Imperfect Match (Elixir Bachelor Billionaires #1)

Daisy’s eyes blaze with a fire I’ve always admired, yet she remains silent, her lips pressed tightly together.

“It was personal,” she finally whispers.

I reach for the button next to my seat, raising the privacy shield.

“What the heck?” She jumps in her seat. “Since when has that thing been there?” She points at the black screen as if it’s a piece of forbidden witchcraft.

“Since always.”

“Why the heck do you need it?” Her eyes widen as she shifts her gaze between the screen and me. “Oh my goodness! Please don’t tell me this is where you’re hooking up with your special someone.”

“What?”

“In the interview, you mentioned there’s a special woman in your life. Is this where you meet her?” She wrinkles her nose, her hands lifting from the leather seat as if she’s just touched something gross.

“I meant GG, my great-grandmother. Do you think I have the privacy screen so I can fuck women in the back of my car?”

If only she knew.

“Well, not exclusively for that, but I guess…if someone wants, it could come in handy.” Her words finally slow down, as if she’s struggling to keep up with her wild thoughts.

“I’m shocked and worried about the way your mind works sometimes. No, Daisy, the privacy screen is for times when I need to have private conversations—private business conversations that my driver and bodyguard don’t need to hear.”

She releases the bottom lip she’s been biting, unknowingly distracting the hell out of me, and finally, a smile spreads across her face.

“It fits, you know. Private screen for a private, complicated man like you.”

I didn’t know she thinks of me as complicated. At least around her, I feel like my life is uncomplicated.

“Not so private, it seems, since you’re sitting on this side of it and not the other.”

She grins, but it immediately drops when I ask, “Now, if you’re done irritating me, I’ll ask again. What happened this morning? Jimmy and Dave told me you were at your parents’ place.”

All the playfulness disappears from her face, replaced by something akin to pain.

“Daisy?” I’m about to reach out to her and hold her hand fisting the silk of the white dress, when Dave’s voice fills the cramped space.

“We’re reaching the parking lot, sir.”

The moment breaks, and Daisy puts on a smile that is as bad as a high school musical performed without a single rehearsal.

“It’s nothing, and I’m so sorry, once again, for being late.”

Before I can tell her to cut the bullshit, the car stops. She’s already sprinting toward the elevator when Dave opens my door.

“There’s a delivery coming in for Daisy. Please make sure it reaches her.” I’m about to walk away but stop. “You were with Daisy this morning, correct?”

Dave gives a confirming nod, prompting my next question.

“What happened at her parents’ place?”

My bodyguard’s gaze moves from me to my assistant, standing in the open elevator waiting for me, one hand probably on the button to keep the door open.

“I believe it has something to do with her father. I’m sure she’ll have more details for you, sir.” Dave’s tone is earnest and respectful.

I linger for a moment longer, in case he has something more for me, but when that seems to not be the case, I reply, “Very well. I’ll check with her.”

With a parting nod to Dave and Steve, I walk away and slip inside the elevator. As soon as the door closes, my phone springs to life with Jimmy’s face flashing on the screen. My groan resonates in the metal enclosure.