The Billionaire Playboy's Regret (Lark and Max) novel Chapter 47

Lark looked at her phone when it pinged and noted a text from Ollie. She opened it up and then fought against the audible groan.

He found out where we’re staying.

f**k. s**t. Balls.

“What?” Max leaned sideways and looked at her with concern.

“Just Ollie stuff,” she shrugged.

“What kind of Ollie stuff?” Bobbie butted in.

“It’s nothing,” she shook her head and shoved her phone back in her pocket. “If dumbass signs off today, can we get a flight to go back home today?”

“Why the rush?” Bobbie’s eyes were narrowed. “Is Ollie in some kind of s**t which is making you want to run from Houston?”

God why were Bobbie and her mother Everly so damn in tuned to every single situation in their lives?

“Nope but Doug has ruined Houston for me, and I want to go home. I hate it here.”

“Ditto,” her father muttered as he shot a sideways glance out the open door to the closed one across the hall. “I hate that fucker.”

“He said you were friends for nearly thirty years.”

“He has a thing for exaggeration. Twenty at most and if you think you can trust what he says,” Grady’s voice trailed off as Doug’s screaming came from the other room. He gave a chuckle, “I think he’s telling him to take the deal.”

“I think so too,” Max laughed when it was apparent Doug kicked the other side of the door. The loud bang was childish and brat like.

A woman popped her head into the room, “hey, can I get you anything? Sounds like my dad might be a minute. I can get you coffee, tea, or water. We have one of those soda maker things in the staff room.”

“Your dad?” Lark asked curiously.

“Sawyer,” she shrugged as a strange expression crossed her face. “He’s my dad.”

Lark stared at the girl and then back to her father. She leaned sideways and looked at Max and then at Bobbie who were also staring at the girl. Her father’s mouth was agape, and she felt her own heart rate beating hard. It must be coincidence. Sawyer’s eyes were brown. This girl’s eyes were blue. It was certainly possible for a brown eyed man to have a blue-eyed child, but her eyes were the exact blue to match Lark’s and her father’s.

She looked to her father and then shook her head. No. They were all imagining things.

Suddenly the door across the hall opened and their eyes all flitted to Sawyer’s who frowned when he saw the girl standing there. “Gracie, what are you doing?”

“I heard you in this room from behind the reception desk. I figured you’d be a while, so I was offering drinks.” Gracie gave a genuine smile to the room and then shrugged, “looks like I didn’t need to though.”

Sawyer pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Coffee would be great pumpkin. Can you make me one and bring it in? Anyone else want anything?” When the room collective shook their heads, “just mine. We’ll be a few minutes since we need to sign off on some paperwork.”

Doug’s eyes were on Gracie’s ass as she sashayed away down the hall and Lark rolled her eyes. How had she never noticed his behavior before? i***t.

Sawyer looked at Doug, “she’s my daughter and knowing what you’ve done to Grady’s daughter, do not think for one minute I’d let you near her. Sit your ass down, sign the agreements and then get out of my office.”

His words were cold, far colder than anyone in the room was anticipating, including Doug and he sat down at the table nervously.

“Doug is going to accept the million dollars offer. He is asking for a non-disclosure agreement which would mean all of the information you’ve gathered and presented today remains confidential and not shared to anyone. We want the money deposited to his account by end of banking day today from both parties. We also ask you cease whatever you’ve been doing to make it, so he hasn’t been able to get a single interview in the entire state. He put an application out in Laredo, and it was sent back with a “f**k no” response from the HR person. He’s going to send out some in Austin and San Antonio. Please do not interfere.”

“We have nothing to do with his inability to get a job,” Lark snarked with annoyance. “You do realize the man whose wife he f****d took out a billboard on the weekend in every major city with Doug’s name on it. He sent me a text message telling me he used every last penny from their joint account to make sure she was humiliated, and he was ruined.”

“I wasn’t aware of this.”

“He’s texting you?” Doug asked furiously. “Why?”

“He asked her to have revenge s*x,” Max grinned at Doug a wicked gleam in his eye. “Ollie said she should have gone for it because the guy is hot.”

“Don’t you dare, Lark.” Doug snipped angrily.

“You don’t get a say,” Sawyer interrupted Doug. “Seriously. Can you simply sit there, shut up and be a good boy? No wonder nobody will hire you. You talk too much for a lawyer.”

“Coming from Sawyer, it’s saying something,” Grady added his two cents.

Sawyer winked at Grady, “hey now. I’m playing nice.”