The Billionaire’s Charade
The Billionaire’s Charade
Jeannette Winters
An original work of Jeannette Winters, 2019.
All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, places, events, business establishments or locales is entirely coincidental.
Contents
Jeannette Winters
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Also by Jeannette Winters
By Jeannette Winters & Lena Lane
Jeannette Winters
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Dedication
This book is dedicated to my friend and reader, Koreen. It might have been my stories that brought us together, but your friendship surpassing anything I could ever write. Thank you for always cheering me on and sharing my stories with your friends.
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And also thank you to my editor Taryn Lawson, and to Jade Webb at https://meetcutecreative.com/ for another amazing cover!
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And to my readers. You continue to challenge me and I love it. Please keep those emails coming!
The Billionaire’s Charade
Dylan Lawson will do whatever it takes to keep Lawson Steel on the top. The lies and secrets from the past threaten crumble it all. He wasn’t about to let anyone ruin what they had worked so hard to build.
* * *
Sofia Marciano had a dream, and she wasn’t living it. It was within her grasp. All it was going to take was some quick thinking and finding a way to live two lives. She wasn’t going to sit back and let her dream slip through her fingers.
* * *
When her family starts to question things, a very sexy stranger steps up, and comes to her rescue. Dylan was the perfect cover. No one would ever suspect what she was really doing in New York with him by her side. It was beginning to look like she really could have it all.
* * *
Their attraction is powerful and their simple charade becomes very complicated. Is this yet another set of lies, or is their love the one thing that survives through it all?
1
Sofia walked out of the back room mumbling while carrying the tray of pasta high above her head. This was far from ideal, but what choice did she have? She had only one hour to prepare and she wasn’t about to blow it just because she was supposed to be working. She also couldn’t risk being overheard. Her parents would flip out if they suspected what she was up to.
The one nice thing about working for your parents was, she didn’t need to worry about getting fired. The downside was what they expected from you. Since her brother Sal wasn’t interested in continuing on the family name, either by giving them a grandchild or running the business, it seemed both fell to Sofia. She could sit down with her parents a million times and they wouldn’t hear her. They wanted what they wanted, and one of their children was going to make it happen. Sofia seemed to have drawn the short straw and was stuck.
It wasn’t that Sofia wasn’t good at it; she could do this job with her eyes closed. Heck, she had the same finesse with the customers as her mother, and her skills in the kitchen weren’t too shabby, either. None of that changed a thing. She wasn’t her mother, and the last thing Sofia wanted was to be tied down to the restaurant. Up early and to bed late. Never really going anywhere or seeing anything. Sofia had dreams, big dreams. She wanted the bright lights, the luxurious lifestyle, the cameras flashing and people calling out her name.
They call my name all the time here, when they want a refill or the check.
“Sofia, table four is waiting for their pasta puttanesca,” her mother shouted from the kitchen.
“Yes mama,” she replied as she continued weaving through the tables. It figured the time that she needed to get out of work early, was also the night they seemed to be extra busy. Of course, her mother had to put a sign out front saying, “Buy one entrée, get one free.” She tried containing her frustration, but it wasn’t easy.
Raising the tray even higher, she swayed when she should’ve swerved when one of the patrons spilt wine on himself and stood up quickly. It triggered a chain of events that seemed never-ending. His chair flipped and knocked the back of Sofia’s knee, she grabbed hold of another person’s shirt and she could hear the fabric ripping. Letting go, she tumbled to the floor, her tray went in the opposite direction. Shrieks and swears could be overheard, but barely. It was her mother’s voice that seemed to echo through the room.
As she struggled to get back up on her feet, her mother was apologizing to everyone. At one point, she would’ve sworn she heard her mother call her clumsy. Instead of standing there arguing, she began cleaning up the mess with one of the dish washers. Her father came out from the back, took her by her elbow, and led her into the kitchen.
“Sofia, go home,” he said.
“Papa, I can’t. Mama needs me.” Home sounded great, but wasn’t where she wanted or needed to be.
He reached up and pulled some spaghetti out of her hair. “And you, my dear daughter, need a shower. So do some of the customers. Now go before your mama comes in here and gives us both an earful.”
At times like this, being daddy’s little girl worked in her favor. She placed a kiss on his cheek and said, “Thank you Papa. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“And your mama too. So best sleep well tonight.”
Sofia nodded and walked over to grab her purse. She held it extra close to her as she slipped out the back door. It wasn’t that she was concerned anyone would rob her, but there were important papers in there she didn’t want to fall out.
Once she was inside her Jeep Liberty, she opened it to confirm all was safe and sound. Pulling out the papers, she looked them over. “Thank God.” Sofia tossed them on the passenger seat and pulled away. It was unfortunate that it had all gone down this way, but really, it was perfect. She was getting what she wanted without having to ask. Because if she did, she’d have to lie, and that wasn’t something Sofia felt comfortable doing.
Good thing I’m a pretty good actress.
There wasn’t much time to waste. She took the fastest shower and put on her makeup so she could be back out the door. It wouldn’t matter if she knew the lines or not, if she wasn’t there on time. Thankfully, the traffic lights were in her favor and before she knew it, Sofia found a parking spot and was entering the theater house.
Her heart was beating fast, as though she were about to take the stage in front of an audien
ce. There were hundreds of people trying out for the role. It wasn’t even a lead part, either. Sofia knew the one thing they all had in common: We all want it.
The butterflies in her stomach were threatening to take flight as she took center stage. It was just an audition and only six people, who she wasn’t even sure were paying close attention, were the ones she should be concerned about. Taking a deep breath, she cleared her mind and focused on the lines she’d been rehearsing to herself earlier.
If she hadn’t been, it was possible she never would’ve lost control of the tray and…I’d still be stuck at work instead of where I want to be.
Sofia knew it was a rough start, but after a few words, the rest of the lines seemed to flow easily. When it was over, someone said ‘thank you’ and called the next person onto the stage. All she could do was take a seat and wait to see if she was going to be one of the lucky ones. Watching the others, she felt deflated; they all seemed good. Sofia didn’t have a portfolio to set her apart from the others. All she had was a passion, which she’d yet to reveal to the world. Was this going to be her break? In a few minutes, she was going to get the answer.
Her cell phone vibrated and she looked at the caller ID. It was her mother. One call that she should take, but no way in hell was she answering it in the theater. With the acoustics, she was positive her mother’s voice would be heard by all, and even in Italian, they would get the point: Sofia was in trouble.
Declining the call, she turned off her phone and slipped it back into her purse. There would be hell to pay for this tomorrow, but tonight, she just wanted one shot at her dream.
“Number seventy-one,” the stage manager called out.
That was her. What was going on? She got up and headed right over.
“I’m Sofia. I’m number seventy-one.”
He handed her a bag and said, “Please put this on.”
Taking the bag, she looked inside. It was filled with torn and tattered clothing. “I’m sorry, I don’t understand.”
“You are going to the second level. Read the instructions, we will be monitoring you outside.”
He left her alone and she pulled out the paper.
YOU ARE A PAUPER. A BEGGER. YOU MUST CONVINCE FIVE PEOPLE TO GIVE YOU MONEY IN ONE HOUR. YOU DO, AND THE ROLE IS YOURS.
Never had she heard of such a thing for an audition. It had to be a joke. But as she looked around, there were a few others being handed bags of their own. Sofia wasn’t about to question it any further. She wanted this, and if begging on the street was what got her the role, so be it.
She went into the dressing room and quickly donned her new attire. When she looked in the mirror, she realized the clothes were only one piece of the puzzle; she really needed to look the part if she wanted the part. Wiping the makeup off, then tussling her hair, she pulled out hair spray and made it look as though she’d spent the night sleeping on the sidewalk.
Her heart ached as she looked in the mirror again. This was now the face of people she and her parents tried to help. Each night when the restaurant closed, they took all the leftovers and handed them out to the homeless. Nothing was discarded without first contemplating if it could be utilized by someone who needed it. She was blessed to have come from a family who didn’t know such hard times, and fortunate that her parents passed down their generous heart to her and Sal.
Pulling from the depths of her soul, she went out the back and into the alley. There was a large cardboard box, and she knew that wasn’t placed by any tech crew to set the stage. Someone literally had spent the night in there. Sofia felt like such a fraud doing this and wanted to turn and head right back inside and tell them no role was worth this. But she reminded herself that if she really made it big like she wanted to someday, then hopefully she could use that money to help more people in need.
Turning away, she took all she’d seen firsthand and prepared to use it now. Once on the street, she could feel the looks from people passing by. The men who once would check her out and devour her with their eyes, now avoided making any eye contact with her at all. This might be one of the most valuable lessons she’d ever learned: what it was like to walk in someone else’s shoes.
Sofia had no idea who was there watching her and the others, or what the others’ roles were. Did it matter? Not really. This was something she needed to do. Putting out her hand, she went up to one passerby.
“Can you spare a dollar?” Sofia asked. He brushed her hand away and kept moving. Her voice had been soft, but he had seen her, just ignored her. Pulling herself together, she knew she needed to beg as though she’d be hungry again tonight if she had no food. In a louder voice, she asked another person. “Excuse me, I’m hungry. Do you have any change so I can buy something to eat?”
“Get a job,” a woman in a business suit snapped.
Ouch. Sofia knew some of the people her parents helped had jobs, and lost them. They had homes and lost them. It wasn’t the lack of desire to work, it was no work. They were caught in the system. No one would hire them because they didn’t have transportation or a place to live. And they didn’t have a place to live or a car because they had no job. They couldn’t even get assistance from the government with a check because of their homeless status.
Of course, she knew not all homeless people were like that, but until you spoke to them, heard their story, how could one judge? Sometimes things spiral out of control and you’re left with…nothing but hope.
There was a little girl, about six years old, blond braids on both sides of her head. She tugged on Sofia’s torn plaid shirt. She didn’t say a word but opened her hand and showed Sofia it was filled with coins.
“Wow. Is that yours?” Sofia asked softly. The little girl nodded then put her hand closer to Sofia’s. “You want to give this to me?” The girl nodded again. Sofia reluctantly took the little girl’s money. Her eyes welled up as she said, “Thank you so much.” She fought the urge to pull the girl into her arms and give her a huge hug for having such a kind, sweet heart. Then she noticed the little girl was wearing two hearing aids, and the braids probably were meant to conceal them.
It was so touching that she was surprised she could keep her emotions in line. Sofia dropped to her knees so they were eye to eye. Sofia knew sign language because her cousin was deaf. She brought her fingers to her lips, then brought them forward and smiled. The little girl beamed and signed back, ‘you’re welcome.’ Then she turned and dashed back to her mother, leaving Sofia kneeling on the sidewalk as they disappeared in the crowd.
She didn’t know when the sobbing started, probably when she looked again at the coins she held in her hand. Sofia wished she could rush home and share this beautiful moment with her parents. But this was hers alone to carry.
Clutching the coins close to her, she tried to get up off the sidewalk. A quarter fell, then a nickel. With her vision blurred by salty tears, she struggled to retrieve them without her fingers getting stomped on by the numerous pedestrians. As she reached for the last coin, her hand encountered a pair of black leather shoes pointing her direction. A large hand reached down and retrieved the nickel.
Sofia looked up and was about to tell him that belonged to her. Before she could, he said in a deep but soft voice, “I believe you dropped this.”
The sun had set and the streetlights above him were bright, almost halo-like around him. How she wished she could make out his features, see who it was behind such a tender tone. Still rocked by her sobbing, Sofia reached up and took the coin from him. She choked out, “Thank you, sir.”
As she tried to get up again, she felt a hand on her elbow guiding her up until she was steady on her feet. With her burst of tears, she now realized her contacts had made their escape along with the change. Damn it. She couldn’t see anything close by without them. But it didn’t matter. She’d already decided this little test the theater had created for her was done. The part wasn’t worth the emotional turmoil she was in.
Turning, she headed for the wall of the b
uilding, which she knew wasn’t far behind her.
“Please wait,” he called out. “You have options. Let me help.” He took her hand and she felt him slip money to her. “My cell phone is on the card. Call me at any time.”
She didn’t bother trying to read what it said, since it would all look like ant footprints to her. Sofia nodded and gripped the paper firmly as she felt her way along the wall. Once she had come to the corner, it was about fifty steps to the backstage entrance. Whoever was supposed to be watching over her hopefully would be there to let her back inside.
Sure enough, the door opened, and the stage manager said, “You didn’t get five, but we are impressed. You were so authentic in your performance that you had some of the others in tears. Brava, my dear. You have the part.”
Sofia should correct him. That tearful display wasn’t for show. It wasn’t for a part. Her heart and soul had been out there for all to see, and they thought they’d been looking at an actress. You will be so disappointed when you realize I could never fake what you just witnessed, and I wouldn’t want to.
“Rehearsal starts next week. Every night at eight. Miss one and you’re out. Do you understand?”
“Yes. What would you like me to do with this?” she asked, holding out the money so he could see her bounty.
“It is yours. Do as you wish.” He walked away, leaving her standing there.
Thankfully, she wasn’t far from the dressing room, and she knew she had a spare set of contacts inside.