Mr. Handsome: A Billionaire Romance (13 page)

“Is that not advertising?” I sighed and then clarified what I meant.

“I mean, I want to work with corporations, not the models that pose in the pictures they decide on
after
the fact. I want to be a part of the entire creative process, not just getting coffee and doing grunt work,” I explained as calmly and politely as possible.

Marissa rolled her eyes.

“So my Target girl wants to run along and create commercials and ads. That’s fine, I can understand your motivations for leaving.” Marissa’s expression became utterly normal, as if I had just told her I was back with the sparkling water or something.

“I just want you to know something; when Kristi has that child she’s creating and she can no longer work for me, because the girl doesn’t believe in day care, and her position opens up,  I’ll call you to come and work for me, you are smart and you do your best at everything, even if it’s just getting coffee.

“But because there is no way you’ll find an open marketing position in a city like this, you will go broke soon. So during the seven-month period Kristi is still taking up space in my office, I’ll let you go homeless and starve from not being able to find a job so don’t think about re-applying for your same position at Urban Plus.”

Marissa turned sharply on her heel and smacked me in the face with her hair before she went and disappeared behind the set lights.

“That was…
priceless
!” Jeffrey cracked up while he was putting on a black button down shirt and matching black pants. “The expressions on her face were one thing, but the expressions on
yours
!” Jeffrey continued to laugh while he recounted every word that was exchanged between Marissa and I. I didn’t even know he was close enough the entire time to overhear us as well as watch our reactions.

“Can you verify for me that she managed to accept I was quitting, offer me a job,
and
fire me all in a few short sentences?”

Jeffrey cracked up all over again and he nodded.

“She said she wanted you to take that Kristi person’s job, and she understands why you’re quitting, but you’re not allowed to have your job back…that sounds about right.” Jeffrey confirmed what I was able to reason out of all of that and he just kept laughing. I shook my head and then soon I was laughing with him. Marissa was a piece of work, that was for sure.

“I have to go give her a hug, that was an amazing performance, I couldn’t have expected better.” Jeffrey was putting on a pair of shoes while he hopped around in search of Marissa. I simply shook my head and took a seat to wait for Jeffrey to finish.

“Hey, that took balls, I must admit. She liked you, though, so that worked in your favor,” said one of the models who came up to me and gave me congratulations for quitting. It made me wonder if Marissa was loud when she was speaking. It was more likely that she was and I was just too confused to keep up with everything, other than what she was saying.

“Thanks, I can’t say that was the least interesting way to quit a job that’s for sure.” The guy chuckled and he was about to say something else when Jeffrey came up behind the stool I was sitting on. He placed his hands lightly on my waist, in a clear sign of ownership and I wanted to roll my eyes at him. Like there was any way that guy was trying to hit on me at all.

“Definitely not, hey they’re ready for the next set now.” Jeffrey gestured to the photographer who was waiting for him and the other model to get over by the huge window and view of the city. The photo shoot lasted for about a half hour more before Jeffrey and I headed down to the car.

“So I have a surprise for you…” Jeffrey said once we were in the car and I quirked my eyebrow at him.

“Really? What’s the surprise?” I asked. I hoped it wasn’t something super extravagant, I didn’t want to have to beat him up that day.

“I got you an interview at Six Fountain Marketing…”

My eyes nearly popped out of my skull.

“How is that possible? They are like one of the best marketing groups in the city! I applied to them months ago, but they never got back to me. I mean I sent e-mails…and…e-mails…”

Jeffrey gave me a knowing look.

“Yeah, but you never
called
. I simply made them take notice of your resume and they are really interested.  You never told me you had such a great track record when you were in school. You won the national university digital advertising award
three
times in a row?” Jeffrey was impressed and I simply shrugged. “Honestly you have all this stuff you keep under wraps when you should be flaunting it! It’s how you get hired and how you get noticed.” Jeffrey looked at me as if I baffled him.

“What can I say, I lay low sometimes…” I didn’t want to go into
why
I laid low, I knew it stemmed from my self-esteem issues, but Jeffrey didn’t like it when I doubted myself or even talked about doubting myself.

“Well, you need not to. I forwarded all the information to your e-mail and the group is going to contact you tomorrow about setting up the interview. So make sure you save the numbers I sent you so you don’t ignore their call…you do have your phone on you right?”

I nodded and pulled it out of my bag; I was getting good at keeping it handy, especially as more people had my number now, like Vanessa, Jennie, and…well Jeffrey. I definitely needed to get a social life with actual friends.

“I just couldn’t believe you won that award in a
national
competition three times and never got offered a job.”

I looked over at Jeffrey, his eyes were on me curiously.

“When I graduated I did get a lot of offers, but that’s when my parents died,” I said bluntly.

Jeffrey’s expression turned understanding in a heartbeat.

“I get it now…well, you are doing the right thing by getting back out there and seizing the bull by the horns.” 

I never understood that metaphor, if you seized a bull by its horns wouldn’t it try and get you off?

“So where are we going for dinner?” I asked curiously.

Jeffrey grinned as we pulled up to his house. “I’ve decided to cook for you, baby, you deserve it.”             

I felt I deserved like some really good seafood and maybe a huge chocolate brownie for dessert.

“You know how to cook…?” I asked skeptically while I followed Jeffrey inside.

“Of course I do, you’ll see. I’m going to make you some fresh shrimp pasta and for dessert I have a chocolate surprise.” 

I wondered briefly if Jeffrey had read my mind.

“That actually sounds amazing, you like…read my mind or something?”  I said with a chuckle.

“See, we have a special connection. I know what my baby wants,” Jeffrey said before he kissed me soundly on the lips and then shrugged out of his jacket. He went upstairs to change out of his work clothes and I wondered if Jeffrey would let me sleep at my place that night.

I didn’t pack for
two
extra nights, only one, so I kind of needed to go back home soon. I wandered into the living room and sat on the couch while I flipped on the TV and searched for something to watch.

I didn’t really pay attention to the TV, though, I was caught up in thoughts of Jeffrey and how I felt about him. Of course I was attracted to him, he was sexy and freaking gorgeous. He was kind and considerate and
seemed
to be crazy about me. Not to mention, he was helping me through a lot. Like dealing with the sadness that sometimes came over me from the loss of my parents.

Then he magically got me a job interview with Six Fountain Marketing. He was incredible really, but I was still skeptical. He was too incredible, on top of being a successful billionaire and a model, he could cook, too! There had to be a catch somewhere, I couldn’t be allowed to have someone as perfect as Jeffrey Bates all to myself.

“Hey! You gonna come and keep me company or what?” Jeffrey was wearing nothing but sweat pants and he had a kitchen towel thrown over his shoulder. I knew for a fact then that Jeffrey was going to ruin me for other guys. I followed him into the kitchen and he poured me a glass of wine as I sat down behind the island bar.

“So, tell me about your day,” I prompted him while he was preparing the fresh shrimp. He was deveining them and all, and I couldn’t deny that I was impressed.

“Well, it was a regular day pretty much. I had to check on one of my warehouses that sparked a small fire last week. The damage to the actual building was minimal, but it messed up a few fighter jet engine parts and set our quota back a little bit. I mainly had to focus on adjusting for that and getting more supplies and parts to build the engines we couldn’t salvage.”

“Wow, that doesn’t sound like a regular day,” I said and Jeffrey shrugged while he was chopping up some veggies.

“It could have been worse, really. Then I had a few meetings with certain suppliers; that was tiring, having to explain everything over and over again. No one likes doing more than they signed on for, even in the event of an accident.” Jeffrey shook his head, his expression was disdainful. “Just a bunch of businessmen worried about the bottom line.”

I took a sip of the white wine and watched Jeffrey as he cooked. He really did know what he was doing, it was as if he cooked for himself all the time. I couldn’t imagine someone like Jeffrey, a billionaire, coming home and making himself a steak or something, when he could just as easily go out and have one served to him.

“So you really love your planes, huh?” I asked and then took another sip of the wine.

Jeffrey’s green hazel eyes lit up at the mention of his planes.

“I freaking love them. Just like little kids grow up with train or toy car collections, I grew up with airplane collections. Then I went on to being an engineer just so that I could work on the planes within my dad’s company.

“I have a pilot’s license too. But then my dad got sick and started to decline. I saw that he really needed someone at the head of the company overseeing everything and not just the plane manufacturing part of things.” Jeffrey’s tone grew fond when he spoke about his father and it was clear to see the respect he still had for his dad’s memory.

“Do you miss him?”

Jeffrey nodded, his expression sincere and almost misty.

“I miss him all the time, especially whenever I hit a problem I know he’d be able to handle that I would need help with. Or even whenever I simply want to tell him something, you know?” I nodded, yeah I did know. “But I get through it, I miss him for a little while and then think of a funny moment we shared together and it helps.” Jeffrey smiled and then went back to chopping. He had fresh pasta in a baggie and set a pot of water to boil while he started to get the shrimp ready to sauté.

“Hey, I like you…” the words kind of leapt from my mouth before I could have even processed the fact that I wanted to say them.

Jeffrey looked up at me and he smiled from ear to ear.

“You do?” he looked like he just received a love note from his crush or something. His smile was adorable.

“Yeah…I do and—you know I’m sensitive…so I’m telling you this because I don’t want you to hurt me, okay?” I just went with it and told him exactly how I felt. It was perplexing how my mouth just spat words out at him before my brain could keep up.

“Christina, I wouldn’t dream of it…I
like
you, too.” Jeffrey was looking at me intently and I wouldn’t let myself imagine he meant more than what he actually said. “I really love spending time with you, it’s like I never want you to leave. All day, I just wanted to call you or show up at your job and…I don’t know, have a quickie in the janitor’s closet.”

I smiled; I couldn’t believe he actually thought about me while he was at work.