Billionaires, Bad Boys, and Alpha Males (60 page)

She did so, crossing her legs and trying
to remain calm.
 
Just don’t forget
to breathe, she told herself.
 
And
remember, he liked you enough to hire you!

As if hearing her thoughts, he turned to
look at her.
 
“I’m glad you came to
work for us,” he said.
 
“I have a
feeling you’re going to make a huge impression here.”

“Thank you,” she said, wondering what
made him think that.
 
He barely even
knew her!

“In fact,” he said, sighing and sitting
at his desk, “I want to get your opinion on something.”

“Okay…” she waited, totally unsure of
what he was doing.

He spun his enormous computer monitor
around to face her.
 
And then he
played an advertisement for her.
 
It
was only about thirty seconds long.
 
The ad was for a Las Vegas casino, and it was about a bachelorette party
having a grand old time; kind of a light-hearted take off on The Hangover.
 
She laughed a little bit at the funny
parts.

When it was over, he looked at her.
 
“You’re the right age demo for this
spot,” he said.
 
“So what do you
think of it?”

“I like it.
 
Really cool.”

His expression darkened.
 
“That’s not going to cut it at all,
Nicole.”

“Did I say something wrong?”

He slapped the desk suddenly, so loud she
jumped in her chair.
 
“Perhaps I’ve
made a mistake here.”
 
He got up,
smoothing his tie and looking at the floor, as if lost in thought.
 
“I’ve made things a bit too informal,
given you the wrong idea.”

She swallowed, her jaw trembling.
 
How could things be going wrong yet
again?

“I’m sorry if—“

This time he clapped his hands
together.
 
“You will call me sir
when you speak to me, Nicole.
 
Is
that clear?”

“Yes, sir.
 
Of course, sir.”
 
She was sweating now.
 
Her forehead, under her arms, between
her legs.
 
She was sweating through
her suit.

“That’s better.”
 
His shoulders relaxed a little.
 
He went to the bar.
 
“Perhaps we should have that drink after
all.
 
What do you say?”

She wasn’t sure.
 
It didn’t feel very appropriate, but
then again, this was after work hours.
 
So she nodded.
 
“Ummm…yes
sir.
 
That sounds nice, sir.”

He began making them martinis while she
looked on, her anxiety ratcheting up as he slowly created the cocktails.
 
“You’ll find that I am a very difficult
person to please, Nicole,” he told her, shaking the contents of one drink.
 
“But when you succeed in pleasing me, you’ll
find that I show my appreciation in ways that make it all worthwhile.”

She didn’t know what he meant.
 
And she was more afraid of him than
anyone she’d ever met.

He finished with the drink and brought it
over to her.
 
As he handed it to
her, their fingers touched and it was like an electric shock.
 
She nearly jumped.

“Taste it,” he commanded.

She did so.
 
It was dry and strong and she flinched a
little from the taste.

“It’s very good,” she lied.
 
“Thanks.”

He just stood there staring at her.
 
“What?”

“I said—“ she stopped cold.
 
She’d forgotten to call him sir.
 
“I said it’s very good…sir.”

“I don’t think you like it.”

“I do, sir, very much.”

He stood over her.
 
She was suddenly aware that his belt
buckle (and below that, his zipper) was at mouth level.
 
She pictured herself reaching out and
touching that zipper.
  

“If you like it so much, then drink it
all.
 
Now.”

“Right now?”

His expression darkened.
 
“If you forget to call me sir one more
time, you’ll force me to do something very unpleasant, Nicole.”

She didn’t have a clue what that meant,
but she didn’t want to find out.
 
“I’m so sorry sir.”

“Drink up.”

“Should you really be making me drink
alcohol at work, sir?”
 
Her voice
dripped with sarcasm.

“I’m not making you.
 
I’m telling you.”

Her nipples stiffened when Nicole saw how
he was looking at her.
 

She took a deep breath through her nose
and exhaled out of her mouth.
 
The
very air in his office had changed; taken on a heavy, still quality.
 
All of Nicole’s senses were engaged now,
and she could smell not only Red and his cologne, but the scent of paper and
leather and perfume from women who’d been in here earlier today.

She could see the small wrinkles in the
fabric of Red’s steel gray shirt, the stitching in his trousers.
 
Even the oil on his shoes.

She threw back her head and drank the
martini as quickly as possible.
 
Halfway through it she nearly gagged, but somehow was able to get it all
down.
 
When she was done, she held
back a large belch.
 
Her throat
burned and her eyes were tearing.

Red watched her, a small smile playing on
his lips.
 
He took the empty glass
from her hand, and his fingers seemed to linger on hers when he did so.
 
“I should make you drink another, but I
won’t…this time.”
 
He turned and
brought her glass back to the bar.

She was lightheaded and loose now.
 
This meeting had turned into something
else altogether, something dangerous and strange and…wrong.
 
She knew it was wrong in her gut.
 
And yet it also felt oddly right.
 
This game was familiar to her in a way
that she couldn’t have explained to anybody, not even herself.

“You can’t make me do anything…sir.
 
You can only tell me,” she said, using
his own words against him.

He spun and walked towards her, dark eyes
burning.
 
“I can’t?”

She met his gaze from her chair.
 
“No, sir.
 
You can’t.”

“If I ask you to, you’ll parade naked
through these halls.”

She snorted a laugh.
 
“Don’t be silly, sir.”

He crossed his arms and sat on the edge
of his desk.
 
“I have another
meeting in just a few minutes,” he said.

A ripple of disappointment ran through
her body.

“But I’m going to give you an
assignment,” he finished.

She cocked her head at him.
 
“Like homework?” Before he could get
angry, she tagged on a sir.
  

“Yes, exactly like homework,” he
smiled.
 
“I want you to go home
tonight and write an essay on how you plan to serve my interests.”

“I don’t understand, sir.”

“Figure it out.”
 
He checked his watch.
 
“You’re dismissed.”
 
And then he went back behind his desk
and sat down.

Nicole picked up her purse and stood,
wobbling for a second.
 
Her face was
burning with shame at his casual and abrupt dismissal of her, as if she were a
second grader and he the teacher.
 
How dare he?
 
How dare he try
and humiliate her this way?
 
She was
an intern and he was making her into something dirty and pathetic.
 

She was growing more furious by the
second.
 
Of course, deep in the back
of her mind, Nicole knew the real reason she was upset.
 
She was hurt that he was sending her
away—she wanted more time with him.
 
She wanted more of everything.

Instead of admitting that to herself or
him, she had a tantrum.
 
“This is
bullshit,” she said.
   

Red looked up from his papers.
 
“What did you just say?”

“You heard me.”
 
She glared at him.
 
A sheen of sweat covered her body.

He smirked, as if disgusted by her
presence.
 
“You’re free to go, Miss
Masters.”
 
Now he was becoming even
more formal.
 
Her heart pounded in
her chest and her stomach tightened.

“I know I’m free to go.”

“Did you forget where the door was?”

“I just want you to know that I’m not
going to stand for this.”
 
She
tossed her hair and adjusted her purse strap as his gaze met hers.

“Stand for what?”

“The way you’re treating me.
 
It’s harassment.
 
I don’t need this job that badly, I can
get another one.”

His smile widened, as if he expected this
very reaction from her and welcomed it.
 
“Oh, you’re very sure of yourself,” he said, leaning back and appraising
her.

“Sure enough,” she lied.

“Well, don’t be.”
 
He put a hand on the receiver of his
phone.
 
“I can pick up this phone
and make a series of calls that will guarantee you never work in this industry
again.
 
It would take me all of
about ten minutes to end your career entirely.”

The comment chilled her, as did the
deadly serious look in his eyes.
  

“Why would you do that to me?
 
I’m not important enough for you to
waste your time on.”

“Because I can.”

The tears burned in her eyes.
 
“I haven’t done anything to you.
 
I don’t understand why you’re being so
mean.”

He sighed.
 
For the first time, he looked
troubled.
 
“I didn’t want to hire
you.”

“You didn’t?”
 

“No.”

“Then I’ll leave immediately.
 
Thank you…for…the opportunity.”
 
She turned and started to walk out of
the room.
 
Actually, it was more
like a sprint to get away from her shame and embarrassment and defeat.

But before she could exit, he was behind
her.
 
One of his hands gripped her
shoulder and stopped her.
 
“Wait,”
he said.
 
His breath was hot on her
neck.

His hand felt warm and strong on her
shoulder and he kept it there as she stood, still facing the door.
 
Tears were streaming down her face and
she didn’t want him to see her this way.
 
“If you didn’t want to hire me, then why?
 
Why did you?”

“You don’t understand,” he
whispered.
 
“The moment I first laid
eyes on you I knew.
 
I knew that I
had to have you.”

A thrill ran up her legs and directly
pulsated into her most private places.
 
“Don’t lie to me,” she moaned.

“It’s not a lie.”

“Then why are you so cruel to me?”

“I’ve already answered that
question.”
 
He stepped closer to
her.
 
She could feel his body heat
radiating against her buttocks and back and neck.
 
He was like a furnace.
 
She wanted more than anything for him to
hold her tightly, to push himself up against her, force her towards the
wall.
 
His hands to cup her breasts
from behind.
 
His warm lips to kiss
her exposed neck.
 

Neither of them spoke for a long
time.
 

“I can’t control this,” he said.
  

His hand stroked her hair lightly,
sending chills up and down her spine.
 
And then he pulled her hair.
 
As her head tilted back, he leaned forward and pressed his mouth to her
ear.
 
“Do you understand now?”

Nicole moaned.
 
She didn’t really, but in another way
she did.
 
Her body understood him in
a way that her intellect could not.
 
Her pussy was soaking wet, throbbing.
 
She’d never felt this in her life.
 
This want, this need, this aching.
 
Every fiber of her wanted his hands to
touch her bare skin.
 
He could throw
her to the floor and enter her right here, right now.