Billionaire Boss, M.D.

by Olivia Gates

  Yet even among those gods among men, Antonio had stood out.

  Not only had his brand of gorgeousness thrummed the chords of her specific taste, something else had fascinated her on a fundamental level. Though they were all extraordinary, she’d felt he had an edge over the other men. Even in the remoteness of a photo she felt he had the coolest head, the most deliberate mind. Even in her fury, that had appealed to her so fiercely she’d found herself saving the photo for leisurely inspection at a later date, maybe even as material for a future illustration.

  And here he was in the impossibly perfect flesh, the epitome of splendor and sangfroid.

  She wouldn’t be surprised if he belonged to some next-step-in-evolution elite who’d eliminated all human frailties and imperfections and who operated on pure, merciless intellect.

  He now stopped at the table and leaned his six-foot-plus frame to flatten his palms on its shining surface.

  Seething with renewed resentment at his effect on her, she followed his serene gaze as it swept the room. From the chain reaction she felt going off around her, he seemed to be making eye contact with everyone. Everyone but her. His gaze skipped over her as if she were a blank space.

  After the momentary consternation of being passed over, she was relieved. If his mere presence provoked those reactions in her, she didn’t want to find out what she’d feel if that all-seeing gaze bored into her.

  Once he’d had them holding their breath, he inclined his head. “Thanks for accommodating me at such short notice. I’m glad you could all make it.”

  Man, that voice. If everything about him weren’t too much already, that darkest vocal spell would have been bad enough on its own. Making it even worse was an ephemeral accent that intertwined through its meticulous articulation, deepening its impact.

  As murmured responses rustled around the room, he straightened to his towering height.

  “I don’t want to hold you up, especially those of you whose schedule is nine to five, so I’ll get right to the point of my visit.” A perfectly timed dramatic pause. “I hope you’re as optimistic as I am about the new state of affairs, and will find working under the Balducci umbrella a rewarding experience, scientifically and financially.”

  He spread a prompting smile around the room and Lili saw everyone grin back at him like hypnotized fools.

  Without taking his eyes off the assembly, he gestured to someone she realized had been behind him all along. The shorter man in turn directed four people behind him to come forward. They had piles of folders, which they passed around the room. When it was her turn to receive one, she stared down at the inch-thick glossy volume graced with Balducci’s distinctive serpent logo.

  “In your hands is comprehensive info on Balducci’s operations,” he explained. “As well as the mission statement for its new merger with your facility.” Merger, huh? Big of him to call his incursion that. “Until you read everything in detail, let me give you a brief summation.

  “I founded Balducci R & D to furnish the world with visionary medical solutions. A dynamic, adventurous and fast-paced researching, manufacturing and distribution organization specializing in state-of-the-art products and technologies in a number of leading medical fields. My aim remains to provide the medical community with unparalleled clinical products that set the trend in medicine. For six years, Balducci has been the primary supplier, to hospitals, clinics and research institutions, of advanced medical solutions in a variety of fields. With a constantly growing global team of the best the world has to offer in their disciplines, which I’m proud for you to be a part of now, we provide exceptional value, service and support much above the industry standard. And we achieve the highest customer retention rates in every market we currently dominate. But there are new frontiers I aim to conquer.” Yeah, just what she’d figured. “And this is where you come in.”

  Everyone sat up, taking even closer notice. The man really had masterful timing and delivery.

  When he’d made sure everyone was hanging on his every breath, he went on, “I don’t need to tell you that your team is composed of some of the most avant-garde researchers of our time. I have no doubt you’re well aware of your individual and collective worth. I certainly am best equipped to know it. I’m still suffering from the very sizable hole in my assets it took to acquire your services.”

  As chuckles of pleasure spread through the room, Lili’s hackles rose higher. What was wrong with her colleagues? They were proud they had a price? Sure, he pretended “acquiring their services” had taken a toll on him, but they all knew this was untrue. The man was worth over a dozen billion dollars!

  Then he spoke again, dousing her new spurt of irritation.

  “The methods and results you’ve contributed to the medical community working with limited funding and resources is nothing short of astounding. Each and every one of you is exactly the kind of unique-approach, enterprising scientist that Balducci covets. As you’ll see from the documents you have in your possession now, each of you has been assigned to a project I believe you’re most suited for, where you’ll have anything you could possibly want to make progress in it, and hopefully reach a breakthrough. And let me be clear. By anything, I do mean anything. My assistants will be available to provide any of your needs. But my own door is always open if what you need is too ambitious, as I hope all your work with me will be.”

  By the time he finished, she was gaping again.

  The man was overpowering. Velvet over steel over an enigma. Not only the most magnificent male she’d ever seen, but the most persuasive, too.

  What he’d outlined was every scientist’s fairy tale come true. Unlimited resources to be as adventurous as they wished, caring only about the work, while funding and feasibility were being taken care of by dedicated experts with access to bottomless pockets and powered by limitless ambition. His.

  He’d almost convinced even her. Almost.

  But if she had to fight his hypnosis with all she had, she had no doubt the others were already in his thrall. A darting glance noted the glassy eyes of those who no longer questioned that his decreed path was the one to tread. Even Brian had a budding hero-worship expression on his face.

  “That would all be well and good, if you were offering to fund our projects, not yours.”

  It wasn’t until everyone swung to gape at her as if she’d thrown a grenade on the table that she realized she’d spoken.

  And she did it again, without intending to.

  “In your R & D career, you’ve consistently ignored basic research, what has produced centuries of history-changing breakthroughs, spawned whole industries and disciplines in medicine. You’ve also ignored the kind of research we do, of untrendy ailments that don’t provoke public or market interest. You’ve overlooked necessary research for a jumble of popular, feel-good, cash-cow fields like the cosmetic and weight-loss industries.”

  The elusive smile that had been hovering on his lips suddenly froze.

  All her blood followed suit.

  Her heart thudding, she wished for some cosmic rewind button so she could erase what she’d just said.

  Why had she spoken at all? She’d already found out her worst-case scenario would come to pass and they’d be herded wherever he wished. She didn’t do posturing confrontations. She knew her power, or rather, lack thereof. So why hadn’t she kept her big mouth shut and just tendered her resignation in silence?

  Before she could draw another breath into her constricted lungs, he turned his head in her direction and impaled her on the lasers he had for eyes.

  And all she could think was...uh-oh.

  Two

  Lili’s heart plummeted as the world emptied of everything but this overwhelming entity who had her in his crosshairs.

  Before she obeyed the flight mechanisms that screamed for her to run, tossing a “Don�
�t bother firing me, I quit” over her shoulder, Antonio Balducci started talking, pinning her down even more.

  “As my reconstructive surgeries do incorporate an aesthetic element, I do invest in the development and manufacture of all aesthetic disciplines and products.”

  His voice. That perfectly modulated melody of cultured lethality. A glacial sound of hair-raising beauty. Pouring all over her like a freezing/searing deluge.

  Oh, crap. She hadn’t thought this through. Hadn’t thought at all. That bitter outburst had just...well, burst out of her. What if he got verbally combative?

  She’d flay him right back, that was what. Before she ran.

  But before she snatched the next breath, still transfixing her with that impossibly blue stare, he went on, serene and far more menacing because of it, “As you’ll see from the info I provided, only twenty percent of my operations focus on the ‘popular, feel-good, cash-cow’ side of my specialty.”

  Whoa. He was quoting what she’d said. When she’d thought he’d only realized she’d been talking—and criticizing him openly—just before her tirade ended.

  But he hadn’t only heard her, he’d memorized what she’d said. He’d even sounded like her when he’d quoted her. She had a feeling he could recite everything she’d said word for word. Which shouldn’t surprise her. It only substantiated her theory of him being some sort of post–human being.

  His eyes bored into her, making her feel he’d drilled a hole into her skull and was probing her brain. “The remaining eighty percent of my operations revolve around the more relevant sides of my field of interest, and those of others. Problem is those don’t generate media coverage or capture the market’s imagination. This is just the state of the world. I didn’t invent it.”

  “No, you just exploit it.”

  At her volley, he tilted his head, as if plunging deeper into her mind. Then those chiseled lips twitched and her stuttering heart burst into a stumbling gallop.

  “The pursuit of luxury products tends to trump necessary ones and ‘cash cows’ are such for a reason. Alas, human beings will be human beings. I assure you, I have no role in their condition. So what would you have me do? Not provide them with what they wish for? Judge their foibles and let someone else reap the benefits of catering to them? Benefits I eventually put to uses you might deem to approve of?”

  Was he teasing her? Nah. He couldn’t be.

  “And aesthetic concerns are not frivolous luxuries. No matter how you view them, they do greatly affect people’s psychological and mental health. I don’t morally grade what people need or consider worth paying for. Who’s to say that products that reverse the signs of aging aren’t as important to a substantial percentage of people as depression treatment? And would you view me and my business any kinder if you knew I also research the latter? And am involved in actual aging reversal research, too?”

  Okay, he was teasing her. Poking fun at her, more like, making her criticism sound misinformed and holier-than-thou, or at the very least naive. And seeming to draw appreciation from everyone in the room while at it, adding to the unhealthy awe he’d already garnered.

  He only made her feel like a hedgehog with its bristles standing on end. Mostly because she found her own lips twitching, too.

  So, the man had a sense of humor. Had he come complete with it, or had he had it grafted as another weapon in his overflowing arsenal? Or did he realize the benefits of manipulating lesser beings with the illusion of ease and indulgence, and had a subroutine written into his program that he could activate at will?

  “Among the commendable-by-your-standards investments I can afford to make with the profits of not-so-commendable ones, there are ones in my own field. Restoring functionality, for instance. Thanks to the money-generating machines, I can invest heavily into integrated prosthetics, microsurgery appliances and research, scar prevention and treatment, and lately, muscle and nerve tissue regeneration. That endeavor will be the main focus of this facility in our collaboration. I’m not even putting a limit to the budget for this one. Whatever it takes to reach a breakthrough, I’ll provide the resources.”

  Then just as he’d given her his undiluted attention, he took it away, making her feel as if he’d taken the chair and the ground beneath it right out from under her.

  Before she realized she had a response to his rebuttal, she found herself sitting up, her pose confrontational, her tone even more challenging. “Well, it’s all quite laudable, I’m sure, that—while not advancing basic science as only someone of your clout and resources can—you invest in advancing your field. But ‘this facility’ already has its own array of ‘commendable’ projects under way, and it would be a loss that can’t be measured in money if we shelved them to head in the direction where you point us. Just because you acquired our services doesn’t mean you can cancel all our efforts, or should dictate which breakthrough is worth benefiting from our expertise backed by your unlimited funds and clout.”

  This time everyone in the room turned to stab her on the pointy edge of their disapproval. The canny man had already won them over to his side, promising them shiny new projects, not to mention endless means to frolic in the land of scientific possibilities to their hearts’ content.

  This time, Balducci didn’t give her the courtesy of a response. His argument had been designed to win her over, or at least chastise her. From her renewed attack he must have decided further response wouldn’t make a difference. As the epitome of pragmatism someone of his success must be, he’d decided she wasn’t worth the extra effort. He wouldn’t waste more time on a dissenting cog now that he was certain he had the rest of the machine wagging its components awaiting his directives.

  Turning his attention to the rest, he directed everyone to read the folder carefully. Everyone’s roles and projects for the next year were spelled out to the last detail. Tomorrow would be the first working day under the new management, and he would be available at the provided email or phone number for any questions, concerns or minor adjustments. Any major suggestions would be discussed in the next general meeting. He closed by thanking everyone in such a way as to have them swooning all over again before he dismissed the assembly.

  Everyone rose to shuffle around him, waiting their turn to catch his eye or shake his hand. Lili cursed them for the limpets they’d turned into, and cursed him for turning them into such. Still, she was thankful for the milling crowd that gave her the cover under which to escape. Snatching her bag up, leaving the folder behind, she rose. Head down, giving him the widest berth she could, she made a beeline for the door. To her dismay, he was making short work of everyone, and those he’d dismissed were already squeezing out of the room, hindering her escape. She barely curbed the urge to push through them and forced herself to take her turn walking out. Still she bristled at the censure and pity in their oblique gazes, but mostly at his disconcerting vibe at her back.

  In minutes, she burst out into LA’s summer afternoon. She usually hated the transition from the beloved seclusion of her lab and the building’s controlled climate to the hot, humid bustle of the sprawling city. But now she was relieved to be out of what had become a place she’d hate to set foot in again. The place that was now Antonio Balducci’s.

  She’d reached her Mazda in the parking lot when she felt as if an arrow had lodged between her shoulder blades.

  It was his voice. Calling her.

  What the hell!

  Though her hand froze in midair with the remote, her thoughts streaked ahead. Did she dread him so much, like a kid dreads the headmaster singling her out, that she was imagining it? Even if he had called her, he must be here only to get his car, too.

  In the next millisecond her analytical mind negated that theory. Antonio Balducci wouldn’t use public parking. He wouldn’t have driven himself here in the first place. One of those people who followed in his wake like efficient phan
toms must be his chauffeur. He couldn’t have just stumbled on her. Which meant he must have pursued her specifically, and very quickly. Which made even less sense than any other theory.

  As her mind burned rubber, his voice carried to her on the warm, moist breeze again, the very sound of forbearance.

  “Dr. Accardi, I’d appreciate a word.”

  She swung around, her face scrunching against the declining sun in a scowl. “What for?”

  She groaned at how petulant and aggressive she sounded. But this guy tripped all her wires. Watching him approach her like a sleek panther sent them haywire. He was so big he made the parking lot claustrophobic, so unhurried he made her feel cornered, so unearthly gorgeous he made her every nerve ache.

  When he stopped two feet away, he siphoned the air from the world. Harsh sunlight struck deepest blue and indigo off his raven hair—which she realized had a smattering of silver at the temples—and threw his every feature in sharp relief, intensifying his beauty. She was sure she looked horrible in such unforgiving lighting, but Dr. Paragon here? He was even more perfect at such total exposure.

  As the word exposure dragged her mind places it didn’t want to go, she yanked it back and squinted way up at him even from her five-foot-eight height. She mentally kicked herself for not having her sunglasses as a barrier to hide behind, as protection against his all-seeing gaze. But since she always went home long after sundown, frequently not at all, she rarely packed them. As if they would have been an extra burden in her mobile home of a tote bag. But that was what she was—always ready for all possibilities in her work, and the personification of unpreparedness in her personal life. Which she now was in such a close encounter with the monolith before her.

  Just as she thought he’d stare down at her until he melted her at his feet, he raised his hand, making her notice the folder he’d been holding all the time.

  “I brought you this,” he said. “You must have forgotten it.”