Bought: A Billionaire Romance (4 page)

I blame him. It’s obviously his fault. I mean, I was happy to go out and have a few drinks with Kelly at the bar when he shows up and starts buying me drink after drink. I was vulnerable, I was struggling with life-changing decisions, and then he just goes ahead and takes advantage of that. Not only that, but he makes me stay out all night at a nightclub and then kisses me even though I HATE him and he knows it.

For one thing, it is so completely inappropriate to make out with your staff. And secondly, it’s totally his fault that I’m late for work on my second day and now I look like a slacker to Mark Greene. What choice do I have but to take the stupid job at Ellis Energy now? I doubt there’s even a place for me at Greene Earth after this.

“I’ll take the job,” I say after a pause and watch the smug smile spread across Kyan’s stupid handsome face.

“I think you’ve made the right decision, Clara,” he says.

How does he manage to look so good? It’s like he isn’t even hungover at all. Maybe he’s another one like Kelly who can just shrug off a night of drinking. When I look closer I realize he looks as hungover as I do, it’s just that it looks…almost good on him. The loosened tie, the just-got-out-of-bed hair and the thick stubble on his chin and neck are so different from the slicked-back and perfect look I’m used to seeing him with.

Stop staring at that jerk,
I tell myself.

“Definitely,” says Greene, “I thought you would be perfect here but perhaps your attitude is better suited to somewhere like Ellis Energy.”

Ouch.             

“Take the rest of the day off,” continues Greene, “I’ll sign the contracts and you can start at Ellis Energy tomorrow.”

I gather myself up and make for the door without looking back. Now feels like a good time to cry but I just don’t have the energy. Not even two days in my dream job and I’m about to start two years at a company that stands against everything I believe in.

I stride down the hall and palm the elevator button, heels clicking on the floor as I walk. My feet hurt so much, I can’t wait to get home and throw them off. I feel like I could sleep for a year and my bed is calling to me. Tonight I don’t want to do anything but eat pizza and watch old movies with Kelly.

“Wait up!” comes a voice from behind me.

Why won’t this elevator come quicker?
I palm the button a few more times, knowing it won’t help but desperate for it to arrive so I can shut the doors and avoid him.

The doors open with a ding and I step inside, hit the button for the first floor and immediately start slamming my finger on the close door button.

“Hold the elevator!”

He’s getting closer. Just as the doors begin to close an arm flies into view and wrenches them apart. Kyan throws himself into the lift somehow still managing to look unflustered.

“Sorry, I didn’t realize you were behind me,” I say with just a hint of sarcasm in my voice.

“Sure you didn’t,” says Kyan, “Look, I think we should grab a coffee now, just chat through how this whole thing is going to go.”

“Why bother?”

“I feel like we might have got off on the wrong foot here. We’re going to be working together for a while and I want to keep things professional.”

“YOU want to keep things professional? Is that why you decided to kiss me last night?”

“What!? That was you?”             

He’s either a great actor or he really doesn’t remember kissing me. I know he’s a liar but for some reason, I believe him this time.

“You really don’t remember?”

“All I remember is some girl kissing me even though I was trying to push her away. She was crazy strong too, it was like trying to fight off a bear on steroids. Hmm, the description fits so I guess that was you.”

How dare he try to twist this like he isn’t the one at fault here.

“You think you were trying to push me away? From what I remember I was caught in your vice-like grip while you stuck your disgusting tongue in my mouth. I couldn’t get away.”

“Now, Clara, I’m a professional. You don’t get to be one of the wealthiest—“

“You’re a sleazebag and a jerk is what you are,” I say, no longer trying to contain my anger.

Kyan draws himself up to his full height. He’s well over six foot and he towers over me even in my heels.

“Now, listen here you—“

DING!
We freeze as the door opens to reveal a middle-aged woman who seems to be a cleaner. She hesitates for a moment when she sees us, both of us red-faced with anger and stinking of alcohol from last night, but eventually steps in. She’s going to the first floor so she’ll be keeping us company the rest of the way.

It seemed like Kyan was about to lose his cool. It’s the first time I’ve seen him be anything but the calm, charming billionaire who breezes around without a care in the world. It’s good to know there’s some fire inside that placid exterior and it’s even better to know that I can get to him.

We spend the rest of the elevator ride turned away from each other in silence. After what feels like an eternity, the doors finally open and the elevator’s only other passenger steps out in the grand lobby.

“Look,” says Kyan before I get a chance to walk out, “I suggest we pretend last night never happened and try to get along. What do you think?”

“Fine by me.”             

“I’ll see you at 9am tomorrow. My secretary will email you the details.”

****

When I get back to the apartment I make straight for my bed, desperate to pull the covers around me and forget the whole stupid thing with Kyan.

Kelly is watching TV in the living room and I can’t sneak past her.

“Back already? Are you playing hooky?”

“Greene said I could take the rest of the day off. Yes, I look so awful he didn’t want me hanging around the office.”

“Well, at least you didn’t throw up on yourself.”

“It was a close one when I had to talk to Kyan but I managed to resist,” I say slumping down on the sofa next to Kelly.

Our apartment is pretty small. Just two little bedrooms, a kitchen/diner/living room, and a bathroom. Can you even call it bathroom if it only has a shower and no bath?

I notice that Kelly has a bowl of chips in front of her so I grab a handful and start hungrily shoving them into my mouth. I’m craving carbs but at least my appetite has returned.

“So did you take the job?”

“What choice did I have? Pretty sure I burned all my bridges at Greene Earth by showing up late and stinking of booze on my second day. That’s assuming they wouldn’t have fired me anyway for screwing up the deal.”

“You could have told them both to shove it and come and worked with me at the bar. You know there’s an opening for you there.”

I know Kelly loves her job at The Cellar but I don’t think working in a bar is for me. Having to put up with getting hit on by every sleazy guy in the place so you can get more tips, always working late at night. OK, maybe it’s not so different from being a woman in finance after all, but I know that if I give up now I’ll never be able to make a real difference. I know there’s more that I can do, that I can have an impact on the world even if it’s in some minor way.

“No thanks. I don’t think bar work is for me.”

“OK. Just see how you feel after a few weeks with Kyan. Maybe we can swap?”

I laugh and reflect on the fact that she might just be right.

“Why work for either of them?” asks Kelly.

She has a point. I could just run away from it, do something else. There’s only one problem.

“They can really screw me over if I do that.”

“How?”

“These are two of the biggest players in the industry. If I mess them about I could end up blacklisted from all the major investment companies and then my degree is just a worthless piece of paper. All the blood, sweat, tears and debt would have been for nothing.”

“Yeah. That would suck. Still, on the plus side, we could sit around here all day in our jammies watching Netflix.”

“You always know how to make me see the bright side of things.”

“I know, that’s what I’m here for. Pizza tonight?”

“You read my mind.”
 

I find myself checking my watch again. 8:15am. Assuming she’s exactly on time and not early she’ll be here in fifteen minutes.

“Who is this girl again?” asks Mira, my secretary.

“Name’s Clara. She’s the one who’s coming from Greene Earth as part of that deal. Fresh out of school but great with numbers.”

“Oh? Is that all?”

Mira has been with me since the very beginning. Her pleasantly round face has been a part of every weekday morning for me for years. Even though she’s not the most efficient worker, and probably not really cut out for the world of high-stakes finance, she’s become a kind of good luck charm for me. That, and she can see straight through me.

“Is she pretty?” asks Mira, “she must be to have you this agitated.”

It can be good having someone older and unafraid to say what’s on their mind around. Sometimes. I’ve never asked Mira how old she is but she is one of those people that I just can’t imagine as having ever been anything other than middle-aged.

“Mira, when have you known me to ever lose my composure over a pretty face?”

“I haven’t. And I’ve seen you with some very pretty faces in my time. Who was the last one? The princess?”

“Amalia? Technically not a princess, just a member of the royal family, but yeah she was really something. Shame we just didn’t have enough in common to make it work.”

“Shame you couldn’t stop chasing other girls you mean.”

Mira’s bluntness is both a blessing and a curse to me. Still, she keeps me honest. Or as honest as I’m going to get anyway.

“So I suppose this Clara must be something special then,” continues Mira.

“What makes you say that?”

“The fact that you’ve spent the last fifteen minutes checking your watch and pacing up and down this room. I’ve lost count of the number of times you’ve checked your tie is done up properly and your hair is still perfect.”

“Haven’t you got some filing to do or something?” I say with a smile.

“Fine, I’ll leave you to it then,” says Mira moving toward the door.

I sit down at my desk and take a deep breath. I grab the mini basketball I keep on my desk and throw it against the wall a few times to distract myself.

Why the hell are you so nervous? You’ve met presidents and kings and you’re nervous about Clara’s first day? Snap out of it!
I tell myself.

It’s 8:29am and Mira buzzes through to me on the intercom.

“Clara Young to see you.”

“Send her through.”

A few moments later Clara breezes through my office door. She’s wearing a black blazer and pencil skirt which shows off all her curves. I can’t help but look her up and down, my eyes tracing the outline of her breasts and hips right down her legs to the high heels she’s wearing.

“Hello? Earth to Kyan,” says Clara and I snap out of it.

“Good, I can see you read the part in Mira’s email about the dress code. And you’re on time. Your first day and you’re already doing better than you were at Greene Earth.”

“Very funny. Have you got any work for me or you just going to stare at me all day?”

Boy did I mess up with this one. Normally the newbies are eating out of my hand, awed by everything about me. With Clara though? Not so much. I know she’s going to resist me every step of the way, but that just makes the chase more fun.

“Mira’s got all the files Greene Earth sent over after we signed the contracts yesterday. I need you to look through them and model the profitability for the portfolio we’re going to be sending out. Remember to build in headroom for unforeseen events, shocks, and price changes. You know the drill.”

“Yes sir!” says Clara sarcastically.

As she turns to leave I feel the need to say something more.

“Clara, wait.”

I stand up and walk toward her and she turns to me with deer-caught-in-the-headlights eyes. For all her attitude she’s still only just out of college and nervous. She may be great with figures but this is a world she has no experience of and she’ll get eaten alive if she doesn’t respect the forces of nature in this business. Forces of nature like me.

“We got off on the wrong foot and I shouldn’t have…interacted with you and Kelly the other night. Now I’m willing to forget all that nonsense and keep things professional if you are too. OK?”

She pauses for a moment, considering a sassy remark no doubt but I think she realizes the tone of my voice suggests that might not be the best idea right now.

“OK,” she says turning her wide eyes towards the floor.

“Good. It’s good to have you on board Clara,” I say, holding out my hand. She shakes in gingerly and turns to leave. “I want a report on the Greene numbers by tomorrow morning.”

Clara nods and leaves my office without turning back. I can’t help but watch her walk away. It’s going to be tough but I have to keep things with her professional. I’m right in the middle of a deal that’s going to decide the future of the company I spent a decade building and she’s the right person to help see that deal through.

I know I can have Clara if I want her, and part of me wants to prove that. But once I get her how long will it be before I fuck it up like I always do? I just can’t afford to do that. Not now.