❦ ❦

Jason had to leave for Seattle the next morning to take care of a sudden matter that came up at his hotel there. He dropped me home before heading to the airport. I spent the morning cleaning up my apartment and doing my laundry.

Hal called me to see if I was free for lunch and we made plans to meet at a small diner in my neighborhood. Since it was just a few blocks away, I decided not to call Alex. I didn't see the need to have him drive me to a place which was within walking distance.

Hal was waiting for me when I walked into the diner. "Is that Jason's shirt?" He asked as soon as he saw me.

"It was but now it's mine." I grinned glancing down at the Valentino white shirt. It was too big for me but I had rolled the sleeves up and half tucked it into my blue skinny jeans. When I left his place that morning, I had worn it. Jason had teased me saying I was stealing his clothes since that was the seventh shirt I had worn home and hadn't bothered giving back.

"That's not fair. You get to sleep with him and steal his designer clothes." He gave a dramatic sigh. "I need to find myself a hot billionaire boyfriend."

I laughed. "You've already got a hot boyfriend." His face fell and I grew concerned immediately. "What happened? Is everything okay between you and Andy?"

"I don't know. He's been acting different lately. Kinda withdrawn. I feel as if he doesn't want to be with me anymore."

I detected the sadness in his voice. "You don't know that. Maybe he is just stressed with work or something. Why don't you talk to him?"

"I will. He is coming over for dinner tonight. But if he wants to end it then there's nothing much I can do."

"I'm so sorry, Hal." I took his hand in mine and squeezed. "But let's just not think the worst." I felt guilty for not being there for him. I had been so wrapped up in my own life lately and I hadn't been paying much attention to what was going on Hal's. That was going to change, I mentally promised myself.

We finished lunch two hours later and on my way home, I stopped at a bookshop to pick up a couple of paperbacks. I was at the register when my eyes landed on the magazine display by the counter. Jason's face stared at me from a cover of a magazine, and with startled surprise I picked it up. It was the latest issue of the Forbes Magazine.

He was dressed in a dark navy suit with the collar of his white crisp shirt open. His hands were pushed deep into his pockets and a hint of a lazy smirk was playing on his lips, as if he was enjoying his own private joke. Even seeing a picture of him was enough to send my pulse fluttering. The man looked too sexy for my piece of my mind.

I read the caption on the cover. Exclusive Interview with Jason Perez – America's richest billionaire like you have never seen. I was intrigued. I definitely needed to read it.

"Hey, Kate. Haven't seen you around lately." The girl at the counter smiled. Her name was Emma and since I came to the store frequently, we knew each other.

Returning her smile, I handed her the books and the magazines. "Yeah, just been too busy with work to drop by. You doing okay?"

"Not bad." As she rang up my purchases, she nodded towards the magazine. "He's quite a fine piece of eye candy, isn't he?" She sighed dreamily looking at the picture of Jason on the cover. "Imagine waking up to this sexy face in the morning."

I wondered how she would react if I told her I had woken up wrapped in his arms that morning. "Seems like you've got a bit of a crush on him." Flashing her a teasing smile, I retrieved my debit card and handed it to her.

"Who doesn't?" She laughed. "I bet half of the female population would kill for a piece of him."

I laughed along but her words were like fuel to my insecurities. As I left the store, my mind kept relaying what she said. Wherever Jason went, he attracted attention from women. I had seen it the day we went to the flea market and whenever we went out to eat. Emma was right. Most women would kill for a piece of him.

And that was an unsettling thought. I found myself wondering if I could compete with all the attention he got. A man like Jason would never stick to one woman when he had an endless line of women falling at his feet. His infamous reputation as a notorious playboy was proof of that.

Sighing, I ran a hand through my hair. I had already fallen so hard for Jason and the future terrified the hell out of me. I knew he cared about me a lot and there were times when he dropped hints that he wanted more from me. Like the previous day when he said he wouldn't mind spending forever with me. And this morning, when he dropped me home, he had given me a keycard to his penthouse and told me he wanted me to come and go as I pleased.

All of his actions told me that he was serious about me and our relationship. He wouldn't be taking me to meet his parents if he wasn't. But despite all that, I just couldn't trust him to stay committed to me for long. I was sure he would get bored soon. And because of that, I didn't want to expect anything from him.

Later that afternoon, I got a call from the LA store of Sferra, an Italian Company that created the finest luxury linens in the world. I had made an order for a shipment of lines and they called to inform that it had arrived.

After a quick shower, I got dressed in a pale blue shirt tucked in a black skater skirt. Pairing it off with red laced oxfords I grabbed my bag and headed downstairs. I was going over to the Sferra store to personally inspect the items before they were delivered to the rented warehouse in Bali.

I hailed a cab and gave the address of the store. As the car waived its way through the traffic, I pulled out my phone from my bag. Suddenly I got the urge to call Jason but immediately shoved the thought away. He was probably busy and I didn't want to disturb him

❦ ❦ ❦

❦ Jason ❦

I arrived in LA around five in the evening and immediately headed to my office. As soon as I stepped off the elevator into the reception, I knew something was wrong.

Andrea was at her desk looking tense. Worried, even. In all the years she had worked for me, I didn't remember her ever looking like that. She handled all my business and personal affairs so smoothly and made sure all my demands were met without ever cracking under the pressure.

"Is something wrong?"

She jumped to her feet when she heard my voice. Grabbing a manila envelope from her desk she held it out to me. "This arrived in the mail a while ago."

I frowned taking it from her. It was addressed to me but there was no return address on it. "What is it?" I asked noting that she had already opened it. It was her job to intercept all the mails that arrived for me.

"Photographs."

Her answer sent alarm rushing through me. I motioned her to follow me and walked into my cabin.

I emptied the contents of the envelope on my desk and I went through them, I felt rage pump through me.

All of them were of Kate alone. Her walking down the street, browsing in a bookstore, standing outside of a diner and then the last of them showed her entering her apartment building. She was wearing my shirt, the same shirt she had been wearing when I dropped her home that morning so I knew the photos were from that day.

There was no note or anything else in the envelope but I understood threat behind them. The bastard who was after me was making it clear that he was still targeting Kate. The thought of him stalking her every move made my blood run cold. Swearing loudly, I slammed my fist into the desk and the force of it rattled everything on it. Andrea jumped and stared at me with wide eyes.

"Get Nik Valiente on the line. Tell him I need to see him now."

As Andrea hurried to call Nik, I pulled my phone and dialed Kate's number. It went straight to voicemail. Her phone had never been switched off before and a wave of panic engulfed me.

I tried her phone a couple more times with no luck. My mind raced. She was probably home safe, I reassured myself but couldn't stop my imagination from running wild.

"Sir, Mr. Valiente is on his way." Andrea said hanging up the phone on my desk.

Taking the envelope, I started putting the photographs back in it."Tell him to meet me at my place instead of coming here."

She nodded and reached for the phone again.

I walked to the elevator still trying Kate's phone. Getting into my car, I instructed Ben to drive me to her building. I wanted to make sure she was home.

Each second that passed felt like an eternity and as soon as Ben pulled in front of the apartment building I jumped out and rushed in.

I kept ringing the doorbell impatiently but there was no answer. A wave of panic sliced through me and without caring that I was probably disturbing the neighbors, I banged on her door.

The door of the apartment across the hall opened and an elderly woman poked her head out. She frowned at me as if she was annoyed by the noise I was making. "Are you one of Kate's friends?" She called out.

"Yes. Do you know if she is home?"

"I don't think so. I saw her getting into a cab a couple of hours ago."

"Are you sure it was a cab?" I had asked Kate to call Alex if she needed to go anywhere. May be the woman saw Kate getting into his car and had mistaken it for a cab.

To my surprise, she looked offended. "I may be old but there's nothing wrong with my eyesight. It was a cab."

I cursed under my breath. The fear in my chest intensified and with it came the anger. How many times had I told Kate not to go anywhere alone? I had hired Alex so that he could drive her to where ever she wanted until the person who was threatening me was caught.

And I thought she understood how dangerous it was for her to take off alone when some bastard was out there planning god knows what.

I quickly went outside, trying to keep the panic bubbling inside me at bay. I tried to reassure myself that she was probably out with a friend or even meeting up with one of her suppliers.

But what if that wasn't the case? It seemed that whoever had taken the pictures was familiar with her every move. What if she was really in trouble?

Icy cold fear was beginning to claw its way into my chest. I knew I couldn't keep calm until I was absolutely sure she was safe so l dialed Nik's number.

He answered on the first ring. "I'm just ten minutes away, Jason."

Trying to keep my voice calm, I took a deep breath. "I can't get a hold of Kate. Her phone is switched off and she is not home. I want you to track her location."

"If her phone is switched off I cannot triangulate the exact location right away. It will take some time. But I can check her last recorded location before the phone was switched off."

That was better than nothing. "How long will that take?"

"Just a couple of minutes."

"Okay. Call me when it's done." I got in the car and instructed Ben to take me home.

Closing my eyes, I pressed my face against the palm of my hands. The pounding in my head had worsened and the acrid taste of fear in my mouth was too overpowering. If something happened to Kate I would never be able to forgive myself. I had exposed her to danger by getting her involved in my life.

My phone chimed signaling the incoming call. It was Nick. With my heart pounding anxiously, I answered it.

"The last location we can place her is in your home, Jason."

"My home?" I asked blankly.

"Yeah. That is the last recognized location of her cell phone. Her phone was switched off just a little over half an hour ago. So I'm guessing she is probably still there."

Relief rushed through me at a speed that made me feel lightheaded. Kate was safe. Nothing had happened to her.

After hanging up, I rested my head back on the headrest of the seat. Even though I knew where she was I knew the anxiousness I felt would only go away completely when I saw her.

Twenty minutes later I reached my building. Nick was waiting outside and the two of us walked across the lobby to the private elevator. As it whisked us to the 68th floor, I made no attempt to talk to him. The only thing on my mind was Kate. I needed to see her first. Nick had known me for a long time and he probably understood that I didn't want to talk so he remained silent too.

The elevator stopped and the doors opened right into the elegant foyer of my penthouse. Thrusting the envelope I was holding into Nick's hands, I asked him to wait for me in the office. He had been to my penthouse several times before and knew his way around.

In quick strides, I crossed the foyer and walked into the living room. The breath I was holding left me in a rush when I saw Kate sitting cross legged on the couch flipping through a magazine. She got to her feet when she saw me and a beautiful smile lit up her face.

But it faded the next second, her eyes going wary. "What's wrong?" She asked me in confusion, seeing the look on my face.

I had spent the last hour going crazy out of my mind with worry and fear and seeing her safe and sound brought unfamiliar emotions surging through me. Not trusting myself to speak, I crushed her against me and covered her mouth with mine, pouring everything I felt at that moment into the kiss.