Mr. Cole: A Billionaire Tech Boss Romance (Billionaires' Clique Book 4)

by Jess Jolie

  Huge. Massive.

  Admittedly, I never thought I would feel like that towards him. I thought he was a jerk who liked to boss people around, and the fact that he was kind of a man-whore completely put me off him.

  Yes, I did look him up online, and I didn’t like what I saw. In a way, I had hoped that me being a mom would scare him off, but it turned out that there was this whole other side to Axel I didn’t know existed. I also doubted that the world knew that he was a kind and sensitive soul who was caring and sweet. He only pretended to be a jerk to not be perceived as a weak person incapable of running a large company.

  I understood that. He was acting a certain way to gain respect from his clients and be seen as a role model, a boss, and someone who had the company and its image’s best interests at heart

  It also made me realize that I had been a little selfish in my pursuit to keep my father’s business for as long as possible. I wasn’t the right person for the job, and even if I was, I did not have the capital to keep the business afloat. I was driving my father’s beloved business into the ground because I was being sentimental. I wanted to have just this one thing I had left of him, even if it meant losing the company altogether.

  I had spent the last few days also thinking about what was best for me and the company. I was willing to agree to sell Phoenix to Axel, but of course, with a few conditions. I didn’t want any of our technicians and engineers losing their jobs, and I expected Axel to pay them better than they deserve. They were a great group of people, and I wanted them to feel secure and taken care of the way my father would have done.

  Feeling a bit overwhelmed with everything I needed to say to Axel, I took a deep breath and climbed out of my car. I made my way inside the building, my heart pounding in my chest. It was weird, like I was a teenager again getting ready to tell my crush I liked him.

  And it’s been a while.

  I stepped off the elevator, and the young woman behind the front desk smiled at me.

  “I’m here to see Mr. Cole.”

  “Ms. Fadden, right?” she asked.

  “Yes, that’s me,” I answered.

  “He’s in his office. Would you like me to direct you?”

  “No, I’m fine. I know where it is. Thank you.”

  I gave her a nod and walked along the wide hallway, passing by the other offices, where everyone was hard at work. I felt a sense of peace, knowing that my dad’s company would be in safe hands, and I didn’t need to worry.

  Was it wrong of me to mix business with pleasure? Maybe, but I trusted Axel.

  As I stepped into his office, that trust seemed to fade away within an instant. In his office, leaning against his desk, was a young woman I had never seen before. Her skirt was way too short, and her skirt was way too tight for my liking. Axel was standing way too close to her, and it made me jealous, angry and disappointed.

  “Is this what you’re doing when you’re supposed to be working, Mr. Cole?” I said loudly.

  The woman stepped away from the desk, and Axel backed away. There was a guilty expression on his face, and he stared at me with wide eyes.

  “Rebecca, I didn’t know you were here. Janet didn’t let me know-”

  “And maybe that’s a good thing,” I said and crossed my arms and turned to the woman, who looked flushed and embarrassed. “You can leave now.”

  She hastily made her way out of the office, and I glared at Axel.

  “I know what you must be thinking, and it’s not what it looks like.”

  “Oh, okay. Well, great,” I said sarcastically.

  “Becky-”

  “Don’t call me that. You have the nerve to make me think that you’re not just some arrogant asshole who only uses people for your benefit.”

  “That is not what that is, Rebecca,” he defended, but I didn’t want to hear it.

  “I can’t believe I trusted you, and I can’t believe that I let you into my life, my daughter’s life. People like you don’t change. They just pretend to.”

  “Rebecca, please wait.”

  “No, I’m done,” I exclaim and open the door of his office. “And don’t you dare follow me.”

  He looks at me with wide eyes, and I turn away from him. I couldn’t even look at him anymore. He had me fooled from the first day. All he cared about was himself, and I was not going to let him take my father’s company. Then I’d rather burn it to the ground.

  I stomped along the hallway, and he called after me, but not in a way to draw any attention to himself or me. His hand grabbed my arm and spun me around, his brown eyes fixed on me.

  “Let me explain.”

  “There’s no need. I’ve seen more than I needed to,” I muttered.

  I pulled myself free from his grasp and headed to the elevator.

  I was officially done.

  Chapter Ten

  Axel

  The convention center was packed since it was the final of the RoboCon, and it made it a little difficult to find Rebecca and Katelyn. I knew they were there since I checked online who made it to the final. Katelyn did, which was not surprising. I gazed around the hall, trying to find them, but I was not having much luck, which frustrated me a little.

  I’d been calling Rebecca’s phone, but obviously, she didn't want to speak to me after what happened in my office. I could understand why she was upset, but nothing happened with me and Tori. It looked bad, I had to admit, but we were just talking. She was just one of the interns working there, and I thought nothing of it, but after Rebecca left, I did discuss with Human resources to clear this whole mess up. I didn’t want anything to badly reflect on my company or myself. I spent too long building my company up from the ground to allow a busty intern with hidden agenda to jeopardize it all.

  Especially my relationship with Rebecca. If that was even what we were in. We had never really talked about the status of what we were to one another. Still, I didn’t want to lose her. She was too important to me. Special, unlike my other women.

  I scanned the hall once again and saw her standing with a group of people. She was looking over at the stage, and as I followed her gaze, I noticed Katelyn on the stage as well. She was tinkering with her robot, concentration on her young face.

  I made my way through the crowd towards Rebecca, waving at her to get her attention. As soon as she saw me, her jaw clenched, and she shook her head. Of course, that didn’t deter me, but as I approached her, she backed away. I set off after her, I followed her outside, and I called out to her.

  “Rebecca, please.”

  She whirled around angrily and looked at me. “You don’t quit, do you?”

  “Not if it’s for something that I want,” I answered.

  “Have you not had your fun? Why do you have to torture me by continually calling me, showing up here?”

  “I just want to talk to you, Rebecca. Explain what happened.”

  “It doesn’t matter, okay. I saw what I saw, and I allowed myself to get fooled by you. So it’s my fault,” she said and crossed her arms.

  “That’s not what happened,” I defended. “I know it may have looked like something was going on with Ashley, but it was nothing. She was the one coming on to me, and she even admitted it to HR. When I reported her.”

  “You expect me to believe you?” she asked.

  “Well, would you believe me if I said that I want no one else but you because I fell hard for you? Harder than I ever have for anyone. I’ve never felt this way before, and I probably never will again,” I told her.

  She simply looked at me as if she was not at all convinced.

  “You want me to prove it to you?” I asked and threw my hands up in the air. “Okay, how about this? I don’t want to buy your father’s company anymore, because it means too much to you to let it go. I know it’s the only thing you have left of him, so I’d never do that to you. Instead, I want to invest in your company, giving your engineers and technicians sufficient financial support and resources to keep working on the invent
ions they have yet to finish. Your father’s ideas and inventions could revolutionize the industry, and it’d be a shame if they were not crafted into reality. That is what I want for you. And you know why? Because I am in love with you, dammit!”

  Rebecca’s hands dropped to her sides, and she shook her head. “You would do that?”

  “I already had the contract drafted. That was what I wanted to tell you.”

  She narrowed her eyes at me and took a step towards me. “Really?”

  “Yes, Rebecca. Meeting you changed me, and I liked the person I was becoming. I’m not the selfish, arrogant jerk I used to be.”

  She scoffed. “And now you’re trying to win me back by saying all these things?”

  “Is it working?” I ask hopefully.

  “Maybe,” she answered. “But I do have a few conditions.”

  “Anything you want,” I said honestly.

  “I just want you to be honest with me and not hurt me or Katelyn,” she replied.

  “I can do that. You two are more important to me than you think,” I said. “I promise.”

  A smile formed on her lips, and she walked closer to me. She wrapped her arms around my shoulders and looked at me, her green eyes sparkling. She leaned in closer and softly kissed me, shivers of delight running down my spine.

  “And just so you know, I fell hard for you too,” she murmured.

  “Good to know.”

  “We should get back inside,” she whispered. “I don’t want Katelyn to wonder where I am.”

  We went back into the hall and watched as the judges examined the three contestants’ robots, including Katelyn’s.

  While we watched, a familiar figure wearing his usual black suit approached me, but I was surprised since I hadn’t seen him in a long time.

  “Axel Cole,” he said and shook my hand.

  “Jo, what a surprise. I thought you were dead,” I joked, although it secretly wasn’t a joke at all.

  “There’s something we should discuss. Something important and highly confidential,” he said in a low tone. “But not here.”

  “Whatever it is, Jo, you know I have your back, so does the Clique.” I replied with a nod.

  “Excellent. I’ll get my people to call your people,” he murmured before vanishing into the crowd.

  Who was that?” Rebecca asked.

  I leaned in closer to her and said, “A good friend of mine, Joseph Rico.”

  “Like the mob boss?” Rebecca gasped.

  “The one and only.”

  “What does he want to talk about?” she asked with wide eyes.

  “I’m not sure, but knowing him, it’s something only I can help him with.”

  That was usually the case.

  “And you’ve helped him with something before?” Rebecca searched my eyes for an answer.

  “I have, several times.”

  “You work for the mob?”

  I hushed her gently, my eyes pleading with her to keep her voice down. “Of course not. He’s a buddy of mine from my old neighborhood.”

  My phone vibrated in my pocket, and I quickly answered it. “Axel Cole.”

  “I have a car waiting out front. When you and your girlfriend and her kid are ready, I have to speak with you, urgently.”

  “I hardly think that this is any of their business.”

  “Just trust me on this one. I will tell you everything when you get here.”

  “Okay,” I said, and the call automatically disconnected.

  “What is it?”

  “How would you feel about having a little meeting with Joseph Rico, or Joey, as we used to call him as kids.”

  “It does make him sound a little less threatening. And if push comes to shove, Katelyn can let her robot loose on him.”

  I chuckled as I wrapped my arm protectively around her shoulders. Joey, what kind of crap have you gotten yourself into this time? I guess we’re about to find out.

  I reached for my phone and sent a quick text message.

  Axel: “Joey, have they found out?!”

  End of Book 4

  Ready for Joey’s story? Click here to learn about Joey in Book 5 of the Billionaires’ Clique: Mr. Rico

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