Deacon: A BWWM Billionaire Romance (20 page)

“So you’re free to do what you want.” I shrugged. “Fine, but don’t kid yourself. You’re still chained, just to a company instead of a project. Even if you make it up to CEO at your firm or at some other... honey, you’ll find a hundred hooks around your neck. The higher you rise, the bigger the things you’ll fight for, and the rarer your victories. Trust me on that.”

“I'm not trying to be in charge. I just want to have my pick of cases and be free to work on what I want.”

“There's always a tradeoff. You might get one project you want to two the company wants. Maybe, even flip that if you're lucky. But they'll still have their hooks in you. ”

She wore a glum look, and had her arms crossed, but said nothing. I pressed in.

“The surest way to get what you want is to go for it directly. Accept no substitutes.”

She gave me an amused look. “That's definitely Deacon Stone philosophy 101.”

I shrugged. “Fair, but it ain't wrong. You come here, you’ll work on one big project I know you care about. You liked what we did in Abu Dhabi. Doesn't seeing it through sound more exhilarating? I don't think you just want to run from this world. Otherwise you'd be a beach bum. Or maybe a monk.”

I clasped her hand again, held it tight. “Decide what you believe in and go for it hard. The only freedom we have in this world is picking the things we chain ourselves to.”

She shook her head, but her face had cleared.

“I don’t know,” she said.

She was close. Time to take her.

“Oh, you’ll also jump up a bunch in title and get a huge bump in salary,” I said. “So your resume will look amazing no matter what ends up happening.”

She took a deep breath. “Well, I’m not going to answer on the spot.”

“Of course not. Run your numbers and get back to me. You know I’ll be waiting.”

“Alright.”

I didn’t let the quiet settle. I grabbed her hand and yanked her over to my lap.

“What?!” she screamed.

“Nothing. Just thought I’d move on to the non-business portion of the evening. Or do you need to think about that too?”

I nibbled into her velvety neck.

“Oh.” She sighed. “All this whiplash is making me dizzy. And I’m full. Let’s take a break or we’re going to be going through a lot more kinks tonight than I’m ready to handle.”

“Don’t worry,” I said, nudging the shirt down her shoulder. “I know how to go slow, too. What my girlfriend wants, she gets.”

“So this is the reason for my miseries.”

That wasn’t Kiara's voice. No that was quite the opposite.

Oh, shit.

I looked over at the door and saw my mother. She stood with her arms crossed, wearing a frilly white pant suit, and fur draped over her shoulders.

“Mother,” I said, summoning all the calm I could. “You’re early.”

“Thank god,” she said. “Who knows what I would have seen if I had arrived moments later.”

She traipsed in the room and Kiara scrambled off to her seat. “Hello, Mrs. Stone.”

“Why hello, Ms. Nobody-from-the-country-club. What a genuine surprise to find you atop my eldest son.”

“It was-”

“It was a date,” I said. “And yes, we were just about to head off to my quarters.”

My mother stood on the other side of the table, peering down at us, but making no move to sit. I had the urge to just gather my girl and walk out. We had nothing to discuss.

“Jesse mentioned the remarkable work you did on that Abu Dhabi project,” my mother said to Kiara.

“Thank…you.”

“Yes, he’s quite taken with you as well. Apparently, he’s voting to approve the purchase.”

“We can discuss that when the three of us are having a sit down tomorrow,” I said. “What are you doing home today anyway? My assistant heard from yours that you have that gala in Dallas.”

“What am I doing? Why I’m in town raising funds for your father’s old friend. You remember, the man who’s running for governor.”

“There’s no fundraiser scheduled in Houston today.”

“Well, I thought I should go the extra mile once I heard my sons were working to undermine me.”

I rubbed my face. This was derailing everything with Kiara. What could she imagine, seeing what passed for bureaucracy in Stone Holdings?

“We’re not doing anything devious. This is for the good of the company.”

“Is it?” she said, glowering at Kiara for some reason. “I thought you were intent on the business. But now I see that this was all just a tag team effort to pull the hood over your brother.”

“He liked what he saw in the report. I am not capable of tricking Jesse.”

“You were also not capable of going on a date when it was with the daughter of the man who will now become governor. Not even once, even after I begged you. And now, I find you with
her,
destroying not only our name, but our company too.
”

“Watch yourself,” I said.

“I see that I have no choice, but to watch for myself.” She sniffed the air. “I had no choice but to watch as you trample the legacy your father left behind - dirtying yourself in the pointless chores of business. Now, I have no choice but to watch you sully the family name, associating with commoners, promising her who knows what?”

Her eyes narrowed to viper pits. “But I still have some power. Your father was wise enough to see the wisdom in that before leaving you in charge. And for once, I will use it to keep at least some of the Stone legacy safe.”

My arms went cold. “What are you saying?”

“Jesse can vote as he wants, but you won’t get your solar company without unanimous approval. And I am voting against this deal that you’ve concocted with your low-grade hussy.”

She turned and headed out the door.

“Enjoy your evening.”

I glanced solemnly at Kiara. She stared straight at the wall ahead, mouth softly open.

“I think I might have been responsible for that,” she said.

“It’s my fault,” I said grimly. “Not yours.”

“Can you fix it?” she said. “Can you change her mind?”

I looked at her dark hair. Her bright mocha skin. Her big brown eyes, bigger now.

She wasn’t worried, she wasn’t angry or even insulted. She was still thinking, still trying to figure this out for me.

But she couldn't. This deal, the one that stood a chance of growing us even bigger and making the company truly mine. It didn't hinge on her mind.

To my mother, it somehow hinged on Kiara herself.

“Yeah,” I said. “I might be able to convince my mother. If I was willing to let you go.”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Kiara

The words didn't shatter me. Maybe I had seen them coming the moment his mom's pruny face showed up in the hallway. Maybe I had known she saw me as some demon to exorcise since that day at the country club.

Maybe I'd just always expected that the last few weeks were to be too good to be true.

For god's sake, I had fallen for a billionaire. He might have fallen for me too, but it was as he said: there were a thousand little hooks in him. I might be a big one, but if the rest were all pulling him the other way, then I stood no chance.

Deacon's brow lay furrowed, his lips pursed. He was running the numbers on me in his head.

My heart felt heavy as stone. One moment, we were pulling close too fast, the next we were blowing apart like a grenade.

“I should go, right?” I said.

“What?” His eyes sparked like twin flints.

“I can leave and you can go tell her that I'm not the reason for the solar deal.”

“Why in the hell would I say that?” He blinked. “Shit, you think that was a serious option I just spouted? I was just thinking out loud.”

A heat was in his eyes now, but none of it reached me. I saw my reflection in there, but just as another piece for him to put in place.

“Yeah,” I said, reaching for my purse. “I think I should leave. At least I can give you space to think.”

I rose, turning to hide the pooling water in my eyes.

“Hold it there, darlin'.” His hand was around my wrist.

“Just let me go.” I tugged, but I might as well have been trying to wriggle out from under a boulder.

“Now, you see, that's the one thing I can't do.”

He spun me around. His hard, powerful face still lay solemn, but his eyes were soft now, like a receding storm.

That gentle look nearly crumbled me. I blinked to keep from shattering.

“You're right,” I said. “She's hated me since the second she saw me. I don't really understand why, but it's not even about the business. It's about me.”

“No, it's about
me
. It's always been about me. She sees you and she's looking at the girl that matches the son who's always defied what she wants. You're right - it has nothing to do with the business. It's all about me spitting in the face of legacy.”

“You could break up with me and marry someone from your world. Someone she respected.”

“Shit, are you in cahoots with her? I know what she wants, I just haven't been doing it. Don't think I'm gonna start just cause you're the one suggesting it now.”

A laugh bubbled through my tightened throat. It made me sound like a wreck. Deacon pressed me back into my seat, and moved around so he could grip both my hands.

“I'm sorry for spitting my nonsense out loud,” he said. “This is why I prefer playing strategy games online. I can mumble my idiocy without issues. ”

His fingers were strong, but gentle. They fastened around me like hardening concrete. I couldn't go anywhere if tried.

But the only thing I wanted was for him to wind into me deeper, to bring me as close as he could.

“Let me make it very clear,” he said. “You are not going anywhere. No one is going to take me from you, least of all yourself - unless you truly want it. And I know you don't. I know who we are to each other.” He kissed me tenderly. “Right?”

“Yes,” I whispered.

“Good. So this isn't a personal matter. I’s a business problem, and I am going to figure it out. That’s my damn job.”

“Ok.”

He cupped my face and kissed me longer. “Just to let you know, this doesn't change a word of what I've told you. That includes the job offer. Seems I need to make sure you're close.”

I snorted. No wonder he and his mom were at each other's throats. “You really think that's a smart idea?”

“Oh, it's a brilliant idea. Even if you weren't a gorgeous creature I couldn't lift my eyes off of, you'd still be a huge asset to the company.”

“Your mother will just fire me.”

“Na, she doesn't have that sort of power. She'll want to, yes, but she wants a lot of things she's not gonna get.”

He had that distant look again. I might have him now, but I'd never have him fully. Our moments together would always be clouded by other things, good and bad.

But his hands had not budged. If anything, they threaded deeper.

I didn't want a life with us staring in each other’s eyes every moment of the day, or with our minds lashed to each other. We were our own people. Closeness was more than perfect.

And now, this all seemed a little silly. A high-brow mother holding billions of dollars on the line over her son's love interests? It made my mom look sane in comparison. Even Antoine would say “you're not making any sense, girl” if I tried to use it in improv.

Things would never get boring with Deacon, that was for sure.

“I'll still have to think about the job,” I said.

He snapped out. “And I'm still ok with that. Just don't rule it out completely. Now-” He yanked me back into his lap. “Where were we?”

His head buried in my neck, thick and hard. Another part of him rose swiftly beneath me.

I sighed, but my heart raced the wrong way. It hadn't forgotten how this ended last time.

“If it's all the same,” I said. “I'd still rather not stay in the house with your mom around.”

“Oh.” He pulled away. “Yeah, I can understand that.”

His gorgeous mouth was arced down though.

I bent into his ear and whispered. “I mean, we should go somewhere else.”

“Oh!” His lips curled up against me. “I am so grateful you clarified that.”

He shot to his feet, with me still in his arms. I shrieked and we tore off, towards one of his expensive cars, towards a place where we could be together in peace.

****

The office welcomed me with its sterile flickering lights. I hadn't come in since starting the Abu Dhabi project. Even in Houston, I'd split my work time between an office in Stone Holdings and, well, Deacon Stone holding me.

If only someone had told me how motivating falling for your client could be, I might have started a lot sooner.

But it left me wondering:
Do I really want to come back to just this again?

Half of the dozen cubes in my aisle lay empty, but every person around tossed me a look as I walked past. Some had plastered on smiles. Some looked like an alien had walked in.