Resisting the Billionaire (12 page)

I started to giggle along with her and soon both of us were
bent over the sink, laughing uncontrollably. When we started to sober, we’d
make eye contact and that would set us off again. Tears ran down my face and my
stomach was starting to ache. I braced both of my hands on the porcelain rim,
gasping for breath.

The bathroom door opened and Troy’s assistant, Kayla
Johnson, stared at us for a moment. “What’s so funny?”

With a small smile on her lips, Alana walked to the door.
“Nothing. Personal joke.” She looked directly at me. “Thanks, Cora. I think I’m
going to be okay.”

The door closed behind her and Kayla looked at me, chocolate
brown eyes filled with awe. “How did you win her over?” She had been witness to
Alana’s coldness toward me.

Over the last month, Kayla and I had developed a casual
friendship. Since the brothers’ schedules needed to be synced, we had to be in
close contact. I really liked the African American woman. On more than one occasion,
she had helped me navigate some of the stickier relationships among the
executives. She had very little interest in gossip. As a busy mother of twin
boys, her focus was on providing for her family and not on office politics.

My brows furrowed in bafflement. “I honestly don’t know.”

“Well, whatever you did, way to go, girl!” Kayla grinned and
held up her palm.

I slapped my hand against hers, distracted by the bizarre
encounter. “I’d better get back to my desk. See you later.”

My purse and the memo pad and pen I threw were placed neatly
on my desk. It was a silent message telling me Jake expected me to continue
working for him. And as satisfying as it was to tell him I quit, it was
impractical. I needed the work and I enjoyed it immensely.

I slouched in my chair and glared at the innocuous notebook
as if it had been the source of my turmoil instead of a complicated, confusing
billionaire who didn’t understand the word no.

Well, moaning and
writhing against him like a cat in heat was not exactly a resounding no
, my
annoying conscience pointed out.

I dropped my forehead into my hands with a groan of
self-disgust. It was patently obvious I had no resistance when it came to Jake
Weston. My defenses were dangerously thin and the more time I spent with him,
the more fragile they became. His confession about being jealous had turned me
into a wobbling mass of jelly. I wasn’t proud of my reaction, but it felt
thrilling for a man like Jake to desire me so much.

It was only a matter of time before I gave into temptation
and slept with him. I could envision the seams of my life unraveling after
that.

I waggled my head, shaking off my morbid thoughts. I had to
do something to change my course or I’d be headed toward catastrophe.

“Cora, we’re heading out to lunch and then to a site visit.
Can you be ready in twenty minutes?”

I looked up from the report I was finalizing for the bid to
build a hotel in Dubai. It was amazing how widespread the company’s investments
were. This was the second international project to come across my desk this
week.

“Um…” I hedged, wary of the determined look on Jake’s face.

Since the hot and heavy session in his office last Thursday,
I had resorted to a cowardly, but effective strategy: I avoided being alone
with him.

His busy schedule worked to my advantage since we were
constantly in meetings or on the move. When he had a free block of time, I helpfully
slotted in a conference call or two with somebody on the long list of people
wanting his attention. People Jake didn’t want to talk to apparently because
he’d glared at me balefully after he finished a call with a whiny government
official from Springfield.

“Why the hell did you accept a meeting with him?” Jake had
demanded.

I adopted my most innocent look. “He said he had been
requesting to talk to you for months. Since you had the afternoon free…”

“I wanted the afternoon free!”

I shrugged, “Sorry. It won’t happen again!” I said, trying
to sound repentant.

Unfortunately, another appointment happened to slip onto his
calendar. This time, I had the perfect excuse.

“But you told me the other day you were looking for a new
advertising agency. I thought it would be helpful to have them pitch you some
ideas.”

He narrowed his eyes, but gradually the displeasure cleared from
his face. He leaned in very close. “I know what you’re doing,” he murmured
softly, a light in his eyes.

“Helping you out?” My voice was unnaturally high.

His grin made me nervous. It was an I’m-raising-the-stakes
grin.

It put me on alert.

When Jake had to go away for two days to New York, instead
of feeling relieved, I missed him unbearably. It was the first business trip he
had taken since I worked for him. The office felt empty and lifeless without
his presence. I had to have a stern talk with myself about my contrariness, but
the self-castigation was wasted because my heart had beat like a hummingbird’s
when I saw him in the office again.

Looking up at Jake now, I had the sinking sensation I had
been outmaneuvered. I flipped through his calendar and smiled in relief when I
saw his Friday afternoon appointments. “Um…I have you scheduled for an
interview with
Modern Architecture
magazine.”

He gave me a toothy smile. “Oh, didn’t I tell you? Troy will
be doing that in my stead.” He stooped down and purred, “That also means you
won’t be able to have lunch with my brother. Such a shame.”

I dropped my gaze and fought the rush of blood to my face. Whenever
Jake wanted to take me out to lunch, I claimed I had previous plans with Jamie
or Kayla. Then on Monday, when neither of them was available, in desperation, I
dragged Troy into my deception.

The two brothers were walking out of Jake’s office when my
boss stopped and asked me to go to lunch.

“I promised to go out to lunch with Troy.” My eyes swung to
Troy, silently begging him to corroborate my lie.

He looked startled, but quickly recovered, saying smoothly,
“Yes, she did. You’re too slow, bro.” He slapped Jake on his shoulder in mock
commiseration.

Jake’s gaze did not leave my face. “Yes, I seem to be.”

My punishment had been an hour of Troy’s teasing. He wasn’t
even subtle, outright speculating about the reasons why I was scared to have
lunch with his brother. No amount of glaring and scolding would get him to
stop. The end of lunch couldn’t have come sooner for me.

Now, Jake wore the smug look of someone who had knocked out
his opponent in the first round. “Oh, and did I mention that Kayla had to go to
the interview with Troy? And your friend, Jamie, apparently got a bonus
personal day today for doing such a good job.”

I stared at him slack-jawed.
What did you expect from a master strategist like him, Cora?

I mentally waved the white flag of surrender. “I see. I
didn’t realize there was a new incentive plan giving employees extra personal
days.”

“We have to keep morale high,” he pronounced in a grave
tone.

Don’t laugh, Cora!
You’ll only encourage him to continue
using Machiavellian tactics.
“You’re right, of course. And where are we
going for the site visit?”

“You’ll have to wait,” he said mysteriously. With his hands
in his pants pockets, he swung around and sauntered into his office. He might
as well have whistled.

Twenty minutes later, I was climbing into Jake’s Bentley.
“We’re not going to have Carl drive us?” I would have preferred to have another
person in the car with us.

“Nope.” He started the car and drove out of the garage.

We crossed Michigan Avenue Bridge to River North and pulled
into the underground garage of a towering apartment building.

“Jake, what are we doing here?” I stepped out of the car and
looked at the rows of luxury cars parked in the garage.

He took my elbow. “We’re meeting with the property manager
later in this building, but I thought we’d park here and walk to lunch.”

It was a good plan since parking in downtown Chicago was a
nightmare. We took the elevator up to the ground floor and walked out into the
posh lobby.

“Wow, this place is gorgeous.” I slowed down my pace to
admire the beautiful Art Deco details. As magnificent as Chicago’s architecture
was, this building was still a gem. “Jake, what is the meeting about? I would
have liked to be better prepared.”

“Hmm… it’s nothing too complicated. Now let’s get something
to eat. I’m starving. How does Mexican sound?” He clasped my hand tightly and pulled
me out into the bright sunlight.

Spring in Chicago was mercurial. It could be bright and
sunny one day and dank and gray the next. Today, it was nice and warm and
everyone seemed to be in better spirits. I closed my eyes and lifted my face to
enjoy the warmth of the sun. I was glad I had worn my cap-sleeved blouse and
knee-length jersey skirt.

A shadow fell over me and then I felt Jake’s lips touch mine
gently, almost reverently. My eyes popped open and he pulled away, his mouth
tugging on my upper lip.

“You’re so beautiful, baby.”

“Jake,” I sighed, forgetting why I was fighting him when he
gazed at me with those gorgeous eyes.

He kissed me again, this time lingering for a while, disregarding
all the annoyed passersby who had to walk around us. There was none of the
urgency I’d previously experienced. Breaking away, he smiled down at me. “I
like this look on you. Soft and compliant.”

I frowned at him, not liking the sound of that. I wasn’t a
soft and compliant sort of girl.

His dimple made an appearance as he laughed at me. “Although
you’re cute when you growl and snarl at me… like a wet kitten.”

My frown grew fiercer and that seemed to feed his amusement.
He laced his fingers with mine and started to walk down the crowded street.

Instead of a fancy restaurant like La
Cocina
,
the Mexican eatery he took me to was low-key and inexpensive. The food was
incredible– spicy and flavorful. The place was teeming with customers,
making it impossible to have a conversation without screaming. It gave me some
time to figure out what the hell I was doing. This was obviously not a business
lunch and Jake was not treating me like his assistant. Although to be fair, he
hadn’t treated me like a mere assistant ever since we kissed in the stairwell.

As soon as we left the restaurant, Jake slung his arm over shoulder.
“Stop thinking so hard, Cora.”

I stopped and faced him. “Jake, I don’t know what we’re
doing.”

“We’re dating.”

“Pardon?” I stared at him in disbelief. “I didn’t remember
agreeing to go on a date with you!”

“Well, what else would you call this? We’ve had a nice meal
together. We’ve kissed. We’re holding hands.” He leaned down and stared into my
stunned face. “And since going out at night is a challenge because of Marcus,
we have to make do with lunch dates.”

I sputtered, unable to think of a comeback.

He grabbed my hand and started walking briskly. “We’ve got
to go. Appointment with the manager is in ten minutes.”

Struck dumb, I followed behind him, my brain churning
through everything. I couldn’t deny I didn’t resist him when he kissed me. I
stared at our joined hands. Nor did I try to yank my hand away. I watched him
as he deftly navigated through the packed sidewalk, pulling me into his body
whenever someone stepped too close. And I really enjoyed spending time with
Jake.

Was I really going to stop resisting him?

By the time we arrived at the property manager’s office, I
was no closer to understanding my own behavior.

Linda Mueller was a friendly woman in her fifties who emanated
patience and serenity. I imagined those qualities came in handy when dealing
with demanding tenants.

“Linda, I’d like to see the two units we discussed over the
phone.”

“Of course, Mr. Weston.” She walked behind her desk and took
out two keys. “The cleaners just finished with them earlier this week.”

I leaned over to Jake. “What are we looking for?”

“The overall condition of the space. Whether we need to
upgrade anything.”

“Jake, shouldn’t we have asked the contractor to come?” I
didn’t voice that this seemed too menial a task for the CEO. I’ve learned that
Jake liked to be involved in all levels of the business.

“We just need to make some notes. Come on.”

Linda smiled at me as we got into the elevator. “The first
unit is on the thirty-third floor. It’s a bit roomier than the second one.”

“How many floors are there?” I asked.

“Sixty. Any floor above the thirtieth offers a nice view of
the city or the river. It’s really quite a wonderful building.” She shared a
little of its colorful history.

“The Art Deco work is quite breathtaking,” I said, admiring
the stylized lighting sconces as we walked down the hallway.

She smiled in agreement. She unlocked the unit and swung
open the door.

Jake and I walked around the apartment, inspecting the
space. It had all the luxuries a building like this would afford.
State-of-the-art climate control.
Sparkling
hardwood floors.
Modern appliances.
Views of Chicago’s
distinctive skyline.

I couldn’t help thinking I would never be able to afford a
place like this. Our current apartment would fit into the living room. “Well,
everything looks almost new. Did you notice anything that needed to be fixed,
Jake?” I had taken out my phone to take notes, but so far, there was nothing on
the list of needed repairs.

“No, let’s go see the other one.”

We took the elevator to the forty-eighth floor.

“This is unit forty eight twenty. It has some very nice
views of the Chicago River. There are two bedrooms with en-suites. The kitchen
was remodeled last year.”

I stepped into the apartment and gasped. The view was
stunning, overlooking the city and the glimpse of dark green river below. I walked
over and pressed my palms against the glass.

A warm hand settled on my shoulder. “Like the view?”

“Uh-huh… hmm.” The view from hundreds of feet above the
ground looked unreal, like an architectural model.

“Let’s check out the rest of the space.”

Reminded of our reason for the visit, I tore myself away
from the window and walked through the rest of the apartment with Jake. Like
the other unit, everything was shiny and new.

“Well, everything looks good. There doesn’t seem to be
anything that needs updating in either unit,” I said.

Linda beamed. “I’m glad both meet with your approval.”

I frowned at the strange way she phrased her comment. Why
would my approval matter?

“Thank you for your time today, Linda. We’ll see ourselves
out. I’ll give you a call tomorrow.”

“It was my pleasure, Mr. Weston. The door locks behind you.”
With a firm handshake and a smile, she left.

“Jake, is there something else we need to do here?” I looked
at the time on my phone and frowned. “We should head back to the office.”

Instead of answering me, he pulled me over to the window.
“What do you think of the apartments?”

“What do you mean?”

“Do you like either one of them?”

I shrugged. “They’re both extremely nice. Who wouldn’t like
them?” I looked at him suspiciously. “Why do you ask?” I had a squirmy,
uncomfortable feeling in my gut.

“If you had to choose one of them, which one would you
choose?”

The squirmy feeling condensed into a tight knot and I
started to back away from him. “Oh, no.”

River North plus empty apartments plus Jake
Weston.

I was doing the math and the answer was pissing me off.
“Jacob Weston, this better not be what I think it is!”

He had the gall to grin at me. “You’re so cute when you use
my full name. My middle name is Benjamin in case you’re wondering.”

Where had he been hiding this irreverent sense of humor? It
was a quality I associated with Troy, not Jake, who was more brooding. But
recently, he had become more playful.

At another time, I would have found his humor endearing, but
now it just infuriated me. I clenched my teeth and glared at him. “Don’t try to
be cute, Jake. I told you I didn’t want to move into your apartment.”

“Cora, this place is empty. You and Marcus would have more
space and you’ll both be closer to work and school. The El is practically at
your door. I’d feel better that you are living in an apartment that has twenty-four
seven security. I don’t know why you’re fighting this.”