The Gift, Book 2 (The Billionaire's Love Story) (8 page)

You’re telling me,
thought Savannah.

“And I ran into Naomi.”

“Where?”

“In the elevator going down.”

“Interesting. The mystery deepens.”

“What mystery?”

“Oh, nothing,” replied Briony breezily. “I wonder why he came into the office. Come to think of it, why did she?” Savannah had questions of her own and decided to come clean. Perhaps Briony would have a better perspective on matters. “I asked Tobias about his wife.”

“YOU DID WHAT?”

“Yes,” replied Savannah, shrinking further into her seat. “I thought Naomi was his wife. I didn’t know.”

“You didn’t know about his wife or the accident?”

“I had no idea.”

Briony made a low groaning noise in her throat. “I’d forgotten. You didn’t even know who he was when you first started here.”

Savannah blushed, remembering that time. “I thought he was still married because he still wears that ring and so I naturally assumed that...”

“Holy shit. What did he say?”

She didn’t want to tell her everything that had happened because even though she felt she could trust Briony, she hadn’t known her that long and didn’t want to take a chance.

“He didn’t say much.”

She decided not to tell her that she had later apologized to Tobias and gotten in even more trouble.

“He’s a man of few words and a real hard nut to crack,” Briony confessed. A knock at the door stole Savannah’s attention and she panicked at the idea that Tobias lurked at the other side; ready to piss her off again. “I have to go. Someone’s at the door.”

“You mean to say Tobias is in today as well?”

Savannah jumped up and whispered. “I think so.” Though it was not like him to knock. He usually strode right in.

“Happy New Year, hon. Go home. Even if Tobias is there. I can shoot him an email if—”

“No!” Savannah hissed. She didn’t want any favors from the man and no special requests from Briony about herself either. “I have to go.” She hung up, her throat suddenly dry and answered the door.

But she found herself staring at someone she hadn’t met before and the relief that it wasn’t Tobias made her smile wider. The man who now stood looking at her had a softer face and longish hair.

“You must be Savannah?” he asked, smiling at her.

“I am. And you are?”

“Matthias Rust,” he said, holding out his hand. “Mind if I come in?”

So
this
was Matthias? She’d heard his name many times. He’d been the one who’d had the file that Tobias had wrongly assumed she had taken.

She opened the door wider and stepped aside. “I work alongside Tobias,” he told her. Savannah smiled and at the same time wondered what he wanted from her. “Is there anything I can help you with?”

“Not a thing,” he replied, good-naturedly. It made a refreshing change to have a normal conversation with someone who wasn’t going to jump down on her. “I only came by to see who else was in. Tobias said you were working in here so I came over to introduce myself. So this is where you’ve been hiding?”

“I’ve hardly been hiding.”

“I’m only joking,” he replied, his eyes twinkling with merriment.

Loosen up, Savannah.

“I’ve been quietly keeping myself busy,” she said, moving back to her desk and leaning against it. “And I’ve finished everything I had to do.”

“You’ve been here through the holidays?”

“Every day apart from Christmas Day and the day after.”

“Tobias let you go home for a few days, did he?” Mischief lit up his eyes.

“He couldn’t have kept me here,” she replied defensively, “no matter how much he likes to think he’s king of the jungle.” The bitter memory of yesterday infused her words with anger and made Matthias laugh.

“Someone who doesn’t hide her true feelings about the man,” he chuckled. “How long are you here for?”

“A month at least.”

“A belated ‘Welcome’ to you then.”

“Thank you,” she replied. “It’s great to meet you at long last. I’ve heard your name a lot.”

“I dread to think why.” He flicked his hair to the side and looked around at the boxes which she’d neatly lined up against the wall. “Is that what you’ve been working on?”

She nodded. “Scanning and filing. I just do as I’m told.”

“Working for Tobias, I’m sure you do,” he whispered, conspiratorially. She cheered up even more and already felt as thick as thieves with him.

“It’s been good to meet you, Savannah,” he said. “It’s deathly quiet isn’t it? I don’t know why I bothered to come in.”

“Why did you?”

“To pick up some paperwork. I hope you get to leave early. Don’t stay imprisoned in here too long. It’s New Year’s Eve, don’t forget.”

“Imprisoned?” She laughed, “I’m planning on making my escape soon.”

“What have you got planned for this evening?”

“I’m not exactly sure,” she replied, folding her arms and thinking about it.

“It’s New Year’s Eve and you’ve got nothing planned?” he asked. And then they both turned to look as the door opened and Tobias walked in.

Chapter 12

Savannah’s heart thumped wildly and the carefree mood she’d been in vanished as her stomach tightened. She unfolded her arms slowly and resisted the urge to move over to her chair.

“Matthias.” Tobias greeted his colleague with a slight nod then glanced her way. She’d avoided him since yesterday and had had no desire to interact with him today. But now he had come looking for her. She was thankful that Matthias was here.

“I was making myself known to this delightful young lady,” said Matthias.

“I’m sure she already knows who you are,” said Tobias tightly.

“She’d heard of me, but who hasn’t,” Matthias laughed. “I could do with her help, if Briony runs out of things for her to do.”

“Briony has some projects in mind for her,” Tobias replied coldly. The easy going atmosphere in the room had turned to one of tension and unease ever since Tobias had entered.

“I see,” said Matthias, carefully, and winked at Savannah, who couldn’t help but giggle back at him. Tobias heard the slight laugh that escaped from her and his face clouded over.

“Matthias and Tobias, we sound like a German DJ Duo, don’t you think?” Matthias asked, giving her a wicked smile. “You can call me Matt—my friends do—but whatever you do,” he leaned in towards her, “don’t call him Toby.” She clenched her stomach tightly to stop herself from collapsing into laughter because even though she couldn’t see his face, she felt the heat of Tobias’s stare and sensed his displeasure at Matthias’s words. The idea of such a nickname for Tobias was ridiculous. It implied a friendly nature that didn’t belong to the man at all.

“I’ll be sure to never make that mistake,” she replied solemnly, staring at Tobias.

“Did you want something?” Tobias asked the man.

“Not particularly. Like I said, I came to introduce myself to Savannah. It’s just as well since she’s going to be with us for another month. I didn’t see you at the Christmas party,” he asked.

“I didn’t go.”

“You had a better offer, I suppose. It wouldn’t be surprising. An evening at the Plaza Hotel with Tobias Stone or—”

“Weren’t you leaving?” asked Tobias.

“I was,” replied Matthias.

“I’ve left some paperwork on your desk,” Tobias said. “You’ll need to sign it and hand it back to me before you leave.”

“I’d better do as I’m told, or else…” Matthias winked at her and headed towards the door. He turned to Tobias. “This young lady has finished all of her work so I hope you’re going to let her go home early. I’m sure she has a celebration planned for tonight; not everyone sits around moping in misery.” His words implied a small dig at Tobias but he didn’t seem to be paying any attention.

His gaze was fixed on her and she didn’t like the way he looked at her.

Matthias walked towards the door
. Don’t leave now
, she wanted to scream. Let me close down my computer and get my coat on.

“Are you doing anything tonight?” Matthias asked him as Savannah rushed around packing her things away as fast as she could. If she left the office with Matthias, it would make for an easier, less awkward exit. She glanced at Tobias, curious to hear his response.

“No.” His curt one-word reply was typical.

“And on that riveting note,” said Matthias, throwing her a side glance. “I think I shall make my exit.”

Desperate to stall him, she piped up. “Do you have any plans for tonight?”

“Now that you mention it, I’m going for a few drinks with some other poor souls who are lingering around in their offices on the pretense of doing some work. Why don’t you come along?”

The out-of-the-blue invite took her by surprise. Although she wasn’t sure what this man did or what his position was, she felt certain that he was high up and she didn’t feel too comfortable about going out with him for a drink. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Tobias’s head turn in her direction and she sensed him waiting for her reply.

Was he or did she merely imagine it? She couldn’t tell, but in that moment she wanted to spite him.

“Drinks?” she asked, waiting to see if Matthias’s invite was genuine. He dazzled her with his smile once more and despite the overt friendliness he showered on her, the ice chill of Tobias’s gaze settled over her, making her uneasy.

“Drinks, absolutely. Come along, the more the merrier, and that goes for alcohol as well as people. We’re going to one of the finest watering holes this side of Manhattan. Come by my office in twenty minutes and you can leave with me. I’m four doors down from Tobias, on the right-hand side, hidden away around the corner in that god awful corridor.”

The idea seemed tempting enough. She hadn’t been out anywhere and perhaps this evening she could. One drink. It was New Year’s Eve after all and it wasn’t as if she had to rush back to relieve Rosalee. She could pick Jacob up at any time. Sensing that her response would tick Tobias off, for reasons she didn’t understand, she agreed to it. “Thanks for the offer. I might just do that.”

“I look forward to it,” said Matthias, looking genuinely pleased. “And what about you?” He asked Tobias.

“I have things to do,” said Tobias testily.

“Of course you do.” Matthias gave her a mischievous roll of his eyes. “Twenty minutes,” he said, and then left the room.

She had walked over to grab her coat, but this sudden invite from Matthias now left her at a loose end. She had twenty minutes to kill, and with the just the two of them in the room once more, Savannah felt edgy. Tobias glared at her and she wished she hadn’t agreed to wait around for Matthias.

“I need you to fix another Word document for me.”

“You need me to do what?” She asked. Memories of yesterday made her blood simmer.

“Please.” His voice had lost it harsh edge. “Would you take a look at my document?”

“Another one?” Her voice was weary, as if she was sick of hearing the same old request from him every time. “I thought I’d fixed all your documents.”

“It’s a new one I created earlier.”

She frowned. “I’d fixed it so that your new documents would use that template.” She didn’t understand what he’d done; or how he’d managed to mess that up. How could this man run a billion dollar business and have no idea of how to format a template? It made her wonder how much he relied on Candace.

“It won’t take long,” he said, as though he sensed her hesitation. “You can still run along to your date with Matthias.”

She was surprised by his choice of words but decided against giving him a fitting reply. She didn’t want to engage with him in conversation that would give him cause to be angry at her and since she was going to be here for another month at least, it made sense not to get on his bad side.

But she was secretly pleased that the idea of her going out with Matthias seemed to displease him. It was easy enough to tell. He was always so moody and miserable, and she was fast beginning to notice his moods; a skill she’d acquired and honed during her time with Colt. Back then it had been a survival skill because she’d needed to know what mood he was in when he came home. She had to be prepared for whatever he threw at her so that she could better protect herself and Jacob.

“Do you have time or not?” Tobias asked her.

“I can take a look,” she replied, putting on her coat and grabbing her handbag. She followed him in silence back to his office. She noted that this time, instead of taking long, fast strides, he had slowed down, as if he wanted to say something to her.

Even if that were the case, she didn’t want to hear it and she purposely slowed down even more.

She didn’t want to talk to Tobias much less help him out.

Chapter 13

Matthias Rust. The man could be a real asshole.
Asking a temp out for a drink; how desperate could he be? Tobias felt the veins throbbing along his neck as he walked in silence along the corridor while Savannah Page trailed quietly behind him.

How easily she had agreed. The thought had pissed him off even more.

Tobias tried to walk alongside her, hoping to start a conversation—something that was alien to him—but all he wanted was to say his piece and be done with it. Yet the way she now stared at the floor, the way she so blatantly avoided eye contact with him, in such sharp contrast to the way she had joked and spoken to Matthias, made him even madder.

He strode into his office and held the door open for her. She walked in and moved over to his side of the desk and stood staring at his computer, as though she was in a rush. “Where’s the document?”

“I have to bring it up. Can you wait?” he asked, walking over to her. She stepped back, giving him easy access to his computer.

“Would you mind taking a seat?” He took control of the mouse. Word documents were the last thing he had on his mind. He had a document, something he’d been working on all morning, but this wasn’t the real reason he’d asked her here. Their exchange yesterday had weighed on his mind and he knew he’d hurt her, not just her wrist and the way he’d grabbed it, but her feelings too. And it bothered him. He needed to explain and to apologize.