Romance: Working for the Billionaire's Pleasure

Romance: Working for the Billionaire’s Pleasure

Kelli Sloan

Romance: Working for the Billionaire’s Pleasure

Kelli Sloan

Copyright © 2015

Published by Run Free Publishing

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.

This is a work of fiction.  Any resemblance to any person, living or dead, is purely coincidental. 

For my best friend Mel - whose life is the inspiration for this story.

Also by Kelli Sloan:

Romance: Housekeeper for the Billionaire

Romance: The Billionaire’s Lust

Romance: The Billionaire’s Secrets

Romance: The Billionaire’s Desire

Romance: Working for the Billionaire’s Pleasure

Kelli Sloan

Chapter 1

“No.”

Joel shakes his head, “Sorry Chloe.  The decision is made.”

“But you didn’t even ask me.  You haven’t said a word to me about it.  This is the first I have heard of it,” I plead.

“I’m sorry Chloe.  I know it is hard to see now but there is more to life than this business.”

“'More to life?'  I can’t believe you would say that.  In the seven years I have worked here, I have never heard you speak like that.  This business has been our passion.”

I can feel my insides sinking. 

This morning the world around me seemed normal.  I arrived at my job as an assistant to Joel Simpson, the owner of powerful music industry heavyweight Air Records, and expected my day to be like every other.  Work hard, work late and go home tired.

But Joel changed everything with one sentence.

‘I’ve sold the business,’
he said as soon as I walked in the doors. 

This business is my life.

Seven years ago, I was a perky eighteen year-old who left school with no clue where life would take me.  I had no sense of what I wanted to do and no idea where I wanted to be.  I applied for a number of jobs and eventually I scored a low-paying gig as Joel’s assistant.

At the time, the company had only started and I was Joel’s first employee.  We had no bands signed to the record label and no assets, but we worked hard and we grew. 

And we grew very quickly.

Thanks to Joel’s passion and my ability to close a deal, we have made this company into one of the big players for the region.  We produced album after album that hit the charts.  We produced win after win.  We changed people’s lives through music.

Despite all our success, and my increased workload, I have never graduated past the title of assistant.  Joel asked me numerous times if I wanted a job title change, but I rejected it.  I thought that it didn’t matter because we were successful and making money.  Job titles don’t matter when you are successful.  I have been paid very well and I love the job I do. 

I thought we both loved the jobs we did.

“What happens now?” I ask Joel.

He doesn’t raise his eyes from the desk.

“I say goodbye to everyone and leave today,” he mumbles.

“Today?!” I am shocked.

He nods, “The new owner wants me out.  He wants to put his mark on the business right away and he can’t do that if I’m floating around the office.  It’s part of the deal that I leave today.”

“How could you do it?” I ask again, “I just don’t understand.  We are more influential than we have ever been, we love what we do, and we have so much power in the industry.  How could you leave that?”

“I was never going to do this my whole life Chloe.  It was always about setting myself up for the future and with the deal that landed on the table, I have been able to that.  This was too good an opportunity to pass up.  You know we’ve been barely breaking even over the past year.  This is a chance for the company to refresh.”

I feel ripped off.

As I have worked here from the beginning, I feel like the company partly belonged to me.

“What about me?” I ask.

“You are the best employee I could have ever hoped for, Chloe.  Your ability to lock down an artist or deal on the amount of profit made on a tour is now legendary.  You have helped make this company and steer into the direction that it is today.  You are a big part of why this company has been successful.”

“Why didn’t you ask for my opinion?”

“Because it’s my company Chloe.  I know that may be hard to hear right now, but it is my company.  You are an amazing employee, but you don’t own any part of this company.  This had to be my decision alone.”

Bastard.

I have poured my life into the company.  I have barely taken a weekend break, let alone a holiday, in the last seven years.  This company has been my life.

I have lost contact with most of my friends, I have never had a real boyfriend and barely know what happens in the world outside of this place.  This place has filled my thoughts for seven years.

And now, it has been sold out from under my feet.

“The company still exists,” his tone hints that he can see the pain on my face, “You will still have a very well paying job as an assistant to the director of the company.  Part of the deal is that nobody gets the sack within one year of the new boss taking over.”

“Who is it?  Who bought the company?”

“Mitchell Rider.”

“Never heard of him.”

“Have you heard of the computer app ‘Rider’?”

I shake my head.  I haven’t heard of much that doesn’t relate to the music industry.

“This Mitchell guy invented that app.  It’s a photo-sharing tool for teenagers.  I had never heard of it either, but he sold it to one of the tech giants for a billion dollars.”

“A billion dollars?” My eyes almost drop out of my head. 

“It’s a stupid amount of money.  Anyway, it was always his dream to own a large record company, so he tabled an offer I couldn’t refuse.”

“And you took it?” I still can’t believe that someone with so much passion could walk away from his company.

“I had too.  He offered more than the company was worth, so I had to take it.  Like I said earlier, Chloe, you have to remember that there is more to life than this business.  You have to experience life outside these walls.”

“You have never told me that before.”

“That’s because you were the best employee I have ever had.  I loved your passion.”

I slowly start to come to the realization that I am no more than an employee to the company.  As much love and passion as I poured into this job, it was never my company.  It was always Joel’s company. 

I was just an employee.

“I thought we did this because we loved what we do?”

“I do love it.  I will always love music.  But it is not everything.  It’s business.”

I feel my insides sink further.

The world I know has come to a crashing halt.  I imagine this is what it is like to be dumped by a boyfriend. 

“Mitchell is coming in today, but that is all that he wanted.  He wanted to bring new ideas into the company and not be stifled by old habits.  I argued that old ideas work but he didn’t like that.  It’ll be your job to make the transition as smooth as possible.”

Joel’s phone buzzes and he takes a quick glance.

“That’s him now.  He’s just arrived.”

Joel stands up from behind his desk and walks out the office door.  It takes me a few moments, but I follow him into the elevator.  We don’t speak another word until we reach the foyer.

I walk with my head down, trying to compute what is happening to my world.  No matter what else happens today, my world has changed forever.

“Hello Mitchell, I’d like you to meet my assistant Chloe Summers.”

I look up.

Oh my…

The world seems to stop spinning.

My heart stops.

This moment has taken my breath away. 

I stand in the foyer of our building staring at the man opposite me.  He is a dreamy work of art.  His amazing body matches his handsomeness.

Tall, broad, and dominant.

He hasn’t even said a word, but he already owns this room. 

The aura surrounding him is strong. 

The beautiful piercing eyes look at me.  His eyes follow my curves down my body, and then back up to my breasts.  He makes no attempt to conceal the fact that he likes the amount of cleavage I am showing.  He stares long enough to make me feel like I should turn around so he can judge my perky behind as well. 

Although he has undressed me with eyes, he doesn’t say a word to me.  When he has finished looking at me, he walks to the elevator with Joel.

I don’t move.

I don’t know how to react.

I am left standing in the foyer, staring at the man that walks away from me.

When the elevator doors close, I begin to breathe again.

Chapter 2

“Did you see him?” Eva asks as I take a bite out of my lunch in the building café. We've been friends for years and colleagues for longer.

“I saw him,” I sigh.

“What did he say to you?”

“Nothing.”

“Nothing?”

“Not a word.  He stared at me with his eyes, judged me and then disappeared.”

“Not much of a talker?”

“I don’t think that was it.  You don’t make a billion dollars without the ability to talk.  I think he doesn’t know how to communicate with women.”

“He could talk to me all day with those dreamy eyes,” Eva looks wishfully away.

“Yes,” I reply, “He was quite handsome.”

“Handsome?” she smiles, “He was more than handsome.  He was ‘I-want-to-rip-off-his-clothes type of hot’.  Yum.  I could eat him for lunch.”

“Do you think he would be…”

“Be what, Chloe?”

I give her a knowing look. “You know what I mean.”

“I do,” Eva smiles.  “But I want to hear you say it.”

I have always been envious of Eva’s sexually adventurous side.  She is employed to show bands around town, guide them to their hotels and ensure they make it to the stage on time.  She is beautiful and outgoing, which means that she is invited back to every band’s after-party.

And while she has been partying, I have been working.

“Do you think he is…” I lean forward and whisper the next part, “Well hung?”

“Ha!” Eva laughs as I say it.

“Shhh…” I quiet her down.

“But to answer your question – yes.  Yes I do.”

“He was very big, wasn’t he?” I become lost in my own thoughts.

“Well, you are his assistant now, so you’d better stop drooling.  You’d better get used to staring at that handsome man.”

I shake myself out of the dreamy daze. “But I don’t want to get used to him.  I was used to Joel.  I was used to the way he worked and the business we built together.  I can’t believe he didn’t even consult me about the sale.  I didn’t even know.”

“That’s upsetting.”

“Absolutely.  I have put as much effort into this business as Joel has.  For every hour that he has worked, I have worked.”

“But you don’t own it.”

“Apparently,” I acknowledge the truth. “I am just another employee.”

Eva looks at me.  She wants to sympathize with me, I can see it in her face, but she doesn’t know what to say.  I am so confused about my own feelings that I don’t know what to say either.

“What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to have a few glasses… or bottles, of wine tonight,” I smile, “Then I am going to take a deep breath and come back and do my job tomorrow.  That’s what I am paid for.  To do my job.”

***

After drowning my sorrows into a few glasses of red wine the night before, I wake up ready to work for the first morning with my new boss.  It feels strange walking into an office that I know so well but feels so different this morning.  Joel is not here to guide me today.  I have to get used to life without Joel.

I have convinced myself that I should be excited about working with Mitchell.  He is a handsome billionaire, after all.  I could do a lot worse than that.

And it is not his fault that Joel sold the company. 

I arrive at work early but Mitchell is already here, and his office door is wide open.

“Morning,” I state as I past Joel’s old office and to walk my desk.

Mitchell doesn’t respond.

“Good morning,” I stand at the door and repeat in a slower tone.

He still doesn't answer.

I stand at the door for a while before Mitchell finally looks up from his computer.

“Natalie, you’re my assistant, aren’t you?”

“Um… no and yes.  My name is Chloe and I am your assistant.”

“Right.  Chloe.  I need coffee.  White with one sugar.”

I stare at him, “I think there has been a misunderstanding.”

“I employ you as my assistant.  I need a coffee.  There is no misunderstanding.”

Mitchell is as blunt as he is strong.

I don’t know how to fight against that.  I have never been directed so harshly before in my life. 

Standing in front of him, I wait for further conversation or a more suitable explanation.  Mitchell doesn’t engage. I slowly turn around and exit the office to the staff kitchen. 

Wow.

What an introduction to life after Joel.

Mitchell may be extremely good looking, but he is certainty painting the picture that he is an asshole.  

As I stir the sugar into his coffee, I consider spitting in it.  Then I think how juvenile that would be. 

But I do it anyway…

He’ll soon learn that I run the business here. 

As I pick up the mug, the goodness within me gets the better of my thinking and I tip the coffee down the sink.  I won’t stoop to that level.  I am better than that.  I have to be better than that. 

I make him another coffee and walk it back into Mitchell’s office.

“That was the longest coffee run I have ever seen.  You will need to be quicker next time.”

He is firm and direct.

Rude.

But I can’t resist him.

I don’t know why but he has me.  There is something about his demeanor that pulls me towards him.  A part of my body can’t resist his force. 

“I’m sorry it took so long,” those are the only words I can stammer out.

“Get me the files on the future bands.”

“Future bands?”

He stares at me with those piercing eyes again. 

I feel my stomach flutter.

He has complete control over me. 

I don’t want to like him.  He is the man that has destroyed my dreams for this business.  I don’t want to feel attracted to him, but my body betrays me.

Everything in my body draws me to him. 

My body is filled with desire… but my mind knows better.

“We don’t have files on future bands,” I explain nervously.

“You don’t seem to have a lot of things documented here.”

“We believe in getting the work done first and then, if we have time, we will do the administration.  Admin is secondary to the industry here.”

“Then how do you know which bands have potential for the future?”

“Instinct.”

“Instinct?  That is not a good business process.”

“It’s worked fine in the past.  We have built this business on that principal.  We listen to bands and if we think they are going to be any good, we sign them.  If they sound good, but don’t have the swagger, then we won’t sign them.”

“That’s it?  That is the principle that your entire business model is based around?”

I nod and Mitchell laughs out loud.

“I knew when I bought this company that it was poorly managed but that is beyond belief.”

“This company is not poorly managed.”

“It won't be now that I am here.”

“There has never been any issues,” I defend the company that I have poured my life into.

“You have no business structure, no business model, no plan for the future and this company has the most overpaid assistant in the country.”

“Are you talking about me?” I question him.

“Yes.  A company this size cannot afford to pay a personal assistant as much as you get paid.  I agreed with Joel that I wouldn’t cut your pay for the first year, but after that, your pay is going down.”

“I am more than an assistant.”

“We’ll see about that.”

Mitchell finishes the conversation by putting his eyes back onto his page.

I wait in front of his desk. 

I am too shocked to move.

“Are you waiting for something?” he questions when he notices I haven’t moved.

“I’m waiting for a thank you for the coffee,” I think of an excuse to avoid embarrassment. 

“If you get the coffee quicker next time, I might say thank you.”

His harsh tone stuns me.

I feel the anger burn inside me as I stare at him.

“You can move on now.  I have work to do,” he directs me away.

Bastard.