Billionaire's Tragedy (Standalone Book) (Billionaire Bad Boy Romance) by Alexa Davis

interest as she watched my face. "Why are you at the florist's on a
Sunday afternoon?"
    "You are
unrelenting, aren't you?" I asked as I tried very hard not to let my gaze
wander lower than her eyes. It was difficult, because the jacket she was
wearing was unzipped enough to give a glimpse of her curvy figure underneath
it. Everything about her seemed soft and sensual. Everything, that is, except
her razor sharp mind.
    "I'm a reporter, Mr.
Redding; if I relented, I'd never get the story," she said as she raised
an eyebrow and then rolled her eyes. The look was so dismissive that I laughed
out loud and received a surprised look from her.
    "Touché, Ms.
Moore," I nodded. "But tell me, if I do tell you why I was in the
shop, is it going to end up splashed across the front page of the Sentinel tomorrow morning?"
    "Well, depending on
what you were doing in there, it might," she admitted. "I mean, if
you were in there buying flowers for your dear mother for Christmas, it could
be really good publicity for you, but it probably wouldn't make the front page.
If you were in there buying flowers for a secret mistress, then that might make
the society page as a mention in passing, but unless she was the D.C. madam, it
probably wouldn't earn front page status. But seriously, Mr. Redding, why were
you in there?"
    "I can assure you
that it was nothing as interesting as your imagined storyline, Ms. Moore,"
I replied.
    "Then why won't you
tell me?"
    "Because I don't
think it's any of your business. Do you?"
    She looked at me for a
moment and then threw her head back and began laughing loudly. I wasn't
entirely sure what had inspired this response, but as I watched her, I couldn't
stop a smile from spreading across my lips and before I knew it, I was
chuckling. The harder she laughed, the more I laughed and soon the two of us
were consumed by uncontrollable laughter. People walking by shot us
disapproving looks that only served to fuel the fit. It took several minutes
for us to regain control, and once we did, I hesitated to say anything for fear
of setting off another wave of laughter.
    "Well, Mr. Redding,
it looks like we've reached an impasse," she said with a grin. "You
won't give me information, and since that's what I seek, I guess I'll be on my
way."
    I opened my mouth to
protest that she hadn't answered my question, but then I shut it and decided
that I was not going to let myself sound like an idiot in front of this smart,
beautiful woman. I simply nodded and turned toward my car. I pulled open the
door and then turned around to say something, but she had disappeared into the
sidewalk crowd. I replayed the entire exchange on the drive to my apartment,
and by the time I reached it, I was trying to figure out how I could engineer a
way to see her again.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
    CHAPTER
EIGHT
    Olivia

 
    Once Redding had turned his back and headed to his car, I quickly slipped into the
florists and poked around. I sidled over to a group of arrangements on the
counter and pretend to smell the lilies as I scanned the names on the cards.
The woman behind the register kept a close eye on me since I was the only
customer in the store.
    "These are
gorgeous!" I exclaimed.
    "Yeah, they're
nice," she replied. She was a college girl who looked like she would
rather be just about anywhere but here in this store on this afternoon. She
looked toward the back and then added, "They're a holiday favorite."
    "I imagine a lot of
people send stuff like this during the holiday," I said trying to figure
out a way to ask her who was sending these particular arrangements. "They
must be really expensive."
    "Yeah, they're
pretty pricy, but we use only the very best imported flowers in every arrangement,
so a lot of people are more than happy to pay top dollar for them," she
said, sounding a little more enthusiastic.
    "You must have a lot
of big-wigs coming and buying them, then," I remarked as I turned and
looked at a few other