Holiday Treasure (Billionaire Bachelors #10)(44)
Author: Melody Anne

“Please. I just want to talk, Kyla.” What the hell? He wasn’t the kind of guy to beg a woman for attention.

Before she could respond, there were footsteps in the hallway, and as Tanner moved around to see who was coming, he heard his name being called.

“Mr. Storm, I’m so glad to find you here. The demolition crew is going back through the building for a new plan to turn into the city, and they need your signature on some papers.”

Tanner turned back just in time to watch Kyla’s eyes widen when reality hit. He knew his chances of getting her to speak to him had just flown completely out the window. His team had told him that they were getting new bids on various costs for what to do with the building, but he hadn’t realized they’d be working as soon as today. For a man whose luck was nearly perfect — could that be only in finance? — today was turning out not to be his day.

“You own this building?” she gasped.

Unless he was prepared to make up a story and lie outright, Tanner was caught. “My father handed it over to me six months ago.”

Her eyes narrowed dangerously. “So you’re the worthless bastard who’s been trying to evict us since you got your greedy hands on the place. What were you doing here, Tanner — or should I say Mr. Storm? Were you scoping out the place, hoping to find proof that it needed to be condemned so you could rip it all down and then come in and build some fancy high-rise?”

At his guilty look, her eyes narrowed even more, if that were possible.

“That’s what I thought. I am such a fool. I knew you were out of my league. I could practically smell it on you, but I had no idea how far out you really were. Did you have fun slumming it with a poor girl down on her luck? You must have really wanted to close the deal — after all, you subjected yourself and your manicured hands to serving food at a homeless shelter.”

“It wasn’t like that,” he said, running his fingers through his hair in frustration.

“I know exactly how it was, Tanner. You were stuck here doing your underhanded snooping, and I just happened to be in front of you. With nothing better on the horizon, you decided to get an easy lay. I’m sorry it took so long. Hell, if I had turned over sooner and hadn’t had that attack of shame, you could have gotten more than just a couple of nights of cheap sex.” Tears filled her eyes, but she refused to let them fall.

“I was forced to be here by a judge! I wasn’t spying,” he snapped as he paced in front of her.

Residents who’d been approaching heard danger and wisely backed away, though not so far that they couldn’t overhear all of this juicy information.

“Oh, I see. That makes it so much better. You’re some rich guy who committed a crime and got community service instead of jail time. That’s why you were Santa, isn’t it?”

He nodded, though before he could try to defend himself again, she said what was clearly her final piece.

“You need to keep away from me. I don’t ever want to see you again.” Before he could stop her, she slammed the door shut and he was left standing there wondering what the hell had just happened.

When pounding on her door didn’t get a response, he turned away. She wasn’t going to speak to him again. It was no use. As he walked past a small group of men he saw standing at the end of the hall, the expression on his face dared them to say a word. Luckily for them, they kept silent.

When Tanner left the building, his car peeled out, tires squealing. He was furious with Kyla, furious with the whole situation. By the time he got home, he’d calmed down, but he couldn’t help his unbelievable frustration as he walked through his rooms.

How could he make this better? What would make this ache go away? No answers there. He just laughed bitterly when he joked to himself about opening up his little black book of hot models. He knew they’d jump at the chance to satisfy him — as if any one of them could come close. He didn’t have the least desire to see any one of them again, under any circumstance. So instead, he went off to bed, hoping that by the time he woke up, he’d have some idea how to make this all right.

He was Tanner Storm. He would figure this out.

Chapter Thirty

Tanner signed the last of the documents and sat back with a genuine smile. He knew he was doing the right thing, because he felt good about himself. The last time he could remember feeling like this was when…hell, he couldn’t remember having this feeling before.

“Sir, it’s time to head out to the news conference.”

“I’ll be leaving in a moment,” he told his secretary. He handed her the sheaf of papers and stood up.

He whistled as he made his way to the elevators and rode downstairs. With luck, he would be seeing Kyla today. He in no way expected her to give in easily, but wasn’t that part of the fun in all of this?

For the first time in his life, he was enjoying the chase, enjoying that there was a woman out there who wasn’t afraid to tell him what she really thought. And he wanted to be with this woman, not just for a night of passion, or ten nights of passion for that matter, but for the kind of time that ended after forever.

He slipped into the backseat of the waiting car along with his assistant and thought of only one thing as the driver wove through the heavy Seattle traffic — seeing her again. If all went well, he’d soon have her in his arms. He couldn’t expect it too quickly, of course. It certainly wouldn’t happen tonight. But he’d stick with his pursuit of her for as long as it took. She was worth it.

A crowd was waiting in front of the apartment building as he emerged from the car. Reporters were asking questions; cameras flashed. He smiled, waved and continued forward, stepping up on the podium that had been set up for this event.

Tanner waited for the crowd to quiet down, and then he spoke. “When I received this building from my father, I didn’t look at it — really look at it. I just saw dollar signs, with an old building standing in my way. I didn’t look at the architecture, at the historic value. But a woman who lives here helped me to see it through new eyes. That is why I have decided to renovate this beautiful piece of history in a city that I’ve come to love. The project will take two years to complete, but when we are finished, this apartment building will stand proud, regaining all her former glory. And I’ll be proud, too. The residents who live here will have a home as long as they want, and we will keep the costs down for those who move in when we’re finished fixing the place up. I want to thank my father, a very wise man, for showing me that the bottom line isn’t what counts above everything else, but that having justifiable pride in oneself is just as important — in fact, more important. He believed that the restoration of this building would remind me of who I am. And he was right.”