Bound by the Billionaire Page 7

  “Where have you been, man? It’s like you dropped off the face of the earth,” Graham Porter said. Graham had recently come into control of his billionaire family’s entire fortune after a plane crash took all the other members’ lives. He had been grieving through booze and women. “Carlotta was devastated when you disappeared. She thought you two had something.”

  Robert looked across the dance floor and saw the very same Carlotta, an IT company director, gyrating against some Hollywood actor he couldn’t remember the name of. She didn’t look devastated. In fact, Robert knew Carlotta well enough to say nothing devastated her really. She was cushioned by the piles and piles of money she adored more than anything. Devastated was just a word to her, flashed around with no real meaning behind it.

  Robert downed another shooter and bobbed his head to the beat of the electronic music the DJ was playing. Back to his normal life. He told Debra to tell the pilot he wanted to go to Saint-Tropez the next day. He needed a change of scenery. His mixed-up mind would be sorted by a few weeks in the south of France. The French Riviera was always the correct cure for any illness.

  “Hello, darling, I’ve missed you.” The woman standing before Robert was tall and thin, her hair a sleek fall of black past her waist. She leaned in and licked his ear and then nipped at it. She spoke with a British accent. “Where have you been, Robert? You look horrible. Have you had your heart broken, my darling? You look as if you have.”

  “Reading minds again, Jade?” Robert teased, making a game of the pain he was failing to hide.

  Jade was a model in Europe, currently in Chicago for a shoot for Ralph Lauren. He pulled her to his lap and kissed her deeply and asked, “Will you nurse me back to health?”

  She rubbed her hand between his legs. “You know I’m always the medicine you need.”

  “Are you free this week? I’m off to Saint-Tropez if you have nothing planned.”

  “For you, Robert, I will clear my schedule.”

  She took out two small blue pills—ecstasy. She popped one in her mouth and then one in Robert’s. She turned to face him, one long endless leg on each side of him. She was bare underneath. She unzipped his pants and removed his erection, shifting forward to slip it inside of her while simultaneously reaching for her wineglass from the table behind Robert’s head. He lay back and let her ride him. No one watched; it was nothing unusual or of interest, a routine event at Club Infinity. Robert was drunk and high enough to forget everything—finally— only the warmth of Jade and the pulsing beat around him. Numb to the world, just as he had wanted.

  Chapter 14

  Saint-Tropez had been exactly what Robert thought he needed. From the moment he met Jade at Club Infinity, he was never once sober. It was alcohol and pot and the occasional ecstasy. They fucked in the penthouse, in the plane, in the limo from the airport, in the hotel. When Jade got tired, she had model friends she invited to the hotel suite, and they took care of Robert while she watched.

  They had parties in the suite that lasted the whole night and well into the next day when the crowd pulled out swimsuits and jumped in the private pool twenty floors up on the balcony off their suite. They went to parties in mansions owned by famous writers and the children of dictators. The life just kept moving—Robert did not need to think at all, and that was exactly what he needed. Unthinking movement in a drink- and drug-filled daze. His ordinary life, as it was.

  A week passed and then another, and still he saw no reason to leave. The weather was good. Jade canceled her job for Fashion Week in Paris. She’d do it next year, she told her agent losing her mind on the other end of the phone. She hung up on her and went back to sucking Robert’s cock.

  By the third week, Jade’s agent physically came to Saint-Tropez and collected her. She was led out of the suite, and Robert waved her goodbye. He would need to find another Jade, he thought. But he was quite up to it. Instead he fell asleep.

  Robert slept for two days, and when he woke up, feeling horrible as would be expected, he couldn’t believe that he was back to all of this again. To this life he knew he did not want. He was disappointed in himself. He knew if his parents were still alive, they would have been disappointed in him too.

  He took two days to recover enough to know he needed to get back to Chicago. He needed to get back to Chicago and to Debra. Debra would know what to do. Debra always knew how to help; he just needed to ask the right questions. He needed to explain everything to her. Debra would help him sort out his problem, he knew it.

  ***

  “Sir, happy to see you have returned. I hope you enjoyed Saint-Tropez,” Debra said when she met him at the penthouse in Chicago.

  “Not really,” Robert said. “Once I got there, I couldn’t quite remember why I was there.”

  “Oh… yes…” She took his suitcase.

  “I need your help, Debra,” Robert said.

  “Of course, sir. What can I do for you?”

  Debra had been his parents’ PA for the ten years before they died. She was devoted to Robert’s parents, and she was equally devoted to him. She had known him since he was just a young teenage boy. At the time, Debra always wore her hair down and Robert thought she was the most beautiful woman in the world. He once told her he intended to marry her, though she was twenty some years older than him.

  She laughed and said, “Don’t worry about all that just yet. The right woman will come along for you and you’ll know it. You’re going to be an important man; you need to work on learning how to be someone just like your parents. Someone people can respect and admire. For now, you work on that, and everything else will sort itself out.”

  It sounded so easy when she said it all those years ago. He had thought he had lots of time to learn everything he needed from his parents, but unfortunately he hadn’t. After the crash, Debra tried to guide him, but he would not listen, and she would never step beyond her role as an employee. She cared about him quite a bit, likely even loved him, but she could not force him to do what was right unless he asked for her help.

  So when he asked that the plane be prepared for a trip to Saint-Tropez, Debra made sure it was prepared. She made sure that the hotel suite was booked and paid for. She made sure the fridges there were well stocked. She had his bags packed and his passport ready. She was so efficient, it appeared that she was not even there. But she was, and it seemed to Robert as if she always had been there. Somewhere flying across the Atlantic, he’d had an epiphany. Debra was the most important person in his life—how had he never realized that? Without her, his life would have been a complete wreck. Despite his active work toward disorder, she maintained his life in an orderly fashion. If she could do that, he suspected she could do nearly anything.

  “Debra, there’s this woman I need you to find…” Robert started.

  “Do you mean Ms. Davidson?”

  Robert was surprised. “Yes… Kim Davidson.”

  “I’ll get on it, sir.” Debra turned to leave.

  “No, wait. I… I want you to understand something.” He went to the window seat and indicated that Debra should sit down too. “You see, she’s very special. I’m lost, more lost than ever since I met her. This, all of this, this penthouse, the trips, the partying, my entire life nearly, seems so meaningless. Kim is different, she’s special. And I need her in my life, I know that now more than ever. But she’s afraid of me, afraid of this life I have. She’s afraid it might swallow her whole. But I can’t let that happen. I love her too much. We must find her, and we need to figure out a way to get her to see, to get her to understand, that I truly love her and that we belong together.”

  “I understand, sir.” Debra smiled knowingly.

  “We need to find her, but if she knows it’s me she’ll just disappear again. We need a better plan. And we must include her mother and her son. I want to get to know them too; I want her to see that I want the whole thing. I want her and her family to be part of me, to be my family and me to be part of theirs. I love her, Debra, I really
, really love her, and it has got to work this time.”

  Debra patted his hand resting on the cushion. “I know, Robert. Don’t worry. I’m going to take care of it.”

  She left the penthouse, and Robert knew she would. Debra would find Kim and bring her to him, and they would find a way to make their life together work. She had to be successful; Robert had no other options now.

  Chapter 15

  “Well, look at this,” Kim’s mother said, carrying the mail in from outside. “Can you believe it?”

  Kim sat at the breakfast table drinking coffee while Derek finished his egg and toast. She didn’t have to work until that night at Elixir, so she had the whole Saturday to lounge around in her bathrobe. She wondered what her mother was all excited about coming in from collecting the mail outside.

  Her mother sat down at the table and reached for her reading glasses. She put them on and read the letter in her hand more carefully. When she was finished, she looked up at Kim.

  “Well, doesn’t that just beat all?” she said.

  “I wouldn’t know since I can’t see what it’s all about. What is it?” Kim asked.

  “This is a letter from a company called Caribbean Tours Incorporated. It says here that I’ve won an all-expenses paid trip for seven days for three people to the exclusive Palm Island in the Grenadines.”

  “What?” Kim reached for the letter. “That’s crazy. It must be one of those scams.” She read the letter carefully. “Did you enter a competition or something?”

  “You know me, Kimmy, I enter these things all of the time. I’m an optimist—and look! I won! I can’t remember which one this could be though. Maybe it was the one from the soup can—there was a trip involved, if I remember. Or was it the one in the newspaper?” She shook her head. “No, I don’t know which one. But it doesn’t matter—I won!”

  She jumped up from her chair and pulled Kim and Derek up from theirs, and they danced around the kitchen.

  “I won a vacation! I won a vacation!” her mother sang.

  After she calmed down a bit and sat back down, Kim asked, “So who are you taking with you?”

  “Oh! You and Derek, of course! God knows you need a break the way you work. Imagine! Us in the Caribbean? They won’t know what hit them, will they, Derek?”

  “Nope, Granny, they won’t know what hit them!”

  Kim smiled. “Thanks, Ma. But you know, you’re right. The last couple months have been hectic. I’m exhausted. This came at the exact right time. I could really use a bit of lying on the beach by the sand.”

  “And building sand castles!” Derek said.

  “Yes! And building sand castles,” Kim said.

  ***

  The next week a cab pulled up at their house to take them to the airport. Her mother had gone out and bought them all matching Hawaiian shirts, so they looked like an odd sort of musical group minus the ukuleles. They piled their suitcases in the trunk of the cab.

  “We’re off!” her mother shouted as the cab pulled away from their house.

  At the airport, they were met by one of the representatives from the tour company. He escorted them through immigration and, instead of going on to the gates for the commercial airlines, he took them through a long hallway that exited directly onto the runway. Kim was confused.

  “We’ve booked you a private plane,” the man said.

  “Oh my Lord! Did you hear that, Derek? We’re flying on our own plane all by ourselves. This trip keeps getting better and better!” Kim’s mother said.

  Inside the plane were various rooms which the assistant pointed out to them on his small tour. Kim’s mother immediately went to the back for a massage. Derek was shown the playroom, where he found a massive set of building blocks as well as a model train. He got to work building the city of his dreams and forgot all about Kim. The representative ushered Kim to the wide front of the plane where there were comfy seats and tables. He served her a red cocktail with an umbrella.

  “Can I be of any more assistance, Ms. Davidson?” the man asked.

  “No,” Kim said. “I think I’m just about perfect. It’s like we’ve gone to heaven.”

  The man went to the front of the plane. The door closed and they began taxiing down the runway. They were soon in the air, and Kim watched as Chicago transformed from the crazy city she knew to a tiny well-organized toy town. She exhaled and sipped at her cocktail, looking forward to her week away. Leaning back on her seat, she must have fallen asleep for a few minutes.

  She heard a voice and opened her eyes, and for a minute she was confused. Debra, Robert’s PA, was standing in front of her.

  “Do you mind if I sit down for a minute?” she asked.

  “No…?”

  Kim looked at Debra sitting across from her, and everything started to make sense.

  “Kim, Robert wanted me to organize this for you and your family. He knows if he approaches you, you’ll disappear. He cares about you, and he knows how difficult things have been. He especially felt guilty about you leaving your job at Rive Gauche and at Joe’s Pub because of him. That’s why he told me to organize this for you. I’m sorry for the subterfuge. I was afraid that if I told you the truth about the trip, you would refuse to go. Now that you’re here, I want you to know the truth. ”

  Kim had to accept that Debra was probably right. She would have refused because of her own pride, and that would have denied her mother and Derek a trip of a lifetime. Let them be spoiled for once, she thought.

  “No, it’s fine. You did the right thing playing that small trick on me. Thank you for this, and please thank Mr. Miller when you see him too,” Kim said.

  “I will.” Debra stood up. “I’ll be with you throughout the week, so feel free to let me know if you need anything.”

  Kim sipped at her cocktail and thought about Robert. It had been nearly two months since she saw him at Joe’s that day, and yet every day she thought about him. Every time that she had been with him had been incredible, like nothing she’d done before. He wanted to repay her for having to leave her jobs, but she wondered if he understood what a gift the time with him had been, what a gift the memories she held so dear were to her. If only she was a different sort of person. If she had the option to be carefree and reckless, she would have gone with him wherever he wanted to take her. She knew that now. The distance had helped her see things more clearly. She understood a lot of things better over these last weeks. One of the things she figured out was that she loved him and probably always would, even if she knew too they would never be together again.

  Chapter 16

  When they arrived on Palm Island, Debra took them in a rented car to where they would be staying. She explained on the way that they would not actually be staying in a hotel. She turned at a massive ornate metal gate that opened when she pressed the button on the remote she conveniently had in her purse. They drove down a long road, lined on each side by towering palm trees. At the end of the drive, Debra stopped the car in front of a mansion with a wide veranda and a gorgeous garden full of flowers of every color of the rainbow. When the car stopped, the tall doors opened and two maids and a butler came out and stood at attention, waiting for them to get out of the car.

  “This will be your home for the week,” Debra said. “There are two maids, a butler, and a private chef. You have your own private beach at the back of the house. A Jacuzzi, tennis court, and a jumping castle that has been erected for young Derek. We have a boat and driver and any equipment you might need such as snorkels or water skis. The massage therapist is on call, so whenever you need her just let me know. I will be staying here with you in the cottage at the back, so again anything you need, just ask.”

  They got out of the car, and Kim’s mother looked around in awe. “I cannot believe I won a prize like this. No one is ever going to believe it,” she said. “I think my luck has changed. I’m going to start going to bingo again when we get back.”

  Kim wondered if she should tell her mother the truth about
the trip but then decided she wasn’t ready yet.

  ***

  The first day at the island, Kim, her mother, and Derek went out on the boat with the driver, Garon.

  “Listen, I know the perfect place. You are going to see the most amazing things. You want to see a sea turtle, Mr. Derek?” Garon asked.

  “Yes, Garon, I would love to see a sea turtle.” Derek had been full of excitement ever since they arrived. Between him and her mother, Kim was not sure who was happier.

  “Today you will see. You will see the turtle and many many things.”

  The water was like something from a postcard, light blue and so crystal clear. As the boat moved through the water, they could see the fish at the side a few feet below. The sand was white, and the beach seemed endless.

  “Look!” Kim’s mother said. “Are those dolphins up ahead?”

  Kim looked ahead of the boat and saw a group of dolphins jumping in and out of the water in front. They seemed to be showing them the way.

  “Yes, those are my friends. They always come to escort me to our special place,” Garon said.

  Soon the dolphins were on each side of the boat, jumping in and out of the water, squeaking at them.

  “Look, Mommy, they’re smiling at us,” Derek said.

  “Of course they are, D.”

  After a bit, Garon negotiated the boat into a private cove. The dolphins spread out, waiting for them. They put on their snorkels, masks, and fins, and they all got into the water, with the dolphins all around them.

  “Don’t be afraid. They’re our friends,” Garon said.

  Kim was hesitant and kept Derek close to her. Kim’s mother, on the other hand, swam straight out into the middle of the dolphins. They knocked against her, and she petted them. They squealed at her and tapped her with their noses, playing a sort of dolphin tag. Eventually, with the help of Garon, Kim and Derek joined her mother. Kim had never felt such gentle energy from an animal before.