The TROUBLE With BILLIONAIRES: Book 1 (3 page)

              For the first time that morning, Russell acknowledged me. If looks could kill, I'd be dead. Falling from the floor-to-ceiling window dead. “You didn't bring your laptop?”

              “I didn't realize I had to,” I defended. I tried to keep my voice level.

             
Don't show fear
, I thought.
They only attack if you show fear.

              Russell sighed. “Relax. I don't blame you—today. I'll call Mr. Jackman's office. His assistant is on her honeymoon. She left her laptop in the office in case we need any of her files. You can borrow it for the day, but you'll need to bring your own tomorrow. A laptop is the only viable way to bring your work home with you—other than sleeping at the office, which, trust me, some people do, especially right before a product launch.”

              Yep, goodbye social life. Good thing I didn't have much of one to begin with.

              “Mr. Jackman...he's President of Product Development, right?”

              “Glad you know something,” Russell clipped, a phone already to his ear. He briefly chatted with someone then hung up. “All sorted. You can go up to Mr. Jackman's office and collect it. He's one floor up.”

              The top floor. Where the VIPs were, including the CEO, a woman I wasn't too familiar with, except that she had a crazily long last name, which I couldn't remember.

              Taking the stairs, which were as elegant as the rest of the building, I prayed I didn't make an ass of myself in front of any of the VIPs. I kept my head down as I passed by important people in their expensive suits, following Russell's directions to Mr. Jackman's office, wondering why he was so far away from the Product Development Department below.

             
He probably plays golf while Einstein does all the work
, I mused.

              “You Madison?” Mr. Jackman's secretary asked. She seemed friendly, but at this point, I had met so many new faces, they were all starting to blur together.

              “That's me,” I confirmed. “Sorry for the inconvenience.”

              “No worries. The laptop is on the desk—the small one. You can go in. Mr. Jackman isn't here.”

              It felt a little invasive walking into Mr. Jackman's office, but if his secretary thought it was okay, I wasn't going to protest. The lights in the office were off and the blinds down, but I had enough light to scan the room. It was paneled with dark mahogany wood and furnished in leather, like an old-fashioned gentleman's billiards room. Everything about the office spoke man.

              It didn't take me long to spot the laptop. Unlike Einstein's office, it seemed Mr. Jackman only had the one assistant. That's probably all he needed, with a secretary out front and an entire department below him. I grabbed the laptop from the desk and carefully folded my arms around it, just as the door to the office swung open.

              “You!” I accused, my temper instantly flaring at the sight of the man before me. I couldn't believe it. “What are you doing here?”

              The man from the park, my midnight lover who had abandoned me in the woods, seemed just as surprised to see me, but he was much more composed, an acceptance in his amber eyes. “So you're Madison Miller.” He strolled to the liquor cabinet and poured a drink.

              “Don't touch that!” I scolded, afraid Mr. Jackman would notice his liquor missing when he returned.

              Drink in hand, the man leaned against a wall. “Why not?” he asked, taking a sip. “It's mine.”

              “No, it's—” I stopped, realizing with horror the truth of the situation. “You're Mr. Jackman.”

              “Guilty,” he said.

              “Yes, you are.” I couldn't keep the vinegar from my voice.

              He ignored it. “You playing cat burglar on your first day, Madison?”

              I hugged the laptop tighter, almost as if it shielded me from the outrage I felt. This couldn't be happening. The boss of my boss was the jackass who left me stranded in the woods.

              And was the best fuck of my life.

              I pushed the thought away. “I was told I could borrow it. I'm Ms. Goldstein's new assistant.”

              “Yes, my secretary blurted it out as I came in. I thought I'd seen someone go into my office. I just didn't realize it was you,” he said casually.

              His nonchalance fuelled my rage, as if he were abandoning me all over again. But I bit my tongue, knowing if I spoke my mind, I would definitely lose my job. That couldn't happen. I belonged here, more than anywhere else.

              And there were bills to pay. A lot of bills.

              “Come here,” he demanded, a knowing smile on his face.

              If I wasn't so blinded by my anger, I would have sworn he was enjoying this. I stayed put, refusing to obey him. If he believed he still had any control over me, other than that related to the company, he was sadly mistaken. I would not be dominated by him ever again. “No, thank you. Russell is waiting for me downstairs. I have to get back.”

              “Russell can continue to wait. Come here.”

              Against my will, the authority in his voice caused memories of my night with him to resurface, of his hand on my breast and his cock inside me...

              “I have to go,” I said firmly, but my body retaliated against my mind, refusing to leave, wanting to re-experience the euphoria of his touch.

              “Fine, go,” he said. “But one day, you will come back here, up to my office, by choice, ready to come for me again. Don't fool yourself into believing otherwise, Madison.”

              “I sincerely doubt that,” I snapped, and I stormed out of his office, infuriated.

              And completely turned on.

              This was bad. Really bad.

              Finally alone in Ms. Goldstein’s office, I banged my head against my desk, completely ignoring the contact list Russell had told me to finish before he dashed out of the office, his latté glued to his hand. He hadn’t bothered to tell me where he was headed. It didn’t matter. I was thankful to be alone. It gave me time to process.

             
Rawn Jackman. I fucked Mr. Rawn Jackman, President of Product Development at Cepheus Scientific.

             
Or rather, he fucked me. He’d been in complete control, just as he was now.

              Quitting was out of the question. Working for Aurora Goldstein was the job of a lifetime. I could easily see myself climbing my way up the company hierarchy—chamber maid to lady-in-waiting to queen. No, an empress. Just like Einstein. But that would be very hard to do working in the same department as Mr. Jackman.

             
I’m not the first girl in the world to see her boss naked
, I acknowledged, trying to console myself, before realizing that although he had seen my bare flesh, I hadn’t actually seen his, not with the blindfold on. It was yet another thing he’d cheated me out of—the opportunity to lick the beautiful abs I knew he had hidden under his tailored shirt.

              Still, it wasn’t likely I’d see Mr. Jackman much. Maybe just a department meeting here and there. His office wasn’t even on the same floor. Thank God for that. All I had to do was volunteer for all the remedial tasks that kept me at my desk, like making contact lists or answering emails, and I’d be fine.

But I had seen the trigger in his eye. By walking away, I’d challenged him. Made it a game. He would come for me.

I imagined wrapping barbed wire around his office so that he couldn’t leave, but even as I did, part of me wished he were here now. Just him and me. Alone together.

It was a shame I hadn’t been the one to leave him lost in the woods. Then all of my problems would be solved.

              There was a knock on the door, and Mellissa floated in. When she’d been sitting behind the reception desk, I hadn’t realized just how short she was. She was barely five foot, like a petite but sturdy little doll. But what she lacked in height, she definitely made up for in charisma.

              “You okay, teddy bear?” she asked, pulling a chair up next to me.

              I knew Mellissa was genuine. I could probably tell her everything, and she wouldn’t judge, but I was way too embarrassed to discuss my problem with Rawn Jackman, so I played dumb. “What do you mean?”

“One of the perks of being a receptionist is people watching. It’s kind of like sitting in a café in Paris, only instead of fashionistas with their bicycles and their Coco Chanel, it’s the folk that make up Cepheus Scientific whom I get to watch, from housekeeping to the big suits. I saw how upset you were when you returned with the laptop.”

              “I’d love to go to Paris,” I said absently, still refusing to talk about it and wishing I could erase the whole memory from my own mind.             

She persisted. “Did Russell say something to you? Or was it someone upstairs?”

              “I’d rather not say.”

              “Alrighty. I can respect that,” she said, nodding her head. “But if you ever need to talk, I’m here. I’ve only been here two months myself. We newbies need to stick together.”

              “Thanks. I appreciate it, but I’ll be okay. I don’t want to get you in trouble.”

              She waved her hand. “I’m on my fifteen-minute lunch break. Better to take it now while it’s relatively quiet. With the launch tomorrow, things are about to get pretty crazy around here. As soon as Einstein is back from her meeting, she’ll have a hundred things to do, most of which she’ll forget about before she reaches the stairs, leaving Russell to fill in the blanks. I still don’t get why he doesn’t sit in the meetings with her.”

“You aren’t hungry?” I wasn’t trying to convince her to leave. I was worried. It was still early in the day. If she didn’t eat now, she probably wouldn’t have a chance to later.

“There’s a twenty-four-hour diner near my apartment. Since starting here, I’ve learned to fill up before stepping into the office. Today they served these warm blueberry pancakes. My stomach is doing cheerleading flips right now. Anyway, I’m glad to be here. With Russell and Ms. Goldstein constantly on the move, it’s nice to have some company. We can drink margaritas from my flask when Russell isn’t looking.”

              With her broad smile, it was impossible to tell if she was joking or not. “So Russell…what’s his story?” I asked, trying to distract myself from my encounter with Mr. Jackman. Mellissa was good therapy.

              “You mean does he have a girlfriend?”

              “God no,” I sputtered. “I mean, why is he so tense?”

              “It’s supposed to be a secret, but it’s one of those secrets everyone knows… He’s the CEO’s nephew. She’s making him climb the ladder like everyone else, in a way. From my understanding, most assistants around here are usually promoted within two years. She’s already warned Russell he won’t be leaving his position as Einstein’s assistant for at least another three years. He has to prove himself more than others. I think he’s put himself under a lot of pressure to do just that, which is way too much, considering how much pressure his job already involves.”

              “That means I’ll be advancing up before he does, if they like me,” I mused out loud. “Poor Russell.”

              “I know Russell is only a few years older than us, but he’s a grown man. He knew what he was getting into. Don’t feel sorry for him. He lives in a huge mansion. He even has a butler. That boy will be just fine. I know he’s under a lot of pressure, but that’s no excuse to treat some of the people around here the way he does.”

              I knew she was talking about herself, so I patted her on the hand. “And what about you?” I asked. “How did you end up as Ms. Goldstein’s receptionist?”

              “There was an ad in the business section of my college newspaper, and I applied. I just graduated with a degree in business management, but so has half the country. I’m not here for the long term, just long enough to get some experience under my one-day Gucci belt so that I have a more competitive edge when I apply for my perfect job.”

              “What would that be?”

              “I’m not sure yet. That’s part of the problem,” she said, but she smiled dreamily. “But it’s definitely not Cepheus Scientific, no offense.”

              “None taken. I just graduated as well. Technically from the Physics Department at Portland State University, but they let me concentrate in astronomy. I also minored in business. Go Vikings!”

              “Go Ducks!” Mellissa returned, laughing, just as Russell walked in.

              He did not seem at all impressed that she was there. “I’m glad someone finds this day amusing,” he grumbled.

              “And that’s my cue to fade to the back of the stage,” Mellissa declared. Lowering her voice so that only I could hear, she added, “Don’t worry. Whatever happened earlier, it’ll get better.”

              “Thanks,” I replied.

              “Later, gator,” she said to Russell, passing him as she left.

              He didn’t reply.

              Not wanting to look like I’d been slacking off on my first day—which I had, but with good reason—I turned straight back to the laptop. “I’m almost done with the contact list,” I lied, wondering if I could cast a spell on my fingers to work at double speed.

              “Never mind that,” he said, sounding distracted. “Is it true that you studied astronomy in school?”

              “And business,” I put forth, wanting to earn his respect, along with the rest of the company.

              He sighed, as if the news annoyed him. “Unfortunately, that does make you the perfect candidate. Forget the contact list. You won’t be at the launch tomorrow. I’m sending you home.”

             
What! Was I being fired?

              “Don’t look so freaked out. Mr. Jackman is flying out to Naples in the evening to speak with a scientist who claims he’s invented an advanced 3D telescope. We just got a call that the scientist is about to sign with the Germans. Mr. Jackman wants to intercept, and he needs one of us to go with him since his assistant is on honeymoon. You’re the perfect candidate. Your flight leaves at six. Go home and pack.”

              It was a lot to take in. My brain couldn’t handle it. “I’m sorry… Naples? As in Florida?”

              Russell sat down at his desk, the conversation over, as far as he was concerned. “No, as in Italy,” he said, typing onto his keypad. “Go home. Rest, if you can. It’s a long flight. A company car will pick you up at your place and take you to the airport. Mr. Jackman will brief you on the plane.”

              I was going to be traveling alone with Mr. Jackman? All the way to Italy? Mellissa had been wrong. It wasn’t getting better. It was getting a whole lot worse.