Her Billionaire Lifeguard Read online

  Chapter 13

  Trey jumped out of the limo and knocked on the door to Sea and Song. Lights were out already, the store closed, but he could see a dim light on the stairs that led to her apartment above. He waited. He’d texted her about his arrival. She’d be down. And he was nervous. So much at stake for him here, for her. But above all, he didn’t want to lose what had just begun between them. A connection like theirs didn’t happen every day.

  She dinged she was coming. Her apartment door opened, and she stepped down onto the stairs. A high-heeled shoe. A pantleg. As she descended, he recognized again how long and sleek she was. Pants gave way to her suit coat and then a beautiful profile of a woman he’d be scared to encounter in a board room. Her hair was pulled back off her face, and her beauty at once seemed less artistic and flowy and more powerful. He regretted his sports coat and wished he’d dressed more formally. He thought of his two favorite power suits. And then laughed. Was this negotiations or dinner with a beautiful woman? From the looks of her, it was negotiations.

  He held out the door. “Miss Redding.”

  She faltered. Then straightened. “Mr. Hemsworth.”

  His eyebrows shot up.

  She smirked. “I didn’t know I was in the company of Beauty Foundations’s cover child.”

  Oh, boy.

  He bowed. “And I was unaware that the heir of Within Cosmetics lived above her own shop in Cancun.”

  He held the door open to their limo and took a deep breath. He had no idea where this was going, but he suddenly missed Jake. Of the two, his partner was the better negotiator. Joining her inside, the driver closed their door and Trey chuckled.

  She raised an eyebrow. Wow. She was something. And he fell for her all over again on a whole new level. He scooted closer. “This is a good look for you.”

  “Is it?” She tried to wear the business mask, but he saw the spark of appreciation she tried to hide.

  “Absolutely. I’d want to make sure we were on the same side, but you rock this look.”

  She smiled, a victorious glint and daring taking over. “What side we are on is still to be determined.”

  “Hmmm. So, perhaps competitors?”

  She searched his face, and everywhere her gaze traveled sizzled. “We might be competitors.” She reached for his hand and interlocked their fingers. Awareness hammered through him. “Or we might be teammates.”

  “Or co-conspirators?”

  Her eyes flashed to his, then she lifted one shoulder. “Or, just…two people lucky enough to meet in Mexico.” Her expression changed, and the vulnerability tore through him. All his protective instincts kicked in, and he squeezed her hand. “And that’s what I’m going for. That last bit.”

  She sighed and looked out the window. “Perhaps. But only for a few more days.”

  “Why?”

  “Well, then you go home.”

  “And you aren’t?”

  She shook her head.

  He was floored. How could she not return? After all that was going down, she would just ignore it? “We need to talk.”

  “I know we do. Where are we going to eat?”

  “Well, I was going to stop by at Tio’s…”

  She groaned.

  “But I see we need somewhere quiet.” He told the driver to go to the restaurant at the Ritz. He ran his thumb along the back of her hand. “I have plans for us, you know. In Mexico.”

  “Well, we can’t ruin those.”

  He breathed out in relief. “Before we start talking, can I get a promise, you’ll give me a chance after we talk, that I still get one more date?”

  “Are you gonna need a promise? What kind of talk are you planning?”

  “You know what I mean.”

  “Okay. At least one more date. But you’re right. Who knows where this conversation will take us?” She turned wide eyes to him. Sad, vulnerable eyes. “And I’ve loved what we started. I’m sorry if it turns out nothing was as it seems.”

  He ran a hand along the softness of her cheek. “I haven’t given you much confidence in my ability to accurately present myself. But tonight you will know all.”

  She shifted and leaned back in her seat.

  He suspected that no matter what he said, she would not be sharing everything with him, and he’d just have to be happy with what he could get for now. He hoped she was as she seemed. For his sake, for her father’s sake, for his company’s sake.

  They pulled up in front of the Ritz and entered quickly. At least the paparazzi had not found him in Cancun. As expected, it was not the first place they would look.

  He led her through the glittering main lobby. A huge group of young college-aged women gathered to his right. “Is there a convention going on today?”

  Scottie stiffened. They passed a sign. “Find your Beauty: Motivational Meditation and Yoga.”

  Trey groaned. “We should go.”

  One of the ladies to their right squealed, and he didn’t look, but he felt eyes on them.

  “They have their phones out. What is this, #hotTrey?”

  He eyed her. “Let’s just hurry upstairs.” The elevator was opened, so they jumped in and he pushed the close door button twenty times before it shut. Then he took a deep breath before he turned to her. “We’re gonna need Jake to get us out of here. Just a sec while I fill him in.”

  He texted his partner then turned to Scottie. Her face had gone white. “This is bad, isn’t it?” She reached for the railing.

  “Well, now, no. We’re gonna need some help getting out of here, and the maître d will need to block the entrance to the restaurant, but otherwise we should be fine….well, except that now I might need to cut my vacation short. If they find us in that small resort, we may as well leave. But we can have a relaxed dinner if we ignore all that.”

  “And for me? You’re not considering what this does to me.”

  He stepped closer as the door opened. The only stop on this floor gave access to an exclusive restaurant at the very top of the hotel. He approached the table. “Trey Hemsworth. And there’s been a bit of an incident downstairs. I’m going to need your most private location and some security at the elevator entrance.”

  Her eyes sharpened, and she picked up her radio. Then she waved her hand and a host led them around the corner, along the circular restaurant. Every table sat beside floor-to-ceiling windows. They were led all the way to the opposite side of the elevator and seated under two palm trees. A planter blocked their view of the rest of the restaurant on one side, but there was a full view of the ocean and the lights of Cancun around the bend on the other. “This will work well, thank you.” Trey handed her an early tip.

  As soon as they sat, Scottie faced him, eyebrows lifted.

  But he had just as many questions. “So who goes first?”

  She indicated he should, but he sat back and crossed his arms. “Well, now, I think the only person disclosing anything around here so far has been me.”

  “What are you talking about? You’ve explained nothing to me. Just because your fans outed you, doesn’t mean you get some kind of cred for sharing.”

  He laughed. “Sorry, that’s fair. Okay, I’ll go first, but I’m going to need some transparency in return. Deal?”

  She eyed him then nodded. “Deal. But I want it understood we have a confidentiality clause going.”

  “Agreed.”

  She leaned forward, her eyes flashing. “Okay, spill.”

  “So, they did a feature on me. I’m trending. Jake’s a dead man and he’s next, believe me.”

  “Go on.”

  “We started Beauty Foundations in college and it’s done better than I could have ever imagined. You met our marketing team, some of our board. Jake’s my partner and we basically run the show.”

  Their waiter brought waters and took their initial order. Dinner was a seven-course experience in this restaurant, so they started with the first three courses.

  “This is lovely.” Scottie sipped her water. “I
t’s been a long time, and this feels…nice.”

  “So, why, Scottie? I have so many questions for you. I want to understand. Please, talk to me.”

  She cleared her throat and her face flushed, which he thought was a nice change from the white pallor of a moment ago. “So, I’m Scottie Redding, of Within. Or Redding’s Cosmetics as some affectionately still call it.”

  He nodded.

  “But this isn’t a surprise to you. How about you tell me what you don’t already know.”

  “I just want to hear it from your delicious mouth.”

  Her face deepened its attractive pink color. “Stop. You’re unsettling me.”

  “Ah, not used to flirting through your business meetings?”

  Her face went pale again and he could have kicked himself. No idea why that would trigger anything, so he waited.

  “So when dad died, after the funeral and a week of mourning, I joined the board in our first meeting. I felt the weight of entering the building without him in it. I knew what rested on my shoulders and I was determined to carry out our plans, make Within Cosmetics reach its potential.” She shrugged. “But when I got there, they’d already voted me off, and they handed me my box of stuff from my office and asked me to leave.”

  “What! So all this stuff they are saying is just one big lie?”

  “Stuff?” She swallowed and reached for his hand. “What are they saying?”

  How could she not know? He moved his chair to sit right at her side and pulled out his phone, then he showed her the search page with all the articles.

  She took it from him with shaking hands. Tears dropped on the screen while she read. After the second one, she put the phone down. Wiping her eyes with her napkin, she shook her head. “He’s such a jerk.”

  “Who?”

  She pulled up her phone and showed him a picture of Trey and Damian. “Just what exactly is your relationship with this man?”

  He pulled out his phone and showed her a picture of her and Damian together at a gala. “I could ask you the same question.”

  Chapter 14

  Scottie wanted to take that picture of her and Damian and chuck it through the window. How dare he kick her off the board and then almost a year later, slander her name? What more did he want? She’d left. She had no power. Why keep going after her? She stopped, sucking in her breath. Because she had power. Somewhere, his take-over was not complete. And he knew it.

  She opened up her email. A new message from her attorney. Without reading it, she sent a response. “Let’s talk. Just saw the news. I’m not going back, but take him down.”

  Then she put her phone face-down on the table.

  “I hope that was some message about how you’re going to sweep in and take over where your father left off?”

  She wiped her eyes and shook her head. “No. I don’t want that life. Always looking over my shoulder. Can’t trust anyone; while you aren’t looking, the person who you thought loves you, whom you relied on, steals from you.” She kept shaking her head. “They’re ruthless. And I don’t want any part of that. They respected my dad enough not to try to push him around, but me…” She shrugged. “I’m open game, apparently.” She looked away. “Some of my dad’s oldest associates—friends, I thought—sit on that board, and they voted me off.” She gathered her things. “Look, I don’t want to relive all of this. I need to get back. As you can imagine, there’s some major damage-control waiting.” She tried to stand, but he held his hand out. “Wait. Please. Just dinner first. It’s the middle of the night in Chicago.”

  “But…” She didn’t want to hash through it with Trey. He probably already thought her weak. He started his own company and she couldn’t even inherit one from her dad without losing it the same day. But his eyes pled with her to stay. And she couldn’t say no. “Look, Trey, I don’t want to talk about some of this. It’s hard. You don’t understand.” And he might be Damian’s best friend for all she knew.

  He nodded, his eyes full of compassion. “You asked about my relationship with Damian the creep.”

  She waited, holding her breath.

  “I have none. He wants to join forces over a specific product line with your company, but I don’t want to work with him. Our aversion to him is the only thing holding us back. We would have been all over their offer months ago, but none of us can stand that guy.”

  She wasn’t sure she believed him. He’d looked happy enough and had posed for so many pictures, there had to be more to it.

  “He’s my ex-fiance.”

  His mouth dropped. And then his eyes turned steely, and she told herself never to be on the receiving end of whatever was going on behind those eyes. But when he turned to her, his expression was soft and caring. “Scottie. I know you don’t want to hash through it all, but I’ll say this once. I’m sorry for what he did to you.” His fist clenched. “And I’d like to send him my regards.”

  “I wish I was strong, like you, like my dad. But he broke me. I don’t want to deal with people like him. And the business world is full of them.” She turned her accusing stare to him and waited pointedly for him to answer.

  He held up his hands. “Like I said, not the best track record over here as far as you’re concerned, but I’m all in.” He leaned forward. “All. In. I’m here for you. I’m here for Within Cosmetics. I’m here for Beauty Foundations. If you can’t believe I have noble personal motivations, I’m sure you can believe I want the best for Beauty. And a combined product line with you.” He pointed at her for emphasis. “You. Are just what we need.”

  She nodded slowly. “I can see that. Trust that. If nothing else.”

  He winced.

  “You can’t blame me for suspecting your motives. You deceived me already, and I’ve known you for only a few days.” She swallowed. “You’re all over the internet, loving on my lying ex-fiance, who is currently accusing me of criminal activity…”

  “I’m not loving on him anywhere, in any way.” He leaned forward to try and look into her eyes. “But I get that I need to win your trust. I respect that. But Scottie, come on. You gotta give the personal side of us a chance too. You promised one date.”

  “I did. I’m not canceling. I’m just highly skeptical right now.”

  “I don’t blame you. Next time I see Damian, I’ll give the press a different kind of picture to take of the two of us.” He laughed and rubbed his hands together. Then he stopped, and his eyes went intense, like they were that whole first day she met him. “But you mean a lot to me already. All morning I’ve been conflicted, fighting within myself about how to not lose you. Fighting about what’s more important, Beauty Foundation or getting to know Scottie Redding. And maybe you can’t tell, but I see you. Scottie Redding, CEO of Within Cosmetics. You’re a force and a power, but I also see Scottie of the Sea and Song, the yoga woman on the beach who refused to look at me even though I know you noticed. Your work moves me. Your talent is incredible. And that woman has power too.”

  The waiter approached, hesitant, with their first course.

  Trey waved him closer. “We’re gonna switch up our seating.”

  “Excellent, sir. Let me just adjust the settings.” He moved his plate as close to Scottie’s as it would go and organized the various glasses and flatware. Then he placed their food to their front. “This is a fennel-based bread pudding. You’ll find it more salty than sweet but with an aftertaste that reminds of licorice.”

  As soon as he left, Trey draped his arm around the back of her chair. “I haven’t lost you, have I? Gone before we could even see where this goes?”

  She toyed with her napkin. Honestly, she didn’t know. “I hope not.” Her whisper filled the space between them.

  They relaxed into eating the next few courses. Trey made small talk, entertained her with stories of the guys at work, how he and Jake met and the last time they took a vacation together. It was nice. She relaxed more and more the longer they talked and tried to forget that her life was an absolute mess.


  Her phone started to vibrate. Multiple notifications. And she didn’t want to read any of them. No one had this number, except those who knew not to reach out except in an emergency. They probably just wanted to talk about Damian’s accusations.

  But then Trey’s phone started to blow up too. She could feel it vibrate between their chairs.

  Their eyes met. And Scottie shook her head, but Trey nodded. “Courage.”

  “You’re ridiculous. Your life isn’t imploding all over the world. This isn’t just about courage.”

  He stared at his phone a minute more and then turned it to her. “Oh, no?”

  “CEO Trey Hemsworth in cahoots with former CEO Scottie Redding to steal back Within Cosmetics.” A picture of them walking, Trey’s hand at her lower back. He swiped to the next image. “New cosmetic super couple? Trey and Scottie meet in a secret resort in Mexico.”

  She sucked in her breath, the world going a bit fuzzy. “Oh, no.” Her phone kept vibrating. Who was sending her messages? Her hand hovered above her device, shaking. Then she flipped it over.

  The images scrolled past, one showing up as fast as the next one scrolled by. She and Trey in the hotel, getting in the elevator. She cringed at that one. It totally looked like they were getting a room. And then the speculation, all similar to what Trey showed her. He was busy typing furiously on his phone.

  And then Maggie from work. She’s the only one Scottie stayed in contact with, though infrequently. Maggie texted, You doing okay? Lots of buzz about you right now. Maybe you should take care of some of that nonsense.

  She texted back. Not okay. Working on it.

  Three dots indicated Maggie would respond. But an image showed up, a social media post with Trey and a quote in italics. She zoomed in. “Mr. Redding’s daughter is a coward and a disgrace to his name.”

  “Ouch.” Hurt tore through her. “How could you say that?” She held up her phone in his face.

  He glanced at it and then looked closer. His gaze flit to hers. “Scottie. This was a long time ago.”