A Billionaire in Disguise #3 ： The Wrong Side of Midnight(2)

"My parents don't really know anything about me. Raised by nannies while they traveled all my life isn't exactly anything to bond over."

Not grasping the extent of what she heard, Becky tried to give the best advice she could drum up. "You have to tell them how you feel and that you're breaking things off with Edmund."

"I'm an adult. I don't have to tell them anything. Do you know they haven't bothered to call me in a very long time? They talk to the staff here at the house, but they don't ever speak to me. I grab the phone from Lois if she's talking with my parents. All I hear is them hanging up." Chloe jumped in the pool to wash away the tears.

"I'm so sorry, sweetie, I had no idea … " Becky wiped the tears off her own face. "Why didn't you say something to me?"

"Do you know how embarrassing and humiliating it is to say that my parents don't care about me, don't know who I am, when your folks are so kind and loving to you?"

Becky helped her out of the pool and they sat on the edge. She kept her arm around Chloe and let her head rest on her shoulder. They sat in silence for a long time, both lost in their own thoughts. The girls were very protective of one another, and Becky had to fight her strong urge to try and contact the Burlington's.

"Love, I'm not trying to stick up for your parents, but you have to know that being this rich puts you in a different category. Poor people and rich ones don't have a lot in common."

"Don't take offense to this, but you wouldn't know, and neither would I." Chloe stood up and dried off. "I'm going to go introduce myself when he gets off that roof. If things go badly, you can be the first one to say 'I told you so.'"

Chloe dozed off and when she awoke, the hammering sounds were gone. She looked up at the roof and didn't see anyone. The sun was going down, and she began to panic. Dang, I missed him! She certainly didn't mean to sleep for so long. Then she heard the sound of a car motor and someone drive away. Maybe that wasn't him.

"You're acting like a guy," laughed Becky as she tried to lighten things up. "Besides, he's going to be all grimy and sweaty, and probably smell."

"I can't help myself. Do you know when the last time was that a guy turned my head? Edmund might not be very great looking, but it was his personality that made him unattractive to me."

"You went from this kind, polite, almost bashful girl to a heathen!"

"That's okay, because this heathen is going on a mission. It's about time I actually do something I want to do. If Edmund calls, tell him to go to hell. If my parents happen to call, tell them I moved." Chloe took off in the house and changed into shorts and a baggy t-shirt, then hurried back outside and smiled at Becky.

"Are you seriously going over there?"

"Yep."

"Well now's your chance. He's walking across the grass to a ratty truck."

Chloe took off running down the long driveway. By the time she hit the middle of the lawn, the roofer was driving away in his truck. She slowly walked back to the pool and sat on the chair.

"You know what? That's a big roof," began Chloe as she brightened up. They aren't finished with it yet. Tomorrow, throw on some more sunscreen. We're going to sit out here all day if we have to."


 

 

 

" … .And Edmund?"

"I'll take care of it. He needs to be with a woman who prioritizes like he does. Did you know that he doesn't even want children? He thinks they're dirty. I can't be with him. You're my best friend, Becky. You have to stand behind me and not tell another soul about this."

"I got your back, chica, don't you worry."

∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

She walked inside the house and stared at Edmund's cocky smile. Is this what I want? Chloe knew the answer but didn't know if she was capable of following through with the ball she was getting ready to start rolling. She would have given anything to have had the courage to stand up for herself when the relationship with Edmund was arranged. But she was so hungry for love and approval it was pathetic. Even though Chloe despised the entire situation she was forced into, she went along with it without a peep when she saw the potential for her to get what she wanted. Her parents would have to show up at her wedding, so maybe they'd find her to be a beautiful bride and would want to stay. If they hated me so badly, why did they have me? An accident … I must have been an accident. Maybe they wanted a boy. She was the sole heiress of Burlington Enterprises and couldn't despise the business any more than she already did. The business was their baby, I never was. Later that evening, after Chloe got her courage, she picked up the phone and called Edmund.

"Hello, my future Mrs. Edmund Lauer."

Chloe could hear the tall, very thin, perfectly groomed pig, rubbing his palms together like he was getting ready to roll the dice. "We need to talk. Can you come by?"

"I'm happy you phoned me. I was going to tell you to put on that black dress. I'm taking you out for drinks. I ran into some old classmates I'd like you to meet."

"I don't have to wear that black dress. I have lots of clothes. Why do you always want me dressing like that?"

"Because it's sexy and turns every man's head. You are always the sexiest thing in the room. I'll pick you up at nine."

"Thing … I'm not a thing! I'm not only going to not wear the black dress, I'm not going to go anywhere with you. I'm sorry, Edmund, but I can't be in an arranged relationship, and that's what this is. I think it's best if we go our separate ways. I'll have the ring delivered back to you. Hell, you can even have the black dress and wear it yourself!" Chloe wasn't aware of how loudly she was talking.

"We can talk about it over drinks, my bride. Don't forget, nine o'clock, and wear that little black dress! The guys will fall out of their chairs!" 

Wiping the tears off her face, Chloe reached up, removed the large photograph from the wall, carefully removed it from its frame … then shredded it. His cocky smile was now torn in half. Picking up her purse and keys, she went out the front door. She walked right by her Mercedes and hopped in her Jeep. Her parents bought the car for her birthday and even had it delivered. But what she really wanted was a phone call on her special day. Chloe knew that wouldn't happen, so it wasn't a surprise when the keys were handed to her by the security staff, along with a birthday card from Earl and Sylvia Burlington of Burlington Enterprises. Chloe's name wasn't even on the card. Not only was it mailed from the business, it was the same printed ones they had the secretary mail to everyone. Unfortunately, it was the identical card she always received.

Chloe and her parents were basically strangers. They didn't even know she bought the red Jeep. Sylvia and Earl knew as much about her as Edmund did. As she sped down the driveway, security stopped her like she knew they would.

"Miss Burlington, where are you headed so late in the evening?"

"Look, I'm going out to buy tampons because Lois isn't around. I won't be gone long and I have cash. No ID required!" Chloe smiled, knowing if security found her to be upset, they wouldn't open the gates. Thankfully her parents hadn't been in the news and no reporters were outside, or she definitely wouldn't be going anywhere.

"Very well," the guard replied, then looked at his watch and wrote the time on a clipboard.

Chloe slowly let out the breath she'd been holding and waved while she calmly left the estate.

I'm done with all this!

Chapter 2

Matthew tossed the box of shingles over his shoulder as if it was weightless. The bright June sun was bearing down on the small crew and showing no mercy. Michigan's gross humidity was adding to their misery, and he didn't look forward to the long twelve hour days. He cringed at the thought of burning up on this hot roof over the next week laying shingles on a guesthouse. The forecast predictions warned of an unbearable summer, and they were right. Ninety degrees in the shade, and God knows how hot it was on these black shingles. I should stop complaining. It is what it is.

The guesthouse was huge, and they'd only just begun on this project. It was the first contract he'd ever landed in the rich community of Berkshire. He had to bid low in order to get it and, unfortunately, after covering all his overhead, his paycheck wasn't going to be that great. Matthew knew it'd be a cold day in hell before he dug himself out of the financial hole he was in.

He couldn't help but feel bitterness. How do people afford a house like this? Hell, today I'd be happy just to be able to afford another man on the crew. Getting stuck in his father's roofing business wasn't exactly what he had planned for himself. There were no siblings or other relatives to share the burden. Matthew was an only child, and his mother walked out three weeks after his birth. She left the apartment to go to the store and never came back. A note was later found with the words "I'm sorry".

His father's health was failing from emphysema. He was, and still is, a heavy smoker. It frustrates Matthew beyond belief, but he loves his dad and didn't have the heart to let the company fold. I wish I could have gone to college and done something different instead of being baked to death on the roof of these rich people.

Matthew saw the bright sun reflecting off a large in-ground pool on the estate next door. Two women dressed in tiny bikinis were soaking up the sun and sipping cute drinks through straws. He couldn't help but stare at their tanned, perfect bodies, while his bitterness grew greater. I bet they never worked a single day in their lives. Daddy's girls. Matthew laughed as his buddy John made a soft whistle sound.