Cruel Debt (Indebted to the Billionaire #1)

Chapter 1

LENA

As soon as the elevator doors opened, I dashed behind one of the stone columns that supported the grand multi-story ceiling of the main lobby.

Peeking around the edge, I made sure my father wasn’t lurking before I made my way across the room, rushing past the fountain near the hotel entry toward the restaurant on the other side.

I gave the hostess a quick wave as I slipped past her toward the kitchens.

“Hey Ratty!” I greeted my favorite line cook as he lifted a basket of fresh fries from the fryer. My mouth watered. Oil dripped from the crispy bits of golden potato goodness.

“Right on time, Lena.” Ratty winked and dumped the fries into a giant metal bowl, tossing them with salt and herbs.

He grabbed a plate, scooped up a generous heap, and topped it with an avalanche of cheese.

A quick wipe of the plate’s edge, and he slid it across the stainless steel prep bench toward me.

I popped a steaming hot fry into my mouth and groaned, my eyes rolling back. Ratty did it again. His name was actually Patrick, but the kitchen staff called him Ratty because he resembled the rat from Ratatouille. He took it as a compliment.

“Two lobster bisques, three everything burgers, one medium rare, one well-done with extra fries!” called out one of the waitresses.

Ratty wiped his hands on the white apron tied around his waist. “Run along now. Your father will have my head if he sees that plate.”

I gave him two thumbs up and let him get back to work with a wave of thanks. Holding my plate of delicious treasure close, I tried not to draw attention to myself as I made my way back to the elevators.

After his last doctor’s visit put the fear of mortality into my father, he’d gone on a health kick and forbidden anything fried or containing cholesterol from our apartment kitchen.

One week into his new diet, I was already sick of flavorless everything-free health food.

I was ready to rob the nearest pizza joint and dive face-first into a greasy pepperoni pizza.

The elevator doors opened with a ding just as I approached. I slipped inside. The elevator man pressed the button for the second floor, and the doors closed in front of us. He gave my plate a knowing look, the corner of his lip twitching, but I knew he wouldn’t give away my secret.

The elevator doors opened on the second floor. I poked my head out and peered down both sides of the hallway. To the left was my father’s office. To the right, the spa where Sophie worked. The hallway was empty. I scurried to the spa and flipped the door sign to CLOSED behind me.

Mission accomplished. Home free with my smuggled goods.

I held up my plate as an offering as I entered.

“Ooh, that smells divine. Hand it over.” Sophie made grabbing motions toward my fries before I’d even sat down.

“That’s it? Not even a hello?”

Sophie raised an eyebrow and waved a fry at me in mock salute. She’d worked at the hotel spa as a masseuse for nearly two decades, since before my mother died. In that time, she’d become something like a surrogate older sister, guiding me through my awkward teenage years in ways my father couldn’t.

The spa was one of the quieter areas of the hotel where we could chat without being disturbed. Everything was by appointment and restricted to guests only, from massages and facials to soaks in the hot spring pools.

Sophie headed to the drinks cart and started the tea kettle. “Chamomile or mint today?”

“Chamomile. I need some calming vibes.”

“Coming right up.” She plopped a tea bag into each cup and topped them off with boiling water.

“Thanks.” I took the cup of fragrant tea gratefully and sipped.

“Have you and Joe decided what you’re going to do once you leave for Huntington Harbor?”

I shoved another fry in my mouth and sighed.

This was going to be my last year at home before college in the fall.

I’d taken two gap years after high school, telling myself I needed time to figure out what I wanted to do with my life.

The truth was, I still didn’t know. But Papa had finally put his foot down about me “drifting,” so Huntington Harbor it was.

He had a private jet, so I could fly home to Paradise Peaks on holidays and breaks, but my relationship with Joe was a whole other matter.

“I don’t know.” I dragged a fry along the plate, mopping up the seasoning. “I’m not opposed to a long distance relationship, but Joe’s getting anxious. He wants more. I can feel it.”

Joe’s family ran an investment firm in Paradise Peaks, and he was being trained to take over from his father. Trips to visit me at school would be impossible. As it was, he was already pressuring me to sleep with him as a test of my commitment.

Sophie set down her tea and fixed me with a look. “Define ‘more.’”

I stared at my fries. “He says if I really loved him, I’d want to. That I’m being a tease by making him wait.” The words tasted sour coming out. “He brought up prom again. How I wouldn’t go back to his place after. Like I owe him something.”

“You don’t owe him a damn thing.” Sophie’s voice sharpened. “Your body, your choice. Full stop.”

“I know that. Logically.” I picked at a piece of cheese.

“But sometimes I wonder if there’s something wrong with me.

All my friends have already… you know. And here I am, twenty years old, and the thought of it just…

” I trailed off, not sure how to explain the knot that formed in my stomach whenever Joe’s hands wandered too far.

“There’s nothing wrong with you, Lena.” Sophie reached over and squeezed my hand. “Some people need to feel safe first. Need to trust someone completely. That’s not a flaw. That’s wisdom.”

“What if I never feel that way about anyone?”

Sophie laughed softly. “Oh, honey. When the right person comes along, you’ll know. Your whole body will know. It won’t feel like pressure or obligation. It’ll feel like a question you can’t wait to answer.”

I wasn’t sure I believed her, but I wanted to.

“You don’t have to do anything unless you’re sure. If he loves you, he’ll wait.” She pointed a fry at me. “Remember, you hold the power here. Who knows? Maybe you’ll meet some other guy at that fancy school. Plenty of rich fish in the sea.”

I felt my cheeks warm. Sophie knew I was a virgin. I’d thought I wanted Joe to be my first, but now that time was running out, I was getting cold feet.

Not for the first time, I wished I could be as strong and sure of my convictions as Sophie.

Her fiery red hair, threaded with silver at the temples, was pinned up in an elegant French twist. People often mistook her for being in her thirties, but she’d confessed to me once that she was closer to fifty.

Good genes and better skincare, she’d said with a wink.

Next to her effortless elegance, I felt like an unkempt schoolgirl.

We finished our fries, leaving not even a bit of cheese on the plate. Despite wanting to stay for the latest gossip she’d heard from her clients, I left Sophie so she could prepare for her next appointment.

While I waited for the elevator, I pulled out my phone and checked for missed messages.

Joe had been running hot and cold lately. Another glacial phase, apparently. Our relationship was like the Titanic, approaching a hidden iceberg. Or maybe it had already crashed, and we were sinking into frigid depths.

The only text was from Clara, my cousin and best friend.

Sorry I missed your birthday. :( We closed the deal ahead of schedule so I’ll be back from Paris soon. Let me know when you’re free, and I’ll throw you a belated birthday party!

A shout came from the direction of my father’s office. Then something that sounded like glass shattering. I put away my phone, all thoughts of my birthday pushed aside.

More angry shouting. I recognized my father’s voice, but not the male voice that responded.

I crept toward the office, stepping gently so they wouldn’t hear my approach. Once I was close enough, I pressed my ear to the door and held my breath.

“Nothing you say will change my mind,” my father said.

“You will regret this, Hughes.” The stranger’s voice was calm. Cool. But something underneath made my skin prickle. A dangerous promise wrapped in silk.

The door flew open.

I jumped back just in time to avoid falling on my face. My father stepped out, and panic swept across his features when he saw me.

“Lena, darling! What are you doing here?”

I hugged him and gave him a peck on the cheek. I noticed the stress lines on his forehead and at the corners of his eyes. My father looked old. Frail.

“I was bored, so I came down to talk to Sophie.”

A tall man with dark hair stepped out of the office behind my father.

He went completely still when he saw me. Not the stillness of surprise. The stillness of a predator sighting prey. No fidgeting, no shifting weight. Just absolute, unnatural motionlessness. Even his chest didn’t seem to move with breath.

His eyes found mine. For a split second, something surfaced in their depths. A flash of gold, gone so fast I must have imagined it. A trick of the hallway lighting.

Predatory intensity radiated from the way he looked at me. His towering figure seemed to fill the hallway, to swallow the air around him. Every instinct in my body screamed at me to step back, so I did.

He noticed. The corner of his mouth twitched. Not quite a smile. More like a wolf watching a rabbit freeze.

“Lena, this is Raphael Antonov, a business associate.”

His nostrils flared slightly as he breathed in. Assessing me? Dismissing me? Something about it felt oddly intimate, like he was taking in more than just air. Like he was cataloging my scent, filing it away for future reference.

“I heard you’re twenty now, Lena. Happy belated birthday.” Something about the way my name rolled off his tongue felt like a caress and a threat at the same time. His voice dropped lower, meant only for me. “Such a significant age. So many… possibilities opening up.”