Billionaires Galore!: Bedded by the Billionaire. Leanne Banks

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СКАЧАТЬ Mallory took a couple extra minutes to primp, Lilli walked out into the hallway. She’d gone no more than three steps when she nearly ran into Kiki.

      Lilli immediately backed away. “Oh, excuse me. How are you?”

      Kiki narrowed her eyes. “I could be a lot better.” She stared at Lilli for a long moment then cocked her head to the other less busy side of the hallway. “Do you have a moment? I’d like to talk with you.”

      “I probably should get back to—”

      “Max,” Kiki said, her beautiful face tightening with displeasure. “He can wait. This won’t take long.”

      Lilli reluctantly followed Kiki.

      “You probably don’t know this, but Max and I have a very close relationship. Very close,” she emphasized. “In fact, no one would be surprised if we were to get married. We’ve been seeing each other for a couple of years.”

      Lilli nodded. “I see.”

      “A man like Max, well, a woman just has to accept that he may stray every now and then. It doesn’t really mean anything. Men, especially powerful men, have women throwing themselves at them all the time.”

      Lilli wondered what this had to do with her.

      “Now Max hasn’t wanted to admit anything,” Kiki continued with a determined smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “I’m sure he doesn’t want to hurt my feelings. But I’m not stupid. He obviously feels obligated toward you and I can understand why you would want to take advantage of the situation.”

      “Not really,” Lilli said.

      Kiki waved her hand. “You don’t need to deny it. I can’t imagine any woman in your position who wouldn’t exploit the situation to her advantage.”

      Lilli felt a spurt of anger. “I’m—”

      “Just hear me out,” Kiki interjected. “What you need to understand is that you won’t be able to hold him. Sure, he’ll be a great father to the child, but Max is a special man and trust me, he requires special handling. I know he will provide financial support for your child. But you seem like an independent-minded woman, so I thought you might like some additional support of your own.”

      Confusion and wariness mixed inside her. “Additional support?”

      Kiki lowered her voice. “Here’s the deal. You leave Max, never come back and don’t get in my way and I’ll give you fifty thousand dollars.”

      Lilli blinked at the woman in disbelief. “Are you serious?”

      “Dead serious,” Kiki said. “Max is very important to me.”

      Incredulous, Lilli shook her head. “I can’t—”

      “Sure you can. Think about it. Imagine getting all that money and a clean break to do what you want where you want.” She paused a half beat. “If you make the move within a week, I might even throw in a bonus. You could buy yourself a little condo or house and be in charge of your own life. Trust me, if you stay with Max, he’ll have an opinion about everything you say and do.” She pressed a card into Lilli’s hand. “Call me. I’ll make it worth your while.”

      Lilli stared after the woman as she strode away. She couldn’t believe what had just happened. The conversation ran through her mind again, but it was almost too much for her to comprehend.

      “Hey, Lilli,” Mallory said, moving her hand in front of Lilli’s face. “Are you okay? You look a little sick. Should you sit down?”

      Lilli shook her head to clear it. “No, I just—” She sighed and headed back to the table.

      “Are you sure?” Mallory asked as she followed after her. “You look pale. Like you’re sick or you just had a close encounter with an alien or something. Some people don’t believe in that stuff, but I do.”

      Lilli shook her head at the irony. “That’s a pretty good explanation,” she said.

      “What is?” Mallory asked.

      “A close encounter with an alien,” Lilli said, crumpling Kiki’s card into a little wad and tossing it onto a passing waiter’s empty tray.

      Mallory nodded and whispered, “The place is full of aliens tonight, isn’t it?”

      Still shaken from her encounter with Kiki, but trying to get past it, Lilli returned with Mallory to the table just as dessert was being served. Max immediately stood and helped both Lilli and Mallory into their chairs while Lilli introduced Mallory.

      After they all sat down, he turned to Lilli. “Everything okay?”

      She gave a circular nod, but mustered a smile.

      “You want to explain that remark about Alex?” he asked.

      She felt her cheeks heat with embarrassment. “I was just commenting that it’s not fair for him—or you—to use your—” she searched for an appropriate word “—appeal to put a woman off balance.”

      His lips twitched. “Are you admitting I put you off balance?”

      She reached for her glass of water. “I’m not saying anything else. I offered my explanation.”

      “Sounds like you’re pleading the fifth.”

      “How is Kiki?” she asked, changing the focus off herself.

      Irritation crossed his face. “How is it that a woman can appear perfectly sane and rational at the beginning of a relationship then turn totally insane and irrational at the end?”

      “It’s all the man’s fault,” she said. “Men turn women into raging lunatics. They hint, they promise, they mislead.”

      “I am always up-front in my relationships with women. I make it clear that I’m not interested in marriage and—”

      “Why not?” she asked. “Why aren’t you interested in marriage?”

      “It needs to be the right woman at the right time. I’ve never found the right woman.”

      “Why not Kiki?” she asked, keeping her voice low.

      “This isn’t the best place for a private discussion, but I’ve never been serious about Kiki. She’s a beautiful, intelligent woman, but not right for me in the long run. I told her that from the beginning.”

      Ouch, Lilli thought. That couldn’t have gone over well. “Is there anything you did that might have led her to believe that you’d changed your mind and that you and her were getting close to a commitment?”

      He narrowed his eyes. “Why are you asking these questions?”

      She shrugged. “Just curious. She seems a little…”

      “A little what?”

      “I don’t know. Maybe СКАЧАТЬ