Volatile Chemistry (Billionaires' Secrets Book 1) Read Online Free

young. Maybe he thinks she’s too inexperienced?”
    “Or maybe he wants a male heir?”
    Dominic’s brows lowered. “He certainly never had any interest in one before. After denying paternity for thirty-two years he’s suddenly decided to clutch me to his well-clad bosom.”
    “He literally denied paternity?”
    “Yup.” Dominic’s hard-edged expression didn’t falter.
    She couldn’t even imagine what it would be like to have a parent refuse your existence. Her parents had always been her closest friends in the world.
    It hurt so much that her dad was gone. And that her mom was... She took in a deep breath to banish a dangerous surge of emotion. “Did your mother ever try to take him to court?”
    “She tried. She wanted to send me to a decent school. She was hoping to get some money to move us to a better neighborhood or pay for private school. Tarrant’s lawyers got the case thrown out of court.”
    “How did they do that?”
    His jaw hardened. “It was before DNA. They just laughed off the idea that a big shot like Tarrant Hardcastle would be fooling around with an ordinary girl from Brooklyn, and the judge believed him.”
    Bella let out a slow breath. “I’d be mad.”
    Something flickered in his eyes. “Yeah.” He picked up his champagne glass and knocked the rest of it back. “Lucky thing I’ve got better things to worry about, huh?”
    “They do say living well is the best revenge.”
    “Then I guess we’re both getting revenge on someone.” A crooked smile slid across his lips.

 
    Chapter Three
     
    I f you only knew.
    Bella watched silently as the waiter put plates, artfully arranged with their expensive entrees, in front of them and placed another champagne bottle in the bucket of ice.
    Living well didn’t mean a thing if there was a white flame of anger burning inside you. Her father had been so close to fulfilling his dream. After enduring decades of snide laughter from peers and so-called colleagues, he’d finally come within reach of manipulating particles to alter their surface properties.
    Even his fantasy of a cloak of invisibility was no longer a laughing matter.
    Then Tarrant Hardcastle had bullied him into selling his life’s work for a pittance. With his dreams gone, he succumbed to undiagnosed heart disease and was gone within months.
    Her chest tightened. She wouldn’t wish that death on anyone, not even Tarrant Hardcastle. But she would get her father’s work back and make his dream come true.
    She owed it to him.
    A long shadow across the tablecloth jolted her back to reality.
    “Dominic!” Two striking women materialized next to him, one on each side. A statuesque redhead in a tight green number bent to kiss his cheek, while an ebony-skinned beauty in a slinky cream sheath grabbed his hand. “You didn’t tell us you were coming to town. We’ll have to punish you.” Her accent sounded French.
    Dominic put down his fork, rose and gave each girl an intimate kiss on the cheek. Bella stabbed her innocent quail as a wave of irritation rose in her chest.
    Dominic’s dimples appeared. “Bella, I’d like you to meet two of my best clients.”
    Two arms as long as javelins stuck out at her and she shook their perfectly manicured hands. Luckily she managed not to cut herself on the array of sparkling rocks decorating their shapely fingers.
    Dominic introduced them and both their names sounded vaguely familiar. Probably former supermodels.
    As they towered over her, Bella’s contact lenses seemed to morph back into the thick glasses she’d worn as a teen. Her blouse and skirt felt as glamorous as her lab coat. And she’d dared to imagine that Dominic Hardcastle was attracted to her?
    Must be delusional.
    She shoved a loose strand of hair off her forehead. “Nice to meet you. Dominic asked me to show him around Hardcastle Enterprises. He wanted to try the restaurant.” She blushed, suddenly feeling pathetic that she had to explain what a man like Dominic would be