One Last Mistake: A Billionaire Romance (The Ironwood Billionaire Series Book 3)

by Ellie Danes

  That didn't mean that she hadn't been on my mind, though. No, quite the opposite. It felt as if the attraction I felt toward her was only getting stronger and stronger.

  I had actually gone out one night to a few bars, looking to take a woman home with me. I figured another sexual diversion might help me get my mind off Meredith.

  That had been a failure, though. I hadn't picked up a single girl – not because I had been unsuccessful but because as soon as I had started trying to flirt with anyone, thoughts of Meredith came into my head, and that pretty much made me lose interest in whatever girl I was talking to.

  I wasn't sure what to do about this. I mean, should I go on as I was, and just hope and pray that my brain would eventually stop thinking about her? Should I talk to her about these feelings I had for her, about the fact that I couldn't get her out of my head?

  While I was sitting at my desk thinking about all this stuff, my phone rang. It was Linda.

  “Someone's here to see you, Kyle.”

  “Who is it?” I asked.

  “You'll see in a minute.”

  “All right.” I trusted Linda not to send in anyone who didn’t belong here.

  Shortly after this, there was a knock on my door.

  “Come in,” I said.

  The door opened and my dad walked in, beaming a great, wide smile at me. “Well,” he said, “you're looking mighty comfy in my old office!”

  I stood up and smiled, walking over to give him a hug and a handshake.

  “It's a great office,” I said. “I've got some big shoes to fill but I'm doing my best.”

  He chuckled. “And your best seems to be more than adequate, son. I've been keeping a close eye on things, and profits are really rising. You're doing a fantastic job, surpassing all of my expectations.”

  “Thanks, Dad. I can't take all the credit, though. A lot of the success has been driven by Meredith's marketing campaigns.”

  He nodded. “Yes, I've been following her campaigns closely. What an asset to this company she's proved to be, eh?”

  “Indeed.”

  He walked around his office for a few minutes, examining everything. I had kept a few things the same but had changed a lot of it. He had spent many years in this office, and seeing it different like this was probably strange for him.

  “There's something I want to talk to you about,” he said suddenly, changing the topic.

  “Yeah, of course. What is it?”

  “When are you going to settle down, Kyle?”

  I sighed. He had been bugging me about this for years now. “I told you, Dad, when I find the right girl.”

  “It'll do wonders for your public image if you settle down and get married and have a kid or two. A lot of the shareholder scare a month ago was because of how you're perceived, you know. They think you're an arrogant playboy who only cares about chasing tail and spending cash. And while we've pretty much recovered from that, your image is still a bit of a sore point. By settling down with a young lady, by getting married and becoming a family man, you could totally erase those fears. You need to do this, Kyle. For me, for the company... and for yourself, of course.”

  “Dad, I can't just go out and find some random woman and get married. It's not that simple.”

  “You know what,” he said. “Sometimes it is. You've been messing around with these airhead models and actresses for far too long now. You need to stop this and get serious. Do you hear me, son? You're the CEO now. You're the man in charge. And it's time to start acting like a man, not a spoiled boy. It's time to start acting like a real man in all areas of your life.”

  Chapter 11

  Meredith

  Wow, I couldn't help but be amazed at how fast my first month of the job had gone by. Being so busy had a lot to do with it. Since starting here, I had been swamped with work, and I’d had to fix a lot of my predecessor's mistakes and oversights as well.

  It had been a good thing, and a bad thing. Bad because I hadn’t been getting enough sleep and hadn't really been able to see Ella, and now I was feeling pretty run down. Good because the work itself was immensely satisfying, and because I was doing so well. I really felt myself growing as a person, learning new things, and achieving success. It was great. For this reason alone, I had no regrets about taking the job.

  There was another thing though, and that was the situation with Kyle. He and I hadn't seen much of each other during this first month. He seemed to have been in the office very infrequently, and I’d heard he had been on several business trips across the country.

  And, I was kind of ashamed to say, when I heard about those trips, I had a few unpleasant thoughts about him hooking up with other women in distant cities. It was ridiculous, of course, and embarrassing to feel this sense of jealousy for a man who wasn't my boyfriend, and who I didn't even want to be my boyfriend.

  Well, that's what my brain was saying anyway. My heart seemed to have an altogether different opinion. Yeah, my stupid heart. I just couldn't get her under control. Every time I thought that I had finally forced the thoughts of him out of my head, he would just pop right back in there. Come on, heart, what are you trying to do to me?

  The phone on my desk rang, snapping me out of these thoughts. I answered it gratefully.

  Linda, Kyle’s assistant, said, “Kyle needs the blueprint for the next marketing campaign by the end of today. It's urgent. He apologizes for pushing the deadline forward, but we've just gotten word that a competitor is trying to go for the same marketing line. If we don't get the campaign out before them, it's going to look like we're copying them. That, obviously, won't be good.”

  I sighed. This would mean that I would have to be here until very late. Possibly well after midnight.

  “I can do that,” I said. I hoped that she didn't hear how tired I sounded.

  “Thank you. He says that because you'll likely be working so late, you can take tomorrow off to rest.”

  That was a relief at least.

  “Thanks. I'll get myself a pot of coffee and get right on it. Don't worry, I'll have it done even if it takes me all night.”

  “Thank you.”

  I put the phone down and sighed. The stress was building up to an almost unbearable level, but this was also where I was able to thrive. I could do stress. I could take it on. I just wished that Kyle would have had the courtesy to call me himself instead of getting Linda to do it. It felt like he was still playing the avoidance game, even though we had mutually agreed to stop that kind of stuff.

  I got my phone out of my bag and gave Ella a call. We had been planning to go out for a drink or two this evening but now I would have to cancel that.

  “Hey, girl,” she said as she answered, sounding excited. “What time are we gonna be heading out tonight?”

  I now felt bad about having to burst this particular bubble. “Uh, about those drinks Ella...”

  I could almost see her face crumpling with disappointment. “You have to work late again,” she said sadly.

  “Yeah. I'm so sorry.”

  “It's okay, I mean, you have this great job, and your career is really taking off.”

  “But I hardly ever get to see you anymore, and that's not okay. We've been best friends for so many years, and I really, really do value this friendship. I promise that we're gonna be able to hang out soon.”

  “It's been almost three weeks since I last saw you, you know.”

  Ugh, I was feeling worse and worse about this.

  “I know, Ella, and I'm really sorry that it's been so long. Things have just been so crazy this month with work, it's been impossible to get any time away. All I've been doing is working, sleeping, working, sleeping.”

  I heard her sigh on the other end of the line. “I just miss my best friend,” she said sadly.

  “And I miss mine. Look, I've got tomorrow off. Maybe we can do something, if you can get the afternoon off work.”

  “Hell, I'll just call in sick if it means I get to spend some time with yo
u!”

  At least now she sounded a lot happier.

  “All right, great! Well, I promise I'll see you tomorrow, come hell or high water.”

  “Ha-ha, there's an expression I haven't heard in a long time. Another one of your dad's favorites?”

  I chuckled. “That's it, another one of his favorites.”

  “Good luck for the coming night. I hope you don't burn yourself out. Make sure you stay hydrated and eat enough, okay?”

  “I'll do that.”

  I sighed after I put my phone away. This job really was taking its toll. Still, there was nothing much I could do but put my head down and get on with it. The deadline was looming, and every minute that passed without me working was a minute wasted. It was time for some strong coffee and a few good hours of solid work.

  * * * * *

  My eyelids were growing heavy, and it was all I could do to stay awake. I had about five more minutes to go, and then I would finally be done. Everyone else had gone home, and I was in the office alone, except for the security guard downstairs. It was quite eerie, and more than a little creepy to be here by myself. Still, I had to get this finished, and I assumed that Kyle was waiting up late at home for me to finish and email everything to him. He was the one who had insisted that I get this done tonight, after all.

  I yawned, stretched my arms out, and then rested my hands on the keyboard again, about to start typing. Suddenly, there was a knock on my door. I almost screamed from fright, and I jumped up from my chair, my eyes wide and my mouth hanging open. My heart was thumping rapidly. The good news—I was now definitely wide awake.

  “Who there?” I managed to stammer, reaching for the phone in case I needed to call security.

  “It's me, Kyle. I'm coming in.”

  I breathed out a sigh of relief but then my fright turned quickly to annoyance.

  “Listen here,” I said as he stepped into my office. “What do you think you're doing? Why didn't you tell me you were gonna be in the office this late? You just scared the hell out of me!”

  I then noticed that he was holding a bottle of whiskey in his right hand, and a pair of tumblers in his left. “Sorry,” he mumbled, his voice a little slurred.

  He had been drinking. I could see that quite clearly now.

  “Look, I'm almost finished,” I said sharply, “and I would appreciate some peace and quiet for the next few moments until I’m done, okay? So, please take your whiskey and those tumblers back to your office or wherever you just came from.”

  He grinned. “Only if you promise to come and have a glass with me when you're through.”

  “What? We're still at work, Kyle, even if we are technically off the clock. Jeez. Grow up. I'm not going to have a drink with you. I'm going to finish this work, email the files to you, and then leave. I'm exhausted, and I really need to get some rest. I've been here since eight this morning and it's now after midnight. Please, just go away and let me finish.”

  He stood in the door for a while, still grinning at me, but then eventually turned around and stepped out. Before he closed the door though, he poked his head inside my office once more.

  “You and I do need to talk though, and a little good ol' social lubricant helps with conversations like this. Come on, just give me five minutes after you're done here. I'll give you a ride home in my Ferrari if you do.”

  My jaw dropped, both with anger and shock. “There's no way in hell I'm getting in a car with you behind the wheel when you've been drinking! Call a cab!”

  He grimaced. “I wasn’t thinking about that, but you’re right, no Ferrari. But come on, please just give me five minutes of your time.”

  I sighed and shook my head. “All right, I'll come to your office when I'm done. Now could you please go away and let me finish this?”

  “Going... going... gone,” he said softly as he stepped out and shut the door behind him.

  Annoyed – but also a little amused – I put my head down and got back to work. I managed to get the last bits of it all done in about ten minutes. I emailed it all to him, then got my bag and headed over to his office.

  I felt a strange mixture of emotions brewing inside me as I leaned forward to knock on the door. I was annoyed, tired, and impatient, but there was also a sense of curiosity on top of it all. And I couldn't deny that I was still attracted to him, even with his stupid behavior.

  I knocked on the door.

  “Come on in, Meredith.”

  I opened the door and stepped inside.

  “I took the liberty of pouring you a whiskey,” he said with a smile, pointing at a glass of whiskey on the rocks on his desk. “So, have a seat and drink up.”

  “I don't even like whiskey,” I grumbled, but my tone was more resigned than argumentative. It was too late and I was too tired to fight now. I just wanted to hear whatever he wanted to say and then go home and sleep.

  “You might change your mind after tasting this twenty-one-year-old single malt,” he said, motioning to me to take a seat.

  I sighed, sat down, and picked up the glass and gingerly took a sip. I was surprised at just how smoothly the alcohol went down. I had never tasted whiskey this good before. Indeed, I hadn't even known that whiskey could be this good.

  “Wow,” I said, genuinely impressed. “This is pretty great.”

  “Told you,” he said with a smirk.

  “So,” I said, looking him in the eyes as I took another sip, “why did you call me in here?”

  “We need to talk,” he said.

  I rolled my eyes. “Well, yeah, that's why I'm here. So, come on, spit it out, whatever it is.”

  He nodded, took a long, slow sip of his drink, and then looked at me. “You've been doing an excellent job here. No, no, let me rephrase that. You've been doing an amazing job here.”

  “Um, thanks. I have been working hard.”

  “Yes, you have. And all that hard work really is paying off. And that's very good for you, and for me. But... especially good for you.”

  “Why? What do you mean?”

  “Well, it means that I can't fire you now.”

  That took me by surprise.

  “Wait, what? Fire me? What are you talking about?”

  He chuckled strangely. “What do you think it was that brought you and me together, that night at the club a month ago? Was it pure chance, just a coincidence? Or was it something else? Fate, perhaps?”

  I blushed involuntarily as he mentioned that night at the club. That really wasn't what I wanted to think about right now. But now that he had said it, those memories and images started rushing through my mind. His naked body, glistening with faint sweat, his chiseled muscles, his broad, powerful chest heaving with gasp after gasp as he passionately thrust his long, thick—

  No. No, it was definitely not the right time to think about that right now.

  “I don't know, Kyle,” I replied wearily. “I feel like it was just a coincidence.”

  He narrowed his eyes. “Just a coincidence huh? Are you sure about that? Because to me, it seems a little weird that I met you in the club, and we hit it off with this powerful spark right away, and then we, well, you know. And then it turned out that you were my new marketing director. And that I was the new CEO of the company you had just joined. And not only that – you were the one who managed to get profits soaring here. I don't know if you saw it, but there was a hit piece on me that was published in the Financial Times just after I took over the reins of this company.”

  I shook my head. “I didn't see that, no.”

  He nodded. “The point is, through the amazing work you've done, you managed to raise profits here to a level that hasn't been seen for a very long time. It dispelled all the rumors and falsehoods about me not being able to run this company. And I have you to thank for that...the girl I met by chance. After thinking about all of this, after looking at it in detail, after really thinking about what you've done for me, I can't accept that it was a mere chance meeting. I think that it was fate that broug
ht us together. For what ultimate purpose, well, I can't say right now. But I think – no, I know – that you and I have been brought together for a reason.”

  I breathed in deeply, wondering where he was trying to go with all of this. Did he want something more with me? “Well, what does any of that have to do with the fact that you were considering firing me?”

  He chuckled and shook his head. “I was thinking of doing that because of how you make me feel. Because of this.”

  “What do you mean by this?”

  He waved his arms around him, seeming to grasp at invisible objects floating in the air. “The tension. Can't you feel it? The tension that simmers in the air every time we’re in the same room? Don't tell me there's nothing there. You know what I'm talking about.”

  I couldn't deny it. And as I thought about it, the blood began to run through my veins a little faster, and I felt a heat rising inside me. Not an uncomfortable heat, but a thrilling heat. An arousing heat.

  I took another sip of the whiskey, a long, slow sip, and then looked up at him. “I know what you're talking about,” I said softly.

  “So...that's why I wanted to fire you. For a short while, anyway. I thought it would be an easy solution. Out of sight, out of mind, right? But then I realized that wasn't the way. That was the coward's way to deal with it. And besides, why would I fire someone who is able to do for this company what you're able to do for it?”

  “Well, uh, thanks for not firing me, I guess,” I said, unsure of how else to respond.

  He chuckled. “I would never have done it. Because as easy as not having you around would be, just in terms of being able to concentrate, there's no way I couldn't have you around. You're already always around... up here,” he said, tapping his head.

  “I understand,” I said, feeling the blood in my veins getting hotter and hotter.

  “So, what do we do now?” he asked. “We both have these feelings to deal with. How do we deal with them?”

  “I think that we should try a little something,” I purred.