Sleeping With My Boss: A Standalone Novel (An Alpha Billionaire Romance Love Story) (A Dirty Office Romance) (48 page)

Chapter
Fifty-Two

Austin

We had been holed up in the conference
room most of the day arguing about whether to proceed with the Paris project or
the Berlin project. Daniel was arguing that Berlin was a better value given the
value of the Euro and the fact that Berlin was becoming increasingly attractive
to hip urbanites and investors there was a window of opportunity that we were
going to miss if we didn't take advantage of it right away.
 

I was skeptical of his assertions since,
thanks to Bax, I'd gotten the report we'd compiled about Daniel's dealings with
the Camorra, the Italian crime syndicate that had infiltrated the construction
industry in Germany. I knew that Daniel had ties to the top Camorra capos, but
since I didn't know which ones, I had to keep the information to myself as Bax
frantically searched for more evidence to prove that something was more than
not right.

"I don't think you should back this
Paris project right now," Daniel was arguing at the conference table. We
were meeting with the top brass in the construction industry in France and I
was trying to convince them that investing time, energy, and money in a Marks
Casino and Hotel project would reap untold benefits. Meanwhile, Daniel, in his
bid to preserve his own interests, was arguing that perhaps they might want to
reconsider and think about putting off the project until after the first of the
year. I knew that if we did that, we'd lose out on some substantial tax breaks
set to expire at the end of the year, but he was intent on claiming those
breaks for his own project.

"I do think you should back the
project, Mr. Benoit," I argued passionately. "I think that this is
perfect time and we've got the perfect location on which to build. If we delay
starting the project until next year, we're going to lose out on some big
benefits that are set to expire."

"I think you're out of your element
on this one, Austin," Daniel said in a voice meant to evoke my father. It
irritated me, but I wasn't about to let that show in front of the Frenchmen.

"I don't think so, Daniel, but I
appreciate your input," I replied with a smile that did not reach my eyes.

"I am interested in the reasons for
your differing opinions, gentlemen," said Girard Benoit. "It seems to
me that there's more to this dispute than just a casino, am I correct?"

I shot Daniel a look telling him to keep
the dirty laundry between us, but he ignored me and addressed Benoit.

"Mr. Benoit, we have a difference of
opinion about the fiscal wisdom of building in Paris versus Berlin," he
said. I could see his reptilian brain working on how to get what he wanted
while also completely sinking me. "I believe that building in Berlin is a
smarter move right now given the construction market there, but my CEO differs
in opinion and feels we should break ground here first before we branch out. I
am simply saying that as someone who worked with his late father, I feel that I
know what's best for this company and that Austin, while definitely gifted and
knowledgeable, should let the old hands work this one out."

"I see," said Benoit looking at
me with fresh eyes. I was so pissed at Daniel for sinking me in front of this
potential partner and even more pissed that he'd invoked my dead father in
order to do it. "And what do you think, Mr. Marks?"

"Mr. Benoit, I believe that this company
was built on a lot of risks that, back in the day, were necessary in order to
survive and then get ahead," I began. Daniel might be trying to drown me,
but I wasn't going to go under without a fight.

"But I believe that time as passed,
and that we now need to look at expanding the company's holdings in a way that
we hadn't considered before. I believe that the smarter move is to build in
Paris where we have strong ties to your company and to the union that governs
construction activity. Once we launch this project and have it firmly underway,
we'll be in a better position to negotiate with the...operators in
Germany."

I hesitated to make my point that Daniel
was negotiating with the mafia and that any deals struck would be at a distinct
disadvantage to Marks Enterprises. Daniel's eyes burned as he looked at me. I
would pay for this at some point, but right now, I needed to secure the French
deal and get that in motion.

"And, if we sign on to do the
project, Mr. Marks," said Girard. "What guarantees do we have?"

"I'll offer you the same agreement
that we offered the Australians," I said confidently. "No foreign
imported workers and all decisions will be made by the crew hired and installed
on site. We will give you a lot of leeway to run this project as you see fit,
but you will have to meet all of the deadlines we set or the deal is off."

"Mmm hmm," he hummed as he
looked back and forth between Daniel and me trying to get a sense of who was
really in charge. "I believe we will discuss this offer, Mr. Marks, and
then let you know first thing in the morning."

Benoit stood and offered his hand to
Daniel. "Thank you, Mr. Wentworth. I appreciate you taking the time to
come all this way to present your case. I will give it the consideration it
deserves."

Daniel shook Benoit's hand before shooting
me another death glare. He stepped back and waited as Benoit offered me his
hand and said, "First thing in the morning, Mr. Marks."

"Thank you, sir," I said as I
let go of the man's hand and turned to walk out of the room. Daniel followed
me, muttering something under his breath. When we reached the lobby of Benoit's
offices, I turned and looked at Daniel for a moment, then said, "Why did
my father hire you?"

"Why?" he parroted with a
surprised look on his face. "Why did your father hire me? Oh kid, that's a
good one!"

"I'm serious, why did my father hire
you?" I repeated.

"Kid, your old man was the most savvy
businessman who ever lived," he said as he leaned in and dropped his
voice. "He hired me because I wasn't afraid of him and because I knew how
to get the job done. And, that's what I'm doing here. Getting the job
done."

"Good to know," I nodded.
"Except you need to adjust your thinking since I'm not my father, and I
don't do business the way he did."

"Oh, I know, kid," he said with
a mocking look on his face. "Oh, believe me, I know. We all know."

He turned and walked out to the office
door, but before exiting, he looked back at me and said, "Kid, there are
some things that you know nothing about and some things that you don't need to
know anything about. Trust me on that one." Then he turned and walked to
the elevator and jabbed the button. When it arrived he got on without looking
back.

I stood staring at the space he'd left
that was now empty wondering what my father would have done in this situation –
and being glad that maybe I didn't know. I walked out to the elevator, pressed
the button, and when the car arrived, I got on and downstairs.

If Daniel Wentworth was going to wage an
internal war against the CEO of Marks Enterprises, then that CEO was going to
be good and ready for him. I strode across the lobby, confident that one call
to Bax tonight would get me the information I needed and that I might have lost
the battle this afternoon, but I was going to win the war tomorrow.

Chapter
Fifty-Three

Emily

I'd
just walked through the door and was on my way across the lobby to catch the
elevator up to my room when Austin rushed past me. I stepped back and watched
him quickly walking away, until he stopped and turned.

"Emily?" he said.

"Hi, Austin." I smiled. He
looked even more handsome than he had the last time I'd seen him. His hair was
a messy mop of curls and the five o'clock shadow he wore made him look dark and
somewhat dangerous. He was dressed in a suit, but true to his nature, he was
not wearing a tie. I looked up at him and smiled.

"What are you doing here?" he
asked with a confused look on his face.

"Oh, I thought you knew," I said
feeling disappointed that I'd read the promotion wrong and that he hadn't had a
hand in it at all. "I got promoted to the European route. I'm out of
LA."

"Ah, I see," he said. His eyes
were a swirling mass of something dark and conflicted, but since I'd been wrong
about the promotion, I didn't assign any meaning to it. "Are you enjoying
Paris?"

"Sort of," I said as I looked up
at him. Looking into his eyes, I could feel an electrical connection between us
building and I wanted nothing more than to grab his hands and tell him what had
happened that last night in Sydney and ask him if he ever thought of me, but
even thinking that made me feel exposed, so I bowed my head and looked at the
floor.

"Why only sort of?" he asked.
"Paris is the city of...well, everything! You should be having a grand
time here shopping and eating and enjoying the sites!"

"Oh, I'm enjoying the sites and I've
been to some marvelous places," I said attempting to assure him that I
wasn't a totally lost cause. "I'm just feeling like there's something
missing."

"And, what would that be?" he
asked pointedly. I could feel his eyes on me. It was like he was giving me a
fresh look, but I wasn't sure why. I wasn't sure how to answer his question
because I knew exactly what was missing, but I didn't dare say it.

"It just feels a little...lonely,
here," I said as I hesitated for a moment. I wanted to tell him that it
was him I was missing and that Paris felt pale in comparison to the time we'd
had in Sydney, but I knew that I had no right to say it after having run away.
Besides, I didn't know if he'd already replaced me. After all, guys like him
were in great demand and he probably had many women pursuing him. I'd be easy
to replace.

"That's strange, I feel like Paris is
so full of life and people and the hustle and bustle of just everyday
living," he smiled. "Sometimes I just want to escape and be
alone."

"Ah, I see," I said nodding at
the floor. I didn't want him to see the tears welling up in my eyes as I
realized he was looking for a polite way out of the conversation.

"No, I don't think you do," he
said as he stepped closer and slid his hand under my chin, lifting my head so
that I was staring right into his eyes before smiling as he said, "I've
missed you, Emily."

"Oh!" I inhaled sharply and
tried to look away. He held my chin firmly and I was forced to look up at him.

"Have you missed me?" he asked.

"I...I...I...Austin," I said
miserably as I searched for a way to explain everything that had happened since
the last time I saw him. I couldn't find the words to tell him how lost I felt
without him in my life, and I didn't know how to explain why I'd gone back to
Tommy.

"Oh, I see," he said as he let
go of my face and stepped back. The spell was broken and the moment passed, but
I realized that I didn't want it to. I looked up at him and knew I had to do
something or this time he was going to walk away for good.

"Yes!" I blurted out. "I
missed you!"

"I see," he said smiling.
"Now was that so hard?"

"Uh, yes?" I answered making him
burst out laughing.

"You're so cute!" he laughed.
"Do you have plans for dinner or, if you do, could you cancel them and
have dinner with me?"

"Austin, I..." I hesitated for a
moment and then barreled ahead, putting the worry and fear out of my mind for a
little while. I smiled up at him and said, “Yes, I'd love to have dinner with
you."

"Good, then you go up to your room
and get ready and I'll find us a table," he said. I shadow crossed my brow
and he said, "I'm sure whatever you wear will be lovely, but if you're
worried about it, just stop in the shop over there and pick out something
pretty. Tell them to send the bill to me."

"Right, like they're going to believe
that!" I laughed. "Seriously, how many women would walk in and say,
'Mr. Marks told me to tell you to put it on his bill?'"

"Well, only one," he replied
seriously. I stopped laughing. Only one? Which one? "And, that would be my
mother."

It was my turn to burst out laughing. I
laughed loudly as I walked toward the shop. Austin called after me, "Tell
them to put it on the bill for room 1301."

"But there's no thirteenth
floor," I said confused.

"Precisely," he smiled.
"That's how they'll know it's real and not some grifter trying to pull one
over."

"I see," I said. "Good to
know."

"It's the same in all of my
hotels," he said with a smile.

"And I need to know this why?" I
asked matching his smile.

"No reason, just saying." He
grinned like a kid in a candy store. I shook my head and headed over to the
shop.

#

I
stepped into La Belle Robe Boutique and was immediately rendered mute. The shop
was so elegant that I held my breath for fear of disturbing one of the
exquisite dresses. They all looked like they'd been pulled from a fairy's
wardrobe and were ready to come to life any second.

"May we help you?" asked an
elegant woman dressed in a black sheath dress with a scarf artfully tied around
her throat. I briefly thought about the finding the woman from the Eiffel Tower
tour and bringing her here to see what the scarf was supposed to look like.

"Yes, please, um, Mr. Marks sent me
here to find a dress for dinner," I managed to get out before feeling
myself turn red. I felt like I was in the movies and
Pretty Woman
was the only one that came to mind. I swallowed a
giggle and smiled at the sales woman.

"Why of course he did," she said
eyeing me suspiciously.

"He said to bill the dress to room
1301," I quickly added.

"Ah, yes, wonderful," she said
smiling as if the room number had been the key to her attitude. "What kind
of dress would you like to wear?"

"I don't know," I admitted.
"I don't know where we're going and I don't know if I'm good at playing
dress up."

"Oh my dear, we're all good at
playing dress up." She smiled warmly. "We just have to find the right
clothing to dress up in!"

She proceeded to move gracefully around
the store pulling pieces from racks swiftly and efficiently, and when she was
satisfied, she nodded at me to follow her. She led me into a fitting room that
was larger than the living room of my home in Las Vegas and began hanging the
dresses on what looked like invisible hooks. She hung them right to left and
nodded at the first one on the left before saying, "Start with that one
and move to the right."

"I'm sorry, what is your name?"
I asked.

"I am Marion," she answered.
"And you are?"

"It's nice to meet you, Marion,"
I replied. "I'm Emily."

"Very well, Miss Emily," she
smiled. "I will go find you shoes and accessories while you try the
dresses on. Please let me know if you require an additional assistance."

"I will, thank you," I said
meekly. The dresses hung on the wall like a fashionable army and I felt
intimidated by them. "Well, girls, I guess you're just fabric after all,
so here goes nothing."

I tried on each one of the dresses that
Marion had chosen; the first dress was light and airy in a beautiful shade of
deep peach that set off the highlights in my hair. The second dress was form
fitting and set off my curves in a way that I'd never seen before, but it
proved nearly impossible to sit down in, so it went back on the hanger. The
third dress was the charm. It was fitted on top and body skimming but not constricting
on the bottom. Made of a chartreuse gossamer layered over a silk lining, it
made my eyes shine and I felt like a princess in it. I stepped out of the
dressing room and into the main viewing area, looked around and called,
"Marion?"

"Yes, Miss Emily?" she replied
as she stepped out from behind a doorway holding several boxes. Marion gasped
and then nodded her approval. "Yes, this is the one! I have shoes to
match!"

She pulled out a pair of delicate silver
kitten heels with straps around the ankles and helped me slip them on. The
effect was mesmerizing. Aside from the fact that my wind-blown hair was a mess,
I looked like royalty in the dress.

"Yes, this is the one," she said
again as she nodded as she had me spin so she could see the dress from all angles
and make sure there weren't any hidden problems. "You look absolutely
lovely in it."

"Then, I guess this is the one?"
I asked.

"It most certainly is," she
replied. "I will have it steam pressed and delivered to your room."

"I'm in room 1512," I said.
"But, Marion, I need help with this..." I lifted my hair off of my
neck and looked at her helplessly.

"Not to worry, I will send someone up
to take care of it," she said in an efficient tone as if she made these
kinds of arrangements all the time. Perhaps she did.

"Good, then I guess I will go up and
shower and get ready," I said hesitating worried that I'd forgotten
something.

"Don't worry, Miss Emily,"
Marion smiled. "You will look absolutely radiant when you meet Mr. Marks
for dinner tonight."

I nodded and thanked her profusely, but in
the back of my mind, I was already worrying about the effect this would have
and the consequences.