Tempting the Billionaire

by Ginny Sterling

  “Jemma,” he sighed, backing down. She could see him visibly deflate and knew she’d won- only it didn’t feel like a victory at all. “You know I won’t hold you here. I want you to stay with me because you want to be here.”

  “I know that.”

  “But you won’t.”

  “But I can’t,” she stressed softly, touching his cheek tenderly one more time. “Aaron, meeting you has been the best thing that has ever happened to me and I don’t want it to end – it will just change a bit. We can still email, call each other, or video chat… but I won’t be here, in Kyoto.”

  “Amanohashidate Station,” Jemma heard in English, as well as in several other languages, over the announcements. The train came to a stop, pushing her further into his arms, into his protective embrace, as they stood there on the crowded train. His face was just inches from hers and she wanted to treasure each second before she had to say goodbye – not fight or argue.

  “Let’s enjoy our last days together, Aaron. Please, for me?”

  Their time together this afternoon was strained and Jemma could feel it. The silent tension was thick between them. They walked along the beach front like any other couple, only there was a divide between them. Other couples were smiling and frolicking in the surf in happiness.

  She and Aaron held hands, walking and watching the waves. She loved that they simply needed to hold hands and didn’t have to talk. She held her shoes in one hand while her other was encapsulated in his almost fierce grip. She knew he didn’t want her to leave, even though he had said the words she longed to hear. It had to be her decision, and knowing the man he was, he would respect it – even if he didn’t like it.

  Aaron was the most down-to-earth man that she’d ever met, even if she knew he was worth a large fortune. He didn’t act the part nor did he come off as high-handed. He was aggressive when he made a decision simply because he knew what he wanted. He had pursued her the very same way since he’d kissed her that very first time.

  It was an all-out assault on her heart and she didn’t want to admit that he’d won it a long time ago. Things had been so simple back then, her problems and concerns so tiny… compared to what she dealt with now. Why couldn’t they go back to that, to that simplicity?

  She was fascinated with the different aspects of Japan and how different it was from her own home back in Indiana. In downtown Kyoto, everything was illuminated, animated, glitzy, and studded with crowded buildings. There were people everywhere and it was like being crushed in line at Disney on a holiday for a brand-new ride. The elbows, the faces, the pushing, and shoving – and yes, even the smiles. People thrived on the ability to have so many conveniences right within reach and that was part of what was appealing. The instant gratification that if you wanted something, you simply went to get it… but Japan had another side to it.

  You could step back in time here.

  Life slowed down immeasurably and the anxiousness seeped from your body as time slipped away. Wooden buildings, bamboo forests, shrines and temples – all harkened back to an era that believed in honor, destiny, and family. People respected each other, honored their names. They believed they had a calling that pushed them to strive for more, built on that faith. Reed pipes and wind chimes sprinkled the air in a haunting melody calling up a pride in their heritage. Aaron was a part of both of these worlds and it showed in everything he did.

  Jemma was left questioning how her own beliefs and her own history had shaped her. Was she afraid of failure or being let down? Was the young girl inside of her still afraid of not fitting in – and what was she truly going home to? She had her parents, who had their own lives, and her job… was that enough to replace losing Aaron?

  That part scared her the most.

  Chapter 18

  Jemma awoke and prepared herself for their official meeting at A.I. She’d had her receptionist arrange and schedule it, knowing full well that this would conclude her time here in Kyoto. This was something she was not going to be able to avoid forever and the stress of it was eating at her stomach.

  She dressed quickly, pretending she was going to meet Mr. Mercer and his wife or any other contract that she already had in the bag. Donning a deep blue fitted wiggle dress, she snapped a jacket over it and slipped on some high heels – something she hadn’t worn in almost two weeks. Her feet pinched horribly compared to her sneakers or the zori flip-flops that she’d purchased the first day when she’d gone shopping with Edo.

  A knock on her hotel door startled her and she quickly moved to open it, seeing Edo waiting there. It was time to put on her big-girl pants and secure her future with A.I. Getting this contract would ensure that her company stayed in the black for years to come and she was afraid that letting Aaron down would jeopardize it. No! she thought vehemently, shaking her head lightly. A.I. and Temptations Marketing were all business – having nothing to do with Achoo and JemC1995… or Aaron and Jemma.

  Picking up Hermes, she slipped him into her large tote bag. The small cube indignantly complained that she’d been ignoring him and leaving him behind all week… like a paperweight. Jemma almost smiled at that.

  Her heels clicked lightly on the marble flooring as they departed the hotel. She’d packed her bags last night and cried herself to sleep, knowing that this idyll would be ending soon. Edo helped carry down her things and Jemma knew she was taking the coward’s way out. She’d arranged a flight last night to avoid the painful goodbyes that were sure to come.

  “You know he loves you,” Edo said with a frown. “Aiko will miss her friend. We will all miss you.”

  “Edo, please don’t do this to me,” Jemma said nervously, looking away from the man who’d taken her under his wing and befriended her immediately. She’d been so grateful for him helping her with etiquette, and later thankful that she’d had a chance to share a part of his family when they’d met.

  “I need to be strong today of all days and it’s breaking my heart,” she uttered softly. “I have to do this because I have responsibilities back home.”

  “I understand that better than most,” he replied sagely, “Just remember that you have a world here too. Do not be a stranger to us when you leave Miss Jemma.”

  “Never,” she whispered fiercely. “I could never do that when I think I am leaving my heart here in Kyoto.”

  Walking confidently into the lobby of A. I., Jemma looked around proudly and in awe of what Aaron had built from the ground up. The lobby was incredible. A massive atrium held a single white enameled desk and two elevators. There were diagrams framed boldly on the walls to let you know that this was an engineering and software company.

  “Jemma Hastings,” she said simply, unsure if the man spoke English at the receptionist desk. Learning Japanese would be her top priority since she was taking on A. I. as a client… and she wanted to be included in conversations around Aaron.

  “Yes, Miss Hastings,” he said with a heavy accent. “Mr. Ichiyo is expecting you.” Jemma thanked him politely and listened as she was instructed to take a name badge to the elevator. The badge was programmed and carded to allow her access to the rooms and offices that she needed to see. Accepting it, she saw her name was printed boldly on the badge as if she was an employee. This made her smile and gave her a nudge of confidence that she needed.

  The elevator doors slid open, reminding her of the shoji doors of Aaron’s home. She inserted her key card and saw that she was being taken to the fifth floor. This surprised her. She would have assumed that Aaron would have been on the top floor of the building. It had to have at least eight to ten floors, as tall as it was. As the elevator car came to a stop, the doors slid open and she saw that the fifth floor was under construction. It was quite literally empty except for a small table with blueprints and two chairs. The carpeting or linoleum wasn’t even installed. It was still concrete, and a variety of samples were propped against the wall nearby.

  “Hello?” she called out and stepped forward. Hearing nothing, she walked over to
the table and set down her purse once she saw the plans. It was schematics for an expansion of A.I. – not something she would recommend being left out in the open. Looking at them, she saw that there was a movement to creating a ‘clean’ room for electronics, as well as a prototype center for testing. Was he thinking of moving into animatronics?

  “Hermes was built here in silence,” Aaron said quietly, stepping forward from a corner where he’d been leaning. Apparently he’d been waiting for her to arrive.

  “What is all of this? I can say I honestly expected to meet in your office,” she admitted with a wry smile. “I wouldn’t leave these out either,” she coached, “Any person with access could see this, snap a few photos, and leak this out.”

  “True,” he said quietly, watching her. “But only you and I have access to the rest of the building.”

  “The entire building?”

  “Yes. I bought it when it was in jeopardy of being demolished to make room for a hotel. I had it completely gutted and refurbished the floors as we needed to expand the business. We take up three floors currently and getting ready to launch the fourth floor.”

  “So why are you here and not on the top floor?”

  “I want to stay close, to keep myself grounded knowing that I am just as good as anyone else. I normally keep to my office on the second floor but Hermes was a pet project of mine that I couldn’t show anyone yet.”

  “But you sent him to me?”

  “Yes.”

  Her purse gave a quick vibration, making her glance at her phone quickly. She saw the green glowing frown in the darkness of her tote bag and pulled Hermes out.

  “I heard my name and wanted to say hello,” the cube announced.

  “Hermes,” Aaron announced quietly, meeting Jemma’s gaze. She marveled at what this man could do and how smart he was. “This is Aaron. I want you to record this dialog in a private locked file. No one is to have access under my command or the pin number Jemma creates. Do you understand?”

  “I understand and will comply. Recording will be sealed by one Aaron Ichiyo and access only by Jemma Hastings. Jemma, please speak your pin number for the record,” the cube instructed in a very robotic voice.

  “1995” she said quickly and saw Aaron’s sad smile, wondering if she’d made a mistake on the pin number. Her thoughts were interrupted by a flashing padlock on the front of the screen on the little cube in her hand. She set it down on the table between them.

  “Why did you lock the file?”

  “Because I want no one to access it later once Companion is launched. What we talk about stays between us and it’s no one else’s business.”

  “Are we talking about the contract?”

  “I’m talking about anything that has to do with you and me.”

  “You are expanding?” she said quickly, attempting to change the subject as he walked over to the table that held the blueprints. He leaned over close to her and pointed at the drawings.

  “I want to further expand in the next five years to creating a program similar to him,” Aaron said, pointing at the cube. “There is so much more that can be done now that I’ve created the program and it’s actually working – then comes the application of it and the ethics of it.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “My father always cautioned me that advances brought about corruption or degradation of society – and I thought that he was stuck in his old ways,” Aaron admitted, staring down at the plans and the cube. “But I also realize now that if programming got into the wrong hands, or was used incorrectly, it could be exploited the wrong way.”

  “How?”

  “Remember how I read the transcript and Hermes told you about it?”

  “Yes… and that is still creepy.”

  “What if someone hacked in and read the things we’ve talked about- or read about how you had responsibilities back home… or how you loved me,” he asked huskily, still staring at the cube.

  “Are you still reading the transcript?” Jemma asked, mortified. “Aaron, look at me. Are you checking up on me via Hermes?”

  “I didn’t intend to,” he confided, his eyes looking soulful. “I logged in to see if I could shut off recording features for our meeting today. I saw your conversation with Edo this morning. I didn’t read anymore, Jemma. I swear it. That is why I locked the file when you arrived. I love and respect you too much to share our time together with anyone.”

  “I utterly hate that part of the machine,” she breathed, unsure how to feel at knowing that he was aware of her emotions.

  “I know you do, but that safety feature was built in prior to me realizing it was you I was sending him too. He’s the only one created, my original prototype. I had to know where he was or how to retrieve him. I plan on leaving everything from here on out, locked.”

  “You should remove it, wipe it from memory.”

  “And lose any memory of us?” he said painfully, cupping her cheek in his hand. His thumb brushed against her lips as he looked at her. “I can’t… because I know it’s the only memory I will have of you, of us, after today. I understand responsibility and duty… but I also know that I love you enough to respect your wishes.”

  “Aaron…”

  “Tell me you love me, Jemma,” he requested thickly, walking up to her. She could smell his cologne and see the painful acceptance in his eyes as he wrapped his arms around her waist. “Just tell me to my face, one time, so I can have that memory to hold on to.”

  “I do love you,” she repeated tenderly, as Aaron leaned down to kiss her. He hesitated a fraction of an inch from her lips, his eyes staring into hers.

  “You are my very life,” he uttered from his very soul. The cadence in his voice was shattering her heart as she couldn’t figure out how to live without him in her life. Her eyes began to well up with tears as she felt like they were saying goodbye to each other.

  “I love you so much and always have, Achoo.”

  His lips touched hers as his arms pulled her to him. Jemma felt like she was right where she belonged, in the arms of the man who loved her. He simply held her for what seemed to be hours. Jemma stood there with her arms around his waist, her cheek pressed to his shirt, trying to commit this moment forever in her mind. She knew he was smelling her perfume, feeling her in his arms, and trying to prepare himself as well for their separation.

  Eventually, he released her and pulled from his jacket’s inner pocket a contract. Unfolding it, he handed her a pen. Jemma glanced down and saw that it had been modified. Originally, the contract was a five-year agreement for marketing. The paper in front of her said that Temptations Marketing was guaranteed so long as A. I. remained in business- there was no end date.

  “You changed it?”

  “There is no better person to promote my company than the woman who loves me,” he said thickly, staring out the nearby window with his arms crossed over his chest. She recognized his stance and knew he was trying to pull himself together, trying to put the armor up around his heart.

  “I will always do my best,” she breathed in surprise at his complete faith in her. He was offering to tether her company to his- which was something no smart business-man would do without a hard return on investment plan. She hadn’t even designed the marketing scheme for him to look at yet. “But a contract like this isn’t necessary.”

  “No, I know- but I want to give you that security. You will always have a home here,” he confessed, looking over his shoulder at her. Jemma held her breath, knowing he was talking about more than the business. “You would only have to say the word- I would move heaven and earth for you.”

  “I know you would. You’ve always been there for me.”

  “Just like you – you’ve been there for me through my roughest times and I am so grateful for who you are.”

  Except she wouldn’t be here.

  She would be in Bloomington and he would be alone with his mother in Japan. He knew she was leaving, yet he was still giving her everythin
g he had. He was putting all his trust in her, knowing what he knew. Jemma could barely see the paper as she signed her name and dated it.

  “I won’t let you down,” she breathed softly in the silence.

  “I don’t think you ever could.”

  Chapter 19

  Six months later…

  Jemma stared out the window of the airport in Bloomington longingly, lost in her thoughts. It had been a long six months for her to get to this point. She’d left Japan with thoughts on her future business and marketing platform that needed to be created for her new contract. Margaret, Edo, Aiko, Kaito and Aaron had all surrounded her at the airport in Kyoto, with a flurry of hugs and tearful goodbyes. Aaron had pulled her into his arms, regardless of who was watching, and cradled her against him in his arms one last time.

  “Call or email when you get home,” he instructed in a soft whisper in her ear. “I don’t care what time it is. I want to know you are safe… and that you are okay.” His voice was thick with emotion as he struggled to speak the words. She knew it was breaking his heart, yet he was standing there for her – strong, because she needed him to be. She knew that if he’d have broken down, she could have never left and would have resented him. She had to come to her decision on her own- even if it took her weeks or months to get there.

  Jemma had texted, crying too hard to speak when she realized that she had actually left him behind. She’d ignored everything in her heart and threw herself into her work as a way to hide from life. She was working herself to death- yet didn’t stop until her body stopped and did it for her. She’d collapsed from exhaustion – yet didn’t tell Aaron.

  Three days in the hospital had scared her to death. She was hooked up to I.V.’s, unable to stand more than a few minutes without becoming light-headed, and sleeping had given her time to think… breaking down the mental walls that she’d hidden behind. She had retreated into her work thinking that would bring her happiness and satisfaction- enough to fill the empty void in her heart – but it hadn’t. She only missed Aaron that much more. She wanted to talk to him, run ideas past him, or see his proud smile of approval.