The Billionaire's Curvy Conquest - Complete (7 page)

“Good morning, Greta,” I answered cheerfully.

“It’s almost afternoon, Miss James.” She didn’t sound happy. “Mr. Reed would like to see you.” She paused for effect. “Immediately.”

Although David Reed was technically my boss, I reported to Greta, who supervised the Special Projects Division. She was one cool cucumber and rarely became rattled. But today, she definitely seemed on edge.

“Did I miss a confidential memo or something?” I asked.

“There’s no memo, Miss James,” Greta responded.

“Hmmm. That’s strange.”

“If you don’t know what this about, Miss James, I’m sure Mr. Reed will explain.”

“Okay,” I said, my voice shaking. Greta was scaring me, but it was pretty clear she wasn’t going to tell me more.

I hung up the phone and left my office. As I walked toward the elevator bay, the other Special Projects employees seemed to be staring, pointing and laughing at me. I lifted my chin in mock confidence and kept on walking.

What in the hell was going on?

While waiting for Mr. Reed’s private elevator to arrive, one of the guys from the Special Projects accounting group walked by. He nudged me in the shoulder and leered at the hint of cleavage that was showing at the top of my blouse.

“Red looks good on you, Cassie,” he snickered. “You should wear it more often.”

I was about to chase him down to find out what he meant when the elevator opened. The operator held the door. “Going up, Miss James?” he asked.

“Yes,” I said, stepping in. I rode in silence, exiting the elevator on rubbery legs.

Alice, Mr. Reed’s personal assistant, wasn’t at her desk, which was almost a relief. Whatever happened earlier that morning had made me the laughingstock of Special Projects and had gotten me in trouble with Mr. Reed, and not in the sexy way.

Since he was probably going to either reprimand or fire me, I didn’t need to see the look of pity on Alice’s face as I walked by her desk and toward my doom.

I also didn’t need her to show me the way to Mr. Reed’s office. I’m pretty sure I could have found it with one of his silk blindfolds on. I stood outside his door for several seconds trying to calm my nerves.

My knock was followed by a muffled, “Come in,” and I opened the door. Mr. Reed was sitting at his desk with his back to the door, gazing out the window at the cityscape.

“Greta said you wanted to see me,” I said.

“Have you seen the front page of the Post, Miss James?”

“No, sir. I slept in like you advised and came straight to the office without stopping anywhere.”

He slowly swiveled in his chair so that he was facing me, his expression blank. He pushed a tabloid-sized newspaper across his desk. I couldn’t make out what was on the front page until I approached his desk. When I saw the picture and headline, all the color drained from my face.

BILLIONAIRE DAVID REED GETS LATE NIGHT BOOTY CALL FROM CURVY EMPLOYEE CASSIE JAMES 

Splashed across the cover of today’s Post was a picture of me, in the front of Mr. Reed’s house, getting into the backseat of his town car. The picture was slightly blurred, but there was no doubt that it was taken last night and was definitely me. Hair tousled and coat open to reveal a red, lace negligee that showed way too much skin.

“I’m so sorry, Mr. Reed!” I cried. My head was spinning and I felt faint. I collapsed onto a chair beside his desk. “I don’t know how this happened, sir.” I suddenly remembered the flash of light as I was leaving last night. The photographer must have been hiding in the shadows.

I knew it!

“It’s not your fault, Miss James,” Mr. Reed said quietly. His tone was menacing and his lips were pressed tightly together. “The paparazzi hound me constantly. That’s one more reason why I prefer the privacy of my office to the public scrutiny that comes with dating.”

“I’ll resign from my position, effective immediately,” I said, trying not to cry.

“You’ll do no such thing, Miss James.” He slammed his fists on his desk and I flinched. “In case you didn’t hear me the first time, let me repeat myself: this is
not
your fault.”

He pushed a box of tissues toward me and stood. I blotted my eyes while he paced back and forth, obviously thinking about how to salvage his reputation.

What a mess we had made of things!

Mr. Reed finally stopped pacing and turned toward me. “There’s only one thing we can do to put this story to rest.”

“What’s that?” I asked.

“Make a public declaration that we have been dating for the last several weeks.”

“Wait.”  That’s not at all what I was expecting him to say. “What?”

“A late night ‘booty call’ from one of my employees sounds sordid, like an illicit affair that we’re trying to hide. A romantic evening at home with the woman I’ve been quietly seeing may still be headline news, but it’s not the kind of sordid gossip that lands on the front page of the Post.”

Of course. By pretending we were a couple, Mr. Reed could salvage his reputation and put the sordid gossip to rest.

The way the press saw it, I was nobody. A blonde bimbo fucking her boss to get ahead. Mr. Reed had a lot more to lose than I did. Having secret sex with a subordinate wasn’t against the law, but it sure didn’t look good, especially when negotiating billion-dollar contracts with international business partners.

“I’ll do anything to make this mess go away,” I said. “Tell me what you want me to do, sir.”

“For starters, Cassie, we need to do away with formality, at least in public. Men and women who are dating refer to each other by first name.”

I nodded. “Right. Got it. Drop the formality.”

He moved in close. “Say my name, Cassie.”

My heart was racing from his nearness. “Now?”

He kneeled down beside me and put his hand on my thigh. “Yes, now.”

I licked my lips. “David,” I whispered.

“Again,” he commanded, his voice low and deep.

“D-da-david.”

“Again.”

“David.”

“I like the sound of my name on your delectable lips, Miss James.”

“Cassie,” I muttered.

“Pardon me?” he said, surprised.

“You need to call me Cassie.”

He laughed and the worry that had creased his face ever since I arrived at his office seemed to fade away. “Of course. You’re exactly right. Cassie.”

“Where do we go from here?” I asked.

“Henry’s waiting downstairs. I’m leaving for business in New York.”

He was leaving me alone to deal with this mess by myself?

“How long will you be gone?” I asked.

“Five days. In the meantime, I’ll have the marketing department issue a press release rebutting the article in the Post. When I return, we’ll go out to dinner. Somewhere trendy, high profile. That should put this nasty business to rest once and for all.”

Mr. Reed picked up his briefcase and I took that as my signal to stand up. Surprisingly, he took my hand, threading his fingers through mine, and my heart skipped a beat. Together, we walked out of his office and headed toward the elevator.

Alice was at her desk now. She caught my eye and smiled warmly, as if seeing Mr. Reed and I holding hands was the most natural thing in the world.

The elevator opened and we rode down in silence. When the doors opened on the ground floor, Mr. Reed squeezed my hand and led me through the crowded lobby as all eyes turned to stare.

When we got close to the large glass doors, he stopped and put down his briefcase. I could see his town car parked at the curb, waiting for him to exit the building.

Mr. Reed cupped my face with his hands and kissed me. A long, public and very passionate kiss that left me breathless and declared to all who were watching that David Reed and Cassie James were not having an illicit affair, but were, in fact, a couple.

“I’ll call you tonight, Cassie,” he said, just loud enough for those closest to hear. Then, for my ears only he whispered, “Check your top desk drawer when you get back to your office. There’s a confidential memo waiting for you.”

I swallowed hard. “Have a safe flight, mis—ter, uh, David,” I stammered.

He winked at me, picked up his briefcase and strode out the door.

My fingertips drifted to my lips and I blushed, turning crimson red when I realized that everyone was looking at me. I quickly pulled myself together, although I couldn’t stop my lips from curving up in a giant smile.

If I wasn’t absolutely, positively head over heels in love with David Reed before this moment, after his very public display of affection, I was now.

Surviving the next five days without him was going to be hard. Hopefully, the instructions in his next memo would help keep me occupied while he was gone.

~*~*~

“I
lose all sense of control when with I’m with you, Miss James. Your curves make me nearly mad with desire.”

I
sipped a glass of champagne while standing on Mr. Reed’s penthouse apartment balcony, stunned by the gorgeous city and waterfront views.

Until a few days ago, I didn’t even know that billionaire David Reed owned a high-rise apartment in the heart of the city. It shouldn’t have surprised me, considering how many hours he spent at the office. His mansion was over 30 minutes away; it made sense that he would have another home close to his office.

He had been away on business for five very long days and I was aching to see him again...to be kissed by him again...to be touched by him again.

Like the dutiful boyfriend he was pretending to be, he had called me each night that he had been away. Our conversations were short, but steamy. At the end of each call, he would whisper something wicked that he wanted to do to me when he was back.

I had almost started to believe that we were a real couple.

Almost.

Then I would remind myself that our newly-revealed public romance was a sham. An illusion designed to fool the press into thinking we were something other than a young, submissive woman who was fucking her dominating, billionaire boss.

Even if I wanted to believe the illusion, I knew the truth.

I was Mr. Reed’s employee and he paid me to be at his beck and call, just like his driver Henry, his executive assistant Alice and all the other
servants
who managed every detail of his life.

Using confidential memos, he directed every detail of our clandestine engagements. He told me what to wear, how to look, where to be and at what time. I was nothing more than a plus-size prop in his game of seduction.

Except....

David Reed had secrets. Secrets that made me question our unconventional arrangement. Secrets that made me wonder what kind of game he was
really
playing. 

I heard the penthouse elevator doors open and footsteps on the marble floor, and smiled into my champagne flute.

“I’m back, Miss James,” Mr. Reed said quietly. His voice was deep, low and penetrating, and I shivered deliciously. 

I turned away from the city skyline and walked inside. Mr. Reed’s strong, dominating presence filled the room. Looking at him in his impeccably tailored suit made my knees weak. Maybe because I knew exactly what he looked like underneath.

Strong, built, well-endowed.

The confidential memo he had placed in my desk drawer before going to New York instructed me to make small talk upon his return. “How was your trip?” I asked, ever dutiful.

“Pleasant and profitable.”

“I take it your business dealings went well.”

“Very well indeed.”

“Were any of your meetings late at night...in your hotel room?” Okay, so that question went beyond small talk. But it’s something I wanted to know.

Something I needed to know.

“If you’re asking whether I was with another woman while I was in New York, the answer is no, Miss James. If you recall, before I left, I made a very public statement to demonstrate that I was taken.”

I visibly relaxed. “Yes, I do recall that demonstration.”

How could I forget? He had kissed me, long and hard, in the lobby of the Reed Technologies building while everyone watched.

I poured him a glass of champagne and moved closer so that I could hand it to him. “Did you miss me?”

He drank deeply. “Every sweet inch of your succulent, curvaceous body.”

That made me smile – and nearly swoon. “Oh! Thank you for the dress. It’s beautiful.”

I let my hands travel down the smooth, emerald- colored fabric of the knee-length gown that was waiting for me when I arrived at the penthouse. I don’t know how he pulled it off, but it fit like a glove.

“You’re very welcome, Miss James. The color brings out your eyes, just as I knew it would. You look positively stunning.”

I blushed nervously. It wasn’t easy for me to accept compliments, especially from someone as handsome and powerful as Mr. Reed. For most of my 27 years, I was the big girl wallflower with few friends who moved through life all but invisible.

Until David Reed saw me working at the front desk in the lobby of the Reed Technologies building and decided that he wanted me, under his control.

When he arranged to have me promoted to his Special Projects Team and gave me the title of Personal Communications Specialist, our work relationship became extremely
personal
.