I didn’t want to be rude, so I kissed him back. It was the only way to truly tell if there was any chemistry between the two of us. There definitely was not any chemistry between us. Our lips moved around one another’s, and his hands slid down my back to my ass. I didn’t feel a bit of excitement and knew it was time to call it a night.
“Thank you for a great date,” I said as I turned and unlocked my building door.
“I can walk you up to your apartment if you would like,” Jarad said as he held the door open.
Jarad was cute; he was nice, and I wanted all the best for him, but he definitely wasn’t the right one for me. I wasn’t sure who the right guy was, but so far I had been dumped by one guy, and Jarad didn’t look promising.
“I’ll be alright. Thanks, and have a good night,” I said as I turned and walked up the steps to my apartment.
I purposely did not turn back. I didn’t want to give Jarad any reason to think that I was into him. He didn’t need to have hope that I would change my mind. Without a glimmer of lust between us, there would be no future.
At the top of the stairs, I quickly unlocked my door and slid into my apartment. I knew Alyssa would still be out partying, and I was slightly excited to have the place to myself for a couple more hours. I often had this time to myself when she was out partying, and I would stay home; it was some of my favorite times. I just liked the peace and quiet that came from having the apartment to myself.
I flung my shoes off and reached under my shirt to unhook my bra. Then there was a knock at the door. Certainly, Jarad had gotten the hint. I didn’t want to invite him into my apartment; there was no reason at all for him to have come up the stairs.
I opened the door and was shocked to see Josh standing there.
Chapter 5
Josh
I watched from the back of the SUV as Jarad brought Candice back to her apartment. My driver Jackson continued to look back at me from the front seat. I knew he had never seen me so interested in a woman that I sat outside her apartment. Jackson had worked for me for the last couple of years and did not have any idea what was going on.
Knowing Candice was out with Jarad that night had me rethinking everything. I didn’t want to let her go and was deathly afraid that it was too late. I just didn’t want to get tied down in a long-term relationship. I still did want Candice, though, and I didn’t want anyone else to have her at all. Not even my good friend, Jarad.
I felt my jaw clench as I watched them walk up to her building. I was going to lose it if she invited him inside, and it was all I could take not to jump out of the vehicle and run over to her while she and Jarad kissed.
She certainly seemed to enjoy the kiss, and it drove me crazy. Not because she kissed another man, more because I was the whole reason she had gone on the date and kissed him in the first place. It was torture to know that I was at fault for setting the two of them up.
I watched as Jarad stood in the doorway and watched Candice walk up the stairs to her apartment.
I jumped out of the SUV and made my way between two cars that were parked in front of her building. The second Jarad turned to walk away, I ran to the door and held it open so I could slide inside and surprise Candice.
She needed to hear an apology from me for pushing her away like I did. She needed to know I regretted everything and wanted to see if we could figure out something that would work between the two of us.
I knocked on the door and smiled at the shock that came across her face as she opened it. She wasn’t expecting to see me, and it surprised her a lot when she saw that I was the one on the other side of the door.
“Josh,” Candice said with a look of surprise.
“Before you slam the door, please just let me talk for a minute.”
Candice stood in the doorway and wouldn’t let me into the apartment, but she didn’t slam the door in my face, so that was a good thing. I couldn’t help noticing that she had taken off her bra. The cold air from having the door open had her nipples perky with excitement.
“What Josh? What could you possibly want now?”
“Alright, I know you are angry. I understand this. But I thought I was going to break your heart.”
Candice just stood there and waited for me to continue to talk.
She didn’t look angry, and she didn’t look sad; her facial expression resembled more like someone who was just annoyed that I had interrupted her evening. Her eyes sparkled with a hint of enjoyment as I continued. I had hoped that she would see the romance in the moment and just invite me in. I had hoped that she would grab me and take me to her bedroom. But my hopes were dashed as she continued to guard her doorway and would not let me in.
“Josh, I don’t know what you expect. I can’t guarantee I won’t want a relationship, and you have clearly said that is not something you are looking for. I think it’s best that we keep things professional.”
My heart sank. I really had thought that my attempt at getting her back would be quick and easy. I had never worked so hard for a woman before, and I expected my efforts would work quickly.
Candice had to know that I had strong feelings for her. Whether we got into a relationship or not, I wanted her to be happy. I wanted Candice to have all the things she had always hoped for in a man.
“Did you like Jarad?”
“It’s not about Jarad. This is about you being so willing to throw me to the curb after I finally gave in and slept with you. You knew what a big deal that was.”
I didn’t have an excuse. I couldn’t fight her logic, and I didn’t want to. I just wanted to wrap her in my arms and show her how much I cared about her. I was even willing to try the whole relationship thing if that would make her happy. Whatever she wanted, I just couldn’t stand the thought of her being with another man. I couldn’t stand the thought of his hands touching her body.
Even the visual of Jarad, as he kissed Candice in front of the building, would likely stay with me for many days to come. I didn’t want any man kissing Candice, and I certainly didn’t want them to fuck her. She was mine, and I wasn’t going to share her with anyone.
“I think you should go, Josh.”
“I’m sorry, Candice. I really didn’t want to hurt you. I was doing what I thought would be easiest for you.”
I turned to leave and went slowly down the stairs. I hoped she would stop me at any moment, but as the building door shut behind me, I realized Candice was willing to let me go. I had hurt her too bad, and there was no way for me to come back from that.
Candice
Every muscle in my body wanted to jump into Josh’s arms and kiss him. It took everything I had not to explode with excitement that he had shown up at my door. I wanted him just as bad as he wanted me, and it was reassuring to see him making an effort. But I didn’t want him to think the way he had treated me was alright. I didn’t want him to throw away what we had just because he was nervous. If that were going to be how he acted, then we would be better off not getting together.
I kept my cool while he explained how bad he wanted to fix things, but no matter how hard he apologized, I just couldn’t accept it. He had purposely broken my heart, and that was just too much for me to accept. I didn’t want a man who would so willingly break my spirit like that. I needed a man who had integrity and respected me. I used to think that man was Josh, but after the week I’d had, I wasn’t sure anymore.
I had no choice but to send him away empty-handed. I didn’t think I could ever forgive what he had done to me.
The Billionaire's Assistant
Book 5: Unexpected SALVATION
An Alpha Billionaire Romance
Sarah J. Brooks
Chapter 1
Candice
I had to do it. I couldn’t let Josh think it was alright to have sex with me and then try and push me off onto his friend. Perhaps I would even need to go out on another date with Jarad to show Josh that he couldn’t control me like that.
Then to show up at my house
and try to apologize was ridiculous. Did he think my heart could just be crushed and put back together so easily? It couldn’t.
I didn’t think about Josh the same way anymore.
He was callous and cruel for pushing me off onto his friend, and now I just needed to move on and try to keep things professional at work. I didn’t regret sleeping with him as my first, but I did regret not realizing that he wasn’t interested in anything more than sex. Now I needed to move on.
I loved my job, and that was a definite fact. There was no reason I needed to leave my job. I could figure out how to work with Josh and get along with him well enough to be happy at work. Tons of people did that around the world. Workplace romances were more popular than ever.
My plan of attack was to stop dressing sexy and dress in much more conservative work apparel. I wasn’t going to worry about makeup or doing my hair. A nice clean face and ponytail or bun would have to do. I had plenty of slacks I could wear, and there was no need to look hot if I just wanted to do well at my job. Plus, I would be much more comfortable throughout the day if I wore casual clothes.
My problem …was my heart. I kept thinking about Josh and the look on his face when he showed up at my apartment. He seemed very genuine in his apology. It was too late, but at least it was genuine.
It didn’t matter, though. What was done was done, and I had to move on with my life. This was the best job I could dream of, and I loved it. I loved reading the different manuscripts from up and coming authors. I loved delving into the make-believe world in their heads. I decided to commit myself to my job 150 percent. There would be no distractions.
I showed up to work ready to kick some serious ass. There was no chit chat, I sat down on my couch with a manuscript and got to work. I was determined to find the cyber romance that would really kick off our publishing company. Many of the rewrites I had requested were coming in, and I had outside agents sending in tons of new stuff. I was sure that I could find the perfect fit for what I was looking for. I just needed to spend the time reading through all the submissions.
I curled up and committed to getting one manuscript done each day. That meant there would be no chatting around the company water cooler or going out to lunch, and I would probably need to stay late on most nights. I wanted this more than anything. I believed in the cyber romance genre, and I knew it could be a hit.
“Do you want to stretch your legs?” Gene asked as he came to check on me.
“Nope, I’m doing fine. But could you grab me a bottle of water?”
Gene had turned out to be a great co-worker and boss. He really understood the manuscript reading job because that’s what he did as well. Gene gave great feedback to me on getting organized and staying on task throughout the work day, which I really needed.
If I didn’t start my day right away when I got to work, then I could procrastinate all the way through the morning. I would organize my manuscripts, reply to emails, and even get stuck on writing out the different genres I was looking for. It was all a waste of time; I had to come in and start work right away; that was the only way I could get enough work done in a day.
As the day ended, I was finally finished with a manuscript and just needed to type out my notes. It was six in the evening, and most everyone else had already gone home for the night. I had successfully avoided running into Josh because I spent the whole day in my office.
I snuck out of my office for a just a moment to get a sandwich from the break room fridge. I loved that we always had food around the office; it made it much easier to work and not have to worry about grabbing a meal when you got hungry.
“Is that your dinner?” a man’s voice said.
I turned around to find Josh sitting in the corner of the break room.
“Yes,” I said as I grabbed the sandwich and made my way back toward my office.
I wasn’t about to have a conversation with him; I wasn’t ready, and I really didn’t know what I wanted to say to him yet.
My heart pounded as I walked past him, and I tried to keep my breathing controlled. Each step required that I think about my feet to prevent myself from totally giving in to my heart’s urges. I wanted to be with Josh; I just didn’t want to be with someone who didn’t value me. Josh had shown I wasn’t valued, and no girl should stay with a man like that. I had to move on.
As I got to my office, I felt the relief of making it there without having to continue a conversation with Josh. I knew he wanted to keep talking; I knew he felt bad about what he did, but I just wasn’t ready to have the conversation.
I wasn’t ready to consider him anything more than a co-worker, at least at that moment. Quite frankly, it was hard for me to even consider him a friend.
Josh
I knew she was too young, and I knew she would have a reaction like this, but it didn’t stop me from wanting her. There was something different about Candice, and I couldn’t let go of her. Yes, that had been my plan all along; just have fun and then move on. But something had changed. I liked having Candice around and needed to make that happen again.
Originally, I planned to make a grand gesture, perhaps fly her somewhere exotic for a vacation. But first thing Monday morning, I realized it was going to be much harder to win her back than I had thought. She was totally ignoring me and pretty much everyone else in the office. I decided it would be best to give her the space she wanted.
It killed me, though; I knew she wanted me. I knew I wanted her; we should have been together again by Monday night. We weren’t, though.
When I ran into her in the office lunch room, I saw such sadness in her eyes that I just couldn’t try to push her. It made me feel horrible, and I really didn’t know how to come back from that. I had never been around a woman after I made her feel bad; typically after I broke up with someone, we never saw each other again.
My history of breakups was long, and I hadn’t realized just how much damage I had caused until I saw Candice’s face. She clearly didn’t want to talk to me and left the lunch room faster than I could have imagined.
I would just have to sit back and wait for her to come to me.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t really my personality. I would wait for her, but I would have to force her hand a little bit until she realized just how much she cared about me.
We had a lot going on at the office lately, and I certainly could throw myself into work just like Candice. I had to hire a new marketing person and also needed to get to looking at a bigger office space. There was plenty to do, and it would surely keep my mind off of Candice for a little bit.
On Tuesday, I didn’t come into the office, and instead had Jackson take me around to the other office buildings. It was a huge deal to be moving; we had been in this office since I started the company. Moving involved buying or leasing the new office space and trying to determine how much we would expand in the upcoming years. It was extremely stressful. I didn’t want to go too big and pay for more space than we could afford, and I certainly didn’t want to go too small and have us move for no reason.
After looking at a few buildings, I decided I didn’t really have time for this and would need to hire a real estate agent. They could take the details of what I was looking for and find a few of the top choices in the city so I could concentrate on my work.
We swung past the office of my real estate agent I had purchased my home through. Vivian Lewis was a drop dead gorgeous woman who I had chosen as my agent simply because we had slept together. But it turned out she was also a fabulous agent. She found me the country home of my dreams, up in wine country, and got the owners to come down almost one million dollars from their asking price.
“Vivian, I need an office. Help me,” I said as I entered her office.
She was in the middle of meeting with a couple who looked up in awe at me when I came to the door. I could tell they recognized me.
“Mr. And Mrs. Weston, this is the publishing tycoon Josh Henderson. He obviously didn’t learn manners while he was
making his millions.”
“I apologize.”
“Give me a minute, and I’ll help you, Josh,” Vivian said as she went back to helping the young couple.
I liked Vivian because she didn’t give a shit about who I was. We were actually friends now and hadn’t slept together since the first time I met her. She was a no-nonsense woman who went after what she wanted. It was a great trait to have in the business world.
I waited in the lobby for almost thirty minutes, convinced that Vivian was purposely taking a long time to punish me for barging in on her meeting. She was also probably trying to prove to the young couple how dedicated she was and that she would make someone like me wait in order to help them.
“Josh, thank you for waiting,” she finally said as she walked the young couple out.
I walked with her back to her office, and as I watched her walk, I vividly remembered what her ass looked like without clothes on. It was a delicious memory.
“I need an office I can purchase that will fit up to 200 employees. I’m willing to remodel if necessary, but it needs plenty of parking, free parking.”
“When do you want it by?”
“As soon as possible.”
I loved working with Vivian; she was nice, sexy, and completely competent. I knew she would find me exactly what I was looking for.
“Alright, I’ll come over to your office Thursday and take you out to look at what I find.” Vivian moved a step closer to me, and I could feel the sexual tension. “Is there anything else you would like?”
Then the most surprising moment of my adult life happened.
“No. You’re beautiful. But I have a lady right now.”
As the words came out of my mouth, I saw the shock on Vivian’s face. She was just as surprised as I was that I had actually been willing to try a relationship.
The Billionaire's Assistant: An Alpha Billionaire Romance Box Set Page 12