The Gift, Book 2 (The Billionaire's Love Story) (7 page)

He got through his days with his sole aim of building his business and taking it to newer heights. Men of his position and power never sat back on their laurels. It was like an addiction, wanting more, being the best, more wealthy, more successful and killing off the competition. It was far easier than going through the pain of falling in love and having it ripped out of his hands.

Being left behind was brutal.

Now this temp had managed to wriggle under his skin and asked questions that nobody else had dared, mostly through ignorance, but she also stood up to him. Each time he spoke to her, she seemed to have a knack for unsettling him. And yet he was drawn to her out of curiosity.

When his cell phone rang and Xavier’s name blinked at him, he was forced to dispense with his thoughts and he took the call reluctantly, knowing that if he didn’t his mom and his brother would spend all of the next day bugging him.

“He answers,” Xavier muttered.

“What is it?”

“Great to hear from you too, Bro.”

Tobias hung his head. “What do you want, Xavier?”

“It’s New Year’s Eve tomorrow.”

“And?” He had managed to avoid his family over Christmas and hoped to do the same over New Year’s. Seeing them for Thanksgiving had been enough. They didn’t normally badger him but because he was in New York this year, they seemed to think he would be especially lonely for their company.

“How about we get together? We haven’t seen you, not even for Christmas. Mom was real mad.”

“I know.” He’d have to fix that at some point. His father didn’t hound him but his mother more than made up for it.

“She’s worried about you, that’s all.”

“I’m fine.”

“Are you?” Xavier asked.

Tobias made a gruff noise and scratched his forehead. “Yes.” He wished they would leave him alone. He
was
fine. He hadn’t fallen to pieces, his company was booming and the share price of his stock was increasing. What more proof did they want?

“Come out tomorrow evening. I’m arranging something with some of the guys. You should come along instead of sitting around on your own doing nothing.”

Tobias closed his eyes, trying to find an excuse. He preferred his own company and wanted to see the New Year in alone, with only a bottle of whiskey for comfort and company. They all worried about him, but he wasn’t an alcoholic. He’d seen the lives that had been destroyed by one drunk and he wasn’t about to make the same mistake. He was a control freak, wasn’t that what Savannah Page had called him? Control freaks like Tobias Stone would not allow themselves to drink to their death.

“What do you say?” His brother asked as a knock at the door, hard and insistent, clamored for his attention.

“Okay,” Tobias replied, hoping to get rid of him quickly. He’d find a suitable excuse tomorrow.

“I’ll swing by tomorrow,” Xavier threatened.

Tobias slid the cell phone onto his desk and answered his door. Savannah Page stood outside twisting her fingers and looking nervous and he was curious to find out why.

“I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“For earlier. I’m sorry. I didn’t know about your wife.” Her face turned red and the muscles in his body tightened.

She’d only just found out?

“I had no idea,” she warbled on, speaking in the silence that hung between them when he declined to answer. “I’m sorry for mistaking Naomi for your wife.”

Enough.

He wasn’t used to talking to anyone about Ivy. The court case had been hard enough and he didn’t want memories of that time to be ruffled up again. Now this woman who barely knew him and knew nothing about Ivy was bringing it up again. He stepped forward and grabbed her wrist. “Don’t. Ever. Say. Anything. About. My. Wife. Again.” He said slowly, before realizing that he had gripped her tightly. He quickly loosened his hold. “And don’t ever make the mistake of thinking Naomi is her.”

Her brows pinched together and she seemed to crumple before his eyes. Pulling her hand free, she rubbed her wrist as she stumbled backwards, lowering her head, but not before he saw the look of anguish in her eyes. And then she rushed away.

He’d gone too far and he knew it.

Chapter 11

Shock dulled her brain as she stumbled back to her room, reeling from his actions.

She was glad she hadn’t spoken to Briony about extra work—she’d be glad to see the las
t of Stone Enterprises and the tyrant of a man who ran the company. Turning off her PC, she left the office an hour before it was time to go home.

Her mood blackened further as she sat on the subway, her thoughts a firestorm of chaos as she recounted what had happened. Every interaction with that man left her feeling as though
she’d been
stamped and trodden on.

“What happened to you?” Rosalee asked, when she returned home later that evening.

“Nothing,” replied Savannah, bravely trying to muster a smile. She kissed Jacob who’d come running to her but he raced off again before she’d had a chance to speak to him.

“Nothing?” Rosalee stared at her closely. “That face does not suit you.” Savannah loved Rosalee’s expressions, and this one made her smile. “That one I like,” said the elderly woman, approving. “Are you working tomorrow?”

That didn’t sound too good. “I am,” she replied slowly. “Is it a problem?”

“Not at all. My son and his family are visiting tomorrow but it is not a problem. I can look after Jacob at my place.”

She felt as if she’d given Rosalee no choice in the matter. If her son and his family were coming over tomorrow, then Jacob would only get in the way. She considered the possibility of taking a day off sick and after the sort of day she’d had she didn’t want to risk running into Stone again. Of course being a temp, she wouldn’t get paid for it, but she didn’t want to take Jacob into work either. Getting too lax about things at Stone Enterprises, as she’d recently found out, bit her where it hurt.

What had come over him? It was as if he’d ignited as soon as she’d opened her mouth. She had only come to apologize because she felt genuinely sorry for what she’d said but his reaction had hurt her and left her feeling angry and humiliated. Tobias Stone was unpredictable and his moods were mercurial. He was like a stick of dynamite and she never knew when his fuse had been lit.

“Tell me,” said the older woman, gently touching her arm. “What is wrong?”

She tried to lighten up. “I’m wondering whether to play hooky tomorrow.”

Rosalee made a face signifying that she didn’t understand. “Hooky?”

“I might stay at home.”

“You are ill?”

“I could pretend to be ill.”

“Why would you do that?”

So that I don’t have to go to work and risk seeing that man again.
“It would be nice for you to spend the day with your family, and I could spend the day with Jacob.” That too.

Rosalee frowned. “But your work people are so nice and they gave you such lovely gifts at Christmas.” Jacob breezed past at that moment with Iron Man and Venom in combat.

“Mr. Stone did that, Rosalee. Mommy’s boss. He wanted us to have a nice Christmas.” And just as quickly he ran off again with Iron Man leading the way.

“Your boss?” Rosalee’s eyes opened wide, as if she’d discovered the secret to eternal youth. “This boss of yours—is he single?”

Savannah expressed horror at what Rosalee was driving at. “Stop it, Rosalee. It’s nothing like that. He’s not a…” she wanted to say he wasn’t a nice man, in contrast to Jacob’s defiant mantra about him but Jacob seemed to adore the man and she didn’t want to ruin that. “He has a girlfriend.”

Hmmmmpph. Rosalee gave her one of those knowing snorts. This-isn’t-the-end-of-this-conversation type of snorts. Before she headed out of the door, she gave Savannah a last look. “You leave Jacob with me tomorrow. He is no trouble; he is like a grandson to me. You make sure you go to work.”

Armed with that directive, Savannah could hardly back out.

~~

She returned the next day but soon wished she had stayed at home with Jacob.

At lunchtime she’d taken the hour and sat in a coffee shop eating her sandwich and reading a magazine, looking through the latest fashions and wondering what she would buy if she had too much money.

She’d buy dresses of all lengths, and skirts, and boots, tight jeans, well-cut suits and jackets, with sweaters and blouses and accessories to match.

A girl could dream.

Kay had often commented on her slender figure. “Not fair!” she had cried, “You’ve had a baby too.” She wasn’t tall, but tall enough, but she was slim and it helped make more of the height she had.

She turned the page and stared at the beautiful selection of underwear; the shiny, silky and lacy lingerie that looked nothing like the off-white and unsexy cotton pieces she always wore.

A girl could dream indeed.

She enjoyed her hour out of the office, not just because she could turn her mind to things that weren’t related to work or Jacob but because it was a way of avoiding Tobias Stone. He had come in today; she knew because she’d checked on her computer to see who else had logged onto the network; it was an easy way of finding out who was around. Tobias Stone had been in the entire morning and she had successfully avoided running into him so far.

It had been an odd week, nothing like the easy-going post-Christmas spell she’d imagined. Though it would have been, had Tobias Stone not been around.

Maybe she was partly to blame? Had she become too familiar, too brash with him? He’d seen her dancing around and then she’d helped him. It hadn’t been like a ‘normal’ week at work. Yet she’d tripped a boundary somewhere along the way by asking him about his family. Was it really so off limits given that he’d sent her those Christmas gifts?

The bitter chill nipped at her ears as she rushed towards the Stone building having had her lunch.

My last time,
she told herself as she rushed through the revolving doors of the Stone building. She had finished the last of the boxes and there was nothing left for her to do. She decided to reply to Briony’s email from yesterday.

It’s my last few hours here and I wanted to wish you a Happy New Year! I hope you’re having fun, ski-ing or otherwise. I’m bored to death, so if you have anything to do to keep me busy for the afternoon, just let me know. You know how much I hate sitting around trying to look busy.

The phone rang and she answered it instantly.

“You have nothing to do?” Briony’s cool, glacial voice cheered her up and she realized how much she missed having another person around; a normal person with a normal temperament, unlike Tobias.

“Nope. I finished the work you gave me.”

“I hoped it would last you until the first week back, while I put together a list of things for you to work on in the coming month.”

“What?”

“I have lots of things in mind; I just have to prioritize them.”

“You want me back?”

“I told you that.”

“When? I thought this was my last day.”

Briony let out a long groan. “So that’s what you meant in your email. I thought you meant this was your last day before the holiday.”

“I didn’t think you needed me anymore.”

“Sorry,” Briony sounded flustered. “I told you my memory had gone to pot. I extended your contract and the agency already knows. I thought you said Tobias had already told you?”

“He said I’d be providing cover for this week.”

“Well, I’ve extended your contract until the end of January and I’m sure I can keep on extending because there is plenty to do. It was one of the reasons I wanted you to get these files out of the way now.”

“You can keep extending?” She was hopeful once more.

“Easily. You really are something else, Savannah Page, and I have more work than I can handle.” Savannah felt as though the sun had burst through the dark, gray clouds outside. A lightness settled over her chest. “Thanks, Briony. You don’t know what this means to me.”

“Hon, you don’t know what this means to
me.
“I’m sorry I messed things up. Did you really think you were leaving today?”

“Yes.”

“I’m usually not this disorganized—it should tell you just how swamped I am at the moment that I seem to have forgotten so many little details. Let me find the necessary paperwork and I’ll email it to you. But first, let me check—are you happy to extend?”

“More than happy to extend,” Savannah replied quickly. In recent days the shine had started to wear off this temp assignment but she loved working for Briony and once things resumed to normal and everyone returned after the holidays, there would be no need for her to have any contact with the cause of her unease: Tobias Stone. She would report directly to Briony and it was guaranteed work for another month, at least. How could she turn it down? If she worked hard and made a good impression, there was a strong possibility it would continue. This could be the lucky break she’d been hoping for.

“Of course I am. Thanks, Briony.”

“I think I might even turn 218 into
your
room.”

The coming year looked promising. “How’s skiing?” Savannah asked, feeling happier.

“Amazing! I’m a speed junkie, and I can’t get enough of it.”

“I wouldn’t know. I’m more a Miss Play-It-Safe.”

Briony laughed. “Why don’t you do something daring and go home early today, like now. It’s what, four now?”

“Do you think I could?” Savannah asked. Briony mocked her outrage. “Why not, Miss Diligence? You can
so
go home early especially since it’s New Year’s Eve. Loosen up Savannah. It’s not like you’re embezzling funds from Stone Enterprises.”

“I know—” She’d gone home early yesterday after that painful encounter with Tobias.

“I’m sure your son would like to see you home early for a change. I don’t have anything for you to do so it seems to be a waste of your time. I can vouch for you if anyone asks. It’s not as if anyone’s in to keep an eye on you.”

“Actually, Tobias has been in most days.”

“Tobias?”

“Yes.”

“Most days?”

“Yes.”

“That’s surprising.”