The VIP Room(89)
End of Part One
About Alexa Wilder
Continued in The Wedding Rescue, Book Two
Also by Alexa Wilder
THE COURTSHIP MANEUVER
Book Two
Book Three
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Alexa Wilder has been a sucker for romance since she found her first Harlequin at a hospital rummage sale when she was thirteen. While she loves all forms of the written word (so much that she occasionally gets caught reading the cereal box at breakfast), love stories have always been her favorite.
She lives in the southern U.S. with her husband, two sons, an assorted menagerie of pets, and spends most of her time dreaming up sexy, domineering heroes and the feisty, strong willed heroines who will send them reeling.
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Reluctant Billionaires: DEREK & LAUREN
By Layla Wilcox
Curvy billionaire heiress Lauren Daniels has broken free and purchased a small home away from her protective father and interfering mother. Added benefit to the new digs: No one in the modest neighborhood knows about her connection to the family fortune, so she can finally trust that the people she meets like her for something other than her money or her father’s influence.
Derek Holmes has a landscaping business and is halfway to earning his first billion after leaving his father’s company and designating his own billion dollar trust fund inheritance for charity. Tired of dating spoiled rich brats and gold diggers, he keeps his wealth and success under wraps in a low-key trailer office..
When Lauren calls Derek for a landscaping estimate, they both think they’ve finally found someone who may be truly interested in the person, not the dollar signs. She’s drawn to his muscular laborer’s body, and he’s knocked out with her curves. Under the covers, the two billionaires in disguise are generating lots of heat, but will the truth about their secrets pour an icy water bucket on their budding romance?
Chapter 1
Derek Holmes eased his Ford 350 pickup along the embankment of the narrow street in front of the home of his next appointment. His cell phone rang, and he distractedly picked it up from where it was stashed in the beverage holder between the two front seats.
Carly's name and photo flashed on the screen. Derek looked at the image of the pretty blonde and impatiently hit "Ignore," while he continued to try to park his massive vehicle in a way that wouldn't obstruct traffic or destroy the grass of his potential new client's lawn.
He didn't like driving his wide-body truck with oversize wheels to consulting appointments for his landscaping business for this reason. He preferred to arrive in a passenger car and dressed in business clothes to meet new clients.
But this prospect had insisted that today was the only day she could meet. Since he agreed to fit her in between jobs, he had to show up in work clothes and the monster truck.
Derek grabbed a notebook off the dash and pushed it with a pen and his phone into the pocket of his cargo shorts. He strode up the short driveway to the almost non-existent front walk that led to the home's entrance. He rang the bell and waited. And waited.
He rang again, but still no answer.
More than a little annoyed, Derek pulled out his phone to check the time. He clicked on his appointment app to verify the time and address. He was in the right place at the right time, so where the hell was Miss I Have to See You Today?
Derek let out a frustrated groan. He already had screwed up his schedule and couldn't afford to lose any more time. He decided to walk around the grounds to get an idea of what was needed so he'd be able to quote an estimate when he called the scatterbrain later to discuss what she wanted.
A quick glance around the front yard revealed little landscaping or care other than the minimal palm tree and bleak row of bushes the builder supplied and the homeowner association probably maintained. The small home had absolutely no curb appeal, and it appeared neglected with some dead plants in pots along the walk and two scrawny hibiscus bushes under the front window.
He walked around the side of the house and unlatched the gate in the wooden fence to get a view of the rear. A few long steps and he turned the corner to land on the back patio where he got a sizable rear view that he wasn't expecting.
Bent over and completely unaware of his presence was a robust woman clad only in a two-piece bathing suit with a hose in one hand and a scrub brush in the other. Derek watched while she alternated bending over to scrub the patio surface with brush and standing to rinse the washed area with the hose.
He shook his head. The woman was barely making a dent in the job. She did mention that she had just bought the place, and he guessed it might be her first home. Although he couldn't see her face, she seemed young. He noticed her full bottom had a nice round curve, as did her hips. Her pale skin was smooth and firm, and if he had to guess from his current view, he'd estimate her age at somewhere in her late twenties.