Not Daddy Material (Billionaire's Contract Duet 2)

“It was certain from the start that this project was a failure. Its value is nothing compared to the price of purchase. It was only a matter of time when the owner would officially announce their decision to tear it down.”

“Thank you for your time today,” the reporter thanked him and turned to face the camera. “That would be all. As soon as we have more information about this case, we will report about it.”

I stared at the screen, feeling my heart beating so fast that it was making me sick. I turned it off, the sudden silence making me feel even emptier.

If there was any doubt that I’d heard or understood anything wrong, this was my proof that it was real. I was convinced now that it was going to be torn down, and there was nothing I coul

d do. Such a perfect place would definitely be destroyed, and nobody even cared.

Charles didn’t care.

He’d lied to me from the start, and now I didn’t know what to do.

Suddenly, my phone rang and I yelped in surprise. I looked at the screen. I felt a pang in my chest when I saw it was Charles.

No. I wouldn’t answer. He was an asshole and he didn’t deserve even a minute of my time.

I waited for the ringing to stop and exhaled when it finally did. I felt my tears welling up in my eyes again, and just as I was about to burst into crying again, my phone rang once more.

“I can’t believe him!” It was Charles again, and this time it rang for too long. No. I couldn’t answer him. He was calling me to spread more lies. He didn’t respect me or care about me. “No. I won’t answer you, so you can give up.”

The ringing stopped, and I still stared at the screen, a little disappointed that this was it. Even after everything, I missed him and I wanted to hear his voice.

I closed my eyes. I was really screwed. I knew he was bad, yet I wanted to see him again.

Ring! Ring! Ring!

I looked at my phone in surprise. He was calling me again?

Sighing heavily, I grabbed the phone and finally answered the call. To hell with everything! “What do you want, Charles?”

“Rebecca, finally,” he sounded so relieved that I felt guilt rising from deep within me. No, this wasn’t good. I wasn’t supposed to feel like this about him. “Please, I need to talk to you. Now I understand what the problem is here, and I want to explain some things to you. That place is not going to be torn down. Those are lies. Please, I beg you, meet me at the hotel.”

I gnawed at my lip. My heart accelerated in anticipation, a feeling of hope spreading through me. He’d just said it wouldn’t be demolished, and I was so conflicted. I didn’t know if I could trust him. What if this was just another one of his manipulations?

“I don’t know, Charles—”

“Please, angel. Just listen to me. I want to explain everything to you. Nothing else. If you still think you won’t be able to trust me in the end... Then I will understand that, but please, just give me one chance. Meet me at the hotel and let’s talk about this.”

He sounded so desperate and for a few moments I didn’t know what was right or wrong anymore. I couldn’t be sure about anything. If what he’d just said was right, then why did that contractor say those things?

A part of me—the one that wanted me to believe Charles—was urging me to give him a chance. It was telling me that there was a possibility he wasn’t a liar. It was reminding me that I loved him.

Oh my God, I loved him, and if there was even a tiny possibility that he was speaking the truth...

I took a deep breath. “Okay, Charles. I will meet you at the hotel.”

19

Charles

When she’d said she would meet me, I was beyond myself with relief and joy. She was giving me a chance to prove myself to her, and I wanted to do anything do make her believe me.

I’d seen the story on the news about the hotel being torn down and figured out what had made Rebecca so angry. She’d heard about the place being demolished and she thought I was lying to her from the start.

Shit. That was so fucked up. Not only I was pissed off because of that lie, but I was also mad that I could lose Rebecca just because of some misunderstanding.

I was so furious. I didn’t know who the contractors were or why they would want to spread lies about my project. It was absurd, and I shouldn’t be surprised that it had already reached media. These things happened from time to time when our competition tried to ruin our reputation. They would spurt nonsense and try to make us look like we were on the verge of bankruptcy.