The Billionaire's Masquerade Page 0,6

like she might just pass out. From a man’s touch? That sounded ridiculous, she told herself. Pulling her hand out, she stepped back from the man.

“I have to go,” she said with more force, shaking her head and forcing the wisps of hair out of her eyes. “Is his house that way?”

The tall, tanned and still fascinating man named Jack smiled slightly. “If you go down this road a bit more, you’ll run into another house.”

“And that’s where Mr. Watson lives?” she asked hopefully, desperate for clarification after this encounter.

The man shrugged those massive shoulders, still holding the half-empty bottle of water. “I’m pretty sure he’s not home but you’re welcome to go ring the doorbell. Molly might be there.”

A woman? That perked up Rachel’s interest. The man couldn’t be so bad if a woman were in residence. He must have to control his temper sometimes. “I’d be very interested to meet his wife,” she said with rising hope.

The man’s chuckle was her first warning. “Molly isn’t anyone’s wife,” Emerson replied. “She’s the ruler of that house. She’s probably there now cooking. She only comes by to make dinners and clean as well as to make sure everything is running as she deems fit. She stops by when Watson isn’t there so she can make sure he hasn’t messed anything up.”

Rachel sighed as her hopes were mercilessly dashed. “So he’s such an ogre that even his housekeeper can’t stand being around him,” she replied, her shoulders drooping slightly. “Thanks for the warning.” Shaking her head as if to banish such weak thoughts, she rallied quickly, refusing to give up on her quest. “Better to be alert,” she told him and forced a smile to her face and smoothed down her jacket. “I’m off. Thank you very much for the information.”

With that, she forced herself to turn around and walk down the gravel road and no matter how many times she wanted to, she didn’t allow herself to turn back to take another glance at the man’s enticing anatomy. She was fairly certain he was watching her though. A tingling in the center of her back told her that his eyes were watching her as she carefully walked down the irritatingly long, gravel road.

It took her another ten minutes and by the time she rounded the last corner, her feet were aching. She might love these shoes, but her feet didn’t love walking in them. The soles were so thin, she could feel every sharp corner of every piece of rock over which she’d traversed this morning.

When she finally caught sight of the house, the pain in her feet disappeared as she looked out at the gorgeous view. The enormous house was set up high on the cliff looking out to the ocean and it was possibly the most beautiful, peaceful scene she’d ever encountered. The structure had an ultra-modern feel, but there were quirky touches that helped the house look warm and comfortable with a cottage feel to everything. The cedar shingles added a coastal edge but it occurred to her that she couldn’t imagine why one man needed so much space. The house was enormous! There were turrets and long walls of windows, at one point, she could see through the house to the ocean. The space seemed to be some sort of hallway that connected the main house to a smaller area that was still larger than her whole apartment.

In a word, the house was magnificent.

She jerked herself out of her gawking and forced her aching feet to walk up the wide, stone steps to the front door. She pretended like her fingers weren’t shaking as she reached out and rang the doorbell, then held her breath, mentally preparing herself to deal with any kind of anger or irritation at her uninvited presence.

When a stern looking woman answered the door, Rachel felt an almost painful letdown mixed with relief.

“May I help you?” she asked, her voice polite, but not very impressed with Rachel’s presence.

Rachel took a breath, praying that her efforts would pay off. “I’m here to speak with Mr. Watson if he’s available.”

Molly looked the young, beautiful woman up and down, approving of the woman’s gumption if not so much her business suit. “How did you get up here? The driveway isn’t wide enough for a car to get through.” Molly looked down at Rachel’s red shoes with confusion.

Rachel was surprised by the abrupt words and only a half-hearted greeting. “I walked,” Rachel said with a bright