The TROUBLE With BILLIONAIRES: Book 1 by Kristina Blake Read Free Book Online Page A

been in here for an hour. On my time.”
    “Get out!” I screamed.
    “What’s the big deal? It’s nothing I haven’t seen before. And if you ask me, I find this view better than the one from the balcony.”
    Growing red, I threw a bottle of bath cream at him. It was the only thing within my reach. “Dr. Giordano is probably still sleeping, just like the rest of Naples. We cannot expect to win him over if we’re invading his rest. People are happiest when the sun is out and after they’ve eaten. We should wait until after lunch before we drive up to his farm. Now. Get. Out.”
    Rawn considered what I said. “Where did you learn all that?”
    “Business Psychology 101. Rawn! Leave!”
    Chuckling, he said no more and did as I asked, shutting the bathroom door behind him. It made me suspect he never had any intention of leaving this early. He only wanted an excuse to walk in on me.
    “I bet if I check his phone no actual calls were made,” I grumbled, falling back into the bubbles, allowing them to rock me into a much more pleasant calm.
    Unable to push the man I shared a hotel suite with from my mind completely, I thought back to what he had said to me on the jet. There was a secret he wanted to show me here in Naples, but he hadn’t given any indication of what it was. I did not suspect he had any personal history in Italy, but perhaps I was wrong. Maybe there was more than one reason for him to fly all the way out here, something other than speaking with a scientific inventor.
    I would find out soon enough. I’d agreed to let him show me, whatever it was. There was very little from Rawn Jackman that I could refuse.
     
    ***
     
                  Compared to the farmhouse of Dr. Francesco Giordano, the black Ferrari was a glare, a thing of opulence that outshone the rusted bolts and chipped paint of the small cottage, which sat amongst a pasture of old appliances, broken swings, and other junk. Though it was a farm, there were no animals about, except for a sad-looking donkey eating the tall grass that sprang between the debris.
                  “He lives here?” I asked as I stepped around something corroded, already feeling sorry for the man. “I thought he was once a university professor.”
                  “I’m sure it was quite an enchanting acre of land when his wife was alive. Some men…they don’t know how to take care of themselves without a woman around.”
                  “That’s a poor excuse. Not all women are domesticated creatures.”
                  He picked up a flat piece of metal with a caterpillar crawling across the edge. “That’s not what I meant. I mean they don’t know how to exist without their companion—their best friend.”
                  “Oh. Yeah, I can see that. Where is he, anyway?”
                  “My guess—” Rawn pointed at the barn, which was just as rundown as the cottage.
                  I nodded. “The consequence of genius.” Remembering our conversation from the night before, of Rawn’s confession regarding how he became President of Product Development, I quickly added, “No offense.”
                  “None taken. I wasn’t actually a boy genius. I was just smart. Smarter than those already at the company. Dr. Giordano—he is an honest to goodness genius. A Beautiful Mind type. If the rumor is true that he has already decided to go with the Germans, convincing him otherwise won’t be easy, but I think we can do it. You can do it. I wouldn’t have brought you all the way out here if not.”
                  “I think you overestimate my power of persuasion, but I’ll do my best.”
                  Rawn set his hand against my back and gently guided me towards the barn. “If you can convince a stranger to follow you into the woods, you can convince a scientist to license his product to