The Romance Challenge, Complete Series Box Set: BBW Hot Alpha Billionaire Romance

The
Romance Challenge

The
Complete Series Box Set

By
Arlanna Sterling

CHAPTER
ONE

Monday

Tension hung in the air like primordial
swamp mist. Nathan Cameron, owner and CEO of Cameron Industries, was here to
choose one of the employees from this Chicago branch office to go with him on
an assignment in Key Largo, Florida. Shannon, my supervisor, was interviewing
with him now, while the other admin assistant and I traded nervous looks across
the room.

Too wound up to sit still, apparently,
Becca sauntered over and parked her butt on my desk, narrowly missing my
coffee. I grabbed the mug and moved it.

"What do you think? Up or down?"

She lifted her perfect hair up, then let
the shiny locks fall down to frame her perfect face. I glimpsed my own mane,
reflected in my computer screen. Frizzed-out today, since a heavy gray mass of
yuck and rain had moved in, making early November extra bone-chilling cold and
nasty.

"It looks awesome either way. Tell me
about Nathan. You've met him in person. What's he like?"

I talked to him on the phone and we worked
together a lot, but I'd never seen him except on a video conference call. He
was in his early-thirties, I knew that, and kept a low profile. Very few
pictures of him surfaced on the Internet. I'd devoured all the information I found
on him and his company as soon as Cameron Industries hired me. Good to know the
people who sign your paychecks, I always say.

"He is one fine-looking man. Great
butt. He must work out. A lot." Becca finger-combed her hair.

 "Nice to know. But what about his
personality? He's always pleasant to me when we talk, but he could be faking
that."

"Nathan is cool when he comes here. He
doesn't stay long and doesn't chat much, but he never gives us any trouble. We
get paid on time, not like other places I've worked, so I figure he's got his
act together." She stood. "What are you going to do if he picks you,
Amber? You all ready to go to Bay Paradise Resort?" She gave me a sly
grin.

I'd probably keel over from shock, that's
what I'd do. And no, I wasn't ready to go to a tropical island. "You're
the one he'll choose. You've been with Cameron the longest."

"Yeah, but he always wants to talk to
you when he calls here."

Nathan
did
seem to request me more
often, but I figured that was because Becca and Shannon were busy with their
more advanced projects. "Even if he picks me, I wouldn't go. I can't leave
my mom."

"She's got a nurse to take care of her,
right?"

My pulse rate increased as it did whenever
the topic of my family came up. "I can't travel all the way to South
Florida for a whole week. Mom would miss me."

"You need to get out more, sweetie. You're
looking kind of faded. Want to borrow my lipstick?" She pulled a tube out
of her pocket and waved it at me.

"No thanks. Nathan's not married,
right? No kids?"

"Single, no kids. He was engaged
once, but what I hear from headquarters in Los Angeles, he dates now. Nothing
serious. All the women there go crazy over him, but he never socializes with
anyone from the office."

Shannon burst into our cubicle area.
"Lordy, I'm glad that's done. Interviews make me sweat like a basketball
player. Nathan says give him ten minutes, then you're up, Amber. Good
luck."

My stomach knotted tighter. I grabbed my
notes that outlined all the fabulous reasons Nathan should choose me. One more
glance before I presented. Oh crap. Did I write that? I was a "people
person?" Blerg! How cliché. I crossed it out with a red pen. Ten minutes.
Should I make another bathroom stop? Check my outfit one more time?

Nah. I knew what I looked like. A large
woman, wearing an outdated skirt and blouse a size too small. I'd polished my
seldom-worn heels and did the best I could with my face and hair. I'd have to
dazzle Nathan with my charm and my smarts. He wouldn't pick me, but I had to
give it my best shot anyway.

Standing outside the office he was using
for interviews, I gave my hands a quick wipe down the side of my skirt, gripped
my notepad tight, and walked in. Nathan was pacing and talking on his phone.

OMG. Becca hadn't lied. He certainly
was
fine in person. Tall, slim, wearing a suit that had to be custom made it
fit him so well.
Don't look at his butt, don't look at his butt
. I
looked. Yep, that ass had seen one or two workouts.

It took a moment, but he finally noticed I
was there and turned to face me. Those eyes; dear Lord. I'd seen his face on a
computer screen, but in person, they radiated power and passion. I froze in the
middle of the doorway, as though caught in the headlights of a semi-truck.

He stopped in mid-sentence on his phone
call and stared at me, with this intense look on his face. Uh-oh. Was something
wrong? Did I have a poppy seed stuck in my teeth? Becca would have told me. Or
not. My mouth. It hung open like a car door. I closed it and made my lips
smile.

Calm down. This is a nice guy who likes to
work with me.

"I'll call you back." Nathan put
his cell phone on the desk.

"Hello Nathan. It's good to meet you
in person. I'm Amber." I moved towards him, smacked my hip into the corner
of the desk, and bit back a curse as pain shot through my leg.
Do not drop
the F bomb.
Smile still in place, I stuck out my hand, praying it wasn't
damp.

He kept staring for another second, then kind
of shook his head and smiled back. "So nice to meet you too, Amber. I've
enjoyed working with you long distance." He took my trembling little paw
and shook it.

Wow. What the heck was that tingle running
up my arm? His grip was firm, but not like he was crushing me. By the way his
eyes widened, he felt something too. Maybe I'd picked up static electricity
walking across the room. Not real likely, on tile floor, but I couldn't think
of any other reason for this surge of energy. We stood there for an awkward
moment while he studied me, then he dropped my hand.

I wanted to glance down to see if there
were scorch marks, but I grabbed it with my other hand and clasped them both in
front of me. Before they did something silly, like reach up and stroke the
slight shadow of a beard on his face.

"Sit down, please."

My legs shook as I took a seat in the
chair across from the desk. What was I, a love-struck teenager meeting a rock
star? Jeez, this was Nathan, the guy who laughed at my corny jokes and liked
the pictures of my cat I emailed him. Why did a wave of heat flood my body, particularly
in my girl parts?

Because he was hotter than hell in person that's
why. I didn't get that energy, that piercing awareness, when I talked to him on
the phone. And I sure never smelled him. Kind of woodsy, with a bit of musk
layered in. A hint of spice too; bay leaves, or cardamom. From his slightly
messed up hair to his shiny Italian loafers, the guy radiated sex appeal. And those
laser-beam eyes.

No. I gave myself a mental bonk on the
head. I had zero interest in his hotness. I had no time to think about men,
with my jobs and my family situation. And anyway, gorgeous billionaires like him
didn't look twice at plus-size girls like me.

"So Amber, tell me why you'd be a
good candidate for this position."

Right down to business. I'd hoped for a
few minutes of small talk to help me loosen up.

"I'm detail oriented, as you know
from working with me. On this job at Bay Paradise, you want your assistant to
take accurate notes and prepare reports. That's one of my specialties, summing
up information and presenting it concisely."

Okay, so far so good, I guess. He had
given none of us much information as to what he wanted an assistant to do in
Key Largo. We'd all discussed it and the only thing we knew was, Cameron
Industries bought the hotel recently and wanted to keep it going.

He nodded at me to continue.

"After looking at so many properties
this past year at Cameron, I feel I can effectively evaluate the pros and cons
of a place."

"This is a resort. You've been
working on the residential side."

"Well, I assisted Shannon with two of
her commercial projects. Not like she couldn't do them herself," I added quickly.
"It's just, I had spare time, so I asked her if I could help."

Shoot. I hope that didn't get her, or me,
in trouble. Nathan smiled slightly, so I took a deep breath and continued.
"I enjoy working with people. I can talk to others easily and get them to
talk to me. I feel that would be an asset for this project."

Do not say "people person."

Nathan nodded again, glanced at his phone
and tapped it briefly, then scribbled on his notepad with his Montblanc pen. Talk
about owning the finer things in life. I'd ordered that pen for his visit and
about fell over when I saw it cost over seven-hundred dollars. But when you
have as much money as he does, you can afford the best of everything, I
suppose.

"Thank you, Amber. That will be all."
He stood and picked up his notepad. "My driver is waiting downstairs. I
have business in the area, but I'll be back today at four o'clock to announce my
decision. Please pass that on to everyone."

I stood also. Wait. We couldn't be done
already. "Um, I have spreadsheets here, showing the results of several of my
projects, and my six-month review from Shannon. I can…"

"That won't be necessary. Thank you,
and I'll see you at four."

He came around the desk, did not bash his
hip into it, and strode out of the room.

Well hell. Was that it? He'd spent at
least a half-hour with the other two women and five minutes with me. Maybe he
needed to dash off to another appointment, or really had to pee, or something like
that.

Or maybe, I sucked big time.

Fighting tears, I went back to my desk,
aware that Becca watched me. I didn't even look in her direction, just sat down
and sent a notice to everyone that Nathan would return at four. Then, I dove
back into work. It didn't matter. I couldn't go to Florida anyway, so there was
no reason to be disappointed.

But even though I couldn't take the job,
part of me desperately wanted to be asked. I always did my best at everything I
tried and enjoyed a challenge. Being picked for the position would sure boost my
ego. And maybe, just maybe, I'd find a way to go. Getting out of this cold
town, basking in the sunshine and ocean breezes…I'd be reborn. Becca was right;
I looked, and felt, pretty faded.

After the longest day in the history of
mankind, Nathan returned. He'd texted Shannon from the lobby and asked for the
three of us to gather in the break room. Becca, Shannon and I made silly small
talk. I kept a smile in place and practiced my "congratulation"
speech to whoever won.
Please, just let this day end.
My skirt was
cutting off my circulation and the dressy shoes pinched my feet. I wanted to
get home to my sweat pants and Pumpkin the cat. She loved me, no matter what.

"Thank you for speaking with me
today. You all have excellent qualities and skills. If not, you wouldn't be
working for me."

I nervous giggled. I couldn't help it. He
looked so solemn, but I'd seen from our correspondence, beneath his serious
outer layer, a fun guy lurked. One I suspected he didn't allow too many people
to see.

Nathan rocked on the balls of his feet.
"It was a difficult decision, but Amber will be assisting me in Key
Largo."

I stopped breathing. Really and truly, just
stopped. I heard wrong. But no,
I
was the one getting the congratulation
speech from my coworkers. He picked me.

Through my astonished haze I realized
Nathan was talking, and I should probably listen.

"Contact my assistant and make your
flight arrangements. You'll arrive this coming Sunday the eight. I'll send you further
information about the project this week. Thank you all again." He turned and
strode from the room.

Still in a daze, I wandered back to my
desk. I did it! I got the assignment. Me, the big girl with the frizzy hair.
Too excited to concentrate on work, I tapped out a quick text to my BFF
Jennifer, who lived in New Jersey.

Hey, guess who got the job and is going to
FL next week? Squee!

Jen stayed glued to her phone, so I got an
immediate response.

Sweet! Tell me more later. Wrestling the
kids right now. Good going!

Jennifer and I didn't talk much. Between my
busy schedule and hers with her twins, we had little free time. But we shot
each other a text now and then, and neither of us worried if it was brief. One
of those solid friendships I treasured.

The day finally ended, on a much better
note than it had started. Since it was my week to tidy up, I was the last one
out. As I shut off the lights in the office Nathan used, I saw an object on the
desk. His pen. I picked it up, turning it over in my hands. What made this writing
implement so special that a guy didn't mind spending seven-hundred dollars for it?
It was kind of pretty, but not that beautiful.