BLACKMAIL_A billionaire blackmail romance

by Chloe Fischer

  Delia shrugged, sitting back to fold her arms over her chest.

  “That’s the only thing I can think of. I was an excellent employee otherwise. But that’s Diren for you. Gets bored and moves on to hotter pastures. I’m surprised he never made a pass at you,” she muttered.

  Ayla released a low whistle.

  “Wow! You must have all kinds of juicy stories!” she whispered, looking around as if she worried they were being overheard. “Did you ever go to his place?”

  Delia shook her head.

  “No. We always did it in the office but sometimes he’d get a hotel room. He guards his privacy pretty obsessively. I don’t think he likes people at his place.”

  I know the feeling, Ayla thought, thinking about Ryland breaking into her peaceful sanctuary.

  She forced herself to focus on the task before her.

  “But still, you must have learned a bunch of stuff about him, juicy stuff you can use online or something. Get your revenge on him!”

  Ayla loathed that she was baiting the girl, but she had a job to do.

  It’s the first thing Benning commissioned you with, she thought, gritting her teeth. And no matter how sketchy this is, you better do the best job you can. You don’t want to disappoint him right off the bat.

  Once more, Ryland’s face passed through her mind’s eye.

  And what will my dear stepbrother do if I get fired on my first week? He’ll say I did it on purpose.

  Ayla gulped back her worries.

  Delia grinned wickedly.

  “Well I did record some of our sex,” she confessed, as she refilled Ayla’s empty drink. “And let me tell you – he’s the best fuckin’ lay you’ll ever get. Damn near ruined me for anyone else,” she said bitterly. “But I dunno…I’m mad, but I don’t know if I’m that mad. I mean, I’m lucky that I got full time here right away and honestly, I like bartending more than I liked working for Benning. Even though I’ll probably never have a dick that big again,” she said wistfully.

  Oh really? Ayla thought, her breath hitching at the thought. But she stuffed down all the questions she wanted to ask about Diren’s skill between the sheets. Instead, she nodded understandingly.

  “Still,” she prodded. “It’s good to know you have it as leverage if you need it later. You can go to the tabloids or something.”

  Delia seemed to realize something suddenly, and she backed away from the bar, her eyes narrowing.

  “No,” she mumbled. “I can’t. And I really shouldn’t be talking about that, or anything else regarding Benning.”

  Ayla feigned a look of confusion.

  “Why not?” she demanded. “He did you wrong. Surely you have a right to vent about it.”

  Delia licked her lips and looked about nervously.

  “No,” she whispered. “There’s a nondisclosure agreement that we sign, remember? We can’t even discuss the company outside it’s walls. We could both get sued.”

  Ayla’s eyes widened in shock, as if Delia’s words had shocked her.

  “Oh my God,” she muttered, biting on her lower lip. “I totally forgot about that. But do you think it really means anything? Like, really, what could they do?”

  Delia leaned in, her voice lowering as she stared at Ayla with fear in her eyes. “I heard that Benning took out one of his accounting employees a year or so ago.” She immediately shook her head as she noted the look of horror on Ayla’s face. “No, no! Not ‘took out’ as in killed. I mean that he ended him – financially. Took him to court and the poor guy ended up penniless.”

  Ayla lowered her eyes, relief pouring through her. For a moment she thought she must be working for a real monster.

  “I won’t say anything if you don’t,” she said conspiratorially, and Delia nodded quickly, her head darting up as patrons entered the nearly empty bar.

  “I should go tend to them,” she said, and Ayla knew whatever she was going to get from Diren Benning’s former assistant was done.

  I guess I should go back to the office now and give him what I found, she thought miserably.

  She didn’t know if Diren would use the little information she had gathered to crucify the girl. I really don’t want the poor girl to suffer because she confided in me, Ayla thought. After all, Diren did seem to have fired Delia for no good reason…

  I have no idea what he’s looking for specifically, but she really doesn’t seem angry enough to expose him or the company for anything that would endanger anyone. I think he’s barking up the wrong tree here.

  Ayla contemplated not giving him the recording at all.

  I could just tell him that I thought it was recording but it failed, she thought, chewing on the insides of her cheeks. But then I’ll look incompetent.

  Ayla glanced at the clock over the rows of liquor bottles stacked along the back of the bar.

  It was lunchtime.

  She eyed her almost empty drink and sighed.

  I deserved the couple drinks, she decided glumly, sitting back. She was in no rush to see Diren Benning, especially since she didn’t have anything concrete to give him. My first assignment, and it’s pretty much a bust. Ayla had a feeling that she hadn’t uncovered what Diren was hoping she would find.

  One more drink and I’ll go back and give him what I found. Who knows, maybe Delia will keep talking and I’ll find out more before I have to go back to the office.

  **********

  It was quarter to one when Ayla stumbled slightly as she entered Benning Media.

  She was relaxed and floating on air, almost happy as she slipped across the CEO’s private floor, past Catrina who she shot a happy smile.

  “Hi Cat!” she sang, throwing open the inner doors.

  Her grin faded as she realized that Diren Benning was in a meeting.

  “Whoops!” she cried, covering her mouth with embarrassment. “Sorry!”

  Instantly, she ducked back out and turned, pressing her index finger to her lips as she winked at the receptionist.

  “Shh!” Ayla said in a dramatic stage whisper. “He’s in a meeting.”

  Catrina’s mouth became a fine line and she glared at Ayla.

  “Are you drunk?” she asked in disbelief, and Ayla’s brow furrowed.

  “No!” she exclaimed hotly. “Of course not!”

  To her horror, she realized the room tilted just a wee bit as she turned her head to deny the statement.

  Oh shit! How many vodkas did I have this afternoon? But it was worth it, right? Delia had indeed returned to talk to Ayla.

  It hadn’t been her intention to get drunk, but continuing to drink seemed crucial to the role she was playing, and the alcohol had gone down with relative ease as she spoke to Delia.

  The more she drank, the more the conversation seemed to flow and when she finally picked herself up off the barstool, Ayla had been convinced that she had done a thorough job.

  Okay, so maybe I had a bit too much to drink, she thought defensively. But it was at Benning’s request…kind of.

  “You better go get yourself some coffee before Mr. Benning – “

  The interior door opened and the man who had been inside the office with Diren stormed out, his face red with anger.

  “He looks piss-y!” Ayla sang in a stage whisper, giggling.

  “Ayla, you better go - ” Catrina started to say but Diren appeared before she could finish her thought.

  “Ayla, get in here,” he snarled, his jaw locked in fury.

  She looked at Catrina, but the woman only averted her eyes, shaking her head.

  Gulping, Ayla tripped inside the office, trying to keep her balance on her heels as she entered.

  “Close the door,” he spat, and she knew that she was in big trouble.

  “It’s not what it looks like!” Ayla told him before he could say another word. He sank into his chair and glared at her.

  “Are you drunk?” he snapped.

  “Yes, sort of…but – “

  “Is this a work day?” he interr
upted.

  “It is, Mr. Benning, but I – “

  “You’re fired.”

  The words filled her with shock and she shook her head.

  “No!” she retorted, folding her arms over her chest. “You can’t fire me!”

  He stared at her in disbelief.

  “You’re joking, right? You’re off your face and you expect me to what? Keep you around?”

  “I was out doing what you asked me to do!” she yelled back, her face growing red with anger. “You can’t fire me for doing what you told me to do!”

  Diren’s mouth formed a fine line of anger.

  “I asked you to go get drunk?” he asked, snorting at the suggestion. “Are you insane?”

  “You asked me to get close to Delia Craver. That’s what I was doing!”

  “And you thought you had to take her out drinking during the day to do it?”

  Ayla could see he was not listening to anything she was telling him.

  Slowly she began to shake her head. He wouldn’t even let her explain.

  “You really are a bastard,” she heard herself say. “It’s not a rumor. You are a prick.”

  Diren’s smoky grey eyes seemed to dilate as the words registered.

  “You wouldn’t be the first to call me that,” he replied evenly. “But I would have thought you’d be more creative. You may collect your things and leave.”

  As if she had already disappeared from his sight, he turned his attention back to his desk.

  “No.”

  He arched a dark eyebrow, pursing his lips.

  “Really? You’re going to make me call security?”

  She placed her hands on his desk and leaned forward, spitting her words.

  “You can call whomever you want,” she told him furiously. “But if you have me thrown out of here, whatever I learned today goes with me.”

  An entirely different expression seemed to come over Diren’s face.

  Ayla realized he was weighing the truth in her words.

  “And what did you learn today?” he drawled, his lids dropping to leer at her. “That tequila needs a rum chaser?”

  She stared back at him for moment, not replying, instead plucking her cell phone from the depth of her purse.

  She pressed play and allowed Delia’s voice to fill the room.

  “Nope. I was his executive assistant for a year and we screwed from the second day I got the job, right to the very last. That’s why he fired me, I’m sure of it!”

  Diren seemed to freeze as she stopped the recording.

  “But if you aren’t interested in what else she has to say…” Ayla said, spinning to make a hopefully grand exit. “I will collect my things and leave.”

  Her hand on the knob, his voice shot out.

  “Wait!”

  Ayla paused but she did not turn, waiting for the right words.

  “What else did she say?”

  “I guess you’ll never know,” she retorted, glancing at him over her shoulder. “Since you like to shoot first and ask questions later.”

  Diren stared at her for a long moment and then lowered his eyes in exasperation.

  “What are you going to do with that information? Go to the papers? Because I will sue you so fast – “

  Ayla scoffed.

  “I know - I signed a nondisclosure agreement,” Ayla rolled her eyes as she continued, “But even if I hadn’t, I have no interest in going to the press with this. Or anything else for that matter. I got this recording because you asked me to do it. If you don’t want it, I’m just going to destroy it.”

  His head jerked up and he gazed at her, his lips twitching as if he could not imagine she would take such valuable information and throw it away.

  “Really?” he asked skeptically. “You would just walk out of here and delete it.”

  “I’ll delete it before I walk out of here, if you want,” she replied, her hand hovering over the button.

  “Wait!” he cried, realizing what she was about to do. “I want to hear it.”

  She fully turned and eyeballed him, waiting.

  “Let me hear it,” he ordered, and she shook her head.

  “You owe me an apology,” she told him. “And my job back.”

  His eyes narrowed dangerously at her.

  “A what?” he spat. “Are you crazy?”

  A flash of nervousness bolted through Ayla and she realized that in her intoxicated state, she might be pushing her luck with the powerful CEO a little far. Okay, a lot far.

  He rose from his chair and stalked toward her and before Ayla could react, he pinned her against the door, his eyes bright with anger as his hand cupped the side of her neck and his thumb raised her chin to the angle he wanted.

  She gasped, her heart hammering.

  “You want an apology?” he growled, his hand tightening around her face. “Here’s your apology.”

  Chapter Six

  Diren stared into her eyes as his hand held her in place, noting the look of panic in her face. It stirred him deliciously.

  Before he could stop himself, he crushed his lips to hers, tasting the bite of vodka on her lips as he slipped his tongue inside her mouth.

  She gasped, raising her hands to push him away but the action was without any effort and Diren felt her acceptance of his forceful caress, as she allowed her mouth to part, permitting him entrance. His right hand began to explore as his left palm slipped back to cup her rear, pulling her curvy but toned body toward him.

  Any semblance of a fight was forsaken as she entwined her fingers in his hair, pulling his head toward hers.

  He half wondered if she would have pretended to protest his actions if she had not been tipsy. It didn’t really matter; her resolve was farcical in any case.

  His hand massaged her full, round ass cheeks with hard, almost pinching motions as he dipped her head back and sank his mouth into her neck.

  Ayla sighed, and his hand slipped back to twist her dark hair into his closed fist, while lifting her skirt upward to expose her thong.

  She cried out slightly as he bit into the soft flesh of her neck, pressing her fully against the door of the office with a thud.

  Ayla’s hands tightened in his hair, as he pulled hers, his lips traveling across her neck, down to the buttons of her blouse.

  Between her voluptuous buttocks, he rubbed, toying with the string of her thong, allowing it to slap against her center as his fingers danced precariously close to her openings, already damp with anticipation.

  With long, deliberate strokes, he teased at the entrance to her pussy, his thumb caressing her most delicate slot as he slipped a finger inside her.

  She moaned softly, aware of Catrina sitting a few feet away at her desk, but she could barely stifle her cries when he added a second finger, his mouth finding the taut skin of her nipple.

  He bared his teeth, nipping at her sensitive breast as the movements of his fingers grew more aggressive and Ayla began to writhe, trying to reach the precipice that was looming fast, trying to force him to send her over. But it was no use.

  Diren had her exactly where he wanted her.

  He sucked forcefully on her nipple, simultaneously working on her clit, the motions in tandem, robbing her of breath. He paused, just as a rush of liquid heat flooded through her to dampen his hand.

  “Is this the kind of apology you’re looking for?” he taunted her as she realized she was trapped in this spot, at his mercy against the wood door. “Do I seem sorry enough yet?”

  She whimpered as he rose to his full height, withdrawing his fingers to slowly slide one inside her gaping mouth, leaving the sweet essence of her on her own tongue.

  The sensual and shocked look in her eyes as he pulled his finger away only added to the throbbing between his own legs and he boldly sucked on the other honey coated finger himself. The punch of lust that went straight to his groin at the taste of her almost made him groan out loud.

  She looked so innocent as she stared at him, licking
her own lips tentatively, and then sucking the trace of juices away eagerly.

  He knew if he let her go, she would fall. Her body was soft beneath his.

  Slowly, he began to slide his hand down the front of her body, yanking his fist from her hair so that he could undo his trousers, but as she started to fall to her knees, reading something in his expectations, a strange wave of guilt flooded through him.

  He didn’t want her to go down on him. He wanted to be inside her. He needed to be inside her. The feeling startled him, because he usually went for a cold, clean blowjob while at the office in the middle of the day. It seemed to be less hassle than the alternative, and essentially just as effective in the end. For him, anyways.

  He pushed the uneasy feeling from his head, not wanting to think about why this interlude felt different for him. Without warning, he guided her head back up, roughly but expertly enough not to cause pain, whipping her around to face the door as she fell forward.

  Bracing herself with her palms against the door, Ayla drew in her breath sharply as Diren slapped her perfectly shaped ass, causing a sharp jolt of desire to run through her body. Her pussy clenched hard as he smacked the other cheek.

  She bucked back, breathing heavily and Diren knew he had her where he wanted her, but he was not going to give her what she wanted so easily.

  She needs to be punished for talking to me like that, he thought grimly, spreading her legs apart firmly and readying his cock at her entrance.

  When he plunged into her, she could not stop herself from crying out, his thick, long unit causing her breath to hitch at his size.

  He grabbed her waist firmly, jerking deeply into her, listening to her mewl again but there would be no mercy for her.

  With the intensity of a jackhammer, he pounded into her, Ayla’s screams increasing with each wild thrust.

  Her core tightened around him, growing more slippery with each jab and he felt his sack constricting as her whimpers took on a fever pitch.

  He leaned his torso against her back, reaching forward to grasp her breasts tightly, flicking her nipples expertly. Ayla saw stars beneath her lids as the sensual assault continued on her body. No man had ever worked her erotic zones as he was. Diren seemed to know how far, how hard, and when. The feelings were overwhelming and Alya arched her back, reaching hard for him, trying to get that last little bit of stimulation she needed. But Diren took control, slowing down his thrusts and she cried out, desperate to finish.