The Billionaire's Secret (Tycoon Billionaires 5)

“Yeah, just a few towns along in Paxton.”

“I thought you were a city boy.”

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me, Astrid.”

“Probably.” She pulled her laptop out of its case. “And that’s the exactly how I hope to remain. I’ve got a lot of work to do.”

Jake drove them out of the City and toward the freeway as Astrid typed frantically on her laptop next to him, refusing to talk. The scenery outside was as dull and desolate as the atmosphere inside his flash Ferrari. The brilliant blue sky was a stark contrast to the gray high-rise buildings that were stacked tightly together like dominoes. But after a while, once they’d left the confines of NYC, the landscape started to change… to relax into green fields and autumnal trees. Fall always signified the beginning of the end, and Jake wondered whether that was true for his brief encounter with Astrid.

He glanced at her as he drove, knowing she was livid with him, and he understood why. She was fixated on typing – and he wondered whether she was even typing her report as she’d said, or whether her furious fingers were just writing the words ‘What a fucking asshole’ over and over.

Ordinarily, he would’ve been happy to drive in silence, to put this fling down to experience and forget her. He could’ve used this time to start planning the next stage of his life… his treasure hunt… what he was going to do with all that money. That’s what he usually did when things went wrong – bury his feelings, brush himself off, and start looking for some other relationship to ruin in five minutes flat. But there was something about Astrid… he liked her too much to quit this early. The thought of losing this lovely woman rusted his soul.

He’d fucked up, and he was now prepared – for the first time ever – to put in some effort to make amends.

He cruised down the freeway, enjoying the feel of his gorgeous car all around him, and decided to try small talk – something he hated.

“So… Astrid… what do you… er…?”

She stopped typing and shot him a look of irritation. “What?”

He gripped the steering wheel. What the hell was wrong with him? He was so tied up in knots over this woman, he couldn’t even string a sentence together. “Um… you got any siblings?”

She sighed and resumed typing. “Yeah, one sister. But – unlike you – I don’t spy on people for her.”

He focused back on the road and sped past a Porsche – receiving a few honks from angry drivers. “Look, I said I was sorry about what I did. I obviously didn’t intend for you to find out like that.”

She scoffed. “Oh well, that’s all right then, let’s just forget it ever happened.”

He knew she was being sarcastic, but ordinarily he would’ve just tried to forget it. But not this time. Perhaps there was a way to get her talking…

“You two don’t get along then, huh?” he asked.

Her fingers paused mid-type. “What?”

“You and your sister… what’s her name?”

“Emma… I didn’t say we don’t get on.”

“I’m pretty good at reading people. You’ve gotta look for clues in my profession… body language. Vocal tone.”

Her hands were still hovering above the keys of her laptop. He stared at the road ahead, but he knew she was intrigued. He suppressed a smile.

“And what did you infer about my sister from my vocal tone?” she asked, haughtily.

“That you don’t get on. You practically hissed your reply to me.”

“That’s because I’m upset with you, Jake.”

He threw her an apologetic smile. “I know. But there’s some sibling rivalry between you, huh?”

Astrid gazed out the window. “No. Just that my parents love her more than me. She’s younger and they treat her like she’s the best daughter ever. But she’s a brat. I’m a good daughter, but they take that for granted. She’s always doing stupid stuff to get their attention and they seem to love that.”

“Stupid stuff like what?”

“Staying out all night. Drinking. Going missing.”

“She still lives at home?”