The Billionaire's Secret (An Erotic Romance) Page 4

  “Is that a compliment?”

  “You’re wearing a Super 200 wool butler suit. I’d appreciate it if you took it as one,” he says in a whimsical tone.

  “How thoughtful. But you changed the subject from our earlier discussion.”

  “I thought you told me everything I needed to hear.”

  I pull my arm away from him. “And you believed me?”

  “Why wouldn’t I?”

  “You had a point. I could have just seen an opportunity and took it.”

  “Either way, you helped me.”

  A slight frown forms over my brow. “And you’re ok with me using you?”

  “I gained, and you gained. I see nothing wrong with that. There’s nothing wrong with having ulterior motives as long as both parties benefit. So I don’t care why you helped me; I’m just glad you did.”

  “Then why did…” I didn’t understand this man. One minute he plays accuser, and then the next, he is unfazed? I shake my head and proceed to head back into the mansion. I thought I was the one playing games with him, but now, I wasn’t so sure. “Look, we’re even, so you don’t need to speak to me anymore.”

  “What if I want to speak to you?”

  I pause, speechless. Who would want to speak to someone who practically admitted to using them? “It’s not like I can stop you.”

  “Do you mind telling me why you are here?”

  “Why do you want to know so much about me?”

  “I think you’re an interesting person. I wouldn’t mind getting to know you.”

  “A lot of people have though that,” I say smirking. “It didn’t end so well for them.”

  “Did it end well for the family members you cherish?”

  My heart skips a beat and I turn around to face Nolan. What was I to him other than a servant? He didn’t even know me, so how could he say that I interest him? And now, he’s asking me about my family? Did he see something I didn’t?

  “No,” I say, looking down with eyes of grief. “It didn’t.” Originally, I thought talking to him would be beneficial, but now, I started to become uncomfortable. It’s like he was getting too personal, prying into the crevices of my mind and causing me to question myself. I didn’t like it.

  “Are you at fault for their situation?”

  “I…I am.” Why am I telling him this?

  He raises his head as if he made a realization. “What’s your name?”

  “Which one?”

  “The one you chose for yourself. I want something to call you by.”

  “It’s Elen,” I say.

  As I say that, a look of distress forms across his face, and he looks away from me. “Elen, I see.” I can tell he has an expression of disbelief, as if the name has some significance to him. Maria made a similar expression. “I think things are finally starting to get interesting. I have a good feeling about you.”

  I couldn’t read this man. What was he really thinking? What did he see in me? He says he is interested in me, but this isn’t the first time someone has said that. As soon as he sees my true colors, he’ll leave just like everyone else. I don’t think I can trust what this man says, and yet, it’s odd, but part of me wants to.

  I grab the door handle to the mansion. “You wanted to know why I’m here right?” He doesn’t answer, but I know he wants a response. “I’m here because did what I had to protect what was precious to me.” I open the door and leave.

  While walking through the mansion, heading for the exit, I run into Maria, who looks troubled.

  “Oh Elen,” she says. “Good timing. I need your help.”

  “With what?” I ask.

  “My usual servants have all checked in for the night, and I am unable to find anyone to replace them. I’d appreciate it if you could help me sort the books in my library.”

  “Sure.” It’s not like I could refuse.

  Maria’s library was huge, but there wasn’t much of a variety of books. In fact, as I helped her sort, all I saw were mainly criminal themed books.

  “Don’t read much fiction huh?” I ask.

  “I read the occasional detective and dark crime novel,” she says. “But I prefer non-fiction.”

  “It’s exhilarating reading about criminal behavior.” I look at the title of one of the books I held. It was named A Dark Past, and one I had already read myself. It was an autobiography about a serial killer. It was dark and gruesome in detail, but it gave an insight where one would have otherwise been left to guess his motives. It was a good read. “I like to know what they think while they commit the deeds, as well as the rush of fear they experience at the exact moment when everything falls apart for them. Sometimes, I find it funny how some of them can be so short sighted and self-defeating.” Then again, I wonder if I am any different. I am after all, in a prison island, and knew all too well what desperation could lead to. But I acted from duty, not to sate some sick desire. I’d like to think I was smarter than those people I read about. Wasn’t I?

  “I like to study their thought processes as well,” says Maria, “but it’s not for entertainment. If possible, I wonder how I would be able to help them, cater to them. If I could figure out what makes them tick, what motivates them, maybe I could form a solution.”

  “Do you think that’s possible?”

  “Every problem has a solution Elen.”

  “Yeah,” I say in a snicker. “It’s called death. I think if we got rid of certain individuals the world would be a better place. Some people are beyond help.”

  Maria stops sorting books, and looks to me. “Are you beyond help?”

  Her question has me taken aback. Why was she asking me this? “I…I’m not sure what you mean.”

  “Do you want help?”

  “I don’t know if I even need it.”

  “Everyone needs help from time to time, and if you are here, it’s likely you do. If you can’t realize that, then maybe you are beyond help.”

  I can feel a knot form in my stomach. Something told me she was right, but even so, I failed to see where I needed help. “Well,” I say, thinking about my words carefully, “if there is something I can find out about myself that will help me, and I can’t discover it on my own, then I’ll accept the help.”

  “How will you know when to accept help when you don’t even know if you need it?”

  “There’s a lot I don’t know about myself,” I say, organizing another row of books. My palms were beginning to sweat, and I wanted to leave as fast as possible.

  “Tell me Elen, why do you have such an interest in crime?”

  “It’s fascinating knowing what to look for in individuals who exhibit certain traits, and even more exciting when you discover those traits in them. But more importantly, it allows me to keep the poison away from my family…or I thought it would at least.” But maybe the real poison in the family is me.

  Maria nods silently. “I think you have a lot to work out, but something tells me that you are a genuinely ok person.”

  When we finish sorting the books, a sigh of relief leaves me. I also have time to remember my recent encounter with Nolan. If he was the co-owner of the island along with Maria, how did she feel about him?

  “I ran into your partner by the way,” I say.

  “Nolan? What did you think?”

  “I’m not sure what to think, but he seems interesting enough.”

  “If you can get on his good side,” says Maria, “he’s a kind heart. But if you find yourself on the wrong end, you can see how terrifying he can be.” From my first encounter with him, I could tell he had an intimidating aura about him, but at the same time, he didn’t display that around me. I found him mysterious and alluring, and wanted to know more about him, but I also wanted to avoid him as well. He certainly didn’t care about invading on touchy subjects, but that made him more attractive. “I would know,” she continues, “he is my husband after all.”

  My mind blanks out for a moment, and a cold sweat breaks over me. My stomach tight
ens and it takes me a while to process what she just said. “Your husband?”

  “Yes,” says Maria. “I married him when I was eighteen; it’s been ten years so far.”

  “I…I see.” So his full name must be Nolan Pierce.

  * * *

  “You never told me you were married,” I say to Nolan, a hint of anxiety present in my voice. Due to being busy, I rarely saw him. It had been two weeks since we spoke on that second floor balcony, and finally, I had the chance to speak to him again, on the very same balcony.

  “You never asked,” he says in a nonchalant manner.

  “I…well…” It’s true that I never asked him if he were married. I didn’t think to, but looking back at it, it makes perfect sense. It isn’t as if he said he had a romantic interest in me, and now, I wonder why I became angry when I found out he was married. We did after all only have a simple discussion. However, it felt personal, extremely so. Maybe that is what led me to hope that he might have had other interest in me. I was the one who made the mistake, not him. I had no right to get upset with him or Maria. “Sorry, I don’t know why I assumed you weren’t.”

  “Were you hoping I was free?” he jokes.

  “Well, the thought of someone like me having a chance with a person of your stature was somewhat exhilarating, but I guess I got caught up in a childish fantasy. I’m almost ashamed of myself.”

  “Don’t be,” says Nolan. “You aren’t the first woman to drool over me.”

  “Hmph,” I say in apathy, “who’s drooling? People have wandering thoughts you know, and they aren’t always clean.”

  “I’m joking. What did you think of Maria?”

  “She’s different from normal. In fact, you both are.”

  Nolan laughs. “You don’t know how right you are. But she’s an important person to me. She fills an irreplaceable role.”

  “Right,” I say hiding my downcast expression. “I could imagine.”

  “What assumption did you come to?”

  “Isn’t it obvious?”

  “On the surface maybe, but when you take a peek into the complex inner workings, you might find another tale.”

  “Aren’t you philosophical?”

  “Elen, would you like to see something?”

  “If it’s beneficial, maybe.”

  “It’s mandatory,” he says.

  “Invoking your power are you? How inviting.”

  “I’ve been told I often get what I want.”

  “Ok, I’ll pretend I’m going along with this on my own accord.”

  “That’s the spirit. You’ve seen the building with the Pegasus symbol correct?”

  “Yes, but access is restricted to servants.”

  “Have you ever wondered what was inside?”

  “No.”

  Nolan coughs and clasps his hands together. “Well, the Pegasus is the symbol of Skycorp. That building is just one of many, but inside of it lies technological blueprints. You wanted to know more about Skycorp right?”

  “I honestly was just making conversation, but I’ll play along. Sure, I’d love to know more about your corporation Nolan.”

  He laughs. “I think you’ll enjoy what you see either way.”

  Nolan guides me to the designated area, and scans his ID, fingerprints, and retina. Afterwards, he keys in a code, and the door opens up. We step inside.

  He flips on the light switch, revealing the features of the midsized area. The place was covered in dust, lights flickered, and there were drafting tables lain about in rows. At the far end of the room was a desk with a PC that had long since stopped seeing use. “This place isn’t used anymore,” says Nolan, “but it does house some industry secrets. It saw a lot of use when this prison was newly formed, but now, it’s just a memory trove.”

  “Is that all you wanted to show me?” I ask, crossing my arms.

  Nolan walks over to a shelf and pulls a rolled up blueprint sheet from off of it. He unrolls the sheet and shows it to me. The objects in the design looked like some sort of mobile device, along with a credit card. “When I inherited Skycorp, this was one of my first ideas.”

  “What is it?”

  “It’s an anti theft system for credit and debit cards. The device is called a Sky Port, and the card, a Sky Card.”

  “What does it do?”

  “Each card is registered to a single Sky Port, which is unique to the individual, and cannot be accessed by anyone else. When a purchase is made, the price, as well as location is displayed on your Sky Port. You then confirm whether you want to make a purchase, decline, or report an unauthorized purchase. If you fail to make a decision after twenty four hours, your card goes into alert status. When in alert, your card can be tracked by our company, and an arrest can be made. You can’t make a purchase without both the card and the port, and the port is only accessible by the owner, who cannot be changed once registered.”

  “Impressive.”

  “Easy actually,” says Nolan with a boastful smile. “I’m surprised no one else thought of it before hand. It only cost around eighty million for research and development.”

  “Only?” I ask. “How I envy you.”

  Nolan laughs and takes another blueprint from the shelf. “This one is more personal, but I think you will find it familiar.” He opens the blueprint, revealing an overhead view of a prison. It looked different from the current prison I was in, but that is most likely because this is an early design.

  “It’s Befreiung?”

  “I don’t hold it against you for assuming that, as that is what the name is advertised as. But that’s only the name of the island, not the prison. Only my wife and I, along with a select few staff know the prison’s true name.”

  “I’m guessing the name is what you wanted to show me?”

  “You guess right,” says Nolan.

  “I’m listening.”

  “I’d like to think this is a coincidence, but the signs are too blaring.”

  My eyes narrow. “What do you mean?”

  Nolan places the blueprint into my hands. “Look at the blueprint.”

  I raise the blueprint towards my face and scan the sheet. On it I see the words, “Project Elen” written in ink. My eyes widen in surprise, and my hands clutch against the blueprint. Sweat forms on my palms and across my face, and my body begins to shiver as a cold chill trails down my spine. “Seriously?” Eerie didn’t describe how I viewed the situation.

  “That’s actually not the name,” says Nolan, unfazed by my reaction.

  “It’s not?”

  “No, it’s the alpha name, which is why I know there is no way you could have purposely used that name. Only Maria and I have knowledge of that name.”

  “So what’s the problem?”

  “Problem? There’s no problem per se, but this isn’t something I can ignore.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Gold Bloom.”

  “What about it?”

  “That’s the name.”

  “No way.” I didn’t know what to think. Not only did I unknowingly name myself after the alpha name of this prison, the prison itself was named after my eye mutation? I didn’t believe in superstition, but there is no way this was a coincidence. Come to think of it, why did I choose the name Elen to begin with? Yes, it has the same amount of letters as my real name, and I did think it was an alluring name, but it’s not as if I had any prior fascination with it. In fact, I never even heard of the name until the thought came into my mind. What did this all mean for me?

  “What’s your real name?” he asks. I could see the seriousness reflected in his eyes. He wanted the truth, and nothing else.

  “Sora Nakatomi,” I say.

  “Sora, I’m going to need to see more of you.”

  “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

  “Positive,” he states, “You’ll be my personal servant.”

  “What about Maria? Are you sure she is going to like this?”

  “She isn’t going
to know about this, and I can’t let you out of my sight.”

  “Very well,” I say with a warm smile. I didn’t mind seeing more of Nolan Pierce. He was an interesting man, and I wanted to know more about him. He seems to truly have an interest in me on more than just a superficial level, and he holds my key to freedom. I’d be stupid to pass this up. If he wanted to have a little fling aside from his wife, or whatever this entailed, I didn’t mind entertaining him. As long as he could keep his promise that this wouldn’t inconvenience me, I didn’t care. Besides, it would be a nice break from all the monotony of daily servitude. I think I was beginning to find someone who actually might understand me.

  Nolan approaches me and puts his hands on my shoulders. “You’ll be my little secret.”

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  Table of Contents

  The Billionaire's Secret (An Erotic Romance)

  Book One

  Midpoint