Boxed Set: The Billionaire’s Desire Complete Collection (Books 1-3 and Bonus Books 1 and 2) (Submitting to the Billionaire) (20 page)

            The next morning, Paolo came to my office to apologize for his behavior.  “I was completely out of line and I am beyond embarrassed for the way that I disrespected you Mrs. Hunter.  My behavior was unprofessional and I must beg your forgiveness for having tried to kiss you, I…”  Just then I noticed Jake standing in my doorway with a shocked look on his face. 
Oh no, this is not good.
  I knew that Jake would tell Joshua and then all hell would break loose. 
I have to pull Jake aside before he gets to Joshua
. 

            I interrupted Paolo when I noticed Jake standing there.  “Jake, did you need something?”

            Paolo looked worried when he saw that Jake was behind him and I saw a look of panic spread across his face and it looked as if he realized that Jake must have heard him.  “Well, I should let you get back to work.  I just wanted to relay that message to you Mrs. Hunter.”  Paolo quickly left my office before Jake could say anything. 

            “What was that about Sarah?  Did I hear him say that he tried to
kiss
you last night?”  Jake did not look happy.

            “It was a simple misunderstanding, he had too much to drink and I think he thought I was an old girlfriend or something.”  I waved my hand in the air and I tried so hard to brush it off so that Jake wouldn’t make a big deal.

            “And I think that you are trying to minimize what really happened.  Was Paolo inappropriate with you?  He has never crossed the line and there has never been a report of inappropriate behavior related to him, but if he did cross the line, that will not be tolerated.  Yes, he has been instrumental in growing the business in Milan, but his inappropriate behavior will not be tolerated here and is unacceptable.  I don’t care who he is.”  Jake was the spitting image of his brother when he was upset and the same fire that flashed across Joshua’s eyes, flashed across Jake’s in that moment.  “Joshua will have to know about this Sarah.”

            “No Jake, please let’s just keep this between us, there is no need to upset him.”

            “Sarah, you know that I can’t keep this from him, besides, if Paolo did this to you, the wife of the CEO of the company, who knows how many other women he’s done this to.  We can’t have a loose cannon like that working for us, someone like that could ruin our reputation.  I’m sorry but Joshua has to know.”

            When he put it that way I had to agree with him, although I wished we could have just kept it between us.  Joshua was going to be livid.  He still didn’t want me to so much as look at another man; that is something that had never changed.  Now, when he got word of this, I knew that Paolo’s days were numbered.

            Jake left my office and I felt a sense of dread because I knew he was going to his office to give Joshua a call.  Twenty minutes later, my phone rang and I knew it was my husband.

            “Is it true?!”  No hello, no how are you, just straight to the point.  I could feel his blood boiling through the telephone. 

            “Joshua it was not as bad as Jake may have led you to believe.”

            “Sarah, did Paolo attempt to kiss you?”  Joshua was stern as he strained to get the words out.

            “Yes, but…”

            “Where were Michael and Brad?!”  His voiced boomed through the telephone and although he was an ocean away, I could feel his anger as if he were in the room with me.

            “This is what I was trying to tell you.  Paolo had a few too many drinks and the dinner dragged on for four hours.  Brad and Michael had long drives home to the suburbs so I told them they could leave.  Paolo had been perfectly respectable up to that point.  How was I to know that he would turn into a drunken ass?”

            “You told them they could leave you alone with him?  Did you not hear anything I said when I specifically told you not to be alone with him?!!”  The crescendo in his voice escalated until he was yelling into the phone.

            “Joshua, please calm down.”

            He was silent on the other end and I began to feel nervous because he had never been this upset with me for disobeying an order.  I usually followed his orders but every now and then I would question something he wanted me to do, but I would never go against him.  Never, that is, until now. I should have known better and I was silently kicking myself for not obeying him.

            “I have to go, I will contact you later.”  His voice was as cold as ice and I flinched when I heard the click in my ear. 
Did he really just hang up on me
? Joshua had never hung on me before so I sat there stunned, holding the receiver in my hand.  I had to figure out how to make this right.  I called him back but he didn’t answer. 
Great
.  I decided that I would push it out of my mind for the time being because I had a lot of work to do.  Thirty minutes later Carol came running to my office.

            “Sarah!  Mr. Santorini has been relieved of his duties effective immediately, I just read the memo that Mary prepared!”  Mary was Joshua’s long time administrative assistant.  “His return flight to Milan has been booked and a car will be here to take him to his hotel in 20 minutes.”  She looked shocked as she relayed the information to me in an excited whisper so as not to be overheard.

            I was floored.  I knew that Paolo would probably get fired over this but I didn’t think that it would happen so fast.  Joshua had always been possessive of me and it was something that I had accepted a long time ago.  We had a very candid discussion about his jealousy issues before we got married because I needed to understand why he was like that.  He told me that when he was in his twenties, his girlfriend at the time got pregnant and he wanted to keep the baby but she didn’t.  He told her that he would raise it and she didn’t have to have any part of it if she did not want to, that he was prepared to take care of everything for the baby.  His words fell on deaf ears because she had no interest in having a baby grow in her belly and, according to her, “ruin her figure.”  She had an abortion without telling him and when he found out he was devastated.  Ever since then he said he felt as though he had to be in control of everything, and he didn’t want to lose anything ever again, because he did not have control over that situation.      

            I understood him better after he told me that and my heart broke for him knowing that he had gone through such pain.  We had an understanding between us that I would obey his orders and in order to do that I had to fully trust him, which I did.  I knew that he would never hurt me and that he had my best interests at heart, so I had no problem obeying his every command.

            I did what I knew how to do best when I was stressed, I threw myself into work and barely took a break for the rest of the day.  Joshua didn’t call me the rest of the day, and with the six hour time difference I didn’t expect to hear from him when I got home because it would be so late in Paris.  I did my best to not let the fact that he had not called me get to me.  I knew he would call the girls when they got home from school, he never went an entire day without speaking to them, no matter where he was in the world.  I got home a little before six and our chef was just finishing preparing dinner for us.  My girls were excited because the chef prepared gourmet mac and cheese for them for dinner, and then after dinner we played for a while, I gave them their baths and Mara helped me put them to bed. 

            I kept myself busy for the rest of the night so that I wouldn’t think about how upset Joshua was with me.  When all was quiet, I climbed into bed and settled into a good book which was something I never had the chance to do.  I was immersed in the story so deeply that time got away from me and it was nearly 1:00 a.m. when I turned out the lights.  My head had just touched my pillow when the phone rang and I quickly grabbed the phone so as not to wake the girls. 

            “Hello?”

            “Hi, were you awake?”  Joshua’s deep voice penetrated the phone and my belly flipped because I was so happy to hear from him.

            “Hi honey, yes I was awake, I just turned out the lights.  Are you still upset with me?”

            “It’s not that I was upset with you, Sarah.”  His voice was gentle.  “I was upset that you were disrespected and I was upset that another man crossed the line with you.  I relieved him of his duties today and notified the Milan office that I want Giuseppe Rossi to take his place so the transition should be flawless.  I know that you thought that you were doing something nice by letting Mike and Brad go home early, but I really need for you to follow my instructions…please.”  I could hear the strain in his voice and he only sounded that way when he was feeling hurt and that was the last thing I wanted for him.

            “Okay, I’m sorry.  I promise it won’t happen again.” 

            “I love you Sarah and everything I do is for you and the girls, remember that.  I only want what is best for you and our family.”

            “I know.”

            “Okay well, I am sure you are sleepy so I am going to let you go to bed and I will call you in the morning.  I love you, sweet dreams.”

            “I love you too.”

            We hung up and I was able to drift happily off to sleep.

            The next day was business as usual at the office and no one spoke about Paolo Santorini at all.  The only reference to what happened was the memo I received saying that his replacement, Giuseppe Rossi, would be arriving the next day.  Carol, even though she had been salivating over Paolo, did not mention his name at all.  Joshua really had this staff trained well, no one ever questioned why he did something.

            The next day when Mr. Rossi arrived, I almost smiled to myself when I saw his round belly leading the way down the hall.  He must have been around 60 years old, bald, overweight, wearing glasses and about five feet tall.  He was the polar opposite of Paolo Santorini and I knew that my husband did that on purpose. 

            Giuseppe was extremely enthusiastic and was ready to get to work.  He told me that this opportunity was a chance of a lifetime and he wanted to impress my husband.  We worked all day and quickly broke for lunch which we had catered in, and then we got back to work.  We took Giuseppe to dinner at A Voce, he didn’t have an ounce of alcohol to drink and we were done in a little over an hour.  He was all business and I think Jake, Mike, Brad and I really appreciated that because he was night and day different from Paolo.

            The next two weeks flew by uneventfully, as we all worked long hours, and Mr. Rossi’s time in the States was coming to an end.  He was scheduled to leave the day before Joshua was going to arrive and the time couldn’t come fast enough for me.  I missed my husband desperately.  The day that Mr. Rossi left, we had a beautiful breakfast catered into the office for him and we all told him how nice it had been to work with him.  He really was a consummate professional and I was going to be sure to relay that information to Joshua.

            The next day, Wednesday, Joshua was scheduled to arrive around noon so he was going to have his bags dropped at our house and he was going to come straight to the office.  I really would have preferred to have our homecoming be a bit more private, but this was one of the things I had to deal with sometimes.  When I spoke with Joshua earlier that week, he reminded me that there was a charity event in the Hampton’s the upcoming Saturday which I had completely forgotten about.  Joshua wanted a representative from each of our offices around the world to attend so this was going to be a very big deal.  He considered this to be one of the best, if not
the
best, networking events of the year so he wanted Hunter International to have a very large presence. 

            I still didn’t love shopping, but he wanted me to buy a new dress for the event so I was going to have to go shopping the next day.  I was thinking about which stores I would go to and I thought about trying to just go somewhere close by during lunch to get it over with when I heard that familiar, beautiful voice down the hall and the butterflies started fluttering in my belly.

            I quickly checked my makeup and hair in the mirror that I kept in my desk, I stood up and smoothed my dress and then walked toward my door to go greet my husband, when a familiar female voice stopped me in my tracks.  Joshua said something and I heard her giggle like a school girl. 
What the hell is she doing here?
  I felt my cheeks get hot and I realized I was clenching my fists when I felt my fingernails digging into my palms, so I took three deep breaths to try to relax. 
Oh, that’s right.  She’s probably here for the Hampton’s event as the rep from the London office.  Ugh!  I’m going to have to deal with her for a few days!
 

            I stepped into the hallway and my husband’s gorgeous dark eyes met mine and for a moment, no one else existed as smiles spread across both of our faces.  He winked at me and I felt like a teenager as the butterflies went crazy.

            He walked right over to me and swooped me up in a big hug and planted a kiss on me in front of everyone.  His deep voice caressed my ear as he spoke words that only I could hear.  “I missed you so much.”  He held me tight for a few more seconds and then pulled away slightly to look at me and smiled.  “It’s good to see you.”

            My smile was so big, my cheeks began to hurt.  “It’s good to see you too, I missed you.”

            I heard the witch clear her throat to bring the attention to her and Joshua and I were snapped out of our bliss as we realized that many eyes were on us.

            Joshua chuckled as he looked around at some of the staff who were standing there to welcome him back.  The office was surprisingly a home away from home for many of the people who worked there.  Joshua and Jake had carefully created a warm environment in the office so that there was a feeling of cohesion, and with that feeling of cohesion everyone really worked together to make the business the best that it could be.  So whenever Joshua or Jake were gone for extended periods of time, everyone on the executive floor made it a point to welcome them back when they returned. 

            “Sorry everyone, but I had to greet my beautiful wife.”

            I heard the witch clear her throat again waiting to be acknowledged.  Joshua glanced over at her with a slightly annoyed look on his face.

            "My apologies.  You all remember Natalia Wittendale from our London office.  She will be here for the next few days and will attend the benefit in the Hamptons as the company's London representative.”

            Remember her?  Of course I remembered her, but I hadn’t seen her since before we got married.  Natalia was the witch who flirted openly with Joshua back in Dubai and tried to make it seem as if something had happened between the two of them at the gala when
nothing
had happened.  She was an ex-girlfriend who didn't know her boundaries and from what I could tell, watching the way she fawned over my husband, she had not changed.  I could not stand the woman but I would not let her know that she affected me in any way.  I wanted her to see that she meant nothing to me. 

            "Natalia, how nice to see you, it’s been years, hasn’t it?”

            She gave me that same familiar sneer but quickly seemed to realize that Joshua was watching her and she turned it into a smile.  “Sarah, how lovely to see you again, you look wonderful.”  She walked over to me and gave me two fake air kisses on either cheek.  “I know it’s been years but I haven’t had a chance to congratulate you and Joshua on your marriage, congratulations.”

            “Oh, not necessary but thank you.  I mean we have two children who are almost 7 years old, and we have been married for nearly ten years, but thank you anyway.  And what about you?  Did you ever marry?”

            I purposely asked her that question in front of everyone because I wanted her to squirm a little bit.  She shot me an icy glare and then quickly composed herself.  I knew that she had never married because Samira kept me abreast of all of the gossip concerning Natalia.  Samira transferred to the London office from the Dubai office a few years prior and, after all of this time, Natalia never warmed up to Samira.  Apparently Natalia became increasingly rude to Samira, so I understood why Samira didn’t care for her.  The woman was downright nasty.  Samira told me that Natalia had never gotten over Joshua and she was seething with jealousy that he married me, a woman who did not come from the world of wealth that they did.  So I decided to have a little bit of fun with her to put her in her place, and to get back at her for being so mean to Samira who was one of the sweetest, hardest working women I had ever met.

            “No, not yet."

            "Oh?  Not yet?  Is there someone special?"  I feigned interest as I plastered a smile on my face, knowing that she was currently not seeing anyone.

            Natalia hesitated for a moment, and it appeared that she was trying to concoct an answer, when she finally just gave up and said that there was no one special at the moment.

            "Oh, don't worry Natalia, people find love at any age these days."  I gave her a sly little smirk and then quickly turned it into a smile so that anyone who was looking at me would think I was being genuine.  But I know that I got to her because I could see her cheeks turned bright red as she glared at me.

            "Carol?  Can you please show Ms. Wittendale to her temporary office?"

            Carol wasted no time leading Natalia away from me and my husband, and everyone kind of disbanded after that.  Joshua and I walked to his office and I closed the door and turned my full attention to him.  "Are you hungry?"

            "I am starved."

            "Where would you like to go to lunch?"

            "Natalia suggested that we eat at Remi.”

            I raised my eyebrows.  “She did huh?  Are we eating all meals with Natalia while she’s here?  Should we invite her to stay with us while she’s here also?  While we’re on the topic of her, since when does Natalia travel with you?”  I was clearly annoyed and I didn’t try to hide it.

            He sat in his chair and looked at me with a slightly amused look on his face.  “Come here Sarah.”  His voice was gentle and he held out his hand to me.

            I reached out to him, with a slight pout on my face, and he pulled me down onto his lap.  “First, Natalia flew with me because she had a meeting in Paris in the morning the day that I was leaving, and rather than fly back to London and then fly to New York from London, it was just easier for her to fly with me straight from Paris.  My secretary in Paris coordinated everything and Natalia has plenty of work that she can do here.  Second, she is a business colleague and we take all of our colleagues out to lunch, especially when they fly in from overseas, you know that.  We don't want to be rude do we?  I know you don't like her, and you don't have to be around her for very long.  But can you please just do this for me and try to be nice, try to get along?  Please?"  The gentle pleading in his eyes softened me and I agreed to play nice.

            "I'm only doing this because I love you so much."  I leaned down to kiss him gently on the lips.

            "Mmm, let me have one more of those."

            I giggled as I leaned down to give him one more kiss and as I pulled away he held me close, his hand on the back of my neck, and his eyes locked with mine.  “Not so fast.”  The words were filled with lust and I knew that he wanted me right then, and right there.  He grabbed a fistful of my hair and pulled my head back leaving my neck vulnerable.  I felt his tongue run along the sensitive skin up to my ear, gently nipping on my lobe sending tingles throughout my body. His other hand unzipped my dress, pulling it off my shoulders, exposing my red lace bra.  I pulled my arms out of the short sleeves and put one arm around his neck as I leaned down to kiss him.  My other hand cradled his cheek as his tongue slid over mine; teasing and tasting.  His hand moved down over my bra around to the back and unhooked it, and I slid my arms out of it as he slid his hands back around to cup my breast.  As he kissed me deeper, he pinched my puckered nipple while squeezing and kneading my breast.  He lowered his mouth to my sensitive nub, his lips closing around it, catching it between his tongue and upper teeth.  He licked the underside of my nipple while his teeth lightly scraped the top and I felt the wetness between my legs as the gentle scraping sensation made me moan with pleasure.  My fingers raked through his hair, pulling him closer to me, wanting to feel more of him.

            His other hand moved slowly up my thigh and under my dress between my thighs and lightly brushed the outside of my panties.  My thighs closed around his hand, holding him in place and I began to rock gently against his hand, enjoying the sensation running though my body.  After a few seconds I opened my legs and he slipped a hand inside my panties.  I let out a soft moan as he caressed my sensitive folds and then I let out a small gasp as he slipped a finger inside me, and then a second finger, turning them and sliding them in and out of me.  His thumb pressed against my clit, lightly at first, and he began to rub it in small circles applying a little bit of pressure and then more; my body tingling all over.  I felt his erection under my thigh and moved my hand beneath me to gently rub it through his pants.  He let out a soft groan and I felt his fingers start to move faster in and out of me.  His thumb rubbed my bud faster and harder and he grabbed one of my breasts and sucked hard on my nipple, squeezing my breast.  I was panting frantically and let out a loud cry as my orgasm shot to the surface, my thighs clamping down around his hand that was working magic between my legs.  He held me tight as my body rode out the orgasm.