Cinderella's Billion-Dollar Christmas. Susan Meier
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a fake website.”
But her phone produced eight thousand results for Mark Hinton. Her gaze leaped to Nick’s. “What is this?”
“Information on his life.” He paused for a second before he added, “I was sent here by the law firm handling your dad’s estate. The attorney in charge is stuck in court today. He’s a friend of mine, and my family’s firm manages your father’s fortune, so I was picked to come in his place.”
She barely heard anything after he said “your dad’s estate.” Her breath stumbled. “My dad’s?”
She struggled to take it all in. Her biological mom hadn’t told her anything about her father. She would always say he wasn’t important, and they didn’t need him. At seven, she’d known that wasn’t true when her mom couldn’t afford to keep her anymore.
“According to the estate lawyer, the paper trail says Mark Hinton is your father,” Nick said. “But they’ll be getting DNA.”
She leaned back in disappointment and disbelief, her voice dull when she said, “My biological father was rich.”
“One of the first multibillionaires.” Nick shifted. “If you let this get out before the estate has a chance to protect you, you will be mobbed by people who want money. You’ll be a target for scam artists and kidnappers. I came here not merely to tell you, but to take you to New York so the lawyer can make the process of vetting you easier for you.”
Something Leni couldn’t define or describe fluttered through her, tightening her chest, making her head spin. She looked at the eight thousand results to her search and saw the words billionaire, reclusive, oil and gas prodigy and missing heirs.
Her heart stopped then burst to life again with such a frantic beat she thought she’d faint. This would be more than enough money to care for her dad.
“You think this guy is my father and I’m one of these heirs?”
“The estate lawyer is fairly certain you’re one of the heirs. He says the paper trail is solid. But they’ll do a DNA test to confirm it.”
Her voice came out as a squeak as she said, “Okay.”
“For confidentiality purposes and for your safety, you have to go to New York now.” He paused long enough to catch her gaze. “Will you come with me?”
Ten minutes ago, that offer probably would have scrambled her pulse. Now? The happy, flirty guy was gone. A businessman had replaced him.
She almost missed the flirty guy. But her brain had been captured by the idea that she might be wealthy enough that her parents would no longer have to worry about money.
Still, she wasn’t going to New York with a man she didn’t know, based solely on his word. “Give me a day?”
“The plan was to leave as soon as we told you.”
She shook her head. “I want a day. Twenty-four hours to explain all this to my parents and to check you out.”
“I can provide you with references—”
“No thanks. I’ll find what I need on my own.” She’d check every dark and moldy corner of the internet if she had to, to make sure he was for real.
There was no way she’d leave for New York with a stranger. And no way she’d get her parents’ hopes up for nothing.
NICK KOURAKIS LEFT the diner, a mix of disappointment and confusion slowing his steps. He should have been focused on the fact that this unexpected trip was a chance to convince Leni Long to keep her dad’s money with his money management firm. But Danny Manelli, attorney for the estate, didn’t want him making a pitch to her. A clause in the will could give the estate trouble, and Nick could make it worse by talking about money before Danny could properly explain the clause to Leni.
Now that he had given her the basics that would get her to New York to start the process of vetting her, Nick wasn’t supposed to talk about anything except the weather and football. Two things Danny was sure wouldn’t accidentally tip them into talking about the estate.
That was good, sound logic. And normally Nick would be totally onboard with it. Instead, he was gobsmacked. Leni Long was the first woman he’d been overwhelmingly attracted to in a decade. But it was more than that. Something about her clicked with him. And that was so odd he couldn’t shake the feeling.
Telling himself that was absurd, he walked down the sidewalk and jumped into the passenger seat of the SUV.
Behind the steering wheel, Jace MacDonald, owner of Around the World Security, said, “Where’s the girl?”
“She wants a day to investigate us.”
Jace shook his head, then shifted to face Nick, the gun beneath his black leather jacket visible when he turned. “It’s going to be difficult to keep an eye on her here. Even for twenty-four hours.” He motioned outside. “Not only are the houses and businesses spaced in such a way that an extra person sticks out like a sore thumb, but so do cars. You should have seen the people sniffing around the SUV while you were in the diner. A strange vehicle parked on a street where everybody knows everybody else’s car? That’s like a neon sign.”
“I don’t care. You heard what Danny said. That woman is worth more money than the gross national products of several small countries combined. If the wrong people find out, she’ll be a target.”
“Yeah, of banks that want to compete for her business.” Jace snickered. “You do realize Danny’s keeping you from an excellent opportunity to convince her to keep her share of the estate with you?”
Nick peeked at him. “You’re not allowed to pitch your company either.”
Jace raised his hands in disgust. “Got the same sermon you did.”
“Then you know the problem with the will. After a few charitable bequests, Mark divides the remainder of his estate between his first child and any subsequent heirs. A good lawyer could argue that that gives Mark’s first child half, with the other half split between the other two kids. Danny wants to be the one to explain it to Elenore.”
Jace sniffed. “How the hell can pitching our companies’ services affect that stupid clause?”
“He just wants to be sure we don’t accidentally say something we shouldn’t.”
“That’s ridiculous.” Jace growled.
Nick totally understood his frustration, but he didn’t want to do anything that could make trouble for Danny. “Look, you knew Mark. He was a good guy. Nine chances out of ten, he wanted that estate distributed equally among his heirs. I’m sure Danny has a plan to get all three of Mark’s kids on board with that. That’s why he doesn’t want us talking to her. Muddying the waters.”
“Right.” Jace pulled the gear shift out of Park and headed toward the interstate. “There isn’t a hotel or even a bed and breakfast in this town. I’ll drive you up the highway until we find one, then I have to get back here to figure out a way to hide myself and this boat of an SUV we rented so I can watch her tonight.”
Nick winced. “Sorry. I couldn’t talk her into leaving today.”
“Not to worry. I’ll deal with it. How are you going to handle the fact that she wanted time to check you out?” He laughed. “What’s she going to find when she does a search on you?”
Nick faced the window. “Nothing.”
“You’re sure? The guy they call the New Wolf of Wall Street doesn’t have a skeleton?”
Nick said, “No skeleton,” but he lied. He’d talked his only brother into going