Page 1 of Betrayal of a Billionaire

CHAPTER 1

GRANT

Grant’s muscles tensed, and he tightened his grip on his glass of bourbon, his gaze lost in the long shadows stretching across the front lawn of Harrington House. The last four months of his life had been a tightrope walk ever since Julia revealed Lydia’s involvement in DG Industries.

The door opened and Worthington, his butler, slipped inside. “Mr. Harrington, you wished to see me?”

“Yes,” Grant said as he collapsed into the supple leather of his desk chair and swiveled to face the man. “Do you know anything about this family meeting Sierra called?”

“Yes, sir, I am aware of it.”

Grant’s stomach clenched, and he sipped the bourbon again. He didn’t like surprises, especially when Sierra’s reputation hung in the balance. One slip up on their part and Lydia had threatened to expose compromising pictures of his daughter. Did her sudden insistence on this get-together have anything to do with that? “Any idea what she wants to say?”

Worthington clasped his hands in front of him and bobbed his head. “I have some, sir, yes.”

“What is it?”

“I am afraid I cannot disclose that under threat of death.”

Grant heaved a sigh as he let his glass clatter across the mahogany wood of the desk. “Come on, Worthington.”

The man pressed his lips into a thin line and shook his head. “I am much too fearful of Miss Sierra to give away the nature of her…announcement.”

“Worthington, I’m the one who signs your checks, not Sierra. I think I deserve a little loyalty here.”

“It is nothing to be worried over,” Worthington said tactfully.

Grant’s jaw tensed as he sipped his bourbon. “Given everything going on lately, I can’t help but be worried.”

“With Ms. Lydia?” Worthington asked.

Grant nodded with a sigh. “It’s been four months, Worthington. And it’s been way too quiet. Outside of a few blips here and there, I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop. Julia’s doing an excellent job of playing her part with Lydia, but I hate this.”

“I cannot imagine it is comfortable, no. Perhaps, though, this is an excellent moment to strengthen the bond with the current Mrs. Harrington.”

Grant’s fingers tightened around his glass again, tension building in his shoulders. “You’re right, but…”

“But, sir?”

Grant licked his lips as he considered it. “Nothing. You’re right. Julia came to me with the information about Lydia. She trusted me. And she’s been out of the woods with her health for a while. Maybe now is the time when we’re not in a crisis.”

Worthington lifted his eyebrows, offering Grant a knowing smile.

A loud bang interrupted their conversation. “Grant!”

Grant’s fingers tightened around the chair’s arm as Lydia’s shrill voice pierced the air, bringing the usual instant and visceral reaction–a knot in his stomach and a tightness in his chest. The pounding continued. “Grant, are you in there?”

“Yes!” he called reluctantly, letting out a sigh.

The doors burst open, and Lydia stormed inside, instantly changing the atmosphere with her presence. The room’s air shifted, a new chill in it as if an impending storm was coming. Lydia’s clicking heels sliced through the air like a sharp blade. “We need to talk.”

“Okay,” he said, trying to keep his voice tempered. Since the revelation of her involvement with the shady organization, he had a hard time even looking at her, let alone talking to her.

“I need something from you.”

“Don’t you always?”

Lydia eyed Worthington, still standing in the room. “Buzz off, baldy. We have important business to discuss.”