by Ashlee Price
I kicked myself as I tried to keep the smile on my face. She didn’t seem to notice my inner turmoil, and I didn’t want her to. I was still coming to grips with feeling it in the first place. When I looked over, though, nothing else mattered but the smile on her face. I knew then that I never wanted her smile to fade.
We got out at the meeting and I was a complete gentleman. It didn’t stop some of the other people from flirting with our newest intern. I seethed inside when I saw her laughing and smiling with some of them. I was quickly becoming aware that I was the odd man out, and it was a strange feeling to have.
After the meeting, I decided that I wasn’t going to take her back to the office just yet. I wanted to talk to her and spend time with her. Desiree didn’t seem to mind that we were not on our way back. She was talking about one of the shareholders and a joke he had made. I was trying to pay attention to the words in her mouth, but it was easier to focus on her red lips.
When the car finally stopped, it took her a while to realize that we weren’t moving. She looked out the window and wondered what we were doing there. When she asked, I told her that we were there for an early dinner. I could tell she was put off by it for a minute, but then she seemed to change her mind.
“You don’t think that the other interns might be mad if we go out together?”
I shrugged and told her that I felt like she was already catching their ire.
“I know. I think they hate me, to be honest. I shouldn’t have come with you today.”
“But I’m the boss and you can’t say no.”
I watched the expression on her face change a little, and I wished that I hadn’t said anything. Would she take my words the wrong way? Did I mean it the way it suddenly sounded to my ears?
“A boss can only request things, Greg, not demand.”
She walked past me and my eyes went to her backside. I don’t know why her words stuck with me for so long. Maybe it was because it was the first time I had gotten an answer that was anything but yes. How was I supposed to keep control with Desiree when it was becoming harder with every passing minute?
Chapter 6 – Desiree
I sat down at the small table that the host brought us to. The man seemed to know Greg, and as we went through the restaurant, it was clear that most everyone else did as well. He was a dynamic man and just as popular here as at his company. It was hard not to have some kind of feeling for Greg. He was just impossible to deny, whatever it was that he wanted. I was starting to see that he wanted me, and the knowledge made me feel even more nervous about everything.
The dark green eyes met mine, and it was impossible to get away from them.
“So is this what you do for all of the new interns?”
He shook his head, and I saw a grin dance across his face. “You’re not like any intern that I have had before.”
I told him that I found that hard to believe. He was a well-known playboy, and I could see anyone who worked for him was up for grabs. That meant me as well, and the idea made me swallow hard. I didn’t think I would be able to tell him no. There was no way.
Looking down at the plate in front of me, I was finding it harder to avoid his gaze. Did he know what he was doing to me? From the answering pleasure in his eyes, I had a feeling that he did. “I have a feeling you’re going to go far in this company, Desiree. We have a need for people like you.”
I didn’t like where he was going with it. Was he going to try something in front of all of these people? And if he did, would I stop him? Would I even want to?
“Thank you, sir. I have liked my time there so far.”
“Is it what you thought it would be?”
I shook my head that it wasn’t. There was nothing about the job so far that was what I had believed it would be. He was nothing like I had imagined, and I wasn’t quite in the middle of office politics like I had hoped.
“It has been a very unique experience, sir.”
“Please call me Greg.”
I repeated his name and that seemed to make him happy. I liked the way it sounded on my tongue and across my lips.
“Are you always so careful with your words?”
“When I’m in front of my boss I am.”
He sat back with the reminder of who we were to each other. “You shouldn’t see me as your boss.”
“Then what am I supposed to see you as?”
His eyes darkened and I looked away. The waiter came with more drinks, and I was thankful for the distraction. Greg’s eyes on me were hard to deny, and I knew that I was going to have to be more careful around him. He was my boss, and I needed to remember that as well.
The rest of the meal was spent on safe subjects like the meeting we had just gone to. I knew that he was thinking bad thoughts, but he didn’t say them out loud, and I was grateful for that. The afternoon was turning into evening, and I mentioned that it was getting late. Greg didn’t seem too happy about leaving, but he got the check and helped me to the car. The driver moved back towards the company and I looked anxiously out of the window, trying to keep my mind away from the man next to me. His thigh was pressing into mine, but I refused to acknowledge it.
“Do I make you nervous, Desiree?”
I didn’t answer. I knew that he wanted it to be so, and it was clear to anyone around that I was. The neighborhood was getting familiar and I knew we were close. I just had to make it there and I would be safe.
“You don’t make me nervous, sir.”
“Then why is your voice wavering?”
I closed my mouth and looked back to the window to see the large building coming up beside us. I let out a long breath and was thankful that I could see it. It meant that I wasn’t going to have to lose myself there with him.
When the car stopped, I was out of it as soon as I could be. I didn’t look back at the laughing green eyes that I knew would be looking after me. There was no way that I was going to fall for it. I was almost out before I heard him call my name. I didn’t have a choice but to look back at him, and the look I saw made me shiver.
“I will see you at work tomorrow.”
I nodded my head, but no words came out. Greg looked like he’d just eaten the canary, and it became clearer than ever that I was the bird. I was next on his menu. My heart pounded in my chest before the door was shut and the car took off. I was left holding my purse tight in my arms and standing there alone in front of the building.
I had made it through another day with Greg and had survived it. I didn’t know why he made me feel the way he did, but I had a strange urge to call him back. I knew that he wanted me, and the idea of Greg Jefferson wanting someone like me was hard to process. Why had I left the car so quickly? Why had I run away from him, when every fiber of my being told me that he was the one?
To be continued…
Billionaire Desireth Book 2: Billionaire Taketh
An Alpha Billionaire Romance
By: Ashlee Price
Prologue
Desiree is finding her new internship more challenging than she had anticipated. While she was ready for hard work and fierce competition for the one paying position that was open to her, she had not expected a boss like Greg Jefferson.
Greg is hard to handle, and every time she’s around him, Desiree is sure that she’s going to lose herself in his green eyes and large arms. He’s everything that she wanted – and everything she wasn’t supposed to have. Even worse, everyone in the office is starting to realize that she’s fast becoming one of his favorites, and jealousy is becoming a problem in the company.
With a blow-up and a slap to the face of a forward partner, Desiree quits and swears that she is never going to go back. Nothing is going to convince her otherwise. Not even Greg, no matter how much he asks.
Chapter 1 – Desiree
“I don’t know who she thinks she is coming in here dressed like that. It’s obvious that she is sleeping with the boss. Why else would she get to go to all of those meetings with him? It certainly
isn’t her intelligence.”
“I know. It just disgusts me that someone like her is going to get the position. Just because she gets on her knees, none of us will have a chance.”
I heard a few more words and I felt my heart sink in my chest. I had known that they were talking about me behind my back, but I never would have guessed they would be so harsh. I didn’t have to hear my name to know that the two interns in the copy room were talking about me. Looking down at my outfit, I didn’t see much wrong with it, but it was clear that they did. It seemed like even my trying to stay away from Greg was going unnoticed.
The only one who did seem to notice was Greg. Last week I had turned down several invitations to go places and this week was going the same way. He finally asked me why I kept refusing him, and I told him it was because of the way everyone was talking. He didn’t take it too well and hadn’t asked me in the last couple of days. I actually hadn’t even seen him at all, but none of that seemed to matter to the two interns gossiping about me. It felt like there was nothing good that was going to come from all of this.
While I wanted to go into the room and say something to them, I just walked in nonchalantly like I hadn’t heard what they said. I wasn’t going to let them get to me, even though they had. I wasn’t going to let them see it.
I felt their eyes on me and I swallowed hard. Smiling back at their sour faces, I wished them a good day as they were leaving. Their unhappiness at me being there was clear, but I wasn’t going to back down. I hadn’t done anything wrong, even though I had surely thought about it. The truth of the matter was that I had turned him down and hadn’t done anything questionable. As much as I wished that everyone else knew the truth, at least I did.
Copying the reports that were to be sent in later that day, I tried to pull my mind off of what was said and then off of the boss himself. Greg was hard to pull from my mind, and I swore that I was driving myself crazy thinking about it.
Going back to the small desk that I had been assigned, I realized that someone was standing over me. It was Paul, the account manager for the company, and I sat up straighter. “What can I do for you, Paul?”
“Do you have those reports that I asked for?”
I told him that I did and handed him the still-warm sheets of paper. He thanked me and then paused as he was walking away.
“You know that it will die down, right?”
I nodded my head, instantly knowing what he was talking about. It was embarrassing to think that he knew, but then again, it was a relief to hear that I wasn’t the only one who had been through it. But was I not the only one who had been with Greg, or was I not the only one who had been accused? Either way it was nice to think that I had someone on my side, and even better that he wasn’t someone who wanted to sleep with me.
Just as I was getting back to work after Paul left, a shorter, round man came up to the desk and cleared his throat to get my attention. He certainly had it when I finally looked up. He was wearing black skinny jeans and a metallic top that shimmered when he moved. It was the kind of top that I would wear at a club, but he seemed quite natural in the get-up.
“Can I help you?”
Tommy smiled at me and shook his head. “I’m Tommy, Greg’s assistant.”
I took the offered hand and felt the soft shake of his clammy palm. “Nice to meet you, Tommy. What can I do for you?”
“Greg would like to see you in his office.”
I wasn’t expecting a summons by another person. With everything that was going on with the rumor mill, I figured it would be better to keep my distance, but it was hard to tell him no. I didn’t have a choice then. I knew that I was going to have to go see him, and I was afraid of how he was going to make me feel. It was fine to think of him as long as he wasn’t around, but knowing that I had to go see him, I knew that it wasn’t going to end well.
Standing up, I followed Tommy to the elevator and went up to the top with him. When it opened, he didn’t move to get out and after a minute I realized that I was going to have to go alone. I didn’t want to, but I knew that there was nothing that I could do but go. When the boss asks to see you, it’s not a request, but a command.
Stepping out, I looked around the large room and saw no partitions for another office. It was all one office, and save for a smaller desk in the corner of the room, it appeared to be all for one person. It seemed that Greg’s office was rather large. I heard some noise on the far side of the room where there was a door leading to somewhere. A man came out of it and he stopped when he saw me.
It wasn’t Greg, but a man who looked to be much different.
“Hi, I was supposed to come up here and meet with Greg?”
“Yes, I was hoping to speak to you first. Do you know who I am?”
I shook my head that I didn’t know. The tall man was short on words, but his eyes seemed to follow me everywhere I went. As he walked closer, the dark brown eyes held me where I stood.
“I’m the other owner of this company. I’m not here much – I usually leave Greg to run it – but we started this place together.”
I started to understand, but there was something in his eyes that I didn’t quite get. Why was he looking at me like that?
“I see, sir. Nice to meet you.”
“Donald.”
I repeated his name since he kept looking at me. I didn’t know what he wanted to talk about, and by the way he eyed me, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to hear what he had to say. I wanted Greg to pop up and take away the tension between us. Where was he?
“So you are the intern that I’m hearing so much about?”
My stomach knotted, and I wasn’t sure that I liked the way he said it. My mind went to the conversation that I had heard not too long before. Surely he didn’t mean that, did he?
I couldn’t meet his gaze for a while, but when I finally did, I knew that he knew as well. It didn’t matter that I hadn’t done anything with the man. What mattered was what everyone thought I did.
“I’m not sure what that means, sir, but I’m one of the interns that started last week.”
“What are your qualifications?”
He said it as if I didn’t have any. I could feel the temperature rising in my face, and I was feeling even more humiliated by him than I had been by those catty girls in the copy room. They kind of had a right to be mad, but the man in front of me was just toying with me. It felt worse, somehow, and I straightened my back up further to steel myself from his harsh gaze.
I recited my GPA and school to him, as well as my major. I saw a little surprise in his eyes. I don’t know why it spurred me to say more. It wasn’t like me, but I didn’t like the look on his face and the smug grin on his lips.
“I would have thought that a woman like you was brought in just to look at, more than for real work.”
I could feel my face getting red. I don’t know why he was being this way to me, but I didn’t like it. It made me mad and reminded me of the women’s words in the copy room. I had had enough, and I realized then and there that this company was not the one for me.
Donald moved closer to me and I got a vibe from him that I didn’t like. He had a predatory glare in his brown depths, and I took a step back before he reached out to take my arm in his hand. I don’t know why, but I felt endangered, and instead of shrinking back like I had before, I hit him hard across the face.
The man was shocked and released me right away. “Don’t touch me!”
He touched his face at the place where it was starting to get red. The shock subsided quickly, and then it was filled with anger. I knew that it was time for me to go and I turned to move towards the elevator. I didn’t see that it was already open or that Greg was standing there until I was in it and I had pushed the button.
Turning to Greg, who had a slacked-jaw look on his face, I told him that I quit. “You people don’t even pay us to put up with this shit.”
The elevator door closed and I could see myself in the reflection of the silver
doors. I was so mad, but I bit my bottom lip. I shouldn’t have cursed at Greg, but I couldn’t believe what had just happened. I couldn’t believe the scuzzy partner that he had, or that even after I had done nothing at all, I was still deemed to be the office slut. I was too mad to think. Getting off at the fourth floor to collect my things, I told Paul bye, but didn’t say a word about anything else. Greg knew I had quit, so there wasn’t anything else that I could do.
Looking back, I was sad to see the place go, but I knew that I wasn’t cut out for that kind of environment. I knew I was going to have to get up the next day and find another job. Maybe this time I would find one that actually paid and had a woman for a boss. I definitely needed a woman for a boss this time around.
Chapter 2 – Greg
“What the hell was that about, Don?”
Donald was still holding the side of his cheek where Desiree had hit him. I had never seen her upset. She was such a gentle soul, and I couldn’t imagine what he had done to her to make her do that to him.
“She is crazy. Did you see what she just did?”
“What did you do?”
Donald started to say something. Maybe he was going to protest and tell me that it was all her, but I knew better and he knew me better than anyone else.
“I didn’t really do anything. I asked her a couple of questions and she started to walk out. I went to stop her and she slapped the crap out of me. Look at my face! I can’t see it, but I know that I’m going to have a mark.”
“You tried to stop her?”
I could feel rage boiling up inside of me. I didn’t want anyone to touch her, not even Don, and I knew then why she had left in such a way. Desiree had been practically shaking around me, but I had to like that she wasn’t the same with Don. Would she have slapped me if I had touched her that night in the car?
