The Billionaire's Hotline (Men of the Capital Series Book 1)

Read The Billionaire's Hotline (Men of the Capital Series Book 1) for Free Online

Book: Read The Billionaire's Hotline (Men of the Capital Series Book 1) for Free Online
Authors: Cara Nelson
struggle to recall in a few months or years?
    Hannah was too upset, and her throat was too scratchy to get any work done, so she settled in for a sleepless night, loading a new mystery on her e-reading app. She chose a story about a cheating husband who had been murdered by one of his mistresses. Her eyes were burning from exhaustion, but she still hiccupped the occasional sob when her phone rang once. She lunged for it.
    “Mockingbird? It’s me,” he said, and the relief of hearing his voice nearly brought on more tears. Something that had tightened around her rib cage loosened, and she could draw a deep breath again.
    “Are you there?” That arrogant voice was endearingly uncertain.
    She would have said ‘yes’ to anything at that moment. “I’m here.”
    “What’s wrong? You sound…off.”
    “Cheap phone. I stole it from a playboy.”
    “Have you been crying?”
    “No. Certainly not.” She huffed as if offended.
    “Hannah, I sent her home in a cab as soon as the awards speeches were over. This is the second night I’ve slept alone on account of you.”
    “I suspect you do your five hours in an empty bed on purpose,” she hedged, unwilling to own the pure joy that unfurled in her chest.
    “Does my inflection mark me out for a loner?” he teased.
    “No, Jasper,” she let herself savor his name, “I can’t imagine you doing anything so inefficient as allowing your allotted five hours to be disrupted by the snores and turnings of another human being in your space.”
    “I’ll give you that one. You’re perceptive.”
    “Why did you send her home? She was gorgeous.”
    “She wasn’t you,” Jasper said easily, and he heard the catch in her breath.
    “Don’t say things like that.” Her voice was strained, a warning or fear, he didn’t know which.
    “She was boring. I don’t like being bored. You’re never boring. You barge into hotel bars and my office demanding that I leave you alone. For some reason, I don’t hate it.”
    “That was stupid, going to your office to tell you to leave me alone. Any rational person would have sent back your gifts with an icy silence and never acknowledged you.”
    “Only someone who wanted to be alone would have ignored me like that.”
    “I know. I didn’t like seeing that girl, Anna, coming into your office to go with you like that.”
    “You mean the repellant display of my white male privilege?”
    “Yes. Obviously. It was appalling. I’m trying to give you the benefit of the doubt and not just assume you’re a textbook alpha male who wants a dumb blonde to stare adoringly at him. You’re not making it easy. You told me once you’re a romantic. I still don’t believe you, but I’d like to hear your reasoning,” she said carefully.
    “Just that, like everyone on the planet, I want to find the One, but I have the luxury of sending someone else to narrow down the possibilities. I know what attracts me and what qualities I’m looking for, so I verbalized those and dispatched an employee to make contact with as many women fitting a general description as possible. This way I know they’re worth taking the time for because they’ve already been selected from the wider population. I have a better shot at finding my soul mate this way.”
    Hannah sighed.
    “What?”
    “I had this weird hope that you’d tell me the truth. That was bullshit.”
    “The linguistics expert thinks I don’t believe a word I said?”
    “I’m not an expert, but I know total rubbish when I hear it. A true romantic wouldn’t approach this like a business acquisition. A true romantic would have used the word ‘love’ at least once. You’re some jaded rich guy who enjoys the ability to dial up a blonde anytime you want one.”
    “Then why didn’t I dial one up tonight, or keep the one I had delivered?”
    “You got bored with your own game and decided to mess with my mind instead. I guess it amuses you to torment me.”
    “Tormenting isn’t what I’d like to

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