Boxed Set: The Billionaire’s Desire Complete Collection (Books 1-3 and Bonus Books 1 and 2) (Submitting to the Billionaire)

by Blake, Ashley

  We dropped Jake off at his house and then came back to our house to drop off our things and changed for cocktail hour. When we arrived at our house I was reminded of how much I loved it. I started to tell Joshua that we should spend more time in the Hamptons but I stopped myself because I remembered that he wasn’t really speaking to me. I’ll have to remember to mention this to him when he decides to speak to me again.

  I wore comfortable slacks and a simple, but dressy blouse and a pair of heels for the first part of the event. The more formal party was scheduled to begin at 9:00 pm. and that’s when I planned to wear the dress that Joshua selected for me.

  I was just putting the finishing touches on my makeup when Joshua came into my dressing area and asked me if I was ready to go.

  "Remember to just be yourself Sarah, and I don't want anyone to have any idea that you and I have tension between us. We are clear on that, correct?” His eyes were stern and cold as he looked at me and I was really starting to get tired of being on the receiving end of those looks.

  “Yes, we are clear.” I could not hide the exasperation my voice and Joshua shot me an annoyed look.

  “Is there a problem?” He looked pissed as he stood there waiting for me to answer him.

  I stood my ground and held his gaze as I tried to decide if I should say something, and then I did. “I know that you are upset with me Joshua, but why do you have to constantly look at me with such hatred? I feel as though you can’t stand to even be in my presence and it breaks my heart.”

  I could have sworn that I saw him soften a bit but then he switched right back into his icy mode. He shot me a mean glare and stared at me for a few seconds and I was becoming very uncomfortable under his stare.

  “You know what you did Sarah, and I don’t have time for this right now. We have to get going.”

  He turned away from me and walked toward the front door. I thought he was going to stop, turn around and apologize for being so harsh, or at least I hoped that he would. But, that did not happen, Joshua kept walking right out the front door. Instead of allowing myself to feel sad once again, I decided that after the event that night, when we were alone in the house, I would make him talk to me. I was tired of the silent treatment and decided that tonight we were going to hash this out.

  The cocktail party was much more crowded than I had anticipated but I ended up enjoying myself more than I thought I would. Joshua introduced me to people I had not met before and we played the perfect little happily married couple and kept up appearances. I chatted with people who represented several different countries all over the world and I actually felt like my old self again as I networked and made new invaluable contacts. The cocktail party wrapped up around 6:00 and Joshua and I left to go home and change for the more formal dinner event.

  As we rode in the car back to our house, Joshua asked me if I had made any progress during the cocktail party.

  “I did, I have a phone conference set up with Markla Corporation next week. I spent a lot of time chatting with their senior vice president and I think our company might be what they are looking for.” I looked at him hoping to see some glimmer of approval for my hard work but I saw nothing but flat, unfeeling eyes. I took a deep breath and turned my attention to the setting sun outside the car window. I missed our girls, and I really wanted to give them both a big hug right at that moment. I remembered the day that they were born and how nervous and excited Joshua and I both were. We were just crawling into bed when my water broke.

  “Oh my goodness honey, I think my water just broke!”

  Joshua flew out of bed and grabbed my suitcase and my coat and we were on our way to the hospital within five minutes. I was in labor for 12 hours and Joshua never left my side. He held my hand and coached me through every single one of my contractions and I could not have asked for a more perfect husband. It was so sweet because he was so concerned about me and he wanted to make sure that I was as comfortable as possible. When the babies finally came Joshua cried tears of joy and he kept kissing me and thanking me for his beautiful, healthy girls. He laced his fingers through mine and stared deep into my eyes.

  “You have made me the happiest man in the world today Sarah and I love you forever for it. Now I have everything I’ve ever wanted.”

  What he said was only partially true, because I knew that Joshua had always wanted a son but I had not been able to give that to him. Don’t get me wrong, he loved the girls more than anything and they had him wrapped around their little pinkies, but I knew that he would be ecstatic if he had a son to carry on his name.

  I noticed that we were almost back at our house and I was looking forward to getting the night over with. I had a long night of schmoozing, small talk and business talk ahead of me and all I wanted to do was be alone with Joshua. Only a few more hours to go until I have the chance to convince him that we still belong together.

  CHAPTER 6

  We both showered and changed for the dinner event and this was the first time that I was attending an event with Joshua where I was less than excited to go. Normally, he would want to see my dress and he would comment on how beautiful I looked and things like that, but I knew that tonight I would hear none of that. As I looked at myself in the mirror wearing the gorgeous sky blue dress, I actually liked the way that I looked. For once I was having a perfect hair day and my makeup looked just right. As I walked down the stairs toward Joshua who was waiting at the bottom of the landing, he turned and looked up at me and I know I saw a look of appreciation in his eyes. I knew that look, I had seen it many times before when Joshua liked the way I looked or something that I was wearing. Well at least he can’t control that, he can’t control his instinctive reaction to me.

  He looked me over from head to toe and held my gaze for just a few seconds. I could tell that he wanted to say something but he held his tongue and just opened the door for me. The dinner was teeming with people by the time we arrived. We had assigned seats and we were seated with people who represented companies on the West Coast which was great for us because it gave us the opportunity to spend some real time highlighting our office.

  After dinner I mingled and spent a bit of time chatting with a woman named Chelsea from Chicago who I really hit it off with. She supposedly was number one in her office, she was really blunt and it was refreshing to hear someone say what they actually were thinking and not try to be politically correct all the time. She had been married for 15 years but she told me that she still liked to look at other men because there was no crime in appreciating a good piece of eye candy.

  “Sarah, I love my husband to death but I am still human you know, and as women we can appreciate a gorgeous piece just like a man can.”

  I wasn’t really used to being around women that talked like that but it really was refreshing to be around her. She didn’t hold back in what she was thinking or saying and she had a reputation for being a real pit bull in the boardroom.

  “Oh I know what you mean, they don’t realize that we like to look just as much, if not more, than they do.”

  We both giggled and took a sip of our wine as we surveyed the crowd.

  “Like him for instance, that guy over there with the gorgeous dark, wavy hair and those dark, brooding eyes.” I heard the tone in her voice change so I knew he must have been really attractive.

  I turned to see who she was staring at and I nearly choked on my drink as I saw Paolo Santorini staring right back at me. He raised his glass to me and smiled at me and I quickly averted my eyes, hoping that she did not see that.

  “Well well, it looks like you have an admirer! Who is that?”

  “Oh, that is Paolo Santorini he used to work for our company.” I tried to sound as nonchalant as possible so that she would not know how rattled I felt.

  "Well he seems to be awfully interested in what you're doing because he cannot take his eyes off of you, Sarah. What kind of love potion did you put in his coffee?”

  “Chelsea, I am a married woman and he is p
robably looking at all of the women here.” I wanted to tell her that that was part of the reason that he got fired, but I don’t know that anyone knew that he got fired. The rumors seemed to have been that he told people that our office wasn’t a good fit for him and he decided to leave.

  “I don’t know Sarah, he seems to have eyes only for you. Well look at this, here he comes.”

  I started to panic a little bit because I didn't want him to cause a scene and I really didn't want Joshua to see Paolo talking to me. But wait a minute, maybe it would be good for Joshua to see Paolo talking to me, maybe it would snap him out of this mood that he’s been in. In fact, I think it would be a great idea for Joshua to see that other men are interested in me!

  Paolo walked up to us with a big smile on his face, flashing his gorgeous pearly whites, and I was instantly reminded again of how incredibly good-looking he was. Chelsea could barely contain herself as he made his way over to us.

  She whispered under her breath to me so that no one else could hear her. “Holy shit, he’s gorgeous.”

  I had to agree with her, Paolo was definitely a good-looking man but the only man that I wanted to pay any attention to me was not speaking to me at the moment.

  "Good evening ladies." He turned his attention to Chelsea. "I don't believe that we have met, Paolo Santorini." He extended his hand to her and she held it gingerly as he kissed the back of her hand. His dark, intense, brooding eyes turned toward me and held my gaze.

  “Sarah Hunter, how nice to see you again, you look absolutely stunning this evening.” I wonder how much he’s had to drink tonight?

  I could feel my cheeks flush under his intense gaze and I started to feel very uncomfortable. “Thank you, Mr. Santorini. Enjoying your drink I see.”

  “Please, call me Paolo. I have had a couple of drinks, but I am fully in control of all of my faculties.” His eyes still held mine in their intense grip and I found it difficult to tear my eyes away. I heard Chelsea clear her throat and quickly was embarrassed that I had nearly gotten lost in his eyes.

  "I should go look for my husband. Mr. Santorini, it was so nice to meet you and Sarah, lovely to meet you as well. We should definitely catch up later this week and exchange business ideas. Take care.”

  I should go look for my husband as well but for some reason I have a feeling he will find me first.

  “Speaking of husbands, where is yours?” Paolo had a small smirk on his face and I could tell that he thought he was getting away with something by talking to me.

  “Oh, he is around here somewhere probably cooking up new deals, which is exactly what I should be doing.”

  “Then why aren’t you?” His eyes smoldered as they perused my body.

  "You are flirting with me Palo, and you know that is inappropriate." For some reason I sounded very flirtatious when I said that to him and maybe it was because my husband hadn’t given me any attention in the last few days or maybe it was because I seriously found this man attractive. Either way I knew that it was dangerous for me to continue to stand there and talk with him.

  “What can I say? I enjoy the company of beautiful women, especially if they are smart.”

  “I have to say that I am surprised to see you here. I am happy that you were able to find other employment so quickly.” I tried to turn the conversation toward work so that he would stop staring at me with those gorgeous dark brown eyes.

  “Yes, I was very fortunate and I am very grateful. How have things been going at Hunter International since I left?”

  “Great, business is great.”

  “Well it’s good to know that my absence did not hurt the company in any way.”

  That’s a pretty arrogant statement. The company is doing just fine without you.

  “Well, it was nice to see you again Paolo, but I better mingle and work on making more contacts.”

  He reached out and grabbed my arm and I flinched a bit under his touch. “Do you have to go so soon?”

  At that exact moment I could feel a hole being burned through the back of my head from someone's intense gaze, and I quickly turned around to see Joshua’s hardened face glaring at me from across the room. Paolo leaned around me slightly to see what I was looking at, and when he saw that it was Joshua he started to slowly rub my arm. I whipped my head around and snatched my arm from his hand and gave him a stern look.

  “Don’t touch me like that!” I snapped at him.

  “Hubby doesn’t like that, huh? When are you going to be your own woman and stop letting a man control you?”

  “He does not control me, and that is none of your business!” I quickly turned around again to glance at Joshua and he was frozen in place still staring a hole right through me. At first I was really nervous but then the more I thought about it, I figured it was good for him to see me talking with someone else. He’s going to be so pissed about this and it serves him right! “I think that we are done here, have a good night.” As I turned to walk away from him he grabbed my elbow and quickly pulled me to him, and give me a quick kiss on either side of my cheeks before slipping a small piece of paper inside my purse, and whispered in my ear.

  “It was lovely to see you and if you would like to continue our conversation in private, you can find me at the address on that piece of paper that I just put in your purse.”

  Just as I was getting ready to pull the piece of paper out of my purse and give it back to him, Joshua was at my side.

  "Paolo, I see that they decided to let just anyone into this event. If you know what is good for you, you will step away from my wife immediately.”

  Joshua was very careful to keep his voice low so as not to cause a scene, but the stern tone in his voice made it very clear to Paolo that it was in his best interest to walk away from us. Thankfully Paolo turned and walked away, but in doing so he left me with a very angry and very jealous Joshua.

  “I would think that you would know better than to parade around here like a floozy, flirting openly with a former business colleague. Geez Sarah, I have a reputation to maintain and I don’t need for you to blow it by throwing yourself at some sleazy guy! Conduct yourself like a lady!” He spat the words out to me under his breath so that only I could hear him.

  That pissed me off. “I was not flirting with him Joshua! And what do you care anyway? You’ve barely said two words to me in the past few days!” Then I pulled the piece of paper out of my purse and held it up to Joshua’s face. I sneered as I looked him in the eye and said something that I probably should not have said, and I regretted it the instant I said it. “Maybe I should take him up on his offer to go back to his place and talk in private.”

  Fire shot across Joshua’s eyes as his face turned bright red and every vein in his neck stood at attention. He snatched the piece of paper out of my hand, grabbed the back of my elbow and led me through the crowd toward the door.

  “Put a fucking smile on your face as we walk out of here!” His tone was harsh and firm, and I didn’t dare go against him as I plastered a huge smile on my face. He said good night to a couple of people and we were out of there within two minutes. He did not speak to me or look at me in the car and you could have cut the tension with a knife.

  CHAPTER 7

  As soon as the driver dropped us off at our house, Joshua made a beeline for the door and I followed dutifully behind him. The second I was inside the house, he slammed the door behind me and turned his fiery gaze on me. I started to speak and his booming voice caught me off guard.

  “Don’t you EVER threaten to spend time with another man and throw his phone number in my face!! You were allowing that man to touch you and flirt with you in front of all of my business contacts! Do you have any idea how bad that makes us look?! What is wrong with you Sarah?! You looked like a two bit call girl the way you allowed him to touch you! How dare you disrespect me like that!”

  Joshua’s eyes were ablaze as he gave me a tongue-lashing and something in me snapped. I turned my pain-filled, teary eyes to him and let out
everything I had been feeling.

  “How dare I disrespect you? You have been ignoring me the past few days and you have not been acting like a loving husband at all! Yes, I know that I was upset with you because of what I walked in on, but I have been trying to apologize to you for jumping to the wrong conclusion and you just will not listen to me! You won’t even talk to me! So what else was I supposed to do to get your attention? I got it didn’t I? You’re talking to me now aren’t you? Do you really think I wanted to be standing there talking to him? Do you really think I wanted him rubbing my arm and touching me? What I really wanted was to be there with my best friend by my side knowing that no matter what, we can make it through anything! But you won’t talk to me and you barely look at me! Do you have any idea how much that hurts Joshua? Any at all? I don’t want to lose you, I can’t, I can’t, I can’t!”

  I was crying uncontrollably by now and I had doubled over and crumpled to the floor into a sobbing mess. My body would not stop shaking as the tears continue to flow.