Engage (Billionaire Series) (4 page)

I
stepped out onto the street after the will reading with a sense of overwhelming
relief. Outside the fancy building, which seemed to have more stories than I
have hairs on my head, somehow everything felt a little less overwhelming. I
was Amanda again, and my life was still my life. My relief was complete as I
heard the familiar honk of a car horn accompanied with a “Mandy – over here!” I
looked in the general direction of the shout and saw my best friend Sharon’s
shiny blonde bob and bright smile through the window of her little green Chevy.

“Hey,”
I said, grateful to see a friendly face after the bland business crowd in the
lawyer’s office.

“Get
in,” Sharon instructed, leaning over and opening the door for me. “We’ll go to
Dino’s and you can tell me all about the will reading.”

“Yum,”
I said eagerly. Dino’s was a real treat – the best Italian in the city,
complete with the best wine. Since I was taking the day off work and Sharon
worked as a wedding planner – which, she insisted, meant that drinking was
practically a part of her job – I figured we could treat ourselves to a bottle.

Sharon
chattered on about her latest wedding as we drove to the restaurant, and I let
her talk, happy to have a break from my own problems.

“So the
groom went out to get his tux without even consulting me, and came back with a
cheap, awful thing which doesn’t go with the bride’s gown
at all,
and
doesn’t even fit him right,” Sharon continued as we pulled into a parking spot
near the restaurant. “If I were her, I’d find a
new
man. I’m serious!
Anyways, the problem is they always book the honeymoons right away, and then it’s
too late to get a full refund…” she trailed off miserably.

“I’m
sure it’ll be fine,” I reassured her. “Love is blind and all that.”

“Better
have no sense of smell either,” said Sharon with a shudder. “When he took his
shoes off to try on the pairs I’d picked out I thought I was going to hurl.”

“Ew,” I
giggled. “Gross.”

“Well,
enough about my troubles – how did the will reading go? Any holidays in the
Hamptons in the hand you were dealt?” Sharon grinned suggestively.

“Well,”
I said, frowning. Sharon squealed with excitement.

I
paused.

Sharon’s
jaw dropped. “Oh my god, he left you a house in the Hamptons!”

“No no,
he didn’t,” I laughed at her ecstatic expression.

“So
what did he leave you?” demanded Sharon. Then, crestfallen, “Oh god, I’m so
sorry Mandy. Here I am being a complete money-grabber when your Uncle Andy’s just
died. I know how close you were to him.”

“It’s
fine,” I reassured her as her bottom lip began to tremble. “We were close, but
I think I’m okay. We spent a lot of time together when I was younger, but I
didn’t see him very often in the last few years.”

“Still,
it must be tough,” Sharon said sympathetically, ready to make up for her
extreme excitement earlier with some best friend support.

“It’s a
little strange,” I admitted. “I remember all the times I went to stay at his
place as a teenager. We’d take his boat out on the lake, just the – just us. We’d
pack a picnic and some ginger ale in a cooler and just lounge around on the
water all afternoon, telling stories and making jokes.”

“That
sounds magical,” Sharon sighed.

“It
was.” I frowned as I thought back to the times we had taken his boat out. It
hadn’t been just the two of us most of the time. For that one summer, the one
that stood out in my memory, it had been the three of us, me, Uncle Andy…and
Mathis. Even back then, Mathis had been my uncle’s most important person – Uncle
Andy truly treated him like his own son. Perhaps it was because of what I had
just been discussing in the lawyer’s office, but for some reason, I hadn’t felt
like mentioning his name to Sharon.

“I’d
love to take a boat out on the lake,” Sharon was saying, her head resting in
her hands and her chocolate brown eyes dreamy. “Me and Ryan, floating gently on
the sparkling water, sharing our secrets over a bottle of Champagne…”

“Mmm,”
I said vaguely. In my mind’s eye, I saw a young Mathis grinning at me, his
baseball cap on at an angle, his button-down shirt slightly open, handing me a
bottle of perfectly chilled ginger ale.

“You
need to start dating again, Mandy,” Sharon said. “Otherwise you’ll have to sail
your new boat all alone. Or lend it to me,” she added coyly.

“Don’t
be an idiot,” I said, giving her a small shove. “Uncle Andy didn’t leave me his
boat. I think he put it away years ago; it’s probably a bucket of rust now.
Besides, there’s nobody else I want to go out on the lake with.”

“What
about that last guy? Terry? Or was it Jim?”

“James?”
I corrected her. “He was… just not the right person.”

“He was
cute,” Sharon encouraged. “And he had a great job.”

“He
just… he just wasn’t the right fit,” I sighed. “He was nice and sweet and
everything, but I just felt like something was missing – that sparkle that you’re
supposed to feel when you’re in love. There was never any overpowering, animal
need for James. Or Jim… or any of them. I don’t think I’m meant to be with anyone.
It just never feels right.”

“It
will,” Sharon said wisely. “When you meet the right person. I don’t necessarily
feel any animal desire for Ryan after five years together. But I know he’s the
right person for me, because going home always seems better when I know he’s
there waiting for me. You’ll find that feeling too.”

“Maybe,”
I said, non-committal.

“You
will,” Sharon repeated strictly. “You’re gorgeous and smart and possibly filthy
rich. On that note, will you please kill the suspense and tell me what happened
at the will reading?”

“It’s a
little complicated,” I admitted with a laugh. “Uncle Andy wants me to take over
his hedge fund investments, but I have to be trained to manage them.”

“Huh?”
Sharon said bewildered. “Trained? I don’t know much of anything about
investments. Who’s going to train you?”

“An old
family friend,” I said, quashing the strange feelings rising up in my stomach
when I thought about Mathis. “Someone who worked with Uncle Andy.”

“Is he
young? Does he know what he’s doing?”

“I don’t
know,” I said, unwilling to go into details while my feelings about Mathis were
so muddled. “If he worked with Uncle Andy, I guess he’s a hedge fund type too.
I haven’t seen him for a long time.”

“It’s
strange,” Sharon said, losing interest in Mathis almost immediately. “I wonder
why your uncle gave you such a big responsibility. I guess he really thought a
lot of you.”

“I
guess,” I said. “Whenever I stayed with him, he always talked to me about how
he had become successful. ‘Never let anything break your spirit, Amanda,’ he’d
say, ‘pursue your dreams and don’t let your past or your present get in the way
of your future’.”

“He
sounds like a wise man,” Sharon said with a sympathetic smile.

“He
was,” I agreed.

He’d
always been a great mentor. I remembered how he had taken Mathis under his
wing, even more so than me. I felt like every time he’d say something to me,
like ‘follow your dreams’, he was thinking about Mathis, who had come from a
poor background to train as a hedge fund investor under my uncle. By now I was
sure he was incredibly successful, much more so than me.

Now
that I had to see him again – would Mathis even remember the girl he used to
spend time with? Would he be the same person as the young man Uncle Andy
introduced to me? Would he still feel the same way about me as… but that was
stupid. We were different people, and besides, I don’t know how he really felt
about me. Not after the way he left.

“Hey –
what are you thinking?” I snapped out of my reverie as Sharon waved her hand in
front of my face. “You completely zoned out.”

“Just
nervous about this tutoring, I guess,” I said.

“When
do you have to start?” Sharon asked.

“The
lawyer is going to call me. The family friend – Mathis – wasn’t at the will
reading, so the lawyer’s going to get in contact and arrange a meeting.
Probably sometime next week.”

“You’ll
be amazing,” Sharon said confidently. “You’re an accountant. You won’t have any
issue with a few measly investments.”

“Yep,”
I said with forced brightness. “No problems at all. Now let’s get out of this
car and eat!”

Jennifer bolted
upright, startled out of her slumber. For a moment, she was disconcerted,
unable to remember where she was or why she was there. Then she saw the
fair-haired man sleeping next to her and the night’s events came rushing back.

Despite their close
proximity, he hadn’t moved when she’d sat up, so she stood, careful not to jar
him. She glanced at the clock. It was still early, but considering she had to
be back at the front desk in just a couple of hours, going home didn’t make
much sense. She’d need to call her roommate to make sure Rachel knew she was
okay, but before that, she’d just head down to the staff bathroom to take a
quick shower and get some clean clothes.

Fortunately, she
always kept extra underwear and a blouse in her locker. As she fastened her
bra, she looked around for her underwear, but they were nowhere to be found.
Swearing softly, she decided to let it go and just worked on making her blouse
and skirt presentable. Philip still hadn’t woken by the time Jennifer slipped
out, much to her relief. She didn’t know how to have the whole “morning after”
conversation.

After she’d cleaned
up and made sure that her skirt showed no evidence of the prior night’s
activities, she headed down to the second floor where she knew the front desk
manager would be coming out of a morning meeting. She wanted to check in as if
she’d come in early, not as if she’d never left. As she walked past the second
floor balcony overlooking the lobby, she caught a glimpse of the piano and heat
flooded her face. That’s where it all had started.

“Jennifer!” Todd
Kline sounded surprised to see her as he came out of the meeting room.

“I couldn’t really
sleep last night, so I figured I’d come in early,” Jennifer said with a smile,
hoping her nerves didn’t betray her. “Check in, get some breakfast, that way
I’m all ready to go when my shift starts.”

“Sure, whatever.”
Todd waved his hand. For the first time since Jennifer had known him, he looked
almost frantic. “Did Philip Haas check in last night?”

Jennifer fervently
hoped her face wasn’t as red as it felt. “Yes, near midnight.” When Todd’s
entire expression changed to one of relief, she asked, “Why? Is he an important
person?”

Todd stared at her, incredulous. “Please tell me that you’re kidding.”

“No…” Jennifer’s
stomach sank. This didn’t sound good. “He seemed nice enough.”

“Nice?” Todd belted
out a laugh. “Philip Haas could be the biggest dick in the world and you’d
still be expected to kiss his ass. Jennifer, he owns the hotel. And not just
this hotel, but the whole Preminenza luxury hotel chain! And even some of the
prestigious affiliates.”

Jennifer’s eyes
widened in shock. Wait, what? She thought to herself. He’s the owner of the
hotel? But I just slept with that guy! Oh no, this is bad. This is really bad.
I’m going to lose my job! How could I have let myself have a crazy fling with
some random stranger? Jennifer felt the strength run out of her legs and she
put her hand on the wall to steady herself.

“Are you okay?”
Todd sounded concerned.

“Fine.” Her voice
sounded like it was coming from far away. “I just need to get something to
eat.”

“Alright,” Todd
nodded. “Go get some breakfast. The only thing you need to know for today is to
keep Mr. Haas happy.”

Todd was already on
his way to the elevator so Jennifer didn’t bother to respond. She doubted she
could’ve managed a coherent response anyway. Her entire body felt numb as she
mentally replayed Philip touching her and kissing her. How full and complete
she’d felt when he’d entered her.

“Fuck.” she made
her way to a bench and sank down on it. She buried her face in her hands. “What
have I done?”

The day was torture
for her. Every time the phone rang, she expected to hear Philip’s voice on the
other end, asking to speak with her supervisor. Each time the elevators dinged,
she held her breath, waiting to see Philip’s face as he demanded she be fired
for her unprofessional behavior. Even if he kept their tryst a secret, he could
still fire her for abandoning her post to play the piano.

When Todd came to
see if she was feeling any better, startling her, Jennifer nearly jumped out of
her skin. He’d given her an odd look, but had just told her to cut back on the
coffee. As the end of her shift neared, Jennifer found herself watching the
clock. If she could get out before Philip came down, maybe he’d forget about
her and she’d get to keep her job. Then, with just ten minutes to go, the phone
rang. It was Philip.

“Please come to my
room, Miss Brooks.” The request was smooth, charming, but without a hint as to
his intentions.

“Right away!”
Jennifer managed to keep her voice from trembling, but she couldn’t stop her
stomach from twisting itself into knots as she motioned for one of the other
staff to relieve her and headed for the elevators.

When Philip opened
the door and motioned for her to enter, she couldn’t look him in the eye. He
was in a different suit. Similar, but a dark gray rather than black.

“Thank you for
coming,” Philip said with a dazzling smile. The icy hand around Jennifer’s
nerves loosened its grip. Perhaps he wasn’t going to fire her after all.
“Please, have a seat.”

Jennifer started to
sit on the couch, then flushed and switched to the chair opposite Philip. He
crossed his legs, completely at ease. Nothing in his expression hinted at their
prior interaction. In fact, Jennifer thought it was as if nothing had happened.
Still, she had to make sure things were good. Gathering up her courage, she
started to apologize. “About last night, when you first arrived...”

“Miss Brooks,”
Philip interrupted. “I’ve been doing a bit of research into your background.”

Jennifer’s jaw
snapped shut. He’d done what?

“You graduated top
of your class with a degree in hotel management from one of the best schools in
the country.” Philip sounded impressed. “Glowing recommendations from all of
your professors as well as from the hotel where you’d worked while in college.
You were a shoo-in at any hotel you wanted to start at. You must have had
multiple offers, yes?”

Jennifer nodded,
still trying to wrap her mind around the subject. “Five.” But that was right
after graduation, she thought to herself. She remembered how proud she had felt
and excited she had been to get those offers. She had worked so hard to get to
the point where she was getting offers from prestigious hotels.

“Now that makes me
curious,” Philip continued, pressing the tips of his fingers together. “How
does someone with your credentials, and six years after graduation, end up as a
mere desk clerk?”

“As I’m sure you
saw,” Jennifer began, “there’s a gap in my resumé. For personal reasons.” The
glow of those offers right after graduation began to wear off when she realized
she would have to move back to her small hometown to be with Brad. She gave up an
incredible start to her career to be with the man she thought she would be with
forever.

Philip nodded,
expression thoughtful. “Very well. That makes sense.” He stood. “You have a lot
of potential, Miss Brooks, which I intend to see fulfilled.”

Jennifer,
perplexed, stared at him. What in the world was he saying? He thinks I have
potential? Why me? Why would this guy who has everything in the world have any
sort of interest in my career? Jennifer hadn’t heard those kind of encouraging
words since she got those amazing offers at graduation. Many of the people she
had met during her rounds of interviews told her that she would make it far in
the hotel industry.

“I’m offering you
the position of my personal assistant. You’ll observe the day-to-day workings of
not just one hotel, but of the hundreds I own. In the process I’ll also be
training you for a managerial position.”

She was speechless.
He’d just offered her the biggest opportunity anyone could hope for. This was
huge. If she was his assistant and had the opportunity to see his day-to-day
interactions, she would be exposed to the real workings that go behind managing
a hotel. She would learn so many things first-hand that she’d only read in case
studies in her classes in college. You never get the chance to see how a hotel
runs from the big picture when you’re working at the bottom.

But still, she
hesitated. Was he making this offer because of her qualifications or because of
what had happened between them? And would he expect more of that from her? Her
eyes darted towards the couch.

As if he’d read her
mind, Philip spoke, “of course, an opportunity like this isn’t free. You would
be expected to pick up where we left off last night.”

So that was it.
Philip expected her to fuck him for the job. Jennifer felt a stab of anger, but
it faded as she remembered how much she’d enjoyed last night. Would it really
be so bad? It wasn’t like the sex had even been mediocre. It had been
fantastic. And she’d be getting hands-on experience – no pun intended – in her field.
She’d come up thinking she was going to get fired and had instead been offered
a promotion. How could she turn it down, even with the ‘extra
responsibilities’? Her front-desk job would never give her anything close to
the opportunities Philip was basically handing to her. Did she really want to
go back to that? Watching the Early Birds and Nightingales check in?

“I’ll take it,” she
blurted out the words before she could second guess herself.

“Excellent,” Philip
smiled. “We’re flying to Tokyo in two hours for a meeting. Be prepared to
observe well and take good notes.”

“Wait, what? Uh, I
mean, oh, okay.” Jennifer’s head was spinning. Less than twenty minutes ago,
she’d been worried about losing her job. Now she was going to Tokyo. She’d
never even been out of the state, let alone the country. Not that she didn’t
want to though. She’d always wanted to travel. Had even gotten her passport two
years ago hoping that her job would send her somewhere she’d never been.

“Since we have a
bit of time,” Philip said while slipping off his jacket. “Shall we get to know
each other a little better?” He reached for the room’s phone. “Strip,” he
ordered as he pressed a button.

“W-What?” Jennifer
stuttered. Had she heard him right?

“Take off your
clothes,” Philip clarified, voice terse. He spoke into the phone, “I need some
clothes sent up to my room.” He ran a critical eye over Jennifer’s body. “Black
skirt, gray silk blouse, black lace bra and underwear,” he paused listening to
the person on the other end, “what size? Bring a few sizes on the smaller
side.”

Jennifer had
already slipped off her shoes and untucked her blouse, reacting instinctively
to the command. She’d always been good at following orders.

Philip hung up the
phone and faced Jennifer. He raised an eyebrow, his mouth in a flat line. “I
believe I told you to lose the clothes. I want to see everything.”

Her fingers
trembled as she hurried to obey. His gaze stayed on her as she slid her blouse
from her shoulders. He looked different somehow, she thought as she unzipped
her skirt. It wasn’t until she reached behind her to unclasp her bra that she
realized what it was. The flirtatious warmth she’d seen the night before was
gone. There was a flash of hunger as her breasts came into view, but it
vanished almost as quickly as it came. The prior night’s passion had
disappeared.

“The rest,” Philip
stated as he sat back down in his chair. “Slowly.”

Jennifer flushed,
but did as she was told. She hooked her thumbs into the waistband of her plain
cotton panties and slowly lowered them. When she kicked them aside, she moved
to cover herself in embarrassment.

“No,” Philip
snapped. “Arms to your sides.”

Jennifer obeyed,
feeling heat rush through her body.

“Turn around.”

She slowly turned,
all too aware that she was totally bare, and Philip hadn’t even loosened his
tie.

“Bend over and put
your hands on the arms of the chair,” Philip continued giving instructions, his
voice oddly flat. “Feet shoulder length apart. That’s it.”

Jennifer dropped
her head, hair falling to cover her face. She knew what type of picture she
presented like this and her face flamed.