Devotion - Billionaire Contemporary Romance Novel by Aria Hawthorne Read Free Book Online

silence while there was a moment of privacy between them.
    Isabel dropped her eyes, feeling herself flush.  Phillip rarely commented on her appearance, and she wasn’t used to his attentive gaze or the way he refused to release it until they were no longer alone.  Param whisked open the driver side door and immediately started the car’s powerful engine.
    “Thank you for bringing the gifts for Aidan and my mother.  My mother is very grateful for everything that you have done for us.  She just has a hard time expressing it.” Isabel stroked the pelt of her mink coat with preoccupation.
    “Sometimes it’s hard to express our emotions,” Phillip acknowledged, lowering his tone and shifting his gaze out the car window as they merged onto Lake Shore Drive and shuttled past the black, expansive waters of the lakefront towards the twinkling lights of downtown Chicago. “Like an unbridled amorous love.” Phillip eyed Isabel, then broke into a sly smile. “For chocolate.”
    Isabel laughed. “Yes, you definitely have discovered my mother’s weakness.  Although she’s way too proud to ever let you know it.”
    “I understand.”  He nodded and tilted his head back against the head rest in an uncharacteristic gesture of relaxation. “There are many times when I wish I could convey my gratitude, but instead, choose to refrain from expressing it.  Perhaps it is stubbornness or pride, or perhaps it is simply a cynical belief that it is more prudent to remain silent rather than endure the consequences of betraying one’s most intimate emotions.”
    “Like what, Phillip?  Like your own carnal love of chocolate?” Isabel teased him.
    Phillip gazed at her, settling his head deeper against his seat, indulging in the casual moment between them.
    “Yes, something like that.” He smirked.
    “Well, Phillip, there are consequences for everything.  All we can do is try our best to be honest with ourselves and with those who we care about most.”
    Phillip stared at her as if she had spoken a secret buried within his heart; but rather than acknowledge it, he turned and settled his eyes out the window at the dark meaningless void across the lake.
    Phillip straightened in his seat; she sensed the change within him
    “Is there an agenda for tonight?” she asked.
    “The same agenda as usual.”  His tone was flat and filled with disinterest.  Flaring across the windows, the light from the street lamps streaked past them.  “I imagine news has already been bandied about regarding our intention to sell The Peoria.  That will likely start the sharks circling, and where there is blood, there is always a feeding frenzy.”
    Isabel caught sight of Phillip’s steady gaze, peering at her in his window’s reflection. 
    She nodded.  It had taken her years of experience and professional grooming to be granted the opportunity to swim in the tank with Phillip and his business colleagues, but there was also the chance of getting bitten.  And with the recent news of Symeon Colovos’ departure as well as Phillip’s recent break-up with his fiancée, Isabel knew she would have to navigate through the evening with more caution and diplomacy than usual. 
    As they passed over the Chicago River and headed south towards the Loop, she glanced up at the skyscrapers, illuminated with accents of neon white, yellow, orange, green and red like cosmic rockets, preparing to shoot up through the black veil of outer space.  She counted three of Phillip’s buildings among the parade of towering skyscrapers along the riverfront, each owned by one of Phillip’s competitors—a handful of powerful men who owned seventy-percent of Chicago’s downtown real estate, and almost all of whom would be there at the gala tonight. 
    Their Bentley cruised up to the curbside of the Watercross Tower, the newest addition to Chicago’s skyline and the tallest residential complex in the city.  Isabel waited for Param to exit and assist her out of the