Resisting the Billionaire

by C. C. Snow

  I was bewildered by why he would make special accommodations for me. It would be so much easier if he picked another person to be his assistant. Maybe I had to re-evaluate my initial impression of him as cold and uncaring?

  “Is there anything you wanted to ask me?”

  Surprised by the offer, I took a moment to formulate my question. “Why didn’t you pick someone with more experience for the position?” It had been nagging at me ever since Stewart called me into his office.

  He sat forward. “Do you remember typing up the Singapore Shipping Company contract a few weeks ago?”

  “Was that the company dealing with the Los Angeles office?” I squirmed. Normally, I did not remember the paperwork coming across my desk. My job was pretty unexciting; I was supposed to type what was in front of me. Generally I allowed my mind to wander, but I distinctly recalled the SSC contract because I had noticed a mistake on it. Stewart had left early that afternoon and since I was under a deadline, I made the changes without running it by him.

  “Yes. Did you know what you did?”

  I gulped nervously and tried to reassure myself if I had screwed up, they would have fired me weeks ago. “Um…”

  He grinned at me and I almost reeled back in shock at his unexpected reaction.

  “You caught a mistake and took initiative to correct it. It saved the company millions of dollars, Cora. When the attorney at the LA office pointed out the discrepancy in the revision, I was livid, but then I instantly saw the error in the figures. How did you figure it out?” He cocked his head in interest.

  Relieved I wasn’t in trouble, I blew out a breath. “It wasn’t hard. The figures didn’t add up. There was no way the order could have been for six million units if the contract was for twelve million dollars. It just took some simple math to figure out that it was supposed to be sixteen million units.”

  There was a look of admiration on his face and I flushed.

  “I traced the work back to you. At first I was going to have Personnel give you a bonus, but I realized I needed someone with your quick thinking by my side. That was good work, Cora.”

  I’d have preferred the bonus, I wanted to say, but I merely responded with a quiet thank you.

  “Do you have any other questions?”

  Might as well ask, Cora. I swallowed against the dryness in my throat, aware I was stepping into dangerous territory. “Could you tell me why your previous assistants didn’t work out?”

  His quirked one dark brow. “I take it the gossip mills have been hard at work?”

  I wisely held my tongue.

  “Let’s say they did not exhibit professional behavior. When I hire an assistant, an assistant is all I am looking for. I don’t want to mix business with pleasure.” His blue-green eyes lanced into me. “I take it you wouldn’t have a problem with that, Cora?”

  Any positive feelings I had about Jake Weston drowned in a wave of disgust.

  “I assure you, sir. I have no aspirations on that front,” I said firmly. I tried to keep the dislike and anger from bleeding into my voice. Obviously, he was afraid I would come on to him. As if! He may be nice– okay, more than nice– to look at, but his personality left a lot to be desired.

  The good news was that maybe I could keep this job for longer than a month if the only reason he fired the previous women was because they wanted to be his next piece of arm candy. The idea of me coming on to him was laughable. Right now I was struggling to be in his presence for more than five minutes without wanting to clobber him.

  “That’s good to know.” His face was inscrutable, but for some reason he seemed annoyed by my vehemence

  I couldn’t resist a verbal poke. “You could have hired a male EA. Of course you’d have to make sure he was straight or he may also find you irresistible.”

  I wasn’t entirely successful in hiding my acerbic tone and Jake flashed me a hard look. I was sure his next words would be: “You’re fired,” but he only said mildly, “I’ll take that under advisement the next time I find myself in need of an assistant.”

  The implication was clear. As far as set downs were concerned, it was subtle but effective.

  He spent the next ten minutes outlining my duties.

  The work seemed straightforward enough. I needed to manage his calendar, run reports for him, draft memorandums and announcements, and perform a variety of tasks to help make his life easier.

  Despite my misgivings, I was starting to get excited about the job. It seemed like a nice change from the monotony of typing up contracts and updating databases.

  “Cora, I expect you to be honest with me when I ask for your opinion. Sometimes I get mired in negotiations during a business meeting and I rely on you to be alert about what you see and hear. You need to become an extension of me, in essence.”

  “I understand, sir.”

  “Jake.” His tone was insistent.

  I made a face. Using his name still felt strange, but I’d better get used to it. “I understand, Jake.”

  “You’ll learn the rest as we go along. For now, you need to go to the Personnel department and sign your contract. Dave Chung will go over your new compensation package. As my EA, you’ll need a new wardrobe.” Under his scrutiny, my smartest outfit suddenly felt entirely inadequate. My shoulders folded inwardly, as if I could hide my faded shirt.

  “I’ll have Dave add in a clothing allowance.”

  I opened my mouth to argue, but thought better of it. I wasn’t going to cut off my nose to spite my face. As his EA, I did need nicer clothes and if he was willing to pay for it, all the better for my checkbook. After all, I hadn’t sought out the promotion. Still, the way he presented it to me rubbed me the wrong way.

  “Take the morning to get used to the office systems. If you have any questions, ask Alana in the front.”

  Alana must be the blonde who gave me the cold shoulder. I vowed to learn the system on my own. I wouldn’t put it past her to sabotage my first day.

  “As you heard me say to Troy, I do expect to work through lunch. We have a conference call with a supplier in Rio at one. Have Alana order us a couple of sandwiches. She knows what I normally eat.” He stood up, signaling the end to our meeting.

  I stood as well and noted how tall he was. I only reached up to his chin. “Okay. I’ll get going.” I turned around and started walking out.

  “And Cora?”

  I swung on my sensible heels and looked at him questioningly.

  “Stay away from Troy. He’s not for you.” Without another word of explanation, he sat down and looked at his laptop.

  Fuming, I forced myself to close the door softly. “The sheer arrogance of that man,” I muttered under my breath. It was a good thing I had to go downstairs to Personnel because I was ready to tell him off.

  Deciding I needed to work off my anger, I opened the door to the stairs. Most of the staff must use the elevators because the stairwell was clear. I unleashed my irritation, stomping loudly down the steps, pretending his instep was at the bottom of my heel.

  “First he warns me against throwing myself at His Exaltedness and now I’m after his brother. Ha! I wouldn’t take him if he came on a platinum plated platter. As if I were some sort of bimbo gold digger. The Weston brothers are completely safe from my wiles.”

  I snorted at the idea of me having wiles. A femme fatale I was not. I had no sexual experience to speak of. Just as I was getting interested in boys, my dad had died. Grief had been an effective killer for teenage hormones. When I was in college, I did have a very awkward encounter during my first semester at MIT with my chemistry lab partner. It was an embarrassing episode for both of us and we never spoke of it again. And ever since my mom got sick, I had been so busy, dating had not been on my radar. I was practically a virgin at twenty-two.

  I started giggling at the absurdity of the situation. I supposed I should be flattered that Jake Weston thought a Plain Jane like me could attract the attention of men like the Weston brothers!

 
; By the time I reached Personnel, my equilibrium was restored.

  Dave saw me immediately. He placed my new contract in front of me and I gawked at the salary. It was more than twice what I was making. And Jake must have made the call downstairs immediately because there was a five thousand dollar bonus, supposedly for my wardrobe.

  Don’t get too excited, Cora. You’ll most likely only see one twelfth of the salary.

  Still, if I could put up with His Exaltedness, I could sock away a lot more savings. It could mean a better school for Marcus and some seed money for my college plans. Pressing my lips together in determination, I made a resolution not to let Jake Weston rile me.

  Chapter 3

  I walked out of the elevator and saw Alana sitting at her desk. As always, she looked sleek and put together. Her make up was perfect and she was clad in a black sheath that showcased her toned body. As soon as she spotted me, her face turned sour and she pretended I wasn’t there.

  One of my mom’s mottos rang in my ears: you could catch more flies with honey than vinegar.

  Pasting a smile on my lips, I said, “Good morning Alana.”

  She mumbled something unintelligible, but wouldn’t look at me. I swallowed my irritation. This was the third day in a row I had received the silent treatment. Every overture I’d made so far had been spurned. I honestly didn’t know why she disliked me, but her bad attitude was getting old. Still, I had to try to get along with her since she ran the executive floor.

  I placed a small pastry bag on her desk and kept my voice chipper. “Hey, I got you a chocolate croissant. It’s from that new bakery around the corner. It’s really good. I hope you like it!”

  She picked the bag up with her forefinger and thumb and held it away from her, as if the contents carried a communicable disease. Looking straight at me, she dropped the bag into the wastebasket.

  I sucked in a sharp breath at her rude gesture and she sneered. “I don’t do carbs.” Then her eyes ran over my body disdainfully, as if to say I should do the same.

  If she was trying to shock me, she succeeded. If she was trying to make me feel bad about my body, she was doomed to failure. I had long accepted my curves and did not have body image issues. And in my new blue fitted shirt and charcoal pencil skirt, I knew I looked good. The outfit accentuated my voluptuous curves, but still made me look sophisticated.

  By dumping my peace offering, she had destroyed any remaining desire I had to make nice with her. I refused to waste my time with a lost cause. Without reacting to her rejection, I turned on my heel and walked away.

  Jake was already in his office. His door was open and I could hear him on the phone. I looked at the clock. It was a quarter to eight– I didn’t need a lecture from His Exaltedness about promptness again. When I left yesterday, he was still at his desk. I had to concede he worked hard for his billions. His schedule was packed from morning to night.

  At first, I was afraid he would expect me to work the same long hours as he did, but he sent me home at my normal time. I didn’t protest since I needed to be there for my brother, but I did try to be more efficient during the day and get all of my work done. I wasn’t sure if he was being easy on me for the time being, but I was cautiously optimistic.

  I had updated my resume after my first day, but had yet to start a job search. At the first sign that things were going downhill, it would be ready to go.

  I got my day started but as soon as he was off the phone, I knocked on his door.

  “Cora, good morning!” He waved me into his office. For eight in the morning, he was disgustingly alert. I had two cups of coffee and I still looked sluggish next to him.

  “Morning, Jake. I just want to go over today’s agenda before it gets too crazy.” After fumbling through the first few days, we decided an early meeting would be the best way to keep his day on track.

  He inclined his head and I sat down. His blue-green eyes looked me up and down. “You look nice, Cora.”

  I willed myself not to blush at his compliment. “Thanks. The clothing allowance was very generous.”

  “So, what is on my calendar today?”

  Trying to not let his abruptness throw me, I flipped open my calendar and did a rundown of his appointments.

  He stood up and paced as he fired instructions at me. His movements were fluid and panther-like and I couldn’t help but admire the flex of his thigh muscles under his expensive navy trousers. The thin cotton of his shirt could not disguise his heavily muscled chest and bulging biceps. Jake Weston really was a gorgeous creature.

  “Cora, did you get that last one?”

  Shit. Just what I needed– to be caught ogling my boss. “Um… confirm the appointment with Leon Richards, CEO of DataPoynt, for four o’clock.” Luckily my hand had been working independently of my recalcitrant mind.

  “Good. There’s just one more–”

  The sound of a Barbara Streisand song blared from his pocket. The music was so incongruous with the no-nonsense CEO that I gaped.

  He held up his hand to indicate I should stay seated and took his cell phone out of his pocket.

  “Hi, mom.” His voice had turned soft and tender. It was so different from his normally brisk tone that I had the urge to stick my fingers in my ears to test my hearing.

  I started to stand up to give him privacy, but he again motioned for me to stay put. It felt strange to be privy to his conversation with his family and I tried to look busy with my notes even though I was absorbing every word.

  “Yes, Troy and I will be at dinner Saturday. Do you want us to bring anything?” He listened attentively for a few moments. “Okay. I’ll drop by and pick up dessert before we head out of the city.” A pause. “Love you too.”

  My head snapped up as he said this last without any self-consciousness. I could tell he said “I love you” to his mom often. Why was that so damn endearing?

  He put his phone back in his pocket.

  “People, huh?” I teased, naming the song he chose for his mom’s ringtone. I was delighted to see his cheeks darken. His sheepish grin was even more adorable.

  “It’s her favorite song.”

  Damn it. I could feel my insides turn to mush.

  It seemed like such a small tidbit of information, but it turned my world upside down. Who was this man who adored his mom? I tilted my head to study the contradiction that was Jake Weston. He looked every inch the imperious CEO, but there were fascinating facets to his personality.

  “That’s really sweet,” I said softly.

  “Don’t let my secret out or my rivals will eat me alive.”

  It took me a second to register that he was joking with me. His eyes were twinkling with a teasing light. I nodded solemnly. “Of course. It could send the stock market into a spiral.”

  “Exactly.” We smiled at each other in perfect accord before he became all business again. I watched his lighthearted persona recede with regret.

  “Now, the last thing I need you to do is to pull up the reports on the Emerson construction project. Study them. You’ll be accompanying me to the work site today at two.”

  “Got it!” I stood up and left his office, my mind still reeling from this morning’s revelations, which smashed my theory that he was a cold and unfeeling human being to smithereens. It discomfited me to know I was harboring these unjust prejudices against him. I felt a little like Elizabeth Bennett with her Mr. Darcy.

  Except of course, there wasn’t any romantic interest between us, I assured myself.

  The hours flew by and before I knew it, it was lunchtime. And the reason I knew it was lunchtime was because Apollo was leaning over my desk. For the last three days, he had visited my desk at the exact same time and asked the exact same question.

  “So when are you going to let me take you out to lunch?” Troy Weston smiled winningly at me.

  Sheesh, he should be modeling toothpaste or something. This man had way too much charm at his disposal.

  And like clockwork, Jake appeared in h
is doorway, glowering at us, silently reminding me about his warning.

  It was becoming a farce, with one brother smiling happily while the other hovered like an angry storm cloud. And Jake’s protectiveness of his brother was entirely unnecessary because I sensed Troy wasn’t interested in me in a sexual or romantic way. Nor was I interested in him. I was sure he had his own agenda for asking me to lunch and I suspected it had something to do with Jake. Maybe he found out Jake disapproved and he wanted to rebel against his older brother, but I didn’t want any part of their family power play. I wanted to bash their heads together and tell them I wasn’t a toy.

  “Cora can’t go to lunch today. We’re going to head to the Emerson site soon. We’ll grab lunch in that area.”

  I looked at Jake in confusion. Having lunch together wasn’t part of the plan when we went over his day.

  Before I could say anything, Jake said to Troy, “I was supposed to have a meeting with the Nakamoto group in ten minutes, but something’s come up. Could you take my place?”

  I scrambled to pull up his schedule, my heart in my throat. Did I screw something up? The Nakamoto group was one of the company’s biggest suppliers and Jake was very specific about clearing some time before the meeting.

  Troy stood up and smirked. “Yes, of course.” He turned to me and winked. “See you later, beautiful. Maybe we can do lunch tomorrow.”

  Jake was not amused by the endearment and growled at Troy, who just chuckled before leaving.

  “Uh…Jake, did I mix something up on your schedule?” I asked, my voice tentative. “I swore I cleared up your calendar for the meeting with the suppliers and allotted plenty of time to go to the site.”

  He looked pained for a second. “Uh…no it was entirely my fault. Something unexpected came up.” He flipped back his sleeve and looked at his watch. “Let me take care of the…thing and we can leave early so we don’t have to rush lunch.”

  “Um…okay.”

  After thirty minutes, Jake came out of his office, ready to go.