Page 3 of Untamed Billionaire
In response to the man’s question, Marco turned to the other guests as he said, “Callum doesn’t trade on his title.”
There was an almost audible gasp of outrage at such heresy. “Surely, Laird MacGregor doesn’t reject his birthright!”
Marco chuckled at that. “Callum was born in Scotland, but he has lived here in the United States since he was about fifteen. He traveled to Scotland merely to research his family history. It was only when the Scotts realized who he was that they dumped the title on his shoulders. The castle and lands that used to go along with the title are owned by another man.” Marco didn’t add “for the moment” to that statement. Callum had a plan to regain his home. Very soon, all of the pieces would be in place.
“I’m sure that Laird MacGregor is thrilled with the title, even if he doesn’t use it on a day-to-day basis,” Jocelyn replied, smiling to the guests on her right and left before once again looking towards Marco.
Marco shook his head. “The title is more of a burden than a gift. Too often, people claim friendship with him simply to use the association to further their own social goals.”
Charles chuckled. “I’m sure that Laird MacGregor will do his duty to his family name and use the title when he is ready. It’s what families do.”
There was a general grumbling consensus around the table and the conversation resumed.
Chloe, bless her gentle heart, leaned closer again. “You did extremely well,” she whispered, patting his hand. But the touch seemed to startle her as much as it sent a zinging sensation throughout his own body, ending in his groin. Marco had been battling his attraction to her, but her touch made him realize that she was feeling it too.
“Mr. Hudson,” Jocelyn called out, bringing everyone’s attention back to her. “Perhaps there are some beautiful women I could introduce you to that might entice you to settle here in the Charleston area.” She smiled as if she’d just knighted him.
But Marco understood the unspoken messages; Chloe Forsythe was definitely not one of the beautiful women he was allowed to consider. Chloe wasn’t an option for enticement, and he should settle in the Charleston “area”, not in the historic area of Charleston. Furthermore, she’d just insulted Chloe by not including her in the “beautiful women” category.
Marco hated the bitch for the low blow. Not to himself. Marco was used to people trying to insult him. What they didn’t understand is that he came from the gutters of this world. These gentrified nobodies couldn’t insult him. These people were merely tools he would use for his success. His real friends were genuine, sincere people he could trust. Insulting him was pointless.
However, the bitch had insulted Chloe. He might have only met her an hour ago, but her sweet, gentle smiles and adorable attempts to protect him from disdain had created a bond in his mind. A possessive anger swept over him and he reacted like any other street rat when attacked. He fought back.
He lifted Chloe’s hand and kissed her knuckles, staring into her startled eyes. “I think that the most beautiful woman in Charleston is right here at my side.”
He watched as her lips trembled, unaware of the stunned silence around the table as he tried to share some of his strength with her. He wanted to pull her onto his lap and wrap his arms around her, tell her all of the ways he thought her beautiful. But he also knew that she’d be humiliated if he did that in front of all of these pompous, self-righteous people.
He would wait until a more appropriate time to comfort his woman, he thought.
“Well, that’s just the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard!” a female voice called out. “Chloe, I think you’ve met your first victim!”
Everyone around the table laughed and Chloe blushed, once again hurt by the insinuation that she hadn’t gained the amorous attentions of other men. That other men didn’t find her a femme fatale. She pulled her fingers out of Marco’ grip, hiding her trembling hand under the table.
The soup was brought in and Marco endured the pointless course. Unfortunately, now that the others knew that he had “connections” within the European aristocracy, they were eager to converse with him. He responded politely to their conversational gambits, but his focus was on Chloe.
Her own mother didn’t think she was worthy! Good grief, Chloe wasn’t sure how to handle this latest insult. She tried to sip the soup, but her hand was trembling too much for her to manage the spoon with any grace. If she tried, Chloe was fairly certain that she’d drip the soup onto her lap. Since Chloe didn’t have another outfit to wear tonight, she simply smiled and fiddled with the spoon, pretending to eat as she conversed with the others across the table or to her right. Now that it was revealed that Marco was friends with a Scottish lord and an Italian vintner, everyone wanted to speak with him. Once again, that left Chloe floundering for conversation, feeling awkward when…
“What do you think?”
Chloe’s head jerked up and she turned to Marco. “I’m sorry?” she asked, startled that he would include her in the conversation.
“The new House bill on green energy?” he prompted. “Your brother thinks investments should remain safely on the side of fossil fuels since the infrastructure is in place already.”
Chloe blinked, shocked that Marco would ask her opinion on something relating to business.
“Oh, Chloe’s not very wise to anything beyond finding her next cocktail dress,” Steven teased, adding in a wink towards his sister before taking another gulp of his bourbon. “Isn’t that right, sis?”
Chloe refrained from rolling her eyes at Steven’s attempt to diminish her knowledge. Instead, she straightened her shoulders and said, “Actually, I think that investing in green energy is a very wise decision. There won’t be a large increase in profits for another five to twelve years, but back in nineteen seventy-five, no one had ever heard of Microsoft or Bill Gates. Anyone who was smart enough to buy their stock when it initially went public are quite well off these days. Or one could look at the case of Apple. That company’s stock started at twenty-two dollars back in nineteen eighty. If someone bought stock say…a mere ten years ago…that stock would be worth well over ten million dollars today.” She looked at several stunned expressions, smiling calmly. “Green energy is going to happen. Anyone who doesn’t think so should merely remember that a lot of people thought that computers were a fad when they first came out.”
She closed her mouth and took a sip of her wine. She dared to look at Marco, wondering what he thought of her business acumen. She almost choked on her wine when she noticed the admiration in his startling blue eyes and the hint of a smile underneath that dark beard. Carefully, she set her wine glass back down, once again folding her hands under the table. Ten years ago, she hadn’t told anyone that she’d sold her sixteenth birthday present, a beautiful set of pearls, in order to buy stock in Apple.
“Did you learn that in finishing school?” Steven sneered.
There was a long silence at the table as everyone shifted uncomfortably. Chloe didn’t lower her head this time. She was sick of being humiliated. Especially by her family, who should protect her and support her. Not take jabs at her during a formal dinner party.
“I would have thought that you might have learned that during your years at Harvard, Steven,” she replied smoothly.
Steven’s glass froze halfway to his mouth and he stopped to glare at Chloe. But she merely smiled and picked up her spoon. Steven had been kicked out of Harvard. He hadn’t been able to maintain the grades in order to remain in business school. He’d had to come back home with his tail between his legs. He’d managed to get into the University of South Carolina, where he rediscovered his network of high school friends. Chloe suspected that he’d cheated his way through that university’s curriculum, just as he’d cheated his way through high school, paying other students to write his papers and paying another person to sit for the college entrance exams.
