BILLIONAIRE: Secret Ransom: Desired Love Series: Book 1 (New Adult Contemporary Romance) by D.S. Sage Read Free Book Online

the phone to his ear.
    “Yes?” he asked. Lily watched his brow furrow in frustration, his eyes sill on her when his focus shifted to the call.
    “Tell them that the software is stable,” he said. ‘Well I don’t what else to---?”
    Powell’s eyes rolled to the top of his head, and he barked that he’d make his way down to the fifth floor as he slammed the receiver into the cradle. Scanning Lily’s waiting form; he reached behind her back and pinched her ass through the folds of her skirt.
    “This can’t wait,” he said.
    “Sorry to hear that,” Lily said. “But I can.”
    He laughed heartily as pointed towards a well-stocked bar.
    “I take my whiskey neat,” he said. “Have a glass ready for me when I get back.”
    Biting down on her tongue until he was gone, Lily wondered just how much time she had at her disposal. Maybe minutes; nowhere close to an hour. And even though she longed to rip the place apart and come up with any kind of goods, it had to look like she simply grew bored with waiting, like something she could brush off with a flirty grin when she saw Powell in the halls again. Her eyes searched every open space, and she stepped behind his desk, Lily spied a black stick lined in red just sticking out of his desktop’s tower. Flash drive. Had he already saved whatever files the device contained, or had he been in the process of transferring information to a safer location when she appeared at his door? Not knowing if she had the time to ever know one way or the other, Lily snatched the stick and pressed it in her palm. Stepping slowly from the door, she looked both ways down the hallway like a nervous child crossing a busy street. Seeing no trace of Lucas Powell, she raced to her desk, snatched her purse, and took off.

Chapter 7
                  Where the hell have you been?
                  Lily didn’t dare to return to the office. Not when she might face Powell’s accusations. Of course she deserved them; never in her wildest dreams had she ever envisioned herself a common thief. But if whatever he had hidden might prove useful, better to bring it to Michael’s attention first and let him do with what he would.
                  And she told him as much as she could in a cryptic tone when he called her cell and demanded to know her whereabouts.
                  Michael, we need to meet.
                  You need to get here---
                  No. Anywhere else. I have… I have something to show you.
                  He didn’t respond, and Lily pictured him fuming as his eyes bulged from his head, his clenched fist ready to slam into his desk. Had Powell already clued him in? The mustachioed man seemed the sort to stick to anyone he could with a boast and a brag. Did Michael suddenly think less of her, or was he terrified as images of the worst fate, of history repeating itself, filled his brain?
                  Come to my place. Nora has the details.
                  With that, Lily let the call die, and she cabbed it back to her meager brownstone, her small apartment sitting on the third floor. Once she was hidden behind her closed door, she kicked off her shoes and sat at her tiny kitchen table with her phone in one hand and the flash drive in the other. Seconds stretched into minutes, and suddenly it was well past an hour. Should she try to make contact again? See where he was at? What if he was never coming, if he was done with her? But Powell would find a prized possession missing right after his eyes took note of the whiskey that she never poured. Feeling as if she wasn’t safe in her own home let alone her skin, Lily started to push her feet back into her shoes, thinking only of running and taking her chances in a cheap motel until she found a way to make Michael understand when she was startled by the sound of a firm knock against her door.
                  Walking