The Billionaire's Brother: BBW Billionaire Boss Erotic Romance (Vivian's Desire) (3 page)

“This didn’t happen. I’ll see you tomorrow. To do my job,” she said sternly and slammed the door behind her. Anita whipped her head around as Vivian ran past her bewildered friend for the elevator.

“Vivian! Are you-?”

“I’m fine! Feeling sick, taking a half day!” Vivian yelled back quickly as the elevator doors opened. She nearly toppled an older man with a cane as he moved to exit and finally collapsed against the corner. The doors closed. She was alone. Her shaking finger weakly hit the button for the parking garage.

At last, she found her car, but could not find the strength to turn it on. Instead, she felt tears sting her eyes as she dropped her forehead against the steering wheel.

“I’m such an idiot,” she whispered and hurriedly wiped away the rolling hot tears stinging against her cheeks. Here she was, allowing herself get taken in by hormones for a rude businessman. Alex’s face flashed across her mind. She smacked a hand against her forehead with a groan. With her beloved permanent boss’s brother no less! A womanizer, a suave bastard! She could lose her job! And she wasn’t royalty, so how would she protect herself from a scandal if it blew up?

She wept openly. For how long, she wasn’t sure, but she cried until she felt nothing at all in her chest. Not even the faint ghost of longing for the man that had swept her into his arms. She turned on her car. Soft jazz played over the speakers as she leaned against the car seat with an exhausted, heavy exhale.

“It’s OK. It’s never going to happen again. Ben will keep his mouth shut, because his brother will literally kill him if he finds out. I can say he seduced me, attacked me, came at me like a lion,” she reasoned while nodding her head as hypothetical scenarios poured through her mind. For some reason though, despite his character, she felt intensely bad about pinning the blame all on Ben. Her heart still warmed when she thought of his face.

“It’s been two days, Vivian! Get a hold of yourself!” She yelled in frustration and slammed her hands on the steering wheel. She glanced towards the side to see the same older man with a cane from earlier in his car, glancing at her nervously. She cringed and waved with a fake laugh. He quickly looked away and exited his parking space. She groaned again. “Fuck my life.”

Eventually, she found herself at her apartment. Tired, torn, and incapable of higher cognitive functioning, she sank into a much needed bubble bath. The smell of roses filled her candle-lit bathroom. She was on her second glass of red wine which sat beside her on the white porcelain ledge. She sighed in frustration and ducked herself underwater.

The sound of her phone ringing beckoned her back above the surface. She left it on constantly, even when she showered, because sometimes Alex called for important things even after work and he paid her too well to be ignored. She hurriedly dried one arm with a towel and grabbed her phone which had been playing relaxing music.

Sure enough, Alex’s name appeared across the screen. She took a deep breath and answered, “Hello?”

“Hey, Vivian! How was your first day with Ben?” His cheerful tone told her that his brother definitely hadn’t spoken a word about what happened.

“It was interesting. Pretty uneventful,” she lied, playing with a cluster of bath bubbles with her other hand. She hated lying to Alex, but what could she say? Oh, hey, I almost fucked your brother, who is kind of a handsome jerk, on his desk today at work? She cringed at the thought of a confession.

“Great, great. Are you looking forward to the weekend?”

That was right! In her torrent of emotions, she’d forgotten today was actually Friday. She would have the whole weekend to forget about Ben and calm herself. Yes! She punched the air and made a mental note to sign up for yoga tomorrow morning.

“Yeah, I won’t be doing much. I’ll just be catching up on some work, of course,” she said pleasantly and prayed he couldn’t hear her splashing about happily in the water.

“That’s good, because I actually have a huge favor I need to ask,” he explained. She could already hear the guilt creeping into his voice.

“Alex, just come out and tell me,” she said flatly. She heard his nervous laugh on the other line.

“Well, you see, there’s a party tomorrow and I’ll be on a plane to France by then…” his voice trailed off. She felt her stomach clench. Oh no. That couldn’t be a good sign. “Ben will be there, representing the company and…well, I’d really like it if you could go and keep an eye on him.”

She pulled the phone away and scrunched up her face in agony, silently mouthing protests.

“Are you there Vivian?”

She quickly put the phone back to her ear. “Yes!” she replied with feigned enthusiasm. “Um, that’ll be totally fine. Should I do this secret agent style? You know, hide away so he can’t see me at all?” She prayed the answer was yes.

“Well, he knows you’ll probably be there as long as nothing comes up, so you don’t have to worry about hiding in the shadows. I really appreciate this, Vivian. You’re the best employee I could ever ask for. My wife is so grateful too. I’ll e-mail you all of the details. The dress code is cocktail, of course.”

When she hung up, she collapsed over the side of the tub with a heavy groan. How could she say no to the sweetest boss in the world? She slid back down into the soapy water and contemplated drowning herself, which she thought would be a great excuse for not showing up to further escalate the sexual tension.

Ben’s face flashed through her mind. She shivered despite the heated water and nearly cursed herself. Part of her, that yearning side, was excited for the prospect of continuing. But it did nothing for her guilt. She stared blankly up at the cream colored ceiling.

“You can do this, Vivian. You are a strong woman.”

A familiar sinking feeling told her she didn’t really believe her own words. Or that she really wanted to.

—

Vivian was wrapped in an elegant emerald green dress. It hugged her curves and plunged deeply to show off her ample bosom. She had placed a delicate charm to rest just above her cleavage and wore her finest deep red lipstick. The party was being held in a restored firehouse which had been renovated into a small hotel with a night lounge on the top floor. She headed toward the lounge. The door man smiled pleasantly at her and she knew that this dress was a good choice from the way his eyes followed her.

The glossy golden elevator doors whisked her upstairs. She had deliberately chosen to come about an hour late, hoping that Ben would already have a few drinks in him and thus be easier to watch from afar. When the doors slid open, she was greeted to a crowded room that was dimly lit with glistening crystal lights hanging from the ceiling. Bodies glided by, wrapped in varying shades and luxury brands. She straightened her back and slowly made her way to the end of the bar. It was a little less crowded here and darker.

She ordered the bar’s trademark cocktail and told the handsome bartender to keep her tab open. She estimated the astronomical alcohol levels that this night might require. Her eyes scanned the crowd. No Ben to be found…yet.

A burly older man cleared his throat beside her. “Can I get you anything?”

She tried to feign a polite smile, but it was hard when his drunk, bulging eyes were ogling her chest. “No, thank you, I’m set,” she replied as calmly as possible while holding up her cocktail.

“You’re beautiful,” he said, nearly heaving his huge body on her. She grimaced and slid backward. His breath smelled like heavy bourbon.

“I said no,” she said firmly.

“Are you sure?” His eyes were blurry and unfocused. She scowled.

“She said no,” a voice beside her ear said firmly. She looked back to see Ben hovering behind her with a hostile grin. “Please leave the lady alone.”

With a grunt, the man slunk away into another dark corner, mumbling something crude as he went. She smoothed her hair and sipped from her glass casually.

“Thank you, Ben.”

“Did you come here to spy on me?” he asked, leaning in a bit closer to her.

“Of course not. I came here for a drink,” she replied and took another swig. The alcohol hit her throat with a pleasing buzz. She motioned politely to the bartender to start making another. Ben raised his eyebrows.

“I love a woman who can hold her liquor.”

“That’s nice.” She willed her voice to be completely cold. She felt him lean in closer, so she calmly turned to look him dead in the eye. “Is there something you need from me, Ben?”

She was not prepared for the deep hunger she saw in his eyes. They were rich with desire. His enchanting lips parted and she watched them, mesmerized.

Suddenly, a flash of red glossy hair came between them. Vivian pulled back to see the gorgeous redhead from the restaurant the other day now hanging on his arms. She smiled two rows of perfect white teeth at Vivian.

“Hello,” the woman chirped brightly and then promptly turned to Ben. “Benny, where were you?” Her voice was a needling whine that pierced Vivian’s ears. He shot a look towards Vivian and then turned his attention to the redhead.

“Candace, I came to get a drink and then saw my employee here. This is Vivian.”

She didn’t turn to look at Vivian. Instead, she seemed to have missed his words entirely. “Let’s dance!”

“Alright, just one second.”

“Benny, please, now!”

She turned so that Vivian was merely staring at her tanned back as she pushed Ben towards the dance floor with wild giggling. Vivian scowled and rolled her eyes.

“Whatever, Ben.” The bartender took her empty glass and gave her the second cocktail. She thanked him and made a bee-line for the balcony doors. A group of stylish smokers, models she guessed by the size of their limbs, leaned against the railing to her left. She turned right and rounded the corner to thankfully see an empty bench with a small table next to it. She sat and placed her glass on the table, running her hands through her hair and appreciating the warm, humid air of the night. It might ravage her curls, but she was thankful for some peace and quiet.

A few minutes passed and she heard footsteps rounding the corner. The familiar shiver than ran through her spine already told her who it was. How he had managed to escape his redheaded shackle, she wasn’t sure.

“Hello, Ben.”

“Good evening again, Vivian,” his smooth voice evoked a longing in her core that she tried vainly to push down. He sat beside her and pulled out a silver cigarette case. “Would you care for one?”

“I don’t smoke,” she replied shortly. He hesitated for a moment and slipped them back in his jacket. She took a gulp of her fruity drink as the nerves in her stomach rose.

“Vivian, are you angry with me?”

She refused to look at him and opted to stare out in the twinkling lights of the city. “No.”

“You’re a liar, love.”

She didn’t reply. She could feel his eyes burning holes into her body.

“You look beautiful tonight.”

“Thank you, sir.”

He smirked. “I like you calling me sir.”

“Ben, if you have nothing of a professional nature to say to me then please stop talking,” she said darkly and turned towards him to greet those same eyes so heavy with desire. Her pulse quickened. He was still smirking.

“You can’t pretend it didn’t happen today.”

A sudden yearning to take him on the bench rushed through her. To do away with his slick suit, the pressed white shirt, to press herself against his body again. She took a deep breath.

“That was a mistake,” she said slowly.

“A mistake…I wonder if my brother would be interested to hear about that mistake? Unless you’d want to do it again?”

“Is that a threat?” she asked, jumping up abruptly. The fabric of her dress slid against his leg during the motion. Her rushing blood sung. He chuckled deeply, a sound that tickled her ears.