Page 5 of The Morally Grey Billionaires Boxset

Liam

"Didn’t you propose to Lila a few months ago? And aren’t you getting married in a week?" Hunter Whittington, my classmate from Oxford, slides into the seat between me and Declan.

"He’s not talking about Lila," Declan murmurs.

"Who’re we talking about, then?" Adrian Sovrano, the only one among us four whose day-to-day job involves close connections with the other side of the law, stalks over to us.

"Aren’t you needed in Sicily for whatever it is the Cosa Nostra’s planning next?" I scowl.

"Turns out, CN Enterprises has considerable interests in London, and with the rest of my brothers taking a back seat to focus on their families, I’ve been chosen to stay on here and manage things."

"CN Enterprises, huh? Could the legal face of the Cosa Nostra businesses have a more obvious name?" Declan smirks.

"Obvious only if you know the connection." Adrian reaches for the snifter of Macallan and pours himself a healthy tumblerful. "And if you do, you know better than to talk about it."

I glance between Adrian and Hunter. "Speaking of, should the two of you risk being seen in each other’s company?"

"This is the only place where someone like Hunter can relax and not worry about the media getting wind of who he’s socializing with.

" JJ Kane walks over to stand next to Declan.

"Everything about 7A Club is a secret, including who the board consists of or, for that matter, who the members are.

" He raises a cigar to his lips and puffs.

"You do have a propensity to pop up like a bad rash. "I roll my shoulders. "Shouldn’t you be planning your own wedding instead?"

JJ laughs. "I’d take offense to your digging into my personal life, only—"

"You’re in too good a mood to do so." I survey his features. "In fact, contentment wafts off you in waves, old man. So much so, you’re positively glowing." I wrinkle my nose.

"I’d say you’re jealous, but considering your own nuptials are but a few days away, I’m sure you’ll soon be basking in the afterglow of marital bliss yourself." JJ smiles expansively.

I wince, then catch myself, but not before Declan narrows his gaze on me.

Bastard may be the current most in-demand heart-throb in LA, but he’s always had the sharpest of observational skills.

He’s a few years younger than me and Hunter, but his IQ, as well as his emotional intelligence, have always exceeded his years.

Combine that with his handsome looks, and it’s no wonder he’s so quickly climbed the ranks of tinsel town.

"Word is, you’re in line for the role of the next James Bond." Not that I give a whit, but it’s one way to shift the focus of this discussion from my upcoming nuptials.

"I’m too young for the role." Declan raises his snifter of whiskey to his mouth. "And you know better than trying to distract me from the more interesting topic of who you’re marrying."

"I take it you’re not marrying Lila Kumar?" JJ tilts his head.

"So, you’re aware that he’s marrying the only daughter of one of the richest men on the continent?" Adrian leans forward in his seat.

"I was privy to a very interesting conversation where the bride-to-be canceled," JJ tries and fails to conceal the look of mirth on his face, "via a text message, I might add."

"Ouch, that sounds brutal, ol’ chap. How are you holding up?" Hunter’s voice is threaded with a genuine note of concern.

"Considering he’s here having a drink with the lads, I think it’s safe to say he’s not suffering from a broken heart," Adrian drawls.

"Wait. Stop." I hold up my hand. "Thanks for the update, JJ. I’ll be first in line to celebrate when it’s your turn to tie the knot."

"I’d do so in a heartbeat, but Lena prefers that we wait.

And while I’m not getting any younger, what the lady wants, she gets.

" JJ’s features soften. Poor sucker’s hopelessly head-over-heels for his woman.

I’ve seen them together and Lena, too, has eyes only for him.

They are so well-matched; it’s positively sickening seeing them together.

Luckily, I’m not one of those bastards who’s going to fall for the romantic notion of true love anytime soon.

In fact, that’s the reason I’ve delayed getting married—until I couldn’t anymore.

If not for the fact my father’s will stipulates that I marry and reproduce before my fortieth birthday, I wouldn’t have proposed to Lila, either.

Perhaps my father had an inkling that would be the case.

Which is why the old bastard demanded it.

Whatever the case, I’m going to make sure I don’t fall for a woman.

That’s why I’d decided on the wedding planner.

She’s too feisty, too opinionated, too independent.

And we can’t stand each other. We barely managed the entire conversation yesterday without coming to blows.

It’s a good indication that there’ll never be an iota of sentiment between us.

She’ll keep hating my guts. I’ll keep hating her sass.

A match made in heaven, for the short amount of time necessary to marry her and produce an offspring.

After which, I’ll ensure she has enough payments coming to her in alimony so she and the kid will never want for anything.

I’ll also make sure the obligations laid out in my father’s will are met.

I’ll finally inherit the rights to the group of companies I’ve worked so hard to build and get access to my trust fund.

Not that I need the trust fund. I made sure to invest the substantial money I earned over the years as CEO of my father’s company, so I’m wealthy in my own right, but it’s the principal of the thing that matters.

I pumped my lifeblood into the company which, by all rights, belongs to me.

And the money in the trust is mine, and I’ll finally have access to it.

Plus, she’ll establish a positive reputation for her company.

It’s a win-win situation for all concerned.

"It’s you who’ll be tying the knot first." JJ’s voice cuts through my thoughts. "How did you convince your wedding planner to step in for the bride though?"

"The wedding planner?" Declan exclaims.

"You’re marrying the wedding planner?" Hunter arches an eyebrow.

"Makes sense, I suppose. If the bride doesn’t turn up, have the wedding planner stand in for her instead." Adrian nods.

I narrow my gaze on JJ, suspicious of how he knows so much. "Good guess. I might jump to the assumption you have eyes on me, but you wouldn’t be so stupid as to do that now, would you?"

JJ chuckles. "I’d say that not much happens in this town without my knowledge, but in this particular case, it was a logical conclusion to draw.

I was there when you received said text message from your bride-to-be, and stomped off in search of the wedding planner who you were going to teach a lesson for having broken up your wedding. "

"And you jumped to the conclusion that she was going to stand in for the bride?"

"Let’s just say, something about the way you spoke about her told me your relationship with her—"

"I don’t have one."

"—was more complicated than you gave it credit for."

"Nothing complicated. I had a proposal. She accepted it. We have a deal in place; both parties win."

"Hmm." Declan scratches his jaw. "This entire thing seems rather convoluted. Why not simply hire an actress to stand in for the part?"

"Because it has to be her." I set my jaw.

Adrian and Hunter exchange looks.

"Why does it have to be her?" Hunter finally asks. His voice is soft as if he’s patronizing me. As if, if he were to ask me a particularly convoluted question, I might lose my shit. Which, I confess, I may have come close to doing when I was talking to that annoying woman yesterday. But I got my way in the end, didn’t I?

Everything is set and on track. I’ve never been closer to claiming my inheritance. So why am I so stressed?

I take a deep breath, then square my shoulders. "She’s the only one I have enough of a hold over to ensure that all of the clauses in my father’s will are met."

"Hmm." Declan scratches his jaw. "You mean—" He hesitates. "Nah, it can’t be, can it?"

JJ regards him with a considering look. "You thinking what I’m thinking?"

"What are you both thinking?" Adrian glances between them.

I turn on Hunter. "You’re the only one who hasn’t speculated as to what they’re thinking. Care to give me your opinion, as well?"

Hunter smirks. "Oh, I know what they’re thinking."

"Fuck you," I say without heat. "Because the three of us" —I glance at Hunter, then at Declan— "belonged to the same fraternity... I know you guys would never betray me. And that old man, Kane" —I jerk my chin in JJ’s direction— "has too much riding on the 7A Club to ever share anything outside these walls. Not to mention, Adrian comes from the Cosa Nostra, so he knows the cost of revealing a secret is worse than death. Plus, I don’t think he cares one way or the other who I’m marrying. "

"I don’t," Adrian confirms.

"Either way, it’s not a big fucking deal." I roll my shoulders to relieve the twinge that seems to have settled in there since my conversation with the irritating wedding planner yesterday.

"You mean you have to produce an offspring?" Declan murmurs.

Hunter chuckles.

JJ’s smirk widens.

Adrian grabs a cigar and snips off the end. Then he lights it up and hands it over to me. "Double congratulations are in order then?"

"Shut the fuck up." Nevertheless, I accept the cigar and jam it between my lips. It’s only the question of an heir. The issue of my issue. One I intend to fulfill. And thanks to technology, I won’t have to touch that infuriating woman.

I simply have to donate my sperm and use her as the receptacle.

With the help of the best doctors I have on standby, I’ll deliver on my father’s requirements in no time.

Hunter pulls out his snow-white handkerchief and snaps it out before holding it out to me.

"The fuck is that for?" I growl.

"You’re sweating, ol’ chap."

"Am not." I glower at him and begrudgingly accept the piece of cloth to mop my brow.

"Not to worry, ol’ chap. This will all be over very soon, and you’ll have a wife on one arm and a bonny wee babe in the other," JJ offers.

The pain in my shoulder intensifies. I draw in a breath, and my lungs burn. "Fuck this shit." I thrust the handkerchief in Hunter’s direction, then jump to my feet. "I gotta go see a man about a dog."

A few minutes later, I stare at my reflection in the mirror in the gents’ room.

Am I nervous about the upcoming nuptials?

No, I’m not. Why should I be? I have nothing to lose.

I hold all the cards in this transaction.

I hold the power. All she has to do is turn up, get married, then get impregnated.

And she’ll go through with it because she needs this as much as I do, for different reasons, of course.

But I saw how her eyes lit up when I laid out the benefits of marrying me. It always boils down to the same thing.

My money and the power I wield influence people so much, they can no longer see me. I am the means to an end. I learned that early on, with the few relationships I allowed myself to indulge in. I also learned that I could remove myself from the equation.

As long as the benefits from my wealth are there for the taking, I—the person—no longer count.

Whether it’s related to business or in my private life, it’s what I can bring to the table that sways people.

Which is exactly what I’ve been building toward for most of my life.

So why should this transaction with her be any different?

It’s perfect, actually. I am the conclusion of my own making.

The net result of my negotiations. The summary of a business deal I structured, leveraged, and delivered, with a massive profit margin.

So why does it feel so wrong? So empty? Why do I feel discombobulated?

The door opens behind me. I hear footsteps before Hunter steps up to the urinal in the far corner. By the time he walks over to the sink next to mine, I’ve washed my hands and dried them.

"It’s okay to have second thoughts about your wedding," he murmurs as he holds his hands under the stream of water.

"I’m not having second thoughts." I can’t afford to have second thoughts. I’ve planned it all out to the last detail. Sure, the face of the bride I’m going to marry is different. So what? The finale of this story will be the same.

"So why is your face pale?" He reaches for a paper towel, and the tap turns off automatically.

"Must be the dim lighting in here."

"Hmm." He dries his hands and tosses the piece of paper into the receptacle. "My first day in Oxford, you saved my ass from being toast when I was a scrawny freshman."

"Only because I was feeling charitable that day. I’d have done the same if you’d been a dog."

He laughs. "So generous with your comparisons."

I blow out a breath. "Okay, that was unwarranted."

"See, this is what I mean. You like to be seen as an unfeeling gazillionaire, and trust me, I get it. I need to keep up a front when it comes to my profession, too, but I know there’s something more in there. And it’s okay to share with friends. We’re in your corner, man."

I rub the back of my neck. "We done?"

"Sure." He bumps his fist into my shoulder. "We still on for taking the flight to wherever it is you’re getting married?"

"It’s on an island near Italy—destination wedding and all that."

"Right. It should be fun, huh? All your friends and family traveling on the flight you’ve booked, and staying under one roof? Imagine that."

A shudder runs down my spine. "Now that you mention it, there’s something I need to change."