Monty was the type of man someone like me could only dream of having. That wasn’t to say we couldn’t have a one-night stand. He was hot, and I caught him looking at me a few times. It was the way he watched me that had me thinking he liked what he saw.
But he was a professional, a billionaire who ran his own company. I was pennies, and he was crisp hundred-dollar bills. I didn’t even own a car and had to rely on my sister to drive me to work. I was sure he owned several cars, probably with Italian names I’d have trouble pronouncing.
It may have sounded pathetic, but working next to him felt like I was in a fairytale where I got to rub shoulders with people I only read about on gossip sites.
“Stay.” He looked up and reached over, gently wrapping his fingers over mine. “You’re not fired. But there is something I need to tell you.”
My knees wobbled as sweet relief came over me. I didn’t care if it was inappropriate, I pulled his hand to my chest and said, “Thank you so much. I promise to be honest with you no matter what. You ask and I will tell you. You want to know when I first got my period, I’ll let you know.”
Monty chuckled and stood. “I don’t think that will be necessary.”
“It was when I was twelve in art class, and Jimmy laughed at me because he thought I sat in paint. I hadn’t . . . Oh, you said you didn’t want to know. Sorry, I misunderstood.”
I was still holding his hand to my chest. He was warm. When his nose flared as he stared at his hand, I had a powerful urge to kiss him. Then throw him on the desk and ride him like a horse.
“Speaking of misunderstandings . . .” he trailed off as his hand lifted from my chest.
But he didn’t drop his arm. Instead, his fingers glided up my chest, until he was cupping the back of my neck.
I tried to keep his gaze, but there was so much heat in it I feared I’d vaporize.
“Wh . . . uh, what misunderstandings?” I said a little too breathlessly.
Monty’s touch was causing my brain to zap out and my vagina to break out the cocktails.
He lowered his forehead to mine and closed his eyes.
Was he going to kiss me or start crying? I couldn’t tell.
“It’s about Nathan. I think I’m—”
There was a loud bang, and I jumped back. The door to his office swung open with such force, I thought I heard a crack.
“Fran Drescher!” Monty yelled.
“Nope, just your king.” A tall man who reminded me of Chris Hemsworth but with more muscles, if that was possible, walked into the room with his arms spread wide.
Monty rubbed his forehead, his glasses askew. “Hamish, you scared us.”
Hamish’s gray eyes, like molten steel, slid over to me. “And who is the better-looking half of the us?” The corner of his lip quirked as he moved toward me.
I felt myself flush. I didn’t even know the guy, but he screamed sex-on-a-stick. No, that didn’t even do him justice. He was more like sex-on-a-2x4.
“This is my assistant, Ms. Nutters.”
My jaw tightened. Hamish now knew my ridiculous last name.
Yet, when Hamish heard the name, he didn’t flinch. He acted as if it was the most normal name he ever heard. “It’s lovely to meet you, Ms. Nutters. I’m Hamish Blackwell.”
He held out his hand, and when I went to shake it, he gracefully lifted my hand and kissed the back. It was as if a feather floated across my hand as I barely felt his lips touch.
It was the most charming introduction I had ever experienced. How did I handle it? I giggled like a schoolgirl and embarrassed myself further when my laughter turned into a snort.
No wonder my wealthy cousins wanted nothing to do with our side of the family. We were uncouth.
As Hamish lowered my hand, I felt warmth at my side. Monty had come over and stood next to me.
I may have been mistaken, but I thought I saw him grit his teeth at Hamish for a second. I blinked, and when I looked at him again, his lips were pursed.
“This is the twenty-first century, Hamish. Women don’t like to have their hands kissed at work.”
Hamish stood and stared at Monty, then at me, and then back at Monty.
“I see.” He turned his body to face me and said, “I am sorry if I made you uncomfortable, Ms. Nutters—”
“It’s Julia. Just call me Julia,” I said with a big smile.
“Julia, what a lovely name—”
Monty cleared his throat loudly, stopping Hamish.
“Right. Julia. Please call me Hamish.”
“Yes, of course. Hamish.”
As I watched the two men stare at each other as if they were part of the secret society of glaring and were doing their mysterious handshake, it hit me.
“You’re the Mr. Blackwell I spoke to on Monday.”
Hamish blinked and said, “And you’re the person who convinced me to invest in a project I knew nothing about.”
Crap. He was mad about that. I never thought I’d meet the guy, so spewing bullshit to him over the phone was easy. If I knew I’d be standing in front of him one day, I may have been easier on him.
“Yes, and I’d like to say that—”
He grabbed my hand and shook it. His grip was firm, but not painful. “No one has ever done what you did. I consider myself a shrewd businessman.” He let go of me and shook his head. “No, I consider myself the shrewdest businessman alive. Yet, in the few minutes we were on the phone, you made me want to invest. Consider that an achievement. In fact, I might just headhunt you away from Monty.”
I felt Monty slip his hand onto my shoulder. Shivers ran down my spine. The way he touched me didn’t seem like we were in an office. His fingers pressing into my shoulder felt like he was about to undress me in a bedroom.
“It’s too bad you can’t have her since she just began working for me. In fact, we were just discussing her overseeing an extensive project here at The Blue Spot.”
We were? My eyes slid over to Monty for clarification, but he was back to that secret handshake with his eyes directed at Hamish.
Hamish rubbed his chin. “You know, Monty, because you’re my friend, I’ll let you have this one. But just know I always get what I want.”
Were they discussing me working for them or something more than that? Like sex.
“I am standing right here and can decide for myself who I work for.” I turned to Hamish and pointed my finger at him. “I’m sure you’re good at business, but that’s not the only reason I would come work for someone. And the fact that you discussed me like I wasn’t even here makes me think you do not understand what people think of you.” I slid my eyes over Hamish, taking in his bespoke navy suit and perfectly styled blond hair. “And let me guess . . . you think everyone loves you.”
He nodded with a smug smile.
“I got news for you, big guy, they don’t. You have just enough money to your name that no one has the balls to tell you that.”
His brow creased, and he was about to say something, but I turned toward Monty, who was doing a terrible job at holding back his laughter.
“And for you. I thought I really messed up sneaking in here to milk my boobs.”
“What?” Hamish asked, but I ignored him.
“I thought I hit the jackpot by landing this job. I have never made so much money in my life. Not even if you combined all my paychecks together. But the possessive touching and acting like I’m yours, as if I can’t think for myself . . . that’s where I draw the line. I should have told you about my pumping problem, but I was scared I’d lose this. But I’m not so desperate that I’d work for a man who thought he owed me.”
I stomped past Hamish and reached down to grab my breast pump bag. Once I made it to the door, I turned.
“If I hadn’t made myself clear, that was my resignation. I quit. Effective immediately.”
Chapter 13
Monty
I STARED AT JULIA’S desk. It was empty. No Post-it Notes of varying colors scribbled with her illegible
penmanship. No pink and blue colored pens. Not even the ragged kitty toy I thought was Nathan’s but turned out to be hers.
Only one silver-colored laptop. I stepped forward, pulling back the chair, and sat.
Glancing around the area, I could see down the hall. The seat was comfortable.
“I miss her,” I said to no one.
It was funny how you could grow attached to someone in your life in such a short time. I had barely known her a week. It was Friday, and this past Saturday was when I saw her at Nathan’s birthday party. Technically, I had known her since December, but with a ten-month period of not speaking.
I pulled open a few drawers. Most were empty, but one had a pad of paper with my name written on it. And a little heart as the dot over the “I.” But as I looked closer, I saw it wasn’t my name; it was Julia’s but with my last name.
My mouth fell open.
Did Julia have a crush on me?
“Have you been demoted?” a deep voice came from the hallway.
I quickly shoved the pad of paper back into the drawer. My jaw ticked as I knew without looking who it was.
“No, Hamish. How can I be demoted when I’m not an employee of The Blue Spot? Remember, since I’m an investor, much like yourself, I can use the office when I’m in town.”
“And their employees, it seems.”
I tightened my fist. What was with him? Normally, Hamish and I got along wonderfully. He’d crack jokes, and I’d give him technology advice. We had a relationship, a guy bond, that worked. But ever since he blatantly flirted with Julia yesterday in front of me, he had been a dick.
I stood with my fists on the desk. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
He folded his arms in front of his chest. His perfectly tailored gray suit puckered at the elbows.
“It means you were toying with Ms. Nutters. Using her like a child with his favorite calculator.”
I frowned. I knew he’d use that against me one day. Back in college I confided in him that when I was young, I had an obsession with calculators. Collected them. My brothers laughed at me, but Hamish never did. Now I see he was just waiting for the right time to break that tidbit out.
“So funny. The nerd loves his calculators and his hot assistant.”
My eyes widened. I hadn’t meant to say the last part out loud.
Hamish’s right brow lifted. “Love? No wonder you’ve been acting so grumpy. I thought it was low blood sugar, but it was something much sexier.”
Was I in love with Julia? It was more lust than love, but I cared for her. She was the mother of my child.
“What?”
He winced. “That sounded better in my head. Never mind. Let’s head on over to The Blue Chip for lunch and talk about it.”
I shook my head. “How about we head to a restaurant in town? Too many ears in Blue Chip.”
Julia’s sister Laura was the chef at Blue Chip. The last thing I wanted was to have one of the waiting staff overhear my talk of how I felt for Julia and then it getting back to Laura.
He clapped his hands and rubbed them together. “Great, I just bought a Lamborghini Estoque. Love driving it. Can’t wait to take it down one of these curvy mountain roads.”
I gulped. I wasn’t a fast car aficionado like Hamish. Steady was my game. After the accident at the construction site that killed my dad, I preferred to play it safe.
“The road to town isn’t long or curvy. In fact, it’s straightforward. Maybe we should just take my good old reliable Volvo.”
The face Hamish made told me he either just caught a whiff of the new body spray Dave from accounting was making everyone smell, or my Volvo wasn’t up to his standards.
“Holy hell, Monty. No wonder you’re single.”
My glasses had slipped down the bridge of my nose, so I pushed them back up. “Fine. We’ll take your new car,” I grumbled and walked around the desk.
We headed down the hall, and after a minute, we walked out the mosaic-tiled lobby. The day was cool but dry. I inhaled a deep breath of the crisp mountain air.
This place was growing on me. As much as I missed the West Coast and Silicon Valley, I enjoyed the slower pace and smiling faces I found in Castle Ridge.
I couldn’t help but gape at Hamish’s car. It wasn’t what I was expecting. Less futuristic than a typical Lamborghini and more of a classic, sporty design. Like something I’d see Sean Connery drive in a 1960s car chase.
I had also expected to see a wild color like florescent green, but it was a conservative gray instead.
“Like it, huh?” Hamish asked as he tapped something on his phone. The passenger door popped open.
“It’s very grown-up . . . not like you at all. James will be so disappointed.”
James had a man-crush on Hamish. Most men had man-crushes on him, but James was obvious about it.
“I like James, but he’s got some growing to do.”
We slipped into the black leather seats, and I wondered if I was being hugged by the car. The leather felt like butter. It was so comfortable I was contemplating having a bed made of the seat material.
As I reached for the door, it moved toward me and clicked closed. I did the same for the seat belt, but like the door, it moved without my touch. I noticed small glass beads on the vinyl belt. It shifted around my body and buckled itself.
“Wow. I have to admit, I’m impressed.”
The car moved, and I hadn’t realized he had started it. It was so quiet I could hear Hamish taking a breath.
“It was a concept car, but I had them make it for me. I wanted to do as little as possible.”
A chill ran down my spine as I glanced at the wheel. I felt relief when I saw his hands on the black leather steering wheel.
“I thought it was self-driving too.”
“Oh, it is.” He lifted his hands and clasped them behind his head. The car moved around curves with ease.
“How does it know where to go?”
“I tapped restaurant here.” He pointed to the computerized panel in the middle of the dashboard. “It learns over time what I like to eat. It’s a smart car, learning the more places I go. It will pick the closest five-star restaurant.”
No wonder Hamish frowned at using my car. I didn’t want to use my car anymore either.
It didn’t take long for the car to find a place and a parking spot. James may have had a man-crush on Hamish, but I had one on his car.
Once we were inside the little Italian bistro, we quickly found a table by the front window. This was Fitzlee Street, the main street of the town with lots of quaint little shops and restaurants.
The waitress showed up and took our order. Right after she left, Hamish pointed at me and said, “Okay, why are you in love with your new assistant?”
“I’m not in love with her. I like her, sure, but not love.”
“Do you like her like a friend or like her like a friend?” He lifted his arms and pushed his finger in and out of the fist of his other hand in a lewd way.
I grabbed his arms and pushed them down. “Stop it.” I glanced around. No one was looking our way.
“You have the hots for her. In this day and age, you can fuck women at work, but it must be consensual. And you state that it doesn’t mean favoritism,” Hamish said with a roll of his eyes.
I suspected he had some experience with that.
“What if I already had sex with her?”
I had to tell someone. Knowing I was Julia’s one-night closet stand was getting to me. Telling someone who wasn’t blood-related to me and wouldn’t threaten to taunt me with the information seemed like a better option than letting it eat me up inside.
He slapped me on the back, rather hard, and grinned.
“All right. Now I get why you were an ass to me yesterday. You already tapped that. Does she just want to keep it professional now? No sex with employee benefits?”
How do I put this without it sounding insane?
“She doesn’t know I had sex with he
r.”
His smile slowly faded, and for the first time since I met him, I saw fear in his eyes.
He lowered his voice and scooted closer to me in his chair. “Okay, what you do is contact a lawyer. My father has a brilliant lawyer just for this if you want to use him—”
“No, I didn’t rape her,” I said that a little too loudly.
A few eyes turned our way.
I chuckled to make it seem like I was joking, which only made it worse. Now those eyes were glaring at me, and I had the suspicion a plate may fly in my direction if I didn’t keep my voice down.
“I’m confused. How can she not know you had sex with her if you didn’t drug her and then do it with her?” Again, he made the lewd hand gesture.
More eyes turned our way.
“Holy Fran Dresh—” I took a calming breath. “It was dark. We were stuck in a closet at the Jingle Balls Ball back in December. You know, the one you bailed on?”
He nodded. “Right, I ended up in Aspen at a killer party.”
“Well, you didn’t stay, remember?”
He chuckled. “Oh yeah. I remember thinking it strange you were pissed I didn’t show up. I thought you’d be happy I was investing in The Blue Spot.”
“I was, but James locked me in the closet, naked, because he’s James and a jerk. She was the coat check girl and accidentally got locked in the closet too. One thing led to another and we had sex.”
“But that doesn’t explain why she doesn’t know it was you.”
I was about to answer him, but our waitress came back with our lunch. She grinned at Hamish and placed his ravioli in front of him. She turned her gaze to me and pursed her lips. My plate landed with a thud in front of me, a few pieces of my salad falling onto my lap.
“Enjoy,” she grumbled, continuing to glare at me as she walked away.
“She hates you,” Hamish said with a chuckle.
“I’m sure most people in this place hate me.”
Considering they all think I like to joke about rape.
“At some point Julia saw you or got your name. What happened when you both got out?”
I explained that I saw her, but she never saw me, and that when James let me out, he pulled me away before I told her who I was.
Surprising the Billionaire with a Baby (Blue Ridge Mountain Billionaires Book 2) Page 8