The One Who Got Away (An Alpha Billionaire Romance) (4 page)

“I know-”

“And he certainly hasn’t lost any sleep over what happened.”

She didn’t mince her words or pull any punches and even though hearing it was hard, I nodded in agreement.

“You’re right.” I swallowed my bitterness. “I’m going to take the job.”

“Oh, you can do better than that,” she scoffed, crossing her arms like some merciless personal trainer. “Say it like you mean it. Like you deserve it.”

“I’m going to take the job.”

“Louder!”

I gripped the arms of the chair. “I’m gonna take the job!”

“Damn straight.” She opened one of her drawers and pulled out a key and handed it to me. “Make yourself at home, okay? When I get off, we’ll go get drinks and celebrate.”

I thanked her and left the office after getting a high five from Hunter, of course.

I was ready for the next chapter.

****

I
cruised into the parking lot for Make A Change LLC, not hiding my surprise. The pictures on the website broadcasted nice facilities, but this? This was gorgeous. The building couldn’t be more than a few years old, glass windows and shiny metal glittering like some post-modern architect’s wet dream.

I checked the address again just to make sure. Yup. Once I stepped out of my car and moved toward the revolving door, Make A Change LLC glimmered above the entrance.

I cycled through, spilling into a lobby with marble floors and natural light bouncing off of walls covered with pop art. A group of kids gathered around an interactive display. Straight ahead was a reception desk. I’d been so worried I’d be out of place, expecting business suits and icy AC to match the receptionist’s icy attitude. Instead, she popped up from her seat, her dreads bouncing with every step as she made her way to me. She was in a Make A Change LLC t-shirt and black slacks, her Chucks squeaking on the floor. A gust of air hit me in the back and another volley of laughter erupted as more children skipped over to where the others were playing some counting game with a computer display.

“Hi!” She jutted out her hand, a spiked bracelet catching the light as I accepted it. “I’m Rosa. You must be Catherine.”

Before I could frown or look down at my chest for some nametag that I knew didn’t exist, she explained.

“I recognize you from the paperwork. I ran the background check.” She nodded her head in the direction of the gaggle of children. “Brand new tech we just got in. Completely immersive and the kids love it, even the ones who learned to count forever ago.”

I watched them for a moment, counting and clapping and singing with the projection. They were learning, and even I wanted to go over and count the images that popped out of thin air.

“Ready for the tour?” Rosa asked brightly. She returned to the desk and hit a button. The display on the wall read that she was giving a tour and to hit the assistance button if you needed help. She dug into a jar of Hershey’s Kisses and handed me several caramel ones that were the same color as her skin. “We’ll stop in the lounge upstairs and grab something to drink.” She was moving at the speed of light and talking a million miles a minute. “What’s your drink of choice? We have coffee, hot and iced tea, guava juice, and orange juice.” She cast a grin over her shoulder. “Once the little ones go home, we bust out the good stuff. Beer, wine, even champagne if you’re feeling fancy.”

My head was spinning and I struggled to stay in step with her, my boots gliding from marble to hardwood floor as the elevator took us to the second floor. I followed her down the corridor. The walls were lined with all the projects the organization spearheaded, from hunger relief to issues abroad, helping refugees and children in areas of the world where heartbreaking circumstances made children grow up far too soon...if they even got the chance to live past their 10th birthday. I paused at Backpacks for Change, the bright blue letters trumpeting that a backpack was more than just that. The program provided educational assistance to at-risk youth: tutoring, after school help, and mentorship programs to inspire and motivate kids to work hard and shoot for the stars.

This building, all the resources that were clearly on hand, was overwhelming. My eyes swam with emotion when I remembered the nonprofits I worked at in the past. Home base was generally in the neighborhoods we served, in buildings as dilapidated as the places the kids and their families called home, complete with bars on the windows. This place shined like some mirage in the desert. No bars, no security guard on hand to make sure the good work we were trying to do wasn’t deterred by theft, vandalism, or worst.

I didn’t realize I’d stopped until Rosa cleared her throat.

“Everything okay?”

When I shook from my stupor and glanced back at her, I saw genuine concern.

I blinked away the tears and stretched my lips into a smile. A sad one, but a smile nonetheless. “I can’t believe I’ll get to work here.” I nearly burst into tears when children’s laughter followed us from the lobby. “In the past, the organizations I worked for were pinching pennies and plugging leaks in funding with Band-Aids.”

“No Band-Aids here.” Rosa put a kind hand on my shoulder. “Just a group of people that want to make the world a better place.” She released me and turned into the next door on her right.

Excitement for what came next propelled me forward. It was a break room, though using that word seemed inadequate at best. The break rooms I’d experienced had peeling linoleum, countertops and tables in need of TLC, and cabinets missing knobs. The tables were tiny and the chairs were far from comfortable and if there was a TV, it had stopped working long ago.

Like the lobby and the halls, the room sparkled and gleamed. I felt like I was in an IKEA showroom. Every piece of furniture was luxurious. There was a modular sofa, a bonafide indoor rock garden complete with a wall of water that trickled over smooth pebbles, and carefully curated tables and comfy chairs. No expense was spared.

My eyes took in every square inch with glee and wonder. This place would be my new-

My gaze stopped hard when I hit the bar area. The bar top stretched in a square formation, stools nestled in place. There was an espresso machine, the smell of ground espresso beans and brewing coffee filling me with warmth. And when I saw the man
behind
the bar, I was filled with something else: lust.

Even from behind, he was something to behold. He had on a black leather jacket with a charcoal gray hoodie. On anyone else, it would have looked juvenile, hipster even. Like someone emulating ‘rugged’ based on what they saw in a magazine or on some TV show. This guy was all man, all testosterone with his broad shoulders and jeans that gripped an ass that I was dying to grip.

Realizing that I was staring at some stranger’s behind, my eyes shot up to tamer territory, but his dark wavy hair was even more dangerous. It was just long enough that he could do that man-bun thing that was all the rage. But nothing about this man was forced. He didn’t follow trends; he made his own. His dark locks were wild and free.

I hadn’t even seen his face, but I knew he was trouble. With a capital T. Which meant I was in trouble, because if I wasn’t sure I was gonna take the job before, well, I was positive now.

“Oh! Mr. Carraway, I didn’t know you were on site today.”

I gasped.

No.

NO.

The allure, that instant draw...I should have known. It had only happened once before when I was partnered with the hottest guy at Rhoades High in Advanced Chem.

He turned from the espresso machine and I stopped breathing.

Lincoln Carraway smiled at me like a wolf about to rip out the throat of its prey.

“Welcome to Make A Change, Catherine.”

I
had two options.

I could stand in the break room, gaping at him like he was an apparition from a past I was desperately trying to move on from...or I could accept the fact that for some unknown reason, Lincoln Carraway was here.

In the flesh. In the
very
sexy flesh.

The last time I’d been this close to him was the night before the wedding. I’d snuck into his bedroom, saying to hell with that whole ‘bad luck seeing the bride before the big day’ thing. He’d been asleep, his handsome face serene, frozen perfection. His hair was cropped short back then, except for the front where a tangle of dark curls spilled across his forehead. I could have stood there for hours, watching him, and I knew that made me a hypocrite because I was one of those people who thought that it was completely odd when Edward watched Bella sleep in
Twilight
. In that moment, caressing every contour of his face, I got the appeal. I wanted to watch over him, protect him, lay down my life for him. All those things and feelings I thought were only found in fiction.

I’d wanted to kiss him.

So I’d leaned down and pressed my lips against his quivering ones. He’d stirred, his eyelids fluttering like some winged creature. When his sleepy gray eyes had adjusted and locked on me, he whispered, “Hey you.”

I’d clutched him then, burying my tongue between his lips, so filled with love, so delirious by the fact that I’d get to wake up next to him for the rest of my life that when I stopped to breathe, I exhaled, “I love you.”

“You must because my breath reeks,” he’d laughed. “And I must love you because I was having the best dream and I don’t even care that you woke me up. Me, you, and Adriana Lima were on a deserted island...”

Reality cruelly brought me back to now. The dream was done. I ignored that playful gleam in his eyes and the charm that dripped from his smile.

I squared my jaw. “What the hell are you doing here?”

Rosa stepped up beside me. I didn’t let my eyes leave Lincoln because, like every snake, you had to keep your eye on them or they’d bite you right in the ass.

A flash of want flickered through my groin at the thought of Lincoln biting my ass, but I squashed it dead.

“Catherine, what in the world? Uh...” Rosa was at a loss for words, but her hand on my shoulder this time was less friendly and more ‘What the hell?’

I didn’t back down from me and Lincoln’s staring contest.

“I asked you a question,” I snarled, and shrugged off Rosa’s hand.

The slightest bit of worry dimmed his smile but he was otherwise unfazed, reaching for a silver container and a jug of milk.

“Would you like a cappuccino?” He bit his lip in the sexiest way as he carefully poured in the milk, like he was working on a masterpiece and the slightest misstep would spell catastrophe. “If memory serves, you like yours wet.”

I couldn’t stop the blush from invading my cheeks. “Listen, you son of a-”

“Catherine!” Rosa hissed. She stepped between us like a referee, though it was clear who the offending party was. Well, it was clear if you didn’t have the whole story. To the unaware, Lincoln was just being friendly and I was foaming at the mouth like a rabid dog.

Bringing up our sordid past, especially when I didn’t have all the pieces (like, why the hell Lincoln was playing barista at my new job), was the last thing I wanted to do. I drew a breath and finally made eye contact with Rosa. Her face was flushed and her eyes wide with confusion and embarrassment. Poor woman. She was probably wondering what she’d missed, because clearly I was insane.

The petty part of me rushed to the surface. It was the part that wanted to Hulk out every time I saw Lincoln’s smirk at the newsstand, or call into whatever show was singing his praises for whatever magic he’d performed and turned water into liquid gold. I wanted the world to see the Lincoln I knew. He was a selfish, afraid, good-for-nothing boy. He didn’t even have the balls to end things to my face.

I’d believed in happily ever after...then he burned our fairytale to the ground.

But I wouldn’t have a mental break right here. He didn’t deserve to watch me lose my mind.

I held my composure and forced two words from behind clenched teeth. “We’ve met.”

Rosa blanched, looking back and forth between the two of us, still confused. I was fuming. Lincoln was drawing designs in the foam and elevating my blood pressure by the second.

“I-I don’t understand,” she stammered.

“Rosa, do you mind giving us a moment?” Lincoln set his cloudy, hypnotizing eyes on her.

I scoffed when she all but let out a sigh and snapped to follow his command.

“Don’t worry, I’ll give Catherine a thorough tour of the facilities,” he assured her when she glanced back at me.

Rosa seemed relieved to be rid of me and gave me an awkward thumbs up before she skittered from the room.

I stood in place, my fists balled at my side, contemplating jumping over the counter and choking him. It made me smile a little, until that damn blush returned as his gaze flickered over me in a way that took off every shred of clothing in an instant.

Besides...you both like it rough. A little dangerous. Any sneak attack would just lead to...

I cleared my throat, raking a hand through my hair, trying to shove any X-rated thoughts from my mind. “You still haven’t answered my question, Lincoln.”

His face went serious and for the briefest moment, I thought we would have an actual conversation. But like something inside him snapped and reminded him that life was a game and he was the #1 player, he hid behind that smirk and slid a porcelain cup in my direction.

“Try it out.”

“I don’t want to try it out.”

“Still stubborn as hell, huh?”

“Still a self-absorbed asshole, huh?” I fired back, crossing my arms defiantly.

The insult hit its mark because his smile disintegrated. He gripped the edge of the bar. “Fair enough.”

It should have brought me some satisfaction to know I could dent the Carraway armor and wipe the smile right off his face, even after all this time, but I just felt hollow. I’d never let him know that. I’d never let him close enough again to see that underneath all the vitriol, I still...cared.

Focus. He still hasn’t answered your question
.

I was afraid of getting too close. His draw, his allure, I wasn’t immune to it either. Especially with him in a sky blue v-neck tee that broadcasted the fact that he still took very good care of himself. It would have been easier if he’d wasted his fortune on booze, fast food, and drugs. No such luck.