Bowles, Jan - Bought for the Billionaire's Bed [Guilty Pleasures 2] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic) by Jan Bowles Page B

second glance.”
    “Perhaps you underestimate yourself, Mia. You’re a very attractive woman,” he waved his hand disparagingly in the air, “even in these drab clothes. “So do you actually have a degree in art?”
    “Yes.”
    “And you really were genuine about the Hans Vergen painting I bought?”
    “Yes, of course. I stand by what I said. He is going to be big someday.”
    “That’s something, I guess.”
    The cab pulled into the curb just outside her apartment block. It looked sleazy from the outside. God knows what Trent would make of the inside. She just hoped he didn’t want to come in.
    He stared at the dilapidated building. “You live here?”
    Mia stated the facts. “I had better accommodation when I was a student, but now it’s all I can afford. Not everyone can live the wealthy jet-set lifestyle like you do, Trent. Some of us have to live in the real world.”
    Her stomach churned as he followed her out onto the sidewalk. He handed the cab driver a fifty-dollar bill. “Wait here, and I’ll give you another fifty when I return.”
    “You don’t have to come in, Trent.”
    “I do. I want to make sure you actually live here.”
    “You don’t trust me?”
    “No, I don’t.” He held her chin and forced her to look at him. “After all the deception, I want to see for myself where you live. Maybe I’ll understand you better.”

Chapter Nine

    When Trent realized where Mia resided, he felt sad that this beautiful young woman lived in such a poor part of New York. It was truly awful. A gray tenement block raised ten floors high. Undesirables hung about on the steps outside, and used syringes littered the ground.
    Mia led the way into a large hallway. Paint peeled from the walls, and a smell of stale cooking pervaded the area. He stared at her. She’d taken his breath away last night. She had been so full of life and vitality. How could she possibly have been so upbeat and optimistic, when she lived in a hellhole like this? Her human spirit amazed him.
    He followed her up the stairs and along a narrow corridor on the seventh floor. Every door that they passed had TVs blaring and people arguing.
    Finally they reached her apartment, and she let them in. She flicked a switch and light flooded the room, revealing a tidy if run-down interior. At first he thought she had a two-roomed apartment until he noticed the fold-up bed attached to the wall.
    He looked at the woman who’d impressed him with newfound energy and hope. Her charm had seduced him into believing what he wanted to see. If she could do that knowing she lived in a place like this, then surely he had to help her out of this never-ending cycle of despair.
    Trent remembered the note she’d left him. Her words, “Really, I’m not worth it ,” surfaced in his brain. That night, she had been worth it. Working on instinct, he said, “You can’t stay here, Mia. This is no place for a woman like you.”
    “But, Trent, where will I go?” She looked pale and fragile in the harsh light from the overhead bulb.
    “I’ve plenty of room. You can stay with me until we can arrange something more suitable. You shouldn’t have to live like this.”
    “I’ve really no way of paying you back.”
    “Forget about the money. I just want to get you away from here.”

    * * * *

    Mia stared at the dramatic skyline of New York. Her life had suddenly taken on a new direction. A couple of hours ago, she would have been sitting alone in her rundown room in the Bronx. Now here she stood looking at the glittering lights in the luxurious surroundings of Trent’s penthouse apartment. She pressed her forehead against the cool glass. He’d given her a guest bedroom just down the hallway from his.
    She shook her head and wrapped her arms around herself for comfort. It had all happened in a flash. Within a half hour, she’d packed her possessions into two large suitcases, and now here she was standing in his open-plan living room. How crazy was that?
    There