Meeting Mr. Mogul: A Billionaire Contemporary Romance (13 page)

“I wouldn’t stoop to such a level, Mr. Maxwell. I’m a professional, and it’s rude to do such a thing to one’s boss.”

“Cut the act, Andy!”

“You want to know what I think? Are you sure you’re not trying to get me fired?” I countered, eyeing him defiantly.

“You just said so yourself, remember? I couldn’t fire you even if I wanted to,” he replied with his teeth clenched.

“Glad you remembered,” I muttered to myself with a strained breath. I inhaled deeply and said my next words louder so he could hear, “I don’t know what your opinion is of me, Mr. Maxwell, but I did not get back at you for this morning. For Christ’s sake, that was my fault! Do you always think that I’m plotting against you? Don’t flatter yourself. You don’t even deserve to be in my head in the first place.”

His eyes widened in shock. I didn’t really look at him long enough to savor my last comeback. I knew I had him this time. Yet I knew my victory would be short-lived. After all, this was his fortress. The man can taunt and get back at me any time he liked while I was in his domain. As I finally got out of the meeting room, that was when he snapped out of it and followed me.

“I’m not finished talking to you!” he called as he stomped towards me. Next, he grabbed my arm and turned me around to face him.

“Well, I’m finished talking to you,” I countered angrily and tried to pull my arm out of his hold. “Now, please let me go before I start screaming,” I threatened him when his grip tightened.

We glared at each other for a second before someone cleared their throat. William tore his gaze away from me and turned towards the sound. It was then we finally noticed a small crowd of people all looking at us. I couldn’t believe I made a scene on my second day at work. Could this job get any worse?

When we realized we were attracting unwanted attention, William quickly let go of my arm. I staggered back slightly but didn’t take my eyes off him. After a second of scanning the room, he gazed back at me. His mouth was set in a thin line as he struggled to rein in his temper.

“We’ll continue this in my office,” he commanded, making it clear that the order was not up for negotiation. But I didn’t nod or agree to his words. Instead, I turned and walked away. I could sense him glare at me as I walked towards the elevator. I didn’t bother looking at him in the eye as I stepped inside and turned back to face him. I just didn’t have the energy to confront the furious stare I know he’d be wearing.

Once I reached our floor, I lazily walked back to my desk and sighed heavily. Maggie noticed and turned to me with a worried expression.

“Are you alright? How did the meeting go?”

“It went well,” I replied, sighing as I started to rub circles on my temples.

“If it was alright, why do you look like you just got the most awful news?” she asked with a soft chuckle.

“Is that man always so serious? I mean, really...” I asked.

This finally caught her attention that she turned her whole body towards me. “Did something happen between you and William?” she asked worriedly.

“Well, you’ll know about it tomorrow since everyone who worked in that floor witnessed the ordeal,” I replied with a humorless laugh. After that, I buried my face in the palm of my hands and rubbed it in frustration.

Before Maggie could ask further, the elevator opened to reveal an infuriated William. He walked right up to me with a tight jaw and a furious look. I don’t think there was ever a moment that day when the man didn’t look annoyed at me.

“In my office, now!” he basically shouted and pointed at the door of his office before walking towards it.

I held my ground and didn’t make a move to follow him. He finally noticed my refusal to follow his command as he stopped by his door.

“Like I said before, Mr. Maxwell, you may have power, but you don’t have the right to boss me around. I still have my dignity, which I didn’t give away when I accepted this job,” I affirmed seriously. “If you’re just going to argue and threaten me, then we have nothing to talk about. I already got a gist of it downstairs.”

William didn’t say anything as he continued to scowl at me. I didn’t look away either, not wanting to lose the stare down. In an annoyed hiss, William looked away and got inside his office, closing the door with a childish slam.

Once he was gone, I let out a sigh of relief. Maggie, on the other hand, just chuckled. I looked at her and gave her a small smile, which she replied with a beaming one. Then, I turned to my computer with a triumphant grin. I had a lot of things to do, which I hope would be enough to keep my mind away from thoughts of Mr. Mogul.

I left around seven thirty. Around that time, Maggie was still at her desk, very much absorbed on the files stacked up in front of her. I said goodbye to her before getting in the elevator. Before the doors closed, I took one last look at the closed office in front of me. He hadn’t stepped a foot out of there since he slammed it shut in my face. Not that it mattered anymore. What the stubborn man did wasn’t any of my business. So, I put him off my mind as the elevator closed and descended.

The week passed by like a breeze—but not the fresh kind. Whenever William and I were in the same room, the tension was so think that you could cut it with a knife. It was like that almost every day. When Friday came, I was so relieved to have my first weekend off. I needed to be away from him and from all the work. More importantly, I needed to see my father. For days, I felt so empty to end my day without seeing him. With my past jobs, I never had to give up my time with him. It was only the two of us now, so he was always a priority for me. But I had no choice but to work. Thankfully, I knew he understood the situation.

I didn’t make it obvious that I was so eager to get away from the office, but I couldn’t fool Maggie. The woman had come to understand me from the days I’ve worked with her. This also proved how much of an open book I am.

“Happy to get your weekend off?” Maggie asked as I stood up, packing my things.

“You bet,” I replied with a grin, knowing full well that I couldn’t truly lie to the sweet lady.

“Enjoy. I’ll see you on Monday,” she waved goodbye as I walked towards the elevator.

“You too!” I called as I pressed the button to the lobby.

When I got to the lobby, I quickly waved goodbye to Danny who was tending the reception desk. She saw me and beamed, giving me a short wave of goodbye. I didn’t stay long in the area and got to the bus station. I was debating on whether to go visit my dad now or wait until tomorrow. Before I could decide, my phone buzzed. I glanced at the name on the screen before answering. It was Terry.

“Hey, ‘boyfriend’,” I greeted with a smirk, remembering my joke last Tuesday morning.

“You’re still not over that? Well, ‘girlfriend’—who isn’t that much of a girl—I wanted to ask if you’re free tonight,” Terry joked along.

“What do you mean by ‘not much of a girl’?” I pretended to sound hurt by his words, but, I was only messing with him.

“Damn it. I didn’t mean it like that...I thought we were kidding around...” Terry defended, his voice thick with guilt.

I laughed hard at his defense. “I know you were kidding. Yes, I’m free tonight. Why?”

“God! Sometimes...” he remarked in frustration, “Well, Jack wanted to see you, Andrew wanted to see you, some of the guys wanted to see you, and I wanted to see you again, too.” From the sound of his voice, I could tell he was leaving out something.

“If you’re trying to ask me to go out clubbing again, you already know my reply,” I retorted with a grin.

“But
I’m
not the one asking for you.
They are.
”

“Really?” I asked as a challenge, knowing full well he was bluffing.

“Okay. I also wanted you to come, but they wanted you too,” he admitted.

I chuckled at his gullible nature. Sometimes, Terry had a soft spot about lying to me. The boy had always been truthful, which made us become friends faster and easier. I couldn’t have asked for a better and more suited person to be in my life right now.

I pause for a second and
hmmm-ed as if I was still thinking, prolonging the suspense. But in truth, I already had an answer. I needed the drink and I needed some company after what happened over the past few days. But I’m not planning on getting drunk like last time. One glass, or two, is enough to calm the nerves.

“Okay. I’ll go out with you guys tonight. But you have to pick me up and return me home in one piece,” I finally replied as a smile danced at the tip of my lips.

“Finally!” Terry exclaimed excitedly, which made me laugh.

He was going to pick me up around midnight after his shift at work. We were going to Jack’s bar with Andrew and his friends. I was excited to be hanging out for the first time rather than working. It would be weird to go to the club I used to work in, but I knew I’d be having fun tonight since I’d be going with a weird and fun crowd.

When midnight came, I was already dressed to go. I wore one of the few sexy clothes I own. I was thankful that I bought it before moving here, knowing that people in the city wore more refined clothes. But at least there are others here who dress like I usually do, so my everyday clothes don’t look that out of place and I didn’t need to buy anything new.

I studied my reflection for the last time in the mirror. I was wearing a loose black tank top with a white tube undershirt. I paired it with the only black mini skirt—well, the only skirt—I owned that went down to mid-thigh. I paired the whole look with the black satin pumps given to me by Alexandra. I completed the outfit with my watch and a black clutch that I used during prom. I am quite a sentimental person (or you could call me cheap). I even still had the same sneakers from back then.

Around ten minutes past twelve, there was a knock on the door. I quickly turned off the television I was scanning through and grabbed my things. I skipped towards the door, excited about going clubbing that night.

“Good evening. Are you ready?” Terry greeted with a beaming smile as I opened the door.

“I’m
so
ready,” I replied just as enthusiastically, then locked the door behind me.

The ride to the club was short. If I’d known that it was near my apartment, I wouldn’t have asked Terry to pick me up. Maybe if he and Andrew had some plans tonight, I could take back my request and walk home. But I wouldn’t bet on it.

When we finally got there, Terry had a good look at me as I hopped out of his motorcycle.

“Goodness, Andy! I didn’t know you had killer legs,” he remarked as he took my helmet.

“Well, only you who can wait this long to notice. I’ll forgive you for that because of your sexual orientation,” I replied with a chuckle, lightly blushing at his comment.

“Yeah. Sorry about that. You know I’m visually impaired when it comes your kind,” he said while laughing at his own joke. I snickered at his cunning way of giving me a compliment.

We didn’t have to wait in line as we reached the front door, like last time. Once we got inside, the place was already packed with people. Some were dancing to the thumping beat of the music while others drank themselves to oblivion on the sidelines. The rowdiness was one of the many reasons why I don’t like such places. The crowd was another thing altogether.

Terry half-dragged me from the dance floor towards the bar, where I could already see Jack making drinks. With him was another guy who looked too young to be a bartender. Once we reached the counter, Terry lightly shoved a few drunken men aside and guided me to one of the stools in a protective stance. Sometimes, I found him sweet.

“Protective much, ‘boyfriend’?” I teased.

“I might not be attracted your kind, but I can still be a gentleman, Andy,” he replied with a grin.

“Where is Andrew?” I asked and swiftly changed the topic as his body heat started to wreak havoc on my hormones. I’m only human. I have needs, too.

“They’re here somewhere,” he replied as he leaned away from me, scanning the room thoroughly.

I took this as an opportunity to put a bit of distance between us. In doing so, I lightly bumped into someone behind me. Startled, I turned around to apologize, but stopped as I looked up at the person. My mouth suddenly went dry at the familiar blue eyes that were staring directly at me.

“Ms. Peterson, fancy seeing you here,” he said softly, his eyes still on me.

“Mr. Maxwell, hi,” I replied, my voice thick with surprise.

“Would you like something to drink? I’m about to order,” he asked, his eyes smoldered a little.

Taken aback by his offer, I nodded in reply. Why was this man nice to me all of a sudden? We have not been talking to each other for days, but now here he is, casually asking if I’d like a drink.

I continued to gape at him as he snapped his finger to get the bartender’s attention. I recognized that the bartender was the new guy and not Jack.

After he made our orders, he faced me again. He still looked so handsome even under the dim lighting, which made his bright blue eyes prominent and clear. And that dirty blond hair of his gleamed whenever it was struck by the light. I noted that he was still wearing the same suit from this morning. That meant he directly came to the bar from work.

“Did you come here from work?” I asked outright, my curiosity gnawing at the back of my head.

“No. I came from dinner,” he replied with a smirk tugging at the end of his lips. This action made my stomach knot a little.

“Oh. Okay,” I said awkwardly, not capable of asking him another question.

“I was having dinner with my sister’s fiancé since he will be off to Europe tomorrow,” he said, responding to my unspoken question.

I gave him a shy smile in return. I can’t believe he had read me so well. Maybe it was written all over my face again. I decided to turn away from him and face Terry, who I thought was beside me. But he wasn’t. I can’t believe he left me here, when he knew about my unstable relationship with Mr. Mogul. I stood on my toes and scanned the room, looking for him and ignoring William.