The Billionaire's Runaway Bride (14 page)

“So if you’re asleep, that means you’re in bed when he comes to bed?”

“Yes, of course,” Sophie said.

“Not ‘of course’,” she said. “You would be amazed at how many couples sleep apart. But that’s not the issue with you so follow me,” she said and led Sophie out of the clothes and into the lingerie department. “What you need is more enticing sleeping attire.”

Sasha picked up a silver nightgown that seemed to shimmer as it moved. The straps were thin and the bodice plunged deeply. Sophie fingered the material eagerly. “Oh, Sasha. I knew you’d be able to help me. This is exactly what I was thinking of,” she said.

Sasha didn’t just stop at nightgowns. She led Sophie through a whole new underwear experience. With Sasha’s encouragement, Sophie purchased lacy bras and matching panties, thigh-high stockings, corsets and so many silky robes and peignoirs Sophie could barely breathe in anticipation of Jason seeing her in one of them.

Sophie left two hours later with a car filled with sexy clothes, determined to get back to at least a sexual relationship with Jason. If he wasn’t going to be around her during the day, at least he could actually see her transformation at night.

She went to Elizabeth’s house for lunch and had a fun meal with the older woman. Elizabeth regaled Sophie with stories of her grandchildren’s antics and their intelligence and bombarded her with pictures and cards, all made by little hands.

As she sat in the back of the car that afternoon, Sophie couldn’t remember a more pleasant afternoon. The woman was genuine and laughed at life. Sophie wanted to be just like her. She was elegant but very down to earth, loved gardening and her children and mostly her husband. She had dedicated her life to helping his business but now she was demanding payback by having him retire.

Sophie spent another lonely night at home, eating dinner in Jason’s library and feeling silly about it. But it was the only place she felt close to him. She knew that he used to spend a lot of time there in his office. Why didn’t he now?

Sophie didn’t sleep that night. She wore the silver negligee and only slept fitfully. She thought she heard something in the bathroom around one in the morning but Jason never came to bed. She woke the following morning and his side of the bed had not been disturbed.

That bothered Sophie so much she almost threw her new clothes out the window. What was the point in trying to change when he wasn’t around to see her change?

She pulled on a white silk shirt and a pair of red slacks, the color boosting her confidence slightly. Sasha had originally suggested black slacks but after years of wearing black, Sophie was through with it. She looked at her reflection in the mirror. Evelyn had always told her to stay away from colors and Sophie had listened. But now, wearing bright red, she knew that she looked nice. Sasha explained that the red in the slacks was far enough away from her hair so it wouldn’t contrast with it but would highlight the color, making her hair look more daring and sultry. She loved the way the cut of the slacks made her legs look longer and her waist look small.

Sophie had to agree with Sasha’s assessment of the colors she’d selected, she thought as she put on a small amount of lipstick and mascara. She patted her nose with powder and added small earrings, then surveyed her final appearance. She definitely wasn’t a cool, blond like Jocelyn or Evelyn. But she had to admit that she looked nice. Pretty even, she thought.

She wandered downstairs, reviewing her strategy. What could she do if Jason wasn’t around to see her? She needed something to occupy her mind and her time during the day. She knew she was spending too much time worrying about her appearance and other people’s opinions and she was tired of it.

But what was the next step?

She was just about to enter the breakfast room for her morning tea when she heard voices. Apparently Evelyn and Jocelyn had made themselves at home yet again. But that was odd. They usually only came around when they knew Jason was going to be home.

“Mother, what am I going to do?” she heard Jocelyn saying in a desperate whine. “Things were going so well between Jason and me when she had to show up again.”

Her words froze Sophie in the hallway. Jocelyn and Jason? That couldn’t be. Jason had said he didn’t particularly care for Jocelyn.

“Dear, don’t worry. You know Jason had to bring her back. He needed a mousy, non-threatening wife to get him through this business deal. You know how men flock to you. You would pose a threat to any woman so the men will keep their wives away from you and the wives will definitely keep their husbands out of your reach, regardless of your feelings for Jason. He’ll take care of her once this acquisition is finalized. You’ll have your chance. Jason promised and he never goes back on his word,” she was saying.

The words were awful and Sophie’s heart sank. She had to lean against the table in the hallway to keep herself standing as the pain of Jason’s betrayal sank in.

He only needed her for this latest acquisition? Was she that non-threatening? Of course she was, Sophie told herself. That made so much more sense. She’d always wondered why Jason had married her. And now she understood. She wasn’t a threat to anyone, male or female. She was too mousy, too plain, too boring.

The tears fell freely and she heard movement outside. Sophie quickly slipped into the library, not willing to let either woman know how much they had hurt her.

As the two passed her hiding space, she couldn’t make out all the words but she heard, “next time” and cringed. What was going to happen next time?

Sinking down into the nearest chair, Sophie stared out into the bright, morning sunshine. All her hopes and dreams of Jason falling in love with her were now squashed. She sat there for a long time, wondering what she was going to do about it.

Finally it occurred to her that she didn’t have to be the victim here. If Jason wanted something from this relationship, so could she. Jason wanted a compliant, mousy wife, did he? Well what did she want? Besides his love, she thought, her mouth grimacing as a stab of pain sliced through her heart. She pushed the pain aside, knowing now that Jason could never return her love. So what could he do for her?

Sophie settled into a large leather chair and considered her options. What did she really want? What could she do? She loved gardening and she had good abilities to picture landscaping options in her mind. Why couldn’t she start a landscaping business?

The more she thought about it, the better the idea was. Why should she not start her own business?

Sophie pulled out a pen and paper and quickly started writing. She wrote so fast, there were times she couldn’t read her handwriting and had to cross out the words and start over again.

By the afternoon, she realized that she needed a computer to keep all her ideas managed properly. Without hesitation and with a determination she hadn’t felt since her school days, she phoned Michael and told him she needed to get to a computer store.

Within two hours, she was back at home with a computer in the trunk of the car. While Michael unloaded the computer, she searched throughout the house, seeing rooms she’d never knew existed. She went in and out of rooms, opening drapes and examining window spaces. After going into so many rooms she hadn’t taken the time to discover, she finally found what she wanted. It was near the ballroom towards the back of the house and was smaller than almost every other room. It was only about fourteen by fourteen feet square but the windows were perfect. On two walls, there were floor to ceiling windows that made the room look bright and airy. Half the windows were covered with the boxwood bushes that had been left to grow out of control on this side of the house, probably because of lack of use and visibility from the front door and driveway.

Looking at her watch, she realized it was almost five o’clock. She quickly phoned to the gardening hut where she knew the gardener worked most of his time when he wasn’t out digging in the yard or glaring at her. She requested his presence immediately and then drew some designs while she waited for him to arrive.

“Yes, ma’am?” the ornery man said, holding his hat politely in his hands as he entered the room. “I understand you wanted to speak with me.”

Sophie glanced up at him briefly but knew she’d handle this confrontation better if she looked down at her plans. “Yes. Thank you for coming. I know that it is time for you to go home for the evening but I have some drawings I want you to start working on first thing tomorrow morning.”

She motioned for him to come closer to the table she was working on. “I want these bushes taken out and replaced with lower bushes that graduate out like this…” she explained, showing him her drawings. She went into detail on exactly what she wanted and how it was to be laid out, to the point of which plants would work best. “How long will it take you to finish this?” she asked.

The man didn’t appear to like her ideas and grimaced. “Well, fact is, I don’t think Mr. Randal will want those bushes taken out. He kinda likes em there,” he said keeping the belligerence low but still subtly present.

“Well, if Mr. Randal ever starts working in this room, then you may put the bushes back in front of the windows. But until then, this is what will be out there. If you can’t accomplish it, then I will hire someone who can.”

The man gritted his teeth. “I’ll have it done, ma’am.”

“When?”

“There’s lots of projects that are underway.”

Sophie sighed and looked directly at the man, irritation eliminating her shyness and increasing her determination. “I understand directly from Mr. Randal that he doesn’t particularly care what happens to the gardens as long as they are presentable. So by whose authority are you acting?”

The man’s eyes slitted in his anger at being caught in a lie. “What do you know about the things happening here? Ain’t you gonna be gone soon?”

Sophie gasped at the anger emanating from him. “Thank you. That will be all I need from you. I’ll make sure you are compensated for your time. Please bring all your personal belongings home with you tonight since you will not be permitted on the grounds after five-thirty.”

Without another word, she walked out of the room and down the hallway, actually nervous of the anger and shock the man was experiencing. She spotted Higgins in the hallway. “Mr. Higgins, I just relieved the gardener from his duties but I don’t believe he is very happy about it. Would you be sure he leaves without destroying any property or hurting anyone? I’m not sure about his character but he worries me,” she said.

Higgins raised himself up and nodded eagerly. “With pleasure, ma’am,” he replied. With a determined look, Higgins proceeded down the hallway towards the room Sophie had just vacated.

Sophie was so angry, she went upstairs to her room and waited until she saw the gardener leaving the grounds. Higgins was standing at driveway and watched as well, ensuring that the man actually left.

Relieved, Sophie sat down on her bed, her legs about to give out on her. That was how Jason found her. He rushed into the room, his eyes sharpening on her. “Sophie, Higgins just told me that you’d relieved the gardener,” he said, a smile on his face. “How did it go?” he asked.

Sophie watched as he came over to the bed, putting his arms around her. “Oh, Jason!” she said. She ignored the humiliation of the morning after she’d heard about Evelyn’s comment and just absorbed Jason’s strength. “It was horrible,” she said.

Jason’s arms closed around her and he pulled her gently onto his lap, cradling her as her body started to shiver. “What did he say to you to make you feel like this?” he asked.

Sophie didn’t want to repeat the words so she lied. “It was his anger that was almost palpable,” she explained, sniffing in an effort to get herself together.

Jason squeezed her shoulders tightly. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I should have dismissed him as soon as I understood you were having problems with him. I just…” he stopped before he finished his sentence. “I’m sorry,” he repeated.

He held her like that for a long time before she was able to pull herself together. Then she sniffed one last time. Sliding off his lap, she stood up and grabbed a tissue off the bedside table. “I’m sorry,” she said, drying her eyes and grimacing as the white tissue revealed that her mascara was smeared all over her face. “Good grief,” she said, looking down at the long, black smudges. “I must look a fright,’ she sighed.

Jason didn’t say anything for a long time. But when she looked up at him, she could see he was examining her outfit. “You look extraordinarily beautiful, Sophie,” he replied. His dark, black eyes rested on her breasts, as if he could see the skimpy lace of her bra through the silk of her blouse. “Did you get this on your latest shopping trip?” he asked, standing up and taking her hands in his so he could twirl her around and see her from all sides.

“Yes,” she replied, the memory of Evelyn’s comments coming back to her. “Not very mousy, is it?” she said with a bitter twist.

Jason chuckled. “Definitely not. But I like it,” he said. “What’s the occasion?” he asked.

Sophie took a deep breath and walked away. “No occasion. I just got tired of being buried in my clothes.”

“I’m impressed. How about if we go out for dinner to show off your new look?” he suggested, following right behind her. He stopped when she sank down onto her dressing table to repair her makeup, looking at her eyes in the mirror.