Blackmailing The Billionaire (Billionaire Bachelors - Book 5) (18 page)

“Hi Mike, I’m sorry, I didn’t see you sitting there,” he said as he sat down and put his arm around her. She was feeling a little light headed until she realized what he said and what he was doing. He was staking his claim. She wouldn’t cause a scene but she didn’t like being treated like a piece of property. Besides that, they weren’t a couple. They were…well, she didn’t know how to define them.

“Thank you,” she mumbled. Mike made some excuse and slinked away. Max had done what he wanted.

“I’m not some possession of yours,” she said with irritation once she knew Mike was out of earshot. Max ignored her words and scooted over, then lifted her leg onto his lap and started gently rubbing her foot. She wanted to yank it away, but it felt so good. She was embarrassed, but not enough to demand he stop.

“Mike is a womanizer. He didn’t need to be talking to you,” Max growled.

“You don’t have the right to tell me who I can and can’t speak to. You wanted me to come to this party and now you’re selecting who I can talk with?” she asked with a glare.

“You can talk to anyone you want…except Mike,” he said as if his words were perfectly reasonable. She gave up arguing, neither of them were willing to concede they were wrong.

“I’ve gotten some great information on you, tonight,” she said with a wicked gleam in her eye. She knew the change of subject was good enough to distract him. It worked. “I heard about your sophomore year, and the tractor…” she trailed off. His eyes narrowed.

“As interesting a subject as that is, I’ll pass on hearing about it again,” he said through gritted teeth. It seemed he wasn’t too thrilled about some of the stories she’d heard. He’d told her she could talk to his family. He was most likely regretting that decision.

“Don’t you want to add anything else for me,” she goaded. She never listened in school when her teachers talked about not poking the bear. But, of course that’s what would make her an excellent reporter. She had to be fearless or she’d never get a good story.

“Just remember our deal about what is and isn’t acceptable to print,” he warned. She had to fight the laughter that wanted to spill from her. He was quite easily riled.

“I need to go thank your Aunt and Uncle for the invitation. Joseph really knows how to throw a nice party,” she said, giving him a break. She was finding it hard to make conversation with him as his hand caressed her foot, then slid up her calf and back down. It was playing havoc with her nerves. But, he could do it forever and she’d be okay.

“This is typical for my family. We’ve been growing larger each year, with all my cousins getting married, having kids, and now my brother joined their ranks. I think my father has the idea that my other siblings and I will follow in our cousins footsteps. Austin, Bree, and I have all talked. We know what our Dad and Uncle Joseph are up to and there’s no way we’re falling into their trap,” Max said.

“Why would your father and uncle have anything to do with you getting married?” she asked.

“I don’t know. I just know that my relatives are falling into marriage left and right, and I don’t know how, but I think my Uncle and Dad are behind it,” Max said, shooting a suspicious glance at the two men, who were currently looking at them.

“I don’t know how it would be possible. I’ve met your relatives and they aren’t forced marriages. It’s obvious to anyone who spends a few minutes in their presence how much they love their wives,” she said.

“There’s no doubt that they’re all madly in love, as a matter-of-fact, it’s quite disgusting to be in a room too long with them, but I know those old men are somehow involved,” Max said with conviction.

“Well…okay,” she said, clearly not believing him.

“We will just agree to disagree,” he said and she had to role her eyes at the over-used line. She was once again getting too comfortable around him.

“I’m going to leave soon,” she told him. She didn’t feel like walking around anymore, and the party was in full swing. She knew she wouldn’t last the entire evening.

“Is your foot still bothering you,” he asked with concern.

“It’s not horribly bad, but I just need to get some sleep. My head’s starting to hurt,” she said.

“Let me say goodbye to my Aunt, then we can leave,” he told her, setting her foot down and starting to rise. She reached out and grabbed his arm.

“There’s no need for that, Max. I’m going home to my apartment, tonight. You stay and enjoy your family. I’ll take a cab,” she insisted.

“I brought you here, and I’ll escort you home,” he said with a glare. He certainly wasn’t used to a woman refusing him.

“Max, can you help me with something,” his brother, Austin, called.

“I’ll be back in a few minutes. Don’t go anywhere,” he commanded. She nodded, but didn’t say anything. Of course, she wasn’t going to listen.

As soon as Cassie saw him leave her view, she stood up, testing weight on her foot. It did feel much better after him rubbing it. She made her way across the room, and slipped out the door, pulling her cell phone from her purse as she went. She had to get away, because if he insisted on taking her home she knew she’d easily cave in and spend another night with him.

She stepped out into the cool evening air, glad for the slight sprinkle. The fresh smell of rain helped to clear her head. The cab arrived within ten minutes, which was good. She’d been anxiously watching the door, afraid of Max stepping through at any moment. Hopefully, he would just let it go, and she could get on with her life. She had an article to finish and a job to get. At least she had that to look forward to.

She climbed in the cab and looked back at the impressive mansion as a tear fell. She knew her adventure had to eventually come to an end, but she wasn’t expecting it to rip her heart out.

Max walked into the room, frustrated it had taken so long to get back to Cassie. She was talking as if their time was over, but he was determined to change her mind. There was something going on with them and he wasn’t ready to call it quits. He didn’t care if their allotted time for her interview was up.

He wasn’t willing to put an emotion to how he felt about her, but the time they’d spent together had been better than anything he could remember. He’d never enjoyed being with a woman like he’d enjoyed their every moment. He found himself anxious to see her. He loved how she looked lying in his bed, her chest softly rising and falling as she slept, with the morning light streaming through the window, caressing her features.

She was beautiful, there was no doubt about that, but there was so much more to her than just beauty. She had a way of drawing people toward her. She was full of life and laughter, and she made him feel unbelievable. He could make love to her night and day, but beyond that he could lie next to her for hours just listening to the sound of her voice.

He looked around the room and blew out a breath when he didn’t see her on the couch. He wasn’t too concerned, yet. She’d probably went to find his aunt. He searched around and found his aunt, and Cassie was still nowhere in sight. He grabbed his phone, dialing her number. It went straight to voicemail. She was gone.

His first instinct was to chase her down. He’d told her to wait for him. It was rude to leave without saying anything. She’d snuck out the second his back was turned. He could feel his anger level rising. His cousin called to him, and he decided to let her have her night. They would talk. He wasn’t ready for their relationship to end, and he didn’t easily let go of something he wanted.

Chapter Eleven

Cassie was miserable. She hadn’t seen Max for a few days, no phone calls, no emails, no speaking. It was what she wanted, she told herself throughout the lonely days, but she knew she was lying to herself. She had a feeling it would take her a very long time to get over him. She had to see him that afternoon to give him the preview of her article, and a few other items she’d borrowed. She’d keep her head high and not let him see how much pain she was in.

All her misery, at least, was getting poured into what she thought was a great story. She was sure to get her dream job. Just a few more days and she could start pounding the pavement. If the paper wouldn’t hire her, then she’d try to get a job with one of the local magazines. She knew she was a good writer, and she didn’t mind starting at the bottom, working her way to the top. She could do it, she was meant to report.

She’d half expected Max to show up at her apartment the night of the party, or the next day, if for no other reason than he didn’t like to be walked away from. She couldn’t believe how badly she’d wanted him to do just that. She realized she wanted him to show up with roses and confess his undying love for her, tell her she was the only woman he could ever love. She sounded like so many others, thinking she could change a man. The reality was that their time together had meant a lot more to her than him.

As Cassie stepped from the cab and looked at the familiar building, her heart started pounding uncontrollably. She took deep breaths to calm herself, but for once it wasn’t working. How could she face him, looking as if all was right in the world, when inside her heart was shattering?
You can do this
, she commanded herself.

As she stepped in the elevator, her feelings intensified. She was going to have a panic attack before she ever made it to his office if she didn’t get herself under control. She ignored the people around her, not able to make any kind of small talk. As soon as she stepped from the claustrophobic box, she headed to the bathroom.

She looked in the mirror, hating the amount of make-up on her face. She’d had to layer on cover-up to hide the shadows under her eyes, a dead giveaway to her sleepless nights. She re-applied her lip gloss and stared back at her reflection until she was sure she had an indifferent look plastered on her face.

When she was satisfied she looked fine, she stepped from the bathroom, and walked to the coffee pot. She’d need something in her hands to prevent them from shaking. In reality, she knew she was just postponing the moment she had to speak to him. It was early in the morning and the offices only had a few people moving about. It was unusually quiet, which was fine with her. She didn’t need witnesses to her humiliation.

She stepped through his open door and firmly shut it behind her. There he was, leaning back in his chair with his foot propped on his desk. He looked up from his computer, his keyboard resting in his lap. He was clean shaven, and as usual, his tie was cast aside. He looked good, way too good. She wanted to move the keyboard and curl into his lap.

“Good morning, Cassie. I’m glad you’re here. I was going to call and have you come in today. I would’ve called sooner, but got called away to Montana for a couple days. It was a disaster, and for once I’m actually glad to be back at the offices. We got the problem solved, though,” he said, as if there was nothing wrong.
There wasn’t anything wrong in his world. Sleeping with a woman, then moving on to the next was a regular thing for him
, she thought bitterly.

Cassie couldn’t get into a long conversation with him. She only had so much strength, before she couldn’t keep the mask on any longer. She reached into her briefcase and pulled out the papers.

“I wanted to give this to you. It’s not the finished version, but I’ve outlined everything going into the article. I don’t think I’ve broken any of the rules of our agreement,” she said, sliding the papers across his desk. Her tone finally registered that this wasn’t a happy meeting.

His eyes narrowed as he looked at the papers, then to her face.
Please, don’t make this more difficult than it needs to be
, she inwardly pleaded. She waited as he glanced back at his desk.

“I’m going to refill my coffee, can I get you anything?” she asked, needing an excuse to get away from him. She didn’t want to wait in his office. She took the other things she’d used from the office and set them on his desk. The act seemed to irritate him even more.

“You’re cup is full. You can stay here until I look through this,” he commanded. His relaxed state was over. He set his feet down and picked up the document, quickly scanning through it.

“I don’t have any complaints,” he said, after what seemed like forever. His voice startled her, as she’d been looking out the window. He didn’t look as if he thought it was fine.

“If you have an issue, I need to know now,” she spoke in the same monotone voice.

“I don’t have an issue with the damn paper. What I have an issue with is your attitude this morning. Why are you acting this way?” he demanded.

“I’m done with the article, Max. There’s no other reason for us to be around each other, any longer. I just want to finish this last bit of business and get on my way,” she said. She was proud that her voice didn’t crack. She was holding the tears at bay, but just barely.

“So, you’ve gotten what you want from me, and now you’re done. Everything that’s happened over the last month means nothing to you? I have to say, you’re not who I thought you were,” he snarled. If she didn’t know better, she’d actually think he was hurt. There was no way he cared about her. If he did, wouldn’t he say something?

“We agreed to a month, Max. I’m not going to make more out of our brief fling than what it was. I also don’t plan on being your mistress until you get bored with me, and toss me aside for your next supermodel,” she said, more emotion creeping into her voice.