Melody Anne's Billionaire Universe: Controlling the Billionaire (Kindle Worlds Novella) (Billionaire Communication Book 1)

by Fifi Flowers

  The congratulations that was the most surprising came via an unexpected phone call from Katherine as I was unlocking the doors to my new business home. “Waverly, dear, I hear you’re in charge of a new division…very impressive.”

  Before I could say a word, Joseph was sounding off in the background. “Did you meet your assistant yet?”

  “What the hell” was what I wanted to say. How did they know so much? Of course, Mr. Butler…Boyd must have told them about my new position. But my assistant? What did they know about her? Why the big interest? Unless… If Joseph was asking… Was it possible that my assistant was a man?

  I couldn’t imagine that it would be someone selected for me in a romantic way since Joseph was always trying to line me up with successful men that were well above my pay-grade. Someone that worked under me didn’t strike me as a suitable candidate. I was probably just being overly suspicious, reading too much into his line of questioning.

  Dismissing my thoughts, I answered their questions. “I still need to get things moved into the office space. So no, I haven’t met any of my employees. In fact, I’m about to go take a look at the floor and figure things out.”

  “Let’s not keep her, Katherine,” Joseph was rushing her to wrap things up, still acting so strange and making me a bit leery as I said goodbye.

  When I first started at the Anderson Corporation fresh out of college and back from backpacking around Europe, I started out at the bottom. Not the mailroom, but not far above it. Every day I sat in front of a computer entering data and studied the ins and outs of the company on my own. I knew my parents loved working for the company and did so until the end. There were so many opportunities and benefits which included paying for education. That was when I decided to work toward my Master’s degree in hopes of advancing upstairs to the executive offices.

  My other reason might’ve had something to do with being terribly sad over the end of what seemed like a promising relationship where he would take care of me. That proved how young and naive I was and I really needed to smarten up. I had given my virginity and my heart to a stranger that was just looking for a good time. I had been so stupid and fallen for his charming words of forever. His good looks had clouded my mind and I refused to fall into that trap again. What better way to make sure that never happened again? Excel at my job and never rely on someone else. If and when the right man came along, I would be successful on my own and we would be equals.

  With my masters completed and having acquired a few years of experience moving around within the company, the executive branch had grown close enough that it was just in reach. I felt strong. I felt confident. I didn’t need a man. I was getting there on my own. And I was about to be tested or enticed. Not long after I began riding the elevator to the top, Joseph started paying me visits and subtly dangling eligible men in my face. He wasn’t overly obvious. He was clever and sneaky with social invitations and business trips. He must’ve been disappointed that I had never fallen into his trap as so many had, including his own family.

  For some reason, I got the feeling that there was something going on with me heading up my own division after hearing from Katherine and Joseph. Were he and Boyd chuckling behind my back?

  Stop, Waverly! You have worked hard to get where you are. Be proud!

  A little pep talk and stepping inside the big empty office space swept negative thoughts from my mind. It was perfect and all ready for furniture…and a team of workers: managers, assistants, computer nerds, salespeople, and whatever else was needed to get the division up and running smoothly.

  We already had quite a few people ready to move into their desks since we were consolidating computer experts from other divisions. We had pulled the cyber security together to keep all of the computers of Butler Industries safe. And with a specialized business in place, we planned to expand to other companies across the United States and, soon after, around the world. Our computer experts had already been handling international crises for our own company and its many sub-divisions.

  Excited to be part of the new division, I ventured further into the space to get a glimpse of my own office space.

  “All yours, Waverly,” I said out loud looking around an empty room with floor to ceiling windows on two sides.

  Where I would spend my days from early morning until early evening, I thought smiling.

  “Are you ready for such a big position, Waverly?” I questioned myself as I walked into the corner of my office and gazed out at the view of the San Diego harbor. For some reason the question I posed to myself sounded more like my father and it made me think that maybe I spoke to myself so much to fill a void.

  A voice of reason. I could just hear both of my parents sounding off about the proverbial location in a high rise building…in a company. Everyone wanted to access the corner office. It said “you’ve made it!” Ironic that being put in a corner was a bad thing:

  Stand in the corner for a timeout.

  Don’t put me in a corner.

  We’ve got you cornered with nowhere to go.

  So many bad sayings about corners and yet to have a corner office was the ultimate goal. They would be rolling with laughter. I loved that sound. It was always present in my thoughts or dreams about them.

  Taking in a big breath of fresh carpeting in the air, I imagined where my existing things would go and then contemplated what I wanted my office to look like. Definitely not too feminine. Suitable to any sex but with hints of me. I liked that idea a lot and moved on to a conference room that would double as a break room since it would probably be used for staff meetings. We would never have outside clients in our office space. It would mainly be a large open space work environment. I had no desire to see a sea of cubicles but I wasn’t sure how practical that was when we were insuring privacy and security for our clients.

  It was pretty amazing and scary to be in charge of bringing everything together. Getting the office ready to get the business rolling when I had no interior decorating skills was another challenge.

  Stick to the basics, Waverly.

  Stylish desks, comfortable chairs, a minimal amount of dividers, additional lighting, conference table, cabinetry, microwave, and refrigeration.

  Was I missing anything?

  Nope. I was ready for the challenges. Bring it on! I could handle anything…even a male assistant if that was what human resources had in store for me.

  Chapter Six

  Morgan

  “Let’s talk about what you want to do. Come to the house this weekend.” I heard that over and over before I finally decided to give in and participate in a family gathering. Living in my family’s building probably wasn’t the smartest idea since my father thought it was perfectly okay to drop in or request my presence in his office.

  I had no aversion to working hard. Sitting around idling most of the time when I wasn’t helping my old water polo coach wasn’t something I was interested in doing. I was ready to take on a new challenge. I just had no idea where I fit in.

  My father loved to be flippant about my career when he had been to enough water polo matches to know what I did and how the game played out but he still made the same comments. “So you made money swimming around in a pool with a bonnet on…”

  First off, I was a goalkeeper so I did minimal swimming and a lot of treading water. I had to be on the ball—pun intended—and awake…aware of what was going on at all times. I called out alerts, signaled to my teammates who were about to be attacked or let them know where to attack. I absolutely loved it but it was not easy by any means. I trained hard. I ate right. Consumed minimal drinks. I understood discipline.

  “…What is something that appeals to you? What would give you as much pleasure? Son, I understand it’s a big change being back. Maybe something in Europe is best for you. Although, I’d hate to see you leave again.”

  I would be open to traveling around a bit and staying in the San Diego area as a base. I liked being so close to the ocean, living in anot
her harbor. Not quite the same. France had a much quieter, laid back vibe about it. I liked seeing the same people. I liked walking. I liked buying my dinner from people that grew, caught and raised items to be consumed. Walking into a big chain grocery store lacked charm. But if I couldn’t have my old career, I’d rather be back in my hometown near my family.

  “Maybe you want to do something outside of our company. Working as a coach. Teaching…”

  The teaching part I had no desire to do…and really, I didn’t really care for the coaching part either. Helping out the college team several days a week was nothing like coaching. I didn’t want to yell at kids and tell them what to do. I’d rather be in the water and be yelled at, but those days were long gone and I needed to move on.

  “I thought about being a sportscaster or doing something with sports. Don’t you have some connections? You own a communication empire.”

  That caused my father to laugh. “You make me sound like I own a galaxy. Of course we own a few cable channels but nothing with sports. I know some guys that work in a few announcing booths… But what sport, besides swimming and water polo, do you know enough about to commentate play by play action? Maybe soccer? They have a goalie.”

  It was my turn to laugh. Tending a netted cage was probably about the only similarity. Or maybe the fact that only the goalies could use two hands on the ball.

  Running out of ideas, my father liked to delve into the subject of settling down. He had a certain woman in mind for me I heard a couple of times and I was even introduced to one when I stopped by his office one time. I smiled, shook her hand and said a big “n-o” when she left. The last thing I wanted was to date a woman that worked in the building where I lived, even if it was a temporary living arrangement. Dating an employee of the company was definitely not a good idea because truthfully we wouldn’t be dating. I was interested in a fuck here or there but nothing beyond that and it was best that my father’s matchmaking skills not be involved at all. That was probably why I had avoided going to my parents’ house for a gathering assuming there might be someone waiting for me.

  And that was why I shocked the hell out of everyone when I just showed up, strolling into the backyard where the barbecue was smoking away and my brothers were hanging out with our mom. She was the best and never got involved in our love lives or dictating what we needed to do with our lives. Faith Butler was a chill kind of mom who went with the flow and never seemed to let anything bother her.

  At my water polo matches or swim meets she just kicked back in the stands and chatted away under a sunshade tarp. She would occasionally bake stuff but she wasn’t the mom who took charge and ran things. Driving…carting a group of boys around, she volunteered and had the car filled with healthy snacks for the most part. Although a few times she had a fast food to-go sack for each kid. Who didn’t love a greasy burger and fries at the end of the school day? I know I was always starving.

  “Hey, I hope there’s a burger on that grill for me?” I shouted, letting my presence be known and my mom immediately grabbed a hard root beer for me and popped it open, smiling as she held it out to me.

  Wow! It really felt incredibly good to be home. Sitting around the pool area, eating incredible food—my mom made everything delicious—drinking and laughing about old times. All of the hell we put our parents through, mainly our mom, skinning our knees, banging our heads, making a trip or two to the emergency room for stitches. Four boys. How the hell did they ever manage? We never had a nanny. Mom was always home with us and Dad made it to all of our events.

  Devotion. Commitment. How had we avoided that? Twenty-nine. Thirty. Thirty-two. Thirty-three, almost. You’d think that one of us would be married and maybe have a kid or two. We had the best role models. We just happened to take after the work hard part rather than the have a family part.

  What the hell had gotten into me even thinking such a thing? I might be the oldest but I was the most irresponsible, immature, wild one of the bunch, and I was sure they’d all agree with me. My brothers were all showing great successes starting their own businesses. I was the one looking to them for some ideas as we sat around after horse play in the pool and stuffing our guts until we felt like puking.

  “So Carter, Books? Really? It’s a profitable business?”

  “I’m changing lives, making learning fun.” He sounded happy.

  “You always were a bookworm.”

  I didn’t think it was possible. I couldn’t imagine anything making me like school more. Boring! No interest in his company. I was the kid that got good enough grades to play sports and be accepted to college. But I never took hard courses either. I took exactly what was needed. I was the odd one in my family. The other three were into achieving academically and Redmond even graduated with full honors and was the captain of the school’s debate team. Carter had earned college credits as well as high school ones with his A.P. curriculum. Mason, the most like me in the sporting department, was the total computer nerd and even talked our parents into letting him take computer courses in summer school at a local college. I often wondered if I was adopted except that we all look similar.

  “Military contracts for you, Redmond?”

  “Yes, but I can’t talk to you about it. I will say that I am making people happy.”

  Redmond was probably a real life James Bond or his boss…saving the world. I knew he would never tell all unless I agreed to work for him and there was no way. He was way too serious for me.

  Mason might be the most entertaining.

  “Mason… I hear you run a hookup service?”

  He shook his head and corrected me, “dating.”

  “Swiping for sex.” I wasn’t about to give up razzing him. “I might need an account.”

  “Meaningful connections is what my site is all about.”

  I wasn’t looking for that. Nothing permanent for me. I was destined to be a bachelor. No kids. No wife. “Give me meaningless romps, you must have people looking for that.”

  “You might consider a haircut if you want to attract a woman. The Eurotrash look is over. I know a hairdresser that can bring you into the modern era.”

  Done with picking their brains, we spent the rest of the night drinking and shooting pool until we all crashed out in our old rooms. Waking up with a hangover in my childhood bedroom was a bit mind blowing but the big breakfast available in the kitchen was a welcoming treat. I didn’t even mind listening to my father’s latest idea for me as long as he was cooking his famous bacon.

  No one in the world cooked bacon like my father. It took him like forever to cook two pounds of bacon but it was pure perfection. He cooked it slowly at a low heat in a big frying pan and since it didn’t all fit in the skillet at once because each piece needed its own space, he had the oven on warm and contributed the cooked strip to a paper towel lined plate. Once he was all done, it all waited for him to whip up a batch of fresh salsa and scrambled eggs with gobs of grated cheese. Then he flipped tortillas on the stove top or my mom made buttery toast.

  Hell yes! I would listen to just about anything to be able to chow down on a Sunday morning breakfast at home. And that was how I heard all about an opening that might interest me.

  “What do you have to lose? You hate it, you find something else. But I have a feeling you might find it rather interesting. The environment is more low-key. There is…are definite benefits to partake in. Might just change your life to the positive.”

  Giving in to my father and agreeing to take part in a new division, whether it was for me or not, I accepted the fact that I needed to look the part as well as play it. Not knowing anything about the actual workings of the cyber security world, I just needed to bring people in to subscribe to our service. If I was going to successfully sway people and supervise those doing the work, I had to wear the stiff, uncomfortable suits, maybe a tie, and shoes. I was sure to have blisters until I got them worn in. All that sounded so unfriendly to my body and to make it worse I needed to go a step further a
nd change my grooming habits. Cut my hair and maybe even comb it into place daily. Gone were the days of washing it, running my fingers through it and going out the door.

  Not keen on cropping my locks, I waited until the last day…the first day of work to visit a salon that Mason had recommended. Seeing the pink-haired hairdresser with a hot body I understood why he liked that place or I should say he liked her. “What can I do for you today?”

  “Is that a trick question?” I was my cocky self. “Are we talking about my hair or something else?”

  “You remind me of someone.” I arched my eyebrow in her direction. My guess was that she was another one who thought Mason and I looked similar. “Well, you will once I turn you into an ooh la la magazine cover model.”

  I liked her right from the start and, more so, loved hearing the lowdown about Mason once she found out who I was. Apparently, she knew him pretty well but things weren’t as she had hoped. So I gave her a few pointers that were sure to piss him off and maybe get him to make a firm move where she was concerned.

  There I was giving advice about someone else’s love life while I willingly and preferably lacked one of my own. Not to mention, if I helped Mason into a wedded bliss, I would be off the hook for at least a few more years. And if I could find Carter and Redmond women…

  Oh shit! I was sounding like my father.

  I needed to stop hanging out with him so much and dive into this new position or figure something out.

  Chapter Seven

  Waverly

  The same croissant dream had me searching online for a good place to get one and I was happy with the one I found in the Little Italy area. The café was listed at the top of my search and on an app I found that rated places. The sight was bursting with amazing reviews for everything on their menu and their pastry woman had been featured in a few dessert publications. A variety of online photos of the café depicted a charming brick front place with striped awnings…very European.