Longing For The Beach Billionaire Daddy
Chapter 92

*Shelby*

As soon as I got to Michael’s office, I could tell that something was going on. I made my way to the receptionist’s desk, hoping that maybe she had some answers for me. I was glad to see the middle-aged woman sitting behind the desk. I liked her a lot more than Michael’s previous receptionist, who had purposely embarrassed me in front of a room full of people.

“Good afternoon Miss Hatton,” she said to me with a smile.

“Is Michael here?” I asked.

She lifted her hand, pointing to the conference room. I could see exactly what was going on inside because of the glass walls.

Michael was standing there in front of three large cameras. I immediately recognized Bruce on his left, but there was another man with graying hair standing on his right. Both men looked extremely serious as Michael talked to the cameras.

“What’s going on?” I asked his secretary.

“Mr. Astor is pressing charges against the news source that leaked the fake story. He’s also going after the woman who gave the false statements in the interview. He’s suing them both for slander. It seems to me they have a pretty good case. The woman, Dia, or whatever her name is, has disappeared, not willing to answer any more questions or give any proof to her claims,” she told me.

“Who’s that on Michael’s left?” I asked.

“That’s Mr. Waybriant. He’s Mr. Astor’s public relations advisor, and the one who set this entire thing up. Michael is giving an account of his side of the story to be broadcast on different media sources. Mr. Waybriant said it was important to get his side of the story out before the media went wild with the abuse accusations,” she said.

My stomach felt sour watching Michael talk to the cameras, the frustrated wrinkle in his brow extremely apparent. I hated that he had to go through this and that Blaine was going to such lengths to ruin Michael.

I had suspicions that Lauren was in on this scheme, but I had to keep that to myself until I knew for sure. If it was true there was no doubt Michael would feel betrayed by his own family.

I watched Michael give his ending statement, and the cameras drooped at his sign-off. The control he’d put on for the cameras quickly slipped away as they turned off, and anger appeared on his face.

I watched him walk out of the conference room, and then he looked up and saw me. My heart swelled at the look of relief on his face. Without hesitation, he walked right to me, wrapped an arm around my waist, and kissed my forehead. Butterflies whirled in my stomach as I watched the entire room take in the scene.

“Michael, we’re in public,” I whispered to him.

“Honestly, it’s been too rough of a week for me to care about something as trivial as that anymore,” Michael stated, kissing my forehead again.

I could feel my cheeks burning as he led me to the elevator, his hand never leaving my waist. As soon as the doors closed he pulled me into a deep k**s. I felt lightheaded by the time he broke away from me.

“I’m so glad you came. Thank you for believing me,” Michael said.

“Of course, I believed you. I just wish I could do something more to help,” I admitted.

“You’re doing enough just by being here with me. I was hoping we could just have a quiet night at home. What do you think?” Michael asked.

“I’d like that,” I said with a smile. “Why don’t we stop and get some stuff to make dinner together?”

“I love that idea,” Michael said, kissing me one last time before the elevator doors opened to the lobby.

We drove to a small grocery store just a few blocks away from our townhouse. We walked the aisles hand in hand as we picked out ingredients.

“I’m craving pasta and butter-soaked garlic bread,” I said as we walked into the bakery.

The smell of the baking bread was making my mouth water. We picked out a fresh loaf of bread and added a box of brownies to our basket. As I was browsing the fresh vegetables to put in our pasta, I asked Michael what I’d wanted to since I first saw him earlier that night.

“What’s going on with the fake interview? We haven’t really talked about what’s going on…” I said.

“Bruce has tracked down the woman making the false claims. She’s refusing to cooperate, but we sent our lawyers this morning over to her home to talk with her. We’re trying to get her to make a public retraction of her interview as well as a public apology.

“If she doesn’t agree, we’re going to pursue charging her with slander. It’ll likely turn into a huge legal battle if she doesn’t agree to our terms, but honestly, I don’t have high hopes that she will,” Michael said in a low tone so the people in the grocery store wouldn’t overhear our conversation.

“Why don’t you have high hopes? You have the truth on your side as well as a team of experienced lawyers,” I said, not mentioning that he also had money on his side too.

“I feel like the entire thing was a setup. If that’s the case, it’s not likely that whoever is behind this will back down that easily. They’re out to do as much damage as possible. If it goes into a lawsuit, they will drag it out and make as many baseless accusations as possible to attack my character. Things are bound to get ugly,” Michael said, sounding exhausted.

“Are you talking about Blaine?”

“That’s the only person that makes sense. The FBI also informed me that just under one hundred million dollars was stolen from an Astor business account after the break-in at my penthouse. But between Bruce and my lawyer, we’ve got everything handled.”

I was shocked but honestly, not surprised.

“If the only thing Blaine wants is money, why would he go this far?”

Michael just shook his head and turned away from me.

“I’m so sorry, Michael,” was the only thing I could think to say.

“I’m just glad that you believe me. In the end, that’s all that matters to me,” Michael said, leaning down to sneak another k**s.

“Do you think zucchini would go well with pasta?” I asked, clearly changing the subject.

“Yeah, I think that would go perfectly with the pasta.”

We walked our brown paper bags back to the car and pointed out different restaurants we wanted to try as we drove our way back to the townhouse. I followed Michael in the front door and was amazed at how great the place looked without all the plastic sheeting and construction dust.

“Your wallpaper samples came. We’ll have to pick the one you like best for the dining room sometime this weekend,” Michael said, setting the grocery bags on the counter.

“That sounds great,” I said, peeking into the empty dining room. “The wainscoting looks amazing.”

“I’m glad you like it,” Michael called from the kitchen.

I wandered my way back in to replace him busy chopping vegetables, a pot of water already heating on the stove behind him. I smiled as I took a seat on the barstool across the counter from him.

“I thought you didn’t know how to cook,” I said, remembering the morning after we spent our first night together.

“I’ve been working on a thing or two. I want to keep surprising you,” Michael said with a wink.

“I have to say that there’s nothing sexier than a guy who can cook,” I responded with a little laugh.

“If that’s the case, maybe we should head upstairs right now,” Michael said with a teasing smile.

“We don’t have to go upstairs,” I said with a small smirk.

Before I knew it Michael was around the counter and claiming my mouth with his. His hands slid around my waist, pulling me closer to him. With a small jump, I had my legs wrapped around his waist, and Michael was supporting my weight in his arms. He backed up to the large island, setting me on top of it.

I slid my hands up the front of his shirt, sliding it up and over his chiseled shoulders. Michael’s fingers fumbled with the buttons on the front of my shirt, exposing the black lacy bra underneath. His lips trailed up and down my neck, sending shivers down my spine with each touch.

With a quick tug, Michael slipped my pants and panties off, tossing them forgotten on the kitchen floor. The granite countertops were cold on my bare thighs. Slowly, he worked his way down my body, kissing every inch, until I was nearly panting with the need for him.

I arched my back as Michael’s mouth met the heat between my legs. I couldn’t stop the m**n that escaped my lips as his mouth explored me. I reached out across the counter, desperate for something to grab onto, to ground me in the moment, as Michael brought me closer and closer to my climax.

My fingers settled in his hair, just as I peaked. My legs shook with the intensity, and as Michael emerged, I wrapped my body around his.

It took a few minutes for me to catch my breath while Michael left soft k****s along my jawline.

“That was perfect,” I whispered as his mouth met mine again.

“That’s just a preview of what’s to come, later tonight,” Michael said, his teeth grazing my earlobe.

“Maybe we should skip dinner all together,” I panted.

“You’re going to need your strength,” he teased. “Why don’t you freshen up while I finish dinner?”

Sliding down off the countertop, my legs felt weak holding my weight. I wandered up to our master bedroom and found a silk robe in the walk-in closet. I wrapped it around my body and splashed my face with cold water, before heading back downstairs.

Michael was setting two plates down at the small table I’d picked out for our breakfast nook. He’d lit two candles in the center of the table and dimmed the lights.

“Would you mind grabbing the wine?” he said with a seductive smile.

I was glad to see that he was still shirtless as I grabbed a bottle of red wine and set it in the center of the table.

“This looks absolutely amazing. It seems like you do have a few tricks up your sleeve,” I said, feeling my face flush.

“Anything to keep you happy, my love,” he said, pouring the wine.

“Soon to be your wife,” I reminded him.