She grabbed her purse and stalked out of Daniel’s apartment, leaving him sitting on his bed. He sighed in frustration as he leaned on his elbows and ran his hands through his hair. This hadn’t gone exactly to plan and he was furious that Sasha hadn’t given in to his plan.
Sasha arrived home and kicked off her heels. She peeled off her clothes and marched straight into the bathroom, turning on the shower and letting the scalding water bounce off her skin. She quickly lathered shower gel over her body in an attempt to rid herself of the smell and memory of the night.
After drying herself off, she climbed into bed and stared at the ceiling. She couldn’t believe that Daniel had used her in that way. She couldn’t believe that she had allowed him to seduce her. What made it worse was that she was genuinely attracted to him and the sex they had had was the best ever. She thought she had felt a connection to him but he just turned out to be like all the rest of the users and manipulators she had ever met.
Both Daniel and Sasha tossed and turned that night and neither of them got much sleep. The night had ended so badly that both of them just wanted to forget what had happened.
The next morning, Sasha rolled out of bed and headed into the shower again. She had hardly slept so she needed a hot blast of water to wake her up. After drying her body and hair, she opened her wardrobe and slipped into a cream silk blouse and a black pencil skirt. She was early, so once her makeup was complete, she wandered into the kitchen and made a pot of coffee. She was just sitting down to drink it when her cell phone rang.
It was Daniel’s PA. She was instructed to go to Daniel’s office as soon as she arrived that morning. Setting her jaw in a determined grimace, Sasha drank her coffee and grabbed her bag. She intended to give Daniel another dressing down as soon as she arrived.
Sasha made it through the traffic without killing anyone, which was surprising given the mood she was in. She rode up the elevator at Warrington Enterprises and strutted out to Daniel Warrington’s top floor office reception area. She stood and tapped her foot as she thought about all the things she was going to say to Daniel.
The receptionist told her she could go in to the office and Sasha strutted through, ready to verbally crucify Daniel. But he wasn’t there. Standing waiting for her was Daniel’s PA.
“Good morning, Sasha.”
“Where is he?” Sasha demanded, looking around.
“Mr. Warrington isn’t here today. He’s on his way to a meeting in Seattle.”
Sasha stopped in her tracks. The PA cleared her throat nervously and handed a piece of paper to Sasha.
“I’m to inform you that your services are no longer required at Warrington Enterprises. This is your termination notice. As per your contract, there is a clause which states that Warrington Enterprises can terminate your employment without any forward notice.”
“What?” Sasha looked down at the piece of paper, the writing blurred as her anger built up inside her. “The bastard!”
“I’m sorry, Ms Bond, but I’ll have to ask you to sign the document to confirm you were notified and if you could leave your company keycard and any company property with me right now, that would be great.”
Sasha sat down on one of the plush black leather seats in the office. She read over the piece of paper. A few curt sentences, no mention of the work she had completed just because she hadn’t allowed Daniel Warrington to fuck her into submission. She was furious. She felt as though the wind had been completely knocked out of her. She had expected to walk in and lay things on the line for him but he had stayed one step ahead of her the entire time. The whole thing had been pointless. The whole reason for her being employed at Warrington Enterprises had been a sham. She had been expected to just toe the line and do what she was told, regardless of the pitfalls.
The PA was standing watching Sasha, holding a pen out for her to sign the document. Sasha grabbed it from her hand and signed and dated it, then handed the pen and piece of paper back to her. Then she pulled her keycard and company cell phone from her purse and laid them on the glass table.
“The only thing I have is the laptop within my office.”
“That’s fine. We’ve already sequestered that,” the PA said.
“Sequestered? Jesus, you make me feel like a criminal.”
“I’m very sorry you feel that way, Ms Bond.”
“You work for a monster, you know that, don’t you?”
The PA simply smiled at Sasha, clearly embarrassed at being put in this situation by her employer.
“Security will escort you back to your car, Ms Bond. And Mr. Warrington has asked you to remember the non-disclosure aspect of your contract.”
“Oh, don’t worry, I’m in no hurry to tell anyone about what we did,” Sasha hissed. She held her head up high as a security guard walked her to her car. Once she was inside, she let out a deep breath and struggled to get her breath under control. She was so angry with him. But not only that, she was hurt. She couldn’t believe he had treated her this way. To lure her with an invite to dinner and a romantic evening followed by the most amazing sex, just to find out it had all been a ruse to seduce her. No one had ever done that to her before and she couldn’t get a grasp on how she hadn’t picked up on the signs.
She closed her eyes as she remembered the touch of his warm skin on hers. He had felt so right as he held her close to him and when he had entered her and teased her with his cock, it had been enough to send her over the edge. The sex had been exquisite, and she had enjoyed seeing another, more playful side to the autocratic billionaire. But it had just been a ruse; none of it true. She had been played like a fool and lost her job as a result.
Brushing away a tear and willing herself to keep control, Sasha put her car into gear and drove away from Warrington Enterprises, determined to forget all about Daniel Warrington and his stupid company.
***
It had been eight months since the debacle with Warrington Enterprises and Sasha was happily working in a smaller firm, running a financial systems project for their retail-banking sector. She had been given a good team to work with and the free rein to make her own decisions. She rarely thought about Daniel anymore beyond an occasional ache for his touch and to cuss him out for using her sexually to get his own way.
She had been careful not to read any of the press about him and his company and tried to focus on her current job. She had been lucky to land the position after being dismissed from Warrington Enterprises. They had looked at her CV and working record and were happy to accept references from her previous employers. She cited personal reasons behind her swift departure from Warrington Enterprises.
However much she tried to forget about him though, working in the financial sector meant that she was always exposed to the gossip. For quite a few months her colleagues were ruminating on the merger between Warrington Private Finance and Bulmer Bank. Some had taken bets on when the parent company would admit to the failure of the merger. Sasha was always quick to remove herself from conversations about the company and didn’t want to listen to the speculation in the cafeteria.
She had had enough of Daniel Warrington and didn’t care what happened to the merger. However, she was taken aback when she walked into the cafeteria one day to find a number of her colleagues crowded around the large flat screen TV on the wall. Daniel Warrington was giving a press conference and her colleagues were watching eagerly to find out what was going on.
Sasha sighed and went to leave the cafeteria but something stopped her when she heard Daniel’s voice on the screen. He sounded deflated. Not like his usual arrogant self.
She turned and walked closer to the group surrounding the television. On screen, Daniel Warrington looked tired and defeated. Sasha listened as he began to talk about the fallout from the merger and the losses the companies had made. Throughout his speech cameras continued to flash at him but he gave no sign of being distracted as he spoke his words in a dull tone.
After he had finished, the reporters began to ask
him questions about the failure of the merger. One asked if there were any regrets about making the decision to go ahead. Daniel’s eyes narrowed and he cleared his throat. When he spoke, he sounded as though he was chewing on glass.
“There were people, I mean, there was one person. I should have listened…” he trailed off. Sasha stared at the screen, feeling a little numb. Daniel looked down from the cameras and then back up. “I was wrong. I should have listened.”
The reporters clamored to ask him more questions but he was led away by his advisers. Soon, the reporter for the news channel came back on camera and rounded off the item.
Sasha’s colleagues were buzzing at the fact that the famed billionaire had seemed so defeated. They were again speculating about what had happened and were joking about how the mighty had fallen from grace. Sasha slowly left the room and went outside the building to get some fresh air.
As she walked down the main street she couldn’t decide what she felt. She knew that if Daniel had listened to her all those months ago he wouldn’t be in the mess he was currently in. It was his own foolish pride that had caused him to make those mistakes. And yet, she couldn’t help feeling sorry for him. It had taken a lot for a man used to being in control to admit that he had been wrong. Sasha felt a renewed sense of respect for him, something that she didn’t expect to feel at all.
Daniel was back in his office, having given the worst press conference of his career. He felt completely humiliated. Not only was he single handedly blamed for the losses the company had sustained, the board was constantly on his back to fix the mess as soon as possible. It was a drop in the ocean in real terms to Daniel but he still had shareholders and board members to answer to.
He looked down at his hands as he thought about having to stand there in front of the cameras and admit he was wrong. His father, who had built the company from scratch, would have been furious with him, had he still been alive.
Daniel thought back to his interview on camera and the words he had uttered. He hadn’t even intended to say those words, but they had just tumbled out of his mouth. “I was wrong. I should have listened.” He knew he should have been saying those words to her, but she would probably not care anymore.
The disgust he felt with himself had been building for months now. The cracks had started to appear shortly after that night with Sasha. She had been right, of course - he was sick. Sick to have treated her that way. Sick to try and use her, to coerce her into submitting to his will. And all along she had been right. He was an idiot.
He called his PA into his office and asked her to find out where Sasha Bond was working. He already knew the answer, but still wanted to give the illusion that he was merely enquiring about an ex-employee. His PA didn’t need to know that he had kept tabs on Sasha’s whereabouts since she had left, hoping for the chance to put things right.
When his PA sent the information to his cell phone, Daniel told her to cancel his afternoon appointments and arrange for his car to be prepared.
Soon he found himself waiting in a small meeting room within Boardman Finance. He waited patiently until the door opened and Sasha entered.
As soon as she saw Daniel she stopped walking and frowned. He smiled weakly at her.
“What are you doing here?”
“I assume you saw my interview?”
“You assume too much, Mr. Warrington. I’ll ask again. Why are you here?”
Sasha stood in the door frame, waiting for his response. Her heart felt like it was slamming into her rib cage but she gave no indication that she was affected by Daniel’s presence.
Daniel continued to look at her, his eyes closing briefly as he saw she was just as beautiful as he remembered her to be. But her eyes were cold and her lips were pressed into a thin, hard line. He wanted to kiss those lips again but he knew there was no chance of that happening. He stood up, realizing that he had been stupid to come.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come. I’ll let you get back to your work.”
He moved to walk past Sasha but she stopped him by placing her hand on his chest.
“You said you were wrong. You should have listened.”
“So you did see my interview?” He gave a half nod and a weak smile.
“I caught it on my way to lunch.”
“It must have been entertaining for you.”
“No. Why would it be?”
“Well, you were right, weren’t you? And I fired you…after what we did. You must have felt a sense of revenge for my bad karma.”
Sasha gave him a withering glance. “Karma didn’t cause your merger to fail, Mr. Warrington. Your behavior did.”
Daniel looked down at his shoes. “I know that.”
They stood in silence for a moment.
“So, how are you doing? Are you enjoying your job here?”
Sasha laughed and took her hand away from Daniel’s chest.
“Seriously? You came all the way over here to ask me if I’m enjoying my new job?”
“No. Actually, I came over here to offer you a new job.”
“What?” Sasha stepped back in shock.
“I know. It seems unlikely. And I’ll understand if you don’t want to come. It’s just that I’ve gotten myself into a bit of a pickle with a merger I’ve been manhandling. I kind of need you to come and show me how to fix it. You seem to know all about these things and I was thinking that I should listen to what you have to say.”
Sasha blinked as though she couldn’t understand what was being said.
“Are you eating humble pie, Mr. Warrington?”
“Daniel. And yes, I’m eating humble pie.”
“Wow. I’m stunned.”
Daniel lifted his hand and hesitantly stroked Sasha’s cheek.
“I’m so sorry for what I did to you. Look, forget the job offer. I totally understand. I was an asshole. I don’t deserve your help or anything like that.”
“You’re right. You don’t.” Sasha placed her hand on top of his and stroked it. “But something tells me that you don’t make apologies very often.”
Daniel smiled and shook his head.
“I missed you, Sasha.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I mean, you’re annoyingly headstrong and you don’t do as you’re told, but I kind of need someone like that in my life.”
“I know you do.”
“So if you would like to take up that position, I would be eternally grateful.”
“What position? Employee or chief headstrong person to put you in your place?”
“The latter, or both. Whatever works for you.”
Sasha nodded and thought for a moment. Then she leaned in and brushed her lips against his.
“You have a lot of making up to do Mr. Warrington,” she whispered as she pulled him into a deep, long, hard kiss. Just as Daniel began to enjoy her soft lips, she surprised him with a strong punch in the ribs.
“Ouch, what was that for?”
“For being an asshole and breaking my heart.”
“Sorry, but can we go back to kissing again?”
“Yes, we can.”
“Whatever you say, Ma’am,” said Daniel, as he gripped her tight in his strong arms, like he would never let her go again.
*****
THE END
Billionaire’s Nanny Bride
“How do you plead, Mr. Tucker?” The judge regarded the litigant with a hard stare: her dark, beady eyes looking over the rim of her glasses.
“Look. That guy had it coming. I can’t stand stuck-up Yankee fans.” Adam Tucker stated nonchalantly. The superstar Red Sox player stood there in a finely pressed, gray suit, arms crossed, a casual smile on his face. This wasn’t the first time his rowdy personality had gotten him a night in jail or a few hours in a courtroom.
“You know what surprises me, Mr. Tucker? That you would be foolish enough to get yourself in a fight, land yourself in jail and then conduct yourself in this manner in my courtroom, right after the death of
your wife.” The judge sat up in her seat.
“How does that matter?” Adam grumbled. “She was almost as bad as a Yankee fan.” He flashed a malicious smile.
“Do you think this is some sort of game?” The judge’s voice was level. “Do you realize that if I decide to send you to jail for this act of tomfoolery, you’ll lose any and all custody of your little girl?” She paused, looking through some photographs, scattered in front of her. One of her fingers reached up, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose. “Young Lacey, correct? I think she might be better off without her hothead father. And I’m not the only one who thinks so. Your wife had similar thoughts.”
Adam stiffened at the declaration. He had been too sure of himself seconds before but now he felt some tightness in his chest that suffocated him. There was very little he was happy about when he thought of his marriage, but Lacey was the shining light in the middle of all of the hatred and anger. To lose that would mean losing his only happiness from the last decade.
“You can’t do that!” Adam snapped, kicking the chair behind him. It crashed against the gallery, causing the bailiff to rush to restrain him.
“I absolutely can. I can also assure you that, if there is another outburst like this, I’ll have you forcibly removed from my courtroom.” The judge peered down at Adam, a grimace on her face. “And from your daughter’s life.”
Adam felt his rage bubbling up inside of him. Sweat gathered at the edge of his brow, as he fought to control himself. With each passing remark, it became harder to keep his emotions under control.
“Do you see the damage you caused, Mr. Tucker?” The judge announced, holding up a photograph. The scene was that of pure chaos: broken bar stools, spilled liquor all over the floor splotches of red on the bar. After a passing moment, she held up another picture. This time, a man’s busted face appeared. His eyes were swollen shut and his lip was bashed open. “Are you guilty of all this damage?”
“Yes. But…”
“Then I understand why your wife added this clause to her will. Why should a sweet little girl be in the custody of someone capable of this?”
The Billionaire's Fake Marriage (A Romance Collection Boxed Set) Page 26
