Bill strolled out of the office. Jason watched as he made a point to stop and talk with Lilliana before he left. He stood over her desk, smiling like a creep, most likely trying to catch a glimpse down her blouse. He knew Jason was watching. He nodded and waved before heading down the hall and out of sight.
For the next several hours, Jason was tied up with work. He prepared notes for an important meeting the next day, took several calls and attended a teleconference. He was completely swamped, and yet, he couldn’t get Bill’s parting words out of his head. He kept thinking about Lilliana.
Could she be a spy? Everything in his head screamed no. He was an excellent judge of character; he prided himself on that. But, what if he was wrong?
He glanced at the clock. It was just past 6 pm. The building was quickly emptying out. People were going home to be with their families after working a long day. He knew it wasn’t fair that he kept Lilliana working here late, night after night. He liked having her nearby.
He stood up, stretching his muscles, but he couldn’t keep his eyes from drifting over to where Lilliana sat. She was working hard as usual, typing away intently at her computer. Instead of keeping her at work late, he’d tell her to go home.
She was so absorbed in what she was doing that she didn’t notice when he approached. In fact, when he spoke her name, she visibly startled. Almost frantically, she clicked out of the document she was working on.
She was flustered.
Her chest heaved as she swirled her chair around to face him.
She was breathless.
Her eyes were as wide as saucers as she gulped in a ragged breath.
He had caught her doing something.
Her face was deathly pale as if she’d seen a ghost.
She’d closed the file, but not before he’d seen the name of the document.
Corporate Secrets.
His heart sunk. Lilliana was the mole. She was the one betraying him. Selling him down the river. Ruining him. For what? Money? For another man?
His voice sounded stiff and unnatural. “I need to stay late tonight. I just wanted to let you know that you can go home. You don’t need to stay any longer.”
The color began to seep back into her face. She was slowly regaining her composure. “Okay. Are you sure, Mr. Kaine?”
“Yes. Goodnight.”
“Goodnight.”
He went back into his office and waited while she gathered up her things. He watched her shut down her computer and grab her handbag. Finally, she was gone.
He sat at his desk for a few minutes, not wanting to think, not wanting to get up. But, he had no choice. He went back to her desk, his heart beating with dread, and sat down. He switched on her computer and waited. Of course, it was password protected.
Cursing, he went back to his office, shut the door and returned to his desk. He lifted his phone receiver and dialed.
“Seth Rogers. IT department.”
Just the man he wanted. “This is Jason Kaine. I need something done. It’s confidential.”
“Yes, sir. I understand.”
“I need access to everything that’s on Lilliana Collins’ computer without her knowing it.”
Seth paused for a moment before answering. “Okay. I can place a copy of everything on her drive into a partitioned directory located in your system. You’ll have full access and she won’t know. I can have it all imported by morning.”
“Good. Also, there’s a particular file on her computer that I want access to right now. Again, it’s important that she doesn’t know that I have access. I want to read it and also see updates as she’s working on it.”
“Real-time monitoring. No problem.” Seth seemed to be warming up to the topic. “You’ll be able to monitor each keystroke as she’s adding to it. She won’t have any indication that the file is being shared. I’ll set the file up in your system and send you a link to it in an e-mail. What’s the name of the file?”
“Corporate Secrets.”
He hung up the phone and waited in silence. A feeling of dread had invaded the pit of his stomach. About ten minutes later, as promised, he received an e-mail from Seth Rogers. It contained a link to the shared file.
His hands were clammy and his back was damp with perspiration as he opened the file. Could my Lilliana have betrayed me?
He flinched with disgust when the file opened and the words ‘Corporate Secrets’ flashed at the top of his screen.
With a sinking stomach, he began to read.
Chapter 7
Things had felt distinctly different at the office; ever since the day Jason Kaine sent me home early. It was almost as if he were trying to avoid me, but that was ridiculous. Or maybe it was just my fertile imagination.
I knew he was stressed out with work; I couldn’t help but hear the rumblings that all was not going well financially for the company. Since I had started working for him, he had lost a few high-profile contracts. That was bound to put a lot of pressure on him.
Thinking I could help, I asked him again if I could take on a heavier workload. Once again, my suggestion was sloughed off with empty promises, but that didn’t bother me as much this time. I had been keeping myself very busy at work for the last month.
Now, as I sat across the lunch table from Becca at our favorite restaurant, I couldn’t keep the smile off my face. This time, I couldn’t wait for her to bring up my boss in conversation, as I was very excited to show her my masterpiece-in-the-works.
My new romance project had taken root in my imagination and refused to let go. I had been writing at work almost non-stop and often stayed up late into the night in my apartment happily typing away. I had taken to writing much faster than I had ever imagined I would. It had become a new passion that had even surpassed my crazy addiction to reading romance novels.
After patiently listening to Becca drone on and on about some colleague at work, I finally found a moment to cut her off after our lunch arrived, when she was momentarily silenced by a mouthful of food.
“Remember that little project we were discussing last time we met?” I asked coyly.
“Stripping the ugly wallpaper from your bedroom walls?”
“No.” I shook my head impatiently. “The project I was going to do at work.”
Becca thought for a moment. “Researching some financial forecasting firm, was it?”
“No!” I scowled in frustration. “A much sexier project…”
“Huh. I don’t remember.”
Now I knew she was pulling my leg. “Cut it out. The novel writing project. You know – the romance novel starring my boss, Jason Kaine.”
“Ah, yes.” Becca took a sip of her water. “I was wondering how long you’d make it today before bringing up Jason Kaine.”
“Oh well.” I pretended to study my nails. “I guess you don’t want to read it then…”
Becca smiled, admitting defeat. “An erotic novel about Jason Kaine, of course I’ll read the shit out of that.”
I reached down into the oversized handbag at my feet and retrieved a stack of papers – the first few chapters of my novel. I’d had the decency not to use the company’s resources; I’d printed them out at the local library. Who was I kidding? It had nothing to do with decency – I was deathly afraid that even if I physically guarded the work copier as it printed out my word porn, with my luck, somehow Jason would have appeared just then searching for an urgent printout he needed. Or, maybe the copier would have jammed at the very moment it was spitting out the proof of my naughty moonlighting. No, I headed straight to the library; I was much too smart to get caught in humiliating fashion.
I handed the papers over to Becca. “This was seriously the best idea you ever had. I’ve been having a blast doing this. The time at work just flies by!”
Becca sat back in her chair and started reading. I tried to eat my lunch while she read, but I couldn’t concentrate on my food. I was too nervous, hoping with all my being that she liked my work. I stared at her express
ionless face as she read.
Did she think the story was hot? God, I hoped she didn’t think anything I wrote actually happened between Jason and me…
The suspense was killing me. Finally, she cocked an eyebrow and peered at me over the papers. She quoted a line, “My kitty was getting moist?”
“Oh, I forgot.” I nodded. “Yeah, that’s code for the p-word.”
“Pussy?”
“Shhh!” I glanced around the restaurant, but no one seemed to be paying us much attention. “That’s how most authors refer to ‘it’ nowadays. At least in contemporary romance.”
“And you’re going to call it ‘kitty’?”
“Just for the draft. It will actually say the p-word in the final version,” I explained. “It’s just that I can’t take a chance that Jason will sneak up behind me while I’m lost in thought and see a word like that on my screen.”
“The p-word?”
“Yeah.”
She looked at me mockingly. “You mean pussy.”
I quickly scanned the room again – she had said it pretty loudly. “Yeah. That’s what I said.”
“No you didn’t. You said, ‘the p-word’. You can’t say the word ‘pussy’, can you?”
I rolled my eyes. “C’mon, Becs. Just keep reading.”
Becca shrugged and then returned to reading. I was starting to think that letting her read a portion of the first draft was a mistake. But, obviously, I was new to this and no one had ever critiqued my work before. I had to know if I was on the right track.
A few moments later, Becca snorted. “I felt a strange sensation in my kitty?”
“Cut it out.” I frowned. “Just keep reading.”
“Sorry.” She didn’t look sorry. She looked like she was biting back laughter. “It just kind of takes me out of the mood.”
She continued reading. Less than a minute later, a loud burst of laughter escaped her lips. “I wondered what his giant rooster looked like?” She clapped a hand over her mouth to try to stifle her amusement.
I crossed my arms in irritation. This wasn’t quite the reaction I had expected.
“Oh, I get it!” In her mirth, she was practically shouting. “It’s a code word for COCK.”
This time I saw a few people glance our way. I hurried to shush her. “Yes, Einstein. Amazing you figured that out. How about you shout it to the whole restaurant?”
She took a deep breath trying to control herself. “Okay. Okay. Let me keep reading.”
I watched as she finished the page and moved on to the next one. This was where the story really started getting steamy.
Suddenly her shoulders started shaking slightly. She was holding in laughter. “He leaned in close - his legs brushed up against mine - through his pants…” She started fanning herself. “Oh God,” she muttered before continuing the line. “I felt the tip of his rooster pressed against my leg.” Another peal of laughter escaped.
I sniffed. “I should have known you’d be too immature to handle this.”
“No. No. Sorry. I’ll behave!” She collected herself again and continued to read.
I pushed my plate of untouched food away. I had lost my appetite. The waiter came by and asked us if we needed anything, but Becca didn’t look up from her reading. She seemed to be engrossed in the story. I smiled. Finally.
Then I saw a slight tremor begin to build in her shoulders again. Her eyes grew wide as she fought the urge to laugh.
It was no use. The giggles that were escaping soon exploded into unchecked laughter. She wiped at the tears forming at the corners of her eyes, as she gasped for breath. She managed to choke out a few words amidst her laughing fit, “dream of…his rooster meeting my kitty.”
I snatched the papers out of her hand as she continued to howl with uncontrolled laughter, attracting the attention of the whole entire restaurant.
What did she know about romance writing, anyway?
Corporate Secrets
When I was offered the job as secretary to billionaire business mogul, Jackson Cane, it was like a dream come true. I had long since burned through my entire savings account and was now deep in debt. On top of that, I had already been served an eviction notice from my landlord when the offer miraculously landed at my feet, so this job was nothing less than a gift from heaven.
I was desperate. To me, it seemed like I needed that first paycheck more than I needed my next breath. This job was my only chance. I had learned my lesson after nearly coming to utter ruin. I was still knee deep in the financial mess I had created through sheer irresponsibility, but I was slowly digging myself out. This paycheck was a lifeline to me.
And that was the reason I gave myself for doing such unthinkable things. I had to keep this job at any cost...
Chapter 8
Jason clicked off the videoconference that he’d ended early and distractedly ran a hand through his hair. His top employees had been updating him on the current status of the Triton acquisition and he couldn’t focus long enough to listen for more than five minutes. His mind kept drifting back to Lilliana.
She was all he had thought about for days. Ever since he had read that file - Corporate Secrets. It had changed everything.
He was so confused. What the hell was that? He had expected to find the proof of her treachery; instead, he had stumbled onto something else altogether. A diary of her sexual fantasies? Starring himself? What else could it be?
He groaned as he felt that persistent throbbing in his cock again. He couldn’t look at her anymore – he couldn’t even think about her – without getting a raging hard-on. He’d tried getting some relief. In desperation, the night before, he’d pulled out his little black book. He’d phoned one of his favorites, Kristina Richardson.
She’d been delighted to hear from him and had made it to his townhouse in less than an hour. When she showed up at his door in a little black dress that left little to the imagination, he knew he was in luck. But after a glass of wine, he ended up showing her to the door, much to her astonishment.
That’s when he knew he was truly fucked. Nothing was going to satiate his fierce desire except for the woman that had been invading his thoughts non-stop – Lilliana.
He glanced out his office door. Lilliana’s desk was still empty which was curious. He recognized that he was hyper-aware of her every move nowadays, but she had been gone for more than 20 minutes now and that was unusual. She hadn’t taken her handbag as she usual did, so he didn’t think she was in the ladies’ room.
He couldn’t help but feel a pinch of suspicion. Nothing incriminating had been found on her computer and in his heart he didn’t believe that she was involved in any underhanded business against his company, but it still hadn’t been conclusively determined. And Bill’s warning rung in his ears.
He picked up his phone and called Seth in the IT department. “Seth, it’s Jason Kaine. I’m looking for my admin, Lilliana Collins. I can’t seem to find her, and I need her for something important. Can you check in the system and try to locate her? See if she clocked out for a moment – maybe she had to run an errand?”
“Sure Mr. Kaine. Hang on for a moment, while I pull up the logs…” The line was quiet except for the sound of his keyboard tapping. “Ummm… Here we go. Ms. Collins entered today at 7:25AM and hasn’t checked out yet. It looks like she used her badge to access the Vault Room. Says she went in at 2:38PM. Yes - looks like she’s still in there.”
The Vault Room? Jason hadn’t been down there in years. Only certain employees could access the Vault Room, because the company stored sensitive documents and information there. What the hell was Lilliana doing in there?
“Okay. Thanks, Seth. Just what I needed.”
He had to find out what she was doing; he wasn’t ever one to stick his head in the sand. Before the decision to act had been fully formed, he was already heading out the door. A few minutes later, he was swiping his own badge through the magnetic reader, which unlocked the door to the Vault Room.
Lights were on in the large room, but it was absolutely silent inside. The room appeared empty and unused at first glance, and the distinct musty smell only added to that impression. Jason moved about five stacks deep into the room before he saw her. She was pulling an indexed binder from one of the shelves.
He watched her for a moment before he announced his presence. She looked at home amongst all the books, binders and shelving, but the furthest thing from the stereotypical librarian you could imagine. Instead, she looked impossibly sexy. And her X-rated fantasies, the ones that he couldn’t help but repeatedly read since the night he’d discovered the file, were in sharp contrast to the angelic look of innocence she projected. It was a contradiction that left him completely shaken.
He felt his cock tightening painfully in his pants and it angered him. Never had he been so obsessed with a woman. Maybe Bill was right. Maybe he was being led around by his dick; but deep down, he just couldn’t believe Lilliana had anything to do with the recent sabotage of his company.
There was one thought that kept circling around and around his head, teasing him with its cruelty. It was the one explanation for the Corporate Secrets file that made his blood run cold. Was she writing an exposé of some sort? A tell-all hit job designed to discredit him unless he paid her off? Or was it as simple as her using the fake stories to shake him down with a bogus sexual harassment lawsuit?
As much as he recognized what the prudent thing to do was, he couldn’t bring this situation to the attention of his high-priced lawyers just yet. His lawyers would be able to plan a defense. They would be able to mitigate any kind of damage this could cause him, personally and professionally. It was a no-brainer to seek their counsel. He sure as hell didn’t know how to combat this potential lawsuit – even when any accusation was blatantly untrue.
He knew the right move; yet, he faltered. Somehow, he couldn’t make himself believe that Lilliana would do that to him. He hadn’t known her for long, but in his gut – however foolish it was - he trusted her. The thought of his lawyers poring over the document made his skin crawl. The details were so personal and intimate even if none of it was actually real. As stupid as it was, he felt the urge to protect her.
Impossible (to Resist) Boss: Billionaire Romance Page 5
