The Billionaire's Assistant (Contemporary BWWM Interracial Romance) (The Billionaire's Proposition Book 1) (4 page)

BOOK: The Billionaire's Assistant (Contemporary BWWM Interracial Romance) (The Billionaire's Proposition Book 1)
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Now that he had the workplaces she’d told him about on paper, he followed up and confirmed her former places of employment and her places of residence. His portrait of her filled out more as her previous employers had nothing but good things to say about her—even the one who’d fired her.

So she was late and distracted a lot—it only pointed to what he suspected—she had serious issues and he looked forward to prying them out of her.

Chapter 5
Naomi

T
he good thing
about being fired early in the day was that Naomi was able to find out what was wrong with her car sooner than later.

Now that she knew it was just a dead battery, she felt a lot better—her car hadn’t failed her yet.

As she drove to the location she’d been given to begin her first day of her sudden new job, she still kept silently praying that’s all the problem was and breathed a huge sigh of relief once she arrived at the mansion without incident.

She followed the instructions she had been given, and once her intercom interaction was complete and the gates swung open, she had to fight to keep from going slack-jawed at the expanse and intricacy of the property before her.

Her eyes greedily took in the detailed landscaping, the grandness of the main residence.

Once she followed the curving driveway to the entrance, a man dressed as a butler and introducing himself as Jeffrey Higgins, House Manager, greeted her before taking her keys and driving her car elsewhere, after informing her to wait for ‘the master.’

She was still surprised when Kevin came out personally to greet her and take her inside.

“I’m getting you a more reliable business car to run errands in,” he said with a slight smile. “Now, follow me. I will only give you a partial tour—the main areas you’ll be working in.”

Naomi barely heard him as he gave details, distracted easily by the decor, the grandeur of everything.

She got jarred back to his voice once he mentioned the servants’ quarters.

“I’m sorry?” she said. “You mean, your staff lives…here?”

“Well, not here in the main house, but adjoined. As you can imagine, it is far more convenient to have live-in help.”

The gears started working in her head.

“So they live here for free?”

He laughed. “Of course! Since I require them to be easily accessible, it is part of my own expense.”

So not only were they getting paid fairly well, if her own new salary was anything to go by, but they didn’t even have to pay rent!

No way—they were making bank.

She wondered if they had to pay for their own food. If not, they were pocketing their entire salary—no electricity bills, no cable bills, no gas/water/trash…

She had to find out about joining them.

She wasn’t technically a servant, but surely he wouldn’t mind having her stay near?

She could save so much more money faster and get her own apartment and possibly a better car so much sooner.

She decided to wait until later to ask him about it—she didn’t want to seem greedy and needy.

As they headed for the kitchen, Naomi tried hard to listen to her new boss’s words and not get too distracted by the sights around her again.

“…I’ll be working from home the next two weeks or so, so I’ll be here most of the time. You’ll carry out the tasks I give you, plus bring my coffee and food…”

As he continued with the minor details of her duties, a scene from the beginning of the film
Coming to America
came to her head.

“Arf!” she almost said, mimicking the barking sound of one of the characters at the beginning of the movie. “Do you want me to scrub you in the royal bath as well?” she actually said before she could stop the words.

She immediately looked away, embarrassed and afraid of his reaction.

How on earth could she have let that slip?

She hoped she hadn’t angered him too much by stepping out of line.

But once she chanced a glance upward at him, she noticed his eyes seemed to twinkle, and it looked like he was holding in a laugh.

He actually looked like he liked the idea too much for her liking.

“I was just kidding,” she said quickly, although the idea of sitting naked behind him in a filled bathtub, perhaps surrounded by rose petals and aromatic candles didn’t exactly repel her.

“No, I just…” He finally let himself chuckle. “It reminded me of a scene from
Coming to America
is all.”

Naomi felt her eyebrows raise, but she said nothing about having had the same thought.

No use encouraging him to flirt with her.

She also suppressed her other response: what would he know about
Coming to America
? Did guys like him even watch T.V. beyond stock market recaps or something?

Once it sounded like he was done with his overview, she said, “Excuse me for saying this, but when you first mentioned domestic work and helping out around the home, I imagined I’d be doing some sort of cleaning—dishes, dusting…You know, housework.”

“Oh no, that’s not necessary. The others are here for all of that. Like I said, you won’t be getting your hands dirty, per se.”

“It’s honest work, Mr. Davenport—I don’t mind doing it.”

“Christ, please call me Kevin; don’t make me feel old.”

What the heck was he talking about? He was probably no more than ten years older than her.

“And assisting me personally isn’t all you’ll be doing. As I mentioned, I’ll have you work closely with the cooks and they’ll guide you through some of the rest—familiarize you with the pantry, send you out for ingredients every now and then. You’ll also be working with Jeffrey—he oversees and coordinates everything, and he’ll let you know what he needs, and generally act as our in-between. The job requires you to be flexible—your tasks will probably change day-to-day, and some days you might work more closely with me than others.”

A thrill ran through Naomi at his words, and she wondered about the possibilities.

She wasn’t sure what he meant exactly, but she absolutely didn’t mind working closely with him, inhaling his heavenly male scent and looking into those beautiful gray eyes at all.

She couldn’t believe her luck.

M
ost of the
day was orientation, but from what she gathered of her daily duties, it would be the easiest job she’d ever had, and she was getting paid far more than she ever had to do it.

The hours were long, but if all of her days were anything like today, she had definitely hit the jackpot.

After meeting the other workers and getting a feel for the place, her eyes started developing an addiction to the fine beauty of the sprawling estate, and she dreaded going home that evening.

Things seemed to glitter at the mansion, the endless space and stately architecture making her mind teem with possibilities and hope.

After being in a place like this for the day, how could she ever head back home without feeling depressed again?

Surely, working at a place such as this then having to go back to some frumpy home took a toll eventually.

Maybe that was also a reason the domestics were kept on the grounds—to keep them happy. To help fight off the mental weight of having to go home to place so far beneath what they’d be around all day.

Already, everything in her was dropping at the thought of the nine hundred square feet of ordinary awaiting her.

Plus, she just knew another fight with Jenna was coming.

The previous day, she didn’t go home after getting fired; instead, she dallied around until her usual shift end time—getting her car sorted out, then grabbing a fast food meal and eating it in the parking lot, then borrowing another book from the library.

Once she got home, she closed herself up in her room immediately.

Jenna didn’t bother her, and she breathed a sigh of relief once Jenna finally left for her evening shift.

She knew she’d be fast asleep once Jenna returned later that night, and conflict would have been avoided for the day.

But now, Jenna would be home—she only worked a few shifts a week, and if she didn’t have a date or anything that night, they would no doubt clash again.

Naomi could feel it coming—she couldn’t stay quiet. She had to say something again and impress upon Jenna how important it was that she feel safe in her own home.

As she mentally prepared to leave the serenity of her new workplace, the butler, Jeffrey accosted her.

“Mr. Davenport requests your presence in his office,” Jeffrey said.

Of course, he would—it was close to the end of her shift, and he would no doubt want some kind of feedback or provide it himself.

She headed to the second floor toward the space he’d shown her earlier, her body seeming to heat up a bit more with every step as she got closer and closer to being one-on-one with her new, sexy boss again.

She figured it was nervousness at first—that an assessment and grading of her first day was coming, and who wasn’t nervous when about to receive a scored test back? It was almost like a visit to the principal’s office.

But she couldn’t keep up the delusion for long—she knew exactly why she was filled with nervous energy again.

All day long, she couldn’t stop thinking about the way her new boss’s body moved under his clothes—the strength emanating from his tall, broad, muscular form.

She couldn’t stop herself from wondering if he was as muscular as he seemed, as cut as she imagined.

His arms bulged a bit with muscle—did he have an eight-pack of abs too? Was his chest hard as rock?

All day long she had to fight off imaginings and fantasies of his shirt suddenly blowing off so she could see.

He did something to her—the way his gray eyes pierced hers, the way he gazed at her like he couldn’t tear his eyes away, almost like he could look into her soul.

It was sort of unnerving, but his eyes seemed so soft and warm that they put her at ease.

Plus, his casual confidence drove her crazy, and he smelled so good too—a clean, masculine aroma that took her mind to unexpected places. Like being nude with him on a secluded beach.

It wasn’t fair—how was she supposed to work here every day and not see him in wildly inappropriate ways? What was wrong with her?

Don’t be so hard on yourself
, she reminded herself.
The guy is indisputably good-looking; your response is perfectly natural.

The door was slightly open, but she knocked anyway.

“Come on in, Naomi.”

His deep, rich voice caressed her body.

She was horrified to discover that by now, her panties were damp.

How was it that he did this to her without even touching her?

What was happening to her mind and body?

She stepped inside, her cheeks warming even more as her eyes rested on him.

He was so ridiculously handsome, and the way he looked at her so openly made her feel self-conscious and unsure.

Why did he look like he liked her so much? She didn’t see him looking at any of the other workers with those eyes.

Then again, he had met her at a pretty desperate place—no doubt she was witnessing his leftover compassion for the distressed damsel he’d met.

“Have a seat,” he said, indicating the chair opposite him.

Her heart pounded harder.

“How did you like your first day here?” he began.

What the heck? Wasn’t he supposed to be the one handing out a grade?

“Sir?”

“Oh, Christ. Please don’t do that. It’s not that sort of arrangement.”

She had no idea what he meant.

“I just want to know how you feel about the job. Does it seem like something you’d like to continue to do?”

She already signed the papers and everything, didn’t she? Why was he asking this?

He had to know by now that practically nothing would make her give up this opportunity; it was the answer to all of her current needs.

Almost.

“I just want to make sure you’re comfortable here,” he said. “With your duties.”

“I love it, Mr. … Kevin.” Nah. It sounded strange coming from her mouth; it didn’t feel right at all. Calling him by his first name felt far too intimate and personal, and she needed things to stay strictly professional between them in every way. She’d have to plead her case for the address later. “I mean, I’m pretty sure I’ll continue to enjoy my job here. The other workers are nice, the place is gorgeous, the job seems pretty straightforward and…well, it’s not all that taxing—what’s not to like?”

He smiled and her heart fluttered.

Christ, what was getting into her?

He’s super-hot—who wouldn’t melt under those eyes? That smile?

“I’m glad to hear it; in fact, I wanted to invite you to live-in as well. Totally optional in your case.”

Naomi fought to stay seated, suppressing the urge to fist-pump and scream “Yes!” at the top of her lungs.

Considering the brief mention of it earlier, she should have known that it would be a real possibility, but she didn’t want to get her hopes up.

Mustering up all her control, she said, “That sounds great!” as calmly as she could.

“Wonderful. We’ll make arrangements to have your things moved to your quarters here. I know this is a bit of a short notice, and maybe you have a lease you can’t break at this time, but I can help you…”

“It’ll be fine, Mr. Davenport; I’m sort of in a month-to-month arrangement that I can pretty much leave at anytime, so if it’s okay with you, I’d like to move in as soon as possible.”

His face brightened tremendously, and he reminded her of a kid who’d discovered he’d gotten exactly what he wanted for Christmas.

He didn’t even bother correcting how she’d addressed him.

“Fantastic,” he said. “Is tonight okay?”

Naomi thought about it.

Jenna was working tonight.

She could be in and out with her stuff before she came home.

“I can go home tonight,” she began, noticing his sunny expression fall a bit, “grab my things and return here, ready to settle in. I don’t have a lot of stuff—it’ll probably take less than an hour to pack up.”

His smile returned at full wattage.

“I’ll send Jeffrey with you,” he said, reaching for a phone on his desk. “You can leave your car here—he’ll take you in one of ours and bring you back, and then we can get you all settled. Sorry today is so long for you, but you’ll be snuggled into your new quarters in no time—still early enough to get enough sleep to start bright and early tomorrow.”

Naomi smiled at him as he barked his orders into the phone, not missing the way his eyes twinkled at her, his softened face a marvelous contradiction to his firm, business-like tone as he orchestrated the rest of her evening.

BOOK: The Billionaire's Assistant (Contemporary BWWM Interracial Romance) (The Billionaire's Proposition Book 1)
3.86Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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