The Billionaire's Pledge Read Online Free PDF Page B

and reaching into his pants pocket to pull out his wallet. “Ought to be one in here somewhere.” He fished around and eventually pulled out a simple white business card, which he handed to her.
    She took it and noticed that it had an exquisite feel, with real embossed lettering in a subtle font. As a designer, she appreciated the effort that had gone into it. But still—how could such a little piece of card stock ooze money? The card read:
     
    Zachary Cushman
    Investor
     
    Followed by a phone number and email address. 
    Savannah stared at the card. Her heart raced. She was afraid to look up, for fear that Zac might see her expression of shock. Zachary Cushman. Zachary Cushman! It must be him, it must be the same Zachary Cushman. Of course it was! No wonder he’d looked familiar: a few years ago he’d sold his photo-sharing company for billions. He’d been all over the tech news as the wunderkind of the moment, the next Zuckerberg, even the next Steve Jobs or Bill Gates. He was practically a celebrity.
    Images flashed through her head of articles she’d seen, stories she’d read about this man. Billionaire. Private jet. Huge yacht. Women. Life in the fast lane. But that had been a couple of years ago, and she didn’t remember seeing much since. 
    Her hand shook. She felt her heart thudding hard. To most women, meeting George Clooney or Brad Pitt would probably be exciting. For Savannah, it was meeting someone like Zachary Cushman. For a long time, she just stared at the card and said nothing.
    “Is something wrong?” he asked.
    She put the card down and brought her eyes back to his. Of course. His face looked so familiar now, from the pictures she’d seen. His hair was longer now, and he had a bit of stubble and looked a little thinner in the face, but it was definitely him. 
    “I—uh, no. I’m fine. You’re, uh, Zachary Cushman.”
    He looked surprised. “Zac, please. You know who I am?”
    “Of course. Doesn’t everybody?”
    “Ha! Not in Hood River. I haven’t been recognized once. And I prefer to keep it that way. The press doesn’t know where I am, thank God.”
    “Sorry,” Savannah said, gulping her latte and almost gagging on it. “I’ve never met a celebrity before.”
    At this, Zac laughed out loud. Savannah felt embarrassed, and glanced around the coffee shop. A woman looked over from her laptop, then went back to whatever she was doing.
    “What?” Savannah asked.
    “I’m not a celebrity. I’m just a guy who got lucky.”
    “Lucky?”
    “All right. Really lucky.”
    She sat and just simply stared at him.
    “You’re making me a bit uncomfortable,” he said. “You still want to do the project, right? Even though you know who I am?”
    “Of course. Why wouldn’t I?”
    “I thought maybe you’d read some of the articles about me. Me and…well, you know.”
    She smiled. She had read the articles, actually. “The women, you mean?”
    He nodded.
    “It’s…uh… a little concerning, yes.” Oh, shit! Had she really said that? “ It’s a little concerning” ?  
    But his expression remained neutral. If he thought she was an idiot who put her foot in her mouth, he didn’t show it. “Which ones did you read? Don’t tell me you read RollingStone.com.”
    She hesitated, then said, “Yep.”
    “Okay, now, that was a bit exaggerated. Only some of that was true.” He smiled. “Well, most of it.”
    Her courage was growing. He seemed so…normal. Open to talking. “What about the part about the Playboy Mansion?”
    He lowered his voice. “Yes. That was all true.” He turned red. “Don’t worry, that’s all in the past. I’m a changed man.”
    Savannah suddenly felt self-conscious. She realized she’d barely combed her hair that morning, and was wearing plain clothes, even schlumpy, truth be told. Was he looking at her chest? Was she just another conquest to him?
    As if reading her mind, he leaned a bit closer across the table. “They reported I had three women up