Engage (Billionaire Series) (8 page)

“So how
was your first training session?” Sharon asked me as we sipped our lattes in a
little café near my office. “How was the meeting with the family friend?”

“It
was…uncomfortable,” I said, trying to find the right word. “It was strange. I
haven’t seen him since I was fifteen years old, but somehow, something about
him still feels very familiar to me. I got exactly the same feeling meeting him
today as I did the first time I met him.”

“Hmm. A
good feeling or a bad feeling?” Sharon asked, reaching for a macaroon and
surveying me thoughtfully.

“A
strange feeling, sort of like the entire atmosphere has suddenly been ionized
and everything I touch gives me a shock.”

“As in
he’s kind of scary?”

“Oh,
no,” I said and laughed. “No, not exactly.”

“So how
did you guys meet?”

“Oh, it
was a long time ago. He used to be my Uncle Andy’s apprentice. He’d been
training him to be a hedge fund manager. The first time I met him was one
summer when I went down to Uncle Andy’s country mansion.”

“Did he
stop working for your uncle?” Sharon asked with a frown.

“No –
he and my uncle have always worked very closely together.”

“How
did you and he lose touch, then?” Sharon raised one of her eyebrows.

“I
guess Mathis was just too busy,” I shrugged.

“Mathis?”

“Yes,
Mathis
Côté,”
I acknowledged. “We only met for one summer when we were both at the mansion. I
even had a silly teenage crush on him. But then he left to work in the city and
I never saw him again.”

“What,
never? Seriously?”

“Nope.
The last time I asked Uncle Andy about it, he told me that Mathis didn’t have
the time to spend with me or talk to me, he was too focused on his studies.”
Actually, I had asked Uncle Andy about him regularly until Uncle Andy’s
responses became shorter, and more curt, until I slowly just stopped asking. We
would spend the time talking about new books I’d read instead.

“We’d
talk about books and go for picnics,” I told Sharon, remembering the end of
that summer, after Mathis had left, “but at the back of my mind, I was always
wondering why Mathis just up and left.”

“Oh…that’s
kind of sad.” Sharon frowned.

I shook
my head and looked out the café window at the people walking by. “It was only a
brief crush. I was probably far too young and immature about love and all that
anyway.”

“Well,
I can see why you fell for him,” Sharon said. “He’s much more dashing than any
of the other men you’ve dated – the ones you’ve told me about, at least.”

I
looked at her, confused for a moment, before she held up her smart phone, a
picture of Mathis open on the screen, his smile wide and his eyes crinkling a
little at the edges.

I
laughed as Sharon grinned wickedly at me.

“I
never said he wasn’t dashing,” I admitted. “But there’s nothing between us now
– he was downright cold to me when we met for my first training session. I
guess he’s long forgotten about that summer.”

“Hmm,”
mused Sharon, her eyes fixed on her phone. “There’s a lot of gossip on this
guy, Amanda.”

Curiosity
stirred within me as Sharon said this, but I tried to keep my face neutral.

“Yeah?
What sort of gossip?” I asked in what I hoped was a casual tone. “He’s rich –
probably a multi-millionaire, so I’m not surprised that there are rumors around
him.”

“Well,
that’s certainly true,” Sharon said. “Wow, Amanda – he’s not just a multi-millionaire,
he’s worth almost 300 million!”

I tried
not to let my eyes grow to the size of satellite dishes at this information. I
half wanted Sharon to tell me more, but I didn’t want to let on how interesting
I found the subject. I could probably just do a search myself later. Luckily,
Sharon was interested enough on her own behalf that she needed no encouragement
from me.

“I’m
checking out a few of these links – did you know he’s dated more than a few
celebrities? Not just B-listers, either, but models, actresses – really high
profile women. It appears your old childhood crush is quite the playboy.”

A part
of me already knew this – after seeing how he had acted with those two women in
the office, throwing money at them and keeping them around almost like personal
accessories, it was obvious that he was a ladies’ man. Well, why shouldn’t he
be? He was single, he had a lot of money and, well, he was certainly very
attractive to women. But even though I knew this, a little seed of jealousy had
sprouted in me at the information.

“He’s
got a reputation as quite a heartbreaker too,” Sharon continued, oblivious to
my inner turmoil. “He’s never dated a woman for more than a few weeks, a month
or two at the most, and he always moves right on to the next, leaving them
devastated in his wake. He wines them, dines them, makes all sorts of wonderful
promises, maybe jets them off to the Bahamas or Hawaii, and then by all
accounts he just breaks it off, like he gets bored of them. It’s a good thing
you never did get involved with him, Amanda; it doesn’t seem like he’s a very
good type. Unless you just want to get shagged for a night.” Sharon laughed.
“This is some good gossip, right here.”

“Yeah,
it sounds like I had a lucky escape,” I laughed, joining her laughter, but my
insides felt tight and strained. It didn’t feel like I’d had a lucky escape.
Thinking about the Mathis I fell in love with when I was fifteen, it seemed
like he was a completely different person than the Mathis of today. This cold
ambitious Lothario who didn’t care anything about the string of gorgeous,
famous lovers he went through.

“Maybe
it’s to do with his background,” Sharon continued browsing through her phone.
“His story is typical rags to riches. He grew up in a poor family, and then
made it big – thanks to your uncle, I suppose. I guess he just let it go to his
head. It’s a shame, really. He sure is good looking!”

“Yeah,”
I agreed absently. “Yeah, it’s a shame he turned out that way. Not that I ever
thought there might be anything between us,” I added quickly as Sharon gave me
a searching look. “He’s far too successful to have any interest in a boring
girl like me.”

“Yeah,
all you have is looks, talent, and a good heart,” Sharon said, shaking her head
in mock-despair. “Who would
ever
be interested in you?”

“Knock it off,” I said, blushing. “I’m just an accountant who works in a
cubicle all day and spends her evenings watching reruns of sappy TV shows.”

“Now I
know that’s not true,” Sharon insisted. “What about that novel?”

“It’s
just a pile of junk,” I dismissed. “I don’t know why I ever thought I could
write.”

“Maybe
because you can,” Sharon told me. “I’ve read some of your stuff – you’re an
incredible writer, Amanda. Just because your stuff hasn’t been published doesn’t
mean it’s no good. Loads of famous authors have to get through hundreds of
rejection letters before they make their big break.”

I
smiled at Sharon over my empty latte mug. “That’s sweet of you to say,” I said,
“but if I had what it takes, I would be a great writer by now – look at Mathis!
He’s worth 300 million and it’s not like all that just fell in his lap.”

“He had
an opportunity – your uncle made sure of that. True, the rest was up to him,
but he had a chance to follow his dream and he took it. You have the same
chance now, Amanda. You’ve just inherited a fortune. It’s a golden opportunity
to focus more on your writing,” Sharon urged.

“Maybe
you’re right,” I sighed. “It’s just… what if I don’t succeed? I don’t have any
excuse to fall back on anymore.”

“Just
do what you can,” Sharon said. “Focus on this training and learn everything you
need to know about these investments of yours, and then you can quit your
boring job and spend as much time as you need working out which direction you
want to take your writing in.”

“I
guess,” I said uncertainly.

“Don’t
guess – know! You’re a brilliant writer, Amanda. You shouldn’t need to have
other people’s approval to tell you that. You know you are – you’ve been
writing seriously ever since we were in college. Let yourself pursue what you
really want to do now that you have the chance.”

“You’re
right,” I agreed. “I need to dedicate my time to this training and… I’ll see
what happens with my writing.”

“That’s
the spirit,” smiled Sharon. She looked down at her phone. “Listen, I’d better
go – I promised I’d go with the bride to meet her mother-in-law. God knows I
don’t get paid enough for this.” She stood from her chair.

“Good
thing you’re awesome at your job!” I quickly got up and hugged her. “Take care
and good luck!” I said as she smiled and pulled on her elegant rose jacket.

“Thanks.
You too – be careful around this Mathis guy,” Sharon added. “He’s bad news,
Amanda. You should make sure you don’t get caught up in his net.”

“Don’t
worry,” I assured her with a heavy heart, “there’s no chance of that. I’m no
celebrity.”

Jennifer Brooks
stood in her living room, wearing her comfy ‘hunny bunny’ pajamas, thick brown
hair in two pigtails, still wet from the shower. She couldn’t seem to process
what – or rather who – she was seeing. He hadn’t changed. The first memory hit
her hard.

It was her first
day of high school and she was petrified. Jennifer had been happy as an eighth
grader in her small town elementary / middle school. She wasn’t popular, but
she had her two best friends and she was happy. Then, just three weeks before
school was supposed to start, Maggie and Lucy’s family moved. So now, Jennifer
was starting her freshman year alone.

“Are you lost?” A
male voice startled her from her reverie.

Jennifer looked up
and stared. The most gorgeous boy she’d ever seen was watching her. Thick
golden blond hair and warm chocolate brown eyes. Then she saw his letterman
jacket and her heart skipped a beat. She knew who this was. “You’re Brad
Miller.”

The grin that
spread across Brad’s handsome face was all that Jennifer needed to know that
she’d found her prince.

That same familiar
smile was on the face in front of her now. Another memory came forward,
unbidden.

“So,” Brad slipped
into the seat next to her, his easy smile making her stomach clench. “We’ve
been eating lunch together for three weeks now and there’s something I want to
ask you.”

Later that night,
Jennifer still hadn’t completely accepted the fact that she was going out on a
date with sophomore track star Brad Miller. As a freshman, he’d gone to state
in three different events. This year, he was expected to go all the way in at
least five events. Every girl in school wanted him, even the juniors and
seniors.

Jennifer could
barely believe her luck as she sat across from Brad at the town’s only true
hangout – a tiny little ice cream parlor called The Polar Cap. She’d thought
they’d go to the city for dinner, not somewhere everyone could see them
together. Even as Brad asked her about her likes and dislikes, she could feel
everyone’s eyes on her, wondering what made her so special that Brad had chosen
her. She couldn’t have told them. She was still trying to figure it out
herself.

“You look good,
Jen,” Brad took a step towards her and Jennifer instinctively took a step
backwards. He’d never hit her, but she wasn’t sure she wanted him to touch her.

Then she remembered
what it had been like when he had touched her. Scenes raced through her mind,
one after the other.

Brad reached down
and threaded his fingers through hers, as the two of them walked into the
school. They’d only been out once, but Jennifer knew what the gesture meant.
Guys like Brad didn’t make public displays unless they were laying a claim.
Based on the way the other girls – and a couple of guys – were looking at her
with jealous eyes, they knew what it meant too.

***

They walked up the
porch steps and stood for a moment, facing each other. The porch light was
already on even though it wasn’t dark enough to need it. Date number three had
just been stopping for a soda on the walk home from school, but Jennifer’s
parents had already explained the function of the light. When it turned off, it
was time to come inside. She watched it nervously now, willing it to stay on.

“Jennifer,” Brad
reached out and cupped her cheek.

She shivered,
whether in anticipation or out of sheer nervousness, she wasn’t sure. If he was
going to do what she thought he was going to do, it would be her first kiss. He
bent his head and her heart began galloping out of control.

It was everything a
first kiss should be. His lips were soft, gentle as they pressed against hers.
Their mouths parted slightly, and she gathered enough courage to place her hand
on his chest. His heart thudded against her palm and she knew that his feelings
matched her own.

The porch light
flickered.

***

Jennifer sat in the
passenger’s seat of Brad’s car, her hands tightly clenched on her lap. Brad was
in the driver’s seat, an expectant expression on his handsome face. She knew
what he wanted, but she wasn’t sure she was ready for that. Brad had taken
things slowly over the past year and a half, but it was his junior prom and she
knew that several of his friends had gotten hotel rooms with their girlfriends
for tonight. Brad hadn’t been that obvious, but Jennifer wasn’t naïve.

“If you don’t want
to, that’s okay,” Brad spoke, his voice gentle sounded somehow sad. “I just
wanted tonight to be special, unlike my first time. Krissy was all over me so
we did it, but it wasn’t like we were in love.”

The mention of his
ex sent an alarm through Jennifer. Krissy was a senior and a cheerleader, and
she’d never hidden the fact that she still wanted Brad. Jennifer knew that she
had to do something or risk losing him.

“I don’t think I’m
ready for sex,” she said slowly, mustering her courage as she scooted closer.
“But, maybe there are other things I can do.”

***

Jennifer felt a
brief stab of pain as he slid into her for the first time, but she only pressed
her lips more tightly together as he began to rock against her. She was glad
that they had waited until his senior year to have sex. Brad was planning on
leaving for college and this would keep them emotionally tied to each other
while they were apart. Brad had warned her that if they didn’t have sex, she
may decide that she wanted to do it while he was away and she’d get angry at
him for not being there. He said that she’d end up giving her virginity to
someone else. Now he knew how much she loved him. She’d proven it.

***

“How can you be so
selfish, Jen?” Brad wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his chin on
her shoulder.

She could hear the
sadness in his voice, but was no longer sure she trusted it.

Brad continued.
“You know I have to work on Christmas Eve, so I can’t go back with you. Would
you really leave me alone here, no friends, no family, on Christmas?”

Jennifer sighed,
squashing the desire to see her family. It had been so long. “Of course not.”

***

Brad pinched a bit
of material between his thumb and forefinger as he looked over Jennifer’s new
dress with a critical eye. “Maybe you should lay off the dessert tonight. Wouldn’t
want to need a bigger size after you just bought this one.” He laughed
charmingly and smiled at her.

Jennifer nervously
adjusted her dress and nodded.

***

Brad cupped one
firm breast in his hand, brushing his thumb over one rosy nipple. “Just, you know,
out of curiosity, have you ever considered getting a boob job? I mean, that
way, you’d always have something to fall back on, you know? Even you can’t fuck
up taking off your clothes.”

***

Jennifer tried not
to let Brad see the tears in her eyes as she lowered her head to take his cock
into her mouth.

“You’re so good at
acting like a whore,” Brad tightened his fingers in her hair. “That’s good. It’s
probably the only way you’ll ever get a promotion.”