The Billionaire's Proposition (The Romero Brothers, Book 4) (4 page)

Off to work, she would go.

To a normal day at the
office.

She’s
perfect.

The words slid into Carl’s mind as he
glanced out of his office window at R.M. Fitness Center, his sweet,
unsuspecting assistant Venus was on her way to the building from the parking
lot. What would he say to her? How would he say it? He had to be very careful
about his proposition to her. If it came off wrong, it could blow up in his
face and cost him a valuable employee and trustworthy ally and supporter. That
was the last thing he wanted. But oh, he wanted Venus. Her long, dark, silky
hair rustled in the summer breeze as she strolled up to the main entrance of
the facility, her rounded hips wiggling as she walked. She looked so damn cute
in her pencil hip hugging gray skirt and white blouse.
So
professional and neat, yet sexy as hell.
A subtle type
of sexiness, not in your face.
She had class and style. Yet, she was
soft in her mannerism and her speech. Damn, she would make a fine political
wife. Quiet, polished, discreet yet charming. She was refined in every way. His
body always reacted to her when she was nearby. At least if they were ever in
public on one of his campaign trips, they would have a natural chemistry. Heck,
he felt it every time she looked at him. He knew there was something there with
her towards him, too.
 
Carl might
not have let on to it that he knew, but men knew things like that. His plan
just
had
to work.

Venus would be absolutely perfect for his wife.
But would she go along with it? She was a quiet, hard worker who kept her
business to herself. Lord only knew what it was that she was hiding about her past.
She wasn’t a talker or a socializer. That could work to their benefit, if she
went along with his scheme.

*
   
*
   
*

“I need a wife and child by tomorrow,” Carl
asserted in a serious tone. He was seated at his desk in his office, opposite
Venus. His finger jabbed the copy of the newspaper on his desk, his image was
spattered across the front page.

“Excuse me?” Venus was too stunned for
words. Her jaw dropped. Her sexy boss had come up with some
off-the-charts
marketing ploys in the past where the fitness center was concerned.
But this?
For his burgeoning political
career?

Venus felt for him. She felt his pain of
being ridiculed by his future political opponents, especially considering all
the good he had done and his accomplishments. One of the outreaches that
touched her the most was when his brother Jules and he went out to local area
schools last year to personally ensure that healthy snacks and lunches were
given to all students, especially homeless pupils or children living in
shelters who were attending the school. He had totally flipped out when he
found out that some students were forced to go hungry because they couldn’t
afford lunch. He insisted that the principals take note of the issues and let
his foundation know about them so they could personally intervene to make sure
there were no hungry students.

How honourable was that?

Carl didn’t even care about getting any
publicity for his deed.

He deserved to be in office for mayor of
Mayberry Hill, but she wasn’t sure if this new plan of his would even be work!

“I can’t believe those people. Who do they
think they are judging me like that?”

A photo of him, along with two women on his
arms, appeared on the cover taken at a club that his brothers and he often frequented
when they unwind. It appeared Carl had a bit to drink. It was New Year’s Eve.
One of the women was his girlfriend at the time; the other, a friend who just
decided to pose for the camera. It was a New Year’s Eve bash for God’s sake!
But the reporter conveniently left out that pertinent bit of information. The
headline caused Carl’s stomach to churn.

Billionaire
Party Animal Wants to Run for Office.

Articles were popping up left, right and
center since the rumor mill got busy that morning with his intent to run for
mayoral office.

The article went on to detail a rumor that
Carl Romero wanted to run for office and probably use his status to date single
voters. It also reiterated that he wasn’t serious and didn’t know what else to
do with his money. His opponent was quoted: “Carl should leave the mayoral race
to serious-minded candidates who care about the issues facing many families
struggling for survival. What does a party prince know about that?”

Venus’s stomach turned over at the thought
of those lies circulating about sweet Carl. They had no idea how far from the
truth they were. Sure, he was hot and he dated like any normal, healthy bachelor
but he didn’t deserve this kind of attention.

“You’re right about defending yourself,
Carl. You’ve done so much good in the community, more than any of those guys in
office. You’re so genuine and caring. God, we need people like you in charge. But,
Carl, you can’t just…
get
a wife and
family.” She swallowed hard.

Venus tried hard to not look too deeply
into his soft, dark chocolate eyes because she would surely melt. Looking at his
handsome face always made her gush. He was so extremely gorgeous, captivating.
How could she look at him and not blush? From day one he always had that effect
on her but she had always kept her eyes on her notes whenever he was dictating
or giving instructions. Her heart would often beat hard and fast in her chest
when he was near her. Whenever his eyes captured hers, she could not think; his
beautiful face, his charm, and his sweet yet powerful aura often mesmerized her.

And now, she wasn’t sure if she could even
hold a conversation without reaching out and hugging him. Better to keep her
distance. She’d never had this magic cast over her by any man. This was
mind-blowing to her. She was torn inside. Her nipples strained under her blouse
for his touch, yet she was aching for him in her heart. What was she to do? How
could she help him without having further harm done to him through this difficult
campaign for mayor? Running for any office was always a risky venture.

Carl paused for a moment. He could palpate
the young woman’s nervousness. He looked Venus in the eyes. Her soft brown eyes
were edged with reddish lines. He got up from his chair and leaned against the
front of his desk in front of her, looking deeply into her eyes. A look of
concern overcame him.

“What’s wrong, Venus?” he asked directly.
“Something’s happened to you.” It was more of a statement than a question. Here
he was ranting about his political woes when his assistant clearly was going
through some sort of heartache and the hell he was going to let it slide. She
had better be truthful with him.

“Oh, it’s nothing,” she dismissed quietly,
looking down at her notepad. She wasn’t making any eye contact with him. If
someone hurt her, he would…

He leaned down and looked at her eye level,
lifting her chin. A mixture of anger and deep concern surged through his blood.
If anyone ever attempted to hurt this pretty young thing…they would be more
than sorry. “Tell me the truth, Venus. Something’s wrong. You’ve been crying
this morning.”

“No. I…Well…Please, Carl. There are more
important things right now.”

“Like hell there is. My employees are my
concern. And you’re more than just an employee, Venus. You’re like family.”

“Carl. Thank you. I…Please. I’m fine.
Really. I would tell you if I wasn’t. I…I did have a rough morning but I’m fine
now. I don’t want to discuss it.” She fumbled at first but then lifted up her
notepad and placed her pen over the page where she had already scribbled some
notes. “Right now, your mission is very important. You have very good issues
you want to tackle for this race. The daycare thing really is going to make
voters appreciate you, Carl. Affordable daycare is something many mothers like
myself have been fighting for. We need you in office.”

“Do you really believe that?” he quizzed in
a low voice, still feeling uncomfortable about her not opening up to him about
what really went down with her this morning. But he had to learn to let things
go sometimes. She said she was fine, so he would keep a close eye on things and
trust her words.

“Of course, I believe that, Carl. You know
you’ve got a lot on those opponents. This town has been inundated with so many
empty promises from previous mayors. Look what you and Jules did for the
homeless students going to school hungry. You personally saw to it that no
students in the city had to go hungry by providing healthy lunches. No one else
thought of that. Things are getting worse for working-class people. If it
hadn’t been for your family’s kindness, I don’t know if I could even afford to
work.”

“Good, I’m glad you agree,” Carl said. “Marry
me.”

Venus’s expression froze on her face.

“M-m-marry you?” Venus echoed, her eyes
wide with shock. Her heart was pumping fiercely in her chest. Did her boss just
ask her what she thought he’d asked her? She must be hallucinating. Perhaps the
shock of this morning’s phone call from the consulate had been too much for her
and taken a toll on her senses more than she realized.

Carl Romero was one of the hottest men
she’d ever laid eyes on. This seemed like her deepest, delicious fantasies come
true. But this was way out there. He could easily have any gorgeous, eligible
bachelorette on this planet by his side.

Either he had taken leave of his senses, or
she had.

“Yes,” he verified, leaning back in his
leather chair behind his desk. His sweet, handsome face had a grin. Was he
joking? “You heard me correctly. Marry me. It would be like a contract. I’ll
draft up the details.”

“But. I…I…” Venus choked up. She was also
dazed with euphoria. Her wildest fantasy was coming true yet it was so close
yet so unattainable because Carl didn’t know what on earth he would be getting
into by wanting to marry her. She wasn’t a simple person. She had a complex
past. She had baggage.
Too much baggage.
Heavy baggage
that could literally sink their relationship and all they’d worked for in their
lives.

There were things about her that Carl could
not even know about. Oh, God! Why did things have to be so difficult? Why
couldn’t it be simple? Here she was in front of Mr. Right who was asking her to
marry him for all the wrong reasons yet she wanted to say yes.

Oh, God, her heart was singing yes, yes,
yes. Yet her mind was screaming no, no, no.

“Carl,” Venus said, getting up from her
chair. She was suffocating in lost thoughts. She needed air to breathe. She
couldn’t breathe. Marriage? Carl really wanted to marry her? Her heart kept
thrusting hard against her rib cage, her flesh felt sore and ached.

Carl also stood up, his arm folded across
his chest. He stood in front of her, his eyes capturing her as he leaned
against the desk. His silence was filled with expectancy.
His
expression, charming yet unreadable.
His brow was raised slightly, which
gave him an adorable, boyish look. This was not a joke. This was a serious
matter, yet she could see slight amusement on his face. Did he sense how in
love she’d been with him? Did he know? Was he daring her to say no to
this…proposition of his?

“Carl, I think we should think this
through,” she said, breathless. She turned to him and her stomach felt light
and giddy inside. Oh, gosh, he was so damn cute! What was she saying? She
should be screaming yes to the top of her lungs for this chance to be his wife.
Carl Romero’s wife!

“Yes, you’re right. You have until the end
of the day to think it over,” Carl said matter-of-factly.

“Carl! The end of the day?”

“You need longer?” he delved, arching a
brow as if nothing out of the ordinary was just asked of her. She’d always
admired Carl and had never seen this side of him before but she now knew it was
true that the Romeros didn’t mince their words when they wanted something.

“But, what about…?”

“The fine details? I’ve already taken care
of that.”

“You have? What would be involved? I mean.
I just can’t…”

“I’m sorry. I realize that sometimes I do
get ahead of myself. I would never want to put you on the spot. And rest
assured, I’ve taken care of the financial details. You’ll be paid very well…”

Venus felt her blood boiled over in her
veins. She shot Carl a raged glance. “What?” she said
fuming.
“Financial?”

“Well, you didn’t think I would have you do
me this favor for nothing, did you? How does one million dollars sound?”

“One million dollars?” Her eyes widened in
shock. “I am not for sale, Carl! Do you think I am some whore?”

“What?” Carl’s expression changed quickly.
Anger flashed in his dark, handsome eyes. “Who said anything about you being a
whore?”