HUNT (The Billionaire's Rules, Book 13) (4 page)

“Would you be able to come into the
office this morning to sign contracts?
 
Or we could fax or scan them to you…”

“No, I can come in,” she said.
 
She didn’t have access to a fax or
scanner.
 
And besides, she wanted to
go into the office.

You
want to see him.

But not only that.
 
This was a good job and she was excited to get in and get started right
away.

Oh,
I just bet you are.

She shushed her internal voice as the HR
rep told her to come in for the eleven
o
’clock hour.

Lanie thanked him and hung up the phone,
and then she sprang out of bed and danced around her bedroom.

Abruptly, she stopped dancing and stood
completely still as it occurred to her.

Was this some sort of payment for
services rendered?

Or worse yet, did he expect that kind of
physical relationship to be a requirement of her working for him?
 
Lanie’s cheeks flushed yet again, as she
realized that she wasn’t sure which possibility was worse.

That Brayden Forman expected sex in
return for her working for him.

Or that he didn’t.

***

When Lanie next entered the Hookup
Headquarters, she was walking confidently, head held high.

I
have a job.

I
belong here now.

“Can I help you?” asked the woman at the
desk with the Hookup logo behind her and the big red letters.
 

“I’m here to sign some contracts,” Lanie
smiled.
 
“I’ve been offered
employment.”

“Great to have you,” the woman smiled
brightly back at her.

“I know where to go,” Lanie said, when
the woman was about to explain where the workspace was located.

She went up the elevator and entered the
workspace, asked the first person she could find to tell her where the HR rep
sat.

Moments later, Lanie was seated at one of
those long desks, signing non-disclosure forms, non-compete forms, and an
employee contract.
 
Her offer letter
stated that the position paid an annual salary of forty-five thousand dollars a
year.

It was far more money than she’d ever
made in her life up until this point.

Lanie signed everything that was put in
front of her, and she really only pretended to read what she was signing.
 
The reality was that there was pretty
much nothing that would’ve deterred her from working at Hookup.

This was always going to be a better job
than working at a coffee shop or temping in some non-descript office, doing
data entry.

When she was finished signing her life
away, the HR rep congratulated her and gave her a packet of information that
would let her know about their benefits package, health insurance, 401k, and
general office culture.

“Is Brayden Forman in the office?” she
asked, hoping her question sounded casual, and not like a girl with a crush on
her superior.

“Oh, yes.
 
I think he’s in the Fishbowl.”

“Fishbowl?”

“It’s a conference room off the main
space,” the rep replied, pointing across the enormous workspace area.
 
“He’s in there having a meeting with
Virgil.”

“Thanks,” Lanie said, holding the packet
of information and pamphlets close to her chest.
 
She walked across the workspace,
listening to the sounds of chatter, people working, typing,
having
discussions—and then the shouts of those involved in a Ping Pong match on
the other side of the room.

The light streaming in through the office
windows was shining brightly, and Lanie felt like she wanted to sing.

This
place is cool.
 
Brayden Forman is
cool too.

And
he wants me.

Clearly,
he hired me for a reason.
 
He wants
to see me again.

She walked over to the door that was
labeled ‘the Fishbowl.’
 
It was
actually the one room she’d seen thus far that was without glass walls and
doors.
 
She assumed the name given to
it was purely ironic.

As she got closer to the room, she
thought about knocking and decided it likely wasn’t appropriate.
 
And even less so, when she got close
enough to hear raised voices inside the room.

The person talking loudest must’ve been
Virgil Spencer, who she remembered was a co-founder and President of the
company.

“We can’t afford another scandal, Bray.”

“You worry too much, Virg,” came
Brayden’s reply.

“Stop telling me I worry too much.
 
I have to worry, because I have a
partner that doesn’t worry at all and acts like he’s a horny frat boy.
 
Our reputation is already bad enough
without you adding to it with fresh red meat every other week.”

“Well whatever I’m doing must be
working.
 
Because we have more money
than we know what to do with and our App is the number one dating app for our
demo.”

“You’d love to believe that your antics are
the reason we’re so popular,” Virgil scolded.
 
“What got us here is hard work and being
smart.
 
Not fucking every cute girl
that catches your eye.”

Lanie flinched, hearing that coarse
language and thinking about whether she fell into the group of women that
Virgil was referring to.
 
She
suspected that she must, and it stung.

Meanwhile, Brayden was laughing
loudly.
 
“You’re just jealous,
buddy.”

“Hardly,” the other man replied.
 
“I don’t envy your lifestyle for one
second.”

Brayden’s voice was louder now.
 
“You’ve been practically married to
Stace since you were fourteen.
 
I think
you’d have to be made of stone not to be wondering if the grass is greener on
my side of the fence.”

“That’s where you’re wrong.
 
And I’ll thank you to keep your comments
about my wife to yourself.”

“Calm down, Virg.
 
Jesus.”

“You calm down.
 
Keep your dick in your pants,
Brayden.
 
I’m goddamn serious.
 
No more screwing around in the
office.
 
No more messing with crazy
chicks.
 
We’ve got a lot to lose
now.
 
Understood?”

“Yes, sir,” Brayden said.
 

She could hear him laughing though.

The meeting was clearly over, and Lanie
didn’t want to be caught listening at the door to the conference room, so she
walked quickly away and pretended to be perusing her materials from HR.

When the door opened, she looked up and
saw Virgil Spencer striding quickly out of the room and away from his business
partner.

Brayden was standing on the threshold,
hands on his hips, grinning as Virgil walked away.
 
“Don’t be mad, bro!” he called out.

A few people turned and looked at him
curiously.

Virgil didn’t respond.
 
Just shook his head and went into his
office.

“Nothing to see here, folks,” Brayden
said to anyone within earshot.
 
“Just one uptight President with a stick up his ass.”

There were a few laughs in response to
Brayden’s comment and then everyone returned to work.

Brayden’s smile faded as he caught sight
of Lanie standing nearby.
 

“Hi,” she said, holding her stuff close
against her chest once more and waving with her fingers.
 
“I just completed my HR paperwork.”

Brayden came out of the Fishbowl and
approached her.
 
“So you took the
position,” he said.
 
“You work for
me now.
 
Directly under me.”

“Thanks for clarifying,” she
replied.
 
“But I get that an
assistant works for the boss.”

“You sure you get it?” he asked, his
voice low.
 
“I mean
,
I hope you understand what you’re in for.”

She felt her cheeks flush and wished she
wasn’t so easy to read.
 
Her face
gave everything away.
 
“I’m up for a
challenge,” she said, finally.

“Good,” he said.
 
“We start now.
 
Come with me.”
 
And he led her back to his office.

She went in and Brayden walked to the
rear of his office and sat down behind his desk.
 
He was wearing a dark green button-down
shirt, no tie, and jeans that hugged his muscular legs tightly.

Lanie stood before him, feeling awkward,
as she continued to carry the materials from HR.

“So what happens now?” she asked, as
Brayden looked her over.

“This is just the beginning,” he said
cryptically.
 

Lanie sighed.
 
“I’m not sure why I got the job.
 
You seemed like you thought I was a poor
candidate for the position.”

Brayden smiled.
 
“First impressions can sometimes be
misleading.
 
I realized that when
you called me yesterday after our interview.”

“That was an accident.”

“A fortuitous one,” he said, “for both of
us.”

Lanie shook her head.
 
“I didn’t take this job to be your…”

“My what?” Brayden challenged.

“I heard what your boss said to you about
work scandals,” she said.
 
“In the
Fishbowl back there.”

The confident CEO just looked at her, a
slow grin creeping over his face.
 
He reclined in his seat, still watching her.
 
“You heard what
my boss
said to me.”
 
He
laughed a little.

“That’s right.
 
The President of the company said you
should stop screwing around with women in the office.”
 
Her voice got quieter and quieter until
she was whispering the last few words.

“First of all, you’re a little confused
about the structure of our company,” Brayden said.
 
“Virgil is not my boss, he’s the
president.
 
The CEO is the head of
the company.
 
The president of the
company is second in command.”

“That can’t be right,” she said, feeling
confused now.

“It is,” Brayden said.
 
“See, you’re already learning new
things.”
 
Suddenly, he sat forward
and placed his elbows on the desk as he leaned towards her.
 
“As for his lecture about my private
life, he’s entitled to his opinions.
 
But I’m not going to change
who
I am for him or
anyone else.
 
I’m always in control
and that’s not up for discussion.”

“I’m here to
work
,” Lanie said, trying to sound firmer than she felt.

“Apparently, you’re here to eavesdrop on
private conversations between executives.
 
You know, I should fire you on the spot for that.”

Lanie blanched.
 
“It was an accident.”

“You seem to be very accident prone, if
you don’t mind me saying.”

“What do you want from me?” she asked,
feeling backed into a corner.
 
She
hugged her work materials tightly.
 
“Just say it.”

“I want you to blow me,” he replied.

Lanie just stared at him.
 
“That’s not funny.”

“I didn’t say it to be funny.
 
You asked me what I want from you.”

She felt her face turn bright red, and
yet she wasn’t really upset at him for saying it.
 
In fact, instantly, she was turned
on.
 

But Lanie knew that this was wrong.
 
This had to be wrong, by definition.

“You’re my boss now.
 
This is harassment.”
 

“Only if my advances are unwelcome.”
 
Brayden leaned back and this time he
pushed his chair away from his desk.
 
“I won’t fire you for refusing to blow me, Lanie.”

She couldn’t keep her mouth closed.
 
Her jaw literally opened, and she had to
remind herself to shut her mouth.
 
“Brayden.
 
Please.
 
This is insane.
 
I know what we did at my apartment…and I
suppose I enjoyed it…”