Working Him: A Billionaire Romance (4 page)

Chapter 6:  Rachel

He was more gorgeous in person than he was in his pictures. I drew in a deep breath as I sat behind the desk, waiting for Garrett to come and show me the computer system. I hadn’t expected him to remember me, but I could easily see the boy I had known in him. It was his eyes that hadn’t changed, though the rest of him surely had and in that dress shirt, whew I needed a cold shower asap.

“Rachel, thanks for waiting,” he said as he approached me, an easy grin on his face. “Can you tell me a little about what you did in your last job?”

I swallowed, forcing the lies to come rolling off of my tongue. “Well, I can answer the phones, do calendar appointments, filing, you name it, I can do it.”

“Good, good,” he said as he leaned against the desk. “That’s exactly what we need. The computer login is posted under the keyboard and you will have access to both mine and Travis’s calendars to schedule anything you need for us.”

“Great,” I said, itching to get started. “Anything else I should know?”

Garrett leaned over and grinned. “Steer clear of Travis. He has itchy fingers when it comes to a beautiful woman.”

I wanted to ask him if he also had itchy fingers, but I nodded instead. “I can handle myself.”

“I know you can,” he winked pulling back. “Let me know if you need anything okay? Wow, it’s great to see you, Rachel.”

“You too, Garrett,” I said as he walked away, checking out his ass in those suit pants. Wow, he was just as gorgeous walking away as well. Turning back to the computer, I found the login and typed it into the boxes provided, watching as the computer booted up. When I was in, I pulled up both calendars. A great deal of already scheduled showings, with a few meetings scattered throughout, but nothing too exciting. Not that I expected it to be. It was rare that someone who was stealing money from a company actually implicated themselves somehow. It didn’t matter. I enjoyed the hunt, but I just hoped that it wasn’t Garrett doing the dirty deed. Closing the calendars, I looked at the folders that were on the screen. Whoever the last receptionist was had been very meticulous, putting all of the files in folders on the desktop. That was good. It made my job very easy indeed.

The phone rang and I picked it up. Time to get to work for now.

***

The day passed quickly. It was hard for me to not see Christina across the way, or have Brian come just to bother my day. I hadn’t realized how much I had gotten used to my team until they weren’t around. Garrett and his partner had been in and out all day long, with numerous clients and associates streaming through the office which did nothing but impress me by how successful Garrett was. He had really done well for himself here in Miami and I was happy for him.

The door opened and a woman breezed in, encased in a tight white dress that accentuated her deep tan. “Oh,” she said as she saw me. “So they got a new one.”

“May I help you?” I asked politely as she walked over, her heels clicking on the floor.

“Oh, me?” she giggled, flipping her hair over her shoulder. “I’m here to take my man to dinner, of course.”

“And which one would that be?” I asked, arching a brow.

She giggled again, though her eyes were cold as ice. “That would be Garrett of course. Can you find him?”

I looked her over and stood up, thinking she was a typical woman that I had seen Garrett with in those pictures. A small spurt of jealousy coiled deep in my gut.

Why should I care who he dated? My childish infatuation with him was as old as dirt now. We were different people, all grown up and virtually strangers. Carefully, I walked over to Garrett’s office and knocked on the door.

“Enter,” he said, his voice muffled by the door.

I pushed it open and saw that he was behind his desk, staring at some paperwork in his hands. He looked up and I gave him a smile. “There’s a woman here to see you. She says she’s here to take you to dinner.”

He frowned. “Oh, damn it. When will she get the picture?”

“Would you like for me to tell her you’re unavailable?” I offered, curious to know what the drama was between them.

He chuckled and stood, placing the paperwork on the desk. “No, it won’t work, trust me. Tell her I’ll be out in a minute.”

I nodded and walked back out to the front of the office. “He’ll be with you in a moment,” I told her.

She frowned, obviously not used to being told to wait as I seated myself back at my desk so I could get ready to leave for the night. There wasn’t much I had learned today, looking through the files on the computer and finding nothing. Tomorrow I was going to move to the paper files and if nothing popped out at me, I would have to move to the offices. That would be the tricky time.

Garrett walked out and I drew in a breath, surprised at how his handsome form took my breath away. “Cherise,” he said. “What the hell are you doing here?”

Cherise walked over to him and laid a hand on his shoulder, her eyes sliding to me. “I’m here to take you to dinner, baby.”

I watched as irritation crossed over Garrett’s face. “I told you that we are over with, Cherise,” he said softly, brushing her hand aside. “That means you can’t stop by whenever you want.”

“But Garrett,” she whined, a pout on her face. “I just want to take you out to dinner.”

“Too bad,” he said, his gaze sliding over to mine. “I’m taking my new receptionist out instead. I trust you have met Rachel?”

I swallowed as two pairs of eyes looked at me, one glaring as if I had just taken her favorite toy. “What?”

“Dinner,” he said, a grin tugging on his lips. “With me, remember?”

“I, uh, yes,” I stammered, seeing Cherise’s eyes narrow. “I’m sorry, Mr. Louden. I forgot.”

“But baby,” Cherise tried again, drifting her fingers over Garrett’s strong forearm. “I thought we could make up for some lost time.”

“Sorry, Cherise,” Garrett said, placing a hand on her lower back and moving her toward the door. “But a promise is a promise. Surely you understand.”

“But,” she started as Garrett opened the door and pushed her through, shutting it before she could say anything. I watched as he stood there for a moment, looking at the closed door, and I couldn’t help but wonder what the hell had just happened.

He then cleared his throat and looked over at me. “Sorry about that.”

I arched a brow. “Well, that tells me that this job isn’t going to be boring by a long shot.”

Garrett laughed. “Trust me, that is not normal for me.”

“So you don’t have women begging to take you out to dinner?” I asked innocently, withholding my grin for the moment.

He laughed again and shook his head. “No, though I can’t get it through her head that I am done with her.”

I smirked as I gathered up my stuff, including a few files I had pilfered from the file cabinet, tucked inside my large bag. I planned to do some light reading tonight on a few files that were interesting, some that dealt with the larger expenditures over the past year. “Maybe you should send her flowers. Women like her like flowers regardless of the thought process behind it.”

“And what do women like you like?”

I looked up sharply, seeing his easy grin. Oh no. Despite our past, I could not allow this to become anything more than just a brief working relationship. I had a job to do and I was determined to carry it out to the letter. Slinging my bag over my shoulder, I gave him a forceful look. “A paycheck at the end of the week. Good night, Mr. Louden.”

His grin slipped sideways and I marked one for me internally, though my stomach was churning with the idea that I had his attention in more ways than just being an old friend needing a job.

He straightened and cleared his throat, all businesslike. “Good night, Rachel.”

I nodded and brushed past him, the spicy scent of his cologne causing my lower region to tingle in response. Good looks and he smelled good. I was in some deep shit on this one.

Chapter 7:  Garrett

Later That Evening

I leaned against the bar and surveyed the scene before me, a cold beer in my hand. After my confrontation with Cherise, I needed a drink. Travis was more than obliging to go out and now we were at some newly opened club near the beach, the music a mix of techno and the latest hits on the radio. It wasn’t normally my kind of place, the older I got the more I preferred intimate surroundings, but it sure as hell beat sitting at home, watching TV.

Currently, Travis was attempting to bust a move on the dance floor with a woman who was either half drunk or just as bad as a dancer as he was. I wasn’t sure which one, but hell, they were having a good time. For as long as I had known Travis, he was the good time type of guy. Always the party animal, I probably spent more time keeping him out of trouble than I did getting myself into it. I enjoyed a good time, don’t get me wrong, but Travis, well, he tended to get loud when he got drunk and there has been more than one occasion where we had narrowly avoided a few fights because of his mouth. Still, he could sell ice to an Eskimo if that’s what the job called for and I was lucky, damn lucky, that he hadn’t been stolen from the company yet.

I took a sip of my beer and thought about our latest addition to the office, Rachel. God, she had grown up well. She and I had been pretty close during our childhood phases, the only children on the block. Plus my mom had babysat her a lot during the first years of our lives so she was always over at my house, playing with all of the boy toys and never forcing me to play that girly shit with her. That was one of the reasons she and I got along so well together. Just as we were about to hit the toughest years of our lives, both of our worlds kind of fell apart. I shifted my stance and pushed away that bad memory of my past, not wanting to think about it. It was Rachel’s fault that I had thought about that day in the first place.

“Dude, look at that hot ass! Why are you not out there, getting you some?”

I looked over at Travis, who was all damp from his dancing and shook my head. “I don’t have to dance to get a woman. Trust me, your dancing isn’t winning over any hearts tonight, Trav. Your Rolex, on the other hand, might get you laid.”

Travis looked down at his expensive watch and grinned. “Hell, whatever works. I heard Cherise stopped by today. Still trying to get that ring?”

“She’s barking up the wrong tree,” I muttered, wishing I had never gotten involved with her. “I have no intentions on marrying anyone except my job.”

“Well, all I got to say is you better get out there now and get laid,” Travis said, wiping his hand over his forehead. “Because once that deal clears, we won’t be doing anything but breathing those condos.”

I thought about the deal that was still sitting on the table, the one that would move us assuredly into the next generation. A great deal was riding on that approval, including our company. If we truly wanted to stay on top, we had to get those condos. I set my beer on the counter and looked out over the crowd, mostly women looking for a fun time. Spying a tall brunette, I thought about Rachel for a moment, how she had essentially turned me down earlier. She was a difficult one to figure out already and I had only known her again for a few hours.

“Hey, our receptionist,” Travis remarked as I continued to look at the brunette. “That stuff you said earlier, you were joking, right? Because she has a rocking body and I would like for her to rock all over my cock.”

I felt that ire of anger rise up and tamped it down immediately. I had no claim over Rachel. What we had together as kids was old news. Maybe she liked guys like Travis. After all, didn’t she say she had moved because of a relationship anyway? “Yeah,” I finally said, though the thought of her and Travis together in a bed made me want to hit him, hard. “I was joking. Go after her, dude.”

Travis slapped me on the back and pointed at the brunette I had been ogling. “Why don’t you go after her? She’s prime for the plucking. Show her your watch.”

“I’ll show her more than that,” I grinned, Rachel momentarily forgotten. That’s what I needed, a woman to get her out of my system. A few hours, she would be gone.

***

Midnight

“Oh Garrett, I can’t wait to see the view in your apartment. It must be amazing.”

I grinned and pulled the Porsche into my parking spot, attempting to ignore the fact that Jenna’s hand was inching ever so close to my crotch as I shut off the car. Though I was barely buzzed, she was tipsy from the shots she had taken right before we had left the club and I doubted she would remember much in the morning. Just the way I liked it. Climbing out of the car, I helped her out and caught her as she fell against me, giggling in my ear. I nuzzled her neck and she sighed, feeling the softness of her skin against mine. I didn’t make it a habit to take all drunk women to bed, but at least this way the reason we were here was pretty straightforward. We both wanted sex and there was nothing outside of that thought.

When her hands reached down to cup me again, I grabbed her wrists and held them just above my waistline. “Not here,” I said softly. She giggled and I took her hand, pulling her toward the entrance. We walked into the lobby and I barely got the button pressed to go up before she pushed me against the pillar, her hands on my shoulders. I grabbed the back of her neck and pulled her flush with my hard body, hearing her moan in response. I was hard and ready to be inside of her. I needed release.

The elevator dinged and the doors slid open as Jenna nipped at my jaw, a single form walking out before gasping as they saw us for the first time. A pair of eyes caught mine over Jenna’s head and I was surprised to see the familiar eyes of Rachel looking back at me. What the hell? Her eyes widened and she stumbled back soundlessly as I silently cursed on the inside. While I wanted to distance myself from her, I sure as hell didn’t want her to see me doing this. Was she staying in this building? The price of the condos was way above what I was paying her. What was her story? The questions started to swirl around me, clouding any thoughts I had.

Before I could push Jenna away, Rachel hurried out of my sight and around the corner, the lobby doors clanging as they closed. Fuck.

“Garrett? Are you still going to show me the view now?”

I looked down at the woman in my arms and gave her a half smile, forcing any concerns about Rachel to the back of my mind for now. “Yeah, babe. Let’s go see that view.”