Impossible (to Resist) Boss: Billionaire Romance

by Arabella Quinn

  He’d hoped it wouldn’t come to this. He’d pulled out all the stops trying to find out who the hell had been sabotaging him and spared no expense. He’d focused an inordinate amount of time and energy, to the detriment of other pressing issues, trying to solve the problem. Just yesterday, the second PI that he’d hired had confessed that he’d come up empty. Now, he had no new leads. It pissed him off to no end that someone was outsmarting him and getting away with it. All the stress was starting to wear him down. He felt drained.

  Bill glanced through the glass office door at Lilliana. “Let’s hope she takes the bait. Then we can put this whole nightmare behind us - just in time to lock down the Triton deal. We’ll look like goddamn heroes.”

  Jason’s irritation set him on edge. “We’ve got no reason to believe Lilliana is the problem. I still think you’re barking up the wrong tree.”

  “She’s got access. The timeline when she started here adds up. And she’s got you totally blinded - just by sashaying her ass around a bit. It all fits.”

  Not for the first time, Jason wanted to plant his fist through the jackass’s face. He felt a headache creeping up behind his temples, but he knew he had to go through with the plan, at the minimum to quell the board’s suspicions. “Let’s get this over with.”

  He pressed on the phone’s intercom button and summoned Lilliana into his office asking her to close the door behind her.

  “Yes, Mr. Kaine? What can I do for you?”

  He practically choked on the words trying to get them out. “Lilliana, here are the new numbers for the Principle One account. This is a very important deal – because if this deal falls through, it could affect the Triton deal. I want you to send the new numbers over to Jim Parrick at Principle One right away. This information is extremely confidential, so use the proper protocols.”

  Lilliana nodded as he handed over a manila file to her. “Right away, Mr. Kaine.”

  Bill couldn’t keep his mouth shut. “Yes, Lilliana, I want to stress that this is extremely confidential. Don’t let anyone get ahold of this information – it’s important. The Triton deal could collapse if these numbers got out.”

  “Of course,” she answered. “I understand.”

  Both men were silent for a few minutes after she left. Finally, Jason spoke up, “You laid it on pretty thick there. Jesus Christ.”

  Bill stood. “I wanted to make sure we were clear. Now, she’ll have absolutely no excuse if that data gets out. If those numbers show up, it’ll be damn clear that she is our leaker.”

  Jason was glad when the man finally left him alone in his office. He had a few more phone calls to make before he could call it a day. Then, he’d stop by the Italian restaurant he’d taken Lilliana to and have a relaxing dinner before heading home to pack for Miami.

  He was looking forward to getting away from the office. He only had to show up to a few meetings, just for appearance sake, and host the awards dinner. Beyond that, he was largely free to pursue whatever activities he chose.

  He’d enjoy some down time in Miami. He needed it. He’d called his old college roommate, who lived in southern Florida, and they’d agreed to meet up. Hopefully, this was just the trip to soothe some of the tensions that had been unmercifully building up in him.

  As he sat back in his chair, trying to relax his tense muscles, he couldn’t help but watch Lilliana at her desk. Her head was bent as she worked diligently. What if she was the leaker? He felt a stab of fear in his gut - just even posing the question.

  Could he have been blinded to the truth as Bill suggested? He had Lilliana investigated and vetted just as he had other employees who had possible access to confidential materials. But he hadn’t taken it any farther, because he had trusted her. Deep in his gut, he didn’t think that she was capable of such treachery.

  He thought about Corporate Secrets again. Hell, he had done nothing but obsess about that document from the moment he found it. He still wasn’t sure what her motives were for writing it. He’d wracked his brains trying to figure it out.

  Even his brilliant plan of asking her directly – through his alias “Jane” – had failed. If he’d been less consumed with getting his ego stroked by coaxing her to confess her feelings about him, then maybe he wouldn’t have scared her off until he got the answers he was searching for. He had blown it. Christ, the ‘mild’ dirty talk that he’d engaged her in had him sweating behind the keyboard like a teenage boy who’d just discovered porn sites for the first time. He’d almost forgotten that he was pretending to be a woman.

  He groaned when he recalled that he’d asked Lilliana if she wore panties to work. He’d been getting hard-ons at work wondering about that for weeks now. It was no wonder he was wound up so damn tight. He couldn’t even remember the last time he had sex. Ever since that failed date with Kristina Richardson, he hadn’t even tried again. Lilliana was driving him crazy.

  Whatever her reasons for writing Corporate Secrets, Lilliana was hiding something sinfully sexy behind that demure façade and it absolutely floored him. He never would have guessed she harbored such shockingly erotic fantasies towards him. Her little secret fantasies completely fucked him up and his love life too. He was a damn mess – personally and professionally.

  She’d turned his life upside-down with that one secret. Could she be hiding other secrets as well?

  Chapter 14

  My plate was filled with an assortment of semi-stale pastries and a bagel smothered with cream cheese. I half listened to the first speaker, who was laying out the agenda for the first session, as I sipped at my styrofoam cup of strong coffee.

  I had woken up in my hotel room early, eager to start the day and find the first conference room listed on my itinerary. Now that I was here, the long day stretched endlessly before me. I paged through the booklet reviewing the day’s events, trying not to immediately discount the topics as useless for me or just plain utterly boring.

  I had sat in the back of the large room, at a table with a nerdy-looking guy, hoping as I surveyed the tables before me that I could find a friendly face somewhere in the crowd. I recognized a lot of people, but no one I could latch on to. It didn’t appear that any administrative staff was at this conference. I felt out of place.

  It was ten minutes into the session, when I felt a hand on my arm. I was startled to see Jason Kaine standing by my table.

  I stood up nervously; feeling like he’d just caught me doing something wrong. I asked in a hushed tone, “Mr. Kaine, did you need something?”

  His smile looked pained, but I wasn’t quite sure what was wrong. He glanced at the nerdy guy who was watching us before answering, “Yes, Lilliana. I need some help. Grab your stuff and follow me.”

  I grabbed my handbag and meeting binder and then awkwardly tried to snatch my plate and coffee.

  Mr. Kaine waved aside my efforts. “Just leave those there.”

  Feeling bad about leaving behind my breakfast, I smiled timidly at the nerdy guy before following Mr. Kaine out of the conference room.

  Once we were outside the doors, I asked, “What’s going on?”

  “Nothing is going on.” He laughed. “I invited you down to Miami as a way of showing you appreciation for your hard work at the company. Not to bore you to death with meetings.”

  “Oh.” I had to walk fast to keep up with him and it didn’t help that my pulse had skyrocketed the second I’d seen him. Even though I had rededicated myself to my career, I was already panting after him.

  I reminded myself to ignore the butterflies dancing in my stomach and act professionally. It was just that I hadn’t expected to see him in Miami. Whatever it took, I had to brush away this fanciful crush – if you could call raw primal lust a crush – that I had on my boss.

  He led me into one of the hotel’s restaurants. He didn’t even have to say a word before we were greeted by restaurant staff. I had never seen him dressed so casually. Even in khaki shorts and a collared shirt, he managed to look more impressive than anyone
around him.

  “Mr. Kaine, please follow me. I have a table waiting for you.”

  We were seated at a nice bright table near a large window overlooking the city street. I buried my face in the menu, trying to narrow down my pick from the wide variety of choices. It was hard to focus though, because my mind was furiously racing ahead. What was I doing here with him? Was this just breakfast? And, after breakfast – then what?

  A waiter arrived and poured us some coffee before he took our order. I ordered their signature crepe dish and some fresh fruit while Jason ordered a hearty steak and egg breakfast.

  Jason broke the silence that had fallen between us. “Have you ever been to Miami before?”

  “No. But I did visit Florida with my parents for one whole summer.”

  Jason smiled. “Ahh, yes. The parents who loved to travel, but shunned all the tourist traps. So I take it you didn’t do the usual round of amusement parks, did you?”

  I blushed, feeling embarrassed that I had told him all that. “No amusement parks. But we did do an airboat tour of the Everglades one day.”

  Jason crooked an eyebrow and grinned. “I take it you didn’t enjoy it all that much.”

  I shrugged. “Spending the day in the swamp? Who wouldn’t love it? I don’t remember much except that it was unbearably hot and tons of bugs and mosquitoes swarmed us whenever we stopped.”

  “Sounds like a great time!” Jason laughed at my dry description and the smile on his face was genuine. It was having a peculiar affect on my insides.

  “There you are, darling!” The woman that swept into our private little space and placed her hand possessively on Jason’s shoulder was a force of nature. And I hated her immediately.

  “Rina,” Jason stood up and gave her a warm hug and a kiss on her cheek in greeting. “I was beginning to wonder where you were.”

  Rina looked like a fashion model who’d just stepped off the runway. She was wearing a stylish flowered blouse, oversized sunglasses, elegant white pants and chunky gold sandals. Her blonde hair was twisted into a sophisticated knot. She looked cool and collected while I suddenly felt frizzy and frumpy in my business suit.

  Rina focused squarely on Jason, not even noticing me. “Darling, you must have gotten a good nights sleep. You’re positively smiling now!”

  Jason graced her with that sexy smile of his and I felt a stab of jealousy. Then he gestured my way. “Rina, this is Lilliana Collins. She’s my most valued employee at Kaine Industries. Lilliana, this is Sabrina Haynes.”

  Rina slid the sunglasses off her face to scrutinize me better. She exclaimed, “Why, hello Lilliana!” almost as if she was surprised to notice me there.

  I forced a smile to my face. “Please, call me Lily.”

  I knew it was childish to feel so deflated by this woman. It was stupid that I wanted to claw her eyes out for interrupting us. Worse yet, it was obvious this sophisticated woman and Jason were very close. I felt a pitiful sinking feeling in my stomach. They were obviously lovers; she was probably his girlfriend.

  What was I thinking? Had I really been reading in some kind of meaning behind a simple breakfast? Was I that delusional?

  Rina patted Jason’s arm, the one she was still clinging to, before she swooped around the table and sat next to me. “How long have you been working for Jason?”

  “Oh, I’ve worked for Jason…” My eyes flew to him as soon as I realized I’d called him by his first name, but his friendly nod of approval was enough permission. “- uh, I think it’s been eight months or so now.”

  “Excellent!” Rina seemed to think everything was excellent.

  Jason sat back in his chair, looking content. “Rina, do you mind if Lilliana tags along with us? It would save her from some terribly boring meetings.”

  There was no way I wanted to spend the day being the third wheel between these two. It would be torture. I swiftly tried to decline the invitation. “Oh no. That’s okay. I don’t want to ruin your plans…”

  “Nonsense! Of course you’ll come with us.” She said it like the issue was already settled. It figured that she was as sickly sweet as she was beautiful. How frustrating!

  I was trying to think of a legitimate excuse to bow out of the day’s activities when a new person joined our table. Jason stood up to greet the man with a friendly handshake and a pat on the back while Rina beamed with happiness as she watched them. It was obvious that Jason was good friends with the man.

  When both men sat down, Rina introduced us. “Adam, this is Lilliana. She’s going to keep me company while you two are golfing.” She turned to me, squeezing my hand. “Thank goodness, Lily, you saved me from having to trudge around the golf course.”

  I groaned inwardly. I thought that spending the day with this high-energy woman was probably worse than hours of boring meetings.

  After the waiter took Adam and Rina’s order, Rina leaned in to chat with me while the men caught up. “Adam and Jason were roommates in college. We all went to Cornell University – that’s where I met the both of them. Those two have been best buds since then. Jason was best man at our wedding. We haven’t seen him in over a year.”

  Rina was married to Jason’s best friend! And I had foolishly thought they were lovers. Suddenly, the huge diamond ring and wedding band on her finger seemed impossible to miss. I instantly regretted disliking this woman who had been nothing but friendly toward me.

  Breakfast was pleasant. I was envious with how close and at ease Rina seemed to be with Jason, but was more impressed with how easily she included me in the conversation. After breakfast, we left the hotel and took a taxi to a small dock where Rina told me they had chartered a private water taxi.

  “The boys know how much I love taking the water tour and seeing the city skyline from the bay and Millionaire’s Row, of course. They indulge my whims especially when they want to play golf. But now that you’re here, we can split off and do girl’s stuff instead. It’ll be great.”

  Her enthusiasm was infectious. I tried not to get too excited when Jason helped me onto the smaller vessel and sat next to me. Rina and Adam sat across from us.

  Jason pointed out the sites to me as the boat glided across the water at a leisurely pace. We passed the recognizable yellow water taxis puttering along, filled to the brim with tourists snapping pictures, with the endless chatter from the tour guide blaring from the speakers to its passengers. Our private boat seemed much more enjoyable.

  I was surprised to be enjoying myself so much and I’d never seen Jason so relaxed since I’d started working for him. The sun and the waves seemed to be lulling me into a sense of well being. I had felt out of place wearing my business suit when everyone else was more suitably attired, but even that discomfort was slowly fading away.

  As the city skyline moved out of view, we soon came upon some of the notorious mansions that lined the intracoastal waterway. We passed mansion after mansion, each with its own unique architectural style, one more lavish and impressive then the next. We saw a handful of luxury yachts moored at some of the estates. The mini-palaces were visually stunning, but they struck me as so empty and lonely. There was no sign of life at any of them.

  Rina squealed with delight and pointed. “There it is. That’s the one. See that white one with the columns, Lily? That’s my favorite. It was on the market for $12 million, four or five years ago.”

  Adam squeezed her hand. “Oh no. Here we go again.”

  Rina laughed and then confided to me, “I tried to convince Jason to buy it. No luck.”

  “What would I do with a big old place like that?” Jason leaned back, draping his arm along the boats railing, directly behind my seat. I couldn’t focus on the teasing banter going back and forth between them, because the only thing I could think of was that his arm was practically around me.

  It seemed slightly inappropriate, yet surely he was completely unaware. Was I just so super-sensitive to his every move? Was my heart pounding and my cheeks blushing because I was an uncouth foo
l?

  Jason and Adam may not having been paying much attention to me, but Rina was. And by the gleam of interest in her eye, she had noticed everything, including my subtle, but strange, reaction. I pretended to concentrate on a mansion we were heading away from, just so I could hide my face from view. I had to be very careful. It would be dangerous to allow Rina to guess my feelings. I couldn’t let her find out that I yearned for my boss with every last fiber of my being.

  Chapter 15

  The water taxi dropped us off somewhere in South Beach. Before we split off, Jason and I had a moment alone while Rina and Adam were discussing something privately.

  “Did you like Biscayne Bay? Or was it too touristy for you?” Jason teased.

  “My parents would have hated it! Especially the mansions. But I thought it was great. Seeing the city skyline from the water was amazing.”

  “You should see it at night. It’s very ro…” he paused. I could have sworn he was about to say romantic. “It’s very nice.”

  “Well, it sounds lovely.”

  He checked his watch. “So, you’re in Rina’s hands for the next four hours or so. She’ll take good care of you.”

  “Yeah.” I smiled tentatively. “She wants to take me shopping and to the spa. I hope I can keep up with her.”

  Jason looked sympathetic. “I learned long ago not to argue with Rina. Just go along and you’ll have a good time. I promise.”

  “Thanks. And thanks for getting me out of that meeting. This has been much more interesting.” I knew I had a cheesy smile on my face but I couldn’t help it.

  Jason returned my gaze with an intensity. “You’re welcome.”

  At that moment, Rina and Adam arrived at our side. Rina linked her arm through mine. “Sorry to interrupt you two, but we’ve got some shopping to do.”

  We split off from the men, who caught a taxi to head out for a round of golf. Rina and I got into our own taxi and headed for the shops at Bal Harbour. The morning flew by. When we got to the high-end stores, Rina could tell that I was overwhelmed. I didn’t know the first thing about designer fashions. Luckily, she took over.