The Billionaire's Deadline

an

There was no other t

it. The too-high heels made my ankles wobble the first half hour I'd worn them, but I'd been walking

The dress was spaghetti-strapped, but the neckline was just high enough to hide the scar from my port. I'd had it taken ou

as probably more than confused, seeing a woman in a pricey dress coming out to h

, please," I said to the driver

h, and didn't comment othe

y due to my disease, which left me skinny and flat-chested. Though that could also have been genetics

ast the "miss" stage of life, but I'd b

ake-up one last time. It was as flawless as I could make it. I was no make-up artis

the driver said encouragi

im. "Was it t

be trembling like

vided. "But you c

mplish it. You're on a mission, I can tell. And I can also tell you don't

replied. "

l me Ben,

re the one picking me up aga

Ben grinned back. "And you'll

bbling up in my belly once more as I tap

. Ben came around the side of the vehicle to h

. "I'll see you

and got bac

my mistak

Ritz-Carlton were staring at me in distaste. Clearl

ed. Fa

ookers, who tsked at me under their breath and mur

Now, Kingsley was secretly drowning in debt, and Father was gone, laid side-by-side with my mother in Rosehill Cemetery. He'd m

swallowed back tears. I wa

I wasn't paying much attention to it, though. I had one target in m

to get an invitation to this little soiree. Was it

Cancer

ld and aged assistant, what the event was for. I recalled her even trying to tell me. Poor dear was probably lamenti

obese, older gentleman wit

I said witho

gsleys?" the older

n we keep that quiet? I was hop

s it been? Less than a month, I think..." the olde

God only knew what it would do when combined wi

man. If I had a daughter who looked like you, I'd be

eyed, Adonis of a man who graced the covers of magazines ever

Harr

I really nee

self. "And do, please, tell your new CEO

urn down in a sour expression. "Sir, I am the n

h at me! "A pretty little thing like you? Nonsense.

's hand. "Excuse me," I snapped, not caring

furrowed. "A

etness. Then I booked it as fast as I could in my b

*

Bl

en to. And didn't the American Cancer Society have enough money a

ther's, and I thought she might ha

ne and sighed, wishing

uld forgive me

in her sparkling, peacock-patterned dress and thick, matching hea

no leaving

ave a smoke. Just as I was putting a cigarillo to m

rom my lips. "Miss?" I asked, wond

dress I would never have let my own daughter leave the house in. "I have come here all the way from Chicago to talk business, and I don't have a lot of time. Your a

ssages my assistant kept giving me and landi

ra Kingsley," Sandra said, cros

e. She would be fun to wind up, I coul

busy schedule while I was in town, so I

t," I co

id stubbornly. "I need to

taining, and I rather admired her hutzpah. On the other han

s well get dinner and a show while I was

out that Kingsley is..." Sandra

d quietly. Not everyone knew, but as Sandra had been calling

whispered. "My father... had dementia toward the end. He made some poor business decisions. But our people, our products, and ou

usion of capi

dn't come to New York with my h

ease," I i

all, I knew she was a force to be reckoned with. "I have a proposal tha

e it to you now, only I don't want you to take it at a loss, and I don't want

to give me the company when the government isn't going to tak

n debt. But I'm not asking you to buy it from me. I want you

had lost her damn mind. Maybe dementi

ndr

r company to me with all those terms met," I said slowly

t anything,"

ow's that?

going to marry m