Billionaire Bosshole: An Enemies-to-Lovers Office Romance (Bedding the Billionaire Book 3)

by Laura Lee

  “I’m going to need you to elaborate on that,” I said as I turned the handle to my door.

  Sylvie grabbed me this time. “Quinn, wait. Don’t—”

  When I stepped into my office, I had to look back and check the nameplate. Ronan’s name was still on the door, but for some reason, our COO’s assistant, Ms. Stuart, was sitting behind my desk. Was she acting as his temp in my absence?

  She pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. “May I help you with something, Miss Montgomery?”

  “Um... no, thank you. I appreciate you filling in for me, but I’m back so you can return to Mr. Moore now.”

  She appraised me thoughtfully. “Miss Montgomery, I’m afraid you’re mistaken. You now report to Mr. Moore. There was a company-wide memo a few hours ago. I’m guessing you haven’t had a chance to read it?”

  What the hell?

  “No, I haven’t had the chance to read anything because my system access has been blocked for the last few days!”

  She narrowed her eyes at me. “There’s no need to shout.”

  I looked back to Antonio and Sylvie. “Did you guys know about this?”

  Antonio threw his hands up. “Yes! That’s what we were trying to talk to you about.”

  “This has to be a mistake.” I headed toward Ronan’s office and reached for the handle.

  Ms. Stuart jumped up from the desk. “You can’t just go in there! He’s very busy.”

  The door was locked, so I pounded on it with my fist. “Mr. Maxwell, I need a moment of your time. There seems to be some sort of mix-up.”

  I pounded three more times before the door was yanked open. Ronan surveyed the room, taking note of our audience, before addressing me calmly. “Miss Montgomery, what can I do for you?”

  My mouth fell open. “Ms. Stuart seems to think she is reporting to you now, and I am reporting to Mr. Moore. Please tell her she’s mistaken.”

  His unshaven jaw ticked. “I’m afraid you’re the one who’s mistaken, Miss Montgomery. Since you obviously didn’t get the memo, please step inside my office and I will explain.” He looked up. “Everyone else, get back to work.”

  Ms. Stuart huffed and returned to her chair—my chair—and Sylvie mouthed good luck as she and Antonio fled the scene.

  Ronan stepped aside so I could walk in and he grabbed his suitcase before closing the door behind me. “Miss Montgomery, if you’ll—”

  “Would you stop with the Miss Montgomery crap?” I whispered harshly. “There’s nobody else here.”

  He cleared his throat. “Miss Montgomery, as I was saying, I—”

  “Ronan, what the hell is wrong with you?! Why haven’t you been answering my texts? I know you’ve been busy, but—”

  “If you let me get a damn word in edgewise, I could explain,” he snapped. “Now, have a damn seat.”

  I folded my arms over my chest. “I’d rather stand. At least until you tell me what the fuck is going on.”

  He draped himself into his chair as if he didn’t have a care in the world. “As I was saying... I decided that it was time to move you to another area of the company. In order to grow within the company, you need to—”

  “Move me to ano—”

  Ronan held his hand up. “Let me finish, for fuck’s sake!”

  I gestured for him to take the floor. “By all means. This should be good.”

  He straightened his tie. “As I was saying—and I swear to Christ, if you interrupt me again, I will flip the fuck out—I decided it was best to transfer you to a different area of business. Maxwell Hotels values you as an employee and we want to foster an environment where continued growth can be achieved. It’s a lateral move; your salary and title will not change—only who you’re reporting to. This move will allow you to learn more about the operational side of this business.”

  “That’s bullshit, Ronan! What’s the real reason? You don’t think I should report to you any longer because of our personal relationship?”

  He stretched his neck to the side. “I’m afraid you’re mistaken there as well, Miss Montgomery. We do not have a personal relationship.”

  I blinked a few times to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating. “I’m sorry, what? What about everything that happened in Hawaii?”

  Ronan loosened his tie and popped the first button on his shirt open. “Surely, you don’t think I should be held accountable for anything I said during pillow talk?” He gave me a slimy grin. “Miss Montgomery, your pussy is truly exceptional, and I enjoyed our time together, but that’s run its course now, don’t you think? I trust that you will remain professional and not breathe a word about our sexual encounters to anyone.”

  “Wow... I don’t know what the fuck to say to that.” I pinched the bridge of my nose to fight off the looming tears. “So... to be clear, when you said you wanted to be with me on a personal level, you didn’t mean a word of it? It was all just ‘pillow talk’ that I shouldn’t take seriously?”

  He swallowed. “That’s exactly what I’m saying. I’m glad we’re both in agreement. Now if you’ll excu—”

  I held my hand up to cut him off. “Stop. Just fucking stop lying to me! If you can’t be man enough to tell me the truth, then fuck you, Ronan. Fuck you and your lateral move bullshit. You don’t need to worry about my professionalism—or lack thereof—because I quit.”

  If I wasn’t mistaken, I’d swear he looked upset, but that was quickly masked.

  “You’re being childish, don’t you think?” He couldn’t possibly have looked more bored as he said that. “You and I both know that you won’t find a better opportunity than what you have here. Or a better salary. Quite frankly, Miss Montgomery, you’re crazy if you think leaving is the best answer.”

  I laughed, a little maniacally if I was being honest. “You know what? Maybe I am crazy considering how many stupid, reckless decisions I’ve made over the last month. But don’t worry; I’m seeing things perfectly clear now. I couldn’t be more confident that leaving is the best solution. I’ve put up with you for two years too long and I’m not going to waste another minute of my life doing it.” I walked across the room and opened the door. Before leaving, I turned back and said, “Fuck you, Ronan. I’m sorry I ever met you.”

  I barely made it to the elevator before the tears burst loose.

  ***

  “Oh, honey, I’m so sorry.” Sylvie rubbed my back soothingly.

  I took a gulp of wine. I should probably stop soon, but this situation called for copious amounts of wine and chocolate. Sylvie and Antonio, being the wonderful friends they were, showed up on my doorstep with plenty of both. For the last thirty minutes, the three of us had been sitting on my couch while I’d given them the recap.

  “I can’t believe I was so stupid. He seemed so genuine, but it was all a game to him. I knew he was a bastard, but I had no idea he was capable of being so cruel.”

  Antonio pulled me into a side hug. “Oh, babe, I don’t think any of us did.”

  I sniffled. “Thank you, guys, for bringing my stuff. I can’t imagine how awful it would’ve been having to go back there to get it.”

  Yet another reason I was so lucky to have them. When Antonio saw me practically running out of the office, he knew something bad had happened.

  Sylvie refilled our glasses. “I still can’t believe he did that to you. It doesn’t make any sense. After two years of employment, why now? If this was just some sort of sick mind game to him, why now? And why you? You’re the one person who makes his life easier at work and the only one who’s put up with him longer than a few months. I just don’t get it.”

  “Probably because he knew I wouldn’t cry sexual harassment,” I mumbled. “I own up to my mistakes. I would never play the victim card just because I can’t accept responsibility for my actions. I’m sure he could sense how attracted I was to him—he knew I’d enthusiastically jump into bed with him.”

  Antonio shook his head. “It still doesn’t make sense. That man could snap his fingers an
d beautiful women would come running.”

  “It doesn’t matter if it makes sense or not. Whatever the reason, he played me. I knew getting involved with him was a bad idea, but I did it anyway.” I hung my head in my hands and groaned. “God, I’m such a fucking idiot.”

  “Oh sweetie, no, you’re not,” Sylvie argued. “You’re human.”

  “We should quit too,” Antonio suggested. “That asshole will see how good he had it when he can’t find people who can do the job half as well as we can.”

  I shook my head. “Don’t even think about it. It’s an amazing company to work for and you guys have seniority. Besides, he knows how close we are. If you quit too, he’d know how badly I’m hurting and that’s the last thing I’d want. I may feel like shit now, but I’ll find a way to get over it. I don’t want to give him the satisfaction of knowing how much he got to me.”

  Sylvie sighed. “So, what do you think you’re going to do? For work, I mean.”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know. I’d really like to stay in the hotel industry if I can. I suppose I’ll give the headhunter HR uses a call. Maybe she knows of some openings.”

  “And what about Ronan Maxwell?” Antonio bumped his shoulder against mine. “What are you going to do about him? You already have a revenge body—how do you plan on showing him what he’s missing out on?”

  “I don’t,” I sighed. “As far as Ronan Maxwell is concerned, I just hope I can get shitfaced enough tonight to forget he was ever a part of my life.”

  Sylvie grabbed the box of gourmet chocolates and held it out for me. “We love you, Quinnie. We’re here for whatever you need.”

  I selected a coconut truffle. “I love you guys, too. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

  “Good thing you’re never getting rid of us,” Antonio said and winked, making me laugh for the first time today.

  I knew it would take some time, but I was determined to get over Ronan Maxwell. I just needed to figure out how.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  RONAN

  It’d been two weeks since I’d made the biggest mistake of my life. I was so fucking ashamed of myself for letting my father get to me—for allowing his threat to take root. For crushing the woman that I’d loved. What good was doing what I loved for a living if I didn’t have her by my side? I was fucking miserable without Quinn. It was a classic case of not knowing what you had until it was gone. I knew that I had feelings for her, but I hadn’t realized the depth of those feelings until she walked out of my life. Or, before I forced her out, rather.

  Fuck.

  As for my business, it was like the whole insider trading incident never happened, despite the fact that my former CFO was awaiting trial. All thanks to my brother, the master publicist. He managed to spin the story with such finesse, the press quickly lost interest. I knew that wouldn’t be the case once the trial started, but at least Liam had a head’s up this time. For now, my board was happy, our stock was up, and everything around the office was status quo. I should’ve been happy, right? But happy was the complete opposite of what I was feeling.

  I took a sip of cheap whiskey and relished the burn. I didn’t deserve top shelf liquor after what I had done. There wasn’t a minute that went by when I didn’t wonder how Quinn was doing. When I didn’t want to go to her house and beg for forgiveness. I had tried calling her and found her number had been disconnected. It was pretty obvious she wanted nothing to do with me.

  “Buy me a drink?”

  I glanced at the woman who sidled up next to me. I motioned for the bartender to take her order.

  She smiled as she picked up the wine glass. “I’m Cassie. And you are?”

  “Enjoy your drink, Cassie.” I nodded and turned away from her.

  “Seriously?” she huffed.

  I took a deep breath before turning back in her direction. “Look, I’m sure you’re a lovely woman, but I’m not interested.”

  “Asshole,” she muttered as she stomped away.

  “Tell me about it.”

  “Damn, that’s the tenth woman I’ve watched you turn down over the last two weeks.” The bartender set another drink in front of me. “Every night, you come in here, order shit alcohol—despite the fact that I know you can afford better, considering you own the building across the street. So, in my experience, if you’re in here trying to get drunk instead of laid, that means you’re trying to get over a woman. You want to talk about it?”

  I shook my head. “Not really.”

  He laughed. “Okay, man, I get the hint. If you change your mind, let me know.”

  I nodded and resumed drowning my sorrows.

  A short while later, another woman approached me. I knew this particular woman had no interest in hitting on me though. If anything, she’d rather cut off my dick.

  Sylvie O’Hare took the seat beside me and glared. “You’re a real asshole, you know that?”

  I gave her a wry look. “I’m well aware.”

  “Yeah?” She raised her carefully sculpted brows. “Well, were you aware that she’s leaving?”

  We both knew to whom she was referring, so I didn’t even pretend otherwise. “What do you mean, she’s leaving? She already left.”

  Miss O’Hare shook her head. “She’s moving, you jackass.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “Watch it. I’m still your boss.”

  “I’ll risk it.” She rolled her eyes. “My best friend is about to pick up and leave everything she’s ever known. The same woman who gets cold when the temperature drops below sixty, is going to move to Chicago—a place that might as well be Antarctica in the winter—because she so adamantly insists on staying in the hotel industry.”

  “There are plenty of hotels in California.”

  “There are,” she agreed. “But she was offered a job with Onyx Hotels and they’re headquartered in Chicago. Do you want to know what position they’re giving her?”

  I took another sip of my drink. “I’m sure you’re about to tell me.”

  “An intern!”

  My jaw clenched. “Why the fuck would she accept that?”

  Miss O’Hare threw her hands up. “Oh, I don’t know... maybe because her heart is so broken, she felt like she had to get the hell out of Dodge? That was the first offer she received, and she jumped on it, despite the fact that she’s going to be overqualified and underpaid.” She stabbed me in the chest with her finger. “She loved you and you fucked up, buddy.”

  “I know.” I finished the remainder of my whiskey. “But this is none of your business.”

  She scoffed. “Well, too bad, because I’m making it my business. Quinn would kill me if she knew I was here right now. I’m risking losing her trust by talking to you. You wanna know why?”

  “I’m guessing you’ll tell me regardless of my answer, so go ahead.”

  Miss O’Hare stabbed me in the chest again. “Because I think you love her too, if the fact that you’ve been moping around like a sad sack of shit is any indication. I don’t know why you did what you did, but I do think there was a reason at the time. Not a good reason, but a reason nonetheless.”

  I ground my teeth together, trying to calm down. “When does she leave?”

  “Two weeks from today,” she answered. “Don’t take too long to think about it because if she actually goes through with this... if she moves two thousand miles away, she’ll likely stick with it no matter how unhappy it makes her. You know how fiercely loyal she is. I really don’t want to see my best friend living a lie, so you need to pull up your big boy undies and beg for her forgiveness. The question is, are you man enough to do whatever it takes to get your girl back?”

  ***

  I didn’t think arriving half-drunk was a good idea, so I waited until the next morning to make my move. Now, I was standing on Quinn’s front porch, waiting for her to let me in. I’d rang the doorbell twice and knocked, but she wasn’t coming to the door. I knew she was most likely home because her Audi was parked in the driveway. Odds
were, she was simply hoping I’d go away if she ignored me long enough.

  I knocked again. “I know you’re there, Quinn. If you’re not ready to open the door, I’ll just wait here until you are.”

  I heard someone moving inside the house, getting closer. I knew it was her—my heart was trying to beat its way out of my chest to run to her. “Please go away, Ronan. I have nothing to say to you.”

  I pressed my forehead against the wood. “Quinn, please, just give me five minutes. Baby, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean a word of it and I’d like the chance to explain what happened. I know I don’t deserve it after the way I treated you, but please, just give me five minutes.”

  The silence on the other end was deafening. As she unlatched the lock however many minutes later, I breathed a sigh of relief, but then my chest ached when I got my first glimpse of her. Quinn’s eyes were puffy and red-rimmed, the gold flecks in them much brighter than usual. A dozen emotions flashed across her face at once—anger, sadness, and uncertainty, to name a few. I hated that I was the cause of her distress. I wanted so desperately to pull her into my arms, telling her that it would be okay. That I would find a way to make it work. I knew I had several hoops to jump through before that would even be a possibility though.

  “Ronan, I really don’t want to do this. I think you’ve said enough already.”

  I stuck my foot in the doorway when she tried closing it. “Quinn, please. I promise you can tell me to fuck off if you want after I’m done, but I need to say this, and I really don’t think your neighbors need to witness it.” I looked around to emphasize my point. The neighbors on each side of her were gardening, hearing every word we were saying.

  She sighed as she stepped aside. “Five minutes and not a second more.”

  Since I was on the clock, I decided not to waste time by beating around the bush. “I’m so sorry, Quinn. I’ve never been sorrier for anything in my life. I know I don’t deserve it, but I’m begging you to hear me out.”

  Quinn shook her head as her eyes filled with tears. “Why should I? What good are words if you can just take them back?”