Billionaire's Single Mom

"Seriously," Betty said as she hugged the girl tightly. "Leah and I will figure it out. Don't you worry. Now, don't you have homework to complete for tomorrow, young lady?"

"I do! I'm working on it," Riley said as she ran back to the bed and threw herself across it. I stood up and turned to go but, before I could, Riley pushed herself up and threw her arms around my waist saying, "Thank you, Leah. I'm glad you let us stay here."

"You're welcome, kiddo," I smiled as I hugged her back. "We'll figure something out. Don't worry."

Betty and I exited the room and quietly closed the door behind us before heading down to the sitting room where she had had the kitchen staff lay out tea and dessert.

"I hope you don't think I'm interfering," she said as she poured us both a cup of tea. "I don't mean to, but Riley is such a smart girl. She loved working with Bree."

"I don't mind at all," I admitted. "But I worry that I'm setting her up for disappointment once we return to our regular lives."

"I know we live a rather extravagant lifestyle," Betty said as she sipped from her cup. "But having you and Riley around makes me realize how much I miss having people in the house. Since Bernard died, it's been so quiet around here and I've felt lonely. The two of you, and Jack of course, make the house much livelier."

"Well, it's been wonderful for us, too," I said. "I can't thank you enough for inviting us to stay with you."

"What are your plans for your next move?" Betty asked.

"I've been looking for an apartment near Riley's school, but she just told me she doesn't want to go back to it. So now I'm not sure where to look," I said, feeling overwhelmed by everything I needed to do. "I guess I'll have to scout out schools."

"I know some excellent ones," Betty offered. "I can give you a list of them, if you like."

"That would be great," I nodded, knowing that the schools she'd recommend were likely to be in neighborhoods where my salary wouldn't make it possible to rent.

"Meanwhile, we'll figure out a way to keep Bree coming to visit Riley once you two are settled again," she said.

"Thank you, Betty. I know Riley would love that," I said. I stood up and excused myself, saying that I was exhausted and needed a hot bath before bed. Betty wished me a good night, and I climbed the stairs, feeling more tired than I had in a very long time.

BAD BOY BILLIONAIRE VOLUME IV

Chapter Thirty-Five

Jack

By the time I got home that night I was exhausted, but also revved up about the plan to thwart Lincoln and Sloan. We'd put most of the pieces in place, and now all we had to do was wait for the two traitors to reveal themselves on their own. I knew we'd have to be careful about how we proceeded, but since Leah, Norma, and I were the only ones who knew what the plan was, I felt confident that no one would let the cat out of the bag.

The house was dark, but as I walked down the hallway to my room, I saw a sliver of light shining from under Leah's door. I stopped and listened, and then tapped lightly on the door.

"I told you to go to—oh, Jack, sorry, I thought you were Riley," Leah laughed. She pushed a strand of wet hair out of her eyes as she smiled at me and asked, "How was your day?"

"It was, um, productive," I said as I stared at her. She must have just taken a shower because she looked fresh and smelled like lavender and sage. My mind immediately recalled what it had felt like to hold her close, and I had the urge to push the door open a little wider and take her in my arms.

"Jack? Are you okay?" she asked, pulling me back to reality.

"Oh, yeah, fine," I said, shaking my head to clear the thoughts. I could feel myself being pulled to her, and every day the pull grew stronger. I wanted to tell her what I was thinking. I knew that if I did, I risked not only being rejected but also losing an incredibly valuable employee. How much longer could this go on?

"So, we figured out a way to manage the shipments that wouldn't interfere with the plan we devised," I heard her saying as I watched her mouth moving. I wanted so badly to kiss her lips.

"That's great, Leah," I said nodding as I stepped closer to the door. Leah backed up and opened the door wider.

"Do you want to come in?" she asked.

"I've been meaning to talk to you about something," I began deciding that it was now or never. I needed to say something or else I'd explode.

"I know," she said looking down at the floor as she bit her lip. "I've been thinking about it, too."

"You have been?" I said surprised that she was being this open with me.

"Yeah, I know it's probably been really difficult for you, so I've been trying to think of a way to talk to you about it," she said looking up at me. Her eyes were a shade of deep blue that reminded me of the ocean off the coast of Santorini, and I was mesmerized by them.