Saving rhodes, p.1
Saving Rhodes, page 1
Table of Contents
Books by Aliyah Burke
Title Page
Legal Page
Title Page
Book Description
Dedication
Trademark Acknowledgements
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
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About the Author
Totally Bound Publishing books by Aliyah Burke
Single Books
Through The Fire
Seducing Damian
Code of Honour
A Marriage of Convenience
The Lieutenant’s Ex-Wife
A Man Like No Other
When Stars Collide
In Aeternum
Casanova in Training
Harbour of Refuge
Protected by Shadows
Polar Opposites
Theta Corps
Restitution
Contrition
Vindication
Interludes
Temporary Home
Alone With You
Till We Ain’t Strangers Anymore
The Edge
Called Home to The Edge
Straying to The Edge
Returning to The Edge
Cuffed at The Edge
The Monroe Sisters
Need You Now
Let Me Go
I Won’t Say Goodbye
Heart’s Compass
The Princess and the Marquess
Flight of the Hawk
The Earl’s Spark
Keeper of the Stars
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
Part Five
Astral Guardians
Chasing the Storm
Highlands at Dawn
Fields of Thunder
Branded by Frost
Driven by Night
Moon of Fire
Family Forever
Don’t You Wanna Stay?
Love and Moonshine
First You Dream
What’s her Secret?
Preconception
A Little Bit Cupid
This Ain’t No Love Story
My Bloody Valentine
Perfect Duet
With Taige Crenshaw
Single Title
Unbreakable Bonds
Kemet Uncovered
Talios
Devi
Linc
Saffron
Taber
Ashia
Billionaire Brothers
SAVING RHODES
ALIYAH BURKE
Saving Rhodes
ISBN # 978-1-83943-695-6
©Copyright Aliyah Burke 2023
Cover Art by Kelly Martin ©Copyright May 2023
Interior text design by Claire Siemaszkiewicz
Totally Bound Publishing
This is a work of fiction. All characters, places and events are from the author’s imagination and should not be confused with fact. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, events or places is purely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form, whether by printing, photocopying, scanning or otherwise without the written permission of the publisher, Totally Bound Publishing.
Applications should be addressed in the first instance, in writing, to Totally Bound Publishing. Unauthorised or restricted acts in relation to this publication may result in civil proceedings and/or criminal prosecution.
The author and illustrator have asserted their respective rights under the Copyright Designs and Patents Acts 1988 (as amended) to be identified as the author of this book and illustrator of the artwork.
Published in 2023 by Totally Bound Publishing, United Kingdom.
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the authors’ rights. Purchase only authorised copies.
Totally Bound Publishing is an imprint of Totally Entwined Group Limited.
If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the publisher and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book”.
SAVING RHODES
Book one in the
Billionaire Brothers series
When work reunites them, can he make it last forever?
Billionaire Livingston Rhodes hasn’t been able to let go of the memory of his one-night stand months ago, even if her face is a blur. Surrounded by scandal involving his younger brother, he brings in a forensic accountant to help uncover the truth. Despite his own attraction, he is determined to keep his eye on the ball.
Daisy Wentz is in New Orleans for work. The last thing she expected was to run into the man she’d had a steamy night with in Seattle. The night had been unforgettable…to her. He, on the other hand, looks her straight in the eye and doesn’t remember her. At all.
What’s going to happen when she accomplishes what she was called there for, especially once he realizes his attraction to her isn’t brand new, but because he does know her?
Will they have a second chance at a happily ever after?
Dedication
Thank you to all those with the odd jobs. The ones who are overlooked or looked down upon. Head up loves, you are appreciated!
Trademark Acknowledgements
The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the following wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction:
(Kentucky) Derby: Churchill Downs Incorporated
Transitions: Transitions Optical, Inc.
Ninja Assassin: Dark Castle Entertainment, Legendary Pictures, Silver Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures
Café du Monde: H.N. Fernandez, Inc.
The Wizard of Oz: L. Frank Baum
LoJack: Calamp Wireless Networks
The Grinch: Dr. Seuss Enterprises L.P.
KitchenAid: Whirlpool Corporation
Glenlivet 18: The Glenlivet Distillery
Chapter One
“Sit your ass right there, Bradford. Damn it, I’ll get to you and this most current clusterfuck in a second.” Livingston Rhodes raked a hand through his short spiked hair as he paced the wide expanse of his office, wishing he was anywhere but here. And now. Noting his younger brother had listened, he focused back on the man he was in the middle of a conversation with at that moment. Gareth Ericsson.
“I can just email you the accountant’s information, man. Sounds like you have a few other things on your plate.” The man’s low, smooth tone slid effortlessly over the line. Gareth was much less uptight since he’d found his woman.
Livingston turned his back on the large, polished, handcrafted oak desk to the massive window overlooking his city, New Orleans, and shook his head. “Please.” He wasn’t in the right headspace for this, wouldn’t be until he got his brother out of town for a while. And he sure as hell wasn’t in the mood for the holiday that was heading toward them.
Christmas.
Bah humbug.
“I’ll have it to you by the end of the day. I just want to say one thing.”
Gareth’s tone drew his focus like a shark picking up on blood in the water. “Which is?”
“She’s young, but don’t let that sway you. She’s a fucking rockstar at what she does.”
Livingston frowned. A woman? A young woman? Exactly the last thing he needed was a young female coming in to try to fix the mess. Other than maybe two women he was used to them doing whatever they could to get their hands on the fortune surrounding the Rhodes name. At least, that was where his gut was directing him. Until he got to the bottom of everything, all he had was conjecture.
“Gareth.”
“She’s not going to be like other women around you, Livingston. Single-minded focus is what this woman is about. She’s like you, but cuter and, I have to say, a lot more deadly.”
He watched a city worker hoist a Christmas direction up on a street lamp before the truck moved slowly on to the next. “Cuter? Since when do you notice women? I thought Xandra was the only woman for you.”
Cutting his gaze to the large flatscreen on the wall, which ran stocks most of the day, he noticed the weatherman talking about an early winter storm wreaking havoc over the Rockies. Dumping ungodly amounts of snow and sleet and taking power from thousands.
“She is. I know Daisy because of my Xandra. Red had her come here and check out our books after we had an accounting concern.”
After ensuring his brother remained seated—he was currently scrolling through his phone—Livingston faced the window once more, needing to do one thing at a time. “How come I didn’t hear about it?”
“Not a lot of people did. She came in, worked her magic and nailed down the who, how, when of the problem. After that, we handled it.”
Livingston grinned at the danger in his friend’s tone. They were so alike it was scary. They’d become unlikely friends and, despite their fathers’ attempts to keep running their lives and dictating who they could hang out with, they’d endured. The re weren’t a lot of people that he trusted who traveled in their social circle, but Gareth was one. Perhaps the one, aside from his brothers and his best mate, Eli.
“I’ll look for the email. Give that wife of yours a kiss for me.”
“Fuck you, man. Your lips aren’t touching my Red.” There was humor in Gareth’s tone. Mostly. “Daisy Wentz is her name, and it’ll be in your inbox before the end of the day.”
“I appreciate it, Gareth.”
“Always, my man. You need anything, you let me know.”
He was gone.
One crisis having been dealt with, Livingston pulled the earbud from his ear and dropped it on his desk as he turned back to face his middle brother, Bradford.
His brother put away his phone and stood. “I swear I didn’t do this, man.”
“I know. You have no reason to steal from me, you have enough of your own money. But someone”—he took a deep breath and forced himself to unclench his fist—“is making it look that way.”
Livingston was desperate to know who had fucked not just with his business, but also with his brother.
“Thanks for believing in me. I know it’s not easy, especially with Dad being his usual charming self.” Bradford pushed his hands in his pockets, rocking back on his heels.
Livingston rolled his shoulders then took a seat. “I think you should get out of the line of fire for a while as the investigation goes on.”
A disbelieving snort left his brother. “So after that shit you just spewed, you still don’t honestly think I’m innocent in this. You believe that this is my fault, that I would actually be dumb enough and assholish enough to steal from you.”
“That’s not what I’m saying, at all. I’m not in the habit of saying things I don’t mean, and I don’t think you did this. I do think it prudent you take your face out of the limelight for a while.”
Bradford’s expression grew pinched, full of tension, as he shoved his hands through his dark-brown hair. His eyes, normally a soft dove gray, were steely and harsh. Anger burned in them, alive and hungry.
“Fuck you, Livingston. Just because I don’t want to run a casino doesn’t mean I’m a fuckup.”
Damn it! That’s not what he’d meant, not at all. “Fuckup? No. Impetuous? Yes. And moody as fuck. I’m on your side, Bradford.” He rested his hands on the desktop.
“Funny-ass way of showing it.” Hands up in front of him, Bradford moved back to the door. “You want me gone, fine. I’ll be so far gone you can’t find me.” He whipped around and stormed from the room, slamming the door behind him.
“Fuck!” Livingston banged a fist on the thick desk, wincing at the sting of pain that radiated up his arm.
That wasn’t how he’d wanted it to go. He was trying to protect his brother. Did he need it? No, but hell, Livingston had been doing it for both brothers as long as he could remember. Getting between their father and them to take the blows. It was instinctive for him, like breathing.
He could use a vacation.
That shit ain’t happening.
His casino, The Empire, flourished here in NOLA, however he was in the process of getting a riverboat one ready as well. This shit with his brother being implicated in embezzlement had put a huge dent in those plans.
And he wasn’t a patient man, didn’t like delays. But he could use a vacation. Of course, not being a man who indulged in them, they weren’t common. He had had one three months ago, but that had been more of a delay in travel.
His lips twitched as he remembered the night he’d spent with a woman in the bar of a hotel before heading up to his room with her. She hadn’t known him from Adam, hadn’t been interested in anything but sex. Livingston had been all for it.
Waking alone had frustrated him, for he’d wanted to start all over and redo their night together. But it hadn’t been meant to be. She had been gone and all he’d had were the memories.
If he had someone like that around, he may be less inclined to work the long hours he did.
Gareth had just laughed at him when he’d told his friend about his one-night stand. Reminding him that’s how he and Red had met, he’d said to stay positive, she could come back into his life.
He doubted it. He wasn’t sure why a woman he’d met in Seattle would run into him in New Orleans. He wasn’t in the dating scene, and after seeing what had happened to some of the men who traveled in his circles when they did go in that pool, he wasn’t ready to get in.
Sure, there were always going to be people who wanted him for what he could do for them. He was a fucking billionaire. But deep down, in the parts he wouldn’t publicly acknowledge, he wanted something like Gareth had. A woman at his side who loved him for him, not his money. Someone who would have his back no matter what.
The circles he ran in didn’t generate that kind of person. Not that he’d met anyway.
His computer dinged and he stole another look at the television, shaking his head at the ticker stating how much worse the storm was going to get. Losing power in summer was one thing, but during winter with snow and the cold… He was glad he wasn’t there. This Winter Storm Ellis wasn’t going to be anything to ignore. He turned away. They had winter storms, he had hurricanes. Everyone had something.
Opening the email from Gareth, he scanned the information he’d sent over on Daisy Wentz. Whistling at what he read, he immediately picked up his phone and reached out to get her to come here so she could untangle all the threads and thorns that had wrapped around his business.
* * * *
Daisy Wentz flattened her lips as she stared up at the door leading to her next appointment. The Empire. One of the most popular casinos in New Orleans, or so the rumor went. Men and women, both casually dressed and those wearing their finest, moved in and out of the doors like they were in Vegas.
Hell, for some this was as close as they were going to get. Personally, she had no use for a casino—the odds always favored the house and she wasn’t on board with tossing away her hard-earned money. On the other hand, she didn’t condemn them.
Apathetic would be the way to describe how I feel about these places.
Turning her right wrist so she could see the narrow face of her watch with its silver filagree arms designating the time, she took a deep breath. Only to immediately regret it. Not that it was horrible, but there were an awful lot of perfumes and colognes intermixed with the city scents.
She would have to do some exploring while she was here. If she agreed to the job after meeting Mr. Rhodes. Smoothing a hand down the curve of her hip over her purple suit coat, she walked to the door, steps brisk and businesslike.
The security guard at the door eyed both her and the briefcase she carried and shifted to position himself in her path. His dark-gray suit coat fit him like a glove and the slacks he wore completed the outfit. If his intent was to both blend and look intimidating, it worked.
“I’m sorry, ma’am, you can’t take that briefcase inside.”
“I have a meeting with Mr. Rhodes in five minutes. I need the briefcase for that. If you could call up to him and let him know Ms. Wentz is here.”
She wasn’t a fan of confrontations, but she knew her worth with regards to her job. If Livingston Rhodes wanted her to help him, he damn sure would let her in with her things.
Blue eyes roved over her and she knew what he saw. And as was the case with most men, she was found lacking. She wasn’t a beauty by any means. There were curves, not like her adopted sisters had, but she’d spent a few years malnourished and she wasn’t ever going to be like some. Not that she was ugly, she just didn’t command men’s attention by walking into a room. Worked for her, though. She’d spent her growing-up years trying not to be the center of attention.
Following his wordless gesture, she trailed him to a phone by the door and grasped the leather handle of her Buccio Ragusa briefcase with both hands. A gift from her adopted family, it even had her initials monogramed on the left corner of the flap. Outwardly, she presented calm—inside was a completely different story.
