The Billionaire's Mistress Complete Series: Alpha Billionaire Romance by M. S. Parker
Authors: M. S. Parker
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think?” He brushed his lips against her cheek.
My face stung with embarrassment. I had money in my pocket from him. Fifty whole dollars. He gave me money all the time. Like it made up for not calling him Daddy like Mallory and Paisley did.
I said nothing though. I knew better.
Diamond stared at me, her eyes as hard as her namesake.
“Quite. If she’s really interested in earning her keep, perhaps she could start working in the garden.”
“She can clean my room,” Paisley said, smiling sweetly. “Mine and Mallory’s. As long as she doesn’t steal from us.”
Steal from her? Clean her room?
I wanted to shout something at her. I didn’t even know what, but all the anger and embarrassment and misery were boiling inside me as I stared at my sister's smug little face. Did she know who we were to each other? No. I decided. No…she couldn’t. If she did, she wouldn’t be so mean, would she? I saw how she was with Mallory. They fought sometimes, but she wasn't mean to Mallory like she was to me.
“Should we show her where the bedrooms are, Daddy?” Paisley asked, looking over at him. “She could get started today.”
Like I didn’t already know where their bedrooms were. Like I hadn't spent my entire life wandering around this huge place, wondering what it would be like to live here, to be a real part of this family. If he said…
“Nonsense.” He hustled them out the door. “I’ve got ideas on what she can do. Leave it to me. Now, let’s go check on your little sister, shall we?”
He shut the door behind him, leaving me in the room with the computer still on and his trade account active.
For a minute, I was tempted to buy something that I knew would tank horribly. There was a hot, miserable ball of hurt in me, brought on by how he’d pulled away from me, by how Diamond had stared at me, by how Paisley had stared down her pretty little nose at me.
My sister. And she talked about me like all I was good for was cleaning rooms.
Moving closer to the computer, I studied all those numbers and signs, that intricate language. I could hurt him now.
But I didn’t.
Sighing, I studied the shares and then chose the one that had caught my eye. Normally, he didn’t like me doing anything without his approval, but he’d told me to make a purchase. I was just doing what he asked.
I left a note telling him and slid out of the room. I’d planned on going shopping with the fifty dollars, but I didn’t want to now. I’d just put it in the bank for when I needed something.
* * *
Present day
I ’d retreated out to the front porch, claiming that I was still overheated from my run, and I’d taken the paper with me.
Mom knew I read it all the time, so she hadn’t thought much of it.
But so far, I hadn’t been able to do anything but stare at the picture.
Out of all the people in the world…
Suited .
I’d tossed the word back at Jal when he’d used it.
They suited .
Who the hell married somebody because they suited ?
But even as I thought it, I knew the answer. My father had married Diamond because she suited him, the life he needed. His wife had to fit the life he’d laid out for himself. She suited him.
“That’s how it’s done in their world,” I said, my voice thicker than I liked, for reasons I didn’t want to think about.
My mother...she'd suited my father for other reasons. Maybe that's all it was, really, no matter how we wanted to spin it. Just some version or another of being suitable .
For some reason, I wished I hadn’t asked Jal how he felt about his fiancée. It would have been easier to sit there, staring at their picture, Paisley looking so smug and happy if I could believe they loved each other. I hadn't seen her in five years. She could've become a whole different person than the one I'd always thought her to be. And it wasn't like I really knew Jal either. For all I knew, the two of them were perfect for each other. Maybe their love made them better people.
My mind
My face stung with embarrassment. I had money in my pocket from him. Fifty whole dollars. He gave me money all the time. Like it made up for not calling him Daddy like Mallory and Paisley did.
I said nothing though. I knew better.
Diamond stared at me, her eyes as hard as her namesake.
“Quite. If she’s really interested in earning her keep, perhaps she could start working in the garden.”
“She can clean my room,” Paisley said, smiling sweetly. “Mine and Mallory’s. As long as she doesn’t steal from us.”
Steal from her? Clean her room?
I wanted to shout something at her. I didn’t even know what, but all the anger and embarrassment and misery were boiling inside me as I stared at my sister's smug little face. Did she know who we were to each other? No. I decided. No…she couldn’t. If she did, she wouldn’t be so mean, would she? I saw how she was with Mallory. They fought sometimes, but she wasn't mean to Mallory like she was to me.
“Should we show her where the bedrooms are, Daddy?” Paisley asked, looking over at him. “She could get started today.”
Like I didn’t already know where their bedrooms were. Like I hadn't spent my entire life wandering around this huge place, wondering what it would be like to live here, to be a real part of this family. If he said…
“Nonsense.” He hustled them out the door. “I’ve got ideas on what she can do. Leave it to me. Now, let’s go check on your little sister, shall we?”
He shut the door behind him, leaving me in the room with the computer still on and his trade account active.
For a minute, I was tempted to buy something that I knew would tank horribly. There was a hot, miserable ball of hurt in me, brought on by how he’d pulled away from me, by how Diamond had stared at me, by how Paisley had stared down her pretty little nose at me.
My sister. And she talked about me like all I was good for was cleaning rooms.
Moving closer to the computer, I studied all those numbers and signs, that intricate language. I could hurt him now.
But I didn’t.
Sighing, I studied the shares and then chose the one that had caught my eye. Normally, he didn’t like me doing anything without his approval, but he’d told me to make a purchase. I was just doing what he asked.
I left a note telling him and slid out of the room. I’d planned on going shopping with the fifty dollars, but I didn’t want to now. I’d just put it in the bank for when I needed something.
* * *
Present day
I ’d retreated out to the front porch, claiming that I was still overheated from my run, and I’d taken the paper with me.
Mom knew I read it all the time, so she hadn’t thought much of it.
But so far, I hadn’t been able to do anything but stare at the picture.
Out of all the people in the world…
Suited .
I’d tossed the word back at Jal when he’d used it.
They suited .
Who the hell married somebody because they suited ?
But even as I thought it, I knew the answer. My father had married Diamond because she suited him, the life he needed. His wife had to fit the life he’d laid out for himself. She suited him.
“That’s how it’s done in their world,” I said, my voice thicker than I liked, for reasons I didn’t want to think about.
My mother...she'd suited my father for other reasons. Maybe that's all it was, really, no matter how we wanted to spin it. Just some version or another of being suitable .
For some reason, I wished I hadn’t asked Jal how he felt about his fiancée. It would have been easier to sit there, staring at their picture, Paisley looking so smug and happy if I could believe they loved each other. I hadn't seen her in five years. She could've become a whole different person than the one I'd always thought her to be. And it wasn't like I really knew Jal either. For all I knew, the two of them were perfect for each other. Maybe their love made them better people.
My mind
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