Chapter 10
When Amanda returned, Alex was busy furiously typing into his Macbook, and looked as if nothing had happened. The hostess that had previously disappeared now reappeared and handed him a steaming hot black coffee. "Can I get you anything, Miss?" she asked politely, but this time without a smile on her face.
"Er, um, no thanks, I'm fine," blushed Amanda, 'Actually, perhaps just some still water. Thank you." The hostess gave a curt nod and headed off to fetch the water. Then the pilot flashed on the fasten seatbelt light, and the lights in the cabin returned to full glare. Still, Alex hadn't said a word to her, and she noticed that he'd put the armrest back up, but that could have been due to them landing in Barcelona soon, rather than him deliberately wanting to put a wall between them. Even so, Amanda began to have an uneasy feeling that she'd made a very big mistake.
Chapter 11
Precisely an hour later, a town car dropped Alex and Amanda off at Las Ebonitas hotel in the centre of Barcelona. It was a five star hotel which had apparently been built in the 1700s, and uniformed doormen hurried to open her door and take her Louis Vuitton from her. "Good evening, Ma'am," he said in perfect English and ushered her into the reception of the hotel. Alex was now in a heated conversation with the head of engineering back in Bristol, even though it was nearly 10pm UK time. Amanda suddenly felt exhausted, but nervous and anxious too, as Alex hadn't said a word to her since what had happened between them, and she suddenly felt very insecure - totally unlike her normal, confident self. She was also famished having skipped dinner on the plane, and just wanted to get into her room, pull her pyjamas on, and order room service as quickly as possible. There was no point in spending any more time with Alex if he was going to keep ignoring her, and as she heard him talking to his staffer back in England, she could tell that he had slipped into a very bad mood. "So much for a romantic overnight break" Amanda thought to herself. She didn't bother to wait for Alex to finish his call before checking in, and allowed the doorman to take her bags up to her room. As she left the foyer she saw Alex quickly look at her, then look away while speaking angrily into his phone, so she took this as a hint that their fun together was over. Now it was back to work, at least for him.
There was no way she was going to log into email now, she wasn't the CEO of the company after all. 15 minutes later, Amanda heard a knock at her room door, and immediately leapt up, hoping it might be Alex. But when she called "Who is it," the answer was "Room service," and she couldn't help but feel bitterly disappointed. What kind of man made love to her like that, then after he'd finished, completely ignored her? And how could she continue to work for him, never mind survive the rest of the trip to Barcelona together?! It was ridiculous. And suddenly she felt angry. More at herself than him, for letting it happen. But then she became angrier at him - he was the one who was above her in the company, he was the one who really should know better, and he was the one who was married! She had been naive yes, but it was him who had taken advantage of the situation, not her. And now they shared a dark secret that could ruin both of their careers surely. But then she realised she was again being naive. Naive to think that a powerful executive like Alex Simons would have his career in anyway affected by what had happened between them. If word did get out, it would be her who would be labeled a floozie, and someone who slept with the boss, undoubtedly to try to get ahead.
The thought of all of her hard work going to pot made her very upset, and then she saw the Louis Vuitton case her dad had given her, and she realised that not only had she let herself down, but her parents too. The thought was too much, and she threw herself onto the bed, ignoring the meal that had just been brought to her by room service, and broke down into floods of tears. This wasn't what she had bargained for at all. Yes, she'd hoped things would develop between her and Alex, but now she felt violated, rejected and used. Clearly, she'd misread him as actually liking her, and to think that she'd actually thought he might be shy and intimidated by her! What a joke. He was just a very good actor and a master manipulator, simple as that. What a fool she'd been for falling for his act. Then it dawned on her. Maybe this is why Eva was the way she was with him and her. Had the same thing happened between them? It was entirely possible, and made Eva's reaction toward her make a lot of sense. "Oh god!" Amanda cried into her pillow so as not to be heard by anyone who might be passing by. "I've been such a fool, letting him take advantage of me like this. And if he's had me, and had Eva, I'm sure there have been others too. The way that air hostess looked at me, it was as if she'd seen it all before. Great, now I'm going to have to quit my job and have to explain at future interviews why I didn't even last a month at Advertech. And Eva will no doubt be gloating and saying 'I told you so' when I had in my notice. Oh God, what a mess!" Amanda let it all, no longer caring who heard her. Finally her sobbing subsided and she went to take a long hot shower to wash off the day, and the remnants of the sex that still lingered on her body. At least she could wash him off her person if not out of her life. She wrapped herself in an enormous fluffy white robe that hung in the bathroom, then flopped back onto her bed, took a bite of the burger she ordered, and drank a large glass of apple juice. She felt calmer, but still very upset, and her pussy and butt still felt raw from the workout they'd received earlier. Fortunately she'd remembered to bring some painkillers, so she popped two after she'd finished eating, brushed her teeth, curled up in the luxurious king sized bed, and flipped off the light.
Even though she was bitterly disappointed with the way Alex had treated her, she knew she'd received a great life lesson. "Things aren't always as they seem, and just because a man pretends to like me for my personality,” she thought ruefully, "doesn't mean he doesn't still want to get into my knickers!" And without wasting another moment thinking about him, Amanda sank into the feather down pillows, and dropped off into a deep, restful sleep.
To be continued....
Forbidden Secret
The Reluctant Billionaire Trilogy
Part II.
Introduction
I want to thank you for downloading this book,“Flaming for the CEO”.
Part II of The Reluctant Billionaire Trilogy, sees Amanda’s feelings deepen for the charismatic CEO of the company she has recently started working for as a marketing executive. When the CEO, Alex Simons, invites her to accompany him on a business trip to Barcelona, she thinks this is the perfect opportunity to get to know him better, in more ways than one. But Part I ends with her crying herself to sleep by herself in her luxury hotel room. This wasn’t the fairy tale ending she had in mind. Rejoin Amanda in her hotel room to see how she deals with being rejected by the object of her affection. Will she find out whether he truly has feelings for her? Will she get a chance to ask him why he has stayed in an unhappy marriage for so long? Will she ever go back to work for Advertech? These questions and more will be answered. And the cliff hanger at the end will keep you coming back for more. Part III of The Reluctant Billionaire Trilogy - Fighting for the CEO, coming soon.
Thanks again for downloading this book, I hope you enjoy it!
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Chapter 1
Wednesday morning, 6am, Amanda Hurley stretched, looked over to her digital clock to see the time through bleary eyes, and was mortified to discover it wasn't where there. "What the..." she started, "Where am I?" She blinked a few times to adjust her eyes to the daylight, looked around in a panic, then remembered she was in Barcelona on a business trip with the CEO of her company. The hotel room spun around her, but she made an effort to pivot herself around, and fortunately spotted a small digital alarm clock in the corner of the room, sitting on a mahogany bureau. She grabbed a half empty bottle of water that was sitting on her side table, and glugged it down thirstily. "Why is my mouth so dry?" she thought, but then remembered that she'd been on a plane and had drunk a lot of alcohol, without eating hardly anything on the journey over. She scrunched her face up in disgust and covered her head with a pillow as the images from the previous day's events flashed in her mind's eye. "Ohhhhmigod," she groaned, "What the hell have I done?" Grimacing at the fragments of memories which she was trying to piece together in order to paint a picture of yesterday's event. It didn't take more than a minute for her to remember the gory details of the torrid tousle she'd engaged in on her flight - nevermind the mile high club, she was now a member of the full blown porno in the air club, she ruefully thought to herself. And despite the copious amounts of wine and champagne she had consumed on the way from Bristol to Barcelona, the soreness of her body and achiness of her limbs were a blunt reminder of exactly what she'd gotten up to, with the CEO of Advertech no less.
"Arggghhhh, I'm such a fucking idiot," she despaired, and felt like she might break into tears. But she didn't have the energy to shed anymore tears, after crying herself to sleep the night before. So much so that now she could see her face was puffy and her eyes were bloodshot - not a good look for the tradeshow that her and Alex Simons were supposed to be attending together in just a few hours. "Damn him!" she screamed to her unkempt reflection, and punched a fist into one of the luxurious hotel cushions adorning the giant bed.
The situation was particularly demoralising because Amanda had always prided herself on being sensible, not the sort of floozie that would give herself to the boss, on a public flight no less. And especially not after only knowing him for just a few short weeks. It was just so cliche, and icky. Thank god they'd been in First Class, which had been empty, and the air hostesses had made themselves scarce for the duration - but then Amanda remembered the look one of them had given her as she departed the plane. The kind of look that said, "I know your game, love, and I've seen it hundreds of times before." The disapproval coming from someone she considered of lower status than herself - after all, wasn't an air hostess just a glorified waitress in the air - was enough to make her hang her head in shame. "I can't believe I fell for his trap," she said to her less-than-pretty reflection, "He was probably buttering me up from Day One. And I fell for it, hook, line and sinker. I knew he was married, but I did it anyway. I sensed something had gone on with him and Eva, but I still decided to let him have me. Even though the reason she is probably so bitter is because he's done the exact same thing to her at some point. It all makes sense now. Ohhhh gooooodddddd. Why me?" She flung herself back onto the mountain of down pillows messily assembled at the head of the bed. At least she was in the lap of luxury while her world seemed to be falling apart. "Small consolation", she thought bitterly. "But I may as well make the most of it while I'm here, I guess...alone!"
Amanda stretched over to the side table to reach for the leather bound room service menu. Every movement sent her muscles spasming, and dull aches permeated through her glutes, quadriceps, and biceps. It was like she'd done an Iron Man race, the amount of pain she was in, except her genitals wouldn't be stinging like they were now if that had been the case. She gave a rueful laugh, figuring she may as well laugh if she couldn't cry anymore, then picked up the phone to dial room service.
"Hola Madam!" trilled a friendly, Spanish voice at the other end, "Buenas dias!" "Ha, yeah right," she thought, but her manners caught up with her and she politely replied, "Buenas dias, could I order some breakfast please?"
"Yes, of course madam, what would you like?" Suddenly Amanda felt ravenous, like she could eat a small cow, and figured as the company was paying, she may as well order as much as she liked, "Ummm, I'll have a full Spanish breakfast please, eggs over easy, patatas bravas, a pot of coffee, an orange juice, and some blueberry pancakes with butter, please." Food was a small comfort, but any comfort was better than none right now.
"Yes, Ma'am, right away, will be about 20 minutes, OK?"
"Yes, that's fine." Amanda said, and hung up, relieved she'd have twenty minutes to drag her sorry self out of bed. Fortunately there was a mini-kettle in the room with some instant coffee packets on a small tray, and she set about clumsily making herself a cup, while trying not to scald herself. Her coordination was badly out of whack, and she half wondered if Alex had put something in her champagne, she felt so terrible. But she knew he hadn't, and while that would have been a convenient excuse for her behaviour, deep down she knew she really only had herself to blame. "Fuck, what do I do now?" she thought to herself, stirring three sugars into her coffee. "Just as I was starting to make an impact at the company, and find my way around. And I thought he genuinely liked the work I'd done so far, and my ideas. But I guess he's just a big fat phoney," the thought of him lying to her depressed her even more, so she tried to distract herself by finding the remote and turning on the large screened TV that was mounted onto the far end of the wall. She lazily munched on a biscuit and watched CNN for 20 minutes until she finally heard a knock on the door.
"Room service, Ma'am" a male voice called, and she hurried over to the door, desperate to get some decent food into her belly. The smell of fried sausage and pancakes filled the room as the young Spaniard pushed the cart into the room and politely waited for a tip. She gave him a 5 euro note, and he thanked her and hurried out the door, clearly embarrassed to see a beautiful English lady in a state of semi-undress. Amanda hadn't bothered to put any clothes on, and was still wrapped in the fluffy robe from last night. She saw now that she had some purple marks on her wrists, hips and butt from where her boss's boss had squeezed her so hard. This, combined with her puffy lips and eyes, must have given the impression to the young hotel clerk that she was some kind of high class hooker. "Ughhhh great," she thought again, palpably aware of the judgement she was receiving for being the toy of a rich, commercially important man. She wondered if all women felt like this, or was it only the ones who weren't married to the powerful men they entertained? Surely, they wouldn't be looking at her this way if she was his wife?"
But she wasn't his wife, and she knew that his actual wife was very real, and occupied a large part of his life. Clearly it wasn't a happy marriage though, otherwise why would he be sleeping around? Maybe it was a marriage of convenience, or maybe they'd just fallen out of love, but hadn't yet gotten round to getting a divorce. Who knows. She'd planned to ask him all of these questions on their trip, after they'd
gone out to an intimate meal in a little Spanish restaurant, where they began to get to know each other, confide in each other, and start to fall in love with each other. He'd open up to her, tell her he was miserable, and let her know that she was the one who could save him from his unhappy marriage... But it hadn't worked out that way at all. Instead, he'd gotten her drunk - even though to be fair, she'd drunk all of the alcohol he'd offered willingly - and then had his wicked way with her, which again, to be totally honest she'd not tried to put up any kind of resistance to whatsoever. Again, she let out a rueful laugh, and shook her head at her own predicament. It was the kind of situation she'd scolded friends of hers for getting into, and had got into many arguments with girl friends on the subject of married men, and how it was stupid to do anything other than completely avoid them. Now, here she was, battered and bruised, emotionally and physically, at the hand of a married man - and not just any married man, a man who also happened to be the CEO of the company she'd only just joined. It was ridiculous, and once again, she suppressed the urge to cry. She nibbled on some of the food which was rapidly turning cold, as she knew she'd need every bit of strength to get her through the rest of the day.
Romance: Alien Romance: Having The Kings Baby (A Paranormal Science Fiction Shifter Romance ) (Sci-fi Alien Invasion Abduction Romance) Page 126