It‘s a multimillion dollar deal and I need a beautiful woman to entice them.‖
That stunned her. Max had access to hundreds of beautiful women. She was sure of it, yet he‘d asked her? ―Why me?‖
Board members started to file into the room, so he took her by the elbow and led her to the far corner so they weren‘t overheard.
―Remember Cybil is out of town and I wouldn‘t ask this of you Lily, if you weren‘t capable.‖ He spoke quietly so only she could hear.
―I‘m flattered really. I‘ll do my best to impress.‖ She went to leave, but paused and turned back, ―Does Luke know that you asked this of me.‖
―He does.‖
―And he doesn‘t mind if I go along to entertain clients. I find that hard to believe. He‘s just as protective as you are.‖
―He is, and he probably would protest, but he‘s coming to.‖
―Oh,‖ she laughed, ―I should have known.‖
He grinned, ―Well, God forbid if your brother will let you come with me unsupervised. I may not behave.‖ He teased, but it didn‘t reach his eyes. No, he definitely wouldn‘t.
What did he just say? She was going to ask him when she was interrupted by Eugene DeWetter, his head accountant. She took her seat back against the wall behind his in case he needed assistance. She had to admit, she was getting better, but she still felt incredibly inadequate. Yet, he was very patient with her and he was right about her being with him the whole time. Very rarely did he leave her alone. In a way she was really thankful 30
The Billionaire‘s Secret Desire because it was so intimidating the first Monday when the offices are in full swing that she just wanted to run into the nearest closet and hide. However, he put her to work immediately after a briefing with his head secretary Nancy, who was very kind. She may have been the only one though. There were another three ladies in the same office as Nancy‘s but none of them seemed to pay her much mind. One in particular, her name was Brittney, seemed to give her looks of contempt every now and then. She already knew what it was about. Max.
She was young blonde and pretty and stars entered the woman‘s brown eyes whenever he strode in the room giving off an aura of confidence and charisma like a comet tail, but he never noticed her beyond a cordial hello. In truth she felt sorry for her, because Max‘s undeniable appeal was a force to be reckoned with. So she did her best to not let the other girl‘s looks bother her. It was odd to receive looks from someone who was several years older than her. Didn‘t she know she wasn‘t any competition with her plain looks? Boys only seemed to date her because she was associated with Max. Not only that, Max liked blonde-blondes, and her hair was a strawberry blonde color, or copper as he called it.
The meeting started and she crossed her legs and set her day timer on her lap. Max immediately took charge of the meeting and she noticed that his employees treated him with great respect and hung on every word. When he spoke they listened and when he paid attention to them they swelled with pride. She knew respect like that couldn‘t be bought and she had to admit that she loved seeing this side of him.
About a half an hour later Brittney came in with a cart of snacks and drinks and she knew for sure now that the look she just gave her wasn‘t pleasant. It just so happened that Max had turned around and whispered something in Lily‘s ear and afterwards Lily realized that it looked intimate even though it 31
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was only to take note of a certain date for a meeting with some Japanese associates. Regardless, Brittney didn‘t know her and as far as Lily was concerned, shouldn‘t be jumping to conclusions.
It was common Knowledge that he was dating Estee Lauder‘s new top model and neither she nor Brittney had a hope in hell attracting his attention. Not only did he have a girlfriend, he also didn‘t date employees, ever. She had heard that from Nancy her second day here when she was getting orientated.
After the meeting she went to the bathroom and the object of her earlier thoughts walked in and paused when she saw her. Even when Lily washed her hands the woman just watched her. The look in her eyes wasn‘t the least bit flattering.
―I have been after that PA job for almost a year.‖ She said suddenly guiding her eyes over Lily. ―Yet you waltz in and none of us knew about you.‖
Lily just stared at her. It was obvious what she was insinuating, and she wasn‘t going to comment on it. ―Has it occurred to you that I‘m qualified for this job?‖ She said instead.
―Absolutely not.‖ She narrowed her gaze on Lily‘s legs visible from her skirt, ―I can see where your qualifications are.‖
―What a horrible assumption!‖ Lily shot seeing what she was looking at, ―If you know Max he doesn‘t date his employees.‖
―Max is it?‖ She glared.
Lily almost groaned realizing her mistake. She called him Max and everyone else referred to him as Mr. King. No wonder people like Brittney thought they were sleeping together. ―I work very hard and I‘m between semesters of a business degree.‖ She said trying to recover, ―I got hired as a student.‖
Brittney shrugged, ―sure you did.‖ She said vehemently, not believing her.
It was no use trying to convince the woman of anything.
Her mind was already made up. Lily gritted her teeth, ―Excuse me.‖ She said marching past the other woman and out of the 32
The Billionaire‘s Secret Desire bathroom. Did Max‘s employees all think like that? That she got this job on her back? Would this upset her so much if she didn‘t care about him as much as she did? Probably not. Truth of it was, she wanted Max, she always had and as much as the woman insinuated she couldn‘t find it in herself to lie and deny it.
Later that evening, Lily had just finished dressing while thinking on Brittney‘s accusations. She was letting them bother her when she knew she shouldn‘t. Obviously the woman wanted the job to be close to Max and who could blame her? Lily knew that she had it good getting that job and it was because she was Luke‘s sister that gave it to her. Yet, she couldn‘t tell Brittney that. Why? Maybe part of her wanted the woman to think there was something going on more than she wanted her to know it was because of whom she knew that got her the job. Hopefully Nancy would straighten her out if Brittney said anything.
Regardless, she was going to try and enjoy tonight despite the incident today and she certainly wasn‘t going to mention it to Max or Luke. If she couldn‘t handle his employees herself, she didn‘t deserve the position she had. She went selected a faux fur stole and went to the living room to wait for Luke. She tossed the stole on the back of the sofa and walked over to the large patio doors to stare out at the lights of the city thinking that this thing with Brittney probably wasn‘t over. She‘d seen the look in her eyes.
She quickly squashed her worries and smiled when Luke came out of his room adjusting his tie.
―Is this straight?‖ he said as he fidgeted with the knot.
If she showed him she was the least bit upset, she knew darn well he‘d go to Max. She loved her older brother to death but he was insanely protective. It even surprised her that he let her go work for Max this summer because she knew how protective he could be. However, Max was no different after that 33
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spiel he gave her about her hair when he picked her up from college.
Lily reached up and finished smoothing it out. ―It is now.‖
She‘d learned at a young age how to fix Luke‘s ties. He was a handsome man, but he still couldn‘t seem to get it perfect.
Unlike Max. She‘d seen him flawlessly do up his ties without even using a mirror to check them. She sighed inwardly thinking how silly it was of her to even think that was perfect.
He grinned down at her, ―You look beautiful Lily. You‘re going to knock our client‘s socks off.‖
She smiled shyly, ―thanks. You look pretty good yourself.‖
―How much did that number cost me?‖ Luke said looking at the emerald satin dress. It wasn‘t too revealing
but showed her figure nicely and had little spaghetti straps over the shoulders. Then again his sister was so beautiful she didn‘t need anything fancy to enhance her looks. At least he thought so.
―Max bought it.‖ she looked down and fingered the expensive material. ―Isn‘t it beautiful?
One of his brows rose, ―Really?‖ then an odd look came over his face, but he turned away to pick up and pocketed his cell phone before she could interpret it.
―Why?‖
He shook his head like it was nothing. ―Just glad it didn‘t take a bite out of my pay check.‖ He teased. ―Company card?‖
―Of course. I‘m a perfect tax write off.‖ She added teasingly while doing a mock pose.
He chuckled, ‗I‘ll remember that.‖ A that moment his cell phone rang and he pulled it out and answered it, while she went and got her handbag.
Hanging up, he picked up her sheer silver wrap, ―Come on, Max is downstairs in the car.‖ He draped it over her shoulders.
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―Why didn‘t he come up?‖
He hesitated for a moment before he spoke, ―Cybil‘s with him.‖
―Oh.‖ She couldn‘t keep the disappointment out of her voice.
Luke let an expression of distaste cross his features but didn‘t let his sister see it. He‘d gone out with Max and Cybil before and the woman was a complete snob. Of course he knew why Max was dating her, and he‘d done stupid things like that to, but she was becoming quite possessive and was sure that his friend was going to end the relationship soon. ―She flew in several hours ago to surprise him and obviously insisted on coming.‖
Of course she did. Obviously Cybil knew Max‘s reputation and didn‘t want him being out without her tonight.
She didn‘t forget that phone call when she walked in to Max‘s office her first day and the possessiveness that Cybil displayed.
Lily wasn‘t fortunate enough to meet the woman over the past week since she was working for Max, but she followed the gossip columns and knew the woman was a walking publicity stunt. There was no doubt that she was beautiful, but she had a string of successful men in her life and as far as Lily was concerned Max was just another boost to the woman‘s publicity.
Well, there was Max‘s physical attributes.
Squashing the hateful feelings of her jealousy she allowed Luke to take her arm and escort her out of the building to the immaculate stretched limo. Oscar got out and held the door open and winked at her causing her to smile.
Sliding into her seat with her brother right beside her she set her attention on the other woman and wasn‘t prepared for how really beautiful the woman was up close. Max cordially introduced them and Lily thought she was polite, unlike Cybil, who gave her a once over with a slight look of dislike. She 35
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thought she might have imagined it, but Luke stiffened beside her. Obviously she wasn‘t the only one that noticed. She wanted to berate the snob, but instead gave her a ravishing smile and told her it was nice to finally meet her.
―But of course.‖ Cybil said as if it was a privilege to know her. Then she turned to Max and started speaking in fluent French which he responded in a familiar tone that Lily recognized and made her feel a little better. He was polite but there was an edge of annoyance present. Then he flicked a glance in her direction and smiled subtly before continuing.
―English Cybil.‖ He said softly.
The woman cast a glance at the other occupants of the car, and then smiled sweetly, ―Of course love.‖ She cooed while slipping her arm possessively through his and unknown to her, Max glazed his eyes over Lily from the top of her head to the tip of her toes and gave her a sensual smile of approval.
If she moved any closer, she’d be on Max’s lap, Lily thought, missing Max‘s look entirely. She looked up at her brother who shot her an amused smirk and shook his head slightly. Like Luke, Max knew that Lily spoke French and understood every rude thing the woman said about her. He should know. He tutored her when she was in high school. The first thing out of the woman‘s mouth was an insult over her gown, the same gown that Max had asked her to buy. Wouldn‘t it ruffle the woman‘s feathers if she knew that it was her boyfriend that suggested the style? She got a sense of smug satisfaction knowing that Cybil just insulted Max‘s taste not Lily‘s. It may have not been the three thousand dollar Christian Dior that the model was wearing but she did think it was just as nice.
Dinner started out well. The Greek clients happened to be a billionaire and his son who was about Max‘s and her brother‘s age. It was then that Lily realized that Greek men were ruthless at pursuing women and confident in their abilities just 36
The Billionaire‘s Secret Desire as much as Max was. Nikos, the son, consistently flattered her throughout the evening regardless of the fact that she came with Luke, but no one had let on that she was his sister. Several times she began to tell them when either Max or her brother interrupted her. Finally she caught Luke‘s look which basically told her not to say anything and it wasn‘t until later that she found out why.
―I have a daughter your age.‖ Said Nikos father Hektor, in broken English as he gave Lily a look of approval. Then a look of sadness seemed to fill his eyes. ―She‘s nineteen.‖
―Then we‘re close.‖ Offered Lily pleasantly, ―I‘m twenty as of last month.‖ She said ignoring Cybil‘s indignant huff. Lily decided right then and there that she didn‘t like her. She‘d been extremely condescending and no matter what she was talking about Cybil made some childish noise, even if it was a simple statement like now. How Max could be interested in someone like that went beyond her. After all, he was such a deeply intelligent man.
―She is very beautiful, like you.‖ Nikos added and smiled seeing her rising blush. ―Greece refers to her as their sweetheart.
Even though she‘s nineteen, she does an enormous amount of charity work.‖
Wow, thought lily, what a compliment.
The evening continued on and Cybil had long since given up trying to gain his attention and was now sulking despite having the most gorgeous man there sitting next to her she obviously wanted all of the attention. Lily noticed that Max didn‘t even take notice of her mood and clearly ignored it. She knew him well enough to know that he didn‘t put up with the pettiness that women were capable of. Lily on the other hand was raised with a brother, no sisters, so she didn‘t understand the cattiness that women showed each other. Because of that 37
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most of her friends were male acquaintances, not female and she was closer to her brother than anyone.
Then when Nikos asked her out to dinner the next night, she suddenly felt Max‘s hand on her upper thigh squeezing a warning. Trying not to jump out of her chair at the unexpected touch and ignore the heat of his large hand she flicked him a puzzled glance and he subtly shook his head.
Gritting her teeth she politely turned him down.
Although he didn‘t come close to Max, the man was still tall dark and gorgeous and Max took it upon himself to tell her she couldn‘t go out on a date with him. She sent a pleading look to her brother who frowned at her expression. Strike two, she fumed. She wasn‘t a baby anymore, yet both of the men in her life basically told her she wasn‘t old enough to make a decision on who she could date.
On the ride home she remained silent and looked out the tinted window at the lit boulevards whit her arms folded under her breasts in anger while Cybil talked a mile a minute in French again. She was still angry at the both of them. Neither one seemed to trust her enough to make her own decisions and consistently interfered. No wonder she was still a virgin for crying out loud. All of her friends lost theirs years ago. Also, it didn‘t help her mood that she could understand everything Cybil was saying; no matter how hard she tried to ignore her.
This is ridiculous, thought Lily as she listened in. She may have been rich and beautiful, but the woman had absolutely no manners. Finally when
Cybil mentioned something along the lines of her throwing herself at Nikos she swung her head abruptly in her direction ready to blast her, but Max beat her to it.
He answered her in French, but Lily understood every word. ―I‘m finding these petty jealousies annoying Cybil. I told you before Lily is the sister of my best friend.‖ Although his voice 38
The Billionaire‘s Secret Desire was calm and cool it was obvious for people who knew him as well as Luke and Lily did, that he was annoyed.
―She didn‘t even acknowledge her date Max, she was practically swimming all over that man. It was embarrassing.‖
Lily gaped at him. Max obviously didn‘t tell her that Luke was her brother either, so she thought he was her date. Now it made sense why she kept glaring at her all through the meal.
Secondly, she certainly wasn‘t swimming all over him! She sat in between her brother and Max who acted like two sentinels guarding a Vestal Virgin while Nikos and his father sat across from them.
―Lily was very polite and did not indicate she was even interested in the man and that is why he went out of his way to get her attention. Nikos likes a challenge and her reservations toward him were appealing. Not only that, he knows a beautiful woman when he sees one.‖
After a sharp look at him, she snorted in disbelief, ―It sounds like he wasn‘t the only one.‖
What did that mean? Lily could tell Max was irritated, but his voice never indicated even a hint of it. He was as smooth and calm as if he was talking to a small child. Several times his eyes darted past Cybil to her. ―Your presumptions are unwarranted.‖
Cybil crossed her arms under her breasts, ―there‘s no use even talking to you. You are gong to take her side no matter what. I flew halfway around the world to be with you tonight and this is how I‘m treated.‖
―Of course I am. I‘ve known her practically her whole life.
She‘s my best friend‘s sister. I‘ve only known you for several months and you are bringing this on yourself.‖ He replied calmly.
―I told you—―
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