His Los Angeles Surprise
Auteur
Sheryl Lister
Lezers
15,3K
Hoofdstukken
21
HarlequinChapter 1
“You’ve got one nice set of buns!”
Derek Moore whirled around at the sharp pat on his butt and came face-to-face with an elegantly attired woman old enough to be his grandmother. He sighed inwardly. “I, um...”
“Don’t let the cane fool you,” she said with a wink. “Can you point me in the direction of the table where I can place my bid?”
“It’s the one on the far side of the room, in front of the banner.” He gestured in that direction. The woman hurried off and Derek shook his head. He had no idea why he’d agreed to attend this function. His mind went back to his father’s phone call. I’ve been diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer and doctors don’t think I’m going to make it past the New Year. I’m innocent of the crimes I was convicted of. Before I die, I want to clear my name, and I hope you, my sons, will help me. The Moore legacy is important.
Moore legacy? Hell, his mother had to fight just to get the name on his birth certificate. He still had his doubts about the old man’s innocence, but he’d promised his brothers, Trey and Max, he would get involved. Pushing down the old anger, he snagged a flute of champagne from a passing waiter. Glancing around the luxurious twelfth-floor penthouse suite in the downtown Los Angeles Fine Arts Building, which housed the LA chapter of Prescott George, aka the Millionaire Moguls, he had to admit the organization had gone all out. This rent-a-bachelor function had been the idea of his older brother, Trey. With the chapter’s six-month suspension after their father had been convicted of sabotaging the San Diego chapter, Prescott George needed some quick cash flow for their holiday outreach programs. If the sheer number of women crowding the room—young and old—was any indication, the event would be a huge success. He just hoped he didn’t end up having to spend time with someone older than his mother. Derek turned and froze. Or her. He closed his eyes briefly, unnerved that the mere sight of his high school sweetheart stirred something inside of him long forgotten. He promptly dismissed the feeling. He hadn’t spoken to Alexis Armstrong in over a decade, though he’d seen the popular supermodel in every media outlet. One thing hadn’t changed. She was as beautiful now as she had been at Malibu High, even more so. And still slender, though the strapless navy dress clung enticingly to the curves now filling her tall frame.
“Derek Moore?”
“Yes.” Derek didn’t recognize the older gentleman standing in front of him. Not surprising, since he’d never been a part of Prescott George until now.
The man stuck out his hand. “Vance Winters. I’m glad to see you finally taking your rightful place in the Millionaire Moguls. I’ve heard good things about you from Reginald.”
He didn’t understand how his father could have said anything about him, since the man knew nothing. As far as Derek taking his “rightful place,” that was a long shot. “Is that so?”
Vance smiled. “He’s proud of you three boys and your accomplishments.”
Before he could reply, someone called out to Vance and he excused himself. “Proud, my ass,” Derek mumbled, following his departure. He gulped down the remainder of his drink and placed it on one of the trays that had been set out.
“Well, I must say you clean up nicely.”
Why me? Christina North worked as a personal assistant in the LA office and, from the first day he walked in the door, last week, she’d made her attraction to him no secret. “Christina.”
Her gaze slowly traveled down his body and back up. “Maybe I should be placing my bid on you.” She took a step closer. “One night...no, a week would be fabulous. Don’t you agree?”
Derek stepped back. “I don’t think so.” So far he’d been polite in letting her know he wasn’t interested, but she clearly couldn’t take no for an answer.
She smiled. “Surely you wouldn’t let all my money go to waste.”
“In a heartbeat.”
Her smile faded. “Derek—”
He held up a hand. “First, I don’t think it would look good for you to have the winning bid, seeing as how you’re handling the transactions. Second, as I told you before, I’m not interested in having anything outside of a working relationship with you. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to find Trey.”
Christina muttered something that sounded like “your loss” and stormed off.
Derek scanned the room for Trey and his gaze collided with Alexis’s. A slight smile tilted her lips. She saluted him with her glass and gave him an imperceptible nod, then smoothly looked away and continued her conversation. For a brief moment, he toyed with going over to talk to her, but nixed the idea. Some things were better left in the past.
He spotted Trey near the front of the penthouse and started in his direction. Halfway there, he saw several women surround Trey. It took a moment to see why. He had a baby strapped to his chest in one of those carriers. Derek chuckled. He’d talk to him later.
“I didn’t think you’d be here.” His brother Max materialized out of nowhere.
“I told Trey I’d come and I’m here. I had planned to talk to him, but he’s a little preoccupied. Whose baby is that?”
“His sister’s. She had to go out of town for a couple of weeks. Does your being here tonight mean you’re going to start actively participating in Prescott George?”
“I don’t know.”
“I know you and Trey don’t think so, but I know Dad is innocent.”
Derek bit back the acerbic reply poised on the tip of his tongue at the mention of his father’s innocence. “That remains to be seen. After all the trouble you and Trey went through being investigated because of him, you still think he’s innocent?” He stopped himself upon seeing the pained expression on Max’s face. Max had been the only one of the three who’d grown up having their father in his life, and he loved Reginald. Derek blew out a long breath. “I’m sorry. This is going to take some getting used to.”
“I understand. Derek, I know you said earlier that you wouldn’t help with the investigation, but I’m hoping you’ll change your mind. Trey and I want to meet to talk about it on Sunday.”
As much as Derek wanted to walk away and tell Max to forget it, he couldn’t. Max had been trying to develop a relationship with Derek and Trey for the longest time and Derek hadn’t wanted to be bothered. Now with their father dying, he could see the toll it was taking on Max. “Call me and let me know when.”
“Thanks. How long are you going to be here?”
“Probably not much longer.”
“Then I’ll talk to you on Sunday.”
Derek watched him walk away. After being the lone wolf for so long, he’d never cared much about having a relationship with Trey and Max. Maybe it was time he got to know his brothers.
* * *
“There’s enough eye candy in here to put a woman in a diabetic coma.”
Alexis Armstrong chuckled at her best friend, Charlene Rivers. But she did have a point.
“How does this rent-a-bachelor thing work again?”
“You can rent them for a day, week or even an entire month, depending on what the guys have specified. There are information packets on all the Prescott George members who’ve agreed to participate on that far table, where assistants are taking the blind bids. For the more tech-savvy crowd, there are also computers with the information and you can place your bid there, as well. Apparently, they need some quick money for their outreach after being on suspension for the past six months.”
“What happened?”
Alexis spoke quietly. “One of their high-ranking members was accused of sabotaging the San Diego chapter—break-ins, computer leaks and vandalism. But no charges were brought because they didn’t want to incur any bad press. Instead, they just expelled the man behind it and suspended the LA chapter.”
“Wow. You’d think with all the money and power, someone wouldn’t need to resort to such tactics.”
“True, but someone did.” Alexis still couldn’t believe who. “Prescott George does a lot of good.” She gestured to the motto on the wall: From Generation to Generation, Lifting Each Other Up.
“That’s great to hear. Anyway, back to the reason we’re here.” Charlene glanced around the room, smiled and sipped her champagne. “Yep. I see a couple of brothers who would be perfect to help end my dating drought, preferably one of those with the open calendar for a month. You should be looking, too. It’s about time for you to find someone.”
Alexis shook her head. “Don’t start. See, this is why I didn’t want to invite you,” she added with a mock pout.
“Girl, please. You know you’re ready to get your groove back. Look at all these fine men. Surely one of them will be happy to help you out. And you know they all have good jobs.”
She rolled her eyes, but couldn’t stop her smile. “Whatever.” She scanned the room. Yes, they all did. Prescott George was an elite organization for African American millionaires started in the 1940s in Florida, as a way to give back to their communities. Now they had chapters all over the world and continued their legacy of outreach. Alexis brought her glass to her lips and froze. Derek? What was Derek Moore doing here? She remembered him being adamant about having nothing to do with the organization. It had been close to fourteen years since she’d seen him and she had to admit that time had been good to him.
“Alexis.” Charlene waved a hand in her face. “Are you okay?”
Alexis startled. “What? Oh, I’m fine.” But she couldn’t resist one more peek at Derek.
“So, I see someone has caught your eye and I totally understand why. That man is gorgeous. And with his height, it would take a long time to work your way down that sexy body.” Charlene fanned herself.
She had worked her way down his body and recalled with vivid clarity how it felt to run her hands over all six feet, five inches of his muscled frame. “Yes, he is gorgeous.”
Her friend latched on to Alexis’s arm. “Let’s get one of those information packets. I want to know who he is and what he does.”
“I already know who he is and what he does,” Alexis confessed.
“I can’t believe you’ve been holding out on me.” Charlene nodded politely to a man passing. “So spill it. How long have you been seeing him?”
“I haven’t seen Derek in over a decade.”
“Derek?” Her eyes widened. “Are you talking about Derek Moore, the guy you dated in high school? The one who—”
“Yes, that’s him,” Alexis said, cutting her off. She didn’t need her business spread across the room. Being a model, much of her life had been played out in the public arena, but some things she liked to keep private. As if sensing her scrutiny, Derek glanced her way. She saluted him with her glass and turned back to Charlene. “He said he’d never step foot in the organization, so I wonder why he’s here.”
“Something must have changed his mind.”
“Mmm-hmm.” She wondered if it had to do with his father being expelled from Prescott George. Derek and his father had never been close.
“I think you should rent him.”
Alexis almost choked on her drink. “What? Wait, no.” She shook her head. “If I know Derek, he’s only here to support his half brothers.”
“It’s the perfect idea. I just saw the look he gave you, and obviously, with the way you’ve been staring at him, you two have some unfinished business. Think of it this way—you can catch up, and who knows, the spark may still be there. Oh, and it’s for a good cause.”
“Charlene, I really don’t think that’s a good idea. Yes, I loved him in high school, but a lot has changed since then. I’ve changed.” More importantly, she didn’t believe that he had changed. Derek had always been a loner and out to prove that he could make his own mark on the world. He neither wanted nor needed the money placed in a trust fund for him by his estranged father. “He left me once and I don’t want to give him the opportunity to do it again.” It surprised Alexis how much his leaving still affected her after all these years.
“Then this is the perfect opportunity to show him what he gave up all those years ago.”
Alexis laughed. “You are such a nut.”
“Honey, I’m serious. What good is being able to strut down a runway if you’re not going to use it for something far more worthwhile? While you’re thinking it over, let’s go get those packets before they’re gone. I don’t want to take a chance on missing out on a potential Mr. Right.” They made their way across the crowded ballroom and Charlene eased her way between two women to snag a booklet from the table. She held it up triumphantly.
Women of all ages stood lined up in front of the table and computers. “I’m guessing that they’re going to raise a lot of money tonight.” They moved to an area with less people.
“And I plan to add mine to it,” Charlene said, flipping through the pages. She held it up. “I think I found him.”
Alexis read the bio. “Sterling Winston. Investments, wealth building... He can definitely give you some good advice for the future.”
Charlene grinned. “By the looks of him, he can give me good advice on a lot of things. I’m going to place a bid.”
“Knock yourself out. I’ll be here waiting when you get back.”
“Humph. You need to be getting in line yourself.”
She laughed and waved her off. “You’d better hurry so someone else doesn’t snatch him up. Didn’t I read that the bidding for him lasts only an hour?”
“Be back in a bit.” Charlene hurried off.
Still smiling, Alexis turned at the sound of someone calling her name. “Jade.” The two women embraced. “I haven’t seen you in a while.” She and Jade had been paired up on a few modeling assignments early in Alexis’s career.
Jade’s dark eyes twinkled. “That’s because I’m retired. I moved here from New York last year and my new husband is a member of this chapter.”
“Congratulations. How long have you two been married?”
“Six months. I’m anxious to start a family, so my days of all-day photo shoots are over. What about you?”
“I’ve been thinking about dusting off my business degree and doing something else.” Being in the business for a decade and a half, Alexis had amassed a closetful of free couture clothing, had her passport stamped with some of the most beautiful locales and had enough money saved and invested that she could live a comfortable life. But she wanted to do more with her life.
“We should keep in touch now that I’m local.”
“I’d like that.” They exchanged numbers, shared another hug, then Jade floated off to find her husband.
Thinking about Jade’s comment regarding starting a family sent a sharp pain through her chest. There were several women ahead of Charlene at the computers, so Alexis decided to step out for a minute to get some much needed air. Halfway to her destination she realized she had to pass Derek. His gaze shifted in her direction as she approached, his expression unreadable. For a second she thought he might ignore her, but he excused himself and stepped into her pathway.
“Hello, Alexis.”
“Derek.” His voice had deepened to a rich baritone and the goatee framing his mouth gave him an even sexier edge. An awkward silence ensued.
“It’s been a long time,” she finally said.
“Yes, it has. I would ask what you’ve been doing, but you’re a superstar.”
She laughed softly. “I wouldn’t say that. I’ve seen you on a couple of magazine covers, as well.” He’d been interviewed as one of the country’s top real estate moguls. “It seems as though you got what you wanted.”
A rare smile curved his lips, transforming his serious features and making her pulse skip. Then he stared at her intently. “Maybe. Maybe not.” Derek placed a soft kiss on her cheek and his hard body brushed against hers. “It’s good to see you, Alexis.”
“Good to see you, too, Derek.”
Giving her another smile, he sauntered off. Alexis watched his fluid gait until he blended with the crowd. She stood there a moment longer before making a decision. She spun around and headed back to the bidding area. Show him what he missed? Yep. Charlene met her, smiling broadly. “That smile says you got your bid in before the deadline.”
“Yes, I did. And I hope I bid high enough.”
“Well, I’m going to take your advice and make a bid of my own.”
Charlene rubbed her hands together. “Aw, sookie sookie now!”
Alexis opted for the computers to speed things up, but the one she chose kept giving her an error message. So she went over to the table to ask the woman sitting there about the problem.
The woman took her credit card. “I can help you here. Which Millionaire Mogul are you bidding on?”
“Derek Moore.” She wrote down her bid and slid it across the table.
A strange expression crossed the woman’s face. “I see.”
Alexis’s eyebrow lifted a fraction. What’s that all about?
“It seems there’s a problem with your card. The transaction isn’t going through.”
“Feels like someone doesn’t want me to rent Derek,” she said with a nervous chuckle. Some of the other women waiting had started to stare. Finally, after five tries, the transaction went through. And just like her friend, Alexis had placed a bid high enough to guarantee a win.
