Working Him: A Billionaire Romance (3 page)

Chapter 3:  Rachel

The Next Night

“You mean you know this guy?” Christina said, her eyes widening. “God Rachel, that’s horrible. Why didn’t you say anything to Brian?”

“I don’t know,” I sighed, stabbing my straw in my frozen margarita, making little holes in the slush. We were sitting at our favorite Mexican restaurant, taking up a small section of the bar where Miguel, our bartender, could make a mean margarita. I figured I couldn’t leave for Miami without filling Christina in on the job and my target. “I didn’t know until I opened the file anyway. I couldn’t turn it down then.”

“The hell you couldn’t,” Christian spat out, tapping her long pink fingernails on the scarred counter. “You can’t do this, Rachel.”

I wanted to put my head on the counter and bang it hard against it. I knew I couldn’t do it. Okay, well maybe I could do it, but it was going to be hard. I hadn’t seen Garrett in such a long time and I had no idea, other than what I had read, of what type of person he was. Definitely the gorgeous playboy, who was fairly wealthy and on top of the world. So why was I visiting? I hoped, so hoped that he wasn’t involved in this mess. “I have to do this,” I finally said, rubbing a hand over my face. “I can separate personal from professional or I wouldn’t have kept this job.”

Christina eyed me, a look of disbelief on her face. “Are you sure? When’s the last time you saw this guy?”

I thought back to the last time I had seen Garrett, the night that he was packing up his bedroom as the tears threatened my eyes.

“Do you really have to go?” I asked hugging myself as I stood near his bed, the only thing left in the room with the exception of the box he was packing.

“I don’t have a choice, Rach,” he said as he closed the box top and stood, looking at me. “I don’t wanna but George doesn’t want to live here.”

“I can’t believe this,” I said, making a furious swipe at my eyes to keep the tears from rolling down my cheeks. “What if the next neighbors suck?”

He laughed softly and I took the moment to drink in my last view of him in person, his jeans and t-shirt, the way he wore his ball cap backwards on his head. I knew nearly everything about Garrett and he knew nearly everything about me. Who else was I going to hang out with from now on? Who was I going to lean on when I needed to vent about my mom or hide from my parents when they were fighting? I literally had no one now that Garrett was leaving.

“Come on, Rach,” he said, the hint of the muscles that he was working so hard on lately peeking out from his t-shirt. I had started to notice he was doing more of that, moving away from my childhood friend and becoming more like, well, a hottie. “As soon as I get my driver’s license, I’ll come see you. After all, I only have two months and George has already promised me a truck.”

I gave him a half smile, knowing that it wasn’t going to happen. He was going to go to Miami and never think of me again. People who left did not come back. “Yeah sure, whatever.”

“I’m going to miss you,” he said, his eyes solemn as he looked at me. “I swear.”

“I’m going to miss you, too,” I said, the tears sliding down my cheeks now.

He walked over and took the back of his thumb, sliding it over my cheek. “Don’t cry,” he said softly, his eyes searching mine. “I swear it, Rach, I will come back.”

I sniffed as a peculiar feeling came over me, my stomach tightening into a huge knot. Garrett’s expression changed and he leaned over, his lips brushing mine. My entire world ceased to exist as I felt the touch of his warm lips on mine, thinking that I must be dreaming. Garrett was freaking kissing me! My first kiss.

He pulled back and cleared his throat, picking up the box with a grin that I had come to know and love. “Bye, Rach.”

I watched as he walked out of the room before bringing my fingers up to my lips, the warm feeling still coursing through my veins. I had just been kissed by probably the only boy I had ever cared about.

“Earth to Rachel! Hey, you in there?”

I looked over to see Christina looking at me with some concern. “Sorry, I muttered, looking back at my drink that was slowly turning to watery slush. “I was thinking about… well, it doesn’t matter.”

“What matters is how you’re going to deal with seeing him after all these years,” Christina replied. “I should go with you, you know, for moral support.”

I laughed then, some of the cloudiness from my memory clearing. “I’ll be fine. Two weeks tops and I will have the whole thing figured out.” At least, I hoped I did.

Chapter 4:  Rachel

Two Days Later, Miami

I pulled my rental car into the assigned parking spot and cut the engine, looking up at the building with some trepidation. My flight from Jacksonville had been uneventful, a whole hour compared to the five hour drive I would have had to suffer through in the heat. I was grateful for that. After landing, I had looked up my email that explained all of my information for my short trip to Miami, including where I would be living for the next couple of weeks. The building was really tall, close to the beach, and looked significantly better than what I would have pictured my new home to be.

I pulled my suitcases out of the car and walked into the entrance, pressing the button for the elevator as I looked down at the email. Floor nineteen. Wow, that would make for an impressive view of the beach and the ocean just a block over. The elevator doors opened and I stepped in, pressing the nineteenth floor button, butterflies in my stomach. I planned on unpacking tonight and finding the absolute perfect outfit for tomorrow, my first day in Garrett’s realty office. Usually my first day was familiarizing myself with the place in preparation to start my sleuthing. I would need to learn the layout, the people, what the business was about. Some of the causes could be found immediately, like one business that I investigated where the receptionist was cashing checks with the company’s logo in her own bank account. But others, it took some digging and I imagined just because I had personal ties to this one, that it wasn’t going to be easy.

The door opened and I walked down the carpeted hall before finding my apartment number and inserting the card instead of a key that Brian had handed me. The door swung open and I walked into the small foyer, surprised at the size of the living room and kitchen combo. The sight through the floor to ceiling windows took my breath away, the ocean stretching for miles. Now this was a nice place!

Leaving my suitcases on the glossy floor near the counter, I walked over to the door that was built into the window wall and pushed it open, the smell of salty air and sunshine greeting me as I walked out onto the small, but furnished balcony. The beach had always been my favorite place to go to, the smell of sand and salty water never something I would grow tired of. From here, I could see the people dotted along the white beaches, some in the beautiful tropical waters that changed colors the further I looked out. What I wouldn’t kill to be out there right now!

With a sigh, I walked back into the cool interior of the living room, taking note of the nice furniture as I walked past. The entire place so far looked like one of those places out of those home living magazines for the rich and famous. I found the bedroom, a nice large bed dominating the room with an attached master bathroom that I could positively drool over. The stone façade of the steam shower was nice, but the large sunken tub was even better. Quickly, I hurried through the rest of the place, finding two more bedrooms with bathrooms before walking back to the kitchen and opening the fridge, a smile coming to my face. Thank god Brian thought to stock the place. I had no idea of where the nearest store would be.

My phone rang and I fished it out of my pocket, holding it to my ear. “Hello?”

“How’s the place?” Brian’s gruff voice replied, causing me to grin.

“It’s great. This place, wow, I should take more of these jobs.”

“Don’t get used to it,” he responded. “Literally, Rachel. I need for this job to be wrapped up in no more than a month.”

“Yeah, sure,” I said, selecting a water out of the fridge. “I got it. No attempting to buy the place.”

“Don’t be a smart ass,” he said. “Besides, I don’t pay you enough to even afford the light bill on that place.”

I fought the urge to stick out my tongue. “How are things at the office?” It would be kind of funny to sit and watch him try to interact with Christina while I wasn’t there.

“Do the job, get back here,” he growled before ending the call.

I put my phone on the counter and opened the bottle, taking a sip of the refreshing liquid. I knew that Brian would not rest until I had this one bagged and tagged and I was glad I had withheld the tidbit of information that I was emotionally involved in this one. No doubt if he had found out I would’ve been chewed up one side and down the other, but I wanted to be the one that figured this mess out. I didn’t know Garrett now, but somewhere deep inside, I knew he wasn’t involved in whatever was going on in that business. I just had to prove it.

Chapter 5:  Garrett

I looked at the papers in front of me, tapping my pen against my lips as I regarded the offer. It was a little after eight in the morning in the office, empty with the exception of me, which wasn’t too abnormal for the morning hour. It was rare that I wasn’t in the office before eight, ready to get my day started, but Travis, well, he came in whenever he felt like he needed to. It wasn’t that Travis was lazy or anything, because he could sell a house to just about anyone. It was one reason why I wasn’t worried when we started this business together. He had been George’s top seller and when George decided that he wanted to spend more time on his fishing boat and with my mother than he did in the office, it made sense to pull out of his business and move on to our own. So far, George was enjoying retirement, though he didn’t hesitate to offer a word of advice a time or two.

I pushed the paperwork away and stood up, thrusting my hands in my pockets as I looked out over the plaza that was below from the fourth floor of the building high rise. I still had my reservations about buying the house, though I knew Travis would buy it immediately without batting an eye. I had to take a more methodical approach when I purchased anything, mainly due to the way I had grown up. I could still remember my father coming home with his paycheck and my mom sitting down at the kitchen table, her notebook in her hand as she carefully wrote down all of the bills for the month so we could see how much money was left over at the end of it all. Though we didn’t have much, I never remembered wanting for anything. But now, the world was at my fingertips and I was still counting my pennies. It was a habit I didn’t think I would ever be able to break.

The small alarm bell sounded from the front of the office and I straightened my tie, running my hands through my hair before walking out to the modern waiting room. A woman waited near the empty receptionist desk, reminding me that I needed to check with the temp agency to see if they had found someone yet. The last girl had quit after she and Travis had gotten involved in a relationship and much like my relationship with Cherise, it had tanked something serious. What can I say? I enjoy fucking.

As I approached, I grinned, knowing that many women were unable to resist that grin. Sometimes it got me in trouble, but for the most part, I just got lucky, real lucky. This woman was tall and slender, dressed in a silky blouse and matching pencil skirt that showed off her ass very nicely. She turned around and I faltered my steps as I took in her familiar features, a nice pair of blue eyes and a gorgeous fucking face with those full lips that begged for attention. My gaze trailed down her body, finding a nice rack and tapered waist before the flare of her hips that would fit rather nicely in my hands. See? I didn’t even know her name but I was already thinking of how we would be in bed. “Can I help you?” I finally asked, crossing over to stand in front of her, an easy grin on my face.

“I-I hope so,” she stammered, her eyes widening slightly as she looked at me. “I’m the, I mean I am the new receptionist.”

“Oh, thank god,” I breathed, a bit disappointed that she wasn’t a client. I desperately needed a receptionist though so I would keep my hands off of her. We were too busy to not have someone to help out around here. “I’m Garrett Louden, co-owner of this company. I can’t tell you how happy I am that you’re here.”

She looked down at my outstretched hand and bit her lip, the motion shooting pure white lust to my groin. God, did she do that while she had sex? It was driving me fucking nuts. Finally, she placed her hand in mine, the electric contact catching me off guard. Well hell, why did she have to be the receptionist? I could bend her over that desk in a hot moment and pound away just by this small brief contact.

“I, um, I’m Rachel.”

“Nice to meet you, Rachel,” I said, focusing on her face. She was gorgeous, perfect to be the first person new clients saw when they walked in. The temp agency had gotten it too right. “I’ll show you your place. Do you have your paperwork?”

She nodded and handed me an envelope while I took the chance to view her ring finger, grinning as I saw no evidence of a ring. She was not married and if she wasn’t single, that really didn’t matter. After all, didn’t boyfriends and girlfriends change hands all the time? A pissed off husband, now that was a different story. I didn’t dabble with married women, no matter how hard they tried. There was too much baggage and drama with them.

“Right this way,” I forced out, showing her to my office. She sat herself on the edge of the chair with her bare legs in front of my desk while I leaned against the desk, tearing open the envelope. “Tell me about yourself, Rachel.”

“Well, I’m twenty-seven,” she started out, her voice seemingly a bit nervous. “Recently moved to Miami.”

“Oh, really?” I asked, looking at the paperwork but not really reading it. As far as I was concerned, she could be a woman with a felony and I was going to hire her. “Where are you from?”

“Jacksonville,” she said, causing me to look up at her. I narrowed my eyes and really looked at her face, a piece of me thinking she looked vaguely familiar.

“Jacksonville you say? Have you lived there all of your life?”

“Every minute,” she said, straightening her shoulders. The slight movement caused her breasts to thrust forward and I lingered on them for a moment, wondering if she was a lacy bra kind of girl. No doubt she was going to be part of my hot dreams tonight.

“Huh,” I finally said. “I’m originally from Jacksonville.”

“I know,” she answered, causing me to pause. “Don’t you recognize me?”

I looked at her closely. Her face was oddly familiar but I couldn’t place it with anyone from my past. “Wait a minute. Rachel?”

She nodded and I laughed aloud. “I can’t believe this. Rachel Tyler? Is that really you?”

“Hi, Garrett,” she said softly, a gentle smile on her face. Now I could see it. Rachel had been one of my childhood friends when I lived in Jacksonville, before my dad died and George was in the picture. Our families had been close before my dad’s death and Rachel and I had nearly grown up side by side together. I hadn’t seen her since I had left back some fifteen years ago and damn, she had grown up.

“Wow, this is crazy,” I finally said, shoving a hand through my hair, not sure what to say. “How’s everyone?”

“Mom’s getting married again,” she said with a shrug. “Dad’s been remarried for a year. How is your mom doing?”

“Great,” I said, thinking of the woman who had always been there for me. “George, too. They’re on a fishing trip in the Bahamas right now.” She had called me yesterday to tell me they were going on the yacht, the only way that George fished. If it wasn’t in style, he didn’t want to have any part in it.

“That’s good,” she responded, giving me a smile. “This is so awkward. I, um, I really need this job, Garrett.”

“Why?” I asked softly, wanting to know what was going on in her life. So her parents had divorced. I wasn’t surprised at that. Her parents had fought nearly every day the year before we had left, my dad’s death changing all of us. He had been a rock for my mom and I had been forced to step into the role of my mom’s supporter until George had come along and changed our lives forever.

I watched as she blushed, feeling that rise in my lower region that was not very professional at all. Hell, it was Rachel. There was one point in my life where she knew nearly everything about me and I knew everything about her.

“I’m just trying to get away for a while,” she finally said, inhaling. “I’ve recently had a breakup and it’s just best if I get a clean start for a while.”

“No fault in that,” I said slowly, wondering who the asshole was. Rachel had always been a great girl and for the first few months after we had moved away, I had found myself missing her. But I was a guy and guys didn’t do letters so over time I had forgotten about that part of my life and her. “Hey, if you want the job, it’s yours.”

“Thank you, Garrett,” she replied with a tremendous smile. “I promise I won’t let you down.”

“I know you won’t,” I said confidently, giving her a grin. The problem was going to be keeping my damn hands off of her. This wasn’t just any girl, this was Rachel. Rachel Tyler. She should be off limits, but hell, my hands were itching to grasp those hips still.

“Dude, you won’t believe what.”

I turned to see Travis in the doorway, his eyes widening as he took in Rachel for the first time. A spurt of protection reared its ugly head as I saw the interest in his face. Oh, hell no. I wasn’t going to let Travis have any part of Rachel. She was too good for him.

“Hello,” he was saying. “A beautiful morning and a beautiful woman. Life is good.”

“This is Rachel,” I supplied as Travis shook her hand. “She’s our new receptionist. Rachel, this is Travis, the other owner of the business.”

“Seriously?” Travis said, giving me a wink. “Well, now our office will definitely be the talk of the town when they see you, Rachel. Welcome aboard. If you need anything, I am at your service.”

“Thank you,” she said as he released her hand. “Well, perhaps I should be getting started?”

“Go ahead, acquaint yourself with the space,” I said, giving her a nod. “I’ll be there in a minute.”

Travis waited until she had walked out before he punched me lightly in the shoulder. “Hell yeah, eye candy for days with that one. God, we need to send flowers to that agency for finding that one.”

I frowned, feeling weird inside to know that my best friend, my partner, was looking at Rachel like that. No. Travis was going to stay far away from her. “She’s off limits.”

Travis’s grin died as he looked at me. “What the hell? Who made you boss?”

I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at him. “She’s off limits, Travis. We need a good receptionist and I can’t have you sleeping with every damn one of them.”

He looked at me hard. “You want her for yourself, don’t you?”

“Shut the hell up and just do what I say, okay?” I forced out, turning back towards the desk. Never in my life have I ever wanted to hit Travis as hard as I wanted to right now. Shit. What the hell was wrong with me?