The Setup (The Dark Billionaire, #1) (3 page)

Finally, after a forty-five-minute drive from the airport, Jennifer arrived at Bruce's mansion. She couldn't help but feel nervous. Not just a little bit. She was on the verge of panicking, but managed to control herself, knowing it was too late to have second thoughts. Her palms were wet and her heart started beating like a drum. For the first time, she realized what she was really doing: she was about to mess with her employer's private life.

What the hell am I doing here? Grandma was right, it's ridiculous! I should apologize and tell Bruce that...  

A noise on her right suddenly interrupted her thoughts. The chauffeur opened the door. They had arrived and the huge car was parked at the front steps of the mansion. Bruce was standing there, in a tailored blue suit, with an unbuttoned white shirt, showing the definition of his muscular upper chest, hands in his pockets. He was definitely more relaxed than her. At least, he seemed to be.

There we are
. Jennifer took a deep breath and went out of the car, with the best smile she had. Before she could say anything, she felt a warm and sensual touch on her right hand. Confused, she saw Bruce taking her hand and kissing it gently, giving her butterflies in her gut. She couldn't help, but look at his beautiful lips. As he was kissing her hand, he was looking at her with his steel, grey eyes. Her heart skipped a beat.

“Welcome to my home, Ms. Andrei. Nice to meet you, I'm Bruce Wilson. I hope you had a nice trip?”

Jennifer kept silent for a few seconds.
What should I do?

“Are you okay?” Bruce asked, raising an eyebrow.

Finally, she decided to go with the flow and replied what seemed to be the most natural answer in this situation.

“Oh sorry, nice to meet you, Sir,” Jennifer said in heavily accented English, with a big smile. “I'm really excited to meet you in person.”

“Please, call me Bruce. I'll do my best to make you feel as comfortable as possible,” Bruce said with a smile, staring intently at her eyes.

There was a moment of silence. Bruce was still looking at her, and Jennifer was expecting to be recognized at any moment.

“Please, follow me inside, I'll show you your room. I guess you need to rest a little after this long trip. Gerard!”

A man who looked like his butler clapped his hands and two men rushed to carry Jennifer’s bags.

They walked inside an impressive hall with paintings on the walls, his staff waiting in line to greet her - probably more than a dozen people. 

Then, they marched off in the direction of a huge spiral glass staircase. Jennifer was breathless: the staircase was wrapping around a large floor to ceiling aquarium that was impossible to miss.

As Bruce walked in front of her to guide her, Jennifer sighed with relief. Her plan was working at the end. He didn't seem to recognize his own assistant! Even though she was relieved that Bruce didn't recognize her and fire her right away, she was also pretty upset.

Come on, boss. It's me, Jennifer, your assistant. I've been working for you and with you for five years. Please... Am I that insignificant? Or are you just a selfish billionaire who lost connection with the real world, where normal people live, to the point you don't even recognize your own staff?

At that moment, Bruce turned to look at her, as if he’d heard what she was thinking. Jennifer gasped. With a mysterious smile, he just chuckled for no apparent reason and continued to walk with confidence, like the powerful man he was. 

As they arrived to her room, Bruce turned to her.

“I'll send someone to pick you up in two hours. I don't want to waste the whole day, and I want to show you around a little. Is that fine with you?”

“Sure. See you in two hours then...”

***

F
or the whole day, Jennifer was treated like a princess. Bruce took her to lunch in a famous French restaurant, where she discovered how sophisticated he was with food and cuisine. He talked with passion about all the places in the world he’d visited, and all the different dishes he’d tried, or even cooked himself.

Jennifer realized how smart and charming he really was. She learned more about art, music, economics, and finance in a few hours with him than she ever did in her entire life. He really excelled at conversation and knew how to make things interesting. He was so different from the strong and bossy man she used to know at the office.

She felt that after five years of working with him, she was discovering a completely new person behind the businessman. She was also very surprised that he could open up so quickly and easily. She’d never thought he would be so friendly with a complete stranger. Maybe, it was the reason why he was so well connected and successful after all...

Later that afternoon, they went shopping at high end boutiques. It was the first time Jennifer was actually shopping for luxury purses, belts, high heels, and other items, usually way too expensive for her.

Bruce asked her if she wanted anything. Honestly, yes. I want everything! Jennifer thought.

“Oh no, Bruce,” she said, pretending to be uninterested. “You really don't have to do this you know. I'm not that kind of person...”

“What kind of person? You're my guest, pick whatever you want. I insist, Aleksandra...”

Well, if you insist!

“Okay Bruce, but I feel embarrassed you know...” Jennifer replied, blinking her eyes to appear innocent.

“Don’t,” he said. “It’s my pleasure.”

Jennifer hesitated and finally let go. They spent the next three hours shopping. Jennifer thought that, since she was pretending to be someone else anyway, she should at least enjoy it and decided to embrace her new role completely.

For dinner, they went back to Bruce's mansion, where delicious Italian dishes, prepared by a Chef, were waiting for them.

Jennifer was now more confident, especially after they finished their second bottle of wine. She wanted to know more about her boss, and his unusual
major acquisition.

“Let's be honest, Bruce,” she said, bold and straightforward. “We both know why I'm here... but I was wondering.”

“Yes?”

“You can obviously have everything you want in this world.”

“Not everything,” he said, shaking his head. “I’m just a man.”

“Almost everything,” she insisted. “Why do you need to hire a foreign company to find a potential wife?”

Bruce chuckled.

“I knew you would ask,” he said, wiping his mouth with a napkin. “I assume you’re referring to my money?”

She nodded in silence.

“Well, the truth is, I can't
buy
everything,” he said.

“What do you mean?”

“Trust, commitment, loyalty, integrity, friendship or even love; these are not easier for me to have than anyone else. The fact that I'm rich sometimes makes it even harder, actually...”

Jennifer wasn't sure, but she felt a little bit of bitterness in Bruce's voice.

“I'm sorry, Bruce... I didn't mean to be rude, I was just curious.”

“That's okay, don't worry. After all, you're the one who crossed the ocean to meet a complete stranger. So I think it's fair to tell you why I'm doing this.” Bruce lowered his face, cleared his throat and looked Jennifer in the eyes.

Jennifer remained silent, waiting for Bruce to explain to her.

“In my experience, it's extremely difficult to find a reliable woman here, in America. My money and my status were a blessing. At least, at first and yes, I enjoyed everything it allowed me to do; but believe it or not, I attracted the wrong kind of women many times, for a long time.”

Bruce paused. Jennifer was staring at him, shocked by such honesty and also surprised to discover how her employer's situation wasn't as easy as she’d assumed.

Bruce continued, “Now, I want someone who has values; values and principles that I can share. Someone who's ready to devote herself to me... someone who's worth my time and my commitment as well; and I can't find any woman here that meets my requirements.”

Bruce paused and took a sip of wine.

“What makes you think a foreign bride would be any different?” Jennifer said, now curious.

“Good question,” he said. “I’ll be honest with you. I have no idea; but I'm a risk taker. That's how I got where I am. I'm willing to try different things to achieve my goals. And my personal goal is to find someone to share the rest of my life with.”

“Hum... it sounds very romantic. I assume you have lots of choices?”

“Well, I’m definitely surrounded by many people, especially women, but...” Bruce said, looking for the right phrase. “I think it’s too easy for them. I mean, one day you’re the talk of the town, and the day after, another guy arrives, and all of a sudden, you’re nobody. You know what I mean?”

“It’s very lonely at the top?” she offered cautiously.

Bruce didn’t reply. He didn’t shake his head and didn’t nod either. He just smiled. Jennifer could feel the profound sadness in his attitude. He was much more vulnerable deep inside than she’d ever imagined. She felt deeply moved and hesitated. She wanted to take him in her arms, but at the same time, was confused by her own feelings.

Jennifer, he's your boss and you're here to give him a lesson; not to feel sorry for him.

“Did you... did you suffer a lot?” she asked.

Bruce kept silent. He stood up, and walked to her.

“Let me take you back to your room. It's been a busy day and you need to rest.”

He's probably hiding something. I can feel the answer is yes, but he's avoiding the conversation.

As they both walked upstairs, side by side, Jennifer felt nervous. He was so mysterious, yet so attractive.

There was some tension rising between them. She didn't want to admit it, but she started to feel something for her employer and the electricity was almost palpable in the air.

It’s probably just physical... and I had too much the wine.

When they finally arrived in front of her door, Bruce suddenly grabbed her, pushed her against the wall and gave her a long, wet, sensual kiss.

Jennifer didn't fight back. To her surprise, she loved it. His lips, that she’d felt that morning against her hand, were even softer against her mouth. His body was strong and muscular. She could feel the heat of his body against her, and felt him stiffen inside his pants. She was instantly turned on and couldn't help grinding softly against his huge bulge.

Bruce grabbed her by the ass and pressed her against him even more. Jennifer moaned, and felt an immediate heat of erotic wave between her legs. Her thong panties were now completely soaked by her moist crotch. She kissed him back, grabbed him by the hair, while sliding her right leg around his waist.

To her surprise, Bruce pulled away from her. She looked at him incredulous, her pussy electrified and eager to have more.

“Why? What's wrong?” Jennifer said, heavy breathing.

“Let's take it slow,” he said, panting. “I don't want to make the same mistakes again... See you tomorrow Aleksandra. Good night.” 

J
ennifer needed to take a shower. Maybe Bruce was right in the end: she didn't want to be involved with him so quickly. In fact, she wasn't sure she wanted to be involved with him at all. She had spent a wonderful day, and was wondering how this would end.

Clearly, Bruce was having a good time as well. And his midnight kiss was proof that he was attracted to her. How was she going to get out of this mess? She didn't want to disappoint Bruce and ruin their new relationship.

She was surprised by her own feelings. Was she falling for him? No, she knew him too well. But the Bruce she’d spent the day with was a completely different man than the one she used to work with.

While she was in the shower though, one thought kept coming back to her mind. It was the image of Bruce kissing her eagerly, his delicious lips sucking on hers, their tongues looking for each other and his hard shaft pressing against her wet crotch.

Jennifer hadn't had sex for over a year, and she was now completely obsessed by the idea of being taken by Bruce. He had been so hot and so sexy that she couldn't calm down, even though he had left more than an hour ago. She wanted him so badly.

Finally, she couldn't resist anymore. She had to release it. She slid her hand to her wet slit, and spread her inner lips apart. Her clit was throbbing. She pressed it and the pleasure she immediately felt made her moan. She tipped her head back and bit her lips. The hot water of the shower against her skin was like an erotic caress. She continued to rub her clit for a while with her right hand, and grabbed her left breast with her left hand. She squeezed and tugged at her hard nipple, and another heat of pleasure made her gasp.

Her fingers were covered by her own juice, and she felt the urge to fill her empty pussy. She started by inserting one finger, then a second, while rubbing her clit with the palm of her hand. Her dripping pussy was squeezing her fingers, and she felt that she was coming. She rubbed herself more rapidly, and finally felt the wave of an intense orgasmic pleasure go through her entire body. 

Satisfied, she went to bed, wondering if Bruce was doing the same, thinking about her in his bedroom.

***

T
he next morning, Bruce took Jennifer on a tour of the city. Even though she was far from a tourist, she actually enjoyed it. Bruce was a real gentleman and an extremely thoughtful host. His organization was perfect, his knowledge of the city's history impressive, and most of all, he appeared to be very romantic and surprisingly funny. 

Like a real couple dating, they took pictures together, bought ice cream, sat in a park and made comments about people walking by. In other words, they were building memories. For Jennifer, that second day was a very different experience from the first one. It was more casual, more relaxed; more genuine. For the first time in many years, she felt happy; really happy.

Jennifer was completely swept away by the man. By the end of the day, her doubts about her feelings had completely disappeared. She knew Bruce had definitely taken a piece of her heart. But it was Jennifer's heart, not Aleksandra's.