Barbara Dunlop - The Illegitimate Billionaire

“What did he say?” Hannah asked.

“Nothing,” Callie answered.

“That was an awfully long nothing.”

“He asked me to coffee,” Callie admitted.

“That’s fantastic.”

“I said no.”

A new customer stepped up. “Two pecan tarts and a dozen peanut butter cookies. Can you make the cookies to go?”

“Cookies to go,” Hannah called over her shoulder.

Callie plated the tarts. “Whipped cream?” she asked the man.

“Only on one.”

She decorated the tart, while another staff member bagged the cookies.

The staff worked efficiently until the lineup disappeared.

Hannah followed Callie into the back, where cinnamon twists were cooling on racks, and the bakers were rolling out pastry.

“Why would you say no?” Hannah asked her.

Callie knew exactly what Hannah was talking about. “I’m not going to date a tourist. I’m not going to date anyone. I don’t have time, and it’s only been six months.”

“It’s been a lot more than six months.”

“Nobody knows that.” Callie and Frederick had never let on that their marriage was anything other than normal.

Hannah’s voice went singsong. “I’m just saying, what’s wrong with a little flirting, a little kissing, a little...whatever with a handsome stranger?”

“I’m not answering that.”

“Because the answer you wish you could give is opposite to the answer you want to give,” Hannah said with authority.

“That didn’t even make any sense.”

“Your hormones want one thing, but your brain is fighting it.”

“I have two sons, a bakery and city beautification to think about.”

“Callie, you’re a healthy and vibrant young woman who’s never—”

“ That has nothing to do with anything.”

Hannah knew Frederick hadn’t been able to engage in intercourse. James and Ethan were conceived through in vitro fertilization.

“You’re going to have to take the plunge someday.”

“Sex is not the only kind of intimacy.”

“I get that,” Hannah said, backing off.

“It doesn’t sound like you get that.”

“I’m not trying to push you.”

Callie let out a laugh at the absurdity of Hannah’s last statement.

“I’m only saying...you know...don’t write off a guy like that too quickly. Think about it.”

Callie had thought about it. She was still thinking about it. That was her biggest problem. She couldn’t seem to stop thinking about it.

* * *

Deacon recognized a losing strategy when he was engaged in one. Callie wasn’t going to date him. It was probably because of the Mayor, but it could be something else. In any event, if he wanted to get closer to her and find out, he had to change tactics.

He spent another week in town, researching Callie and Hank Watkins. People considered them both pillars of the community. They hung with the same crowd, attended the same functions. People mostly thought the Mayor was a good catch, and a few seemed to have speculated on the two of them as a couple.

When Deacon learned Callie was on the City Beautification Committee, he jumped on the opportunity and showed up at a meeting. He sat in the back, obscured by the shape of the room. But he was close enough to watch her interactions with Hank.

Hank whispered in her ear at one point, and she smiled in return. He touched her arm, and she didn’t pull away. He filled her water glass and offered her a pen. She took the pen and drank the water.

Watching her cozy up to the wealthy, powerful, but much older, Hank Watkins renewed Deacon’s suspicion she’d married Frederick for his money. It also confirmed that Deacon had competition.

He realized he didn’t have the Watkins name and power, and he sure couldn’t tell her he was a Clarkson. But he’d achieved a reasonable level of success in life, and he could make himself sound better than he was—richer and more powerful.

But he was going to take a more subtle approach this time, let her come to him. At the end of the meeting, when coffee and cookies were served over friendly chitchat, he struck up a conversation with a few Charleston citizens. He stood where he was sure he’d be in Callie’s line of sight.

“Deacon?” Her tentative voice behind him said the approach had worked.

He turned, feigning surprise. “Callie. It’s great to see you again.” He cheerfully excused himself from the others.

“Exactly how long is your vacation?” she asked, brow furrowed as they moved a few steps away.

He feigned a guilty expression. “I’m afraid I have a confession to make.”

She waited.

He’d rehearsed his lines. “I’m more than just an ordinary tourist.”

She looked apprehensive. “Who are you?”

“I’m thinking of relocating to Charleston.”

The words seemed to put her off guard. “Why didn’t you say so?”

“It’s complicated. There were things to check out, arrangements to make. I didn’t want people to know I was considering the city.”

“Considering it for what?” Now she seemed annoyed and distinctly suspicious.

He realized he was messing this up. “I’m a partner in a national transportation company.”

The claim was an exaggeration, but not a huge one. He was a minor partner, and they were more regional than national. But it was true enough to get by.

“We’re based out of Virginia,” he continued. “But we’re looking to expand. We’d need a lot of land, commercial industrial land. If the real estate community knew we were in the market, well, funny things happen to prices when a large corporation expresses an interest.”

He stuck as close as he could to the truth. Mobi Transport was always looking to expand. It could as easily expand into Charleston as anywhere else. And local land prices did get jacked up when the real estate community knew a big corporation was in the market.

“You’re saying dishonesty was in your best interest.”

He wasn’t sure how to answer that. “I wouldn’t call it dishonesty.”

“You’re keeping Charleston citizens in the dark about the value of their property.”

“I’m keeping the value realistic.”

“By lying about your intentions.”

“I’m not—”

“That’s how market forces work, Deacon. When something is in demand, it becomes more valuable.”

He was surprised the conversation had taken this turn.

At the same time, he was curious about her immediate leap to skepticism. Honest people were trusting. Devious people looked for deceit in others.

“I don’t want to have to pick another city,” he told her. “I like Charleston. If land costs too much here, we’ll choose another city where it costs less.”

She gave a little shrug, as if the easiest solution in the world was at hand. “Just tell the people that’s the case.”

“That’s one way to approach it.”

“It’s the honest way to approach it.”

“Are you an honesty-is-the-best-policy type?” He watched her reaction.

She hesitated, her expression flinching ever so slightly. “It is the best policy.”

She hadn’t exactly answered, but he didn’t press.

“Check out the Mobi Transportation website. See if you think it would be good for Charleston.”

The Mobi website was slick and professional. It was designed to encourage sales by making the company look bigger than it was.

“We do long-haul trucking. We have six terminals across the northeast.”

Her expression relaxed a little. “That sounds...interesting.”

“In the internet age, goods transportation is primed for expansion. There’s a whole lot of opportunity in the sector.”

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Hank Watkins making his was toward them.