Resisting the Billionaire (4 page)

My lips pressed tightly together. I didn’t want to say
anything else that would make the architect’s life miserable.

“That’s too bad.” He was clearly laughing at my discomfiture
because his lips kept twitching. “Now, have you ever had tapas?”

I shook my head. On my salary, I could hardly afford to eat
out.

It suddenly hit me that things had changed. With my raise, a
night out wasn’t out of the question anymore. I smiled as I made plans to take
Marcus to eat out this weekend. Maybe we’d hit a steak house. We hadn’t had a good
steak for a long time. It would be nice to not have to eat cheap carbs for
once. And afterwards, we could pick up some clothes for him. He was growing
like a weed and his jeans were already too short for
him
.

“Penny for your thoughts.”

“What?” I blinked my boss into focus.

“What put that look on your face just now? Were you thinking
of someone specific?” Jake looked hawkish, his eyes hard, and I wondered what
had irritated him.

“Um…I was thinking of taking my brother out this weekend.”

“Welcome back, Mr. Weston! It’s always a pleasure.” A dark
haired mustachioed man beamed at him. Obviously, Jake was a valued customer. He
turned to me and although I didn’t think it was possible, his smile grew. “And
who is this lovely
se
ñ
orita
?”

Whatever affected Jake seemed to have passed quickly because
his face was relaxed again. “Luis, it’s good to see you! This is Cora. Cora,
Luis is the owner of La
Cocina
.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Luis. Your restaurant is lovely.”

“The
se
ñ
orita
is beautiful and smart.”

Luis’s echo of Jake’s earlier words made my face heat up.

Jake smiled lazily as he stared at me. “Yes, she is.”

My cheeks exploded with color at his look. It felt too
intimate and I forced myself to glance away. I dug my fingers into my palms,
hoping the pain would help me maintain my composure.

“Would it be okay if I picked a selection of tapas for you
today?” asked Luis.

I nodded my assent. I was too flustered to focus on what to
order.

“That would be wonderful, Luis.” Jake handed the owner our
menus.

“So, you were thinking about your brother. Marcus, right?”

It took me a moment to recall our conversation. I
nodded,
surprised he remembered my brother’s name. “Yes. I
thought it would be nice if we went out to eat tomorrow. We haven’t dined out
since…well, for a long time.” Since before my mom died.

“How old is Marcus?”

“He’s twelve. He’s in the eighth grade.” I could tell he
wasn’t familiar with school age children and explained. “He’s ahead in school
by a year because he’s academically advanced, especially in math and science.
He could actually do high school level work, but the counselor said it would be
harder for him to fit in socially if the age gap is too large.”

He looked suitably impressed. “Intelligence runs in the
family, then. How did you become a guardian at such a young age?”

There wasn’t a way to dodge the question without being
outright rude. “My mom died from lung cancer eight months ago and we didn’t
have any extended family.”

Sympathy changed his blue-green eyes to dark blue. “I’m so
sorry, Cora. That must have been heart-breaking.” His large hands reached
across the table and took my hands gently into his.

Something tightened in my chest at his touch. His palms felt
dry and hot and every time the pads of his thumbs brushed the top of my hands,
I felt twin currents travel up my arms. I had expected his hands to be soft and
manicured, but they were pleasantly rough.

 
“It was. But at
least I still have my brother. He’s my only family.”

“Family’s important. What happened to your dad?”

“He died in a car accident. Hit a patch of black ice and
spun into a truck coming the other way.” My voice was shaky. My dad’s death was
sudden and unexpected whereas I had time to prepare for my mom’s. It wasn’t
that my mom’s death was less agonizing, but at least I had time to say goodbye.

His face etched with sadness, Jake squeezed my hands. “Fuck.
I’m so sorry, Cora. You’ve had to deal with a lot of bad shit and you’re only
twenty-two.”

I could feel the prickle of tears and I forced myself to
push aside the grief threatening to overwhelm me. Self-pity never helped
anybody. “I tell myself there are people who have it worse. At least Marcus and
I are together and we’re healthy.”

I forced a smile and pulled my hands away. His touch was
affecting me far too much. “How about your family?

“Mom and Dad live an hour and a half north of Chicago. When
Dad retired, Mom convinced him to move far enough away so that he wouldn’t be
tempted to drop by the office to check on things. They really like living in
the country.”

“That sounds like the perfect way to retire. Do you have any
other siblings besides Troy?”

“No.
Although my mom would have loved a
daughter.
But she swore she was too tired after raising too rambunctious
boys.”

“You and Troy seem to be close.”

“We are. When we were younger, we fought all the time, but
things changed when we went off to college.”

“I guess you grew up.”

He grinned at my assessment. “I did… but the jury’s still
out on Troy.”

“I guess I spoke too soon,” I teased.

His chuckle was deep and warm and entirely dangerous. Our easy
banter made me feel like we were on a date instead of a business lunch. I
dropped my eyes in consternation and bit the inside of my mouth as a sharp
reminder to be professional.

The server’s arrival was a timely interruption. He placed three
small plates of food in front of us: roasted potatoes, asparagus with Parmesan
cheese, and fried calamari.

“God, this looks incredible.” I inhaled, drawing in the
smells.

“Let’s dig in. If I know Luis, he’s already sending out the
next round.”

Without ceremony, we both placed a sampling of each dish on
our plates. I was never the type of girl who didn’t eat in the presence of a
good-looking guy. Even as compelling as Jake was, the food was too good to
resist.

It was all I could do not to moan in ecstasy as the dash of
sea salt and Parmesan melded with the fresh taste of asparagus. Jake stared at
my mouth and I quickly brought up my napkin to wipe away whatever drew his
attention.

“Tell me about the Emerson project. What will we be looking
at today?” My tone was deliberately brisk and cool.

With the barest hesitation, Jake started to explain what we needed
to inspect at the site and the progress he expected to see.

The staff brought out plate after plate of delicious food
and despite feeling uncomfortably full, I ate every bite. Jake seemed unfazed
by my healthy appetite and put away his fair share of the spread.

When Luis returned, I was effusive in my praise and he
puffed up proudly.

The visit to the site was eye opening. Jake patiently
described the various stages of the construction process and again, I was
impressed with his knowledge of every minute detail.

When Jake explained to the architect about the reason for
the changes, I was concerned Will
Garucci
would get
angry, but to my surprise, Will was on board. His compliance might have had something
to do with the force of nature that was Jake Weston, but I saw signs of genuine
enthusiasm as
Will
sketched out new ideas which did
not require a total revamp of the project.

By the time we returned to the office, my head was spinning.
I felt like someone had flipped me upside down and shook out all my expectations
and preconceptions of Jake Weston and then stood me back right side up. I felt
rattled and humbled.

The reality of being Jake’s assistant was definitely not
what I first imagined. Nor did the billionaire resemble the caricature I had in
my head.

Then all my feelings of revulsion returned with a vengeance
when I watched him utterly crush Leon Richards and his son in our afternoon
meeting.

DataPoynt
was a cyber security
company under a hostile takeover from a rival firm. The CEO, Leon Richards, was
practically begging for Jake to step in to save the company, but my boss was
unmoved.

Leon was a barrel-chested man in his fifties. Under normal circumstances
he was a handsome man, but stress had taken a toll, making him look drawn and
tired. His son, Dale, was only a few years older than I was, but he came across
as confident and business savvy. Instinctually, I liked father and son on sight.
They radiated honesty and old-fashioned values. They greeted me with utmost
courtesy, unlike many of the CEOs who treated me like a piece of furniture.

Leon spent twenty minutes going over the circumstances of
the takeover and the current financial state of the company. From his tone, I
could tell Leon cared a great deal about the firm.

Jake interjected with a few questions, but he looked
completely indifferent to the other company’s troubles.

Leon was sweating profusely. Deep lines etched the sides of
his mouth and the corners of his eyes. “Weston, I understand this is not
normally Weston Enterprise’s industry, but yours is the only company with
enough assets to fight off the takeover. Larry Penn doesn’t want what’s best
for
Datapoynt
. He’s just out to make a fast buck.
He’s going to gut the company and sell it off. I founded
Datapoynt
and I don’t want the firm to fall into Penn’s hands. I’m asking for your help.”

My heart bled for him. Leon was risking his pride to do the
right thing for his company.

Jake did not react to the impassioned plea.

“
Datapoynt
might be small compared
to other firms, Mr. Weston, but we have one of the best reputations in the
industry. We have made a steady profit every year,” Dale added. “We have a few
projects in development which could increase our share of the market within
three years. My dad is an amazing CEO and he’ll continue to make the company
grow. Your management team would not need to get involved.”

I smiled at Dale, moved by his show of support for his dad. I
swung my gaze to Jake. He was staring at my lips and his expression was
downright icy. I shivered, wondering what brought on his sudden moodiness.

“I’m sorry, Richards, but business is business. I don’t have
any interest in paying an inflated price for stocks in a company that won’t
really add to Weston’s overall portfolio. You’ll have to find somebody else to
be your white knight.”

“There’s nobody else.” The older man looked gutted. “There
are hundreds of jobs at stake,” Leon made a last appeal.

“Frankly, that’s not my problem.”

The heartlessness of the statement made me flinch. Jake’s
coldness was unnerving. I had a hard time reconciling this man with the one who
spoke so warmly to his mom just this morning and who teased me during lunch.

Jake unfolded his tall frame and stood.

Following his cue, the
Richardses
did
as well. The elder’s face was gray with defeat. “Thank you for your time.” He
shook hands with Jake, and gave me a curt nod.

Dale Richards reluctantly offered his hand to Jake. His face
was flushed with anger. When he turned to me, he forced a smile and said, “It
was a pleasure meeting you, Cora.”

My smile was sickly. I felt a surge of pity for him and
squeezed his hand in sympathy. “I’m sorry it didn’t work out. I hope things turn
around.”

Dale’s lips twisted wryly and father and son left the
conference room. Dale’s hand was on his father’s shoulder in silent support.

I gazed longingly at their backs, envying their strong familial
bond. In spite of their financial woes, I knew father and son would be there
for each other.

After they walked out of sight, I busied myself logging off
the tablet I used for taking notes. The meeting left a sour taste in my mouth.

Jake must have seen some of the distaste on my face because
he asked, “Something on your mind, Cora?”

I thought about holding my tongue, but I couldn’t contain
myself. Innocent people were going to suffer because of a megalomaniac’s greed.
“Why won’t you consider rescuing the firm? It’s obvious Mr. Richards is at the
end of his rope and he cares about his employees.”

“There are no strategic advantages for Weston Enterprises to
save
Datapoynt
.”

“But there are probably no disadvantages either,” I argued.

“It doesn’t make business sense. With the cost of the
buyout, Weston Enterprises wouldn’t turn a profit for years on the deal.”

“Not everything has to be about the bottom line. If Mr. Richards
was
telling the truth, hundreds of families would
suffer because of some power game played at the top of the food chain. He and
his son seem to be good people.”

Irritation and some unnamed emotion flared in his eyes. “Are
you sure you’re not unduly influenced by Dale Richards’s pretty face?”

My mouth dropped open in disbelief. I was speechless at the
unfair and unwarranted accusation.

“Don’t let your emotions cloud your judgment in business.”

His sanctimonious tone made me grit my teeth. I was never
one for violence, but my palm itched to connect smartly with his cheek. “Better
than to have no emotions at all,” I uttered under my breath.

From the flash in his eyes, Jake heard me, but I didn’t
care.

In one day, my opinion of him had swung from he’s-such-a-sweet-son
to he’s-not-so-bad-if-he-respects-my-opinion to he’s-an-utter-and-complete-asshole.
His Exaltedness was back.

I stuck my chin in the air, refusing to be cowed by his
disapproval. “You asked me not to hold back my opinion when you hired me. In
this instance, I think you’re making a mistake. Saving
Datapoynt
might not add to Weston Enterprises’ profits at first, but in the long run, you’ll
earn the loyalty of
Richardses
and they’d work even
harder for you.”