Authors: Rose Francis
The Billionaire's Assistant (Contemporary BWWM Interracial Romance) (The Billionaire's Proposition Book 1) (18 page)
“We both know I could have taken you that first night—I do not need such an elaborate plan to ‘get in your pants,’ and I have already gotten in them, so the job must be legitimate, yes?”
“You could have just…”
“Just what, Cherise? Everything you’ve seen so far should have prepared you for this. My darling, I am a billionaire. I have all sorts of assets to protect, and I must protect my interests at all costs. Can you really blame me for being thorough?”
Fuck, no I can’t, but still.
“This is so wrong!”
“No, my love—this is just the way it is. This kind of thing will also be a part of your job—prying into the lives of these kids. Were you offended as you looked through their profiles before? Their school records? Delinquencies? Psych evals? Family histories? I’m sorry, Cherise, but as my woman, you will lose some of that false sense of privacy—it is likely I will have bodyguards on you at some point, whether you like it or not.”
He takes long steps till he reaches me, then grabs the folder from me.
He turns to a particular page and points, holding it up to me.
“You must at least understand why I insist on having you. Look at this—these pages show you faithfully showing up to put together care packages for vets…”
“Listen, my brother was in the military. He told me about this guy who never got care packages and it broke my heart. That guy eventually died fighting for a bunch of people who didn’t give a shit about him—alone, in the midst of horror, and no love letters or acknowledgment of any kind. I’m not special—I just happened to hear that story and be moved by it.”
“Not true, Cherise, you are very special.” He turns to another page and points.
“Have you not also donated coloring books and crayons to a pediatric ward? Have you not taken the time to read books to kids in the library? Have you never volunteered at a soup kitchen? Hell, I’ve even watched you stick change into someone’s expired meter.”
He rests the folder on his desk, then grabs my hands.
“I’ve never met anyone like you, Cherise. And for you to be so kind and generous on top of being so beautiful…”
“I’m not beau…”
His look silences me.
“You go easy on everyone, but you are so hard on yourself. Now, you have decided to be hard on me, no matter how much I make it clear that I want all of you. I grew up in a shark tank, Cherise—a large one, but a shark tank nonetheless. I have seen the underbelly of the business world amongst other things. You are sunshine, my sweet, and I feel like a better person just being around you, knowing you. I guess it’s selfish, but yes—I want your sunshine always near me. Your heart, Cherise—I want it.”
He pauses and I can tell he’s trying to decide whether to say his next words or not.
“More than that, I want you to have my heir; I am hoping that my seed sprouts in you.”
I am stunned.
I don’t know what to say so I stay silent.
He drops my hands when I look away, but movement from him draws my eyes back, and I watch him pull something out of his pocket.
I just stare at it, an unexpected ache tearing through my heart.
It is the morning-after pill.
“Now that I have been completely honest with you, whether it’s because you don’t trust me and my intentions yet or because you are simply not ready, here is what I promised you—feel free to take it. And if we must follow up this action with a backup plan, so be it—I don’t want to force anything on you. I need you to want everything I can give you, everything I
want
to give you. The choice to accept me and all of my offers is yours.”
I take the box from him and try to ignore the plunge his emotions seem to take. Everything about his body seems to droop.
I am amazed that with a simple action, it seems that I have devastated him.
His voice, when it comes, sounds resigned and sad, tugging at my heart.
“If you truly find all of my terms disagreeable, I would still like you continue to work on the project. You will remain at the head; after all, it came about as a result of you. You were my inspiration, and I wanted, all along, to hand it to you. It was meant to be your dream realized, Cherise, and I’m not going to take it all back because you don’t want to be with me. Hearts like yours deserve all the riches in the world.”
He hasn’t been looking at me, his eyes still on that box, but my eyes now drink him in. I drop the box on his desk and take his hands in mine.
“I don’t want all the riches in the world, Richard—I want you.”
I fill with joy as his face brightens again, breaking into a radiant wide smile.
His body seems to lift before he bows slightly to me.
I know what’s coming, and my heart bubbles over with joy and anticipation.
“Your wish is my command,” he says.
I
t has been two weeks since the day I agreed to move in with Richard.
He and I have managed to find an easy balance between work and play, and every single day, I’ve fallen deeper for him.
He treats me with respect and care I’ve never experienced before, and when I look into his dark eyes in those moments he exposes his soul to me, I can’t help but care for him; I want to spend the rest of my life loving him.
Though we immediately discarded the morning-after pill after our talk two weeks ago, I haven’t taken a test yet to see if I’m pregnant, though I have a strong sense that I am.
The thought fills me with joy.
“Cherise, I am taking you to the doctor, first thing,” Richard says as we sit in the Jacuzzi after dinner.
“But before we know for sure, shouldn’t we discuss this seriously? For example, don’t you want to spend more time together before bringing a kid into it? Take a few trips—all those things people have to put off once a baby comes along?”
“My dear, you have forgotten one important thing—I am a billionaire. We can take trips by sea or air whenever we want.”
“But traveling with a newborn? A toddler? I hate going through airports by myself, let alone with…”
“Sweet Cherise, I have a private jet. Yachts. We can bring our children along whenever we decide to go somewhere or not—caretakers are quite easy to come by as well. And I’m not saying your duties as a mother will all be transferred to someone else; I’m saying there’s a lot of help available to us. A baby won’t stop either of us from doing anything, nor do we have to live away from the child and leave parenting in the hands of nannies. We have options—lots of them. Children will not be a hindrance to us—they will be a testament to us.”
He grins a large grin.
“I can’t wait to see you swell with my babe, Cherise. I want to kiss your rounded tummy, feel its tiny feet kick you from within. Hell, if it sounds like too much for you, we can even arrange a surrogate…”
“That won’t be necessary.”
I notice I’ve put my hand on my belly only when I see Richard staring at it.
I move my hand quickly.
“Do you feel a change?” he asks.
I nod. “I’m pretty sure something…took. I know what your store-bought test will say, and I know what the doctor will say. We’re having a baby, Richard. I have no doubt of it.”
I’m not sure his grin could get any wider.
“Even if it hasn’t yet happened, I can assure you I will be working earnestly at it.”
The thought fills me with joy—both having Richard’s baby and having him continue to plunge my pussy with hunger, need, and purpose—but part of me is a bit sad; I don’t want to be an unwed mother.
His smile falters.
“What is it, sweet Cherise? Where have you gone now in that lovely head of yours?”
“I…” I can’t actually say that, can I? I have to wait for the man to propose!
“I don’t like it when you hesitate, Cherise. I want you to feel comfortable sharing everything with me—your concerns, your goals. Any desire, any wish of yours—please don’t hold back from me.”
I take a breath.
“Okay, here goes. This is all pretty overwhelming, as you can imagine. For me to go from where I was to where I am now—it just seems like a dream and that I’ll wake up alone and clocking in to that horrible job…”
“You won’t have to go back there, I promise you; in fact, I can guarantee it. Cherise, I…”
He stops and I witness a rare break in his confidence.
“I want to marry you; I want to make sure you are taken care of for the rest of your life.”
He slides closer to me then grabs my hands in his.
He closes his eyes briefly before speaking again, and all I can do is stare into his lovely brown eyes.
“I love you, Cherise, and I know that you’re still struggling with your feelings for me, so I will wait for a more appropriate time to officially ask you, but I just want you to know this so that you can relax. Accept my love for you.”
Tears fill my eyes and then spill over.
“I love you too, Richard,” I say softly.
I watch all sorts of emotions pass over his face before he dips it toward mine and takes my lips with his.
When he pulls back, he says, “Now what were you afraid to say?”
“That I don’t want to be an unwed mother, believe it or not.”
He laughs.
“Well, my sweet, that leaves two options: we throw the wedding before you show, or whenever you’re comfortable, somewhere along the way of your pregnancy, we do the official paperwork and get married legally—on paper. Then we can throw a wedding bash whenever you’re ready to wear a wedding dress. It’s up to you. Now is there anything else I can solve for you?”
Something that had been bothering me all week finally makes it to the forefront. Not many people will notice my absence beyond the obvious, but there’s one guy who is surely aware I have gone missing.
“I do have a favor to ask.”
“Tell me, Cherise. Anything.”
“It’s just…I feel terrible having access to all this stuff while knowing someone who has nothing. I’m not trying to give all your money away, but there is one person I’d like to do something nice for—he sort of lives down the street, on the street. I used to say hi to him every day and I haven’t seen him since living here, and I probably won’t see him again. I’d just like to do something for him so he knows I still care—doesn’t have to be something big. He’s a vet who got honorably discharged after an injury and had a hard time getting stabilized. I’d like to provide him with something.”
“Sweet Cherise, he will never go hungry again. We can even make sure he has shelter.” He grabs my hand and kisses it. “You have a soft spot for vets, it seems.”
“Like I said, my brother is one.”
His smile widens. “I suspect we’ll be working on another pet project at some point, won’t we? My sweet Cherise, you’ll have your hands full with these jobs—are you sure you’re ready for a child as a busy, working woman?”
“Well, one of the main jobs of someone in my position is to delegate, isn’t it? If it becomes too much, time to hire assistants.”
“As long as none of them are young studs.”
“Goodness, I can barely handle one of you. You’re definitely all the man I need.”
“Glad to hear it,” he says, right before his mouth descends on mine, his tongue slipping past my lips.
My heart soars on our kiss, and when he pulls away, I see desire burning in his eyes, and there is only one answer to whatever he’s about to say next.
“How about we retire to the master bedroom for a bit?”
I grin wide and bow slightly.
“Your wish is my command,” I say.
We exit the Jacuzzi and quickly make our way through the house—our house—and when we reach the top of the stairs, Richard surprises me by scooping me up in his arms and carrying me the rest of the way there.
My heart floods with love for the man I know is my future, the father of my unborn child, the master of this majestic place.
In this place, by his side, is no doubt where I belong.
END
Hope you enjoyed both novellas in my new series! :) Look out for the third story in October!
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R
ose Francis likes reading
—and writing—psychological fiction, particularly stories addressing difficult topics.
S
he has been writing
from a very early age and is thrilled to have a platform that allows her to bring her tales to the public.
T
he Billionaire’s
Assistant
is the first book in
The Billionaire’s Proposition
series. The second story is
Serving the Billionaire
, followed by
The Tycoon’s Reluctant Bride
(both previously published under another name).
The stories are all standalone and can be read in any order, although it is recommended to read them in their assigned order.
Check out Rose’s
Amazon Author page
for her full catalog!
