WIFE WANTED (A Billionaire Bad Boy Romance) (37 page)

But the feeling that she was his soulmate was getting stronger by the day, and if he didn’t want to be more messed up than he was, he had to get close to her. Offer her something, something she couldn’t refuse. But the first thing he had to do was find her and talk to her.

SARA

I stood at the main entrance of Saunders Empire, wondering how I got there. The night before, Amy had convinced me to go to Nick Saunders’s office and talk to him, to return the necklace and confront him for kissing me. She had opted at the last minute not to go with me in order to “control herself.” I didn’t ask her what she meant, but knowing Amy’s knack for causing problems, I was relieved she had decided not to go with me.

“Don’t let him push you around,” she giggled. “Come back in one piece.”

Amy had used the word push to make fun of me. Left to her, she would have gladly gone back for more pushing from Nick. Like she’d said to me right before she left, "Who wouldn't want to be kissed by a billionaire?” Apparently I'm the only girl on earth who didn't want some stranger shoving his tongue down my throat. Billionaire or not.

As I debated whether to go in and demand to see him, some lady brushed past me. She looked very familiar; actually, she looked exactly like Nick, except she was the female version of him. This was the famous twin Amy had alluded to. The resemblance between her and Nick was too apparent to be missed.

She walked a few steps ahead of me. She was tall with dark, bouncy, black hair and heading for the entrance when she turned around to face me. "I know you from somewhere," she informed me, walking back. "Are you coming in?"

"Yes," I replied.

"Come on then," she said as she walked through the door, which had been held open for her. I followed her closely.

“Thanks. Are you Nick's sister?" Once the words left my mouth, I regretted speaking. I had called him Nick like I knew him well. The way his name rolled off my tongue, no one would have known that the only interaction the two of us had shared so far was a kiss I had been an unwilling participant in.

She stopped in the middle of the reception area and turned around. She didn’t answer my question, but she looked at me from head to toe as if assessing me. "So you’re a friend of my brother’s?” she asked. “Interesting.”

The way she said it made me self-conscious. I probably wasn't what she was used to seeing when compared to Nick's fleet of mega-rich brats and bitch girlfriends, aka sluts. Maybe I wasn't skinny enough or maybe I wasn’t slutty enough. I looked down at my clothes. Yes, second-hand clothes, even though nice, hardly made a good impression on a billionaire princess.

"Not really," I said. “Well, sort of.”

"And you're here to see him?"

"Yes."

She looked at me a little longer, like she was trying to determine what to do when a look of recognition flashed over her face as she walked to the elevator. "I'll take you to my brother," she said, getting into the elevator and holding it open for me.

I scrambled in, noting that the elevator was fancier than the best hotels I'd ever been to. I could smell her perfume – a fruity, exotic scent that had probably been made for her.

"So, where did you meet my brother?" she asked casually as she pressed the button to the penthouse once the door of the elevator closed.

I glanced at the penthouse button and all sorts of naughty things crossed my mind before I remembered that I was simply here to return a necklace to Mr. Rich.

"We met…ah...at the ball," I answered, and again, I regretted my words. She would have been at the ball and that ball was supposed to be for guests they already knew. I didn’t want to get Nick in trouble, though I doubted anyone could ever do that. I hoped she assumed I had come with someone else and happened to meet him.

"You must be Sara Nolles," she said flatly, but I saw a mischievous smile curve her face. "I can see why my brother likes you.”

I wanted to refute the idea that Nick liked me, but Zia didn’t look like she was in the mood to talk too much, and besides, she didn’t look like someone I wanted to argue with. She would probably win.

"He doesn't really know me..." I began, but I was cut off by the ding of the elevator. We had arrived at the penthouse. She entered a security access code since the elevator needed one to let us out and into the penthouse. She put her thumb on a screen to confirm her identity.

I watched silently, trying not to get too excited. All that separated Nick and me was a fancy elevator. Why do Nick and his sister need high security access? I assumed they had grown so rich they’d probably made enemies along the way, people like Olivia who probably stalked Nick. Or maybe I was letting my imagination run wild again and the security access was just to restrict unauthorized access to their company’s sensitive materials. That made more sense than Olivia stalking Nick at the office. That was more hilarious, though. I chuckled to myself. Nick’s sister turned to look at me, and I quickly pretended I was straightening my skirt suit.

I would never have to worry about security as long as I remained nicely broke - one of the benefits of having ten dollars to my name. And since there was no boyfriend in the picture, I wasn’t worried about some man coming after me for retaliation.

The elevator finally opened to reveal another security check, a man dressed in a crisp security uniform. "Good day, Ms. Saunders," he greeted as she walked by, but he stopped me briefly. “Security access?" he asked.

"Huh?"

"Your name tag?" he asked.

"You can do a quick finger scan, Dan. She's with me," Ms. Saunders said.

The security guard pulled out a device that looked like a small, handheld game and asked me to place my thumb on it. At first I was hesitant because I didn't know what having my fingerprint meant, but the urge to see Nick overwhelmed my need to protect myself or my identity, so I placed my thumb on the scanner. In five seconds, the scanner beeped and showed that I was clear.

"Thank you, ma'am," the man said.

"Ms. Nolles," I corrected, but he already knew that; the handheld device let him print out a laminated temporary ID card which had my name and picture. He handed it to me.

"Please hold on to that while you are in our facility. Have a pleasant day, Ms. Nolles."

"Tough security," I commented to Ms. Saunders as I rejoined her where she was patiently waiting for me.

"Yes, we must protect our employees.”

I didn't ask what they were being protected from.

Nick’s sister opened the door and entered an office space with several people sitting behind really nice glass offices, all working. She walked fast, but I kept up her pace. She walked toward a section of the room with a placard emblazoned with “Nick Saunders” in bold letters.

A woman who was on the phone quickly got off and greeted her.

"Hello, Bev," Ms. Saunders replied without a smile. In the few minutes I had spent with Nick’s sister, I understood that she was polite but never smiled. I wondered if she ever smiled.

"Is Nick here?" she asked as she walked toward an office behind her, but before she could open the door, the secretary replied.

"He's gone out for a walk."

"How long has he been gone?" Her face showed her concern. I wondered why. I'm sure it was perfectly safe for a grown man to take a walk on his own. Unless she was afraid he was out of the security blanket when he was gone for too long. I stifled a smile.

"About thirty minutes. He said he'd be back in an hour." I followed her eyes to a clock on the wall. 12:30.

"This is Ms. Nolles. She's here to see Nick. Make sure her needs are met until Nick returns."

"Yes, ma'am. But she doesn’t have an appointment."

One look from Ms. Saunders and Bev backed down, sat, and turned on her computer. "Then find her one."

"Right away, ma'am."

"Sara, it was nice meeting you. I will see you again. I’m Zia Saunders, by the way." She flashed me a smile - the first I had seen. She had a dimple in one cheek, just like her brother’s, when she smiled.

"Thank you so much, Ms. Saunders," I said.

"Call me Zia. I'll see you soon," she said with such certainty that I totally believed her.

NICK

When Nick returned from his walk, his eyes widened in shock. The woman in the waiting room of his office wasn’t supposed to be here. How did she get here? He had left specific instructions for the staff to only let people up to the penthouse with his or Zia’s approval. Had Zia already met Sara? Did all hell break loose?

So he took a couple of breaths and calmly walked toward her, willing his body to stay calm. She had the power to make him lose control even when she wasn’t trying, and now was no different. His pants grew tighter at the sight of the fishnet tights on her endless legs. She was wearing a red and black skirt and a really cute white top that showed off a little more of her cleavage than he was comfortable with. Keeping his hands off her was going to be a dare he didn’t know if he’d win.

Even though she wore a spring coat - a red coat that covered some of her outfit, he could sense her curves, and the knowledge of how good her body looked was driving him crazy. All he wanted was to run to her and hold her, kiss her and hope she didn’t run away. But he knew better than that. If he so much as touched her again without her permission, his ass would be fried for it. He was weak for her, but he didn’t want to go to jail for not being able to control his desire for her.

Someone was watching him watching Sara. He looked over at Zia’s office. She smiled and waved at him with two thumbs up. He knew she had authorized Sara to come up to his office. Even though Nick didn’t need Zia’s approval to date anyone, her approval of Sara only validated the fact that he could not give up on pursuing Sara until she became his.

He took quick steady steps towards his office, and as Bev saw him approach, he saw her look from him and to Sara, a look of helplessness in her eyes, like she couldn’t do anything to keep Sara away from his office.

“Ms. Zia said it was okay,” Bev said. “She has no appointment.”

"It is okay, Bev,” Nick said. He couldn’t be mad at Bev for something she couldn’t prevent. He knew Zia was tough to get around. Heck, he sometimes found it difficult to get around Zia once she set her mind on something.

"Sorry, sir," Bev said, shrugging her shoulders as she sat back at her desk

“It’s okay. I’ll take it from here,” he said, smiling at the woman who still looked worried.

"Ms. Sara Nolles?" Nick said as he approached her, holding his breath as he waited for her to turn around and look at him. Those lips. He dreaded seeing those lips again, but he had better self-control this time. He willed his body to behave and his piece in his pants to stay calm.

"Mr. Saunders. Sorry to disturb you at work, but I had to see you," Sara said as soon as she saw him. “It’ll only take a few minutes.”

“It’s a pleasure to see you,” Nick said. He wanted to say he was surprised to see her, but that would be a lie. He knew that as long as she had that necklace, their paths were going to cross; he just hadn’t expected to see her so soon after the kissing incident.

“Thank you for seeing me,” Sara said as she reached into her pocket to pull out the box before he could open his office door. “This belongs to you. I can’t keep it.”

Nick hesitated a little, then took the box from her.

‘It’s lovely, and I’m sorry. But I can’t keep it,” Sara said. “I hope you understand.”

“I do,” Nick said. He couldn’t force the necklace on her.

“Thank you,” Sara said. She rose to leave. “I better leave you to get some work done.”

“Wait,” Nick said. He needed to stall her. Once she left his office, she was gone forever from his life. He couldn’t let that happen.

“Yes?” Sara said.

“I’m glad you made it to the ball.”

“Oh, it was my pleasure. My best friend made me go. She’s obsessed with you.”

“Then I should meet her someday to thank her for making you come,” Nick said, watching her closely, hoping his statement would help her open up to him, but she simply smiled and gathered her things, ready to leave his office.

“She’ll be thrilled,” Sara said.

“Do you have a moment to spare?” Nick asked as he opened his office door. He had to try and woo her, just enough to make her spend the rest of the day with him.

“Yes, a few minutes,” she said.

Nick noticed the look of anticipation in her eyes, like she wanted something more than she was letting on. Maybe she did like him as much as he liked her. "Please come inside," Nick requested. He led her into his office, opening the door wide to let her in.

She walked in front of him and he walked behind, his eyes glued shamelessly to her behind. He observed her as she walked, her hips moving and gliding against the fabric of her coat. He knew what was wrapped underneath her coat - dangerous curves that could mess him up. He shut the door behind him.

"Nice office," she told him, and Nick pointed to a seat for her.

"Thanks." He smiled as he sat across from her.

"Very nice,” she said when she noticed a huge 3D painting of a large forest that took up most of one wall of the office. “I like the outdoors. Impressive painting.”