“Sweetheart, what that man needs is a wife, not a bodyguard,” Greg said.
“Yes, well, I’m in no position to provide him with one, so bodyguard it is.Did he tell you he changed the meeting to tonight?”
“Yes.We’ll be there.”
Safety in numbers.Good.
“But we won’t sit with you,” Greg added.
“What is that supposed to mean?”she asked, her voice rising.
“He got us a reservation, Jill, but we won’t eat with you.We’ll get together tomorrow to finalize the details.He mentioned he’d be out of town but he plans to be back by five.I told him how you tried to get us a table for our last anniversary and couldn’t get in, and he made one phone call andvoila!We’re in.Can you believe that?Chris and I have been dying to…”
Jillian tuned Greg out.He tended to go off on a tangent anyway.Lex had surprised her again.She could pretend and say she hated the ease with which Lex got his way or accomplished things, but she’d be lying to herself.She was impressed.He obviously didn’t let obstacles or people keep him from his goals.He’d wanted her to have dinner with him tonight, and it was going to happen.
On the other hand, he didn’t have to get Greg and Chris that reservation, yet he had.What other surprises did the billionaire have in store for her?
CHAPTER 4
Lex watched the rooftops, his thoughts on Jillian.Her sexy voice still rang in his ear, arousing him in ways he never knew possible.At age thirty-nine, he hated the idea that he couldn’t control his body at the mere thought of a woman.
He’d bedded his share of beautiful women, even contemplated marrying one, but this was the first time in years he could say a woman had him enthralled.She was smart, a quick-thinker, and outrageous.She made him laugh.He couldn’t believe his luck when she’d suggested the bodyguard job.It had made things easier.With a different actress, he would have offered a simple business deal.But Jillian…
Ahh, she was prickly.He had no doubt that one false word from him and she would have hung up.He’d learned quite a bit about her during their conversation.It would have been better studying her expressions and body language, but her responses had given him a glimpse into her mind, her character as a person, what made her tick.He liked her.Lex grinned.
Before money was mentioned during their conversation, Lex had been fantasizing about her, wondering if her wheat-spun hair was as soft as it looked.Now he imagined it spread out on the pillow as she writhed with passion, his hands on her skin, his fingers stroking her intimately.She had the kind of lips that could drive a man insane.Lips meant to be licked, sucked, and worshipped.On the other hand, they could be doing the worshipping.
Lex shifted uneasily in his seat, blood rushing to his groin as his thoughts became graphic.He’d better focus on something else fast.
What did she want with three hundred and fifty thousand dollars in cash?No one asked for that unless they were planning to do something that left no paper trail.Was she in trouble?One phone call and he’d have his security team on the case, digging into her background.But like his earlier decision, he didn’t want to pry.He wanted her to trust him and willingly share personal things.
The chopper descended to the helipad on the rooftop of his building.
“Thanks, Mathews,” he told the pilot before he stepped down.
“Will you need me tonight, sir?”
“No.File a flight plan for tomorrow.See you at nine.”Mathews was the only full-time pilot he employed.He and a co-pilot from a nearby temp company often flew the jet when Lex, members of his company, or family were headed out of town.He was also in charge of the chopper when necessary.Though licensed, Lex only flew when Mathews was off duty.
Lex left the roof and headed for the lower stairs.The upper ones led to the penthouse.Paula met him before he reached the side door leading into the building.”
“Ryo Hujimura called,” she said.“He wants to have a teleconference.”
Lex glanced at his watch.It was four in the afternoon, but eight in Tokyo.Ryo, Yoshi Hujimura’s son, was usually in his office by six, which was the time the two of them talked.Something wasn’t right.
“Is that why you’re meeting me out here looking”—he studied her, rattled came to mind, but he wouldn’t dare say it—“worried?”
“Your cousin is here, and he’s not happy.He called earlier, but when I explained that you were not to be interrupted when in a meeting, he hung up.Now he’s here.”
The way she said “your cousin” could only mean one person—Eddie.He tended to rub people the wrong way.He had no filter when pissed.Lex indicated the door, and Paula walked ahead of him.
“Can you explain to him that I wasn’t stonewalling him?I like it better when he’s not scowling so ferociously,” Paula added.
Lex stopped himself from chuckling.Paula was old school and tough as nails, but something about Eddie often made her hold back.They entered the executive floor and headed to his office.Fitz-Valdez owned real estate across the country with offices in San Francesco, Chicago, and New York, but the head office was in L.A.The properties managed by the company were vast, including hotels on several islands in the Caribbean.
“I’ll call Tokyo after I’m done with Eddie.”Lex disappeared inside his office.Business was important, but family always came first.
His cousin stood at the window with his back to the door, staring at the view of downtown L.A.He turned, relief sweeping his face.Usually, he wore a poker face, something he’d perfected during his years as an LAPD detective.
