Billionaire Wolf's MateDate - Serena Meadows Page 0,37

was going into the dining room and stopped him. “We need to talk,” he said, pulling him down the hallway and into the kitchen.

When Bernice gave him a dirty look, he grinned at her. “We’ll stay out of the way; we just need to borrow your office for a few minutes,” he said.

She waved her hand at him, then went back to shouting instructions to her staff, but he could see the grin on her face. Jacob followed him into her office, a stormy look on his face, sat down in a chair, crossed his arms over his chest, then glared at Reggie.

“I hope you have a good explanation for humiliating my sister last night,” Jacob said. “Everyone is talking about the guards finding her naked in your bed, and there’s a rumor going around that you ripped her clothes off.”

Reggie knew that he had to be careful. “That’s not exactly what happened,” he said. “You heard the alarm last night. Janice was the one they were searching for. I found her in the music room, frightened out of her mind. Taking her to my room was the only thing I could think of at the time, but it all worked out.”

“What does that mean?” Jacob asked, the scowl still on his face.

“I’m going to marry her,” Reggie said. “And she wants to marry me.”

“You’ll just be letting your father win,” Jacob said, still not convinced. “How is that going to help anyone?”

Reggie shrugged. “So, he wins one round,” he said. “He’s not going to win the battle. I have a plan to destroy them all, but I’m going to need your help.”

“What did you have in mind?” Jacob asked.

“How many loans does your father have on his house?” he asked.

Jacob looked at him strangely. “Well, all in total, he’d just break even if he tried to sell it right now.”

“And my father?” he asked.

“Not as much but a fairly substantial sum, enough that it would be difficult for him to pay it back all at once,” Jacob said, a smile spreading across his face.

“And the rest of the clan?”

“I think I know what you’re thinking, but that would take a lot of money, Reggie, millions of dollars,” Jacob said, shaking his head. “Even you aren’t that rich.”

Reggie raised his eyebrows at Jacob. “How would you like to be the first CFO of my new investment company?”

Jacob grinned at him. “When do I start?”

***Janice***

Janice opened up the door to her room, her head spinning with happiness, and ducked inside, then jumped when she saw Josie sitting in the window seat. The girl got quickly to her feet. “I’m sorry, I thought you would be...I shouldn’t have been sitting down,” she said, stumbling over her words.

“It’s okay, Josie,” she said, noticing that it looked like she’d been crying. “What’s wrong?”

Josie looked embarrassed. “Nothing I can’t handle,” she said, lifting her shoulders. “We really should get you ready for breakfast now. I’ve already picked out your clothes; you should go take a shower.”

Janice studied her for a second more, then headed for the bathroom, knowing exactly what had upset Josie. She never should have let Reggie talk her into staying, should have gotten up and made Betty happy, but she wasn’t looking forward to facing everyone. It wasn’t a pleasant feeling to know that her personal business was being spread around through the guests and staff, but Reggie’s plan had worked, and no one suspected it was her hiding in the attic.

After her shower, she let Josie help her dress, feeling awkward the entire time, then sat down in front of the mirror while she brushed out the tangles in her long hair. Watching Josie in the mirror, she wondered what her life was like, how she could stand to work for someone like Betty.

“Do you enjoy your job?” she asked without even thinking. “I mean, Betty isn’t exactly the ideal boss.”

The look on Josie’s face made her wish that she hadn’t asked, but it disappeared, replaced by a face devoid of emotion. “I’m very lucky to have my job,” Josie said, her voice matching her face.

Janice didn’t say anything for a long time, but when their eyes met in the mirror, she said, “That sounds like an answer someone told you to use. I’d rather have the truth. I’m not one of them, Josie, and I never will be. I think I already have a pretty good idea what’s going on in the clan, but I’d really like to hear it