Free Claimed by the Billionaire: Rescue #3 by Danielle Jamesen

Chapter 1
     
    I stared dully at the
magazine I had laid in front of me in a form of torture I seemed to want to
inflict upon myself. I had been staring at it for a good ten minutes but I
still couldn’t believe that I was reading it. It was an older photo of me,
being taken at a party my dad had thrown back when we had money and sometimes
famous people would come to the parties. I was stepping out of a limo, my dress
a deep red and glittering under the photographer’s lights. I remembered that
night well, mostly because I had spent ages picking out the dress for it. My
husband and I had gone four months without having sex and I was worried he had
been losing interest in me. The dress had caused an intense bout of lovemaking
later that night, in one of the closets at the party.
    Down at the bottom of
this photo was a picture of Bradley. He was well dressed for a party as well.
This was more of a candid shot. It implied he was at the same party as I had
been. It implied that he had been in the limo with me.
    And above this helpful
suggestion of us dating or fucking or whatever, was the headline MARRIED
BILLIONAIRE SLEEPING WITH HIS OWN ASSISTANT! Never mind the fact he was in the
middle of a divorce or the very woman he was divorcing had leaked this story to
the press and for some reason they had all lunged on it like a group of hungry
wolves. Winter must have paid people off to care about this story, in the
middle of actual celebrities they could have been making stuff up on.
    It didn’t matter. I was
now in the gossip mags and the internet was doing no favors either — “slut” was
thrown around, as well as “home wrecker” — as if I was the reason Bradley was
divorcing Winter. My phone had been buzzing off the hook. People I barely knew
were trying to get a hold of me and reporters were calling too. They hadn’t
found out where I lived yet but it was only a matter of time.
    I let out a long sigh
wondering how I was going to handle this. It had been a day since the news
leaked online and all over the magazines. Bradley had texted me and told me to
sit tight, whatever in the world that meant. But I had been sitting tight and
was going stir-crazy. All I could think about was Winter’s sneering, glowing
face as she looked at the magazines and of the look on her face when she saw
Bradley and I together in his office.
    I pushed the magazine
away from me, laying down on the bed. I could hear Greg snoring down the hall,
oblivious to what felt like his mother’s failings. I had to think about what I
was going to do next. The answer that had hung in the air since I had seen
Bradley kissing Winter came back to the forefront — I’d have to quit. Only now,
I don’t know who would hire me. How could I spin it to future employers? Please
hire me, I will be a magnet for your gossip magazines. And oh, I fucked my
boss.
    Just as I was about to
give up and try to sleep, my cell rang. It was Bradley. I answered it on the
second ring, not caring if it looked desperate.
    “Hey.” I said quickly.
    “Did I wake you?”
    “No. I don’t know if I
can sleep.”
    Bradley cleared his
throat, “How are you holding up?”
    I leaned against my
pillows, “I’ve been better.”
    “Me too.” He admitted.
    I turned to lay on my
side, looking up at the moon, “Are you at home?”
    “Yeah, are you?”
    I laughed a little, “Of
course I am.”
    There was a long pause
and then, “Do you mind if I come by?”
    “Now?” I said
surprised.
    “Yeah. I’d really like
to see you. And it’s only Saturday. I still have too long to go until Monday.”
    I felt a warmth start
at my toes at the thought of him wanting to see me, “Yeah, okay.”
    I gave him my address
and he said he’d be there in thirty minutes. I tried to clean myself up,
knowing that I had spent all day wallowing in bed, depressed and upset,
avoiding everyone. I hopped in the shower, trying to get clean and look as good
as I could. I aimed for the “lazily rolled out of