Alpha Billionaire’s Bride, Part Three (BWWM Romance Serial) Read online

  Jada and Marina sat in silent speculation for a few moments. Jada’s mind busily worked through the new information.

  She stood up and paced around the room a few times before stopping in front of the open balcony doors. She looked out over the peaceful, lush grounds, but didn’t actually note anything.

  Someone paid Sylvia to phone in a tip to CGTV which helped them find Jada’s and Ian’s fake marriage license. A woman. Who? And why?

  Jada had a lot to think about.

  Chapter Two

  IAN SAT IN THE ROWBOAT and cast his line into the lake. The bobber landed with a satisfying plunk.

  “This is the life,” Sullivan said after a satisfied sigh. “Hanging out, drinking beer and the fish aren’t even ruining it by biting and making us reel them in. Remind me again why we work for a living?”

  “Damned if I know,” Ian answered. And though he answered in a light-hearted way, there was truth in it, too. Why did he keep slugging it out in the business world when most days it felt meaningless? Had it become habit?

  “So,” Ian said, “tell me how far you’ve gotten with CGTV.”

  Sullivan had a satisfied expression on his spray-tanned face. “Got ‘em running scared.”

  “Good, but have they sent over a copy of the marriage license yet?”

  “Nope.”

  “I knew it. They invented this whole thing.”

  “Don’t be too sure,” Sullivan warned.

  “Ugh. No dire warnings, please. You’re not my lawyer today. You’re my friend.”

  “There’s never a time when I’m not your lawyer, pal. But this isn’t a warning. I simply don’t want you jumping to conclusions. Remember, it’s a holiday weekend and they’ve got a skeleton crew, so they may not be lying when they say there’s no one available to help us right now.”

  “Wrong,” Ian said with utter confidence. “They had plenty of staff to create that assassination piece they ran on Jada this morning.”

  “True. That doesn’t help their case any.”

  Ian pulled a fresh beer out of the cooler, flashing on when Jada was in this exact same boat with him, daintily drinking a beer, her full lips pressed against the mouth of the bottle. He fought back the memory. This was hardly the time for those kinds of thoughts.

  “Here’s what I want you to do,” Ian told Sullivan. “When we get back to the house, have our people double the pressure on CGTV. Threaten the hell out of them. Tell them we have the power to sic Homeland Security on them if that’s what it takes. But make one thing very clear.”

  Sullivan raised a brow. “And that is?”

  Heat rose up Ian’s neck. “Tell CGTV that if they make any more claims about Jada’s character or her home or her job or anyone remotely connected to her, I will make it my life’s mission to personally see to it that no one at that station ever works in television again.”

  “If you say so, but as your lawyer, I have to warn you that threats are never a good idea. Especially if you aren’t certain you can actually follow through with them.”

  “You doubt me?”

  “Not me. No. I know you can be like a dog with a bone. I’m simply suggesting you consider your actions carefully.”

  “Dammit, Sullivan, you watched that piece on Jada. It was the worst kind of yellow journalism. I don’t think I’ve ever seen worse.”

  “I don’t know. There was the time the chef blogger posted that you were an anti-Semite because you didn’t finish your bagel at his restaurant.”

  “Okay. Other than that one.”

  “And the time that tabloid ran the story about you having sex with a female Bigfoot.”

  “That was pretty bad.”

  Sullivan pulled in a deep breath. “And the time the celebrity news show said you tried to force the Pussycat Dolls to fly off in a UFO with you to populate Venus.”

  Ian smiled. “I kind of liked that one.” His smile faltered. “But this stuff with Jada is no joke. She’s a civilian, Sullivan. She’s not used to this crap like you and me.”

  “I know. And I appreciate that you want to protect her.”

  “Good. So threaten the hell out of CGTV.”

  “I’ll see what can be done,” Sullivan said, eyeing Ian sideways. “It looks like you and Jada have been getting along.”

  “Yes, we have.”

  “So you’ve come to think well of her, I presume.”

  “Why shouldn’t I? Do you know something I don’t?”

  “Of course not. Calm down.” Sullivan laughed. “You actually looked concerned there for a second. You really do like this woman.”

  He met Sullivan’s gaze. “I do. And I’m not sure why, exactly, except that she’s extremely beautiful.”

  “It always helps if they’re beautiful.”

  “But it’s not only that,” Ian added quickly. “It’s hard to explain. She’s a real person, you know, without all the layers people put between themselves and others. She doesn’t pretend to be anyone other than who she is. And who she is, is pretty special.”

  “For what it’s worth, I’ve dug as deeply into her past as I can go, and I can’t find any skeletons in her closet. It’s remarkable.”

  “Well quit digging,” Ian said. “It seems dishonest to do that sort of thing now that I know her.”

  “No problem. Nowhere left to dig anyway.”

  “And don’t mention that you’ve researched her history.”

  “She’s a smart lady,” Sullivan said. “She has to know you’d look into her background. She is your wife, Ian.”

  “I’m not kidding. Whether she knows it or not, I don’t want it thrown in her face. Somehow, I know it’s not something she’d approve of. That’s all.”

  Sullivan grinned. “Aw, you don’t want to disappoint your sweet little wife, do you?”

  “Shut up.”

  “The country’s most eligible bachelor, Ian Buckley, is actually worrying about what his fake wife thinks about him. It’s adorable.”

  “Don’t call me adorable. I know how to rock this boat so you go flying and I stay dry.”

  Sullivan shrugged and set down his fishing pole. “I think it might be worth it. Tell me, do you like Jada this much,” he held out his hands about a foot apart, “or THIS much?” He stretched his arms as wide as they’d go. And he smirked.

  Ian began to shake the boat from side to side. “It’s a long swim back to shore, friend.”

  Sullivan dropped his arms and clutched the bench. “Then it’s a good thing I won’t be doing it alone, buddy.” And he began rocking the boat, too.

  Water sloshed up over one side and soaked Ian’s feet. “Stop it! You don’t know what you’re doing. You’ll drown us both.”

  “You stop first.”

  “Fine, I’ll be the adult. As usual.” Ian stopped rocking.

  Sullivan let go of the bench and gave Ian a cocky wink. “Now where were we? That’s right, you were telling me all about how you’ve been trying to impress your wife.”

  “You’re a pain in the ass,” Ian said.

  “And that’s why you love me.”

  He was probably right, Ian thought. But he didn’t tell him, because the lawyer had a big enough head as it was.

  “OH,” JADA EXCLAIMED, STILL STANDING on her balcony and squinting at the lake. “Someone’s out in one of the rowboats. Wait. It’s rocking. Fast ... faster. Oh no! It’s going to roll over and sink! Wait. Never mind. It stopped. I wonder what that was about. Do lakes have undertows?”

  Marina had moved over the chaise longue and draped herself with extreme languor down its length. “Who cares? We need to figure out what our next move is.”

  “We don’t have a next move.” Jada turned away from the balcony. “Your part in this is done.”

  “No way. I’m not stepping out of this now. We’re in it together, sister.”

  “I can’t decide if that’s good or bad.”

  “It’s good. We’re going to solve the crime, I tell you.”

  Jada wasn
’t so sure. “Then let’s go back over the facts. Sylvia accepted a bribe from an unknown woman to leak info to CGTV about my and Ian’s fake marriage license.”

  “That’s not actually true,” Marina said. “In fact, Sylvia accepted a bribe to leak info about Sasha. That’s how she said it to me. She said, ‘Tell CGTV there’s shocking information about Sasha the supermodel.’”

  “Hmm. I see what you’re getting at. All this time I’ve been focused on possible enemies who were out to get me or Ian. But I overlooked someone else who was also hurt in all this ...”

  “Exactly. Sasha. Or, she should have been hurt over this, but actually isn’t, apparently, because she was never engaged to Ian to begin with.”

  “So,” Jada said, “this whole debacle may have had nothing to do with Ian and me. Whoever was behind the fake license and the bribe was probably out to get Sasha? I hadn’t even considered that.”

  “I’ve gone over and over it, Jada. It’s the likeliest explanation. KISS. Keep It Simple, Stupid.”

  “It makes sense I guess. Wow. I’m kind of blown away. I should have thought of that angle before.”

  “Don’t be too hard on yourself,” Marina said, waving a hand lazily in the air. “You’re not a trained journalist.”

  Jada rolled her eyes. “And I wasn’t in possession of all the facts thanks to my sister lying to me.”

  “You don’t have to keep gouging me over it. I’ve apologized until my throat’s sore.”

  “You must have a delicate throat, then. Never mind. I’ve had a thought. Do you think the woman who bribed Sylvia might also have paid her to plant the marriage license in the records department?”

  “Sylvia’s only admitting that she took a bribe to leak the tip,” Marina said. “But she sure is running scared right now, and for a big blabbermouth, she’s suddenly gone tight-lipped. She might be over-reacting because of possible repercussions if it’s discovered she accepted money in exchange for tipping off CGTV. Or, what seems more likely, she’s lying about her level of involvement and is actually up to her eyeballs in the whole thing.”

  “Yeah. I mean, think about it. Why would someone pay Sylvia to make a tip to a television hotline? Why didn’t they simply do it themselves?”

  “It doesn’t make a lot of sense,” Marina agreed.

  “So if Sylvia accepted a bribe to file what she knew was a fake document ... isn’t that illegal? If that’s what happened, she really must have been desperate for the money. If she’s found out, she’ll be fired.”

  “And then some,” Marina said. “I’d feel bad for her if you hadn’t been dragged into it.”

  “Me too. So, our best guess is that regardless of how deeply Sylvia is involved in this, Sasha probably has an enemy who wanted to make a fool out of her or to hurt her. We know it’s a woman.”

  “Not necessarily. The woman who met with Syl could have been the culprit’s agent.”

  “An agent? Like Agatha?” Jada asked.

  “No, not that kind of agent. I mean the mystery woman could have been working for the actual culprit. We can’t make assumptions.”

  “I’m going to make some anyway. I think the likeliest scenario is that a woman who hates Sasha did all of this to get revenge on her for something. We need to get Sylvia to answer her phone and talk to us so we can get a description of the mystery woman.”

  “Duh. I wish. Syl did say that the woman was intimidating.”

  “That’s something at least,” Jada said. “I think we should investigate this angle.”

  “Me too. I’m going to grill Sasha about all her enemies. I know of a couple of models she’s had fights with in the past, according to the news.”

  “The gossip. According to the gossip.”

  “Right. Anyway, we need to find out who Sasha’s enemies are.”

  “But not right now,” Jada said. “I need some time to think about this, make sure I’m not jumping to conclusions. And I need some time to stop being angry at you for not telling me everything right away.”

  Marina pulled herself upright. “Are you still mad about that?”

  “Yeah, I am. And I’m not thrilled that you want me to keep this from Ian, either. I don’t see why he can’t know. He could help us, a lot.”

  Marina jumped up. “No, no, no. Please, Jada. Don’t tell him. Not yet. Give me one more day.”

  “He’s not going to do anything to you. He’s a reasonable man.”

  “Yeah, well, you think he’s reasonable. But you’ve just met him. You said yourself that these rich people can be strange. Who knows what his reaction might be? Think about it. I used his name to get CGTV interested.”

  Jada blew out a loud breath. “You know how it is with secrets. The truth always comes out ... always, and then you’re in for it because you didn’t tell the truth to begin with. Secrets are always a bad idea, Marina.”

  “Not this time. Give me one single day. Until tomorrow night. I know I can get through to Syl by then, and I can solve the whole Sasha thing, too. I know it. One day, Jada. Come on. For your little sister?”

  “Don’t even. I don’t know how you talk me into this crap. We’ll never be able to keep this a secret.”

  “Why not? I’m not telling anyone. Are you?”

  “No.”

  “Then it’ll be fine. Trust me. Say it’ll be fine.”

  “It won’t be fine,” Jada said, “but I’ll do it anyway. Though I don’t know why.”

  Marina’s smile lit up the room. “You’re the best sister in the universe. Why don’t I let you have a little alone time now? Take a nap. Get some rest. Then make yourself beautiful for dinner, for Ian, right?”

  “Right.”

  “I’ll just grab my dress,” Marina headed to the closet door. “When Elly comes back, tell her to come to my room, and—hey. Where’s my dress? I thought she hung it on the door before she left.”

  “I don’t remember. Maybe she put it in the closet.”

  “Huh. I didn’t think so.” She shrugged. “Maybe you’re right.”

  Marina pulled on the heavy closet door and it swung outward, revealing the large interior space. She stood in the doorway, staring inside.

  “Uh, Jada, you want to come here for a sec?” she asked.

  “What?”

  “Come here.”

  Jada walked over and peered inside, and if she’d been holding anything in her hands, she would have dropped it.

  There, behind the ironing board, holding a dress in her thin, pale arms, her eyes as wide as sand dollars, the spattering of brown freckles on her nose and cheeks standing out in stark contrast to her snow white skin, stood Elly.

  And it was painfully apparent that she’d heard everything the two sisters had said.

  Chapter Three

  JADA WAS LIVID. “SEE, MARINA? What did I tell you? We couldn’t even keep the secret for sixty seconds. In fact, it was no sooner out of our mouths, than it was done for. Unbelievable. I’m telling Ian.”

  Marina grabbed onto her arm. “No! Don’t do that. It’s not so bad.” She sent a plaintive look toward Elly. “Elly will keep our secret, won’t you, Elly? Because we’re friends? See? She’s nodding.”

  “She is not!” Jada said. “That was a twitch of fear. You’re scaring her.”

  Jada crept up to Elly, her arms opened wide, the way one approaches a frightened animal. “It’s okay, Elly. I’m sorry. We didn’t know you were in here. It’s all o-o-o-okay.”

  “It’s not okay,” Marina said. “It won’t be okay until you say you’ll keep our secret, Elly.”

  “Hush,” Jada hissed. “Now Elly, put down the iron. That’s right, let go. Everything is fine.”

  The young woman smoothed a shaky hand down the soft fabric of the dress, as if the texture soothed her. Finally, she spoke. “I’m-I’m so sorry, Miss. I d-didn’t mean to overhear. I didn’t know what to do, how to make you stop. And you said you were going to have sex with M-Mr. Ian and Miss Marina lied and I couldn’t come out then. So it
went on and on and I hoped you’d never find me. But you did. And ... I’m sorry.”

  “It’s okay,” Jada said, taking her arm and gently leading her out of the closet. “Come have a seat and you’ll feel better. Marina, get her a glass of water.”

  “Oh, I can get it, Miss,” Elly said.

  “No, you come sit down on this chair right here. There you go. Good girl,” Jada said.

  Elly sat stiffly on the edge of the wingback chair, her hands clutching her knees.

  “Poor thing,” Jada said, sitting across from her. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

  “To be a good servant, Miss, I’m supposed to be invisible.”

  “That’s ridiculous. You’re a person like anyone else. Far from invisible.”

  “But that’s the rule, Miss,” Elly said.

  Jada was glad to see some pink returning to her pale cheeks. “If you say so.”

  Marina rushed over with a tumbler of sparkling water. Elly took a small sip and gave a pathetically weak smile that only made Jada feel sorrier for her.

  “Gawd, Elly. You aren’t in trouble or anything,” Marina said, hands on curvy hips.

  “I’m supposed to be invisible.”

  “So you keep saying. Well, tell you what. We won’t report you for being visible today if you keep quiet about everything you heard in that closet,” Marina said.

  Jada gave her a hard look. “Be quiet, Marina. This is no time for bargains.”

  Over the next few minutes, Jada held off her sister to give Elly a chance to recover. She felt badly that the girl had been put in such a difficult position. She was so sincere and likable, it was impossible not to feel for her.

  When Elly finished her water, she made to stand up, but Marina stopped her.

  “Don’t get up yet, Elly,” Marina said. “There’s no hurry. We should figure out what our next step is. For instance, what, exactly did you hear us say?”

  “Um, everything? How you told CGTV about the marriage license and how you think someone is out to get Miss Sasha, and how you want to lie to Mr. Ian—”

  “About that lying part,” Marina interrupted. “It’s not so much lying as withholding information until the time is right to share it. Big difference. You can see that difference, can’t you?”