The Billionaire Affair

by Parker, Ali

  The orgasm that rolled through her was so powerful it sent me spiraling right into my own. Holy fuck that felt good.

  Stephanie sagged against me, breathing hard against my chest. “I can’t believe we just did that.”

  I dragged my fingers through her long hair and kissed her temple. “Best idea we’ve ever had.”

  And I wasn’t even kidding. My day started out shitty and then got epically bad, but somehow, here with Stephanie, I had a feeling it was about to get better.

  Chapter 44

  STEPHANIE

  Jeremiah’s chest was warm beneath my cheek, his shirt half-open even though I couldn’t even remember trying to take it off. I lay there with him for a few minutes. He didn’t seem to mind. Absently stroking my hair, he was almost making me feel like he wanted me to stay. Like he cared.

  Cutting off that train of thought before I ended up in dangerous territory, I tugged my dress down again and straightened it out. I couldn’t believe I just had sex at work. With my boss. In broad daylight.

  How freaking promiscuous! I never thought I would do anything like it, but now I was kind of thrilled by having done it. A forbidden tryst in the office. It was as exciting as every book I’d ever read featuring a workplace affair promised it would be, minus all the angst.

  Jeremiah and I were both young, single and apparently explosively attracted to each other. The only angst there could be was in the form of a seventy-something bulldozer of a man who needed to face reality. And thankfully, that man was gone. For now.

  Jeremiah was deep in thought when I looked up at him, his features as sharp as if they’d been carved from stone. He was still running his fingers through my hair, but he’d turned his head and was staring off into the middle distance.

  His brown eyes were unfocused, far away. A part of me worried I shouldn’t ask him what he was thinking about, but I’d never been much good at listening to that subtle voice in my head.

  “Are you worried about what’s going on with your father?”

  He snapped out of his stupor, sliding his eyes down to mine. “No, not really. I was actually trying not to fall asleep.”

  “You say the most romantic things to me,” I said jokingly. It still stunned me how easy it was to be myself with him.

  Jeremiah smirked and moved his hand down the curve of my back to spank me lightly. “If recent memory serves, you prefer the dirty to the romantic.”

  “Any day of the week,” I said. “And twice on Sundays.”

  Amusement danced in his eyes, chasing away the shadows that had been in them a minute ago. “In that case, what are you doing on Sunday?”

  I laughed against his chest, shaking my head. “You’re a fiend, you know that?”

  Fast as a flash, he hooked his arm under me and lifted me, flipping me so I was on my back on the couch before I could even think about reacting. Smiling wickedly, he lavished my throat with kisses and reached between my legs. “Fiendish would be taking you again right now.”

  Giggling at his playfulness, because apparently, I giggled when I was with him, I pushed gently at his shoulder before my body had time to react to his ministrations. “One round in the office is enough, don’t you think?”

  “I like pushing my luck.” Lowering his head, he kissed a trail over my collarbone and nuzzled my chest.

  A soft gasp escaped when he closed his mouth over my nipple. I could feel his warmth through my clothes. “I think I like you pushing your luck.”

  He groaned against me, then lifted his mouth. “I have a better idea.”

  Sitting up suddenly, he pulled me with him. Excitement shone in his eyes. “What would you say if I asked you to play hooky with me for the day?”

  “After everything that just went down with your father?” I lifted an eyebrow questioningly. The idea of spending the rest of the day, and possibly night, with him outside of the office was tempting, but not if it was going to cause more trouble.

  Jeremiah shrugged and started putting himself back together, doing up his shirt and pants. “He won’t be back today. Even if he is, I meant what I said. If he can’t deal, he should fire me. I’m done trying to fit his mold.”

  “Good for you,” I said, my voice softening. I knew it couldn’t have been easy for him to have to confront his father about how he wasn’t his brother. “If you want to blow this Popsicle stand, I’m in. Somehow I don’t think my boss will mind.”

  “You know,” he mused, holding out his hand to help me up. “I’m sure we could come to some kind of agreement with him, especially if you feel like blowing something other than the Popsicle stand.”

  He winked playfully, and I swatted his shoulder, leveling him with a look. “You really are a fiend. You’re just lucky I like your brand of fiendishness.”

  “Agreed.” He walked to his desk to gather his things. He pocketed his phone, wallet and dangled his keys on his finger. “Let’s get out of here.”

  We left the office fast. People stared at Jeremiah as he passed them, but no one dared approach him. In his car, once we were out of the parking structure and driving away from the office, he met my eyes in the rearview mirror. “So what would you like to do today?”

  “I thought you might have some ideas since you suggested playing hooky.”

  Looking back at the road, he navigated us effortlessly through the pre-lunch traffic. The further we got from the office, the more he relaxed. “I have some, but since I have a lot to make up for, I thought I’d let you choose.”

  “Careful, your chivalry is showing again.” I liked teasing him, enjoying the lightness that came with being away from Williams Tower.

  Tipping his head back, he laughed. “You’ve seen a lot more than my chivalry by now. No use trying to act modestly by covering it up.”

  “You? Modest? Never,” I said. He rolled his eyes and kept driving. Anywhere, it seemed, would work for him. As long as it was nowhere near Williams Inc.

  An idea took shape in my head. Obviously, he needed a break from anything Williams related. I thought back to my life before I met him, how much simpler it seemed.

  “Would you like to see where I used to work?”

  Darkness replaced the light in his eyes as he slid them to my side. “Do you want to go ask them for your old job back?”

  “No, don’t be silly,” I responded quickly, seeing his brevity slipping away at an alarming rate. “I just thought you might like to see how the other half live. I guarantee there will be nothing that will even remotely remind you of Williams Inc. or your family there.”

  He gave me a long look, while still somehow managing to navigate the traffic. “Okay, as long as you don’t throw yourself at your old boss and beg him to give you your job back.”

  “Never,” I said, mildly surprised to find I meant it. Those days might’ve been simpler, but I couldn’t see myself going back there.

  Being at Williams Inc. and working for Jeremiah, despite the dad drama, had really opened up my eyes about where I wanted to go professionally. Who I wanted to be. In the short time I’d been there, I already started seeing some things I had a hand in take shape, and it was inspiring.

  For the first time, the years I spent at college, the late nights in the library and the long, difficult road I took to get there didn’t feel like a waste. “I’m all yours.”

  He shot me a glance, then grinned. “Good to know.”

  I flushed when I realized what that must’ve sounded like to him, but given his response, I didn’t feel the need to clarify. While I meant I was all his professionally, it sure felt like it was personally as well. And he didn’t seem to mind.

  What is happening to my life?

  “Should I just keep driving until I see a bookstore, or are you going to tell me where we’re going?” he asked, a smile pulling at the corners of his lips.

  I nudged him with my elbow but then pointed at the next intersection. “Make a left over there.”

  We talked all the way to the store. It might’ve been my
imagination, but when Tim gave me a big hug and told me how happy he was to see me, I could’ve sworn Jeremiah looked jealous. Which was absurd, so I let it go.

  Jenny came out from behind the counter where she served coffee and pastries to customers, enveloping me in a warm hug. She smelled like butter and chocolate and coffee. I breathed in her familiar scent and let it wash over me. I wouldn’t come back to work here, but I did miss my friends.

  “Who’s the hottie?” she whispered against my ear, eyes sparkling when I pulled away from her.

  “Jenny, meet Jeremiah,” I said. “Jeremiah’s my—”

  “Friend,” he interjected. Clearly, we were leaving all sense of formality and anything about Williams Inc. so far behind that he didn’t even want me to introduce him as my boss. “It’s so nice to meet you.”

  “Likewise,” Jenny said, shaking his hand. “Although I must be honest, I haven’t heard a thing about you. Where did you come from?”

  “We met a couple of weeks ago,” I replied vaguely, steering the conversation away from the topic of us for now. “How’re are things going here? And who let Tim start doing the displays?”

  She laughed, and Tim cursed under his breath, muttering about how someone had to do it. There was a new post-apocalyptic young adult series out that was taking the world by storm. I still kept an eye on these things, even though it wasn’t my job to know anymore. Old habits die hard.

  Some of the shops I walked past the last week or so had huge, elaborate displays advertising the series while others had it front and center, with all the past hits of the same genre arranged around them.

  Tim, on the other hand, had a poster stuck to the wall above an uncovered metal table where he’d stacked the books.

  Jenny cracked up, throwing Tim an I-told-you-so look. “I offered to help, but he wouldn’t let me.”

  “Go figure.” I smiled at Tim, then narrowed my eyes at Jeremiah. “How would you like to be part of the premier display building team on this side of the… block?”

  Curiosity sparked in his eyes, and he nodded. I enjoyed this side of him, the one where I saw flashes of the man he really was. All the riches one could hope for, but he still had a curious exploring adventurer somewhere in his soul.

  He rolled up his sleeves and headed over to the table. “Where do we start? I have no idea what I’m supposed to be doing.”

  “You and me both, brother.” Tim clapped him on the back and went to stand next to him, waiting for me. “Lead the way, oh creative one.”

  Jenny and I decorated the display while we got the guys to move stuff around. When we were done, the store had a shot of attracting some attention with the display. Tim rewarded us by buying us each a coffee and one of Jenny’s bear claw pastries.

  After the bookstore, we kept doing mundane things. We walked down the street and went window shopping. Jeremiah was expressly forbidden from pulling out his fancy black card to buy anything—which was a novel experience for him.

  “I don’t get it. I can always just come back tomorrow and get it,” he said. He tried using that reasoning when I made him leave behind a leather jacket with a price tag that almost made me swallow my tongue. Worst of all, he wanted to buy it for me.

  “Then come back tomorrow, but today is about doing normal things remember? Also, I won’t accept it even if you do come back for it.”

  “Fair enough,” he said, then grinned. “I’ll just have to keep working on it.”

  My heart fluttered when he said stuff that made it sound like he wanted to keep doing… whatever it was we were doing. “You do that.”

  After window shopping, we ate a late lunch from a food truck and went to see a short film Tiana refused to come watch with me. We listened to street performers and ate ice cream. It was worlds away from the stuff Jeremiah and I had done together in the weeks we’d known each other, and yet it felt strangely familiar. Like us doing this kind of thing was normal. And what was more dangerous was that I was starting to feel like we might just be able to make this thing work and… date.

  Chapter 45

  JEREMIAH

  “This is the best pizza place in the city,” Stephanie proclaimed as she pushed open the door of a small trattoria and stepped into its comfortable warmth.

  I shook my head emphatically. “It can’t be, because I know where the best pizza place in the city is, and it’s not this one.”

  “Good pizza doesn’t have to cost as much as a year at college,” she said, smiling at me over her shoulder.

  “Neither does the place I’m thinking of,” I said, then gaped when she pointed at the blackboard with the specials written down on it.

  Her eyes followed mine and danced when she saw my reaction. “Maybe not, but can you get an entire pizza for less than fifteen dollars where you’re thinking of?”

  Hell no. “Maybe the crust.”

  “Here, you get the crust, the tomato sauce and the toppings for that price. Like, the whole pizza.” I was getting used to her teasing me and her sense of humor. I liked it.

  “Yeah, yeah. Let’s just grab a table.” I lead her to one in a dimly lit corner. Not that I thought anyone would take pictures of us here, but with Jannie still out there and my father on my ass, I would rather be safe than sorry.

  Stephanie didn’t comment on my choice of table. In fact, she positioned herself with her back facing the window. The way we were seated, no one would be able to get a good shot of either of us.

  It was dark outside now, and the dinner crowd was slowly trickling in. The restaurant had white round plastic tables with green checkered tablecloths and only basic condiments on the table. It was the kind of place I would go with the guys.

  The women in my past tended to expect and insist on fancy, upmarket places we could go to be seen. Like with so many other things about her, that Stephanie brought me here was a breath of fresh air. “Since you’re the expert on their menu, what do you recommend I order?”

  “Anything but the one with corn on it.” She wrinkled her nose. “Corn doesn’t belong on a pizza.”

  “Corn?” I glanced at the menu board, and sure enough, their house specialty boasted corn as a topping. “I’m starting to doubt they could make the best pizzas in the city if their specialty has corn on it.”

  “You’d think so, but wait till you try it. Oozy cheese, generous toppings. It’s really great.”

  “You neglected to mention the most important thing, the—”

  “Crust is just a little burnt around the sides,” she finished for me.

  I sat back and looked at her from across the table, so relaxed and joyful. “How did you know that was what I was going to say?”

  She looked confused for a second, then said, “Because that’s the most important thing, isn’t it?”

  Another point for Stephanie. “Some say it’s the cheese.”

  “Those people are wrong,” she declared confidently and ordered a water and a beer when the server came to our table. A girl after my own heart. I echoed her order and waited for the guy to jot it down on a spiral notepad before he left.

  “I totally agree,” I said. “But now you know, if the crust doesn’t live up to the hype, you lose, and this isn’t the best pizza in the city.”

  “You’re on.” She smiled. “Just so I know, what are the stakes?”

  I lifted a finger to my mouth and tapped against my lips, pretending to think. “You’ll have to come try it at my place. At a time of my choosing.”

  “I can live with that,” Stephanie said. The server came back with our drinks and took our order for food. When he was gone, she tilted her head and focused on me. “What did you think of today?”

  “Which part?” I asked dryly. “Early morning sucked, but the rest of it was great.”

  “I was talking about the rest of it,” she said. “Unless you were in the mood to rehash the pictures and the fallout they caused.”

  “I’d rather eat corn on pizza than talk about that.” It was hard to believe the day
started out where it had and ended with us here, together. Having literally spent the entire day with each other.

  I never would’ve imagined anything could’ve salvaged my day today, but spending time with Stephanie had. I enjoyed seeing snippets of her life, seeing the city I’d lived in for most of mine through her eyes. It was incredible how different it was to mine.

  I even enjoyed spending time with her at the bookstore. At first, I didn’t like the way her former manager held her close to him for a lingering hug, but when he let her go, it was obvious she wasn’t into him.

  Building the display with them had been interesting. Fun, even. Especially since I got to see how Stephanie spent her days before she spent them in the office next to mine.

  All things considered, this afternoon would go down in my memory as one of the best ones in a while. No one was more surprised than I was.

  It was nice to feel normal for the day, especially after my dad threw Jack in my face. Not thinking about either of them or the company or any of that shit and just being able to be was refreshing, amazing. I hadn’t felt that way for a long time.

  I also discovered that Stephanie and I were compatible in more ways than I realized. Sexually, our chemistry was off the charts. We worked well as a team, and in our free time, we enjoyed each other’s company.

  Food for thought, but it would have to wait until later. The server delivered our pizzas, which looked mouthwatering. Steph beamed at me, picking up a slice of hers. “And, what do you think?”

  “So far, so good,” I said, though I couldn’t deny it did look amazing. A quick taste made me want to shove the whole thing in my mouth at once. “Okay, I’ll give it to you. That’s a pretty good pizza.”

  “Pretty good?” she repeated incredulously, letting the slice sit between her fingers. “I can’t believe you. This isn’t pretty good, it’s heavenly.”

  “True, but I’m not convinced about it being the best in the city. We’ll have to see about that.”