Wanted: Wife for Hire (The Diamond Club Book 8) Read online

  Wanted: Wife for Hire

  By Elizabeth Lennox

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  Copyright 2019

  ISBN13: 9781950451043

  All rights reserved

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. Any duplication of this material, either electronic or any other format, either currently in use or a future invention, is strictly prohibited unless you have the direct consent of the author.

  If you download this material in any format, either electronic or other, on a non-sanctioned site, please be warned that you and the website are in violation of copyright infringement. Financial and punitive damages may be pursued in whichever legal venue is appropriate.

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Epilogue

  Excerpt from “That Night with the Shiek”

  Excerpt from “Over Heated”

  Prologue

  If his life was so cold and desolate, why was steam rising from the asphalt? The summer thunder storm had passed. The intense passion gone. All that remained was the steam as the rain evaporated, slowly dissipating as the sun warmed the air, adding a sultry humidity to the misery. With the sun’s reappearance, the world was a stifling, sticky mess.

  And yet, he felt none of it. Instead of the intense heat or the residual passion from the storm, Sebastian felt only the tiresome, irritating cold.

  Pulling his eyes away from the drifting steam, Sebastian Hughes stared at the architecturally impressive steel and glass building that housed his bank headquarters. It was a massive building, constructed to look strong and stable, representing everything that he’d achieved in his life.

  Sebastian had set out to build the biggest, strongest bank in the world and he’d done it. Leaders of both major and minor countries around the world came to him to finance their programs. International corporate leaders relied upon his bank to finance their expansions. Hughes International had helped countries recover from maniacal despots, financed the building of bridges, towns, cities, and skyscrapers, as well as helping launch small businesses and tiny restaurants. Large and small, Hughes International did it all.

  And it meant nothing. Just an obligation. He ruled the international business world and yet…it was simply…normal to him. No longer a challenge.

  Perhaps that's why the woman in the polka dot rain boots caught his eye. She didn't seem cold. Nor did she seem to notice that the world had turned into a steamy, annoying mess.

  She was dancing in the rain.

  How ridiculous and unprofessional was that? The silly woman was dancing. In the rain.

  Sebastian watched the woman twirling happily as she walked from the bus stop down at the corner of the city block. She was a beautiful woman with dark, mahogany hair, a creamy complexion, and a knockout figure. Great legs. Lush, rounded hips. He couldn’t see the color of her eyes from this distance, but he knew they’d be beautiful.

  But it was the expression of complete joy on her lovely features caught and held his attention.

  Sebastian knew that his driver didn’t understand why he wasn’t getting out of the vehicle. But he didn’t give a damn. He wanted this moment, this vicarious pleasure of just watching a woman who loved life so much that she was lightly dancing, skipping, and half-twirling as she walked along the busy, still-damp sidewalk. Others were watching too and he wanted to order them away, command them to stop looking at the lovely woman so that he could selfishly absorb all of that lightness and happiness himself.

  His eyes narrowed as he realized that the exquisite woman was walking into his building. His bank? She was a bank employee? Impossible! How had he missed someone that gorgeous?

  Of course, whenever he walked into his building, or anywhere, he focused on work. Nothing else. Extraneous issues, such as a woman’s beauty, weren’t relevant in the workplace. Getting the job done was his only priority. Sebastian considered calling the head of his human resources department to discover the woman’s name. But what the hell was he supposed to say? Get the name of the beautiful woman who liked to dance into work each morning?

  He doubted that she danced into the office every morning though. Something exciting must have happened to her this morning. Most likely, she’d received good news that had put her into an excessively good mood.

  Sebastian checked his watch. It was well after he’d normally reach his office. His days were so regimented that his assistant might call the police if he didn’t get in soon. When he looked up again, the woman was nowhere to be seen. His lips pressed together as he remembered her cheery smile. A smile that…

  A smile that nothing! He wasn’t one to watch a woman dance. A woman who didn’t have the sense to anticipate bad weather and bring an umbrella to work.

  “Right,” he muttered and opened the limousine door. With his usual purpose, he walked into the building.

  Two days later, he stepped into the elevator earlier than normal. Yesterday, he’d timed his morning’s arrival so that his driver had pulled up to the front of his building at exactly the same time as the day before, then berated himself all day. How absurd to plan one’s day in anticipation of a brief glimpse of a woman?!

  Unfortunately, the rest of that day, he’d been in a foul mood, pushing his executive team harder than normal, simply because he hadn’t seen the woman again.

  So today, he didn’t risk a sighting, determined to focus only on work. He carried the responsibility for billions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of jobs on his shoulders. Sebastian didn’t have time to think about a woman. Besides, his ex-wife had taught him a brutally painful lesson about the nature of women and now, his five year old daughter, Chloe, was suffering because of his error.

  Chloe had been a beautiful, happy child that laughed, danced, and clapped with excitement at the smallest thing. Her exuberance had lightened his heart every time he saw her at the end of the day. His ex, Meredith, was one of the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. She knew the art of makeup and used it to hide her imperfections and, with his money, she’d regularly gone on shopping sprees to drape her perfect figure in designer clothes.

  Sebastian hadn’t intended to marry the selfish, narcissistic actress. After only a few months of dating Meredith, Sebastian had grasped her true nature. Meredith Henning might be beautiful and an award-winning actress, but she was spiteful, mercenary, and vicious in her attacks after even the smallest slight. But right before he’d been about
to break it off with her, she’d come to him with pretty tears in her eyes, telling him that she thought she was pregnant. Meredith had been so excited and asked him what he wanted to do.

  At first, Sebastian hadn’t believed that she was pregnant. He knew her well enough and she wasn’t the type of woman who would willingly endure the hardship of a pregnancy. Nor did he believe she would ruin her figure. Meredith was obsessive about her weight and would literally starve herself if she gained even a single pound. But she provided proof, and even seemed excited about the prospect of motherhood.

  So, he’d married her. That had been the worst mistake of his life!

  And the best. The moment Chloe was born, Sebastian had fallen madly in love with his baby girl. She was the light of his life and he doted on her. And because of Chloe, Sebastian had given Meredith anything she asked. He was a wealthy man and didn’t mind indulging the selfish woman.

  Until he’d caught her having an affair.

  Unfortunately, divorcing Meredith had proven more difficult than he’d thought. Even with evidence of her affair, the judge awarded custody of his precious daughter to Meredith, who used their daughter as a tool to get more and more money out of Sebastian. Even help from Oz Cole, who was ex-Delta Forces and a good friend who had some pretty amazing resource and capabilities, hadn’t been able to smooth out the issue. Oz had unearthed the fact that Meredith had slept with the judge. When Sebastian tried to eliminate that judge from the decision making process, Meredith simply seduced the other judges.

  In the end, even with his power and the influence of his friends, he’d still lost custody of his daughter to the scheming, selfish, obscenely vicious actress. The judge said that a single father wasn’t a good influence for a child, which was absolutely ridiculous and an insult to men in general! Thankfully, Sebastian still had partial custody, so he got to see Chloe most weekends.

  Unfortunately, it wasn’t nearly enough. Besides missing her painfully, Chloe had changed. Living with Meredith had turned his vibrant, vivacious daughter into a quiet, withdrawn, pale version of her former exuberant self. She barely ate, was sick too often, and rarely spoke. She just…sat very still most of the time when she came for her weekends with him. It tore him up, seeing her so withdrawn and sickly, but Sebastian didn’t know how to help her. Every visit, the smiles and exuberance that used to be part of Chloe’s personality retreated further.

  Sebastian hadn’t seen Chloe smile since before the divorce. He had no idea what Meredith was doing to Chloe, but he knew that it wasn’t good. He had to focus his energy on Chloe and not on a beautiful, mysterious woman who couldn’t even walk into a building with decorum.

  Stepping into the elevator, Sebastian reached out to press the button for the top floor, reminding himself that he didn’t need distractions in his life right….

  A flash of bright color appeared between the closing elevator doors. A hand slipped through the doors and they opened. Sebastian smothered an irritated expression, then stepped back to make room for the newcomer.

  “Good morning!” the woman in question breathed with a bright smile of greeting as she rushed into the elevator. “Goodness, I love rainy days, don’t you?” she asked, her green eyes surprisingly friendly.

  Sebastian’s eyes narrowed. It was her! The dancing woman! Damn, she was a beauty! Not as classically perfect as Meredith, but this woman had a freshness about her, a beauty that was different, but somehow more alluring. Even with her hair plastered against her head by the rain, the woman was…breathtaking!

  The immediate and powerful tightening of his body caused by her cheerful smile irritated him. So instead of a perfunctory nod, his mood sharpened. “No,” he snapped, even as his hands curled into fists. “They are wet,” he told her, trying to remind himself that the woman was a distraction.

  Her laughter sent a bolt of lust down his spine. He was shocked by the power of it, and the instant awareness of her scent. Her smile. The glorious light in those green eyes!

  “Yes, they definitely are wet,” she replied, then turned to face the doors, watching the numbers as the elevator rose.

  Silence.

  From his angle, he could see her exquisite profile and Sebastian noticed that the woman’s lashes were ridiculously long. And she must have walked from the bus stop to the building again, because her skin was dewy with moisture. He wondered if she had an umbrella, then realized that her hair was wet. Obviously, she didn’t have an umbrella. For some reason that bothered him.

  He paid his employees extremely well! Why the hell hadn’t she bought an umbrella? Twice in one week, this woman had arrived for work looking…wet.

  The elevator pinged and the doors slid open.

  “Well, have a nice day,” the woman said with a sweet, bright smile. A slight, nervous wave and then she stepped off, heading for the finance department.

  As the doors closed, Sebastian banished the woman from his mind, going through the issues he needed to deal with today. There were meetings throughout the day and he knew there was some sort of fundraiser tonight. He didn’t give a damn about whatever the cause was, but he needed to speak with several people he knew would be there, so he’d go and make idle chit chat until he could finalize several lucrative deals for his bank. Then he’d head home just in time to talk with Chloe on the phone before she went to bed.

  Thinking of those video conversations, he muttered another curse. They were getting shorter every day, his adorable daughter shrinking back into herself. A five year old should be silly and laughing, but Chloe was becoming…still. Yes, that was what bothered him so much. She was still. It was as if she practiced not moving. What was that about? Why couldn’t she wiggle and move while she talked to him?

  The elevator opened up and he walked down the hallway. His assistant, Margaret, was already at her desk and stood up when he walked into the executive area.

  “Good morning, Mr. Hughes,” she greeted him efficiently. “I have…” and Margaret listed the first few items on his morning agenda, recited a list of the people who had called this morning, and noted who had requested time with him as Sebastian walked into his office.

  When she was done, Margaret stood on the other side of his desk, pen poised over her notebook as she waited for instructions.

  For a brief moment, Sebastian shifted the files on his desk, trying to get his thoughts into gear. He had questions from several heads of state, another request from an international corporate leader, and another from the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He had important work that needed his attention! Sebastian opened his mouth, ready to give Margaret instructions on how to shift his meetings today so that he could accommodate the newest inquiries. But instead, he heard himself say, “There’s a woman down in the finance office. Dark brown hair and green eyes. Get her an umbrella.”

  Then he went on to other issues, the tension in his shoulders easing.

  Chapter 1

  “I’m not sure why you need this information,” Ryker Thune said as he walked into Sebastian’s home office. “But here you go.” He tossed the file onto the center of the table. “Want to tell me more?” he asked, crossing his arms over his massive chest as he stared at his friend.

  Sebastian didn’t touch the file. “No.” No explanation, just a slight shake of his head.

  Ryker nodded. “Fine. But this woman you asked me to look into, she’s a good person. She has no criminal history, not even a speeding ticket. I verified that because it seemed strange.”

  “I suspected as much,” Sebastian replied, standing up to pour some scotch for Ryker, and handing it to him.

  “So, if you didn’t think the woman was sketchy, why did you need me to do such a deep background on her?”

  “Because I am planning on…”

  Before he could continue, someone else knocked on the door. “Are you ready to lose more money?” a big man with dark eyes and dark hair demanded as he entered. Sheik Jabril al Mustar, ruler of Piara didn’t wait for Sebastian to pour him a glass of scotch but
instead, took the crystal decanter from his friend’s hand and poured it himself. “I am feeling lucky today.”

  Sebastian rolled his eyes, but he bent down to grab another bottle of the forty year old scotch, knowing that his poker buddies would drain the decanter quickly. “Last month, you drained over seven million from my personal account,” he said to the powerful ruler. “I am not having a repeat.”

  Jabril grunted, but before he could speak, his brother in law stepped through the doorway. “You!” he growled, shooting a glare at Tarin. “You left my sister when she’s six month’s pregnant?” Jabril demanded.

  Tarin bin Linar, Sheik of Catare and husband to Jabril’s sister, Zuri al Mustar, shook his head. “My wife and your wife aren’t waiting around to have their babies. My wife dragged your wife shopping again. Which is the only reason I’m here.”

  Sebastian laughed, his shoulders relaxing. “Paris?”

  Tarin rolled his eyes. “Milan.”

  Jabril nodded approvingly. “Good. Ilara needs to get something for the reunification ball next month.”

  Tarin poured himself a glass of the expensive scotch, then sat down. “Zuri will make sure she gets something appropriate.”

  The four men chatted easily as they waited for the others to arrive for their monthly poker game. It had grown over the years, and no one ever knew for sure who would show up. But it was a friendship that had strengthened as they’d each dealt with their own crises.

  Oz and Jayce, brothers and the other partner in The Solutions Group where Ryker worked, stepped into the room. The three former black ops specialists had started The Solutions Group several years ago. Now they were turning clients away because business was booming. Oz and Jayce both looked to Ryker, silently asking the same question. But Ryker shook his head, silently telling his friends that he hadn’t gotten an answer about Sebastian’s deep background investigation.