Acquired: A Billionaire Auction Romance

by Charlotte Byrd

  “But you have to eat Sebastian. And… you know… maybe I can be your dessert?”

  Seriously? Did she never give up? She wasn’t even turning me on right now. I just wanted her to get out the office. “Thank you for the food. I do appreciate it and I will eat it. It looks and smell delicious. But I’ll be eating it while I do my work. Unfortunately I just have no time to spare right now. But it looks lovely. Thank you.”

  “But I miss you. The other night was so good. No, it was great. I’m sure you felt it too.” There was so much sadness in her voice that I almost took pity on her. And she was right, the other night really had been great. Maybe just one quickie wouldn’t hurt me. Thankfully I shook my head to the reality of the situation and stopped myself. One more time with this girl would lead to even more complications down the line. And anyway, she had been great but I’d had far greater and I could easily have that again with someone else. I sighed and looked at her.

  “Susie, I just don’t have the time for this. Thank you but I really do have to get back to work. My emails are piling up as we speak and the longer you are here the more I’m going to have to catch up on.”

  She looked down and I noticed how her shoulders now sagged. “But Sebastian. We can be quick. Very quick. Or I can wait for you in your room. Like I said, I don’t mind waiting even if it’s all day. It won’t at all be a problem for me Your room is huge and you have a crazy big TV. Let me go watch a movie or two until you are finished up. I can even phone my parents and tell them that I’ll only be home tomorrow. Hey, that’s a great idea. Then you can work as long as you want and then come up and see me when you are ready. I’ll get the bed all nice and warm for you and we can spend the night together. And in the morning, I’ll even make you breakfast. Or… well I can maybe take you for breakfast or something. Whatever you want. It will be so much fun and I’ll definitely make it worth your while.”

  I couldn’t take it anymore. I stood up and walked right up to her, my face leering down on her. “Susie. I was hoping it wouldn’t come to this but I have to be blunt with you now. Don’t you understand? Don’t you get it? You were great the other night but all it was to me was a one night stand. I don’t want a second night with you and I certainly don’t want a relationship with you. You were wonderful for the night and I will never forget that but that’s all it was. I am not looking for anything more. Now please will you leave so that I can get on with the rest of my day. I’m not lying to you – I really do have a lot of work to do. Perhaps it’s better if you don’t call or email me either. Unfortunately you have pushed this too far and I don’t think we can even be friends.”

  “But…” Her voice was shaky and she looked up at me with shock all over her face.

  “Again, thank you for coming and for the lovely food. But please will you leave. And close the door behind you when you do. Goodbye Susie.”

  She stared at me for a few minutes, perhaps trying to see whether I would change my mind, and then eventually she sighed and walked out. She shut the door a bit louder than she should’ve and I could hear the patter of her feet as she scurried out. I breathed a sigh of relief. First a stranger pours coffee all over me then this happens – it was not turning out to be the best day. But then I looked down at my box of food – which was definitely meant to be for two and I smiled. She must’ve done her research because the box was filled with all of my favourite food items. Perhaps little Susie hadn’t been a total waste after all, I thought as I bit happily into my bacon and cheese wrap.

  Chapter 13 - Sebastian

  I was sitting in the main meeting room waiting for the others to come in. I usually made an effort to let them all gather first before walking in because I liked making a big appearance. But today, for reasons unbeknown to me, I was here before everyone with still at least fifteen minutes to spare. My office had just suddenly seemed cramped once I had finished my lunch and despite not wanting to feel guilty about eating the food that Susie had brought in for me – I almost couldn’t help it. The moment I took the last bite of food, albeit the rather delicious food, I remembered her face as I had kicked her out the room. After that, the room had seemed small to me. I felt better in the meeting room, which was large enough to fit at least twenty people seated, and breathed in the air around me. This was another one of the rooms that I enjoyed when I wanted to show off the casino to others. The table was large and made of the finest wood, hand crafted by one of the top furniture designers in the area. He had also personally designed each and every chair that went with it which meant that while they were not all exactly the same they each had a lot of detail and character. The office actually jutted out of the building and because each wall was in fact a big window, it offered the most beautiful view of the pool outside as well as the city out below. Every time I sat here I felt as if I were sitting on top of the world. It was hard not to feel important in a room like this – especially since it was a room that I had designed myself.

  Finally everyone came in and I motioned for them all to take a seat. The marketing team was not very big and once they were all seated the table still looked vastly empty. Around me sat David, Kevin, Michael, Abbie and Jane.

  “Okay everyone, thanks for coming in today. It’s been a very busy day but it was important that we all got together. It would’ve been better if we had met this morning but I know it was not possible. So thanks especially David who came straight from his meeting in New York to be with us. To the rest of the team well done on finishing up that deadline in time, I know I didn’t give you much time. Of course the reason that we are all here is to welcome Jane Greiner, the newest member to our team. Jane I do apologise that the team wasn’t able to interact much with you today but I hope that you were able to settle in regardless. Jane, would you like to please stand up and introduce yourself to the team. Tell us a bit more about you.”

  I wasn’t sure if this was a good idea or not because I had seen many people freeze the moment they stood up in front of a group of people. And poor Jane had so far come across as someone that was very uncomfortable in herself and very shy in front of strangers. I was grateful that she hadn’t stood up with her cup of coffee because I’m not sure if she’d be able to hold the cup steady. I watched as she nodded and then stood up. Instead of staying where she was she got up to the front of the table so that everyone could see her as she talked. That surprised me. When she started speaking her voice was clear and controlled.

  “Hi everyone, well as you know my name is Jane. I haven’t had a chance to get to know everyone just yet – especially David.” She turned and looked straight at David, “So it’s great to finally meet you all. Abbie has been wonderful today – showing me the ropes and helping me to get comfortable. Thank you so much Abbie, you made the whole day a lot easier. I’m very happy to be here and grateful to have been chosen for the position. I have always been fascinated by the power of marketing, especially social media, and I believe that it is imperative that all companies do not ignore this wonderful tool that they have to share with the world around them. As an example I had a friend who wanted to choose between two restaurants. She figured she’d look through their Twitter feed to see what others have been saying about them. The one company had a great deal of interaction with the public while the other hadn’t been on Twitter for three months. Just like that she made her decision and went for the one that was active on social media – without truly knowing which restaurant was better. My friend is just one of many who think this way. I have worked for a few companies over the years and I’ve taken their social media from zero to one of the most talked about companies at the moment. It’s very exciting and I look forward to doing it for the casino – especially because it’s already so well established. It’s going to be easy to market this place.” She started walking back to her seat but I stopped her.

  “Great, and tell us a little bit about you.” This was unusual protocol for me and I hoped nobody in the office would wonder why I had asked it. The truth was that even I di
dn’t know why I had asked it. I just had a strange and sudden desire to figure out what this girl was all about.

  “Me? Well, I’m 26 years old and I have recently moved to Henderson, NV where I’m staying with my best friend. That is just temporary as I find my own place to live. I’m excited about starting a life here – it seems like a pretty cool area. I’m easy going and like to live a more simple life. I always have my nose in a book and I don’t at all care about how that makes me look, I love animals and plan on getting one as soon as I have my own place, and I enjoy food and wine perhaps a little more than the average person. It’s hard for me to stand up here and put together exactly what makes me who I am but I have no doubt that given enough time you’ll figure that out – because I am generally quite an open book. And just the same, I look forward to getting to know each of you. That’s it really!”

  She started walking back towards her seat again and once again I signalled for her to stop. “Thanks Jane. Sorry for putting you on the spot like this but you’re doing a great job and I’d like to hear a bit more. Before we carry on with the meeting I’d like you to take us through your marketing ideas now and how you can best use social media to draw the customers in. Once we have established that we can put together a more detailed plan for both you and the team to work on. You’ll mostly be working by yourself on this, as the team still has other jobs to do, but we can find ways for everyone to work together. Right, could you please tell us more.”

  “Absolutely. I’d love to run through it with you.” She smiled and moved back to where she was standing before. She then launched comfortably and confidently into her ideas and I noticed the rest of the team were perched high on their seats and listening closely to her. She had a very clear voice and her ideas came across easily. I sat back while she talked and watched her. It was interesting to see her interacting so easily with people that she didn’t know and I couldn’t quite believe that this was the same shy and giggly girl that had spilled coffee on me earlier. I almost couldn’t put the two people together – that is how different they seemed to me. What was before me was a confident and well put together girl with solid ideas and a great vision for the company. If I had only met the Jane from coffee that morning I would never have hired her. But this Jane was different. I quite liked this Jane. Her confidence oozed through her and as she stood before the group she even seemed a bit prettier than before. Her back was straight, her curly light brown hair bounced as she talked – almost as if she were auditioning for a shampoo commercial, and her brown eyes were unwavering. I still couldn’t decide whether or not she was attractive. She was certainly quite pretty, but in a more unusual way. You almost had to look for it – but once you caught sight of some of her better features it was hard to not see them again. I tried desperately not to look down at her breasts, which squeezed against her sheer green shirt and I marvelled at how such a small girl could have such big breasts. She wore them well. Too well. I quickly looked back up to her face, watching as her small pouting mouth moved as she spoke. I tried to compare her to Susie and almost laughed at the difference. Susie had been outright beautiful and incredibly cute – someone that you’d spot immediately in a crowd. I couldn’t imagine ever picking Jane out of a crowd of women. And yet…

  “And so,” Jane was saying, “that’s my vision for the company. I’m sure it will change somewhat as time goes by, as it always does, but that is the general idea for now.”

  She smiled at everyone, although I noticed that she barely looked my way, and the whole office burst into applause. That was a surprise. I don’t think I’d ever seen the team clap for anyone before. I think it had something to do with Jane’s confidence up there but also her ability to come across as someone that they could all relate to. Someone genuine. It was clear that she had great ideas but that she wasn’t going to come in and try to change anything. She seemed almost respectful of everyone.

  “Ah, you’re a keeper.” Abbie said and patted her on the back. It was easy to see that the two of them were going to be friends. Abbie looked so grateful to have a girl working in the team with her that I thought she was going to burst with happiness. I looked over at David and tilted my head as if to say, “And you? Are you happy?”

  David smiled. “Great work. I’m sure you’ll do just fine Jane.” It wasn’t like David to be so nice, so that was unusual. I noticed Jane beaming at him.

  “Okay, thank you Jane. That was great. We are all very excited to have you here. Now, let’s brainstorm some ideas. Kevin, Michael, do you guys want to start? Let’s go through the ideas first and then work on a plan. Then Jane, from tomorrow, you’ll be able to get started on your ideas.” I looked over to Jane but she wasn’t looking at me. She was just nodding and writing some notes down.

  Kevin and Michael launched into a big discussion about what they wanted to happen, throwing ideas around left right and centre. This started a huge debate because David’s ideas were different to theirs – which was not at all unusual. This always happened in meetings. And, as usual too, it was Abbie who managed to put their ideas together and make them work. I kept trying to catch Jane’s eye throughout the conversation but she didn’t once look at me. Instead, she furiously wrote down ideas and had her say whenever it was necessary. She already looked as if she fit into the team and I was fascinated when I saw her and David get into a big discussion about one of her ideas. She had no problem with airing her views. But when I signalled the end of the meeting and we all walked out I quickly walked up to her and told that she had done a great job. She looked at me briefly and then looked down again, mumbling a thank you. And just like that the old coffee-spilling Jane was back.

  Chapter 14 - Jane

  And just like that, my first day at my new job was finished. It felt more like I had been there for a full week considering everything that had happened and the amount of varying emotions that I had experienced. Rather strange that one of those emotions had been lust at one stage – followed immediately by embarrassment. I wasn’t quite sure when I’d be able to leave and despite the ticking clock I still stayed at my desk and waited until someone told me otherwise. It was Abbie who noticed that I was still there and she rushed over to speak to me.

  “Oh Jane, you’re still here! I’m so sorry, I didn’t notice the time. There is no reason for you to stay late. The only reason I’m still here is because I have a quick meeting with David before I go. But your day is done and you’re welcome to go home. Don’t get into the habit of staying late because then they’ll expect that of you. Trust me, I made that mistake when I first started. So… how was day one? You rocked it in that meeting this afternoon. I wish I had half your confidence. I was so impressed by you, as was everyone it seemed.”

  “Seriously? You thought I looked confident? I was actually so nervous. I could literally feel my hands shaking. Thankfully I’m quite confident when it comes to social media so hopefully that came across more. But I wanted more than anything to sit back down and not have all these new faces staring at me.”

  “Well you hid it very well. Honestly I didn’t think you were nervous at all. And I think everyone was impressed by you. Even David, and it’s very hard to impress him.”

  That made me smile. She had been right about David, his presence was quite daunting. He never once asked me how my day was or asked any personal questions about myself. But when it came to the actual work, he was easy to talk to. “That’s a huge relief. My morning started off quite shaky so I’m glad I was able to redeem myself. Listen, thanks for lunch and for everything today. You made the whole day a lot easier for me. First days can be quite tough.”

  Abbie smiled easily at me. “No problem at all. Like I said, I like you and I’m glad you’re here. You’ll see… the next few days will get easier and easier. Go home, and a big glass of wine and put your feet up. I’ll see you in the morning!”

  “Thanks Abbie. And good luck with your meeting. I hope you don’t stay too late.”

  I walked out and breathed i
n the fresh air. I hadn’t had a job in a few months and I wasn’t used to a full day without sunlight. It felt strange being outside, as if I had almost forgotten that an outside world even existed – I had been so wrapped up in casino life. I got into my car and drove back to Danielle’s place, making sure to dump out my old sandwich as I did so. It was going to be hard not to go to that restaurant every day for dinner. Abbie had been right about the pasta – it was incredible.

  When I got back I noticed that Danielle wasn’t home yet so I quickly sent her a message.

  I’m home. Will you back in time for dinner?

  She replied immediately, Yes, I’ll be home in about half an hour hopefully. Should I pick up some pizza? I’m starving.

  No, I responded, I’ll make us something.

  I knew she’d be surprised at that. I wasn’t the best in the kitchen. But I felt desperate to keep busy. I peered into the fridge to see what I could make but only found mostly disjointed items that didn’t seem to make a full meal. I took a few things out and stared at them, wondering how I could make then into a somewhat decent meal. I couldn’t think of a single meal but I started frying the bacon, figuring that was a good place to start and then spent some time grating cheese. Within ten minutes I had a pile of bacon stacked and another big stack of grated cheese. Then, I cut up some tomato and placed those on another place. I stood back and stared at what I had done – what was I doing?