Melody Anne's Billionaire Universe_The Billionaire's Code Read online

  He wasn’t really. He’d been thinking about Jules. “I’m a bit tired, Dan. I’ll see you at the office tomorrow.”

  “Glad you’re back, Rex.”

  “Thanks.”

  After walking him out, Rex reclined against the door and closed his eyes. He should be—well, more ecstatic to be home. Furious about being mugged and robbed. Grateful the money issue was being resolved. However, he was simply…here.

  Exhaling, he pushed away from the door and moved through his spacious home. He missed the two cats, Acorn and Schnapps that thought he was there to pet them when they wanted. Before them, he hadn’t ever seen the need for pets and they were an expense. An unnecessary and a demanding one.

  However, those warm purring bodies, were something he’d gotten accustomed to having beside him. No, he wouldn’t face the truth of the real warmth he actually missed. Now, he stood staring out of the large window and saw the city he loved. Not because he could see what was out there, but because he had viewed it so often.

  Progress was inevitable. Nothing could stop it.

  “So why is she pretending she’ll never sell?” He placed his palm on the pane and sighed. “She’s being foolish.”

  So why did he want to write her a check to ensure she never had to worry about money again, to keep her business running?

  “Because I’m an idiot who’s thinking with my little head.”

  Wasn’t really true. That cowboy had been spot on. He’d fallen in love with her. And wanted the whole fairy tale. With Jules.

  “Maybe that tree did more damage than I thought.”

  He went to bed and was at his office early the next morning. He even beat Lissette in.

  Dan pushed in when he arrived. “Montfort will be in to close on the deal later. He called my cell wanting to make sure all was a go, since you had returned. Then we also have the press before him.”

  “Call him back and tell him it’s on. Nothing stands in the way of progress.” Familiar words.

  “Good. The press is here now, are you ready to do that?”

  No, he wasn’t but it didn’t matter.

  They handled it with swift efficiency and he didn’t take a lot of questions, just assured them that nothing was changing in his business, then excused himself to handle some important things needing his attention.

  Lissette trailed behind them as they headed back to his office.

  “What time did you get here?” Dan asked as they rode up in the elevator.

  “Early.” He wasn’t about to admit he’d been in since before five.

  Lissette answered her phone as they walked out of the elevator. “Mr. Montfort and his associates is here early, sir. Are you wanting to meet with him now, or want him to wait?”

  “Put him in the Diamond room and I’ll be there shortly.”

  She gave him a sharp nod and vanished from view.

  He paused before the tall door to his office. He wanted a drink and wanted to feel the fresh air on his face.

  “You okay, Rex?”

  “Tired but yes, let’s get on with it.”

  After a brief stop in his office, he strode up toward the Diamond room. The familiar thrum of a successful deal coming to a close hit him. His blood hummed although in the back of his mind he realized it hummed more when he was near Jules.

  “Ready?”

  He smiled at Dan. “Always.”

  Dan pushed open the door, Rex led and Dan followed.

  The four men in business suits stood up.

  “Good to see you, Mr. Hamilton. Everyone was looking for you.”

  “Mr. Montfort. Gentlemen. Thank you.”

  Montfort shook his hand. Christ, his hand is softer than Jules’. This man does zero physical labor.

  From the expression on Montfort’s face, the man was reacting to his new calluses.

  Well, Rex was proud of them, and how he’d earned each of them. “Shall we,” he said, gesturing to the table.

  The men sat and he gazed at them all from his spot at the table’s head. White middle-aged men in power suits. Jules’ comment came back to him. Damn it. She wasn’t his conscience. Business was business.

  Business is business.

  He listened to them chat about an upcoming golf game and waited for them to sign the papers.

  “Wonderful,” Dan said, swiping a strawberry covered with chocolate and gold flakes. “We have some champagne to celebrate and help yourself to some of these strawberries. They’re delicious. And we can relax after the solidification of the deal.”

  As they got their drink and toasted, Royal despised the fact he was wishing Jules could be here to celebrate with him. She wouldn’t be happy about this. A scowl tugged his lips downward.

  It was impressive. A multimillion dollar deal. He had every right to celebrate.

  Still wish she were here with me.

  Forcing his expression back to neutral, he centered back on the conversation.

  αβ

  “No way!” Jules slammed her hands on the desk. “I’m done with this. I don’t want him back on my property. I’ll get a restraining order if that’s what I have to do.”

  “Calm down, Jules.” Ward leaned against the wall, arms crossed and his brown hair stuck out from beneath his ball cap.

  “Calm down?” Her voice rose several octaves. “Did you just tell me, seriously, to calm down?”

  “Yes,” he replied, unperturbed by her outburst. “Hell, you’re about to pop a blood vessel or five.”

  She glared at him but sat and with effort, she put her temper back under control.

  “Better,” he said with a smug patronizing smile.

  “I want to stab you in the eye.”

  He tsked. “Royal Hamilton really got to you, didn’t he?”

  Her blood ran hotter as she thought about him again. Not that he’d been far from her mind. “He has nothing to do with this.”

  “Really?” Ward cocked an eyebrow.

  “Yes, really,” she snapped.

  Ward leaned forward, the chair legs banging on the wood floor. He pushed to his feet and approached the desk. Still holding her gaze, he reached for a manila envelope and upended the small torn up papers all over her desk. “Care to revise that statement?”

  If her face got any hotter, it would rival the sun, or Mars. Something red and hot. Very hot. “No, I do not and you’re going to put all of that back in the envelope and send it back to Hamilton. The check too.”

  She cut her gaze to the check he’d sent. No personal note, just a typed “thank you” included with the offensive sheet of paper.

  I’m no whore and I can’t be bought.

  “Regardless,” she said joining him in putting the shredded paper back in the envelope. “This is about Mr. Phoenix. I’m tired of him coming on my property and snooping around.”

  “I know he was in Con’s barn.”

  More anger flashed. “If anything happened to my boy I would have killed him. I mean it, Ward. Call Joe and have him come out today. I want that order put in.”

  “Okay.” He scooped the remaining shreds into the envelope then sealed it. “I’ll swing by when I mail this back.”

  “Good. I have a riding appointment.” She left before he could delve into that even more. Knowing Ward, he would because he knew her schedule better than she did most days. He was right about somethings though. She wasn’t forgetting Rex-Royal. Never, had a man burrowed so deep under her skin in such a short time.

  Like a blasted tick.

  Luckily, Ward had already departed when her snort of laughter escaped.

  Bloodsucker.

  That insect held so many similarities to the billionaire Royal Hamilton. Both parasites on those around them. She stepped outside and headed to the barn. Not fair for me to definitely say that about him. when he was here he was different. Helpful. Hard worker. Human.

  Sure, in the beginning it wasn’t difficult to see he wasn’t used to physical labor. But he learned and refused to quit.

&nbs
p; “Doesn’t matter,” she reminded herself as she entered Skye’s stall. “That door has been nailed shut on whatever short stint it was.”

  Pity.

  Firmly shoving him and any and all thoughts of him into the far corners of her mind, she finished with Sky and took her to the arena to wait for Shawna.

  αβ

  Two days later and after a day of lessons, Ward hollered for her from the far side of the barn, “Jules!”

  “Back in Amber’s stall,” she yelled back not pausing in brushing the tiny mare. Yes, she had workers to do this but she enjoyed it, plus she was leaving for a show over the weekend and wouldn’t get to just relax like this.

  “Five messages for you on the machine.”

  “So, handle them.” She brushed Amber’s flaxen tail.

  “I took care of four, the final is for you.”

  “Who do I owe now?”

  “It’s from your millionaire boyfriend.”

  “He’s a billionaire, apparently, that’s a serious distinction for them, and he’s not my boyfriend.”

  “I should take this to mean there’s no wondering who I was talking about then?”

  She dropped the brush. Busted. Swearing under her breath, she picked it up and said, “Don’t have a boyfriend, so it’s a pointless discussion. You’re just trying to get under my skin.”

  “Right. Remind me again about the handsome billionaire you have after you?”

  God, those memories were painful. “He’s not after me. He’s after my property.” She chucked the brush at Ward, so grateful Amber was a sturdy sort.

  “Ouch,” he said with a grin.

  “What did he want?” Not that she cared but she also couldn’t lie and say it wouldn’t be nice for him to call for no other reason than wanting her.

  Not the property. Her.

  “It was his secretary—assistant—whatever wondering if we’d had a chance to review the latest proposal.”

  And her small bubble of hope was popped without a net before dashing that fledging hope to the ground with a fierce throw. “The packet you sent back?”

  “I suppose so, I’ve not seen any others lately.”

  “No need to call her back then, they’ll have their answer soon enough.”

  Together, they departed the stall and barn. She stared at the truck and trailer waiting for her and Con.

  Ward draped an arm around her shoulders. “Ready?”

  “It kills me to think this could be my last weekend with Con.” Tears burned her eyes.

  He kissed the top of her head. “I know. I won’t lie and say I’m not completely floored you’re even considering this course of action.”

  “I don’t want to but I have to face facts. With the insurance going up, it seems every damn day I have to give up something. I’m not competing as much anymore and Con loves to perform. He’d be a real benefit to a stable who does more than I do.” Her voice quavered as she struggled not to cry.

  “He loves you so much. He won’t preform the same for anyone else.”

  The first tear leaked over. “He’ll forget about me.”

  Ward hugged her. “He’ll never forget you. We can look for other ways to get money. Fundraisers, or the like.”

  “No. Not only do they cost money, but the ones who we would have arrive either think I’m included in the deal or want to buy my land, so they wouldn’t help anyway. Better I sell him, I’ve had some overseas interest in him.”

  It would be more painful sending him further away but it was for the best. If he was near and something was wrong, she would lose her shit.

  “No thought in scaling back the therapy side?”

  “One person or twenty, it doesn’t change cost of insurance.” She rested her head against his chest. “I’ve been riding for over twenty-five years. I can step away with my head held high. Besides, it would be selfish of me to put my needs above the kids who live for this time on the horses. Having seen their faces as we go around the arena. What kind of heartless bitch would I be if I said my need to compete is more important than they are?”

  I’d be like the men who want to take this place and further the coins in their pocket.

  “Are they going to be there this weekend? The potential buyers for Con?”

  She shrugged at his question, not really wanting to think about it further. The trouble with Ward was he didn’t shut up until he got his answers. So, she didn’t pretend she hadn’t heard him.

  “They didn’t confirm it was a maybe and they hoped. But I don’t know for sure.”

  He may be a persistent guard dog, but he also knew when to let it go.“When are you leaving today?”

  “Soon. He’s out stretching his legs a bit. We have a long drive.”

  Another kiss to her cheek. “It will all work out, Jules. You’ll see.”

  Personally, she wasn’t so optimistic.

  Chapter Seven

  Rex rolled his shoulders as he stared out the window. Saturday didn’t mean a day off in his world. Deals were still to be brokered. Money to be made.

  There’s got to be something wrong with me. Had to be, given as he stood here, he longed for a rougher material covering his shoulders, instead of the silk shirt he currently wore. Not that he wanted a burlap sack to wear but those shirts he wore while with Jules held a mighty big appeal right now. The chance to get out of the office and just enjoy some time.

  Pathetic.

  Sap.

  Knock. Knock.

  “Enter.”

  He turned to see Lissette carrying in a stack of mail.

  “Just came,” she said, setting it at his desk.

  “Go home, Lissette.” He returned his gaze to a point on Mt. Hood. “Spend some time with your family.”

  “Mr. Hamilton?”

  He tugged on his silk vest and turned to her again. “Just not much to do today. I can manage.”

  “Very good, sir. Have a nice weekend.” She left, glancing back twice as if she expected him to change his mind any second.

  Alone in his office, he walked to his desk and flipped through his mail. There wasn’t much, Lissette was great about dealing with most of it. His heart kicked up a notch at the sight of the envelope with the Petrichor Farms return address stamped in the corner.

  Jules.

  He sat and ripped open the seal. In his exuberance, he tore it a bit far and got a lap full of shredded confetti. He grumbled as he tried unsuccessfully to shove it back into the ruined envelope.

  The folded check caught his eye. Not torn up, it spoke louder volumes than had she ripped it up. The second he looked at the amount and the fact it wasn’t even signed by him but with Dan’s name there existed no doubt how she had viewed it.

  Payment for services rendered.

  Christ, more mountains to hurdle. Didn’t matter, he would clear all the obstacles presented.

  “She is crazy if she thinks I’m going to let this go. Or her.”

  He stabbed his finger on the speaker button on his phone and called Dan.

  “What’s up?”

  “Come up here.” He ended the call with another sharp stab and went to pour himself a drink.

  He sat on his leather couch and couldn’t help but compared to the worn couch at Jules’ house with that colorful crocheted quilt on the back covered in throw pillows and cat hair.

  His was matte black, with zero personality.

  “What’s up?” Dan questioned before releasing a low whistle. “Perhaps I should be asking what happened.” He gestured to the large mess on Rex’s desk.

  “Got the proposal back from Petrichor Farms.”

  “And in your frustration, you ripped it up for snow?”

  “It came that way.” He finished his scotch. “Why did you send her a check?” Proud his voice didn’t betray the depths of his anger he waited for an answer.

  Dan crossed his arms, looking unconcerned at how much danger he truly was in this moment. “You told me to send her compensation. I figured since you told me, you
didn’t want Lissette doing it, so I sent her some money. What’s the problem?”

  “She sent it back. Apparently, she thinks I’m paying her off for sleeping with me.”

  Dan sucked his teeth and looked around, doing his damnedest to hide his smile. An act he failed miserably at.

  Rex raked a hand through his hair. “Get off it. This isn’t about that, it’s about that you didn’t even include a note.”

  “Didn’t know one was required. I get that you’re upset but come on, Rex. You can’t put this on me. If you wanted it to state something specific, you should have told me. I didn’t know you two shared a bed while you were there. Should have figured on it, but I didn’t know for a fact. Did you want me to have Lissette pen a romantic let you down note to accompany the check?”

  “No. You do see how this is an issue, right?”

  “I don’t. This is what we do. How I’ve always handled things. You’re upset because she means something to you. In which case, you should have hand delivered the check, so you could make sure she was in complete understanding about the reason you were giving it to her.”

  “Who are you giving money to now, Royal?”

  Both men turned to see the two women enter the room. One he was happy to see, the other, not so much.

  The first was his sister, Riona. And following her was a woman he’d dated once, Princess. Yes, that was her actual name.

  Her sister stepped in the room with a commanding air. Wealthy in her own right, she lived in New York and preferred to stay there. In a place she considered to be civilized as opposed to the wild west…Where he lived.

  Princess, she spent her daddy’s money and had made a career out of that.

  “I didn’t know you were coming, Riona.”

  “What did you think? I wouldn’t come see you, once your friend, Tanner Storm told me you had been located.” She crossed the room to him and hugged him tight. “I missed you.” She pulled back and looked at him. Her eyes were not as golden as his, but they were still a vibrant amber hue, combined with her long black hair, she was a looker. “You should have called me.”

  He kissed her cheek. “I know and you can rake me over the coals later about it, okay?” Peering around her, he nodded to the redhead standing there. “Nice to see you again, Princess.”