Billionaire's Only Cure Read online

  He picked up a bunch of papers he had prepared for Alice and put them in the brown tote she was carrying. Then he scooped her up and moved toward his private elevator.

  Chapter 40

  Someone shook her arm as if they were adjusting guitar strings.

  "God, what happened?" Alice groaned. Her head hurt like someone smashed a guitar on it. "Go away."

  "Alice Myers, wake up and see the news right now." Medusa's voice crashed on her delicate ears, intensifying her headache tenfold. She had used her full name, so something was wrong. Yet, it still didn't warrant her getting out of bed.

  "Did we attack North Korea? Even then I'm not interested in getting up." She wanted to hide under her blanket and cry again. And Medusa was seriously disrupting her crying time.

  That was her for the last five days. Crybaby. Embarrassed to the core, and unable to get over him. Embarrassed because she went to his home after he dumped her, and crybaby because he dumped her.

  Technically, she wasn't dumped. They weren't even dating. Technically, she asked him first to stop whatever was going on between them. He said “let's do that.” And the same night, she drank a whole bunch of whiskey in his limo and passed out at his place, babbling some nonsense which she couldn't even remember the next day. He’d dropped her off at home, still passed out. Or, at least that’s what Medusa told her.

  No more drinking in public for her, especially not in fancy cars. She had a home now, and Medusa wouldn't kick her out. Or would she?

  "Will you kick me out, Medusa?" Alice asked, sobbing. Only one friend remained in her life: Medusa. Even her man, the man she loved, had dumped her. "He dumped me."

  "God, I've enough of this. Just come out for God's sake." She pulled the blanket from Alice's head. "Get out and watch this. Your Batman boyfriend sued his mother over the hostile takeover."

  "What?" Alice leaped from her bed and rushed to the living room. Without her slippers. The TV was already on, playing the news.

  Jade Hyde-Parker sues mother for hostile takeover.

  "What's going on?" She searched for her phone and found it on the table in between a bunch of empty beer cans. Damn, she had drunk at least six beers last night. Without thinking, she dialed Jade's number. She was dying to know if he was okay.

  After he dropped her off, she didn't have any courage left to go back. How could she, after he dumped her?

  The phone went straight to voicemail. She tried again, and again, and again. Every time, the robotic female voice asked her to leave a message.

  Where was the jerk?

  Frustrated, she dialed Max. He should know what’s going on.

  Thank God, he picked up after three rings.

  "Hey Alice, can I call you back later? I'm really busy."

  She clenched her shirt's hem. "Max, wait. How is he?"

  "He's doing okay. Don't worry about him."

  "But how can he go to trial? He’ll get a panic attack." Alice almost screamed over the phone. How could he possibly consider something like this? Was he mad? He would die in the courtroom. Didn't he know how dirty those things were?

  Max chuckled. "Alice, don't worry. We've asked for a closed hearing. So, there will be no reporters or audiences. Listen, I've got to go. But I'll call you. Your trial will follow in few days." The line beeped and went silent as he disconnected.

  "My trial?" she stood there blinking, still holding the phone to her ear.

  "Oh! Yes,” Medusa said. “Jade left a bunch of papers for you when he dropped you off. He said to give them to you after I hear something on the TV. I guess this news fulfills that condition." She headed toward her bedroom.

  Alice rolled her eyes. "And you're just now telling me this?" She couldn't believe her best friend. She rushed behind Medusa.

  "Come on, he asked me to keep it a secret. I owe him too, don't I?"

  Alice's shoulders slumped. Her best friend kept a secret from her. Well, she would get back at her for that. But not now. Her insides were churning to read what Jade had left.

  Medusa pulled three envelopes from Alice's brown leather tote.

  Man, how could she miss her bag? It was with her when she’d visited Jade that night. Five days ago. Had it really been that long?

  With trembling hands, she opened the first envelope.

  It had a bunch of papers dictating some things about the trial. Jade had sued the reality show company that buried her in the ground by claiming that she copied songs from the Korean market. Well, she didn't. But she got so much bad publicity that she couldn't sing after that. Everyone just hated her. Giving up was the only option she had. Giving up and boozing, day and night. Music left her that day.

  The second envelope contained documents pertaining to a coffeehouse purchase. In her name.

  "Medusa, what's this?" She waved those papers at Medusa.

  Medusa grabbed the papers and scanned them. "Why did he buy three stores on your name? Sesame coffee! Do you know this store?" She arched her brows.

  Alice shook her head. She didn't know the chain, but something bugged her, like she had heard the name somewhere.

  "Three stores. One near us, one in New Paltz, and one on the highway." She rubbed her neck while staring at the documents. "But why did he buy a coffee shop chain for you?"

  Alice threw her hands in the air. How would she know? Apparently, Jade purchased it in her name. But why?

  "Check the third envelope," Medusa suggested.

  Alice opened it, wondering what surprise it might hold.

  It contained a hand-written letter.

  'Dear Alice,

  I know it's lame to write a letter in this era, but let me ask you something. Can you wait for me, for six months, until I finish some things? I can't face you because I'm ashamed of so many things. Can you please? For my sake? For our sake wait for me? '

  Then there was some scribbling that he had scratched out, and what looked like water spots. Had he cried while writing those lines? The water drops had scattered the ink everywhere.

  Why was he crying? What did he want to finish? And why did he sue his own mother? Granted, Helen wasn't cut from a good cloth, but she was his mother after all.

  There were so many questions, but no answers. And she couldn't go back to him, not after how they ended it.

  Her lips curled downwards, her heart suddenly feeling heavy.

  There was a last line.

  P.S. It's the coffee chain whose manager cursed you. It's yours now. Fire him, if you want to.

  Tears streamed down her cheeks. He’d heard that call. It was brutal and embarrassing, but after that call, Jade had asked her to stop calling coffee shops. But she never knew he’d heard that call.

  But he’d remembered. And he bought that coffee chain.

  "What does it say?" Medusa leaned forward, but Alice hid the letter before she could peek. It was a piece of his heart, and no one but her would touch it.

  "Leave it. I guess I’ve been appointed coffee chain boss for the next six months," Alice said, softly. She would do that. Take care of his coffee chain. For him.

  Chapter 41

  While the milk heated, Alice stirred her favorite coffee mixture. The steel spoon made a comfortable clinking sound against the ceramic mug.

  The rhythm of the sound matched the song she was writing.

  Though she had a proprietary coffee machine in the kitchen which produced fabulous coffee, she loved making her coffee manually. That way, her coffee soul preserved its pride.

  "Boss, we've got a quiet morning today." A curly brown haired, kind eyed Elizabeth stepped into the kitchen.

  Alice stared at the bright sunshine poured on the nearly empty street. Eli was right, they had a very small today.

  "Is it a holiday?" She shook her own head. She had lived in this town for years, and yet she asked Eli. "Never mind. Can you check and fill the beans please?"

  Eli shot her a sweet smile and moved toward the coffee machine.

  Alice leaned down and smelled her mixture.
Half a minute more, and her best in the world coffee would be ready. Just the way Jade liked.

  Her phone buzzed. As she changed the direction of her stirring, she cast a quick glance at it. It would be Medusa or Richie, the part-time kid who always messaged her with a new excuse to come in late. High school kids these days were all lazy. But Eli always came on time. They both were total opposites, and they made her coffeehouse buzz with their bickering.

  The name on her phone made her heart freeze.

  Jade Hyde.

  It startled her so much, she dropped her mug. It shattered into pieces, some flying across the counter, and a few crunching under her shoes as she rushed for her phone.

  “Boss, are you all right?" Eli hurried over.

  Alice raised her hand to signal that she was fine.

  Jade: Can we meet? I'm waiting outside your coffee shop.

  Her heart flushed with anger. The man had been MIA for the last six months, and now he suddenly wanted to see her.

  For a moment, she wanted to find him and hit him with a coffee mug. How could he vanish like that?

  Six months had passed since she’d last seen him. When he sued his mother over the hostile takeover, his name was in the news frequently. Especially when his mother was bombarded with multiple lawsuits, one after another. Though he didn't say it explicitly, she knew it was him because Max was the attorney of record in every case.

  A month after he stepped down from his position as CEO, a big pharmaceutical company took over Parker Chemicals.

  One month after that, his mother was arrested for embezzlement, among other things.

  One month after that, Alice won her case, cleared her name, and received a huge amount of money as compensation. Almost a million dollars. She could have easily gone back to singing after that, but she chose not to. For her that time was past, and moreover she was happy with the coffee shops. She was visiting each one every week. That way, she got to live in her hometown and New York with Medusa. The best of both worlds.

  Then one day a message came from Jade, that he was leaving the country for a few days.

  That's it. He didn't say where he was going, and he didn’t answer his phone after that. Even Max said nothing.

  She had every reason to be angry with this man, and yet her heart fluttered when his message came. She quickly checked her attire. Darn. If she had known he would be here, she would have won something nice. Not a plain T-shirt and jeans.

  She wiped her hands on a towel and washed them with disinfectant.

  "Eli, can you clean this up for me please?"

  Eli nodded, her curly hair bouncing.

  Alice ran outside, looking for a car. But there was none. Didn't he say he was outside? Where was his car, then?

  Her eyes jumped around, searching for the charming devil. There hadn't been a single day when she hadn't thought about him.

  A man in a plain gray jacket and black jeans stood against the wall, his back resting on it.

  Alice rubbed her eyes. He looked like Jade, but the long hair, glowing face, and a long but neatly trimmed beard? Jade hated long hair because of his phobia.

  But the more she stared at the man, the more he resembled Jade.

  Pushing his hand through his long hair, the man slowly turned toward her. His deep blue eyes smiled at her, piercing straight into her soul.

  It was Jade, and somehow his charm had multiplied by a thousand times.

  Her chest tightened, and her breaths grew shallow as he walked toward her. Every step he took, a new lightning bolt pierced her body and danced in her heart.

  She should hate him. He dumped her and then ran away from her.

  "Hey there." He smiled, lips parting, white teeth flashing. Like they were calling for her lips.

  Heat rushed to her cheeks. She looked away. Why was this happening again?

  "How have you been?" He stopped, not too close, but within reach.

  Lightning danced on her skin. He gave off his special coffee fragrance, but this time it smelled so pure and delicious. Like fresh coffee leaves out of the field.

  "I'm... fine."

  "I'm glad that you're fine." He smiled again.

  All the anger, the hatred she had in her heart melted with that one word.

  Suddenly, he grabbed her right hand and pulled her toward him. Lightning zapped throughout her body, like she stood in a lightning field. Her heart sung a unique song, especially made for him.

  What the heck? Pushing him away, she stepped back.

  He pushed his hair back. "Sorry, a kid was about to crash into you."

  "A kid, where?" she asked, dumbfounded. Her knees still trembled from his sudden touch.

  He pointed to his left. A child, maybe five years old, lay on the ground with his small bike crashed next to him.

  She was about to help the kid when Jade stepped over and picked him up. Patting the kid's back, Jade scattered the dust accumulated on his jacket.

  "Are you all right?” Jade asked the boy. “Are you hurt?"

  The kid smiled and shook his head.

  Jade helped the kid to grab his bike and ride it again.

  The whole exchange took maybe five seconds, but Alice felt like it was happening for an eternity.

  How did he touch that kid?

  "Jade, how—"

  He smiled, once again stealing her breath. What happened to him? How could he smile like that, so pure and innocent all of a sudden?

  "Oh this?" He wiped his dirty hands on his jeans.

  Sweat beaded on her brow. Dirty hands, and wiping them on his pants. Did someone replace the Jade she knew? Or was she dreaming?

  Leaning forward, she eyed the man in front of her. But when she looked in his deep blue eyes, she couldn't deny that he was her Jade.

  "Don't worry." Jade said. "I was with monks for the last three months, working on my mental blockage. I'm almost cured now."

  "Monks? Where did you meet them?"

  "Can we talk somewhere private? I have so much to tell you, and I need to ask for your forgiveness too." His deep blue eyes pleaded with her; there was a depth to his gaze which wasn't present three months ago. Somehow, her heart told her that she should hear him out.

  "Okay, let's go to my apartment."

  Chapter 42

  Before buying the coffee shop chain, Jade had seen pictures of the building, but he didn't imagine Alice would rent a place in the same building.

  His heartbeat quickened as they stopped in front of a sunny yellow door. She stood inches away from him, watching his every action. Maybe she was wary of him. She had reason to be. He had always acted like a jerk. First, he broke up with her, and then ran away for six months.

  But how could he face her before finishing all his business? Even though he put his mother behind bars, he was still a jerk. If he hadn't been in Alice's life, she would've achieved success and prosperity. He should have vanished from her life forever rather than a mere six months.

  Yet, he was here to ask for her forgiveness. Because living without her wasn't an option. Not even after he cured himself.

  What if she declined?

  He didn't like to think about that. He didn't have all the answers. But his heart prayed and prayed and prayed that she wouldn't turn him away. If it wasn't for her, he wouldn't have gone through those three months’ training with the monks. That life was hard at first, but he preserved with her help. Whenever he doubted himself or the monks, she came to him, giving him new strength. She was always there, in his heart, in his soul. With her help, he stayed true to meditation and cured himself of the mental block that prevented him from overcoming the phobia.

  His heart reached Formula 1 speed when she walked millimeters away from him.

  "Do you want coffee? Beer?" she asked, as he sat on a small brown leather couch. The apartment was quite small and dirty, but it didn't bother him anymore. Three months ago, he would've freaked out coming here. He wouldn't have even looked at a picture of this room. It would have given him chills.
r />   Right now, other than a small tingle in his gut, everything felt normal.

  And other than, of course, the electric bolts traveling through his stomach after he saw her. Especially her lips.

  "Coffee would be good. I've given up drinking."

  She smiled and moved into her kitchen. Pulling two coffee mugs out of a yellowish drawer, she stole a glance at him.

  He caught it, of course. From the moment he saw her, he’d been drinking her in with his eyes. How couldn't he? Six months. It had been six crazy months. And she had gotten more gorgeous than before. His instinct was to pull her in a tight hug and never let her go.

  Damn, it was hard to control himself. But he needed to clear up a few things with her first.

  "Monks, really?" She put the milk on to heat in an old pot. "Tell me more about it."

  He scratched his beard, regretting not shaving before coming here. He should have, but as soon as he stepped out of the airport, he ran to his apartment, grabbed a box, and took a cab to come here. If it wasn't for that box, he would have come here straight from the airport.

  "I went to Tibet for treatment. Doc has been nagging me for years to go there and try eastern remedies and meditation."

  Alice curled her lips in a sweet smile. "You should have done this earlier. Look at you, you're all cured. Wow! This is great." She clasped her hands over her heart. "I'm so glad you're cured."

  And that's why he loved her. Every emotion she expressed was from her heart. She didn't do fake.

  "Thanks." He smiled. "I didn't want to try at first."

  She stirred the coffee mixture while the milk boiled. "Then what changed your mind?"

  "Would you believe if I say ‘you?’"

  Her hands froze. Her gaze jumped to him.

  "If you're trying to flatter me to make up for your disappearance, then scram. No matter how much flattery you use, there’s no excuse for it."

  Jade pushed his hair back. It was time for the truth. He rose and walked into the kitchen. Pushing his feet against the floor, he hopped up and sat on the worktop not far away from her.