The Billion Dollar Contract: The Executive Collection

by Cynthia Dane

  “I’m here to see Ethan Cole.” Jasmine stood before the beautiful woman behind the front desk and pretended that they were gal pals. She was almost willing to flirt with her if that meant getting to see Ethan sooner.

  The woman put down her phone and stared at Jasmine as if she were from another planet. “One moment, please.” She dialed something on another line and waited for a reaction. Soon enough she hung up again and told Jasmine to go ahead into Mr. Cole’s office.

  I wonder if he’s sleeping with her. A woman as beautiful as that? Maybe she was an old flame that Ethan liked to keep around anyway. Jasmine wouldn’t begrudge him of that.

  As if she had déjà vu from a week ago, Jasmine found Ethan sitting behind his desk once more. This time he was more focused on her as she entered the room, taking the time to size up her every curve as she sauntered up to his desk. She did not sit down.

  “I hope that such a gait and gaze means good news,” Ethan said as he relaxed. “Once again I am sorry that I had to ask you to leave so suddenly the other morning. Things like that happen often. It’s one reason why it’s not feasible for me to have a serious girlfriend.”

  Jasmine pulled the manila envelope out of her coat and dropped it on the desk. “Hot contract. I especially liked the part where you talk about tying me up.”

  Those perfectly groomed eyebrows went up, and Ethan leaned forward, folding his hands on the desk. “Does that mean you’re saying yes?”

  She stepped around the desk, her fingernails scraping against the wood as she placed her feet carefully on the carpet. “Not so fast.” She flipped the manila envelope open. “I have my own conditions. I do believe that I get to make some changes if I want, yes?”

  Now it was more than arousal swirling in this man’s eyes. There was a hint of intrigue there as well. “What kind of changes?”

  “Well, first I’m not crazy about this 12 hours thing. Make it 10 during the work week.”

  “Done. But in return I want your whole Saturdays.”

  “Seems like you’re busy on Saturdays to me.”

  “Not always.”

  “Fine. But I get Sundays off. From both work and you if I choose.”

  “Sounds fair. Anything else?”

  “Oh, lots of other things. I want a proper lunch break during the week. Don’t think I don’t know you’re going to try to fuck me in the supply closet when everyone’s eating lunch. I’m not into that. If I’m dealing with your shit all morning, it’s only right that I get off lunch every day. This means I can do what I want, and tell you no with no repercussions.”

  “Hard bargain. But it’s not like I’m usually free during lunch anyway. Done.”

  “You will also agree to never put me into any mortal danger. I noticed that was missing from the contract.”

  “Good eye. Of course I won’t.”

  “I also will not break the law for you. So no sex in the middle of the street.”

  “Darn. That’s one of my favorites.”

  Jasmine sat on the edge of his desk right next to him. She was close enough to touch him, but she wouldn’t. She would rather tease him with her presence, to make sure he knew what he was getting into. And of course, how much he still wanted her. “There are a few other things that we can go over later,” she said. “But first there is one big demand that I have, and if you won’t agree, I will run out of here right now.”

  Finally, the hardened man in the business suit, the very man who controlled so many destinies, was fidgeting a little. “Yes?”

  Jasmine sucked in her breath. “I want three million.”

  The air went quiet. For a moment Jasmine thought that he would laugh at her. But he merely smiled, his fingers drumming against the arm of his chair. I wouldn’t mind hopping in his lap right now. Restraint. Jasmine was sure that plenty of that would come later… if he agreed to her terms.

  “Three million dollars is a lot of fucking money.” Ethan turned toward her in his chair, both hands clasping either side of it. “What’s wrong with two million?”

  “Nothing.” Jasmine opened the top of her coat where she had nothing but bare skin hidden beneath. “But you seemed to have such a good time Friday night. If you really want me still, you’ll be willing to pay more for it.” This was something she had to recite in her head before she came here. Now I really feel like an escort or something. But if Jasmine was essentially going to accept the money in exchange for her love, by God she was going to get paid for it. She didn’t quite know what she was getting into. For all she knew these next six months could be utter hell. If she was going to go through all that, she was going to get the Benjamins to prove it and set her up for the rest of her life. She knew that she risked him turning her down entirely. He may even call her bluff and keep it at two million, knowing that she would take it anyway.

  “My mother once had a saying. There’s no point buying the cow and getting the milk for free. Granted, it doesn’t really apply to this situation, but you’ve got some serious balls if you’re going to raise the amount after we’ve already done it once.”

  “That’s the thing. You know I’m worth it.”

  To prove her point, Jasmine slid off the desk untied the front of her coat, and opened it to reveal that she wore absolutely nothing underneath.

  He looked at her, long and hard. Ethan’s eyes roamed her body, lingering on her breasts, before going down to her navel, and then even farther below that. I groomed extra nice for you. Jasmine wasn’t shy about her body. Or at least not with a man who had already seen it in all its glory. She was confident that she was sexy to him. She just needed him to think that she was worth another million dollars.

  To his credit, Ethan did not try to touch her. Instead he leaned back in his chair with the most satisfied grin in the world. “Three million it is. You can start today.”

  Part 2 - Conditions

  Letter from Samantha

  Look you piece of shit,

  I get it. I really do. You’re some stuck up donkey’s ass snob who thinks it’s funny to collect women and then discard them when you’re tired of playing with what was once a shiny new toy. Thought I was cool with it. That was until you made me fall in love with you. Suddenly it wasn’t so fun to be paraded around, told what to do, and made to feel like garbage in the bedroom. I don’t know why I fell in love with you. I clearly could do much better, so I’m going to take your nasty money and get the hell out of here.

  I don’t care if our contract isn’t up yet. My life is too short to waste on you. I feel sorry for whatever woman you set your sights on next. I hope she likes having her heart ripped apart and fed to your dogs. Do me a favor and make sure she’s not blonde. Your patterns are showing and they’re getting predictable.

  With any luck your balls will have rotted off by the time you read this. At least that’s what Karma would serve you. But I’m not so naïve anymore to think that you’ll even remember me a week from now. Now I know why you never talked about the other women you contracted with. They were probably all fed up like me.

  This, Ethan, is the real reason why you’re always alone. It’s not because you’re busy. It’s because you don’t appreciate us when you’re around. One day you will wake up and realize that money doesn’t really buy you happiness. I hope that day comes soon. But don’t come after me. I’ll be off finding better happiness.

  Au revoir,

  Samantha

  Ethan stared at the letter for a good five minutes. The sun was just rising over the hills outside his bedroom window, but that morning he was not going to enjoy the rosy hues. Instead he had come home from an all-nighter to discover that the woman he shared his personal – and professional – time with had left during the night.

  She wasn’t the first. Maybe she was right. Maybe he was a piece of shit.

  She probably wouldn’t be the last. The more it happened this way, the thicker Ethan’s skin grew to weather heartbreak.

  It had devast
ated him the first time. But as time wore on and women came and left, he became better acquainted with his fate.

  9

  Working in a billionaire’s office was often more chaos than it was worth.

  But Jasmine enjoyed the rush she got every time she walked into the executive office of Jackson-Cole and started her day. There was always something waiting for her to complete even at 9 AM on a lazy Tuesday morning. As the personal assistant to Ethan Cole, she was expected to clear his calls from the night before, have his coffee ready on his desk, go over his schedule for the day, and be the first and last person to greet his guests, whether they came in for business or to drink and laugh behind closed doors. He would tell me those are the same thing.

  Jasmine had been working in the office for almost three weeks now. It was early February, and one of the last hard frosts of the season coated the ground outside the building. Salters went to work before anyone arrived, but there was always an occasional casualty of someone slipping and falling just outside the door. One was Nadia, the busty redhead who worked as the main receptionist of the executive office suite.

  For the past week she sat behind the grand and welcoming desk with her legs propped up on another chair. A bright pink brace adorned her skin beneath the knee-length beauty of her svelte pencil skirt. This only added to her charms, as the men who came in to speak with Ethan Cole always gazed at her from head to toe, lingering on the cleavage she always gloriously displayed. Ever since she took that tumble outside, Ethan started making comments that he should rally the office to sign her brace.

  No one should hold it against her. She’s the nicest person in the office. Jasmine was ashamed to admit that Nadia intimidated her on her first day. A day that seemed so long ago now that many longer days had gone by. When Jasmine walked in on her first official day as Ethan Cole’s personal assistant, it was Nadia who gave her a big, bright smile and told her that she would do wonderfully. They had lunch together that day, and tried to make a point to have lunch as many times as possible since.

  There were other people in the office, of course. Jasmine wasn’t sure what some of them did, but a few other men and women made their homes in the executive office. Ethan was the only one with any real privacy, insinuating these others were his major underlings. Even Jasmine had her own desk, even though it was in the far, dark corner and was half the size of everybody else’s. But she wasn’t meant to sit behind a desk all day. She only sat there for more than a few minutes when she was mapping out Ethan’s weekly schedule or doing some research for him on her company laptop.

  Everyone was friendly, even if some were shy and kept to themselves. Everyone made her feel welcome from her first day. They never questioned why she was there, what her credentials were, or if she was fit to be the personal assistant of one of the richest, most powerful men any of them knew. Jasmine wasn’t sure what that meant, but she did know that if this were a normal job, she would be grateful for their cordiality.

  I don’t have a normal job. Jasmine didn’t have much time to think about it until she was sitting at that desk stamping contracts or scouring Google for the latest updates on Ethan Cole’s business transactions. Those were the only moments when she had some time to herself inside her head. Otherwise she was so busy that she flitted from here to there until it was lunch time, and then from here to there again until it was time to go home.

  Indeed, it was almost like she had a normal job. And then she would catch a particular glance from Ethan as she delivered his coffee in the morning, or entered his office in the afternoon to deliver some mail. He always gave her the same look, and it was one that said, “I could have you any time now.”

  He hasn’t asked for anything since I signed the contract. Jasmine was given a new one to sign, complete with her updates. She was given a copy to take home, but was informed that she was not to share it with anyone. Just to spite him, Jasmine showed it to Blackbeard, and the cat offered to use it as litter box lining.

  Strange. Jasmine had been prepared for anything the moment she just signed the contract. She had images of Ethan bending her over his desk and taking her right there, initiating her into his world of domination and submission. How else could she imagine this relationship? From the moment she walked into that office that first day, Ethan Cole had made it clear what he wanted from her. And he had yet to ask for it again.

  Sometimes Jasmine thought about asking for herself. But it seemed strange to go in there and ask her boss, “Why aren’t you trying to stick it in me?” She was almost offended. Unless this was his way of breaking her down. Jasmine wouldn’t say she was well versed in how these sorts of relationships went, but it seemed like the sort of douchebag move a guy would pull. Three million dollars. So far she didn’t have to do anything but get his coffee and play on Google to make sure nobody was saying something nasty about him. All of that compromising to make sure she got enough free time from him, and now he didn’t want anything at all.

  One Wednesday morning, just before Ethan Cole arrived at nine on the dot, Jasmine was in the executive break room preparing his coffee. Of course they had only the greatest and most expensive coffee machines. Espresso machines. Latte machines. Whatever the hell they were! This coffee was too fancy for Jasmine’s tastes, and she needed Nadia to show her how to use them all. Her first few attempts at using them were duds, and Ethan made sure she knew that.

  “See? You’re getting the hang of it.” Nadia hobbled into the break room using her crutch. She opened the fridge and deposited a salad to eat later for lunch. “Pretty soon you’ll be asking for one for your birthday. That’s the trap I fell into when I started working here a year ago.” She hobbled back out of the room, leaving Jasmine to finish her morning routine.

  This minor distraction may not have seemed like much, but Jasmine was already running a little late, and so Ethan was already in his office by the time his coffee was finished. She hurried in, careful to not slosh any out of the cup onto her hand, but still got his attention right away because he had known something was amiss in his office. Namely the lack of elixir that prepared him for the day.

  “Sorry,” she said, carefully depositing it onto a coaster beside his expensive pens. “About your 10 o’clock appointment…”

  Ethan swiveled in his chair and stared at her as if he didn’t know who she was. “Is that the same outfit you wore last week?”

  “Huh?” Jasmine looked down. What she wore wasn’t special, but it was decent: a basic black dress that hugged her body but did not show off too much. She accented it with a rhinestone belt and a gold chain around her neck. She wouldn’t win any fashionista awards, but she liked what she saw in the mirror that morning. And apparently the week before, if her memory served. I only have so many different outfits. Jasmine loved to shop, but she couldn’t afford it. “I guess. Does that bother you?”

  “No, but it’s noticeable. You’re so lovely, I would think you’d like to dress up a bit more. Like on our date.”

  It was the first time since Jasmine officially started working there that he even mentioned that. “That was my nicest outfit,” she admitted. “I only wear it on special occasions. I plan on doing some shopping as soon as I get paid.” She meant her paycheck, of course. There would be all the time in the world for shopping when that three-million came in.

  “I see.”

  “Do you need anything else?”

  Ethan had turned his attention from her to the newspaper he always read when he first came in to enjoy his coffee. “Have you received your doctor results yet?”

  “Oh, that…” At the end of Jasmine’s first week, she was requested to go see Ethan’s private doctor for a physical exam. Jasmine was under no delusion as to what this was about. He wants to make sure I’m clean. In return, he had graciously offered up his latest test results from a month before. Only fair. “Not yet.”

  “Have you gone on birth control yet?”

  He said it so matter-of-factly. Like he ju
st asked me how my mother is doing! “No, and I don’t really want to. Last time I was on that stuff all sorts of bad things happened to me. And gained like twenty pounds, not joking.”

  Whether or not that perturbed Ethan, he did not let on. There was something in the business section of his newspaper that was more important than what she said. “I see. We’ll have to figure something out.”

  “They’re called condoms,” Jasmine muttered. She didn’t think that he could hear her.

  Oh, he did. “I think you’ll agree with me that more often than not condoms ruin half the fun. If you’re clean, we won’t have to worry about it much. I’m just not in the mood to pay child support.”

  “And I’m not in the mood to have any children right now.” Jasmine crossed her arms. “Is this why you haven’t asked anything of me yet?”

  “What? No. I’ve been too busy and not in the mood. You know I launched that new product last week. It was a mess.” Late nights, bad tempers. That’s what happened then. Oh well, Jasmine would take home some nice overtime pay. “Why? Miss me already?”