Torn:Billionaire Bachelors Club #2(3)

     



 

"No need to explain yourself." She holds up a hand, stepping away from  me. As if she needs the distance. The seductive smile, the sparkling  interest in her pretty blue eyes, it's all gone. Doused like a flame  under water. "I understand your type. It was nice meeting you."

My type? What the hell is she talking about? "Wait, Marina!" I call her  name but she's already walking away, not once bothering to look back as  she exits the building and disappears completely.





Chapter Two




Gage

"YOU DUMBASS, MARINA Knight is a Molina." Archer smacks the back of my  head like he used to do when we were teens, and I let out a wimpy yelp,  twisting out of his reach belatedly. Back then, I was usually quick  enough to duck and miss that hard-as-hell-smack.

Now I kind of deserved it.

"I only just realized that. And trust me, I feel like a dumbass." I  rubbed the back of my tense neck. Last night while lying in bed, I'd  finally connected the dots and figured out who Marina Knight was. The  last name Knight should've been my first clue. I did a little Google  research, which enlightened me. Talk about feeling like a complete  idiot.

I need a vacation. I can't remember the last time I've been able to let go and just relax.

We're at the restaurant inside Archer's hotel, Hush, having lunch while I  tell him what happened at last night's event. Archer was the one who'd  given me the invite in the first place since he hadn't been able to  attend. Too busy making kissy noises at my sister I guess. I don't  remember his excuse.

So I went in his place. Sounds like I really stepped in it too. Something I never, ever do. I'm careful to a fault.

"A little late with that, aren't you? Her mother is Maribella Molina."

"I know," I interrupt, but Archer can't be stopped.

"She married Scott Knight back in the late seventies and it was  considered a monumental merger of two of the most influential, wealthy  families in the area. The Molinas and Knights are like royalty in the  Napa Valley." Archer pauses.

That I let the Knight reference slip by shows how distracted Marina made  me. I'm always on my game. I can always appreciate a beautiful woman,  but when it comes to work, I don't let them distract me.

So what gives? Why is Marina the exception?

Yeah, Scott Knight might run everything, but all the businesses are  still under the Molina name. Still. I'm irritated that I was such a  dumbass.

A waitress stops at our table, refilling our water glasses before she  flashes a flirtatious smile at Archer. He barely looks at her, offers a  cordial thank you before she hurries away.

All the women love him, and he only has eyes for Ivy; thank God. I'd  have to kick his ass if I caught him flirting with some random chick.

"Listen, I know who she is. Thanks for the explanation." All information  I already knew. Though I can use it to my advantage. For whatever  reason, it's been impossible to get to Scott Knight. And my usual  tactics haven't been working. I can definitely put Marina into my  arsenal.

That is if she'll ever speak to me again.

"Can't believe you had the nerve to talk about the Molinas in front of  their daughter. You're a complete dickhead." Archer shakes his head,  chuckling. "To be a fly on the wall . . ."

"Shut up." I sound vaguely whiny even to my own ears. I remember how she  glared at me when I started talking about her family. Holy shit. So  much disgust had filled her gaze. How she called me a vulture before  fleeing, not once turning back to look at me despite my yelling her  name. She'd hurried right out of that room as if the devil himself was  chasing her.

Yeah. I really screwed that up.

"She's very close to her family," Archer goes on with a gleam in his  eye. Like he's enjoying my misery by torturing me with more information.  "I'm sure she's already run off to Daddy and told him everything."

"I don't need to feel any worse than I already do," I say, my voice low,  as low as my mood. "And if that's the case, my chance at that strip of  businesses in St. Helena is shot, huh."

"Yep, you're fucked," Archer agrees. A little too easily for my taste,  but what can I say? I'm sure he's one hundred percent right.

I royally fucked this up.

Glancing around, I notice the restaurant is pretty empty. We're having a  late lunch, and I should probably let Archer get back to work, but I'm  frustrated with this entire situation.

"I don't get it. I don't know why I can't make this happen. It's like  Scott Knight refuses to see me. I've tried to make an appointment with  him multiple times. He never returns my calls." Or takes them either. If  it was bad before, imagine how much he'll ignore me now after his  daughter shreds my name and reputation?         

     



 

"I'm surprised you didn't put two and two together, considering you've  been hounding Scott Knight for weeks," Archer says, all nonchalant  conversation-like.

My mind is spinning; I'm hoping like hell I can come up with a solution and smooth over this incredible blunder I've made.

I don't normally do this sort of thing-blunders. I'm efficient,  conscientious, and, above all, careful. Archer is the screw-up. This is  why we've always balanced each other out so well. He pushes me and I  rein him in.

"You're always on top of your game," Archer continues. "What happened  last night?" He contemplates me; I can feel his eyes staring at me hard.  "You got the hots for Marina Knight, don't you?"

"Fuck no," I say way too defensively, glaring at him in return. "She's an ice queen."

"If so, she's a beautiful one." Archer lowers his voice. "Don't tell your sister I said that. She'd chop my balls off."

"Like I'd tell her," I mutter. "She'd probably chop my balls off by  association. Marina distracted me. I took one look at her and it was  like my brain froze."

"Ha." Archer shakes his head. "She has a bit of a reputation for being .  . . indifferent. And for whatever reason, every guy who encounters all  that cool indifference seems to get caught in that magnetic spell Marina  casts. I don't know what it is about her."

Great. So it was nothing special between us. She's some sort of mythical  siren. "I screwed up. I wish I could start over but it's too late now."

"You could go see her and apologize," Archer suggests.

"See her? Where?"

"She runs the organic bakery in St. Helena. You've heard of Autumn Harvest, right?"

Heard of it? That bakery is in the very block of stores I want to  purchase. The Molinas had put it up for sale before, a few years ago,  when the bottom fell out of the economy. They took it off the market  before I could make an offer, not that I'd been in a position to make  such an offer then. My money had been tied up in other properties and,  just like everyone else in America, I'd been hit by the economic crash.  Thank God I'd recuperated and am now doing better than ever. I'm a lucky  bastard.

And, damn it, I want that property. The Molinas own four buildings on  Main Street in St. Helena. Half of them need renovating, but they don't  have the cash to invest in such major work. The lease was coming up on  one of them. Another building sat empty. Revamping those locations would  allow me to collect more rent money. And that money would make  everything worth my while.

Though, I can't make the purchase if I can't get Scott Knight to talk to me.

"So it's really an organic bakery?" I ask. Sounds like a contradiction. I  associate bakeries with sweet, sugary goodness, not good-for-you food.

"Well, they say that to please the health-conscious masses. And they  make some delicious all-natural artisan breads. It's the cakes that kick  ass though." Archer leans back, patting his stomach. "Ivy brought one  home for my birthday. Best damn cake I ever ate."

"What kind? And does she bake them?" I found that hard to believe. She  didn't seem like the sweet, domesticated type. Definitely doesn't look  like a woman who likes to knead dough and frost cakes.

"She's not the baker, her aunt is. Marina manages the business."

Huh. Pulling my phone out of my jeans pocket, I bring up Autumn Harvest  in St. Helena, clicking the "About Us" link. Impatiently I wait for the  photos to load, sighing when I see the small pic of Marina Knight  smiling at me.

This is where I recognize her from-the website. I'd looked at it before  when I was gathering information. Ammo. Whatever you want to call it.

"I knew I recognized her from somewhere," I say as I stare at the picture on my phone.

She looks pretty. Accessible. She's wearing a T-shirt that says AUTUMN  HARVEST across the front. Her hair is pulled into a ponytail, her smile  wide, cheeks a becoming, rosy pink, almost as pink as her sensuous lips.

I can't take my eyes off of her.

"I think you've got it bad for freaking Marina Knight," Archer said,  sounding infinitely amused, the jackoff. "This is hilarious. Are you  sitting there mooning over her picture?"