Billionaire Erotic Romance Boxed Set: 7 Steamy Full-Length Novels (167 page)

“I need you to do something for me,” Alex said, his hand still softly running through my hair.

“Anything,” I told him immediately.

He laughed, sensing the tone in my voice. “It’s not anything sexual, unfortunately. But it is very important nonetheless.”

I paid close attention. Alex was entrusting me with a task and I was going to be all ears for him.

“There is a board meeting in two hours that I won’t be able to make. The board is aware of this and it isn’t a problem, but I need you to be there. I have some important points that I need to be made and I only trust you to be able to make them. Also, I need you to take notes. Not just as a simple secretary Samantha, I need facial reactions, tones of voices, everything. I want your take on how the board meeting went, particularly with Henderson as well. I need him on my side and I want to know how he feels about my points when I’m not there. Be honest,” Alex said, now letting a little laugh out. “In other words, be yourself.”

I smiled and kissed him with my whole mouth, tasting the sweetness of his tongue. I rose out of bed and turned around, knowing his eyes would fall over my naked skin like a hungry wolf eyeing its prey. I bent over to pick up my tattered clothes and lingered for a minute longer than necessary, letting Alex enjoy my little show for him. When I turned my head quickly to catch him, sure enough he was sitting upright in bed, watching me.

“You better go quickly, or I’m going to make you late. The board wouldn’t like that very much,” Alex said, winking.

“Well, seeing as somebody keeps destroying my clothes, I might have to start bringing over spares.”

Alex got out of the bed. God he looked so good naked. He walked over to one of the closets, sliding the door open. Inside, I saw a dozen suits, all like the one that I had worn to the press conference.

“I plan ahead,” he said, a sly smile on his face.

***

I showered quickly at Alex’s, not wanting to be late for the meeting. When I got out of the bathroom, Alex was already gone. I took the elevator down and Mr. Booth was sitting in the car and reading a book, waiting for me. I got in the back and told him to bring me to the Strauss Engines building.

“No problemo Miss Dubois, you the boss,” he said. I laughed quietly to myself. I had never been the boss before, but I was already liking the sound of it.

We arrived at the Strauss Building without incident, but I couldn’t stop myself from looking around the city every few minutes with a worried feeling in my chest, like some unknown evil was waiting out there to strike at me. Every traffic light stop made my heart rate go up just a little bit and the back of the town car that Mr. Booth drove me around in seemed just a little stuffier.

At the Strauss Engines building, a security guard escorted me to the elevator. I walked through the main lobby, feeling odd. I felt excited by my new position in the company and how I now commanded authority as I walked around, yet at the same time I was so new at this that I couldn’t suppress the anxiety that accompanied it. Every new task that Alex assigned me made me both panicked and excited. The duality dared to weigh me down and I thought once again of turning away from all of this. I had already made enough money from my new salary that I could sustain my old way of life for a few months while I looked for a new job. Yet I knew I wouldn’t walk away. Despite the danger, despite my misgivings about being qualified for all of this, I felt like I could rise to the challenge of it all. More than that, there was Alex. I wouldn’t give him up for anything.

I rode the elevator in silence. Breathing in deeply, I stepped off onto the floor that housed the board rooms. The security guard escorted me down a long hallway until we reached a set of large double-doors. There, the security guard swiped a badge and the doors opened automatically.

“Oh good, Alex’s secretary has decided to grace us with her presence,” a voice called out in the room. I immediately identified it as William Henderson’s. “You’re late, Miss Dubious.”

“Mr. Strauss instructed me that the meeting was to begin at two p.m. And my name is Dubois.” I replied as politely as I could, knowing it would be unwise to upset Henderson or be openly rude to him.

“Well, you’re mistaken then, Miss Dubois,” Henderson said, slowly lingering on my name, enunciating it carefully as if to mock me. “Please, sit and we can finally begin.”

I walked uncomfortably around the large conference table. It stretched on for miles as I walked to my seat, every set of eyes on me. I sat down quickly and placed the papers before me carefully.

Henderson sat to my immediate right. A dozen other faces that I had previously never seen before stared at Henderson, waiting attentively for him to begin.

“Miss Dubois, I understand that Alexander Strauss has given you some items to present on his behalf, correct?” Henderson said flatly.

I shuffled through the papers nervously. Calm down Samantha! I thought. You’ve got this. Compose yourself and take your time. You are here for Alex, who owns this damn company. I regained my composure and found the folder with Alex’s notes for me.

“Yes, thank you Mr. Henderson. First, Mr. Strauss apologizes for his absence. I will now read directly from his notes,” I said, then I began reading from the notes Alex gave me.

“Board members, thank you for listening to me speak today through Miss Dubois. Please give her the utmost respect and courtesy. She is more than able to speak on my behalf. I apologize again for my absence, but my presence is required in important matters related to Strauss Engines that I will soon make clear in person.” I paused and looked around, taking mental note of everyone’s reactions.

A bald man was looking at me with deep interest. Two older women looked at me with faint smiles on their lips. Another man was writing something in a leather notebook while another seemed to be writing something on a tablet computer. One man drank water from a glass and a very elderly man appeared to be sleeping, although I wasn’t sure. The room wasn’t hostile, at least not yet.

I continued, “As you know, Strauss Engines is working closely with Sun Industries and Manufacturing. They have already agreed to manufacture the BR36 prototype at an unprecedented one hundred and ten dollars per unit. This is directly due to Miss Dubois’s negotiating skills,” I read aloud. I tried to hide my blushing and I felt immediately touched and embarrassed. Alex had made sure to thank me publicly for the board. I once again marveled at his ability to give me authority so it suited his needs.

“Yes, we’ve heard about the BR36 prototype unit,” Henderson cut through. “Also, does Alex go into any detail on how much it’s been tested?”

“Give me one moment, Mr. Henderson, while I look through his statements to try to find if he’s made any comment,” I said nervously, trying to hide how flustered his comment made me.

“We’ll wait.”

I looked through the papers quickly. Alexander had made no comments about the BR36 prototype and anything related to its testing or testing of any sort. I felt like lowering my head in defeat. I was unprepared. Why was Henderson questioning me like this anyway. Surely he must know that I am only the messenger?

“I apologize Mr. Henderson,” I said, turning to the board members at the table. “And to the rest of the members of the board, but I am without such information. Ale—”I stopped, catching myself before anyone could hear me say Alex’s name. Henderson was making me flushed and nervous. “Mr. Strauss did not prepare me with a statement about the testing of the BR36 unit.”

“That’s all right, Miss. Dubois. It seems he’s willing to allow you to negotiate price over something of which you have no knowledge. And, a major deal with a major client that we now have a binding contract. Am I correct?” asked Henderson.

I was speechless. I began to stutter over my words as I searched for something to say.

“Also, I’m told that there were even promises made of future dealings with Sun Industries and Manufacturing based on the cost of the BR36 prototype. While the deal itself was small, the future implications are enormous if the company keeps moving towards this new water filter direction. Am I correct?”

My mind latched onto the small phrase he said, if the company keeps moving towards the new water filter direction. I wrote a note quickly about it. Henderson obviously had his doubts. I underlined if and looked up to Henderson.

“Yes, that is correct, but not exactly—”

“Okay, great, so I am correct,” Henderson interrupted. “Now, I do have the information on the testing of the BR36 unit. Let me present the information that I brought with me, as I decided to come prepared to this meeting.”

Henderson stood up and stepped aside from his chair. An image came over the back of the wall and it was a graph. I struggled to focus my eyes on it, yet I couldn’t make sense of any of it.

“Ladies and gentlemen, while you will see that the BR36 prototype has been through a couple of rigorous tests, you may also notice that it has not been independently verified, nor has it been tested in the field. Thus, we are taking it on blind faith that the unit is production-worthy. And that word comes from Miss Dubois, who barely has a bachelor’s degree, and not even in any kind of engineering field.”

Henderson looked at me coldly, a dull smile on his face.

“Strauss Engines is moving towards a new direction with Alexander Strauss that involves risky moves. Please, Samantha, continue,” Henderson said sweetly.

I eyed Henderson, feeling the anger growing inside me. He watched me just as closely, his face giving nothing.

I continued on with Alex’s notes, “Sun Industries is a valued future partner of Strauss Engines. We already have many units of theirs in production in various other models. The BR36 prototype will be revolutionary for Strauss Engines. It will help provide a new future for the company, propelling it forward with brand-new water filtration technology that will be the envy of every other engineering company and third-world government. Even many cities in the United States would benefit from the implementation of the BR36 unit in production with our current water filtration designs here at Strauss Engines. I know going with a prototype with such a major operation is risky, but the risk at this point is very low and the payoff will be enormous, not only for the company, but for the world.”

I looked up at Henderson as I finished reading, content in the small victory that Alex had addressed Henderson’s concern over his risky move. It was as if Alex had predicted the criticism and addressed it immediately. Yet Henderson seemed unfazed.

The meeting moved on. I had said everything that Alex had sent me to deliver to the board meeting. Despite Henderson’s subversive questions, I breathed a sigh of relief. I had done as well as I could have. I vowed to myself that I was not going to let my guard down around Henderson again. I wouldn’t return to a meeting with him without having first considered every angle he could attack from. And he would attack again, I was sure of it. Alex might trust this man, but I thought him as vile as a snake.

I studied him, writing down every nuance in his expressions. When one of the board members began to voice doubts over the proposed direction of the company, a hungry look spread over Henderson’s face. He encouraged the board member subtly, not directly telling him that he was right, but his questions moved the board member into a terrain where he was ready to cry mutiny against Alexander Strauss.

The meeting ended on that note. Alexander Strauss was not in good standing with many of the board members by the end, and when everybody walked out, I felt miserable. I had let Alexander down. I was here on his behalf and Henderson had practically rallied a mob against him in the very company building that Alexander owned!

How could I have failed so completely?

Chapter Twelve

The boardroom was empty and I had gathered all my papers into my expensive leather briefcase that Alex had left out for me this morning. Then I looked up and Henderson had returned to the room.

“So, Miss Dubois,” Henderson said, his voice filling with contempt when he uttered my name. “How was your first board meeting? We’re not so bad, right? Not as scary as you thought?”

This bastard was mocking me.

“No, I wasn’t scared at all,” I said defiantly. “You’re very vocal about your opinion though, I must say.”

“Yes, well, when one’s opinion has helped build and cultivate this company into a world power, then that opinion must be shared. But, I’m not sure you would have much experience with that, now would you?” asked Henderson. The vitriol in his voice unmasked now.

“No, I don’t suppose I do have much past experience with that, but I must say I’m certainly getting acquainted with it.”

Henderson shut the door to the boardroom, closing us in. I felt a lump close in my throat. The only other person on the floor was the security guard waiting for me by the elevator. Why did he close the door if there isn’t really anybody around to hear us anyway?

He walked closer to me. Too close.

“How did you come to work for Strauss Engines?” asked Henderson.

“I applied through an agency. They hire recent grads for temp work for these big companies. I was fortunate enough to be asked to renew my six month contract after the end of the first one. So I’ve been here for eight months now,” I said.

“Eight months? Quite a rise, for an employee to jump from the temp offices to the executive level, especially as Alexander Strauss’s personal assistant, no less.”

I searched his words for any insinuation that I had somehow cheated or lied my way up. It was clear that he felt I did something immoral or unsavory to get to where I was. I paused before answering, standing as high as I could to face him eye to eye. The man still looked down on me, I suppose figuratively and literally, but I stared back at him with fury. I wasn’t about to be talked down to by this man or any other.

“I climbed high in this company due to a combination of luck and ability.”

“Luck and ability? Such vague words, my dear young lady. Eight months is hardly enough time to show one’s abilities when you’re typing up memos and making copies of those memos. I mean, I’m sure I could hire a group of monkeys to do the same type of work, and believe me, I would if not for them having such a proclivity for throwing shit,” Henderson said, laughing.