Bedroom Rodeo: A Billionaire Romance

by Sarah J. Brooks

  Elaine sat back down at her desk after her tirade, and for the first time, Jesse saw something. Elaine looked frazzled. She looked as though something had been taken out of her. She had seen a little spark of something in her eye—panic that comes from lack of control.

  And where Elaine lacked in control, Jesse picked up the slack.

  “Ms. Beck,” Jesse said calmly, feeling a warm surge of power course through her. “I regret to inform you that I must leave your employment.”

  Elaine looked up at Jesse, and she could see the older woman grinding her teeth.

  “Alright,” Elaine said slowly. “I will give you one chance, and only one chance, to retract that statement and go back to your desk and do your job. We will put this entire conversation behind us, and you will continue to get paid a regular, and very reasonable amount of money. Is that clear?”

  Jesse allowed a smile to pass over her face, and she delighted in the way that Elaine’s face fell.

  “Have a wonderful day, Ms. Beck,” Jesse said simply. “It’s been a pleasure working for you, but our time together is through. I wish you and The Edge all the best.”

  With that, Jesse turned and left the office.

  Jesse had to work hard not to turn back to get a better look at Elaine’s reaction to her news. Then again, she also had to work hard to keep herself from having a panic attack. She had just quit one of the best jobs she was ever likely to have. She would no longer have a steady source of income, and she was doing it based on the faith she had in a man she had only recently had a full conversation with.

  Jesse felt like her life was flipping inside out and upside down all around her. And yet she was completely in control of all of it.

  Jesse returned to her desk and gathered up all the meager things she had collected to decorate it with. She was glad she didn’t have a mountain of items on her desk like her coworkers. She was grateful that she could fit everything into her satchel and wouldn’t have to endure the indignity of leaving the office with a cardboard box full of her belongings.

  Once she had gathered up all her effects, Jesse headed to Mark’s office to tell him the news. She knocked on his doorframe and waited for him to look up. His brows raised eagerly, and he hopped up from his desk as soon as he saw her.

  “Well, how’d it go?” he asked, practically vibrating with excitement.

  “I quit,” Jesse said simply, offering him a small smile.

  “That’s …” Mark moved his mouth as he searched for the proper words to say. “I … I don’t really know what that is. Jesse, are you sure you made the right move? I’m sure Elaine would forgive you if you …”

  “No, she wouldn’t,” Jesse said simply. “She gave me my chance to repent in the office, and I didn’t take it.”

  “Wow,” Mark breathed and ran a hand through his hair. “Well … I guess this is goodbye … well, here at the office anyway.”

  Jesse laughed.

  “I’ll never forget that you got me this job,” Jesse said, moving to wrap Mark in a tight hug.

  “I know,” Mark said softly. “But you did your thing here. Now it’s time for you to take off and fly somewhere else.”

  Jesse smiled up at Mark, and he smiled back. She was truly thankful to have such a wonderful friend to share life with.

  “Maybe you can come over later tonight,” Mark suggested. “That way you can break the news to Tony about your new lease on life.”

  “Yeah, that sounds great!” Jesse said enthusiastically.

  “I mean, if you’re not celebrating with anyone else, that is,” Mark gave her a sly smile.

  “Please,” Jesse rolled her eyes. “That situation is a whole different can of worms.”

  “I’m sure,” Mark said sarcastically, and Jesse swatted him playfully on the arm.

  “Well, I’d better get out of here.” Jesse sighed. “I’m sure Elaine already has her assistants on the hunt for me to escort me off the premises.”

  “You’re probably right,” Mark agreed. “I’ll see you tonight, then?”

  “See you tonight,” Jesse confirmed and then set off for the exit of the building.

  As Jesse approached the doors that led outside, she felt a rush of exhilaration. She imagined it was the same feeling that a captive animal got when it was finally released back into the wild. The second she stepped outside, she took in a deep breath of fresh air. She felt young and free. A little scared, too, but certainly young and free.

  Jesse wondered what she ought to do with all the time she suddenly found on her hands. A part of her felt pressured to immediately go in search of another job. A part of her wanted to just go home and collapse onto her bed. In the end, she simply started walking.

  Jesse wandered the city, really taking time to observe and enjoy the various sights and sounds and smells around her. She stopped to pick up a small fruit cup when she got hungry and sat down on a bench to enjoy it. Even when she had finished her small meal and thrown away the package it had come in, she remained on the bench, content to observe the people passing by in front of her.

  Jesse found herself thinking of Hal. She pulled out her phone and realized vaguely that she didn’t have his number. She would have to wait for him to call and then put it in herself. She felt a small tingle in her stomach even at the thought of him followed by a small moment of fear. What if he never called her again?

  Jesse sighed and shoved her phone back into her satchel. She looked around and suddenly felt weary. She hailed a cab and gave him the address to her apartment. She had already walked what felt like a hundred miles that day. Now, it was time to reward herself with a luxurious bath before she celebrated her newfound freedom with her good friends and neighbors.

  Jesse leaned her head back against the headrest of the cab and smiled to herself. She had a bright future. She was young. There was a handsome, thoughtful man in her life. He also happened to be rich and famous, but those were things she could certainly live without.

  She smiled deeply and sighed. Life was finally just a little bit brighter.

  Chapter 36

  Hal

  Hal gathered up the droplets of water off his skin with a towel and then roughed it over his hair, hand drying it as best he could. He noted vaguely that it was getting a bit long and hard to manage, and he knew he would have to schedule a trim for it soon. He would toss around some items in his schedule and set up an appointment with his usual barber.

  When he was dry enough, he put on a T-shirt and a pair of boxer briefs and jeans. He ran his hands through his hair to tame it and then sat down on the edge of his bed. Taking his phone from his nightstand, he shuffled through his contacts until he came upon the most recently added number. Jesse’s number.

  Hal bit his lip as he considered calling her. She had made it clear that she didn’t want to be contacted on her work phone any longer, and he took that to mean she didn’t want to keep getting disturbed while she was trying to work. So, in spite of his desire to speak with her, he held off. He didn’t want her to feel like he was smothering her, even though he really did crave her nearness.

  Hal had done everything in the world to distract himself. He sorted through all his finances, he checked out some potential investments, and finally, he had gone running and worked out. Now that he was out of the shower and feeling refreshed, it was past five.

  Hal was sure that Jesse would be off work by then. So, he took a deep breath and clicked the call button. He held his breath as the phone rang several times. It kept ringing, and ringing, and finally, Hal couldn’t take it anymore, and he hung up. He let out a whoosh of air, and he suddenly felt like a foolish schoolboy.

  He vaguely wondered if she had given him the wrong number. He knew he shouldn’t be so worked up about a girl, but then again, this wasn’t just some girl. Jesse had come to mean more to him than he ever would have anticipated.

  He would never tell Jesse this, but he had actually vowed never to love again after he had lost his first love, Olivia. At the time
, though, he thought he would never be capable of love again. When he met Jesse, however, everything had changed. He was like an entirely different person that he thought had completely died after everything that had happened with Olivia.

  He felt the same spark of initial attraction, and then the warmth of something deeper. At first, he had been eager to deny it. But then, he realized that there was no reason to continue to deny himself such a pure and wonderful feeling. He had to mature enough to realize that he couldn’t simply go through life in a bubble without feeling emotions. Especially now that he had met Jesse.

  Now, though, he realized that Jesse doubted the sincerity of his feelings for her. He could hardly blame her for it. Celebrities like him did have a tendency to use girls for their ends and then toss them aside like so much trash. If he was in her position, he knew that he would be hesitant as well.

  Hal racked his brain trying to think of ways that he could prove to her that he genuinely cared for her. He didn’t want to scare her away with the word love. He knew he had to prove it with his actions before words could ever come into play. She was a writer, after all, and she knew just as well as he did that words were the ultimate weapon for manipulation.

  No, he had to find another way. And for now, that way was to simply stay the course and prove to her that he could take things slow and that he was not solely interested in her for physical reasons. Though he most certainly was interested in her for those reasons as well …

  Hal was suddenly torn out of his thoughts by the ringing of the phone. He quickly snatched it up and was thrilled when he read Jesse’s name on the caller identification. He didn’t hesitate to answer.

  “Hey, Jess,” he said eagerly.

  “Hal?” she asked.

  “Yeah …” He laughed lightly. “Who else?”

  “Oh, I don’t know,” Jesse said, and he smiled as he imagined the blush that was spreading across her cheeks at this very moment. “I just didn’t recognize the number so I didn’t really know who to expect.”

  “Well, it’s me,” Hal said easily. He couldn’t keep a ridiculous smile off his face. He was elated just to be talking to her, even if only on the phone.

  “Sorry I didn’t pick up,” she said. “I was taking a bath.”

  “A bath?” Hal perked up a bit at that information. He couldn’t help himself from imagining her still damp skin with a towel wrapped around her middle with her hair still dripping down her back. He felt his cock stir a little at the imagery, but he quickly abandoned that train of thought so he could focus on his conversation.

  “Well, I mean—I got home early, so …” Jesse was stammering nervously, and he knew that she was embarrassed to have disclosed that information to him so flippantly.

  “Well, I certainly hope you enjoyed it.” Hal chuckled, eager to relieve her of her embarrassment. “You said you got home from work early?”

  “Oh, yeah …” Jesse trailed off, and he detected an odd note in her voice.

  “Any particular reason?” he prodded, though he suspected it was because she had been able to breeze through the substandard articles she was being given.

  “Actually,” Jesse laughed lightly. “I quit.”

  Hal’s jaw dropped. He couldn’t believe what she had just said.

  “You what?” he whispered into the phone, his excitement almost through the roof.

  “I went to Elaine and demanded an apology.” Hal smiled brightly as she explained. “And I told her that if she refused to give me one, then I wasn’t going to be able to work in that sort of environment. So, she basically insulted me up one way and down the other and told me to take it back, and I wouldn’t. So I wished her the best and left.”

  Hal’s cheeks hurt from how much he was smiling. Everything was working out more perfectly than he could have ever imagined. He was ready to take Elaine down, and now with Jesse out of the line of fire, he would have no trouble stirring up some dirt on Elaine and ruining her reputation in the industry. Her world was going to come crashing down around her. Now, it was simply a matter of time.

  “I wanted to tell you earlier,” Jesse went on. “But I didn’t have your number in my phone. But I have it now, so in the future, I’ll be sure to give you a call … if I ever quit another job …”

  Hal smiled as she started to ramble, and he knew she was probably fidgeting from nerves.

  “Jess, that’s incredible,” Hal said. “There’s nobody in the world who actually has the kind of guts it takes to stand up to your boss and then actually follow through when you threaten to quit.”

  “Yeah, well …” Jesse laughed nervously. “Now I have no job security, no benefit, and I don’t know how I’m going to keep paying my rent. But I have to say … I do feel really good.”

  “I’m sure you do,” Hal said warmly, happy that Jesse had found the courage to take her fate into her own hands.

  “And I have to say,” Jesse started. “Thank you.”

  “Me?” Hal laughed aloud. “For what?”

  “For telling me that I’m worth more than what Elaine says,” she said softly.

  Hal felt his heart melt.

  “You didn’t need me to tell you that,” he said with warm certainty. “You would have figured that out for yourself in no time.”

  “Well, in any case,” Jesse said. “Thanks for speeding up the process.”

  “Anything for you,” Hal said gently, and he absolutely meant it.

  A silence stretched between them, and he hurried to end it before Jesse felt uncomfortable.

  “So,” he said broadly, “are you planning on celebrating your freedom?”

  “I am actually,” she said, her tone much more perky. “I’m going over to Mark and Tony’s. You know, those guys next door.”

  “Oh, yeah, I remember them.” Hal nodded, though she couldn’t see. “They’re not too fond of me.”

  Jesse laughed.

  “They’re just overprotective,” she said lightly. “Yeah, I’m going over there. We’ll probably throw a few back, and I’ll give Tony the firsthand account of what happened in the office.”

  “Be sure to let him know what a bitch she is,” Hal growled.

  “Oh, he already knows,” Jesse said emphatically. “He hates her. He thinks she puts way too much on Mark’s plate. Which she does.”

  Hal narrowed his eyes at that information.

  “Interesting,” Hal murmured, tucking that knowledge away for safekeeping. “Well, I won’t keep you from your friends.”

  “Oh, wait!” Jesse said suddenly.

  “Yeah?” Hal asked, suddenly on high alert at her change in tone.

  “We got so caught up in talking about me I forgot to ask why you called me in the first place!” she said, laughing lightly. Hal smiled at the sound.

  “Well, relax,” Hal said gently. “I just called to see what you’ve been up to.”

  “Oh,” Jesse said. “Well … thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.” Hal laughed. “Have a good night Jess.”

  “You too,” Jesse said. And then the phone went dead.

  Hal smiled down at his phone and shook his head, amused.

  Chapter 37

  Jesse

  Jesse smiled as she looked down at her phone and then scowled as she noticed the puddle that had gathered on her bed. She had hastily thrown a towel on as she got out of the bath and hadn’t bothered to do anything with her hair.

  She had been hoping that it would be Hal on the line and had been delighted to hear his voice. She was even happier when he said he had called just to check up on her.

  Jesse really couldn’t deny that her feelings for Hal were really growing into something that she could not ignore. As scary as it was, she knew she was developing feelings for him.

  Jesse began the process of getting dressed, and all the while she could not stop thinking about Hal. She knew that without him, she would have likely stayed at The Edge cowering under Elaine Beck for many years in the future.

  Now,
she had a future for herself. She could do whatever she wanted. She could create her own journal about what she wanted to write about. She could even head up her own company.

  Of course, this was all very optimistic and very far in the future. But it was much closer now that she was out from under Elaine’s umbrella. And without Hal’s support and encouragement, she would have felt too meek and fearful to ever oppose anything Elaine said.

  Jesse found herself wondering what other wonders Hal could work in her life. She remembered the feeling of his lips on her and the way it had felt when he hovered over her.

  She wondered how long she would last resisting him physically. In spite of her best efforts, she was incredibly turned on by almost everything about him, from his eyes to his smile to his dark copper hair. She wondered how it would feel to have his thickness pressed against her thigh as he prepared to slide into her …

  Jesse shook her head and tried to focus on something else. She still had to go to a party with Tony and Mark. She certainly did not want to be hot and bothered in the company of gay men who most certainly would be able to tell.

  Jesse also remembered that there was so much more to Hal than his looks and his sex appeal. He was also very charming and sensitive, and a very intelligent and capable man. And it had been inspiring to see him open up around her and turn into a very loveable, wonderful part of her life.

  She pictured him in her future guiding and supporting her with his kindness and knowledge about the industry. More than that, though, she pictured herself as a successful young woman with a loving man at her side.

  Jesse shook her head again. She was taking things way too far at this point. For now, she needed to take things one day at a time, but all that was going to be so much easier now that she had taken the step away from The Edge.