by Fiona Wells
The Billionaire's Brother
© 2014 Fiona Wells
Vivian couldn’t believe her luck. The sun was shining over the courtyard restaurant and she sat, feeling like a goddess in a new fitted floral dress, under a collection of shady palm trees. It was the hottest little eatery uptown right now, a place she’d just last week read about in the papers as being impossibly booked except for big names. The server was currently refilling her glass of chilled white wine as her companion peered over the menu.
“If you could please bring a round of the chef’s favorites today. Appetizer, entree, whatever he’s feeling like. I trust old Reggie,” Alexander said playfully with a wink. The server quietly disappeared. Oh, yes, Vivian felt very lucky. It wasn’t everyday that your gorgeous boss asked you out to lunch to discuss a “private project” and although she knew Alex was happily married, it was enough to admire his blonde tousled hair and tan skin from across the table. His green eyes glimmered and he smiled as he gestured around them. “Pretty neat spot, right? Do you like it?”
“Yes. It’s really beautiful. Very chic,” she replied with a feigned casual tone. Who was she kidding? She was a bit out of her element, usually preferring to cook delicious meals at home with the family recipes that had given her a full hourglass figure that had been described as “deliciously curvy.” His phone suddenly sounded off and he apologized profusely, running off to take whatever important business had arisen.
She took this time to study her reflection in the table centerpiece, a mod small sculpture that seemed to double as a decent mirror. Her dark brown hair fell down in elegant curls to frame her face and she thanked the stars that her new anti-humidity product was holding up against the summer heat. She brushed a finger over her full lips, which many a date had often complimented before over awkward dinner conversation. The “awkward” part was probably why she hadn’t been on a date in quite some time. Work had kept her busy and she couldn’t even remember the last time she’d put her lips to some good use. It’d sure be nice to kiss Alex, but hitting on a married man was not her style. She sighed softly and sipped her wine. The server popped by with a small selection of cheeses and bread, a portion that looked woefully pitiful but she was almost positive that small plates somehow equated to fancy in the restaurant world.
Alex came hurrying back to the table, running a hand through his hair with a flustered look of exasperation. She raised her eyebrows. “Is everything alright, sir?” She worked for Alex as his executive assistant. It was her job to make sure things in his corporate life ran smoothly for the family-run manufacturing company he headed. She hoped she hadn’t accidentally overlooked an appointment or letter, but she was confident in her work and always did a thorough job in every assignment.
“No, no,” he answered a bit hurriedly and took a swig of his water. Was he sweating? It wasn’t like her boss to be frazzled, even by business. He stole a bit of bread from the plate, but instead of eating it, he merely twisted it in his hands and bit his lip.
“Am I being fired?” the question escaped her mouth before she could stop it. She wanted to slap a hand over her face as her cheeks heated.
“God, no!” he exclaimed with such a strong tone that the three neighboring tables turned to stare. He smiled sheepishly at them and then leaned forward. “Vivian, I would never fire you. Nobody works like you do.”
“Oh, ok, that’s good,” she answered weakly, fiddling with the tablecloth near her lap. He cleared his throat.
“No, actually, this is because you work so well.”
“Um, a promotion?” She let the tablecloth drop from her fingers. The server topped off her wine.
“Well, yes, in a way. It’s a reassignment, actually.” He ran a hand through his hair again. “You get paid more though for certain compensation.”
Certain compensation? Her hand flew to her wine glass, sensing she might need it in a few seconds. It was very unlike Alex, beautiful and just turned thirty Alex with a beautiful wife, to be so worked up. She felt a pain in her stomach.
“Are you aware that I have a younger brother?” He asked. She nodded. Yes, of course. She often had heard various bits about Alex’s younger brother, who she thought was named Ben or Brad, through the office. He worked for another branch of the company and was usually abroad. Alex never talked about him though. Was that strange? She thought to herself, recalling that she pleasantly talked about her loving parents and two sisters to Alex in casual conversation.
“His name is Ben. He’s twenty-seven,” he explained. She calculated quickly in her brain. Three years older than me.
“Well, he's actually in charge of the company’s overseas branch. He typically works out of London, but he’s gotten into a bit of trouble over there…It’s hard to explain, but my brother, he’s a bit of a ladies man. Sort of. He just likes to play around, you know? It was fine when he was in college, but my family and I are getting a bit frustrated with his ways. He does his work well, but, well…Like I said, he’s gotten into some trouble.”
“What kind of trouble?” She gripped her glass tighter. All kinds of scenes were running through her head. Drugs, trafficking, smuggling?
He rubbed the back of his neck and cleared his throat. “He…well, he got into a bit of a spot. He sort of…messed around with a member of the royal family. Not anyone too major, but there were some pictures taken. My family hired a firm to handle the negotiation of the pictures and paid half a leg to get him out of that potential scandal. But, my dad, the head of the company, is very upset with him. Dad took him out of his position temporarily and is sending him over here.”
“So, you’re babysitting?” She asked with a pointed look. The corner of his lips angled up into a half-smile.
“Yes and he needs it, you know. He’s always been too smooth for his own good, but…”
“But, why would you have called me out to lunch if it wasn’t about something more than trying out tiny bits of cheese together?” She ventured. He nodded guiltily.
“This is why. You’re sharp as a tack. I hate to put this on you, Vivian, but you’re the only one I can trust. I don’t have time to clean up his messes right now. Adriana is pregnant. We just found out. She wants to go back and visit her family in France. Her grandfather isn’t very well, lung cancer, and she insists that we have to go now. We’ll be gone for two full weeks.”
Two full weeks of taking care of some womanizing, royalty chasing sleaze? It actually didn’t sound that bad, especially when Alex slid over a check. Her eyes bulged.
“Alex, there are too many zeroes on this.”
“Vivian, to be honest,” he reached out and touched her hand with a serious look, “no amount of money will prepare you for my brother. But, this is what my father feels is appropriate. If you survive, I’ll be sure to get you a bonus too at the end. You’ll be able to build a nice little nest egg after this babysitting job.”
Ok, ok. She pressed her lips together and smoothed her dress. It wasn’t that she couldn’t turn down the money, but she loved working for Alex. Surely, she could learn to work with someone who has similar genetic material, right?
“How bad could he be?” She asked with a small laugh. He opened his mouth and then suddenly jerked his head to look at something behind her. She felt a shiver run through her body and pressed her barely manicured nails into her thighs as her stomach tugged in excitement. As if enchanted by a spell, Vivian's head turned reflexively to gaze behind her.
“Hello, brother.” The voice was deep and rich like a fine wine spilling over
the courtyard. Holy. Hell. She felt her mouth open. Before her was the most stunning man she’d ever seen. This demi-god had dark hair that was tousled even more than Alex’s blond locks, sharp cheekbones slanting underneath groomed facial hair, and the same piercing green eyes. He was dressed immaculately in a fitted suit that she desperately wished he wasn’t wearing. He flicked his eyes from Alex to her and she felt a buzz hum through her chest. His lips tugged upwards in a barely-there smirk.
“Vivian, this is my brother, Ben” Alex’s deep voice said slowly. Vivian was drawn out of her out of her trance immediately and she felt her cheeks burn as she forced herself to turn towards her boss. She heard elegant, sure footsteps approach from behind and felt a hand, his hand, brush her shoulder. Alex’s eyes narrowed and he shot a stern look towards Ben, who she could feel hovering just behind her. His body was so close that she could feel the heat radiating from his skin. He had the aroma of a musky, expensive cologne.
No, no, no. She cleared her throat and scooted to the side, flipping her hair over the shoulder he had just touched. “There’s another chair right over here,” she said, gesturing to the chair on the other side of the table. Alex tugged the chair closer to his own.
“Yes, please, sit.” He said, although it sounded more like a death threat than an invitation.
“I’m fine standing, thanks,” Ben replied smoothly. “I’m meeting someone here actually.” He gestured to a gorgeous redhead with long legs in a silky wrap dress on the opposite side of the courtyard. Vivian peeked at Alex out of the corner of her eyes and saw his jaw clench sternly.
She cleared her throat and turned. Might as well be polite if she was going to be working for him, right? She held out her hand. “It’s such a pleasure to meet you, Ben. I look forward to working together.” Ben's eyes shot quickly away from the redhead and back to Vivian.
“Vivian,” he said slowly like he was tasting her name. He ran his tongue along his teeth, flicking across his sharp incisors. She shivered when his hand, soft and warm, seized her in a secure grip. He didn’t shake it, but pulled it up softly to his lips as he bent towards her and placed a small kiss on it. She heard Alex grunt out a comment under his breath, but couldn’t register anything other than the sensation of how Ben’s lips felt against her skin. What would it be like to feel his lips in other places? She drew in a breath, enchanted by the rich scent of his body, nearly whining when he gently drew back and released her hand. It fell to her lap. Her lips parted and she tried to muster some sort of intelligent response, but he was quicker. “I expect you in my office at seven o’clock in the morning, darling. I’ve got paper work for you. Thanks.”
She stared blankly, her curvy mouth dropped, as he strolled away with a nonchalant wave and headed over to the redhead. The next words tumbled out of Vivian’s mouth before she could help herself as she swiveled quickly with flushed cheeks back to Alex, “What a cheeky little bastard! How are you even related?!” Alex snorted gently behind his hand and turned to the side to stifle his laughter. The server had reappeared to clear their appetizer plates and replace them with more sizable offerings of steak medallions smothered in garlic butter. Not even the smell of gourmet food could keep the blood from racing in her veins. She snatched the glass of wine off the table and downed it.
“Yes, well…now you know Ben,” he said with one last chuckle. “He’s a bit of a…character.”
“Which is your codeword for ass,” she quipped as the server popped back over to fill her glass.
“Vivian, you go and cash that check today. I’ll be preparing your bonus check for the end of the two weeks,” he said, hesitating. “If you still want the job, that is.”
“Oh, yes. I want the job.” She replied with the stir of determination blooming in her chest. “I’ll whip him into shape by the end of the two weeks.”
“Just try not to kill him,” he added lightly, although she strongly suspected he would not be entirely against that outcome. They quickly turned their conversation to other things.
As they continued their meal, she was all too aware of a pair of eyes staring at her from afar. She slyly pushed her hair to curtain her face. She thanked Alex once again for lunch as they were exiting the courtyard. Again, she could feel those eyes and it sent a surge of heat pooling through her stomach. She couldn’t even concentrate on Alex's parting words concerning a meeting from the day before. She could only focus on the intensity of Ben’s gaze as she swept through the doors and shivered from excitement when she was finally back in her car. She wrenched the A/C knobs to full blast with a heavy sigh and set course for the bank.
Her heart was still racing, but out of anger or arousal, she couldn’t tell.
—
Vivian was twenty minutes early to Ben’s office, which was located on the same floor as Alex’s.
She knew Alex didn't trust Been too much, and after yesterday’s events, she was inclined to agree. As she considered the situation, the silver polished elevator doors slid smoothly apart for her, revealing the front office and waiting room. The desk was occupied by Anita, a sweet older woman with beautiful olive skin and handsome features to match the trimmed blazers she wore everyday. She often joined Vivian for lunch and they enjoyed each other’s company.
“I see you’ll be in a new office,” she said with a smile as Vivian walked up. Vivian returned her smile weakly.
“Yes, just temporarily though, thankfully,” she replied as Anita slid a key over.
“I’m sure you’re going to do great! Here’s the key to his office.”
“He’s not in yet?”
“Oh, I don’t think so. I haven’t seen him, but he said it was alright to let yourself in.”
Vivian picked up the key and thanked her friend. Her heels clicked on the polished black marble floors as she headed towards Ben's office. She inserted the key into the towering dark wooden door and turned it with a satisfying click. His scent was the first thing she smelled as she pushed against the door. She felt the same shivers from yesterday racing up her arm, pausing to take a deep breath. She could do this. She knew she could.
His office was a mirror image of Alex’s with windowed walls on one side to cast a glow of early morning light across the black and white leather furniture. She set her purse down on one of the plush armchairs placed in front of the long desk which her new boss was conspicuously absent from. On the glossy oak surface was an impressively tall stack of papers and a small note with her name, she realized with another shiver, on top. She ran her finger over the elegant handwriting. It seemed very unfair that even his handwriting was sexy.
She lifted the folded, thick card-stock to read a simple, scrawled message: “Please have this done by today.” Her eyes narrowed as she looked back from the note to the stack of paper over again. Cheeky bastard strikes again!
It was noon before she even looked up from a manila file folder to see that only a miserable third of the stack was finished. She would definitely be eating lunch at the desk today. She glanced at the empty chair. Was he ever going to show up? Whatever. She tossed her soft curls and called the deli downstairs on the ground floor to send a meal up. As she hung up with the deli, a door opened on the opposite end of the room, one which led to the same style of executive bathroom that Alex had in his own office. She hurriedly put her phone back into her purse and averted her eyes back to her work.
“Morning, love!” Ben’s playful voice boomed through the spacious office. She didn’t raise her head.
“It’s noon,” she cooly replied.
She heard him step out into the office. There was a distinct sound of water dripping onto the tile. She picked up her pen to mark something on the file in front of her. She heard the sound of fabric rustling and then his footsteps padding slowly towards her.
“You’ve gotten through a good bit, I’m impressed,” his voice was coming in closer now. She continued writing on the file.
“Oh, gee, thanks. You left me quite a lot of work-“ her agitated reply caught in
her throat as she picked up her head to look at him. Her eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. “What are you doing?!”
He was naked with just a towel around his waist. Part of her mind wished that he would casually drop the fluffy white towel, but she reeled her desire in and tried to avert her eyes from his well-muscled torso.
“Mark my words. I will sue you for sexual harassment,” she warned sternly and gripped her pen tighter in her hand. He cocked an eyebrow and leaned against the couch several feet from where she sat. His towel opened to show one beautiful muscled thigh. She felt sweat spring up on her neck.
“You’ve never seen a naked man before?” His voice was teasing. “I could show you if you’re curious.”
“I could get a lot of money in a lawsuit,” she replied, trying to steady her shaking voice, but it ended up sounding nearly lustful. His towel moved a bit further open and her eyes fell on his groin.
‘Drop the towel!’ She cursed whatever neurons were firing lustfully away. ‘Oh, for the love of god, please. Drop. The. Damn. Towel.’
He seemed perfectly calm as he looked out the expansive windows. “Beautiful day,” he remarked calmly, as if he was not about to flash every sweet inch of his body. She could feel the hunger radiating from her own eyes. She saw the faintest hint of a smirk appear across his face. His dark hair looked even better wet, sending teasing droplets of water down his neck.
