***
“What did you find?”
Monica pushed the files over his desk. “There wasn’t much left for me to do. Anna had done the work on the first three hotels you were interested in, so it just left the fourth for me to do.” She shrugged. “Getting into the hotel business would be financially viable, but it is a lot more work for you.” Jonny was very hands on when it came to his businesses and that was one of the things she’d come to like about him. “You could delegate some of the responsibility of managing the properties you own to one of your cousins, because both of them are very capable of doing the job, and take on the hotels yourself, or you could get one of your cousins to focus on the hotels while you keep doing what you’re doing.”
“Okay.” He looked at the files. “Which of the hotels do you think would be best for us?”
She didn’t think she was ever going to get used to him asking her for advice. “Honestly, I think that depends on the choice you make. If you were to delegate the responsibility of looking after the hotels to one of your cousins I’d say go for the first two in the pile. They’re further out than I think you’d be comfortable travelling. If you were to take on the job of running the hotels yourself then you’d be better off going for the last two.”
“How about if I made the choice to do both? I have two cousins. Jen can take over the day to day running of someone of our properties, because I think she’d like to do that, and Tom can run the first two hotels for me, while I take on the other two.”
“You could do that.” Monica pulled out her diary. “You have a meeting with both of your cousins booked in for next week. I could move it to this week, if I was to move your appointment with Carl to next week, as I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.”
“We can do that. Obviously I need to ask them if that is what they want, because I’m not going to force them to do anything they don’t want to do, although it will mean a raise for both of them, especially if things go well.”
“I’ll contact them today and see if they can come in sooner than they planned.”
“They will. They’re going to be intrigued as to why I’m asking them to come in sooner.” He smiled, but it faded. “Do you think Dad will be okay with this? It’s a big investment.”
“You’re going to have to ask him that yourself. I don’t know your father, so if you’re worried talk to him first, and then go from there. None of the decisions you’ve made are set in stone. Give yourself the time you need to talk this over with him. After that I can contact your cousins.”
***
A man who could only be Jonny’s father walked into the office Monica was working in. “You’re Anna’s replacement?”
Monica nodded. “I am, Mr. Houston.” She didn’t pay much attention to the way he was studying her. “Did you need something?”
“How is Jonny?”
Their eyes met for a moment as she tried to work out how she was going to answer the question. “I don’t quite understand why you’re asking me that.”
“You’re not one of us, Miss Banks, and that means you’re more likely to see the things we miss. When Jonny took over the business I asked Anna to keep an eye on him, to make certain he could do this, and now she’s moved on I can’t help worrying he’s pushing too hard. Before he took on the business he didn’t have a care in the world. I’d teach him what I could, because I knew what I wanted him to do in the future, but I never would have pushed him to take over from me. His happiness was more important than that.”
“I don’t think he’s having any issues with the fact he’s taken over the business.” Monica nibbled her lip. “Have you spoken to him about his possible new venture?”
“Yes, I have.”
“Is that why you’re worried?”
“A little. I don’t want him stretching himself too thin because he wants to make me proud of him. I don’t want him to focus everything on this at the detriment to everything else. I want him to have a life as well as work and sometimes I don’t think that’s going to happen.”
“He is planning on delegating some of the responsibility he’s taken on to his cousins. I’m sure he would have told you that, but I can understand why you would be worried. For the moment his focus is on the business, which is normal as he’s only recently taken it over and he does want to make you proud, but that doesn’t mean that’s what he’s going to do for the rest of his life. Give him some time to come to terms with who he is now. Once he has I’m certain he’ll start thinking about sharing his life with someone.”
“Keep an eye on him for me, please, and let me know if you get worried at all. I know how much I relied on Anna for support when I first found myself earning more money than I thought was truly possible. Without her, and my wife, I don’t think I would have been able to keep myself grounded, and the last thing I want is for my son to become like the other young rich men I’ve come across over the years.”
“I don’t think that’s possible, Mr. Houston. I’ve worked for a number of them over the years and I can understand why you’d not want him to turn out like one of them. However, from the time I’ve spent with your son, I believe he’s very much the sort of person who won’t let the money go to his head.”
***
“Dad and I talked things over.” Jonny sipped the coffee Monica had made for him. “He thinks I’m making as good a decision as I can. In his language that means I’m not doing something very stupid with the business, but it’s entirely possible things might not work out the way I hope they will.”
“Which is normal for all business. You make the best choices you can and go from there.” She smiled. “Did you need anything more or am I done for today, Mr. Houston?”
“This is probably something you’re going to say no to, but would you like to go out for dinner with me?”
“No, I wouldn’t, because we have a professional relationship, and going to dinner would change that.”
“Can you tell me why you’re so determined to keep me at arm’s length?”
“You aren’t the first of my employers to come onto me. A number of them weren’t as willing to accept no for an answer as you seem to be. Due to my position they made it incredibly difficult for me to stay working with them, although they never seem to have had an issue with giving me a good reference.”
“I was told by a couple of them you were frigid.”
Monica laughed. “That sounds about right.” She shook her head. “The fact they had money meant I should have done exactly what they wanted, because it wasn’t as though they wouldn’t have walked away when they were done without looking back. I’m never going to make that mistake. I’ve seen far too many of my colleagues make it and I know how badly it’s affected them.”
“That I can understand.” Jonny nodded. “What would you say if I told you I wanted there to be something more between the two of us?”
“Something more?”
“From the moment I met you, Monica… I’m going to sound like an idiot teenager if I say anything more.”
“Probably.” She brushed a hand through her hair. “How about I leave now and we pretend this never happened.”
“I don’t want that.”
“You should. I’m your personal assistant, Mr. Houston. Nothing more. I’m never going to be anything more.”
“How do you know that? I have no idea what the future may hold and that’s why I want to have this conversation. There have been people in my life before who’ve wanted me for my money. I want to be with someone who sees me and I can’t help thinking you are that person. Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe telling you I think I have feelings for you was the most stupid thing I could have done. I just… I think it’s important that I’m honest with you now, so you can make an informed decision as to whether you want to stay working with me or not. We’re still in the probation period.”
***
Of course things would have to go wrong, right when Monica was becoming comfortable in her new position. Sighing, she st
ared at the telly, not seeing what was on. She wasn’t even certain why she’d put it on. There was no chance of it being able to take her mind off what had happened with Jonny. Going out to dinner with him was never going to happen. It didn’t matter that he was attractive and it was entirely possible she would have asked him out if they’d happened to meet elsewhere. Working out what her next step should be wasn’t easy. There was this voice in the back of her head telling her she should go for it, a voice that sounded far too much like her grandmother, who cared more about the fact Jonny was good looking than anything else. Her logical voice, Elise, told Monica the best thing she could do was walk away, before she did get emotionally involved, but then there was a chance it might be too late for that.
She liked Jonny. The fact he saw her as a person, he asked for her advice and her opinions, made it obvious he saw her as more than an employee. He’d done the same thing with Anna and that was probably due to the fact she’d worked with his father. Why had he made the choice, right from the beginning, to treat her in the same way he’d treated Anna? Was it due to her references? Was it because he liked her? Monica shook her head. If he hasn’t said anything it would be easy to put it down to the fact that was what he was used to doing. He had no reason not to see her as another Anna. Knowing he might have feelings for her… she couldn’t keep working for him. With that thought running through her mind she went over to her desk and started typing out her letter of resignation.
The time had come for her to find something else she wanted to do with her life. When the doorbell rang Monica made a face at it. Dealing with someone was the very last thing she wanted to do, but it was easier to get it over and done with than to leave it for another day. As she opened the door she was surprised to see one of the largest bouquets of flowers she’d ever seen in her life. “Monica Banks?”
“Yes, that’s me.”
“Delivery for you.” Nodding, slowly, Monica took the flowers, knowing exactly who they were from without having to look at the card. “Would you sign here for me, please?”
Once she’d signed for them the delivery guy walked away, leaving her to stare at the flowers, wondering why Jonny was making things far more difficult than they needed to be. When she took the card out all it said was ‘I’m sorry’ and she shook her head as she went to find a vase for them.
***
“This isn’t going to work out.” Their eyes met. “I can’t work for you if you have feelings for me.”
“Why not?”
“It’s not a sensible thing to do.” Monica had worked out how she was going to explain it to him in the car, but the moment the two of them were in the same room her carefully planned speech fled her mind. “What happens when this all falls apart?”
Jonny shook his head. “I’m asking you on a date. That doesn’t mean anything else is going to happen. It could end up being the worst date either of us have ever been on and we come to realise the best thing we can do is stay professional. However, as we have this probationary period, I thought it was best I bring it up sooner, because that way you won’t have to worry about breaking a contract.”
“You know I’ve never broken a contract. No matter how badly things have gone I have stayed with the person who hired me until my contract was up.”
“How did you manage it?”
“I had no other option. Not if I wanted to keep being a P.A., and, at the time, I did want to. Now I’m not so sure.” She looked down at the floor, trying to find the right words, and then looked at Jonny once again. “Why do you want to go on a date with me?”
“Is there any right answer to that?”
“I’m not looking to catch you out. I just want to know why me.”
“When you walked into my office the first time I met you I knew there was something special about you. The more time I spend with you the easier it is for me to see what that is - you’re you.” He made a face. “I can’t explain why I want to go on a date with you, not without seeming like a teenager who’s never been on a date before, because I don’t think there’s ever been anyone in my life I’ve wanted to spend time with as much as I want to spend time with you. Going riding was an excuse. I just… I’ve been trying to find a way to talk to you about this since you started working for me, and you took over from Anna without there being any real problems. You accepted we had a way of doing things and you’ve fitted into that in a way I didn’t think was possible.”
“Everyone needs something different from their assistants.” She shrugged. “Having someone treat me the way you did is what makes this so very difficult, Mr. Houston.” She took an envelope out of her bag. “This is my month’s notice. It will give you enough time to find someone else to take my place.” She didn’t dare look at him when he took it. “I’m sorry things had to end this way. I would have liked to have worked with you, but it’s not going to work when I know how you feel about me.”
***
For a long time all Monica could see when she closed her eyes was Jonny. She hadn’t looked at him after she’d handed him her letter of resignation, because she knew what she would be able to see, and it was better than she didn’t see it. Yet the look of unhappiness haunted her. Walking away was the best choice she could have made, yet she couldn’t help wondering if it would have been possible for the two of them to work together, knowing what she knew.
Someone walked into the office. “You’ve handed in your notice, which gives me a month to convince you to give me a chance.”
“Mr. Houston…” She shook her head. “This is not going to work.”
“I honestly don’t care.” He sat down opposite her. “I get why you handed in your notice. I get why you aren’t comfortable working with someone who has feelings for you.” Their eyes met, just for a moment, before she looked away again. “However, in a month you won’t be working with me. I’m not going to lose you, Monica.”
“You’ve known me a week, Jonny. There is no possible way you could have got to know me well enough to feel like that in a week.”
“Do you believe in love at first sight?”
“No, I don’t.”
“I didn’t either, until I saw you.”
“Now you really do sound like a teenager who’s never been on a date before.”
Jonny laughed. “That’s what I thought you’d say, but it happened, and I want to do something to make you fall in love with me. I don’t know if it’s possible. I hope it is, because I can’t imagine my life without you now.”
“How many people have you said that to in the past?”
“You’re the first. I’ve never been in love before. Well, I thought I was, but that’s nothing compared to this. Monica, please. I just want a chance to prove to you I’m not like the others. I’m not going to push you into doing anything you don’t want to do, but I can’t let you walk away, for good, without trying to make you see how I feel about you. One date. That’s all I’m asking.”
“Until you want a second date.”
“All you have to do is say no.” He stood. “Just think about it. You don’t have to say yes. You can walk away and never take a chance. I won’t hold it against you. If anyone asks me for a reference I’ll make certain they know just how wonderful you are. I hope you make a different decision. All I want is to make you happy.”
With that he left the office and all Monica could do was stare after him, trying to work out how she’d found herself in such a difficult position, again. If she’d thought for a moment Jonny Houston had fallen in love with her she wouldn’t have take the job in the first place.
***
There was a knock on the door. Monica looked up to see Jennifer Houston standing there. “Can we talk?”
“Of course. What did you want?”
“I want to know why you turned Jonny down.”
“He’s my employer, Miss Houston, and having a relationship with your boss is never a good idea.”
“You sound like you know that from experience.”
“Not my own, but there have been people in my life who’ve made that mistake.” Monica shrugged. “I’m certain your cousin is a wonderful man. I haven’t had any issues with him and I hope he doesn’t think I’m angry with him for being honest with me. I’m grateful he was.”
“From what he’s said, which isn’t a lot, I think he’s hurting far more about this than he wants to let on. Normally I wouldn’t get involved. Jonny’s a big boy and he can look after himself, but I’ve never seen him like this. He doesn’t realise how easy it is for me to read how he’s feeling. He’s always been an open book. I’m sure you know that.”
“I do.”
“Then you’ve seen it too.”
“I have.”
“Yet you’re still not willing to give him a chance to prove himself to you.”
Monica thought for a moment, before making the decision to be honest with Jennifer. “Do you want to know the truth?”
“Yes, I do.”
“What do you think people are going to say if Jonny and I did become a couple? I’ve heard it all before, when people thought I was in a relationship with my employer, and I don’t want either of us to have to go through that. Racism is alive and well, sadly. People look at me and they see a colour first, not a person. Jonny didn’t. He’s one of the few who’s seen me for who I am and I’m not happy about walking away from that. At the same time… I’m scared to give something like this a chance, because I don’t know if I’m strong enough to put myself through that.”
The Alpha Billionaire's Unexpected Baby: A Billionaire BWWM Pregnancy Romance Page 30
