How to Avoid a Billionaire

by Tressie Lockwood

  He wanted to teach her a lesson but he’s about to get schooled.

  Ryder Neyland grew up immersed in the cutthroat world of million-dollar deals. From his father’s CEO friends, he learned how to handle people and money, and quickly learned rule number one: never allow anyone to cross him without retribution.

  When he learns the identity of a small-time ad exec who masterminded the advertisement that not only cost him millions of dollars, but made him look like a corporate bully, he sets out to put the woman in her place.

  Melanie Cai is ecstatic when, for once, her boss gives her full credit for the campaign she hopes will launch her career. Which makes it all the more intriguing when Ryder begins seducing her in a decidedly non-gourmet diner, apparently thinking she doesn’t recognize him. He’s sexy. She’s tempted. Why not play along?

  It isn’t long before Ryder’s plan for revenge starts running off the rails. Melanie may have killer curves, but she doesn’t easily bend to his manipulations. And soon she has him not only rethinking his world view, but also his future.

  Warning: Contains a high-powered executive who isn’t used to hearing “no”, and a half African-American, half Chinese ad exec who knows her place—and it ain’t under his thumb. Unless that thumb is right where she wants it…

  How to Avoid a Billionaire

  Tressie Lockwood

  Dedication

  To Jake. Your imagination inspires me.

  Chapter One

  Melanie sucked in a breath and blew it out slowly. She shut her eyes and ran over the words she intended to say. They sounded reasonable, yet her heart pounded out of control, and the blood rush through her ears made her wonder if she’d be able to hear any excuses her boss gave in response to her argument. It doesn’t matter. I won’t let him argue! I’m in the right here.

  She opened her eyes and gathered her notes. The handwritten ones went back a few months, and the computer files would show when they were created. If Hanson wouldn’t accept all of this, she intended to go to their client, Michael Johnson, CEO and chief shareholder of Johnson Limited. At that thought, her stomach flip-flopped, and she had to fan herself not to pass out. Let him hear me, please!

  “You really going in there, Mel?” her friend and coworker Shana asked, an expression of disbelief on her face. “You don’t like confrontation.”

  Melanie moaned. “I know, but I have to do it. This ad was my idea, my design. I’m getting credit if it kills me. I mean it.”

  “Whoa, easy there, partner. I’m on your side.” Shana laughed. “Okay, go get him, but let me know how it goes. I’ve got a date.”

  Melanie forgot her issues for the moment. “You know it’s midmorning, right?”

  Shana stood from Melanie’s visitor’s chair in her cubicle. “Yes, but love won’t wait.”

  “Love, Shana? When have you ever been in love?”

  “Right now,” her friend declared. “With a set of rock hard abs. Makes me hungry just thinking about them. I’ll tell you how it went when I get back.”

  Melanie shook her head. “I already know how it will go. One day you will be caught, you nut, but don’t let me stop you. Get some for me too.”

  “You got it.”

  After Shana left, Melanie remained where she sat, fiddling with the stress ball she’d gotten at the last conference. The words Johnson Limited had already worn off the tiny stress ball from her constant manipulation. She took another deep breath and stood. Better now than later.

  Her firm knock at Hanson’s door received a command to enter, and she paused upon seeing her supervisor on the phone. He waved her inside, and Melanie stepped in and shut the door behind her. She began to wonder if this was the best time when Hanson paled and pulled a handkerchief from his pocket to mop his brow.

  “Well, yes, sir, Neyland Industries is—” Hanson stopped speaking, and if possible, paled even more. “Of course. I agree.”

  Melanie grabbed a seat and shuffled the papers in her hand. She checked her pocket for the millionth time to see if the flash drive still sat inside. At last Hanson hung up the phone and sat in silence, his gaze cast low.

  “Is everything okay, Hanson?”

  He glanced in her direction but his gaze remained unfocused. Melanie firmed her back. Whatever his problem, she couldn’t let it put off her confrontation. If she did, she might not come back in here. She handed the pages to him, and he took them with nerveless fingers. After topping the stack with the flash drive, she began her rehearsed speech.

  “Hanson, those are my notes starting three months ago. I had an idea I thought would work for Johnson to build up their standing in the marketplace while indirectly exposing Neyland for the tyrant it is in stomping on the little guy. This drive has more files, and you’ll be able to see when I created them.”

  Hanson snapped out of his reverie, and she thought she saw a gleam in his eyes that didn’t bode well. “You’re saying the current campaign was your idea and you want credit for it?”

  “I…” She firmed her shoulders. “Yes, but you put your name on it. Just look at the information I have there. It will prove what I’m saying is true.”

  His lips tightened, and his brows crashed low above his eyes. Her stomach knotted, making the bagel she’d consumed earlier want to come back up. His expression cleared, and he even smiled. “Okay, you got it. You get full credit, Melanie.”

  She gaped, never expecting it to go this well. “Really?”

  “Really. It was your idea, right?”

  “Yes!”

  “Then your name will be given as the designer. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a few deadlines.”

  “Of course.” She stood, confused and unsure how to proceed. Hanson held out the pages and flash drive to her. She frowned. “Don’t you need those?”

  “Why? The damage…I mean the campaign is live. All I need to do is pass your name up the ladder. It might be your big break in this competitive business. I know the work you do as an ad exec can at times be unrewarding, and that might be about to change.”

  “Thanks, Hanson. I appreciate it.”

  She turned to leave, but while she’d gotten what she wanted, somehow Hanson’s attitude didn’t feel genuine. Not that she suspected he wouldn’t pass her name along. She believed he would, especially after she had confronted him. He had to know she would go over his head or bug him until he acknowledged her. She had nothing to worry about.

  When Melanie returned to her desk, she found Shana draped dramatically in a chair. Melanie laughed. “Was that a quickie or didn’t it go well?”

  “He had an unexpected meeting.”

  Melanie patted her friend’s shoulder. “Don’t worry. I’m sure you can seduce him another time.”

  “Funny, Mel. So tell me how it went with Hanson? Did he admit to being a butthead?”

  “Not so loud.” Melanie groaned. “No, he said he’d give me credit.”

  “Wow, I’m impressed.” Shana twirled a lock of chestnut hair while she pondered what Melanie told her and then waved her hand. “Everyone is in meetings, which reminds me I think we should be there too.”

  Melanie yelped in alarm. She dropped into her chair and spun to face the computer. Her schedule came up with the click of a button. “I don’t have a meeting until two. So not funny, Shana. Now get out of here. I have work.”

  Shana stuck out her tongue and stood. “You’re no fun. Okay, I’ll see you later. Want to have lunch?”

  “Not today. I have to prepare for that two o’clock. Tomorrow?”

  “Sure.”

  Mela
nie moved the pages aside she’d given to Hanson and pulled out the file on her latest client. She flipped through some of the drafts from the graphic designer and writer. They were very good and she wished she had come up with such powerful designs. Her role consisted of managing the project, tedious often and frustrating sometimes, to coordinate everyone involved. That’s why she spent her personal time coming up with new ideas for current clients. Finally, her talents and hard work had been recognized, and it looked like she was moving up.

  The door to Ryder’s office burst open, and his cousin and right hand man barged in without knocking—as usual. “I got it,” Christian announced, grinning. He waved a sheet of paper in his hand as he approached Ryder’s desk.

  Ryder frowned at him and leaned back from the pages he’d been studying. He folded his hands together, elbows on the arms of his chair. “Whatever it is had better be good.”

  Unperturbed, Christian parked on the edge his of desk and tossed a photo in front of Ryder. “The ad exec for Johnson.”

  “Ad exec? He’s not the designer who lost me several million.”

  The smile never left his cousin’s face, and it began to piss Ryder off. “She,” Christian corrected, “and she did design it. She also manages the account. I’m thinking she’s a bit of a genius to have cost you that last deal.”

  Now Ryder smiled and toyed with the edge of the photo. The page had landed face down, and he hadn’t decided to flip it over yet. He enjoyed going in for the kill to whoever had the foolish notion to cross him. He would never have gotten as far as he had if he let people who cost him money get away with it.

  “Are you sure you want to do this?” Christian asked. “I mean you could end Johnson with a snap of your fingers.”

  “True, but then the Federal Trade Commission would be on my back. No, I’ll let Johnson stay around to keep from being declared a monopoly, but trust me, he will suffer. Now this woman…”

  “Melanie Cai,” Christian said.

  Ryder flipped the picture over. “Damn.”

  “Yeah, no problems there. You’ll have her where you want her from day one.”

  Ryder studied the picture of his target. Melanie Cai was beautiful in the nontraditional way with light caramel skin, full luscious lips, a stubby little nose, and slanted brown eyes. Her midnight black hair fluffed around her head in a style that made him suspect she had trouble taming it, but what caught his eye more was the fact that she was what some would call pleasingly plump.

  Melanie was unlike the kind of woman he would normally take as a lover, but that mouth and those large breasts would give him pleasure while he worked to bring her down. He had no doubt she would fall hard by the time he was done with her.

  “Tell me more about her,” he demanded and listened while his cousin gave the details. Mentally, he reviewed his social schedule and decided to drop the model he’d been seeing on the off chance Melanie took more time than he thought. He could handle several women at once, but his latest mistress had started to get clingy. A parting gift might make the process go smoother as it usually did. When Christian finished speaking, Ryder dismissed him. He stabbed the button to call his secretary, and she came on the line right away. “Jodie, I need you to get a gift for me.”

  “Of course. Diamonds?”

  “Yes, and write something appropriate.”

  “Will do as soon as I get back to my desk.”

  “Where are you?”

  “Accounting.”

  He rubbed his jaw, thinking. “Fine. Ten thousand should do it.”

  “You got it.”

  He hung up the phone and considered his next move, how soon to meet Melanie and where. Even as he thought it over, a thrill raced through his system, the excitement of a new conquest, the charge of power at bringing another to their knees. Tonight, he decided, Melanie Cai would fall into his snare.

  The day passed quickly with Melanie buried under mountains of work. Between phone calls, emails, and meetings, she felt like she’d gotten nowhere, but she breathed a sigh of relief when she could call it quits at seven p.m. Exhausted, hungry, and needing a shower, she left the office to head home. Uptown Charlotte wasn’t a bad place to be after dark, but she didn’t want to push her luck either. Her step brisk, she walked toward the lot where she’d parked her car. Thank goodness a couple coworkers mentioned hitting a nearby restaurant for a late dinner together or she would have made it half way to Matthews, where she lived, before recalling she had no food in the house. She’d turned down the invitation to join them and said Jimmy John’s would be good enough tonight with how tired she was.

  She peered down at the rumpled blouse she wore. At least her skirt was okay. That was more than she could say to the condition of her pantyhose. A run had started at her heel and worked its way up her leg. In fact, she felt it snaking across her ass as she sat there. At the end of the day, her makeup looked horrible, especially the liner, with Charlotte’s July heat.

  At a traffic light, she pulled out her cell phone and clicked the app for her favorite restaurant. She ordered a sandwich and drink for pickup. Twenty minutes later, she arrived at the restaurant and parked. The full lot said everyone else had the same idea. The line for pickups made her groan.

  “Doesn’t look good,” came a deep voice from behind her. Melanie started and glanced over her shoulder. Her gaze met the broad chest of a man, and she craned her neck to look up at him. Friendly eyes and a killer smile met her inspection, and her mouth went dry.

  “Yeah, it’s crazy, but the food is great, so it’s worth it.”

  A dark brow rose. “Really? I’m glad to hear it. I’ve never been here.” He nodded toward the windows. “The dine-in option looks promising. Care to join me?”

  Melanie’s mouth fell open. She blinked a few times, hoping it would somehow clear her befuddled mind. Men had tried to pick her up in the oddest of places, including the pharmacy counter at the drugstore, but never here and never by a man who obviously had so much going for him. She gave him another once over and noted the huge build, the expensive-looking suit, the rakish hairstyle, not to mention the sexy smile. This kind of man could get any woman he wanted, and while Melanie had healthy self-esteem, she knew he didn’t go for women like her.

  He held out his hand, and she moved on reflex to take it and found hers lost in the large palm. A tingle of awareness sped from her fingers to other regions she did not need brought to life in a restaurant’s parking lot. “Me?” she asked, wanting to be sure hunger hadn’t addled the man’s wits. After all it was late for dinner.

  Melanie thought she saw a knowing glint in his eyes before it vanished, and he flashed the overwhelming smile at her. Someone needed to tell him to control that weapon. Then again, he probably already was. How many women had fallen with soaked panties at his feet?

  “Yes, were you busy?” he asked. His tone said he wouldn’t believe it—or wouldn’t accept it.

  “It’s late and I’ve been at the office all day.”

  He frowned. “You’re not turning me down, are you? After I worked up the nerve to ask?”

  Is he for real? Memories of that morning, talking herself into confronting Hanson came to mind. She felt sorry for this man. Maybe she was wrong in her assessment of his character, and he had to work up the courage to approach her. “I don’t know your name.”

  He bent forward a little, still holding her hand. At five-foot-one and wearing four-inch heels, she didn’t come up to his shoulder. She guessed him to be six-three or four. The warmth in his gaze stole her breath.

  “Ryder. And you are?”

  She licked her lips. Her own name escaped her. Melanie. That was it. “Melanie.” She was about to give her last name, but he spoke over her while caressing a tiny area of skin behind her thumb.

  “Beautiful name, Melanie, like the woman.”

  “Thanks.” She smiled. “You’re pretty sex
y yourself.”

  Surprise and then amusement flashed in his expression and she grinned.

  She pulled her hand from his and tilted her head to the side. “What? You’re not used to getting compliments?”

  He rubbed his chin, which made her wonder if he had stubble there from a long day. “Now that I think of it, I don’t usually get them. I’m called a lot of names, but sexy isn’t one of them.”

  She laughed. “Can I guess what you’re called?”

  He winced. “I have a feeling you know, and I don’t care to hear the words fall from such lovely lips. Now back to my original question. Will you join me for dinner?”

  Myriad thoughts ran through her mind of whether she should accept or not. Ryder turned her on with the act of talking alone. When he touched her hand, she thought she’d jump him and demand to be taken back to his place, or hers, depending on who lived closer. She had dated handsome men before, and she’d always found it interesting that they went for a plump woman. Not because she didn’t think she deserved them, but because so few who looked as good as Ryder came across her path and were attracted to her. She accepted this fact because in her own way, she knew she was cute and could make the right person happy. Mr. Right just hadn’t come along yet.

  “Okay, why not,” she decided at the spur of the moment. “Just let me get my sandwich. I can save it for tomorrow’s lunch. I don’t want to put the restaurant through the work of making it and not show up.”

  Ryder nodded, and they headed into the restaurant.

  Chapter Two

  Melanie stood in the restaurant’s bathroom trying to do something about her makeup and freshen up at the same time. What had she been thinking saying yes to Ryder? She looked a hot mess, and it was only by the miracle of her favorite deodorant she didn’t smell like one too. Well he asked, so he better enjoy it or move on. She chuckled. This face was as good as it would get.

  She started out of the bathroom to return to their table and spotted him lounging comfortably waiting. He had removed his suit jacket and laid it across the chair. His shirtsleeves rolled up revealed muscular arms with a sprinkling of dark hair on them. He looked vaguely familiar.