The Billionaire Next Door (The BAD BOY BILLIONAIRES Collection) by Judy Angelo Page A

serious.”
    “No, you’re not.  You’re the one who desecrated our
relationship by cheating on me.  You’re the one who couldn’t stay out of your
secretary’s pants.  Or did you forget?”  Solie sucked in her breath, the anger
building as the whole scenario came flying back to slap her in the face.  “And
after all that, you expect me to take you back?  No,” she said, shaking her
head, “you’re definitely not serious.”
    “That was a big mistake, Sol.  I was going through
a…phase.  But I’m over that now.  I came to my senses.  I need you.”  He gave
her a look so earnest that if Solie didn’t know him she would swear he was
telling the truth.  Well, the truth according to him, anyway.
    “And what about Miss McQuade?”  She just had to ask. 
Not that it would make any difference but her curiosity was getting the better
of her.
    Raul gave a snort, his lips taking on a bitter twist. 
“That bitch?  I got over her a long time ago.”
    Solie lifted her eyebrows, shocked at his crudeness. 
Then she frowned.  “I can imagine you called me the very same thing.”
    “No,” he said, shaking his head, “never.  I respect you
too much.”
    That almost made her laugh.  It would be funny if it
weren’t so sick.  “Yeah, that’s right.  That’s why you cheated on me.”
    “I told you, it was just a -”
    “I know, a phase.  That’s what you called it.  But let
me tell you something about that ‘phase’ of yours.”  She slid her hands into
her pockets, her anger giving way to a stillness in her soul, a sign that this
man could no longer stir her.  “That phase,” she said, her voice surprisingly calm,
“can go on forever as far as I’m concerned.  It’s been over a year since we
broke up.  What we had is dead.  Buried.  Rotting in its grave.”
    This time Raul did not take her answer sitting down. 
Lithe as a tiger, he was up and by her side before she could move.  “Not
anymore, Solie.  I still want you and I know you want me, too.”
    He hadn’t touched her and Solie used the opportunity to
back away, moving out of his immediate reach.  Things were getting too hot for
her, too emotional.  She needed a wild card to get her out of this mess. 
Desperate, she drew for the one thing she knew would rid her of him once and
for all.  “Well, that’s where you’re wrong,” she said, her voice cold.  “I
don’t want you.  I moved on a long time ago.  I have a man in my life now.”
    A stroke of anger flashed across his face.  “You’re
lying.  I can see it in your eyes.”
    She shook her head.  “I’m not.  I’m telling you the
truth.  I have a man.  He means everything to me.  There’s no room in my life
for anyone else.”
    At her declaration Raul drew back and his dark eyes grew
cold.  “We’ll just see about that.” 
    ***
     
     
    Ransom stared out the window of his hotel room as he
held the phone to his ear.  The naked branches reaching up into a bleak sky and
the dreariness of the snow-covered landscape almost made him shiver.  Boy, was
he glad he’d be heading back to sunny Florida soon.  This kind of frigid
environment, he could do without.
    “Uh, huh.  I got that but what I want to know is, when
he’s going to deliver.”  As he spoke into the phone he reached out to slide the
pads of his fingers on the glass.  It was so cold it felt like his fingers
would stick.
    He slid his hand into his pocket and listened some
more.  “Wrong answer, bud.  Give me something more positive than that.”  He was
not liking the direction of the conversation.  No project was ever one hundred
percent smooth but this one seemed to have more than its share of issues. 
First, it was the permit then the plumbing and now this.  “And the department
of transportation and roads is adamant we can’t cut the road through there?”
    The answer came back in the affirmative.  Ransom bit
down on his lip as he did a quick assessment in his mind.