Free Romance: The Billionaire's Desire by Kelli Sloan

 
     
     
     
    “You can’t go in there.”
    “You see this badge,” I flash my New York City Detective badge in front of the assistant, “This means I can go in anywhere.  It’s my free pass to any door I want opened.”
    The young, blonde secretary stares at me and does not respond. 
    “Thanks,” I smile as I push open the heavy boardroom door.
    The boardroom is an impressive luxurious space that overlooks the city skyline with floor to ceiling windows.  It sits on the seventieth floor in one of New York’s most impressive structures.
    “May I help you?”
    The man at the end of the boardroom stares at my partner and I, surprised by our intrusion.
    “My name is Detective Sarah Morrison of the New York City Police Department and…”
    “That’s great,” the man cuts me off as he looks back down to a document in front of him, “But Detective, this is an important business meeting that should not be disturbed.  If you will please excuse yourself from this room.”
    I am shocked at his arrogance.
    “You must be Nathan David Templeton.”
    His reputation precedes him.  Every woman in this city knows who Nathan David Templeton is.  He is splashed on the social pages of every magazine in the country, month after month.  Handsome, impeccable, charming and charismatic, Nathan is the city’s most eligible bachelor. 
    Nathan looks up from his document and stares straight at me with a piercing glare, “I am Nathan Templeton, yes.”
    He is even more handsome in real life than on the pages of the magazines I read.
    “Then you are under arrest, Mr. Templeton.”
    “What?” he stands up from behind the boardroom table and a collective gasp comes from the other people in the room. 
    Detective David Pageant, my police partner, is quickly up to Nathan and grabs him to begin reading his rights. 
    “I have no idea what this is about,” Nathan looks to me with eyes full of confusion.
    I am usually a good judge of character and I would say that Nathan clearly does not know what we are talking about.  Although he does not resist the handcuffs, Nathan continues to protest his innocence, “I really have no idea what this is for.”
    “We can talk about it in more detail at the station.”
    “I’m not going to the station,” he states with a defiant shake of his head, “I have a business to run.”
    “We wouldn’t want you to resist arrest, Mr. Templeton,” I state firmly.
    “Are you going to spank me if I do?”
    I hear those sort of sexist remarks all the time in my line of work.  Although it is not acceptable, I am not fazed by it.
    “Let’s talk about it somewhere more private,” David states to Nathan decisively as he pushes him out of the boardroom.
    The eyes of everyone in the room follow us as we march out the door.  Being a good detective is as much about the performance as anything else.  If you want to climb the ladder, you have to be seen to be making the important arrests.  So when the name of one of New York’s richest men landed on my desk, I jumped at the chance to make this arrest.
    “Explain to me what is going on,” Nathan demands once we are alone in the elevator.
    I look up to Nathan’s broad frame as he stands a head taller than both David and I, “You are being arrested for the theft of an expensive ‘Vin Gang’ painting that was on the premise of a Fifth Avenue address earlier this month.”
    “I still have no idea what you are talking about.”
    “We have found your DNA at the scene of the robbery and we also have a witness who saw you at the time of the event.”
    He groans, “This must be a set-up.”
    “You are our only suspect,” David cuts him off.
    “This must be a set-up because I have no idea what you are talking about.”
    “Set-up or not, you’re being arrested,” David is firm with Nathan.
    “What happens now?”
    “We will take you down to the station and process you.  After that, you may be released on bail, depending on your