Bad Boy Billionaire Romance Boxset 4 Books

by Tara Brent

  “Oh, I think it will be,” he winked.

  ***

  “You have got to be kidding me!” screamed Catalina over the roar of the plane.

  “It’s totally fine!” Daniel shouted back. “I’m a professional! I’ve done this dozens of times!” He gripped her tight. “You ready for this?”

  “No no no no no no AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!” Catalina shrieked as they plummeted out of the plane in tandem. She crunched up in terror and exhilaration as she descended.

  “Make like a banana!” Daniel yelled.

  “Right!” she opened her body up and arched her back, the both of them falling fast but slower now that they spread out.

  “Now the chute will release when it hits a certain altitude!” said Daniel.

  “You sure?”

  “Of course! We’re about there now. Be ready!”

  Shortly thereafter, the parachute released. But…

  “Why doesn’t that feel right?” demanded Catalina.

  “Um…”

  “DANIEL!!”

  “It’s tangled.”

  “What? Oh my god we are going to die! This was stupid! It was too much! We’re—” but at that very moment, Daniel released the tangled chute and the backup burst forth. Their descent slowed dramatically. “Oh holy moly mothafuckin guacamole,” said Catalina.

  “What?” asked Daniel.

  “Nothing,” said Catalina.

  Soon they landed, all tangled in the chute. Catalina was laughing hysterically as they worked their way out of their equipment. “That was incredible!” she yelled, dancing about.

  “See? Told you I wouldn’t let you down,” said Daniel.

  She jumped into his arms and kissed him hard on the mouth. “Fuck me hard under the parachute,” she whispered in his ear, nibbling on it.

  “I still think waiting for the full thing is still the right call for us,” he said, “our initial office shenanigans notwithstanding. But,” and with that, he pulled a long crimson scarf out, and tied it around her head, blinding her eyes. “I’ll do the next best thing.”

  He laid her down. Catalina buzzed with excitement as he worked her pants off, and then gasped when she felt his tongue between her legs.

  Chapter 12

  “Heya bud,” said Daniel upon entering his brother’s office the next morning. “Things are getting serious with Catalina. I was reluctant at first, but I think we should get the paperwork going so that it’s all on the up-and-up. Don’t want any bad press but I do want to make this work with her.” He sighed, sitting down and obliviously plopping his feet on Kurt’s desk, much to his muscular brother’s conspicuous chagrin. “I never thought I’d say this, Kurt, but she’s special. Not like these other girls I’ve ‘interviewed’ over the years.” He laughed to himself. “Oh man oh man… so! Wanna have Gloria set this up for tomorrow? I gave Catalina the day off today since she had a bit of a scare yesterday.”

  In response, Kurt simply sipped his black coffee and then turned his laptop around without a word, showing Daniel the article filling the screen. As Daniel’s smile slowly shrunk to nothing, Kurt reached under his desk, pulling out a bottle of Jameson 2007 Rarest Vintage Reserve, and pouring a healthy portion of it into his mug. “She’s special all right,” said Kurt dryly. “So special I now have to drink my coffee, Irish.”

  “This… how could she…?”

  “Honestly, this is kinda my bad,” Said Kurt listlessly. “She told me weeks ago that she told her roommate. Probably should have mentioned that to you.”

  “She talked?!” Exploded Daniel. “But she signed an NDA!”

  Kurt sighed. “For a CEO, you really need to brush up on your business acumen. We have your girls sign those to dissuade them from speaking out, but at the end of the day, we can’t regulate things like that. A dubiously-legal sexual encounter being hidden away by a piece of paper? You should know better, Dan.”

  “You’re telling me that with our legal team we can’t do anything about it?!” he cried.

  Kurt shrugged. “If a mouse complains that a cat tried to eat it, and then the cat tries to shut the mouth up, the cat will look like an even bigger douche to the other woodland critters.”

  Daniel blinked. “Um, wha—?”

  “Sorry, metaphors ain’t my strength,” said Kurt. “But what I’m saying is that the whole reasons we cross our fingers and hope that the NDAs will keep them quiet is because (A) we want to avoid an aggravating legal battle via a big fat bluff and (B) we hope that said bluff will save you and by extension this company from a public nightmare.” He gulped from his coffee again. “Aahhh. So anyway, yeah, we can throw our legal team at an employee who is in the right and possibly win, but if we do that, we end up with, again, (A), the same annoying legal battle we wanted to avoid in the first place, and (B), will bullying someone the public may identify as a victim in all of this will make us look worse than the initial blow.”

  “So you’re saying there’s nothing I can do?” Daniel demanded, shaking with fury.

  Kurt grimaced at his brother. “I know you like to be in control all the time and that you loathe to ever not get your way. But you played your way into checkmate here, bro. Plus, you say you might be in love with this chick.”

  “I never said love,” Daniel snapped hotly.

  “Whatever man. The point is, she’s going to feel the sting from this too. So, what, are you going to attack her instead of riding this out with her?”

  “I don’t—she—I—I don’t know!” Daniel cried out.

  “Yeah, well, neither do I, and unfortunately for us both, I think I’m done here.”

  Daniel went stiff. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean I’m done. Don’t take it personally. But come on man. I’m pouring a six-hundred-plus dollar bottle of Irish whiskey into shitty office coffee just to barely stay functional dealing with all this shit.” Kurt stood and walked around his desk, leaning where Daniel had previously been resting his feet. “I love you brother and I’ve done what I can to meet you in the middle, but I always knew that it was going to blow up in your,” he clicked his tongue, “our, face someday. So long as the company’s reputation stayed solid, I knew I’d stick around, support you and the company the best I could, all that jazz. But I also had my exit strategy lined up.”

  “You had an exit strategy?” Daniel repeated, seething.

  “Well, have, not had, since clearly I still have it, as I’m putting it into motion. It’s not much. Basically take the money I have, find a place on an island as far away from other humans as possible, and become a fisherman.”

  “You—what? Why?”

  “Because I like fish and I like to be left alone,” said Kurt. “Today’s my last day with the company but I won’t move until the end of next month. Figure you’ll need the moral support, plus, I could use a temporary staycation before my permanent vacation. But either way, I’ll do it as your brother and friend, not as your CFO.” He patted his brother on the shoulder and kissed him roughly on his scalp. “Everything has always worked out for you, Daniel, your whole life. Maybe it’s time something didn’t. Or maybe it’ll be more of the same and you’ll emerge shining. I’m guessing somewhere in between. Whatever happens, I’m sure you’ll learn something, so that’s good regardless.”

  And with that, Kurt was gone, never to re-enter the building again.

  Chapter 13

  Catalina was sleeping soundly when she was abruptly awakened by a sharp knock on her door. “Ugh, what?” she called out. “I have the day off! Let me sleep!”

  “Catalina open up,” came Amelia’s voice, urgent and alarmed. “Please!”

  “Okay okay jeez keep your shirt on,” Catalina grumbled. Catalina stretched, put on her bathrobe, and opened the door to find Amelia standing there in nothing but a long t-shirt. “When I said to keep your shirt on, I didn’t mean to only have a shirt on,” she said.

  “Shut up and look at this,” Amelia said, thrusting her phone into Catalina’s face. “A
nd Cat, I am so sorry…”

  Catalina took the phone and read the headline: “Bad Boy Billionaire Settling Down After String of In-Office Flings.” Catalina shuddered and read on. “Oh god,” she whispered, fumbling for a chair. “Oh my god…”

  “I’m so sorry!” Whispered Amelia.

  “All these details… how did they know? How did they—” she stared up at Amelia in a rage. “You…”

  “I didn’t mean for this to happen!” Amelia squealed. “You never said not to tell anybody!”

  “I thought it was common sense!” screeched Catalina.

  “And I would have thought it was common sense to not fuck your boss on your first day and then immediately run your mouth!” Amelia clapped back. They both fell silent. “I’m sorry…” she tried again, but Catalina cut her off.”

  “Fuck you,” she said.

  “Catalina I only told some friends! I didn’t mean for—”

  Catalina rounded on her roommate, causing Amelia to cower. “Did I stutter? Fuck, you!” And with that, she left, slamming the door behind her.

  A moment later, she barged back into the apartment, stomping into her room to throw on an outfit as quickly as possible before marching right back out, thankfully sans-robe this time.

  Amelia fell to the ground and sobbed hysterically. She continued for several minutes before finally getting up and making tea.

  There was a knock on the door that startled her. Still rattled, she answered, forgetting her attire (or lack thereof). She gave a little yelp. Before her was a heavily bearded man with the largest arms she had ever seen wearing oddly short shorts and a Hawaiian shirt. “Hi,” he said. “Is Catalina around? I haven’t been able to reach her.” He glanced down at Amelia’s “outfit.” “Um…” he said.

  Amelia looked down herself, realized how little she had on, and yelped again, pulling her shirt down low. “Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry! I’m not myself this morning. Uh, Catalina’s not here, you just missed her. Also, how’d you get up here?”

  “Your doorman is depressingly susceptible to bribery,” he answered simply. “Don’t suppose she was behaving out of the ordinary this morning?”

  “I’m sorry, who are you?” Amelia asked, now letting her eyes dance across his bulging biceps. Damn! What a man! She thought.

  “Kurt Myers, your roommate’s, ahem, ‘brother-in-law.’” He chuckled, easing the tension, and Amelia laughed too.

  “Ah, I see,” she said. “Well, I’m guessing you’re here about the article. She saw it, flipped a shit, and ran out in her robe before coming back to get dressed and zoom out again.”

  “Not sure if you’re in a position to question other people for not getting dressed,” pointed out Kurt.

  “Hey! I work from home, okay? I was comfortable, and then all this happened, and I was freaking out because I blamed myself, and—”

  “Okay, first of all, I was just teasing,” Kurt said, putting his hands on her shoulders to comfort her, effectively turning her legs to jelly. “And secondly, don’t hold the blame for your roommate’s sloppiness. I love my brother but his choices are his own. I’m over it. Let it go, uh, what’s your name?”

  “Amelia Graves,” she said. “And thank you, Mr. Myers.”

  “Kurt is fine,” he assured her.

  Amelia stared into his eyes. “You’re single, right?”

  “Um, yes?” he answered carefully.

  “Right, right…” she hesitated. “Aw the hell with it!” And with that, she reached up and kissed him hard on his bearded mouth, kicking the door shut behind him at the same time. Kurt was surprised, but only for a moment. The hell with it indeed, he thought, allowing himself to be dragged off by a woman less than half his size.

  Chapter 14

  When Catalina arrived at the office, Daniel was already waiting outside for her. She hesitated slightly, seeing the rage virtually emanating from his being, but forced her legs to propel herself toward him. Her heart raced as she feebly tried to find the words to say. “Daniel, I, I—”

  “Don’t,” he snapped at her, the single syllable cutting her like a knife. “How fucking could you?”

  “I’m sorry!” she cried, desperate. “I only told one person who I thought I could trust. I never thought in a million years that she would go run her mouth around town!”

  “Tell me, Cat, was this before or after you signed the NDA?”

  “After…” she murmured sheepishly.

  “You violated my trust. You broke an agreement that you signed! And then you ensured that my reputation got flushed down the toilet all because you thought you could trust one of your stupid friends!”

  “Okay, you know what? Hold the fuck on,” said Catalina, her guilt giving way to fury of her own. “First of all, that NDA is bullshit. It’s basically a document stating that you’re free to sexually exploit any employee you deem fuckable. And do not start with that ‘oh but the door was unlocked’ shit when you know that you are in a position of extreme power and that most women wouldn’t leave even if they didn’t want to be there for fear of reprisal. Secondly, yeah I told a friend, and if you and I were properly dating, like you seemed to want to do with me anyway, me talking about my relationship with a friend wouldn’t exactly be this big ol’ sin! Also, I told your brother about telling my roommate immediately. I wasn’t hiding anything, it just didn’t come up when you and I would meet up. For all I knew, he told you. Since we were ready to go public anyway, I honestly just wasn’t thinking about it. I’m still so sorry I talked about it without letting you know, and the timing obviously sucks, but if you had done what I wanted and gone public sooner, this article wouldn’t even exist! Or if it did, it wouldn’t be such a big deal.”

  “Ah. Okay,” said Daniel, backing away, eyes blazing. “So this is my fault.”

  “No! Jesus Daniel. I don’t know whose fault it is. But you, me, my roommate, the people she talked to who had their big mouths, your brother for enabling you all these years, it’s all of our responsibility.” She took a step closer. “This is a mess! But you know what? I love you. I love you more than I knew anybody could love anything. And we will get through this. As a team. You and me, forever.”

  She reached for his hand, but he drew it back sharply. “We’re not a team, Price. You betrayed me and ruined me.” He pushed past her.

  Catalina shook with rage and sadness and then screeched after him: “Fine! I quit!” And with that, she stomped off, sobbing with every step.

  Chapter 15

  Catalina stormed back into her apartment to hear heavy breathing and squeals coming from Amelia’s room. “Amelia?” she called out. No response. Curious, she pressed forward and pushed her roommate’s door open.

  Her eyes went wide.

  Her vision was filled with the image of her roommate, stark naked and on her back with one leg straight up in the air and being held by none other than Kurt’s muscular arms as he—equally naked—pounded into her with reckless abandon.

  Catalina: “Aaaaaiiiiii!!!!”

  Amelia: “Aaaaaiiiiii!!!!”

  Kurt: “Huh?”

  Catalina scampered out of the room, hands over her eyes, leading her to trip and fall over a chair.

  Amelia followed behind, frantically wrapping a blanket around her. “Catalina!” she cried. “Are you ok?”

  “Physically? Yeah, I’ll live. Mentally? Emotionally?” She visibly shuddered. “I may now have a permanent, chronic case of the heebly-jeeblies.”

  “What was that?” asked Kurt from Amelia’s doorway.

  “Sweet merciful baby Jesus Kurt, please cover yourself up!” shrieked Catalina.

  “Yeah no sweat,” said Kurt, leisurely turning back into the room.

  “That man is far too comfortable with his body,” muttered Catalina.

  “Yeah he is,” said Amelia devilishly.

  “Ew. Also, what the crap? Just… what??”

  “Yeah he came over looking for you,” said Amelia.

  “Why?” asked Catalina.
>
  “To tell you not to give up on my brother,” said Kurt, returning and having basically just wrapped one of Amelia’s sweaters around himself like a loincloth.

  “Please wash that four times,” muttered Catalina.

  “Are you kidding? I’m never washing it again!” Amelia whispered back.

  “Ladies,” said Kurt rather curtly. “Focus. Listen, Daniel can be a brat, he’s used to getting his way. But he bounces back. I guarantee right now he’s looking for an easy distraction, but when it’s all said and done, he loves you, Cat. He really does.

  With that, Catalina burst into tears.

  Chapter 16

  Daniel was accustomed to only ever dining and drinking in the highest-end establishments in the world, but at this moment, he just wanted a drink as quickly as he could. He ended up stepping into the first dive bar he encountered. As it was still midday, it was mostly empty. The bartender was young and nervous-looking, eyes going slightly wide as he saw another customer pop in, as if he was already overwhelmed by having two minding their own business at opposite ends of the bar in addition to the party of three having lunch at one of the tables to the side. Daniel suspected that the kid was new to bartending, hence his working a day shift and expressing such clear anxiety.

  Daniel sat down at the middle of the bar. “Hey there!” the kid said, forcing an overly-enthusiastic smile. “What can I get for you?”

  “Brandy,” said Daniel.

  “And what brand would you like?”

  “Whatever’s the best you have,” said Daniel.

  The kid’s grin faltered. “Um, sure!” he said. He stared at the liquor bottles for what seemed like an eternity before finally selecting one and pouring for Daniel. Daniel in turn rolled his eyes; it was nowhere near the best they had, but he didn’t want to give the poor kid a nervous breakdown.