The Billionaire Renegade. Catherine Mann

Benson, waving at her.

      “Hello there,” her friend exclaimed in surprise. “I’m just finishing up volunteering. I thought I wasn’t going to see you today. How’s the new job?”

      “I’m excited about the opportunity.” The words sounded hollow in Felicity’s mouth, making her wonder why she bothered faking emotions with her friends. Back in high school, she’d briefly tried out for a school production of King Lear because her foster mom loved Shakespeare. During the course of her tryouts, Felicity had realized masking her feelings required a lot more work than actors onstage and on-screen made it out to be.

      Strangely, during her work, she’d never had to fake an emotion she didn’t feel. Her deep well of empathy supplied her strength as she moved through the difficult spaces of social work.

      Today, she felt like that high schooler reading lines. The words didn’t match her body’s articulation of apprehension, intrigue.

      “Then why are you frowning?” Tally scrunched her nose.

      Felicity adjusted her lanyard, unable to resist asking, “Did you know that Conrad is reading to the kids in pediatrics?”

      She opted to dodge the question that had too much of a matchmaking vibe. “I’ve heard the family’s charitable foundation has big plans for the hospital.”

      And that level of donation couldn’t be a simple romantic ploy. Renaming a wing involved a significant amount of money. She felt small for having accused him of reading to the kids for show.

      Felicity forced a smile. “The hospital is lucky to have such a generous benefactor.”

      “To be honest, I’m a little overwhelmed by the family. There are so many of them.” And the redhead would certainly know that since not too long ago she’d been hired to help Marshall around the house while he recovered from a broken arm. Now they were a couple. “But the charity foundation has been a rewarding way to get to know them.”

      When the Steele patriarch had married his rival’s widow, the business world had been full of reports about the merger of their two companies and there had been fluctuations in the market with concerns about who would take the helm. There still hadn’t been an official announcement of who would be the CEO for the newly formed Alaska Oil Barons Inc., but she’d heard rumblings they were closing in on a choice.

      “Oh,” Felicity remembered, reaching into her portfolio bag, “I have your letter of recommendation ready.” She had convinced Tally to apply for a scholarship to pursue a degree in social work. The woman was a natural.

      Tally’s smile beamed, her eyes watering. “Thank you.” She took the envelope, sliding it carefully into her purse. “Your support and encouragement means the world to me. I’m afraid to get my hopes up that I’ll get in, much less receive the scholarship.”

      Hope was a scary thing, no question. Felicity remembered too well how difficult it had been to trust in a positive future after her divorce. “I’m rooting for you. Let me know the minute you hear.”

      “I will,” Tally promised, giving her a quick hug. “I should let you go. Let’s do lunch soon and catch up. My treat.”

      “Sounds great. Let’s keep in touch...” Felicity backed away with a smile and a wave before spinning toward her new office. She lifted her key card and swiped her way into the space—all hers with a window of her own. She could see the snowy mountains and make the most of what little daylight there was during an Alaska winter. She still had boxes stacked in the corner, but had started unpacking the most important items first. Starting with a bulletin board of thank-you notes from parents and newly adopted clients, along with a few childishly drawn pictures she’d framed. These meant more to her than any accolades, seeing how her work made life better for children who were helpless.

      She understood the feeling too well.

      Swallowing back a wad of emotion, she searched through the stack of files on her desk until she found the one she was looking for under a brass paperweight, a Texas buffalo. She glanced at the clock and gasped. She needed to get moving.

      She locked her door, then raced down the hall toward the elevator bank, her leather boots scuffing against the tile floor in her speed. Just ahead, an elevator door began to slide close.

      “Wait,” she called. “Please hold that elevator.”

      A hand shot out and the doors bumped back open. Sighing in relief, she angled through sideways.

      “Thank you,” she said breathlessly. “I’m running late for a meeting.”

      A masculine voice chuckled from the other side of the packed elevator.

      A familiar masculine voice.

      She closed her eyes. “Hello, Conrad.”

      What were the odds?

      Gathering her composure, she opened her eyes to find him standing next to a young nurse who was making no effort to hide checking him out. And he gave no acknowledgment to the flirtatious behavior, which Felicity had to admit moved her. He dated widely, but she’d never heard a negative word about him from other women.

      Damn it. She didn’t need these thoughts. “Fifth floor, please.”

      She made a point of reviewing the proposal she wanted to give her boss about a new playlist of music and movies for the children in oncology during treatment time.

      The elevator slid open again and the cluster of occupants departed, leaving Felicity alone with Conrad. It must have been too much to hope for that he would leave too and make this easier on her. Another part of her whispered that his presence shouldn’t bother her this much.

      He stepped up alongside her. “Would you like to go out to dinner?”

      She tucked her papers away. “You’re persistent. I’ll give you that.”

      “Don’t you want to know more about the foundation’s plans for the hospital?”

      She looked up sharply, her gaze colliding with his. A shiver rippled through her as the spicy scent of his aftershave filled her breaths in the small confines of the elevator. Quite simply put, he was yummy, and also offering information she craved.

      “I’m intrigued. But I have to say no thank you to dinner.”

      He chuckled softly.

      “Laughing at me certainly isn’t going to win me over.”

      “Trust me, I’m not laughing at you. You do amuse me, but it’s your wit, which I admire and find sexy as hell.” He grinned at her. “Am I doing better?”

      Sighing, she searched his face, his too-damn-handsome face. “I don’t understand why you’re still pursuing me.”

      “You’re just that amazing.” His eyes held hers again, stirring more of those tingles up and down her spine, making her imagine what it would be like to lean into him, just a hint.

      The elevator doors slid open, the movement and people on the other side jarring her out of her daze. Securing her bag, she stepped forward. There was no denying the attraction between them. That had never been in question.

      Even now, she could swear she felt the warmth of him just behind her. Because she did.

      He’d followed her out of the elevator, on the very floor of her meeting with her boss about an exciting new opportunity. On the very day Conrad had mentioned his family’s charity foundation beginning new endeavors at Anchorage General. With the children. Foreboding swelled through her.

      Gesturing forward, Conrad smiled. “It’s going to be a pleasure working together.”

       Two

      Conrad knew better than to push his luck.

      He