The Billionaire Playboy's Regret (Lark and Max)

Lark was listening to Heriberto as he regaled them with stories of things, he'd caught Ollie and Santiago engaging in when they were a couple a few years ago and Lark couldn't help but laughing at his storytelling.

Max was on his second drink and growing more despondent with each sip. When he spoke, she knew it was going to be something antagonistic and he didn't disappoint.

"I want to know," he tilted his glass at Heriberto, "how it is you know so much about what goes on in my family's business. For example, who stays in my father's hotel? You're acting all charming and cordial, as you called it, but I don't find it all very friendly for you to have inside information."

"Do you know who is in the penthouse?" Heriberto held Max's gaze. "I'm going to guess no because you do not work with or for your father. Do you know who does?" He lifted his first finger and pointed upwards, "Santiago does. Who do you think arranged the transport for a crown prince from a small European nation who happens to be close friends with your father? Your father, or more importantly, Riggs, uses my family for the business."

Max's jaw opened and then he frowned, "no way."

"Yes. Funny story," he gave a chuckle as if genuinely enjoying surprising Max, "if Olivia hadn't decided to take things into her own hands, who do you think Riggs would have called to clean up your mess Max? Our services are incredibly discreet." He jerked two thumbs at his chest. "This guy. See we get hired a lot by the wealthy people to clean up their s**t. The guy in the presidential suite messed up in a casino your dad likes to attend. The guy f****d up when he got back to his room and caught his wife f*****g her lover and it got physical. He called us, we cleared it with Olivier to move him here and since he's a prince, your dad put him here under strict orders not to leave. We happened to be coming here to check on him when we caught sight of you this morning heading to your meeting."

Lark sat back incredulously. "No way!"

"Right? Tell me fate doesn't exist and I'll point you in the direction of the room where my brother is currently trying to convince the love of his life they were meant to be."

"Does Ollie know?"

"No. We don't go around announcing to families who we work with. I'm telling you Max because we're going to be brothers-in-law to an extent."

"Never going to happen." Max refuted.

"Do not doubt my brother's love for Olivia. He was patient with her. She was hurting following the loss of their child. He gave her the space he knew she needed to heal but now she reached out and made contact, she sealed her fate. He purposefully messed up our dealing with Doug to ensure she reached out a second time and it worked. He wants her back and he will have her."

"She won't be a mistress to a married man." Lark argued.

Heriberto leaned sideways as if sharing a confidence, "Miss Hoffman, do you really think my brother would marry anyone other than the woman of his dreams. None of the wedding was legal. It's a farce. Right now, my brother is explaining to Olivia how to preserve the life of our sister, he faked a marriage as a business transaction. It has taken nearly two years for us to get a bead on where his so-called bride's family took her. We finally found her, ironically enough, the day before your ex got his lights punched out by Max. At this moment, she is being rescued and then the family which has been extorting ours is going to pay their dues.'

"s**t," Max rubbed his hand over his mouth. "She really believes he married another woman."

"Had to make it believable," Heriberto shrugged. "He couldn't put her at risk more than he did. They took our sister, imagine what they'd do to the love of his life. They concocted a story about a long-term betrothal, but it was all bullshit." He looked at Lark and winked, "you're not the only one who wishes to keep her safe."

It dawned on her if Ollie simply talked to him back then instead of running away, she would not be hurting as much as she was. Lark sighed, "she really needs to learn to communicate.

"They both do. Bad tempers the pair of them," Heriberto clinked his glass to hers and sipped it. He turned to Jonah, "and you. What is your story? What made you follow these firecrackers to Houston?" "Support for Lark. She is my friend."

"You keep saying it, but you spent twelve years not speaking too?"

"We talked and saw each other once in awhile but not as much as we should have." He smiled at her, "I missed her. We played paintball last weekend and I can't remember the last time I laughed so much. I realized then how I let them get in the way."

"No girlfriend?"

"Nope. Thought I might have been able to connect with this woman, but it's not working out."

"A cowgirl," Lark made wide eyes at Johan. "She isn't good enough for you, Johan."

"Tell me about it," he said bitterly as he sipped his drink.

"What did she do?" Heriberto pushed.

"I told her I wasn't interested. Her ex works on her family's ranch. She insisted they were over, but I couldn't get my head around her working with him all the time. She then begged me to give her another chance. Said she felt the chemistry with me and so she and I have been talking and texting every day. This morning, I video called her pretty early while I was in the gym. I wanted to catch her before she started her morning chores as she calls them. She answered the video, but her camera was flipped the wrong way. She didn't flip it fast enough, but I caught him slipping out of the bedroom."

"Maybe he was giving her a wake-up call?" Heriberto offered sympathetically. "Chores do start quite early on a farm." "Naked? Who gives naked wake up calls? She wasn't dressed either." He exhaled. "I feel pretty stupid. She said it was a mistake. She was jealous of me being here with Lark and Ollie since I said we were all having a sleepover in Lark's room to give her support last night. I can't be with a person like her. If you're not in, you're not in, you know? I mean I was good for it to be over Saturday and Sunday she was begging me to go on more dates.'"

i

"I do know," Heriberto nodded. "I wouldn't want to chase anyone still stuck on someone else. Tell me Lark, are you still hurting over Douglas? I must say when he applied to a job posting in our company in Laredo, thought he was joking. I truly wondered if the guy was f*****g with us, but it turns out he's simply really stupid. He's applying for jobs all over the state and he literally applied to the company of the security firm which threatened him to keep his mouth shut. I want to believe he thought because it was in another city we couldn't be the same group but I'm more inclined to believe he is stupid."

"The Laredo family has a business in Laredo?"

"Where do you think we took our name from?"

"Wait, your name isn't really Laredo?"

"It is now." He smirked. "It's been on our identification since we were very small boys."

"Huh. You're just out here spilling all the family secrets," Max tossed back the rest of his drink.

"One phone call to your friend Riggs and he would tell you all this himself. Riggs and my father are old friends. I'm only sharing what details get shared with our most important clients. When Olivia hired us to deal with your friend," He gave a half nod at Lark, "it meant we are in business with you now." Heriberto's phone buzzed in his pocket, and he took it out and groaned. "It seems the prince in the penthouse is causing a ruckus. I need to go sort him out. Can I trust the three of you to leave Santiago and Olivia to sort out their differences or do I need to have my men come sit with you and keep you company?" "We're fine," Johan gave the pair a hard glance. "We are going to let Ollie work her s**t out without us rescuing her this time."

"I don't want to go in there anyway," Lark made a face, "I have a feeling they aren't clothed right now." "It's only been forty-five minutes," Max made a face.

"She almost climbed him in the bar, and it was under twenty minutes." Lark sighed. "That kind of s**** tension is hard to resist."

Heriberto finished his drink, "if you two don't work out," he wiggled his finger between Lark and Max, "call me. I won't resist the s**** tension and I promise you will never cry a day in your life from anything I've done."

"Could you f**k off somewhere?" Max blurted out angrily.

Johan laughed as Heriberto slapped Max on the shoulder and walked away.

"I hate that guy," Max muttered as he flagged the bartender for another drink.

"Max, it's barely four o'clock. You're on drink number three. Your heart might have been playing up when we were upstairs." Lark gave him a side eye.

"I'm fine." He looked to Johan who also asked for a third drink. "Are you okay?"

"Yes. Some things aren't meant to be. I thought I felt a connection with her you know but she's stuck in the past with the guy who is hanging around."

"How can we help?" Lark asked quietly. "What can we do to help you?" Lark rested her head on Johan's shoulder.

He hugged her, "this, right here, sitting with me and letting me vent is all I need. Though," he gave her a look, "I think today has been pretty emotional for you as well, huh?"

"It has," she nodded and then noted her father and Bobbie coming into the lounge and she sighed as she took in her father's appearance. "I have a feeling it's only going to get worse."