Engage (Billionaire Series) (10 page)

As I
scuttled out of his office and past the pretty secretary, my face was flushed
with the intoxicating effect of his smile and my mind was still conflicted. Was
Mathis trying to keep his distance from me on purpose? Did he just not care? I
couldn’t understand him – and it was so frustrating!

That memory brought
Jennifer reeling back to the present.

“It’s so good to
see you,” Brad turned his dazzling smile towards Jennifer’s gorgeous roommate.
“And it’s nice to meet you.”

“Why are you here?”
Jennifer blurted out the question.

“I wanted to see
you,” Brad began.

Suddenly, Jennifer
realized that she didn’t care why he was there. That part of her life was over,
right? She held up a hand. “Never mind. I don’t want to hear it. Just leave.”

“Now, Jen, that can’t
really be what you want,” Brad reached out a hand.

Jennifer didn’t
know what expression was on her face, but whatever it was spurred her roommate
into action. And it was a good thing too. All Jennifer wanted to do was push
Brad into the hallway and slam the door in his face. Rachel was, surprisingly,
a bit more diplomatic.

“Jennifer’s just
gotten back from a business trip overseas,” Rachel stepped between Jennifer and
Brad.

Jennifer clenched
her shaking hands into fists and crossed her arms over her chest, hoping she
looked as tired as she felt. Her brain seemed to seriously be considering
whether or not it wanted to function.

“I think it’d be
for the best if you left, let her get some rest,” Rachel took a step towards
Brad, purposefully invading his personal space and forcing him backwards.

His reaction to
Rachel shouldn’t have surprised Jennifer like it did. He’d never been able to
deal with strong women. As Jennifer watched, Rachel maneuvered Brad out the
door.

“If she wants to
talk to you, she’ll call,” Rachel shut the door even as Brad was saying that
Jennifer didn’t have his number. Rachel turned back towards Jennifer, baby blue
eyes glowing with curiosity. “All right, spill.”

Jennifer followed
Rachel to the couch, her legs numb, brain whirling, She hadn’t seen Brad since
he’d told her that he’d gotten tired of her stupidity and how bad she was at
sex, and then dumped her. She thought she’d gotten over it, but his sudden
reappearance had dug up things she’d thought had long since been forgotten.

“Who is this guy?”
Rachel poured them each a glass of wine and then settled on one end of the
couch, tucking her feet up underneath her.

“He’s my ex,”
Jennifer took a sip of the rich liquid.

“Yeah, I figured
out that much,” Rachel leaned forward and put a hand on Jennifer’s knee. “You
know you can tell me anything and I’ll still love you, right? I’ll never judge
you.”

Jennifer nodded,
fighting back tears at Rachel’s words. It had been a very emotionally draining
couple of days. She told her story slowly, selecting her words with care. She
couldn’t tell Rachel the whole truth. A woman as strong as the dark-haired chef
would never understand why Jennifer had stayed with Brad for so long, why, even
now, she had a hard time believing that their break-up, the problems they had,
weren’t all her fault. Instead, she told the story the way Jennifer wished it
had gone, how it might have gone if she’d just been braver.

“Brad and I had
been dating since high school and, after a while, he became controlling, cruel.
He started telling me what I could and couldn’t do, who I could be around. I
had to ask permission for everything.” Jennifer looked down at her hands. That
much, at least, was true. Then came the lie. “Finally, I had enough and broke
it off. I hadn’t seen him since then.”

“You did the right
thing,” Rachel said fervently. “A bastard like that doesn’t deserve a woman
like you.”

“Thanks,” Jennifer
mumbled, her face flushing at the compliment.

As if she sensed
her friend’s discomfort, Rachel changed the subject. “So! Do you want to tell
me about this
mysterious
trip you were whisked away on?”

Despite herself,
Jennifer smiled. It wasn’t just the idea of gorgeous Philip Haas, her boss, who
sent a bolt of happiness through her. Although, she had to admit to herself
that the memory of those soft lips, his tousled dirty blond hair and piercing
green eyes, the firm physique, made her warm.

“It was amazing,”
Jennifer lit up. “I ended up meeting the guy who owns the entire hotel chain
when he came to check-in and we started talking. He pulled my file and was so
impressed that he offered me a job as his assistant. When I accepted, he told
me that he had meetings in Japan and we’d be leaving right away,” Jennifer
flushed as she skirted the two very personal encounters she’d had with her
boss. They came forward nonetheless and she could almost feel what it had been
like to have Philip inside her, to have his hands on her body, coaxing her
towards pleasure; how her body had burned as he’d slipped his fingers into her,
stopping before she reached her climax.

If Rachel noticed
her friend blush, she didn’t mention it. “And when you got to Japan?”

“He took me to all
of his meetings related to a hotel he’s building in Tokyo,” Jennifer giggled as
she continued. “You should have seen the way Philip handled everyone. I’ve
never seen anything like it. He took someone who had this completely off
concept and steered them around to his way of thinking by just asking questions.”

“You sound like you
really admire this Philip guy.” Rachel’s tone was cautious.

Jennifer could
sense that her friend wanted to ask more, that Rachel suspected there was
something more to what had happened than what Jennifer was saying. Jennifer
forced herself to smile and answer. “Of course I do. Philip, Mr. Haas, is so
successful, and at such a young age. It’s really amazing watching him work. I
really think I could learn a lot from him.” Jennifer tried very hard not to
think about all of the things she was learning that had absolutely nothing to
do with business.

How just a touch
could drive her mad. The way Philip’s cock could reach places inside her that
she’d never dreamed existed. How she could cum so hard she could barely walk.
What it was like to feel so completely and utterly satisfied that every muscle
was relaxed.

Rachel gave
Jennifer an appraising look, one that said she knew that there was more to the
story, but she didn’t pry. Jennifer swallowed a sigh of relief. What would
Rachel think of her if she knew that Jennifer was screwing around with her
boss?

“It’s late.” Rachel
stood. “And I’m sure you’re exhausted.” She took Jennifer’s glass. “For what it’s
worth, I’m glad you’ve met Philip Haas. He sounds like he’s really going to be good
for you.”

Jennifer watched
Rachel take their glasses into the kitchen. What had Rachel meant by that
statement? Did ‘good for you’ just mean as a mentor or did she suspect that
there was something more going on? Not that Jennifer knew the answer to that
question herself. At the moment, she was as much in the dark about what was
going on as Rachel was.

Our
next training session was much less grueling than the first. Perhaps Mathis had
realized that firing questions at me was not the best way to make me learn
things, because this time he didn’t simply flood me with information but talked
in a relaxed, even entertaining manner about some of the experiences he’d had
as a hedge fund manager. Hearing him talking about some of the pitfalls of the
profession made me feel less like an idiot for not knowing anything, and by the
end of the training session, I felt much better equipped to navigate the
minefield of investing.

By the
time we were done, the sky was already getting dark and the secretary had gone
home, leaving the building locked behind her.

“I
guess we got caught up in our work,” I said sheepishly, embarrassed that I had
taken up so much of Mathis’ time.

“It
doesn’t matter – come on, I’ll let you out,” Mathis offered.

“Thanks,”
I said. We walked together towards the elevator, and I felt strangely small
beside Mathis’ tall, athletic form. My eyes came level with his collarbone, and
I couldn’t help noticing how tan his skin was, and how the muscles in his neck
moved subtly under his skin. I was getting nervous, and I found myself unable
to say anything, even meaningless small talk.

We rode
the elevator in silence and Mathis went ahead of me to unlock the front door of
the building.

The sky
was slate gray, just getting ready to go dark, and rain was pounding off the
sidewalk, the drumming sound blocking out the rush of traffic.

“Oh no,
it’s really pouring!” I observed, half to myself as I ran up to the glass doors
to get a better look.

“Do you
need me to call you a cab?” Mathis asked, standing next to me looking out
beyond the glass, with a touch of his old chivalry.

I
started smiling, unable to forget the time when we had both sheltered from the
rain together in a small natural cave, just moments before our first kiss. I
turned to Mathis, unwilling to keep the memory to myself. Maybe this will make
him at least act more natural, like his old self, around me.

“Doesn’t
it remind you of that time in the cave?” I asked him. “We were playing some
silly game, right?”

“You
were about to fall into an enchanted sleep,” Mathis said, his mouth settling
into a gentle smile as he looked at me, that warmth and spark of mischief back
in his eyes again, making my heart skip a beat.

“Those
were fun times,” I said. “We were just kids, acting like kids, making up
stories.”

“As I
remember, you were the one who started it,” Mathis remarked. “You told me I
wasn’t allowed in your woods without the protection of the fairy queen.”

“That’s
not quite how I remember it,” I said archly, and Mathis let out a short laugh
which rippled through me.

“How do
you remember it, then?” he challenged me.

“I
remember that you told me the cave was haunted,” I accused him. “I couldn’t go
in there or I would be cursed and fall into an eternal sleep. Truthfully, I
always thought you just wanted it to yourself while I had to stay out in the
rain.”

Mathis
laughed again, and despite the rain, I felt happy, elated even. It was so good
to see this side of him again, the carefree, vivacious man behind the stone
mask he had built for himself.

“And
then?” he asked, his expression suddenly more serious again, his eyes looking
intensely into mine. “Do you remember how I saved you from going into that
eternal sleep?”

Mathis’
face was so close to mine that I could feel the warmth of his breath on my
cheek. Against the rushing of the rain, the only other sound I could make out
was my heart, beating like an angry fist inside my chest, desperate to get out.
Slowly, Mathis reached out his hand and gently brushed my hair behind my ear.
For an instant, I was catapulted back in time to our very first meeting, where
he had just as gently repeated the same motion, his entire being focused on
taking in every detail of my face.

My
cheeks flooded with color as Mathis withdrew his hand from my face and placed
it on my shoulder. For a moment I couldn’t speak or move. Was he going to kiss
me?

But,
just as it had happened back in the cave, Mathis hesitated, just for a moment,
and suddenly the spell of stillness was broken and I pulled back.

“I
should really get going,” I said quickly. “What with all this rain there will
probably be a ton of traffic, and I said I’d call my friend when I got back,
and—”

I was
cut off by the sudden impact of soft lips on mine, firm but gentle, pressing
against my mouth with just the right amount of pressure. Heat flooded through
me, and the sound of the rain, the growing dampness and the coolness of the
evening air all disappeared in a flash. There was nothing but me and Mathis.
Part of me wanted to press up against him, feel his warm body flush against
mine. I was tempted to deepen the kiss, pressing our lips together with as much
force as I could muster, seeking entrance into the hot, delicious cavern of his
mouth. Another part of me knew I should pull away, get out of this dangerous
situation – but I couldn’t!

The
kiss was over before I could put either of these plans into motion. Mathis drew
away as suddenly as he had swept into me, and I was left breathless and warm,
the ghost of Mathis’ lips still present on my own.

“You
always did talk too much,” Mathis said quietly.

I just
looked at him, unable to speak. The kiss had been… incredible. I had never felt
so much with one brief kiss from any other man. Even a hot and heavy make out
session couldn’t make me feel this alive. I could feel the blood rushing
through my veins as if it were liquid fire, sending all my senses into
overdrive.

In the
next instant, though, I recalled everything that Sharon had told me, everything
which I had witnessed for myself. A playboy like Mathis would never be truly
interested in a woman like me, naïve and plain and awkward, with nothing to
show for her life except her uncle’s good fortune.

Was he
just fooling around with me? If I let this go further, would I just be another
one of his conquests? I didn’t want to be this week’s top flavor before being
booted unceremoniously off the menu as soon as another model or singer turned
his head.

Of
course, there was no way I could ever be anything more than that. All I had to
show for my own efforts was a low-level accountancy job, while Mathis had been
enormously successful. What could he possibly see in a timid, boring woman with
all the ambition of an overweight house cat, and the same level of talent to
boot. All I could possibly be to him was an easy target – a silly young thing
besotted with his fame and good looks and with a skewed, romanticized memory
from her childhood.

As soon
as this bleak reality struck me, I knew I had to get out of there.

“I’ve
got to go,” I said abruptly, and I pulled away from Mathis, breaking into a run
in order to cover the few blocks between the building and my car as quickly as
possible.

“Wait!”
I heard Mathis shouting behind me. “You’ll get soaked Amanda. For god’s sake,
wait!”

But I
didn’t slow down. I just kept running, letting the heavy rain drown out the
sound of Mathis’ frantic voice behind me.

***

I
finally reached my car, panting and gasping, soaked to my skin. I dragged my
keys out of my purse, but my fingers were shaking so badly that I dropped them
on the wet ground.

“Crap,”
I said, kneeling to grab them and finally managing to wrench the driver’s door
open.

“Amanda!”
I almost dropped my keys for a second time as I spun around to come face to
face with Mathis standing on the other side of my car, his expensive suit and
light brown hair both slick with rain.

Reflexively,
I jumped into my car and slammed the door closed, and I was torn between
driving away, skidding madly to get out of there, and crumbling into a
hysterical heap over my steering wheel. That kiss had brought up old memories
that I had buried away. Mathis had twisted my heart out when he had just
disappeared. An insistent tapping on the passenger side window told me that Mathis
was still there.

I
hesitated – I didn’t know if I could act rationally right now, but on the other
hand, I couldn’t just leave him out there in the pouring rain. After a moment
of indecision, I opened the car door.

Moments
later, Mathis was in the passenger seat, breathing heavily from running after
me, and blinking the rainwater out of his eyes. I let the silence drag on for a
few moments, and all that could be heard was the panting of our breath and the
drum of heavy rain against the metal roof. Eventually, I couldn’t bear it any
longer.

“Mathis,
I—” Before I could get any further, Mathis was kissing me again. Where before
his kiss had been fleeting and sweet, this time it was dominating, insistent.
His tongue forced its way in between my lips, plundering my mouth and causing
stars to dance behind my closed eyelids. I didn’t try to stop him or push him
back. I just let the sensation course through me, like a forest fire devouring
everything in its path and leaving nothing but an exquisite, breathless blank
in its wake.

As he
pulled away, he once again pushed my hair gently behind my ears in a sweet,
caring gesture which made me feel warm and content, as if no harm could come to
me whilst Mathis was touching me.

“Amanda,”
he said, his voice roughened with emotion and breathlessness, “do you want to
be with me? After what happened, how it ended last time, I understand if the
answer is no, but…don’t say no.” His speech, spoken with absolute sincerity,
sucked all the oxygen from my lungs. It took me a moment even to register what
he said. But even though a part of me was stunned, somehow I felt peaceful,
calm even, like this was a natural sequence of events.

I
opened my mouth to answer, but before any words could even form on my tongue,
two deafening shots rang out in quick succession. We both stiffened
automatically as we heard the first shot, like a firecracker in the small space
in the car. After a moment of deafening silence, a third shot punched through
the windshield narrowly missing the side of my headrest.

I
screamed, the fear and shock freezing me to my seat, and Mathis instinctively
ducked down, pulling me with him. 

“Drive!”
He yelled, and another shot ricocheted off my car’s side mirror. With a jerky
motion, I turned the key, slammed my foot on the gas and screeched onto the
road, driving as fast as I could. My mind went blank and my heart raced as the
wet city street where the shots had rung blurred into the background.