Fiancée for the Billionaire

By Marie Kelly

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When Quin Anderson’s fiancée runs away with Alisha Davidson’s brother, she finds herself, once more, thrust into a situation not of her making. But far from mourning the loss of his love, Quin demands she take on the role of fiancée or risk her parent’s future. It seems when it comes to Quin, business supersedes heart. Forced to comply, Alisha must fight the attraction she has always felt towards Quin and remember how ruthless he can be, even though he seems resolved to win her over.
Quin is determined to bring the town he grew up back to its former glory. He needs a fiancée to show he is no longer the playboy the press portrays him, and when she runs off, the only person he can substitute convincingly is Alisha. In High School the beauty was conniving and mean spirited, but this Alisha seems different, though is this just one more manipulation.
Slowly the two start to trust, but can they get over the past? And when Alisha is targeted by a killer, do they have a future at all?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Marie Kelly
• Release date: Feb 22, 2021

Marie Kelly

A hopeless romantic and weaver of words. While I live in Canada, Scotland will always be in my heart.

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Fiancée for the Billionaire

by

Marie Kelly

Special Smashwords Edition

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or to actual events or locales is entirely coincidental.

Fiancée for the Billionaire

Special Smashwords Edition

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Copyright © 2021 Marie Kelly. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof, in any form. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical without the express written permission of the author. The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials.

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Chapter One

Alisha Davidson groaned and turned in bed in a futile attempt to ignore the ringing phone. However, as much as she might try to wish it away, it continued, the constant sound growing urgent. A growl curled her lips into a snarl as she kicked off the bedcovers. Whoever was phoning at - her eyes slid to the small clock on the bedside cabinet – 1:00 in the morning, better be on fire, or there was going to be BIG trouble.

What! A moment of silence met her bark before a quivering voice filled her ear.

A…Alisha?

Mouthing a soft curse, she sat upright. Mum? What is it? What's wrong?

Alisha!! We're ruined! The long wail on the other end resulted in an eye roll. Dear Lord, what now? Her mother was always so dramatic. Had the maid they chose from the complex staff decided to leave again? This had been the last desperate call she received, still unsure what her mother expected her to do about it. 

Dragging in a deep breath, she grabbed another pillow and shoved it behind her, curling cold feet under herself to keep warm. She might as well be comfortable. It was probably going to be a long call. Not that she was going to be the one talking.

However, this time there was a sob. Her ears pricked up. This was new. Unease swirled in her stomach. Could there actually be a problem? What is it? What happened?

There were several more sobs before Constance Davidson seemed able to pull herself together enough to talk, words spilling out between sniffs. Alisha. What are we going to do? I can hardly believe it. How could he? How could Darren do this to us?

Dread gnawed at her. Anything to do with Darren was bound to be bad. Her brother was a spoilt, thieving man-child who had nearly destroyed two of the finest women she ever knew. It had come out only four years earlier he was stealing money from his company, a staunch, blue-collared insurance firm. While this had been shocking enough, worse was why he needed to steal in the first place. Darren was a bigamist, using the money to hide his double life with his two unknowing wives.  

When discovered, Tia and Alison, along with Alison's son, had been caught in the fall-out of his actions. The press had hounded them mercilessly. Gripping the phone tighter, Alisha still felt a pang of guilt at the memory of how she behaved towards Tia. While supportive to Alison, the same could not be said for Tia. She had made her life more difficult than it already was.

Like her mother and father, she had leaped to her brother's defense, trying to make the 'other woman,' in this case Tia, out to be the guilty party. However, she soon realised what an amazing woman she was, the two now firm friends. Alisha had been happy when Tia married Jarad, a billionaire, who adored her.

Alisha grasped the handset firmly, trying to calm her mother. She instilled some firmness in her voice, needing to know what Darren had done. Mother! Stop crying and explain what is going on. What has he done?

There were more sniffles from the other side, Constance trying to bring herself under control. Bitterness and anger now tinged her voice. How could he!! How could he do this to your father and me?

Do what, mother? What the hell has he done?

As her mother once more dissolved into tears, Alisha feared she might never find out. Thankfully, her father took the receiver. Alisha was relieved to hear his voice, though even this trembled slightly. Fear gripped her. Deven Davidson was old school. Nothing shook him. Whatever her brother had done must be bad, really bad for her father to sound so off-kilter. Hello, button. Her father tried for normality in his voice, though she was not buying it.

Dad. What's happened? What did Darren do?

From the background, she could hear the high-pitched wail of her mother once more loudly declare they were ruined and would end up on the streets. Her father released a weary sigh. Your brother ran off with a woman. Someone called Jasmine D'Angelo.

Was that it? Was that all? Her brother had run off with a woman! The smile which quickly rushed to her lips dropped just as fast as her father finished, She is…was… the fiancée of Quin Anderson.

Damn! That was bad. 

Her mind was bombarded with images of Quin. His piercing blue eyes, thick black glossy hair, and tall, athletic figure made him the most handsome boy in her high school. He had been captain of the football team, the boy every cheerleader yearned to call her own. But Quin was not just a jock. He was smart. Very smart, finishing high school as Valor Victorian. He was also judgemental and arrogant, spending time with girls he considered to be made of more substance. The kind of girls she would belittle. She grimaced, aware she had not been a nice person in high school.

Quin had found the cheerleaders irritating and shallow, not bothering to hide his disdain of them. This infuriated Alisha, who was the head cheerleader, and most in awe of him. 

She had been the girl every boy in school wanted to be with, yet the only one she wanted looked at her as if she was something unpleasant he had stepped on. And there was nothing she could do about it. Quin was also bulletproof.  

The only son of the largest landowner in the area, Quin's family, was rich and powerful. Their mills and businesses employed most of the townspeople. While friendly and charming to those he liked, Quin was sarcastic and arrogantly aloof to those he did not. And he had never liked Alisha.

She held down a groan, only too aware why. Growing up with a mother who had perfected the art of manipulation and social climbing, Alisha had been the perfect daughter. Her behaviour to those she didn't like was legendary, her vindictiveness making her a feared figure in the school. But in the past four years, she had changed. Tia and Alison helped her see what was truly important in life and to change her ways. And Alisha had never been happier.

The enormity of what her father was saying sloshed into Alisha as she cursed her brother. His reputation with women was bad enough, but to get involved with the fiancée of Quin Anderson was akin to financial and social suicide. Groaning, she tried to drag some calmness to her voice. He can't blame you and mum for that! How can he expect you to be responsible for Darren's actions? I'm sure he will understand that you and mum had nothing to do with what happened.

I'm afraid not button. Her father sounded weary, despondent. Quin came to see us an hour ago. He made it very clear that he blamed our entire family. He has threatened to destroy the business unless your brother returns her right away.

Alisha gasped. She knew that it was no idle threat. If Quin Anderson decided to close you down, then that is what would happen. He was that powerful in the area. Her brows furrowed. He wants her back? Her voice mirrored her surprise. Why would any man want an unfaithful woman back?

Yes. He said if she isn't back by the end of the week, then he will destroy the company and drag our entire family's name through the mud. His voice broke slightly. Kitten, we did a stupid thing. We took our retirement funds out of the policies and investment portfolios we had them in and gave it all to Darren. He convinced us to invest back into the business, to let him make some expansions that would allow him to take the company nationwide. It seemed to be working….until…

Anger swamped Alisha. Her brother had done what! Despite being sent to prison for theft of money from his company, her parents had been blinded by him. Their unwavering belief in their son being an innocent victim of his two wives was admirable, if not short-sighted. Sympathy bloomed. While they might have been naive to trust him, they certainly did not deserve the ruination that was about to rain down on them.

She nibbled her bottom lip thoughtfully, not sure what she could do. Her father now seemed nervous, uncomfortable with what he was about to ask. I know you and your brother have had a few issues recently, but…do you know where he might have gone. I'm sure if he knew what Quin was planning, he would come back.

Yeah right. Like Darren would care about anything but himself. Her parents might be self-absorbed and selfish, but they were her parents. She had to do what she could to help. 

I'm sorry, dad. But I have no idea. She heard disappointment from him as she coughed slightly. But what if I came down and helped with the search.

That would be great button! The relief in his voice was unmistakable. She was sure that her job as an investigative reporter had much to do with it. Over the last few years, she had built up a solid reputation, there even talk of her own column. Alisha attributed her success to her newfound view of the world. No longer did she make up her mind and look for supporting evidence, as she had before. Now she took her time to reach a conclusion, something which had stood her in good stead, often finding things were not always as they seemed.

With a Promise to catch the first flight, she hung up. Her boss would be OK with her taking time off. He had already hinted she needed to take some of the many days accumulated. With a long sigh, she dropped back onto the bed. This was not quite the holiday she expected. Her lips quirked. Like she was ever going to take any other.

The Arizona sun's dry, arid heat smacked into her like a physical blow, as she left the air-conditioned terminal. Instantly sweat gathered at the base of her back. Alisha held back a rueful smile. It seemed it hadn’t taken long for her to become a New York girl, forgetting the intense summer heat. She hitched her backpack further up her shoulder and stepped towards the long line of taxies. The bored driver looked up, his eyes flicking over her as she stepped into the cab. She held back a desire to roll her eyes at the way the man appeared to jump to attention, a smile on his face seeing the stunning brunette before him.  

Giving him the address of her parents' retirement condo, she asked him to take a specific route. It never hurt to let cabbies know that you were not a tourist. Her eyes stared out of the window, finding herself surprisingly happy to be back home. While she had visited for short periods every couple of years, she never stayed long. Certainly never long enough to reconnect with old school friends. After leaving school at 17, she had moved to New York to attend college and ultimately landed a job in one of the many Newspapers on Wall Street. 

Now at 28, she had become a featured reporter, and soon possibly one with her own column.  The move had been good for her, but looking around, she couldn't help a small twinge of homesickness. She pushed down the unwelcome emotion. New York was her home.  

The taxi pulled into the high-end retirement complex and she paid her fare, taking a second to gather herself before entering the luxurious, five-star reception area. Looking around, she grimaced. Her parents had worked hard their entire lives to afford such a retirement. It would be a blow for them if they were to lose it all. Her lips flattened, especially if it was because of Darren. Once more, she cursed her brother. She took a moment to gather herself at their door in preparation for her mother's theatrics. One thing she could rely on was her mother overreacting. Though perhaps this time, she had cause.

It had been many years since she last visited her parents. Not since Darren brought such turmoil and devastation to everybody's lives. Her parents' determination to think bad of everybody but him angered her, and they were infuriated with her choice to support Tia and Alison. Well, if nothing else, this situation must finally remove the blinkers from their eyes. 

Constance Davidson hauled open the door on her first knock. She launched herself at her daughter, dragging her into the large unit. With arms wrapped around Alisha she wailed out her misery. Thank God you're here. You'll find him, won't you! My poor Darren. That awful woman seduced him. It's the only thing I can think of because he would never do anything to hurt us. Oh, Alisha! You have to find him and explain what that beastly Quin Anderson is threatening to do to us!

Alisha held down a groan. Well, so much for that idea. It seemed her mother's blinkers were still well and truly on. However, Deven Davidson's voice was less kindly. As her mother finally let go, her father dragged her into his arms for a bear hug. Your mother seems determined to think it's everybody else's but Darren's fault. But not me. That boy needs a damn good talking to! 

He wrapped his fingers around her shoulders and pushed back so he could examine his daughter. You look good, button. Though a little pale, maybe! But cities will do that to you! Your mother and I really appreciate you coming. Maybe you can find him and drag him back before Quin makes good on his promise.

With a return smile, there seemed no point in saying anything nice about city life. Her father hated them. But at least he seemed to finally be coming around to the fact that Darren was not such a victim of his own life. I'll do my best, dad, she assured him.

Now her mother grabbed her arm, dragging her to the pristine living room, the decor classy and understated. She pulled her down on the comfortable couch, her father following. You need to go and speak to Quin. I know that the two of you were in school together.

Alisha huffed out a sigh. Mother, he was two years above me. And he never really liked me anyway.

Constance tutted, waving a dismissive hand. Nonsense. Everybody liked you.

There seemed little point in voicing that she had not been the nicest person at school. While she might have led the 'coolest' kids, something Quin was only too aware of, it was by fear. His contempt for her was not something he ever felt he should hide. 

But her mother would never listen. You need to make him see that none of this had anything to do with us. He threatened to destroy the business Alisha. And he could do it. And then what? We will be thrown out on the streets! Once more, a long wail left her, her father rolling irritated eyes as his hand draped a handkerchief over her shoulder. Constance grabbed it daintily, wiping the tears away.

To argue would have been fruitless. Who the hell did the 'oh so great' Quin Anderson think he was threatening pensioners. Instead, her hand gently patted her mother's arm. I'll go see him later and make him see that mother.

Instantly Constance rallied, her sniffs disappearing as she leaned closer. No. Not later. You need to do it now. We can't take the chance he decides to destroy the company even if his so-called fiancée is returned. I'm sure that he just wants to make an example of us. The man is spiteful.

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes once more.