Page 12 of Suddenly Desired (APEX Billionaires’ Club #2)

ELLIE

Ellie was a mess by the time she arrived back at her flat.

The evening air clung to her like a second skin, thick and humid, and the hour-long walk home had left her drenched in sweat.

She’d used the last of her money on the coffees and hadn’t been able to afford a taxi.

The evening was hot and clammy, and she still felt like she was in adrenaline mode after the incident at the bar.

Her pulse was racing, her body like a furnace.

She couldn’t believe that had happened. It didn’t feel real.

How could anybody be that cruel to another person?

Even if Blake had been guilty, it didn’t give somebody the right to tip a whole pitcher of rancid water over him.

She unlocked the door, picturing Blake’s face. He’d looked so horrified, so upset. She had no reason to believe his claim that he was innocent, but in the short time she’d spent with him tonight she felt she already knew him. Either he was telling the truth, or he was the world’s best liar.

Of course, it wasn’t like she hadn’t been taken in by a liar and a cheat before.

Ellie pushed the door open and stepped into her dimly lit hallway, her bag slipping from her shoulder.

Her flat was small and cluttered, but cosy, the faint smell of strawberry milkshake from her diffuser hanging in the air.

She barely had time to let out a breath when a figure lunged at her from the shadows.

“Jesus,” she yelped, leaping backwards into the console with a clatter.

“Oh, sorry,” said Josh, not sounding sorry at all. “I just needed to collect some of my things.”

Ellie’s initial shock gave way to anger, her jaw tightening as she flicked on a light. She pushed past him, hanging her bag in the hall next to the lightweight raincoat he wore whatever the weather.

“You don’t have anything left here,” she said, trying to keep her voice calm. “You haven’t had anything here for weeks.”

“I beg to differ,” he said, holding up a razor.

She was certain it hadn’t been here before today.

She’d gone through the place in forensic detail after he’d left and chucked everything that belonged to him — and everything that they owned together — in a bin bag.

But Josh had insisted on keeping a key, and she was too poor to have the locks changed, and technically the lease on the flat was in both their names so she couldn’t even complain to the landlord.

“Great,” Ellie said. “You’ve got it so now you can go.”

Josh ignored her and sauntered into the kitchen. “Coffee?” he called over his shoulder. “I’ve put a pot on.”

Ellie screamed internally, following him into the kitchen to see that as well as the coffee bubbling in the pot, there was something spinning in the microwave. The smell of cheap burgers filled the air. His laptop was open on the counter.

“You don’t mind,” he said, a statement rather than a question. “I won’t be long. Besides, I figured you could use the company.”

“I’m tired, Josh,” she said. “It’s been a long day.”

“You and me both, honey.” He poured himself a mug of coffee and added a large glug of her favourite creamy milk. He leaned against the counter. “Where have you been?”

“That’s none of your business,” she snapped, wondering if he’d leave the flat if she picked up a knife and chased him out.

But that’s the kind of thing Josh wanted her to do.

That’s how he operated. He drove you insane, made you feel like you were losing your mind, then stepped in and told you he could make it all better. “Just eat and leave.”

“Relax.” He tapped the keys on his laptop. “I was just curious to see if you’d tell me.”

Ellie didn’t reply, her arms crossed tightly over her chest as she leaned against the counter. But when Josh turned his laptop towards her, her stomach sank.

“I know where you’ve been,” he said smugly, tapping the trackpad.

A video started playing on-screen, so dark and so fuzzy that it took her a moment to recognise herself and Blake in the bar. She watched with a growing sense of panic as the barmaid threw the drink over Blake’s head, as he shot up in shock, as she defended him. Then it cut to black.

“Solid choice for a date,” Josh said, revelling in it. “You’ve got a real knack for public humiliation, haven’t you? Silly girl.”

Ellie was speechless. She felt terrible.

This had all happened because of her. If she hadn’t gone for that interview then she never would have bumped into Blake.

If she hadn’t dropped her notebook then he never would have had to bring it to her.

If she hadn’t suggested the bar then Blake never would have been filmed.

He was in enough trouble as it was. This could ruin him.

“Have you seen the comments?” Josh grinned.

“People really do hate him. I’m surprised you don’t feel the same way, being a girl.

In the latest bunch of posts on his page he claimed that girls shouldn’t be allowed to drive because they don’t have the coordination for it.

Maybe he’s right, though. I mean, look at you.

You were left to your own devices tonight and you picked the very worst person on the planet to go on a date with. ”

Rage was boiling inside her skull and she stormed into the bedroom, slamming the door behind her. There was nothing to lock it with, so she sat with her back to the door, planting her head in her hands.

Could Josh be right? Could Blake really have said those things?

She pulled out her phone and opened up the browser, searching for Blake’s name.

His Heartbook page had been taken down, but there were a million screenshots of what had been posted there.

They really were vile and disgusting statements.

She couldn’t understand how they could be made by the same person she had met tonight.

These remarks were blunt and lazy and cruel.

Blake had been talkative — he’d wittered more than her — and imaginative and kind.

The posts were offensively demeaning to women, but Blake had spoken to her with care and consideration.

Not once had she felt objectified or belittled.

No, it couldn’t have been him. Ellie had no idea what was happening, but she was certain that he was being set up.

The thought made her feel like a territorial animal.

It made her want to run to his side and fight for him.

But even though Blake was one of the strongest men she’d ever met — even now she could picture the muscles straining against his hoodie — there was a vulnerability to him.

Maybe he’d spent so long being in charge that he’d forgotten what it was like to be looked after.

But how was she supposed to look after him when he’d left without giving her his address, or even his phone number?

“I can hear you in there,” said Josh from the other side of the door. He was chewing loudly. “Come on, babe, come out and spend some time with me. It will make you feel better.”

She couldn’t think of anything that would make her feel worse.

She stayed where she was, browsing through the search results until she found an article that wasn’t about the comments Blake had supposedly made.

She opened up a business site, seeing a photo of a younger Blake with a woman who could only be his mother.

She had silver hair, styled in a bob, and she was dressed in a sleek, powerful black suit, a string of pearls around her neck.

Her face was kind, her eyes crinkled with laughter lines.

She was holding on to Blake’s arm, his hand resting on hers.

He was looking down at her with such love that it almost broke Ellie’s heart.

The headline read: Blake Fielding — Is Silicon Valley’s Most Secretive Entrepreneur Actually The Tech Industry’s Nicest Guy?

Was this the real Blake? How had his reputation sunk so quickly?

Ellie wanted to copy this article and send it to everyone on the planet, but there was no way to do it.

She brushed a finger down Blake’s cheek, then put the phone on the floor.

Outside the door she heard Josh drop his dishes into the sink.

“Place could do with a clean,” he yelled. “You never know when the landlord is going to drop by.”

He left, closing the door behind him and whistling his way down the corridor.

Ellie shot up, ran to the front door and slid the deadbolt across to stop him making any more unannounced visits.

Even though he was the world’s biggest idiot, he was right, the apartment did look a little neglected.

She’d been so busy at work and planning for her interview that she hadn’t hoovered in a while, and there were coffee mugs on practically every surface.

It was too late to do anything about it now, but tomorrow she would blitz the place.

In fact, she would blitz everything. It was time to get serious about her life.

No more working in a café. No more letting Josh just walk through the door whenever he liked.

And no more daydreaming about Blake Fielding.

* * *

Ellie may have sworn off daydreaming about Blake, but apparently, her subconscious hadn’t got the memo.

Her dreams last night had been so vivid, so electric, that when she woke up, her body pulsed with want.

Stretching languidly beneath her covers, she could almost feel his warmth lingering beside her — his breath on her neck, his hands trailing lower.