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The Billionaire Revenge
Billionaire Office Romance
By: Amanda Horton
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The Billionaire Revenge
Carrie closed her eyes relishing the taste of her mother’s apple pie. “So nice of you to finally make it home” her mother commented from where she sat across the table.
Carrie opened her eyes and looked over at her mother who was almost her mirror image. They both had long red hair with slender heart shaped faces and thick lips. The only feature that Carrie had gotten from her father was his striking grey eyes and his height. She stood at almost six feet tall which had set her apart from many of her peers over the years. She also believed that her height had a great lot to do with her commanding personality.
“It’s nice to be home” Carrie replied ignoring her mother’s sarcasm.
“We can’t wait to hear about what you’re doing in New York” her youngest sister Toni chimed in. Carrie was the eldest of three children. Her younger siblings were seven years younger and only a year apart from each other.
“You guys will have to wait until the summer before you come there,” Carrie told them.
“Sis, just a weekend?” Angel asked pouting
“You should listen to your sister,” her father chimed in. “She knows what she’s talking about. She’s the one with a billion dollar business”
Carrie had always been a daddy’s girl. She knew her father loved them all but ever since she was a child her father had paid her special attention. He had been her rock through all of her life situations and there was nothing about her that she hadn’t told him.
“Fine” Toni replied begrudgingly.
“So is there a handsome man in New York waiting for you hurry on home?” her mother asked.
Carrie sighed; she knew it had been coming she just didn’t want to talk about it. Her mother’s chief concern after she had made her first billion buying and selling her first company had been whether or not she was going to marry before the work took over her life. Every visit since then had been filled with similar questions.
“No mom, just my cat” Carrie replied.
Her mother let out a sigh.
“It’s about time you found someone and settled down sweet heart” her mother said “I only say this for your good. Don’t think all the men will walk up to you and ask you out. Sometimes you have to be the one to make a move”
Carrie and her sisters let out a collective exasperated sigh.
“What, if I’ve told you girls once, I’ve told you a million times” her mother said looking from one to the other “I saw your father and approached him because he was who I wanted. Sometimes guys don’t know what they want until you show them”
“Yes mom” they replied in unison.
Carrie usually ignored her mother’s words but the closer she got to thirty the more she wanted to find someone to settle down with. She had always wanted to be one of those women who could do it all; have an amazing career, a great marriage and children. Her last relationship had been a disaster that had left her both broken and confused. She was on the verge of taking over her second fashion company and all she could think about was the fact that there was no one she could celebrate it with.
The dinner ended and Carrie packed her things so she could leave. It was a short flight back into the city but she was comforted by the fact that her father would be taking her to the airport.
“So what happened with that Alex guy?” her father asked
She hadn’t told her mother or any of her sisters about her relationship with Alex. They had known she had been seeing someone but they had never met him or even heard her call his name. Her father however had managed to drag it out of her one day.
“It ended,” she told her father
“How come?’ he asked “the last time we spoke you guys were on the verge of marrying and starting that baby factory you always wanted”
Carrie held her head back as memories of Alex began to fill her mind.
“Well, I found him cheating on me” Carrie said almost choking on the words. She still had not fully forgiven Alex and she was still hurting from the loss and betrayal she had suffered. After she had caught him he had just left without a word.
“You should have told me,” her father said
Carrie realized her father was gripping the steering wheel a bit too tightly
“I got over it” she lied. If there was one thing she never wanted to do, it was burden her parents with her heartbreak.
“It’s gonna be alright” her father said when a little while later
“What are you talking about?” she asked him
“You know better,” her father teased trying to lighten the mood “don’t forget you are my first born.”
“I know dad” Carrie replied smiling.
“The right guy will come along whether or not you make the first move. Just remember that it’s every move after that that counts. And you don’t have to rush anything. You have time to do it the right way.”
“I’m just scared I might miss out on a few things if I wait too long to get married” Carrie replied “I’m afraid I won’t be able to truly love again after everything that happened with Alex.”
“Miss out on things like what?” her father asked. “Don’t forget that love comes regardless of hurt. Being hurt, in fact, makes it easier for us to recognize true love.”
“I guess I do have time,” Carrie said softly
“Don’t let mama bear pressure you” her father said “she just wants grand children now that the girls are on their way out. You know how much she loves babies.”
They both laughed as they approached the departure gate.
“I love you darling” her father said when they had parked “don’t stay away so long next time.”
“I won’t” Carrie replied feeling tears pricking her eyes as she let go “bye dad.”
Carrie was now on the verge of making another multimillion-dollar deal. As it stood, she had been buying out small make-up and fashion companies since she had left college, and now that those companies had turned around positively she was in a financial position to make millions. Being an entrepreneur was a risky business especially when so many companies were failing. All she could do was trust her instincts that as the CEO she could manage it all and pull it off. Her love for fashion had never been to wear fancy clothes but to produce high quality fashion at lower costs. So far, she had done a great job and her name was popular all over the fashion world industry.
***
Carrie walked into the Ion building and greeted the receptionist. No-one here knew her as the boss just yet and she had been taking the time to feel out a few of the employees. The receptionist, she had decided, had to go. Not only was she impolite but also she was not attentive to the people walking through the doors. She had realized that the company
was not the problem it was the employees. She was determined to change that and had planned on hiring one of the best PR consultants in all of New York.
She took the elevator to the top floor where the conference room had been set up for a meeting with the directors.
“Good morning gentlemen” she said when she walked in and took her seat. She looked around the room and was not surprised to see that there were no women present.
“Good morning” they replied in a chorus.
“Let’s talk business,” she said opening her notepad.
“I think it’s strange that a company that manufactures make-up and clothing for women has left women in the lower level jobs” she said disdainfully.
“Only a man knows what looks best on a woman.” she heard an executive to her right whisper.
“Is that so.” she shifted through her notepad to find his name “Arnold? I’m afraid you will have to be the first one to go. I expect you gone before lunch”
She looked at the shocked expression on his face and smiled.
“Do I need to have security to remove you?” she asked waiting for him to walk out. He scurried off hurriedly packing his things and walking out of the room.
“Now on to something very important” she said pausing “I have decided on hiring an external consultant for our marketing division. A man by the name of Malachi Benjamin who will be coming in for a meeting today.”
“Wait what?” the head of marketing said standing “how can you make hires without my approval?”
“I do believe you’re forgetting something Marcus” she said “I am the one sitting in the CEO’s chair and I know what’s best for this company. I trust you to keep that in mind going forward.”
After the meeting wrapped up Carrie made her way to the CEO office. Her personal assistant Jilan waited for her.
“How was it?” Jilan asked when she walked in
“As good as it could go in a room filled with men who think women’s periods is a reason they shouldn’t be allowed to work” she replied throwing her bag down on her desk. “How did your interviews go?”
“Great, I actually found the guy for accounts job” Jilan said
“Are you ready for your meeting with Malachi? He should be here soon.”
“Thanks’ Jilan, you can send him in” Carrie told her before taking her seat. Carrie’s mind however kept going back to what her father had told her the night before. She felt a yearning for someone to share her life with, especially now when she had achieved so much. Thoughts of the pain she had felt when Alex left however formed a barrier in her mind that she was having a hard time navigating around.
“Malachi has just arrived” came Jilan’s voice over the intercom
“Send him in” Carrie replied
She walked over to her desk and stood waiting on him to walk in. She had heard about his reputation of being a ruthless Marketing manager. Moments later the door opened and Carrie saw a tall and handsome man walking in. He had dusty brown hair and deep-set eyes shielded by thick lashes. His chiseled jawline and chin dimple reminded her of the superman comic she had fanaticized about all her teenage life. He was dressed in a dark grey suit that held promises of a well-toned body beneath. It took her a moment to realize he had been standing there for some time and she had not yet said anything.
“Oh, Malachi, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you” she said extending her hand for him to shake.
“Miss Taylor” Malachi replied taking her hand and giving her a firm handshake.
“It’s nice to meet you” Carrie said motioning for him to be seated “I’ve heard quite a bit about you”
“Well, let’s hope those were all good things” he joked.
Carrie reached for the stack of questions and looked at them. She was having a hard time focusing. She wasn’t easily impressed but there was something about Malachi that seemed to tug at her resolve in the most primal way. She shook her head trying to get herself out of that space.
“Alright, let’s get to the question” she said deciding that being professional was more important than anything else.
***
Malachi could not believe what was happening. He stood at the door and stared at Carrie. She was arguably the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, with her long red hair and enchanting eyes. She also looked familiar, as though he had seen her somewhere before.
“Please take a seat,” she said. Malachi was once again surprised at how familiar her voice sounded.
“So what do you think of working for us here at Ion?” she asked
“Well, I have been researching your company” he said “and from what I see, you need to be more appealing to the women you’re selling to. I have to get more research done before I can identify specific issues”
She flashed him a smile.
He was having a hard time concentrating when she was looking at him with such intensity. The way her hair fell lightly across her shoulders made him want to reach out and touch it.
“You would be a great spokesperson for the company going forward,” he said
He was a bit surprised to see her blushing. Surely she had heard things like that before.
“I don’t model” she said “I’m more interested in making the fashion profitable”
“I thought you were a model before you came into this business” he said.
“Oh, dear lord no” she said smiling “I have never been interested in anything like that.”
“I see,” he said shaking the thought from his head. Maybe it was simply her good looks that were literally driving him crazy. Their interview ended in no time and he found himself reluctant to leave.
“I hope the job wont conflict with anything else you have going on” Carrie said “the first few months will require almost all of your time and energy”.
“I can work with that” Malachi replied a bit more excitedly than he should have,
“Good then it’s settled, you’re hired” she said “you begin first thing tomorrow morning.”
“Looking forward to it” he took her hand but the handshake went on a bit longer than was professional.
“I’m sorry,” he said dropping her hand and clearing his throat.
She smiled and shook her head causing her hair to swirl around.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said abruptly before turning and leaving.
***
Carrie walked into her office holding a clipboard. So far the company had undergone all the major changes in personnel that she had planned. She reviewed the list of items she would have to get done today and was intrigued when she saw the notation of her meeting with Malachi. Since the time he got hired, she had watched him from a far. She noticed how soon he became popular among the younger women and that made her feel envious.
“Ready?” Carrie had been so caught up in her thoughts she hadn’t noticed Jilan walking up to her.
“Ready for?” Carrie asked
“You and Malachi have a two-hour meeting” Jilan replied
“Two hours?” Carrie asked
In the business world thirty minutes was a luxury for a meeting but two hours was a stretch.
“Not to worry, I have all your calls covered.” Jilan replied
“Right” Carrie said admiring how effective her assistant was.
“So I have everything set up for you in the conference room. Apparently whatever it is that Malachi needs to talk about needs more space than your office.” Jilan said before walking away.
Carrie walked to her office and grabbed her notepad before proceeding to the conference room. When she walked into she saw that the table was laid out with charts, and Malachi was sitting at the desk staring at something on his laptop. Just like the first time she had met him he was dressed in an impressive suit. She walked over to the head of the table and sat down. Unlike their interview he seemed a bit more relaxed.
“So I have devised a plan to fix the image concerns you have about the company” he said pointing to
ward a chart
“What do you have in mind?” Carrie asked opening her notepad and scribbling the date and time.
“Well, it will have to be centered around a strong female. Someone like you” he told her “From what I’ve heard, the company’s image suffers from a lack of responsible representation. You guys are selling to a market of people who need to trust their brands before they can buy them”
“And why would I need to be central to all this?” she asked.
“Well now we have a chance to show that a vulnerable woman could be empowered through our products,” he said looking over at her.
Carrie scoffed,
“I find it hard to believe that our brand should be targeting women’s vulnerability with the promise of making them feel better.” she replied standing and walking over to where he stood admiring his chart.
“You have no idea,” Malachi told her “it’s not preying on their vulnerabilities, its acknowledging that they have them, and that maybe in some instances, the products we sell can make them feel a bit better.”
“Not all women have the same vulnerabilities.” Carrie said.
“That might be true but all women have something. Whether it’s a yearning to be loved or appreciated. They have a desire they’d love to explore.” he said softly.
Carrie could not believe how accurate his words were to her situation.
“Well, I trust you will get the message across” she said returning to her seat.
They had worked for half an hour now exchanging ideas back and forth until they had a clear outline of everything that needed to be done. Carrie decided it would be good to get to know Malachi.
“So how did you get into marketing and advertising?” Carrie asked him.
“I went to college for accounting, but realized very early that I loved communicating with people, so I decided I might go into marketing and see how it worked out” he replied
“And you fell in love with it?” she asked
“Not really. It chose me you could say. I excelled at it even without trying. It seemed that I just had a knack for selling a product”
Romance: Bad Boy Romance: The Billionaire Revenge (A Contemporary Multicultural Office Romance) Page 1