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Liam's visit to Roseville town was to work on a project. The plan was to get everything done in two months: the construction of a wellness center. What Liam didn't expect was to get swindled by a con artist upon his arrival in Roseville. It was a deliberate approach. Delilah needed the money to pay off a debt, and he seemed to be the perfect candidate for her plan. As the saying goes, 'Ninety-nine days for the thief, one day for the owner.' Will Delilah mend her ways after defrauding the billionaire, or will Liam get conned again, or perhaps even have his heart scammed? ** "Have we met somewhere before?" He asked, his brows creasing in curiosity. "No. I don't think so," I replied, trying my best to keep my composure. There was no way I would allow him to recognize me. He stared at me intently. "Well, I was conned by a young woman two days ago, and she looked just like you." I swallowed hard. "People nowadays tend to look alike. Let's get back to business. Am I hired?" I cracked out, forcing a smile. His eyes went calculating for a while before he met my gaze once again. "You're hired." Billionaire series book 2
Delilah
"Get ready. He's heading towards the café," My father's voice crackled in my ear through the headphones. I scanned the almost empty café, my heart racing.
"Keep a close eye. I will leave after the count of three. From there you charge," I whispered into the phone, my fingers clutching the cold coffee cup.
"Start moving! His steps are fast," My father's urgent voice came through again. I took a deep breath and grabbed my notebook, taking one last sip of the lukewarm coffee.
"One," My father counted down in my ear.
"Two. Get ready," He hushed out, his words pushing me into action.
"Three," I heard, and I pushed the café door open with a deliberate force, letting my notebook and bag drop to the floor as I crouched down.
"Oh my god! My foot!" I cried out, feigning pain as the young man hurried to my side. "Are you okay, Miss?" His voice was filled with genuine concern.
I signaled my father from behind with a subtle nod. He had already accomplished his mission, and now it was my turn to play my part.
"I think I sprained my ankle," I muffled out, rubbing my foot and keeping up the act to ensure our plan's success.
The young man's worried expression deepened, and he knelt down beside me. "Don't worry, I'll help you up. Let's get you somewhere to sit," he said, gently supporting me.
As he tried to lift me, I winced in pain, making sure to keep up the charade. "It really hurts. Thank you so much for helping me." My voice trembled as I leaned on his shoulder for support.
He guided me to a nearby table, and I continued to act as if my ankle were injured. Meanwhile, I kept an eye on my father, who was now discreetly exiting the café. Our mission had gone off without a hitch, and it was time for me to maintain the diversion.
"I'm so clumsy," I muttered, trying to draw the young man's attention away from the café's entrance. "I can't believe I tripped like that."
He was still looking concerned but offered a reassuring smile. "Accidents happen to everyone. Just take it easy, and we'll make sure you're okay."
I nodded appreciatively and watched as my father disappeared from view, carrying out the mission we had been meticulously planning for days.
"What would you like to drink?" the young man asked, concern still etched on his face.
I knew I needed to leave the café now that our mission was accomplished. "I'm fine. I think I can handle walking," I replied, forcing a smile and pretending to limp as I stood up.
"Are you sure you don't need to go to the hospital?" he asked, rising from his seat.
I maintained the act. "I'm fine. I can manage. Thank you for your help," I assured him, my gratitude genuine for his assistance in our plan.
He nodded, but his gaze remained on my legs. "On that note, can I-" He patted his pocket, realizing something was amiss.
"Wait... I think I dropped my wallet," He said, searching around the table in mild panic.
I seized the opportunity to divert his attention further. "Oh my. How did that happen?" I pushed, trying to help him look for his wallet.
"Never mind, can I get your number at least?" he asked, attempting to salvage something from this situation.
Even after losing his wallet, he was trying to flirt with me. I scribbled a random number on a piece of paper and handed it to him. He accessed it with a hopeful smile. "I will give you a call. Your-"
But I cut him off, pulling out my phone and pretending to make a call. "Hello, sir, yes, I'm on my way. Give me a call," I said aloud, turning to leave with my feigned limp.
Once I was out of the café, safely away from the prying eyes, I let out a sigh of relief and walked normally. I couldn't help but do a little victory dance. "Yes! I did it!"
**
I stepped inside the familiar laundry shop that my father owned. "Mission accomplished, father!" I cheered as I grabbed a seat, thrilled that everything had gone according to plan. My father was busy counting money behind the counter.
I quickly scanned the surroundings before turning to my father. "Keep it down, father. What if someone barged in?" I whispered, reminding him of the need for caution.
He didn't say anything, his focus on the cash in front of him. "Here. For you," he said, pushing a small stack of bills across the counter.
My eyes traveled down to his outstretched hands, and I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. "Don't tell me you're giving me this small amount after all the planning we did."
"Buy yourself a new pair of shoes," he suggested, nodding towards the worn-out Converse sneakers I had been wearing for weeks.
"Nothing is wrong with these shoes, Father. They were Mom's. You gifted them to her yourself. I'm helping you keep memories of her. Give me more cash, please," I insisted, pushing my palms forward.
He reluctantly dropped one more bill into my hands, and I couldn't help but roll my eyes at his stinginess. "Seriously, Father. I'm the one who does the hard work, but you don't give me enough. And why are you wearing that jacket? What if the owner sees it?"
A smile crept onto his face as he looked down at the jacket he was wearing. "This? I fell in love with it the moment the customer brought it in. It had been a couple of weeks already, and I'm sure he had forgotten he owns such a jacket."
I raised a skeptical eyebrow. "What about his calls? What did you tell him?"
"I told him his jacket isn't here, of course. That he didn't bring it along. As simple as that," My father explained, his expression untroubled.
I shook my head, bemused by my father's peculiar actions. "So... what have you found in his wallet, apart from the cash? And how did you know he was heading to the cafe?" we had spent some time in this covert business with my father, yet sometimes I couldn't help but question his intelligence. I often wondered how he ended up as a laundry man instead of working in a tech company.
My father leaned closer, his voice barely a whisper. "In his wallet, I found a business card, a photo of a woman, and a few notes with some coded information. As for the cafe, I had been monitoring his routine for a while, and his recent activities pointed in that direction. He's not as discreet as he thinks."
I nodded, impressed by my father's sleuthing skills, even if his career path hadn't taken him down a more conventional route. It was moments like this that made me appreciate his unique approach to our line of work.
"Go make us some noodles. I'm starving," Father suggested, his mind more on a meal than the money.
I couldn't help but tease him, "Oh, Father, after swindling a poor man, you still aren't going to take your one and only daughter to a fancy restaurant? Remember, we're in this together. If we're getting dragged down, we're going down together."
My father shot me a disapproving glance. "Find us more clients, and who knows, you might get to go to a fancy restaurant," He retorted.
I sighed dramatically, pushing the bills I'd taken from the counter into my jeans pocket. "Now go. Before I faint from hunger." He dismissed.
"I can't believe I have such a stingy father."
"I heard you!" He seethed.
I smirked. "Yes, Father, I didn't say it for you not to hear," I quipped before heading off to make some noodles for our meal.
Kate Walter sought out to seek justice for her parents' death, and Dante Romano, who ran a club during the day and led a mafia at night, was a suspect. To dig into the truth, she took a job as a nanny for Dante's daughter. Little did she know that Dante was more than just a boss; he was known for his pleasurable lifestyle. The merciless mafia boss whose aura neither sized nor decreased. Now, Kate faces the challenge of staying focused on her mission without getting caught up in Dante's enticing world. Can Kate fulfill her mission without succumbing to the allure of the seductive mafia boss?
Alessia had been given an all-expenses-paid trip to Italy as a reward for her outstanding contribution in her workplace. It was like a life-changing experience for her. However, Alessia encountered a devastating turn of events upon her arrival in the country when she was abducted by unknown men and found herself being auctioned in a bidding event. Not only that, she was bid on by the ruthless mafia lord, Angelo Santoro. ~~ "Ten million," I heard someone say from the crowd. The lights from the ceiling were blinding my eyes, and the handcuffs secured around me weren't making the panic inside me any better. I had no idea why I was at an auction event. "Fifteen million," another voice came through, making me more confused than ever. "Twenty million," another followed, and then someone raised the bid to "Thirty million." "Two hundred million," this time, the voice was sharp and carried danger as he spoke. The whole room fell into dead silence. In that moment, my eyes met his. Dark and penetrating, they instantly sent shivers down my spine.
Logan had everything he could ever want: a vast fortune, luxury cars, and a private jet to whisk him away to any destination he desired. But his heart remained empty, until one fateful night when he met a mysterious stranger named Olivia. Olivia had just been dumped by her boyfriend and was feeling lost and alone. Seeking solace in the arms of a stranger, she found herself drawn to the enigmatic Logan. What began as a one night stand soon became something more as Logan and Olivia embarked on a whirlwind romance, filled with passion and excitement. But as their worlds collided, they soon realized that their love was not without its challenges. With Logan past threatening to destroy their future, Olivia must decide whether to trust the billionaire with her heart, or walk away from the man she loves.
There was only one man in Raegan's heart, and it was Mitchel. In the second year of her marriage to him, she got pregnant. Raegan's joy knew no bounds. But before she could break the news to her husband, he served her divorce papers because he wanted to marry his first love. After an accident, Raegan lay in the pool of her own blood and called out to Mitchel for help. Unfortunately, he left with his first love in his arms. Raegan escaped death by the whiskers. Afterward, she decided to get her life back on track. Her name was everywhere years later. Mitchel became very uncomfortable. For some reason, he began to miss her. His heart ached when he saw her all smiles with another man. He crashed her wedding and fell to his knees while she was at the altar. With bloodshot eyes, he queried, "I thought you said your love for me is unbreakable? How come you are getting married to someone else? Come back to me!"
When they were kids, Derek saved Norah's life. Years later, after Derek ended up in a vegetative state from a car crash, Norah married him without a second thought and even used her medical knowledge to heal him. For two years, Norah was devoted, seeking his affection and looking to settle her life-saving debt. But when Derek's first love returned, Norah, faced with divorce, didn't hesitate to sign. Despite being labeled as forsaken, few knew of her true talents. She was a race car driver, a famed designer, a genius hacker, and a renowned doctor. Regretting his decision, Derek begged for her forgiveness. Just then, a charming CEO intervened, embracing Norah and declaring, "Back off! She's my wife!" Taken aback, Norah blurted out, "What did you say?"
"Love is blind!" Lucinda abandoned her beautiful and comfortable life because of a man. She married him and slaved off for him for three long years. One day, the scales finally fell off her eyes. She realized that all her efforts were in vain. Her husband, Nathaniel still treated her like shit. All he cared about was his lover. "Enough is enough! I quit wasting my years with an ungrateful man!" Lucinda's heart was shattered into many pieces, but she summoned up the courage to ask for a divorce. The news caused a stir online! A filthy rich young woman recently got divorced? She was a good catch! Countless CEOs and handsome young men immediately swarmed to her like bees to honey! Nathaniel couldn't take it anymore. He held a press conference and begged with teary eyes, "I love you, Lucinda. I can't live without you. Please come back to me." Would Lucinda give him a second chance? Read to find out!
Linsey was stood up by her groom to run off with another woman. Furious, she grabbed a random stranger and declared, "Let's get married!" She had acted on impulse, realizing too late that her new husband was the notorious rascal, Collin. The public laughed at her, and even her runaway ex offered to reconcile. But Linsey scoffed at him. "My husband and I are very much in love!" Everyone thought she was delusional. Then Collin was revealed to be the richest man in the world. In front of everyone, he got down on one knee and held up a stunning diamond ring. "I look forward to our forever, honey."
Lindsey's fiancé was the devil's first son. Not only did he lie to her but he also slept with her stepmother, conspired to take away her family fortune, and then set her up to have sex with a total stranger. To get her lick back, Lindsey decided to find a man to disrupt her engagement party and humiliate the cheating bastard. Never did she imagine that she would bump into a strikingly handsome stranger who was all that she was currently looking for. At the engagement party, he boldly declared that she was his woman. Lindsey thought he was just a broke man who wanted to leech off her. But once they began their fake relationship, she realized that good luck kept coming her way. She thought they would part ways after the engagement party, but this man kept to her side. "We gotta stick together, Lindsey. Remember, I'm now your fiancé. " "Domenic, you're with me because of my money, aren't you?" Lindsey asked, narrowing her eyes at him. Domenic was taken aback by that accusation. How could he, the heir of the Walsh family and CEO of Vitality Group, be with her for money? He controlled more than half of the city's economy. Money wasn't a problem for him! The two got closer and closer. One day, Lindsey finally realized that Domenic was actually the stranger she had slept with months ago. Would this realization change things between them? For the better or worse?
Rena got into an entanglement with a big shot when she was drunk one night. She needed Waylen's help while he was drawn to her youthful beauty. As such, what was supposed to be a one-night stand progressed into something serious. All was well until Rena discovered that Waylen's heart belonged to another woman. When his first love returned, he stopped coming home, leaving Rena all alone for many nights. She put up with it until she received a check and farewell note one day. Contrary to how Waylen expected her to react, Rena had a smile on her face as she bid him farewell. "It was fun while it lasted, Waylen. May our paths never cross. Have a nice life." But as fate would have it, their paths crossed again. This time, Rena had another man by her side. Waylen's eyes burned with jealousy. He spat, "How the hell did you move on? I thought you loved only me!" "Keyword, loved!" Rena flipped her hair back and retorted, "There are plenty of fish in the sea, Waylen. Besides, you were the one who asked for a breakup. Now, if you want to date me, you have to wait in line." The next day, Rena received a credit alert of billions and a diamond ring. Waylen appeared again, got down on one knee, and uttered, "May I cut in line, Rena? I still want you."