The Tycoon's Revenge (Baby for the Billionaire - Book One) Read online

  They walked into his huge condo and though it was nice, it was so cold. There was only one picture in the entire place and it was a much younger version of him with his arms slung around his two cousins. She remembered them well from when they were teenagers. They’d always been able to make her laugh. She smiled at the fond memories.

  “How are your cousins doing?” she asked him. She imagined they were doing as good as him, because the three had been almost inseparable and there was no way he wouldn’t share his success with them.

  “They’re doing great. I just saw Drew the other day and Ryan is off in some other country right now. We all need to get together, it’s been too long,” he said, letting his guard down for a moment.

  “They always made me laugh,” she said with a fond smile, still looking at the photograph.

  “They’re great guys,” he agreed. He packed up some clothing and then led her back down the elevator. They went out to the garage and instead of getting back in the Porsche; he walked up to an SUV. She was a bit jealous as he unlocked it and opened the back end to put his things in. It was a really nice vehicle. She didn’t understand why the man needed two expensive cars when it was just him.

  “I figure we should switch vehicles. The sports car is fun but this has far more room for Jacob,” he said. “Do you mind driving. I have some work I could do on the commute,” he asked, as he tossed the keys to her. He asked but he expected the answer to be yes. She wanted to drive it really badly though, so she didn’t complain. She stepped inside the luxurious interior and noticed there were hardly any miles on it at all.

  “You must have gotten this pretty recently,” she told him.

  “I had it delivered yesterday. I figured we would need it for Jacob and my office manager said this was rated at the top for safety,” he said as if it was no big deal.

  “You purchased a vehicle without even looking at it?” she asked him.

  “I trust my staff,” he simply said and then buried his head in his lap top. Jasmine just shook her head at how truly different the man was. Money did not concern him anymore at all but when he was a teenager he had talked so much of his dreams and what he planned to do with his life. Times really changed, she thought sadly.

  They arrived at the office and spent the first couple hours going over the applications Jasmine had pre-screened. Derek then had her spend the next couple of hours setting up interviews for the rest of the week. He said he wanted to get things settled quickly, so the company could do as well as it should’ve been doing all along. His statement was offensive but she let it go. She actually agreed with him on a lot of things. Her father had hired some questionable people and the company had been run into the ground.

  The end of the day arrived before she knew it and for once Derek didn’t complain when it was time to leave. It seemed he liked having a son and was eager to pick him up.

  “Derek, when Jacob isn’t doing sports, he gets out of school earlier. I was able to take some of my work home with me before, so I didn’t have to put him in day care. I know you run business differently but I really do work well from home and would like to continue doing that,” she asked him, afraid he was going to go off on her about her not being the owner’s daughter anymore and being entitled to special favors.

  “You can quit all together if you would like, of course our son comes first and there’s no need for you to work,” he said matter-of-factly.

  “I don’t want to quit. I enjoy working and I want to make my own money. Just because you have more than any one person needs, doesn’t mean I’d ever be comfortable spending it. If you don’t want me to work here, then I can begin searching for other work,” she said stubbornly, with her arms across her chest.

  “I didn’t say I wanted to fire you, I just offered for you to be able to spend more time with our son. He will be grown before you know it and I don’t want you filled with regrets,” he said, exasperated. She decided not to respond, because she felt a tightening in her chest at the thought. She really would like to be able to go to the school more often. She’d always been slightly jealous of those room moms helping at the school during the week with their kids. She spent plenty of time with her son and was there for all of his special events but Derek was right that she was also missing out on a lot.

  Jacob came running outside of the school as they pulled up and looked around with an eager expression on his face. He looked right past the SUV, so she stepped outside and called to him. He walked over, with his brows puckered, disappointed the Porsche wasn’t there.

  They stopped by a moving company and loaded the SUV with a bunch of boxes, picked up some take-out and headed toward her house. Jacob helped his dad carry in all the empty boxes and the two men went into her son’s room to begin the massive job of packing his belongings.

  She stood in the doorway and watched silently for several minutes, enjoying the sound of both of their laughter. They had bonded so closely in only a few short days. She was grateful she’d told her son about his father and he had a great image of the man because he really was a terrific dad. They paused in their packing and Derek tackled Jacob on the bed and tickled him until tears were falling from his eyes, he was laughing so hard.

  Jasmine reluctantly walked away from the room and headed into the kitchen. She put together several boxes and started deciding what she’d keep and what she’d donate. She knew a lot of her things wouldn’t fit in with the new home, so the donation pile seemed to get bigger, while her packed boxes weren’t taking up much room.

  Derek came out every once in a while and hauled her packed boxes out to the garage, where he was making a nice pile. He’d talked her into letting a moving company at least come in and transport the items. She was actually relieved about that as she hated the actual moving portion. She didn’t mind the packing at all, as it was an adventure, discovering items she’d forgotten she even owned.

  There were certain things she wasn’t willing to part with, such as her thousands of books and her mother’s antique china but there were many items she let go of with no qualms. By the end of the night she was exhausted and had barely made a dent in her small home.

  “Derek, there’s no way I will finish all of this in time if I’m working all day. I’m going to need to take the rest of the week off to get it done in time,” she told him, as she sat down on the couch, completely exhausted.

  “I was thinking the same thing. We really just have a bunch of interviews this week anyway. Take it off and get everything done. I will help you when I get back. Don’t even worry about Jacob, I will stop and pick him up on my way home from work,” he said, sounding just as tired as her. It was really nice to have him there to help with Jacob; she wasn’t used to that at all.

  “Thank you,” she said, before crawling off to her room to fall into an exhausted sleep.

  Chapter Eleven

  The week flew by quickly. Jasmine made incredible progress with her packing and had the local charity stop by twice because the items were piling up and filling her living room. It was a little sad to watch her items slowly being depleted and her home becoming so empty but she felt good getting it all done.

  On Friday morning Derek was signing the final papers and the movers were coming to pick up her things at noon. She woke up with both a feeling of excitement and sadness. She found herself looking forward to moving to the new place. It was all a little bit exciting. The previous owners were already vacated and Derek had sent in the cleaning crew yesterday, so all that was left was getting the keys and moving in.

  Derek went to the office and called her a couple hours later, letting her know all the papers were signed and they were clear to move. He’d be there in an hour to help her with the final things she needed done.

  Jasmine slowly walked around her once homey place and couldn’t stop the tears that streaked down her cheeks. This home had been her and Jacob’s first sense of real security. She had been so proud when she signed her name on those papers and knew the place was h
ers and no one could take it from her and now she was walking away from it. She felt like she was abandoning her safe house.

  Now everything was in boxes, or gone and she was off to a new adventure. She wiped the tears away and decided she was going to sell it. The thought of returning to this home all by herself was too depressing to even contemplate. She’d walk through the rooms and see Jacob in every corner and now she’d also picture Derek’s massive presence there too. It would break her heart a little when someone else occupied it but at least then it would be loved and new memories could be created.

  She’d tell Derek to make the calls, since he was so good at it. Knowing Derek, it would be sold in a matter of days. The man just had a way of making things happen much faster than the average person could ever accomplish.

  She composed her features just in time, because Derek stepped through the doors and took a look around. “I guess there really isn’t anything left to do but wait for the movers. I brought some lunch so let’s eat and I will call the company and have them get here early,” he said.

  The moving company showed up about thirty minutes after his call. She was surprised they didn’t just teleport and land on her steps, while he was still on the phone with them.

  The men were professionals and she didn’t have to say or do anything. They had her house loaded into the truck within an hour and were on the road toward the mansion where Derek had someone waiting to let them in. Derek was waiting for her, as she looked around the completely empty house, with a sense of total awe. She looked in every cupboard twice just to make sure she hadn’t forgotten a single item and to draw out her last time in her home for a few more minutes.

  She had to give Derek credit because he didn’t say a word as she drug her feet. He even stepped outside to give her a few more minutes alone. One last tear slipped from her eye and then she squared her shoulders, wiped her face and walked out the front door, shutting it firmly behind her as she said goodbye to her old life.

  “Are you okay?” Derek asked her, as they walked towards their vehicles. It was a rare and tender moment and almost started her tears right back up.

  “I’m fine, it’s just a little harder than I thought it would be saying goodbye to this house. I know it’s not much but it has been home for almost nine years,” she said with a little sniffle.

  “It’s a great place and you kept it beautiful,” he said a bit awkwardly.

  “Thanks Derek, I appreciate it, although I know you don’t really like it,” she said with a slight role of her eyes.

  “I can always have movers come and bring it to the property if you want. There’s plenty of room,” he said to her. She looked at him, with her mouth hanging open, in astonishment. She could tell he was completely serious. If she asked him, he’d actually pay the ridiculous price to have her home moved, just to make her stop crying.

  She started to giggle at the thought, it was so ridiculous. They only moved houses when they were of historic value, they didn’t move a typical home, just because the person was attached. She laughed even harder when she really thought about how much money the guy spent in a single day. She was sure it was more than she spent in an entire year.

  “Thank you for the laugh Derek, I’m feeling so much better now,” she said and then on complete impulse threw her arms around his neck and gave him a hug. She hadn’t initiated contact with him once since they’d reunited. He stiffened for a moment in shock and then wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in tightly.

  She needed the comfort and couldn’t pull back. Derek rubbed along her back and even though he was the reason her life was changing so drastically his comforting hands were making her feel better. She’d later think about the irony of the situation. It was kind of amusing.

  His rubbing stopped being comforting and he started pulling her closer to him as his hand roamed lower with each pass. Her breathing deepened, as his touch started to send fire down her body. He brought one hand up to her chin, lifting her face up. Before she had time to blink, he brought his lips down to hers in a gentle kiss. If he’d been urgent, like he normally was, she may have been able to resist him but with this gentle side of him, she had no chance.

  She threw her arms around his neck and leaned closer to him as he deepened the kiss, making her stomach quiver with need. She wrapped her arms around his neck, enjoying the feel of being held and the taste of his mouth, as he slipped inside. She couldn’t seem to get close enough.

  “I didn’t know you were leaving,” a voice said, bringing her back to reality. Jasmine pulled back from Derek, who looked a little shaken up and turned towards the sound, to find her elderly neighbor standing a few feet from her. Either the woman was oblivious to the embrace she was just in, or didn’t care but she seemed unconcerned she’d interrupted the two of them.

  “Yes Mary, it’s all happened so fast that I haven’t spoken to anyone about it,” Jasmine told her neighbor, feeling a little guilty about moving without saying goodbye.

  “Well, we’ll sure miss you and precious little Jacob,” the woman murmured.

  “I will miss you too and your wonderful peanut butter cookies,” Jasmine said with a little hitch in her voice. She walked over and gave her neighbor a hug and then said her goodbyes.

  “You can follow me,” Derek said, as he climbed into his vehicle. She climbed in her own reliable van, which sadly didn’t hold any appeal to her anymore after driving his luxury SUV and followed him out of the driveway. She looked into her rearview mirror until her home fell out of view. She let out a deep sigh and knew her life would be forever changed.

  They pulled up to the new house and Derek entered the code for the gate to open. She drove the long driveway behind him, taking in everything. She’d only been there the one time and so she looked at the place with new eyes, trying to drink it all in.

  The home was certainly a show piece, with its immaculately manicured lawns. There was a surprising lack of flowers and she vowed to change that as soon as possible but the fountain in the center of the driveway added a nice showpiece, which was both comforting and homey at the same time. She could grow to love the home, that is, if she could figure out how to get from one end to the other.

  She had to park in the driveway, as there were two huge moving vans backed up to the massive garage. There were several men hauling things from the back of the trucks and trudging into the house. Derek and her walked in and the place looked different with the walls all barren and the furniture gone. There were a few pieces of his furniture from the condo but his old place had been much smaller and they were going to have to buy more pieces to fill the place up.

  The house looked better to her though, with all the previous owners’ things out. She could now picture her own belongings filling up the spaces. The more she walked around the empty home, the better she was beginning to feel. She was actually excited to use the swimming pool. It wouldn’t be available for use until the next day, because Derek had brought people in to perform a special cleaning on it, though it had looked spotless to her before. He’d said he wanted to make sure, since his son would be swimming in it. She couldn’t argue with him.

  It only took the movers a few hours to get the trucks unloaded and then they were in the huge place, alone for the first time. She headed straight for the kitchen, excited more for that room, than any other and started to unpack boxes.

  Derek had tried to convince her to let the movers unpack but part of the excitement of moving was to find her treasures and place them where she wanted. She didn’t want the strangers to do it, besides she’d never be able to find anything.

  “I’m going to pick up Jacob, we’ll be back soon,” he told her and she glanced at the clock. She had no idea it had gotten so late.

  “I can go with you,” she offered reluctantly. She really didn’t want to stop what she was doing. By the smile on his face, he could tell.

  “Go ahead and continue what you’re doing. It looks like you’re enjoying yourself,” he said and turne
d to head out.

  “Oh look, there are Lazy Susan’s in all the corner cabinets,” she suddenly exclaimed. “They’re made of really nice wood, too,” she added like a child who’d just discovered a brand new toy.

  Derek looked at her like she’d lost her mind. The woman wasn’t impressed with the ten million dollar mansion itself but was giddy when she discovered little turning shelves. He just couldn’t understand her. He walked out the door, as she continued to explore all the crevices of the kitchen. He was actually warmed by her love of the smaller things and was trying to fight the tugging on his heart.

  He’d fallen so hard for her when he was a teenager, because even though she was the wealthiest kid in town, she’d never lorded it over anyone, unlike her father. She’d always preferred a pair of worn in jeans and a t-shirt over the latest styles. She’d seemed far more like him than the other snobby kids.

  It seemed not much had changed, if he looked at her home, vehicle and possessions. She owned nice things but nothing screamed extravagance. As a matter of fact, her son had far more items in his small space than she did. It was very obvious she loved and spoiled Jacob. He knew how much salary she made as well and it was ridiculously low for what she did. Her own father hadn’t given her a raise the entire time she’d been there. He’d assumed that was all just on the books and her dad was supplementing her on the side but from the way she lived, he no longer believed that.

  Maybe she wasn’t the cold person he’d thought her to be when she sent her dad to say her goodbyes. Maybe there was another reason the whole thing had happened. He was determined to find out what those reasons were, even if it broke the semi-truce they’d started to share together.