go.

Maybe, after they talked, he’d let her
stay in her old apartment until the baby was born. He knew she was
on strict orders to not be working right then as it could cause
harm to the baby.

She’d never do anything to hurt her
child. Her hand caressed her stomach as she sat on the couch and
waited to see what he had to say.

Lucas stepped over to the phone and
placed an order for food and then sat next to her.

“Amy, I’ve never been as terrified as
when I realized you had left me. How could you not realize what you
mean to me?” he began speaking. She opened her mouth to respond,
but he gently shook his head and pulled her into his
lap.

She knew she should struggle, but even
though he was the reason she was in so much pain, she wanted the
comfort he was offering. He began rubbing her back in slow circles
and she had to fight the tears wanting to fall again. She didn’t
see how there was a single tear left in her body.

“Look at me, please,” he pled with her.
She finally turned to look into his eyes. They seemed so filled
with love and sincerity. “I love you,” he simply stated.

She finally lost the battle to hold her
tears in, and they fell freely down her cheeks and her body shook
gently with sobs at finally hearing the words she had wanted for so
long.

“I love you and only you,” he said
again as he gently wiped away her tears. “What you saw today was
not me clinging to another woman. She is an ex-girlfriend who was
trying to get me back. If you would’ve stayed a moment longer, you
would’ve seen me push her away as soon as she made her move. I had
security remove her from the premises. Talk about being in the
wrong place at the wrong time,” he finished with a sheepish grin on
his face.

She stared at him, starting to feel a
ray of hope. He was saying he loved her, and maybe she really had
jumped to conclusions. “Why would you think I’d cheat on you?
Making love to you is the best sex I have ever had in my life. It’s
so much more than just sex. I can never get enough of you. Why in
the world would I need to go to another woman when I have you to
myself every night?” he asked with confusion.