by Vivian Ward
Contents
A Very Bad Billionaire
A Very Bad Billionaire
A Very Bad Billionaire
By Vivian Ward
Copyright 2015 Vivian Ward
All Rights Reserved
This book is a work of fiction. Any similarity to real people, places, or events is strictly coincidental. This book may not be reproduced or distributed in any format without the expressed written permission of the author. Exception is made in the case of brief quotations used in published reviews.
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Table of Contents:
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Epilogue
Mailing List
Other Titles
Preview of “The Baby Is Mine”
CHAPTER ONE
Natalia
Oh, fuck me! The loud sound of thunder crashing outside my window startled me from some of the best sleep I’d had in a long time. Through squinting, tired eyes and my heart pounding, I looked over at my alarm clock to get an idea of how much time I had before I had to leave the warmth of my bed. I was confused when I couldn’t see the red digital numbers telling me what time it was. They weren’t blurry because I was tired, they just weren’t there at all. Rubbing my eyes as I tried to focus my vision, I noticed that the clock was blank. That’s when I realized that the television I had fallen asleep watching was no longer on either. Oh no! The storm must have knocked the power out!
I live in an old house that had been converted into multiple small apartments. They aren’t quite as compact as studios, but they are much smaller than a standard apartment. Most of the units have one big room plus their bathroom. I lucked into getting the only pad with a kitchen—not that it’s anything to brag about, really. It’s more of a miniature sink with an Easy Bake oven and a single, metal cabinet that featured an elegant 15”x15” countertop. Judging by the silver metal trim around the edges and the dozens of dents in the beige doors, I’d say my makeshift cabinet is a vintage 60’s model that the landlord couldn’t part with. It’s also possible that he’s just too cheap to replace anything considering that the late 70’s wallpaper is peeling off the walls and my green shag carpet needs a good mowing. I know it’s not ideal, but it’s what I can afford. At least, I had hoped I’d be able to afford it when I moved in last month and wiped out the remainder of my savings. The rent at my old place was much higher and with being out of work, it was draining my bank account. My hope when I moved into this dive was that I could save up enough money to get out when the one-year lease is up and replenish some of my savings account. I’m set to start my first day of work at my new job this morning and hoped the power going out hadn’t ruined the opportunity for me.
Jumping out of bed, I stumbled into the kitchen to find my cell phone. Fortunately, I had remembered to put it on the charger before I went to sleep. Turning it on, I was glad to see that I hadn’t overslept too much. It was 5:42 AM, almost 45 minutes after I wanted to get up. My new job didn’t start until 8:00, but it was going to take me at least an hour to get from The Bronx to Manhattan. Having to take public transportation is already bad enough but it’s even worse when the weather doesn’t want to cooperate. I was going to have to keep a tight schedule, but I figured I had just enough time to grab a quick shower and put on some makeup before walking out the door. I’d studied the bus routes over and over last night to make sure I wouldn’t get on the wrong one. Around here, there’s so many coming and going, it’s easy to end up somewhere other than where you planned to go.
I was able to get ready in record time but was still late getting out the door. With no time to eat, I grabbed an apple from the fridge and ran out the door. The storm that woke me up had passed, but it left behind a thick cloud fog that was so dense I could barely see two feet in front of me. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the benefit of taking my time to make sure I got where I was going safely. I had a nearly half-mile walk ahead of me just to get to the bus stop. If I didn’t catch the bus that was set to arrive at 6:36, I’d have to wait almost thirty minutes for the next one. At that point, I would never make it to my new job in time.
§
I could see my ride to work sitting at the bus stop as I turned the corner onto Commonwealth Avenue. It was sitting idle with the door open as the last few passengers filed their way up the stairs. The bus was still a half a block away and I needed to make sure I was on it. I did the only thing I could think to do and broke into a run, completely ignoring the fact that I was wearing high heels. Sure enough, I made it to the door on the bus right as it was closing and had to bang on it as the driver started to pull away. I would have chased the bus down if it came down to it, but the woman behind the wheel was kind enough to stop the bus to let me on.
The bus was more crowded than I had expected it to be, probably a result of the people who would usually walk not wanting to take a chance of getting rained on. I was able to wedge myself in between a little old lady and an extremely obese man who smelled like a wet dog at the back of the bus. When I sat down, he looked at me and smiled with the yellowest teeth I’d ever seen in my life before turning his attention back to the newspaper he was reading. This wasn’t the way I planned to start the first day of my new job. Nothing was going the way I wanted it to but I’d made it onto the bus and that was all that mattered. Once we got into Manhattan, I’d get off the bus at the West 86th Street and go straight to the home of Kaiden Melrose.
I wasn’t familiar with my new boss other than the fact that Lupita, my best friend in the whole world, has been working for him for several years and has always had nothing but good things to say about him. Apparently he is some kind of tech genius who has made billions on the Internet. When interviewing for the position, I only met with Bailey, who works as the assistant to Mr. Melrose. She hired me on the spot, so I still hadn’t gotten to meet the man that I’d be working for, but I was okay with that. Having a job—any job—was the most important thing. With my bank account on a downward spiral, I needed my hands on some cash—and fast! I asked Lupita if it was strange that I’d been hired right away and she assured me all was well. My good friend had already vouched for me and she said that he’s a very busy man and he comes and goes all the time. Seemingly there have been times when she’s gone weeks without seeing him. I figure that’s fine with me. I don’t need to see my boss as long as the paychecks keep coming in; and to be honest, the thought of meeting a billionaire kind of terrified me. I’ve never met anyone so prestigiou
s and would have no clue what to say or how to act.
I noticed that my fingers and toes had become tingly when I wiped the sweat from my palms onto a tissue from my purse as the bus approached Manhattan. My heart raced as I eyed the exit door of the bus from my seat. In just minutes, I was starting a job where I had a new role and responsibilities that were awaiting me. I’d never had such a fancy job before, certainly not one where I had to dress nice and oversee other people. The help wanted ad that Lupita told me to look at said it was for a housekeeper position. When I called the number in the ad, I assumed the job would consist of sweeping, mopping, vacuuming and other similar tasks since Lupita didn’t tell me much about it. Maybe changing bed linens or doing laundry. Instead, I found myself in a management position that I was in no way qualified for but was very grateful for the opportunity. For the past two years, I’ve worked in a dry cleaner’s until they went under and shut the doors. Bailey just happened to be in my area when I called about the job so we met at a coffee shop for my interview. It all happened very quickly. I’ve never even seen the house that I am going to be working in.
When the bus came to a stop, I grabbed my bag, sharply inhaled a deep breath and took the first steps towards my new career. After all the rushing and worrying, I was glad that I’d made it to my destination with a little time to spare. If that was how my morning ended, I would have been thrilled. Instead, as I was walking down the block, the bus that had just dropped me off drove right through a puddle—more like a mini creek near the curb, soaking me from head to toe. With no change of clothes and only about fifteen minutes until my shift was scheduled to begin, I had no choice but to suck it up and continue walking.
As I stood in front of the mansion that was about to become my new place of employment, I was in awe. I’d never seen such a magnificent home in my life, let alone been inside of one. Doubting everything Lupita had told me, I started wondering what I had gotten myself into. I questioned whether I’d be able to do the job or if I was going to end up in over my head. The only thing I knew for sure was that I desperately needed the job and was going to do everything I could to hold onto it. I walked up to the front door, entered the pin number on the electronic box next to the door and went inside. I was so happy to see that Lupita was standing there waiting for me.
“Goodness child, what in the world happened to you?” Her brows furrowed as she looked me up and down, taking in my drenched clothes and watered down hair.
“I got splashed by the bus as it rolled by and I don’t have any extra clothes.” Looking around to make sure none of the others were within earshot, I whispered, “What am I going to do?”
“You come with me and we’ll get you fixed up. Bailey isn’t here yet so we got a few minutes still.”
I followed her up the stairs, into a humongous walk-in closet where there were clothes in all sizes and styles. Lupita flipped through them until she found something that looked to be my size.
“Mr. Melrose keeps all these clothes on hand in case he has any visitors or unexpected company that needs a change of clothes,” Lupita explained as she handed me a white blouse and black skirt.
So this rich guy just happens to have an entire walk-in closet full of women’s clothes just in case there are visitors? Surely his relatives bring—oh, I get it. Lupita had told me that he’s single. I bet it’s for women he brings home. Sounds like a bit of a playboy to me.
I hurried into the bathroom and got changed as quickly as I could before Bailey caught us scouring the spare guest closet for clothes on my first day of work. It was damn near impossible to wiggle out of the wet clothes that were sticking to my body as I tried to rush. “Come on Natalia! Hurry UP!” I whispered under my breath in the bathroom. I had no clue what to do with the clothes I had worn to work so I threw them into the hamper in the corner of the room. After giving myself a quick once-over in the mirror, I left the bathroom and ran downstairs just in time for Bailey to walk in the door.
“Good morning Miss Queens. I trust your commute was well?” she asked as she put her bag down next to the door.
“It was fine. Completely uneventful,” I lied with a smile on my face.
“Excellent. Why don’t you come with me and I’ll show you around the house and go over your duties with you?”
Bailey took me around the house and introduced me to everyone I’d be working with. For the most part, everyone seemed to be pretty nice although there were a couple of people who didn’t seem too thrilled that I had been hired for the position. I would later find out from Lupita that it was because they’d been working there for a long time and thought they had deserved the job. I could see where they were coming from, but I hoped they wouldn’t take it out on me. I was just there to do the job I was hired to do.
From what I gathered from Bailey, the main part of my position is to coordinate the two maids, the cook, and the gardener. It will be my job to make sure they stick to their schedules and ensure there is coverage if someone was sick or if there ever is a special event scheduled. I had the ability to pull from a list of temporary employees that would be called on an as-needed basis. I would also be responsible for making sure the offices of Bailey and Mr. Melrose were kept clean and orderly. For whatever reason, he didn’t like the maids inside of his office.
As we returned back down the stairs, the front door opened and the most gorgeous man I have ever seen walked in. The first thing that grabbed my attention was his brooding hazel eyes and his rigid posture. His presence alone commanded the room the second he entered it, stopping me—and the others—dead in our tracks. I took notice immediately that the staff even gestured a slight bow as he surveyed the room, eyeing each one of them.
“Ah great, you almost entered right on cue,” Bailey said as we reached the bottom of the stairs. “This is Natalia Queens, the new housekeeper that I’d told you about. Miss Queens, this is Kaiden Melrose.”
Standing before a billionaire, I felt the color drain from my face as my shoulders tightened. With trembling lips I said, “It’s very nice to meet you, Mr. Melrose.” As I extended my hand to shake his and locked my elbow stiffly into place, he looked at me with a smirk before taking off his suit jacket and putting it on my outstretched arm—completely ignoring my request to shake his hand, using my arm as a coat rack instead.
Without saying a word to me, he turned to his assistant, cocked his head and asked what was on the schedule for the day. I couldn’t believe how badly he disrespected me. I know I’m just hired help, but that’s no reason to treat me like I’m a piece of trash. I can get enough of that in my own neighborhood. I sure as hell don’t need to deal with it at work too. I thought about quitting on the spot, but I couldn’t do it. My rent wasn’t going to pay itself.
“Hey, don’t worry about him,” Lupita told me after she had witnessed his disgusting behavior once we were alone. “That’s just the way Mr. Melrose is. He doesn’t like to get to personal with anybody, especially the help. Just stay out of his way and you’ll be fine.”
I’m so glad I have her for a best friend. She always knows what to say to make me feel better. I took a few minutes and decided to put on my best smile. I had this fantastic new job and I was going to rock it with all I had. It was a shame that my new boss didn’t like to get personal with anyone because he was one fine ass man. I couldn’t help but feel attracted to him from the moment I laid my eyes on him. There was something mysterious and alluring about him, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. After all, what could a man of his social status have to hide? His billions of dollars and good looks could buy him any woman he wanted and take him anywhere he wanted to go. Of course, even if he did get personal with people, it’s not like I would have had the guts to do anything about it.
§
By late morning, I had already begun to get comfortable with most of the staff. I met with each person that I would be overseeing individually to formally introduce myself. I told each of them that I will always make myself available to them if they e
ver need anything. After I had the opportunity to visit with everyone, Bailey assigned me a computer login and showed me how to enter the accounts receivable and accounts payable from a printout. It was a menial task and not at all mentally stimulating, but I couldn’t complain about easy work for such nice pay.
After finishing with the paperwork, I decided to get some of the cleaning done in the offices. I started with Bailey’s since it is much smaller and wouldn’t take me very long to do. She had papers everywhere and it was clear that she gets very into her job. Kaiden’s office, on the other hand, looked like it didn’t get used very often. There were a few things here and there, but it was pretty orderly for the most part. All it really needed was a good dusting and some vacuuming.
I was almost finishing up when I saw the only thing left to do was organize some papers that were sitting on his desk. When I picked up the stack, a yellow envelope slipped out of the pile and fell to the floor, spilling the contents in the process. It appeared to be a bunch of pictures. Several images in black and white to be exact. I gathered them as quickly as I could and went to put them back in the envelope. When I caught a glimpse of what was on the photos, I froze like a deer in headlights.