Chapter Two
1116 Words
She knew that the back of his villa faced on to the shores of the River, which had an unimpeded view. And that apparently one of his favourite times was dusk, as he would watch the lights twinkle and come on across the still waters from his terrace, which was covered with antique drapes. Or at least that was the picture of the man that the gushing article had painted. A man who could have anything he desired at the snap of his fingers. Nina knew all about the exclusivity of The Seine villas. But then, for a multi-billionaire who controlled the largest, most successful Tech company in the world, who would expect anything less?
Her hands tightened on the steering wheel. His lights had disappeared and Nina knew she had to concentrate. They were here, at the high wall of his villa. She cursed herself. She had to get it together. For Katie. The effort it had taken her sister to say just a few words a week ago had been enough to tip her into unconsciousness. But they’d been enough.
They’d given her all the information she’d needed.
She drove the car into the space she had found earlier, partially hidden by an hugely overgrown tree, and sat there for some moments waiting for the other car to draw up behind her. Nina hadn’t even known about Katie’s pregnancy until she’d received a series of panicky messages on her mobile and in their apartment which alerted her to her sister’s whereabouts.
It had taken the hospital a day to properly identify Katie and get in contact. And since that moment everything had been a scary blur.
Katie had gripped her hand, struggling to speak. It had made Nina’s heart hurt.
‘Katie, love, don’t say anything; you need to keep your strength.’
Katie had shaken her head.
‘Daniel Beaumont. He’s the one…’
‘‘Katie—’ Nina’s voice had been urgent
‘—what do you mean? Is he the one who did this to you? Is he the one you talked about?’
Katie had rested back against the pillows, her words were broken and her breath shaky.
‘I was on going to see him to tell him that I’d leave the company, or do anything else he wanted, as long as… I was so upset and then that truck just came out of nowhere—’ She closed her eyes at the memory, went paler and gripped Nina’s hand even tighter as her eyes opened again.
‘You have to find him, Nee… I need him to…’ Nina had been horrified to see weak tears rolling down her sister’s face.
‘Oh, Nee, I love him so much and he sent him away…and I need him.’
Her sister had been so feverish by then that her words had become jumbled.
She’d obviously meant that he’d sent her away. The facts were right there and Nina had pieced them together with little effort. Her sister had had an affair with Daniel Beaumont, the owner of the company she worked for. He had tossed her aside, and Katie had been on her way to see him when the accident happened. Her distraught state had made her careless and she hadn’t seen the oncoming truck about to ram her car off the road.
Nina felt so guilty that she hadn’t been there. If only she’d been able to phone more frequently. All she knew was that Katie had been dating someone at work.
As she couldn’t get more information out of her feverish sister, Nina had turned to the Internet to find out what she could about this man. She’d seen that office affairs within the Beaumont corporation were terminable offences and yet the man himself had decided to be the biggest hypocrite of all…
She knew men like him very well, after all, she worked with them all the time. Arrogant and entitled billionaires who think they can do whatever they like with no remorse. As a member of Doctors Without Borders herself, Nina didn’t like rich people—she hated their upturned noses when they spoke about impoverished people in third world countries, even more—but they were needed for their usually generously sized donations that helped provide free medical services in war zones.
A car door slammed behind her, jerking her out of her thoughts.
She looked back and grimaced. She wouldn’t normally do this, but Daniel Beaumont had pushed her to her limits and left her with no choice.
“He deserves what’s coming to him”, she reminded herself.
Daniel Beaumont drove his car to a sudden stop on the gravel outside his villa.
He felt so much relief as he shot out and ran up the few stone steps, his housekeeper coming out to meet him. They exchanged a few words and he strode through the open door and into the immense, palatial villa. Home.
His favourite place in the world.
He recalled Jeanette’s pleas to bring her back with him for the night. How she’d whispered what she’d thought were erotic promises into his ear on the steps of the hotel, but which had made any possible lingering desire disappear completely.
Jeannette Dubois was undoubtedly a stunning French woman. And she had made no secret of the fact that she wanted Daniel. His mouth tightened. Wanted his wealth. That much was clear.
When he’d arrived in Paris a few days ago, he’d gone for a quiet drink, a catch up with some locals, and Jeanette had shown up with some flimsy story of catching up too.
His defences must have been down, or something, because he’d found himself going to her hotel this evening to take her for dinner and then had allowed her to seduce him.
What was wrong with him? Being one who weighs up pros and cons before making decisions, Daniel never regrets anything he did but for some odd reason, he found himself wishing he hadn’t allowed Jeanette close to him. It didn’t matter that she was exactly the type of beautiful and polished woman he normally went for.
He shuddered at the thought of bringing her into his home. His sanctuary. He was glad he left her on the steps of the hotel earlier.
His ears perked up as he heard raised voices and saw his housekeeper at the door. She looked as if she was struggling with something—or someone—trying to get in.
His whole body hardened.
Who dared break into his home? Anger flared in his eyes and he walked towards the door.
No matter who it was, they were going to regret this.
- Writer
