The Billionaire’s Intern: An Older Man, Younger Woman Romance

by Arlo Arrow

  Jasmine didn’t seem inclined to wait for me to come up with something. She smiled, and it was wicked, making me feel desire and dread pool in my stomach.

  “Melinda, Emma. I told you guys I was seeing someone, right?” she glanced over her shoulder at the two of them as she waved a hand at me. “Well, he’s right there. The man I’ve been fucking for the past few weeks; my boss.”

  Chapter 12

  Jasmine

  “Ugh,” I groaned as I walked out of my bedroom early the next morning. “Would you turn that shit down?”

  I was holding my head, though it did nothing to help against the hangover pounding in my head. Olivia, who’d spent the night, sat on my couch watching TV. She glanced over the back of it as I walked into the room and scoffed at me.

  “The volume is pretty low, Jasmine. You just need to take a shower to wake you up, and take some painkillers for the hangover.”

  I pouted. “Why don’t you look as bad as me?”

  “Oh, I don’t know,” she said, throwing me a pointed look over my shoulder. “You know I didn’t drink nearly as much as you did, before and after we ran into your boss. Even Emma was better off. She left early to go and meet up with her folks.”

  I left Olivia in the living room to go to my bathroom. Cold water would probably wake me up better, but I hated the cold, so I set the water a little warm before getting under the spray. I groaned, loving the feeling of cold water wiping off all the sweat from last night. Once my mind was a little clearer, though, I remembered Gabe fucking me against the wall the last time he was in my place. Which in turn made me remember all that happened last night, and my mood turned sour immediately.

  After hurrying the shower, I went back to my room to dry up and change, pulling on a t-shirt and cotton track pants. It was a bit hot, so I left off the socks, walking barefoot back to the living room, looking for a distraction.

  “What are you watching?” I asked, sitting down beside her and leaning against her side.

  She didn’t mind, just shifted so she could have her arm around my shoulder. “It’s some old chick flick. After last night, I thought it would be appropriate.”

  I chewed on my lip. “Last night, huh,” I muttered.

  She looked at me out the corner of her eye. “So that you know; I won’t pry. But I would like to know what the fuck is going on.”

  I chuckled. “I announced it, didn’t I? I’m sure plenty of people in the club heard me.”

  “Yeah, but you were drunk. I want to hear it from you while you’re sober if you don’t mind.”

  I groaned and pulled away from her, shifting so my back was against the arm of the couch and I could lean sideways into the back of it.

  “I would rather not talk about it.” I laughed humorlessly. “I mean, we were all there, and we all saw the woman he had on his arm, right? He even introduced me as his fucking secretary.”

  After I’d announced to my two best friends my juicy bit of news, we’d stuck around just a bit longer. I had been waiting for Gabe to say something, to reconsider introducing me as just his secretary, especially to some woman that had been draping herself all over him.

  He didn’t speak, though, just stood there and stared at me with a twitch in his jaw. I was pretty sure I waited a whole minute before I turned back to my friends, and we returned to our table, where I proceeded to get wasted while my friends looked after me.

  “Is he at least a good fuck?” Olivia asked, tone innocent even if the words weren’t.

  I gaped at her, then sputtered for a bit before I could make out some words. “Does that even matter?”

  She looked earnestly at me. “Of course it matters. If a guy is going to screw you over, it would at least be a little better if he was a good fuck in bed, you know.”

  I laughed, the sound coming out a little hysterical. “Yes, he was a good fuck,” I said and giggled. Then I sighed. “Not that it matters, though. Whoever that woman was, he was with her. And he hasn’t contacted me since then, so—” I cut myself off with a shrug.

  Olivia’s eyes gentled. “Oh, sweetie. Come here.” She leaned across the couch; arms opened wide to receive me in a hug. I allowed it, then she pulled back and carded her fingers through my hair. “The guy is a bastard, all right? But you still have to work with him. That’s why you don’t have an affair with your boss. What if he fires you?”

  I chewed on my lip. I had worried about that, but I didn’t think he was that kind of guy. He seemed pretty good at separating his professional life from his personal life whenever it suited him. But I realized, belatedly, what if I went into work and he was suddenly cold to me, like how he’d acted on that first day after we fucked at the hotel?

  “If that happens, I’ll just have to deal with it,” I said with a sigh, leaning back against the seat and staring at the TV. “I thought about quitting, anyway. The timing is just kinda terrible.”

  After the fiasco with the FBI, I wasn’t sure how easy it would be to get another job. And I’d just been starting to like working with Gabe, too, even with how demanding he was.

  Olivia sighed, and I glanced at her. She was already watching the movie, so I moved back beside her.

  “I’m actually in the same boat as you.” She paused. “Actually, not the same. There are plenty of differences. For one, he’s just a guy I met; he doesn’t even work with me, thank God.”

  “Is Emma currently seeing someone?”

  “Well, there was that guy, but that was almost two months ago. I’m sure after she’s done with her family she can come back, and we can all hang out like usual. Maybe no more drinking, but there’s other stuff we can do that would be fun.”

  I cracked a smile. “We could always call her up and have her come with ice cream. And cookies, and some fruit, and we can mess around with it. I’ve been looking into some desserts that would probably be wonderful in a situation like this.”

  Olivia’s arm wrapped back around my shoulders, giving a squeeze of encouragement. “There you go. We can even add some chocolate, and both Emma and I will pitch in. Oh! And marshmallows, just to eat.”

  I rolled my eyes. “We’re not trying to kill ourselves by way of sugar, you know.”

  “Aww, but it’s what we always do when one of us goes through a breakup, remember? You started making snacks for us, but we’ve been doing this since college.”

  I sighed as I snuggled into her side. “That’s true. Though, it’s been a while since I’ve needed this. Usually, I console the two of you.”

  Olivia hummed. “It’s not bad to be on the end of caring friends every once in a while. And you were the one that decided not to date.”

  Yeah. I figured it was taking too much attention away from my goal. And I didn’t miss being in relationships. My friends didn’t know, but I had met a few hook ups and had one night stands because like hell I could just play celibate like that. There were only, like, three, before I got disappointed because they weren’t going anywhere, and I decided to stop thinking about it.

  Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. I froze, then pulled away from Olivia. She looked towards the door with a thoughtful look.

  “I don’t think that’s Emma. Her knocks would never be quite controlled.”

  I wasn’t even listening to my friend as I stood up from the couch. She was right that it couldn’t be Emma, but the moment I heard the sound, only one person came to mind for me.

  I stumbled as I rushed for the door, some hopeful part of me thinking it was Gabe on the other side. That he’d maybe come to apologize for yesterday and fix things between us. I was already thinking of how fast I could have Olivia leave.

  But it wasn’t Gabe. Instead, there was a man dressed in a black suit and tie with a white dress shirt and shades. I felt laughter bubbling up in my chest as I wondered if he meant to be such a fucking cliché. But dread bubbled up with the laughter and kept it down.

  “Um, I’m sorry, can I do something for you?” I asked, though I pretty much guessed who was
standing at my doorstep, and it would bring nothing good.

  Sure enough, the man reached inside his coat and pulled out something that looked like a wallet. But then he flipped it open, and I saw the FBI badge. My throat closed up, eyes blurring, so I didn’t catch any of the details.

  “Ma’am,” he said, voice professionally cold. “I’m afraid you’re under arrest. I would like you to come with me, please.”

  Chapter 13

  Gabe

  I arrived to work a little late on Monday morning, and I was surprised when I got to my office and didn’t see Jasmine on her desk outside my door. I frowned and glanced around, only, there was no one around that I could ask. There were two other secretaries on the floor, but neither of them were there every day, and on that particular Monday, they were not there.

  “What the fuck, Jasmine,” I growled as I let myself into my office.

  Jasmine and I had come to an understanding. After that first day, she was never late. And I’d chosen today to be late on purpose, so that she would be there and I could stop by to speak to her before she got busy. I hadn't planned what to say, but it was useless, anyway, if the woman herself wasn’t even available.

  I pulled off my coat and draped it over the back of my chair after putting down my briefcase. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and tried to call her cell. The call immediately cut to voicemail and I frowned. Her phone must have been off.

  What the hell was she doing?

  She hadn't done anything to jeopardize her job before. And while I knew I’d been the cause of Friday night’s situation, it was no excuse to fucking sulk and be late to work. I had work to do for the day, and since I was already late, I wanted to get started immediately.

  I sat down in my chair and picked up the work phone, putting in a call to HR.

  “Hello, this is the human resource department, how may I help you?”

  “My secretary, Jasmine, isn’t in this morning. I wanted to know if she left any word. This is Gabe; I’m on the top floor.”

  Maybe she was sick, or she’d asked for time off? That would be better than her being late. I checked my wrist watch and frowned when I saw it was later than I’d thought. It was past nine.

  “Just give me a moment to check,” the voice on the line said, and there was the sound of key clicking. Then, “I’m sorry, sir, but we didn’t receive any calls from her. It’s possible she’s running late, or there’s an emergency and she forgot to call it in.”

  I sighed and braced my elbow against my desk, and I rubbed at my temple with my fingers. If I couldn’t reach her, and she hadn't informed anyone of her absence, then I didn’t have much of choice.

  “I’m afraid I can't wait for her. Can you please send up someone to replace her for the day? In the next few minutes would be good.”

  “Of course, sir.”

  I put down the phone and leaned back in my chair, thinking about Jasmine. And about the cluster fuck that was Friday night.

  It was my fault; I could admit that much. It had been my decision to call Melinda. But besides that, I shouldn’t have pretended that Jasmine was just my secretary, even with Melinda there. She was my favorite for a reason; she would have understood and, maybe, backed off if I promised her something for later, and it didn’t have to be another meet up for sex.

  She wasn’t with me just for the money after all; she had plenty of her own. She simply loved gifts, and I loved giving them to her because it was a relationship made simple for the both of us.

  So denying Jasmine had not only been the wrong move of the night, but it had also been silly. More than that, it was ridiculous when I couldn’t get thoughts of her out of my mind, even while I sat with another woman. In the end, Melinda and I just had a few more drinks, and I left her to look for fun elsewhere while I went back home.

  “I shouldn’t have just gone home yesterday,” I muttered to myself in annoyance. “I should have stayed to talk to Jasmine.”

  Fuck, I didn’t even try to contact her over the weekend, because I had the bright idea to leave her to cool down on her own. Only, when the fuck was I supposed to speak to her now if she wouldn’t even turn up at work?

  I’d booted up my computer automatically without thinking. Once it was on, I stared at the screen, waiting for me to input my name and ID to log in. I did have work, and there was a secretary coming to help me out…

  Instead, I picked up my phone to make the call again, hoping for the best. I just found her contact and was about to tap on it to call, when the door to my office suddenly opened. I looked up, and my eyes widened, my fingers going loose and dropping the phone on the table. Of all people to show up…

  “Dad? What the fuck are you doing here?”

  He was dressed in one of his expensive, tailored suits, dark blue with a button down shirt in a lighter blue. The last time I saw him, since he’d been confined to the house, he’d been dressed more casual in slacks and a polo. The next time he was supposed to wear a suit should have been when he was taken to court for the case proceedings.

  Dad scowled at me. “How is that any way to talk to your father, Gabe. Have some manners.”

  I narrowed my eyes and flattened my lips, feeling irritated. “Really, dad. I learned the language from you, remember? Now answer the fucking question. Why are you here, I thought we agreed I would be handling things from now on.”

  I got to my feet, so by the time he stood opposite me on the other side of the desk with his hands shoved in his pockets, our eyes met instead of him towering over me. My dad was all about power plays, and you lost easily if you didn’t keep on your toes.

  “Well, son,” he said with a sardonic smirk. “Maybe if you were competent enough, I wouldn’t have to be here. I trusted you with everything, and you screwed it already.”

  His smile had dropped as he talked, and his face was flushed with his anger. I frowned, though, not sure why he was so angry when I didn’t think it was warranted.

  “I don’t get what you mean. I’ve done everything like we planned, remember?”

  He scoffed. “Then where is my lovely secretary, Gabe?”

  I scowled, immediately hating how he called Jasmine ‘his lovely secretary.’ “I don’t know; she’s probably on her way—”

  “Don’t bother expecting her.”

  I frowned, confused about what he meant. “What do you know that I don’t?”

  He shook his head and looked away, through the glass windows to the city outside. “I told you to go through everything, clean everything up. Make sure all the leads were buried, nothing led back to us—”

  “Zip it, dad,” I snapped, cutting him off. “Do I need to remind you I’m cleaning up the mess you created? You know something so just fucking tell me already. I know you’re dying to or you wouldn’t have risked bringing your ass here.”

  His lips tightened. “You know that, at least.” Then he sighed and placed fingertips of one hand on the desk. “Jasmine got arrested, Gabe.”

  I just stood there, gaping at my father, dumbfounded. Because surely I must have heard him wrong.

  “Can you… repeat that?” I asked, my voice small.

  The look he turned to me was blank. “You know I have someone in the FBI that’s giving me updates on the case? Well, I got one recently. Jasmine was arrested by the FBI. Someone went to her house to pick her up over the weekend. As far as I know, no one got her out, so she’s still locked up.”

  I floundered, opening and closing my mouth as I tried to find words, only I couldn’t. Jasmine had spent who knew how long in FBI custody, and I was… what. Having a crisis about my inexistent love life. Finally giving up coming up with words, I pressed a hand to my face as I squeezed my eyes closed.

  Dammit.

  “As if everything wasn’t going to shit already.”

  Dad snorted. “And you thought you were on top of things? That’s laughable, Gabe.”

  I glared at the old man. “I’m going to keep reminding you that all of this is your fault until
you get it through your thick skull. Everything would have been okay, had you been careful.”

  He shook his head. “Forget about that for now. It’s bad for us that Jasmine was taken, haven’t you realized that yet? There is a chance, no matter how small, this will be coming back to us, and we need to be fucking prepared, Gabe.”

  Chapter 14

  Jasmine

  “Excuse me!” I called out, hoping someone would hear me. “I’d like a glass of water, please!”

  I waited a moment, hoping to get something. But after about a minute of waiting, I gave up on it. I turned back to the cell I’d been put in two days ago.

  It was small, though it could hold a few people comfortably. I wouldn’t know, though, since no one else had been there, or brought in after I was. I was happy, and kind of not, to be alone. I wondered if that was a deliberate act, if this thing with the company was something that big, or if it was just a slow crime week.

  But I sure as fuck knew I was glad not to be locked up with any possible criminals.

  There were a cot and a small toilet in there, so I hadn't been let out for the past two days and nights. Fuck, it got so cold at night I’d though that first time my teeth would chatter until they all fell out! I had to figure out some way to get out, but I’d already been told that I was denied bail. I did get my one phone call, and in my infinite wisdom, I decided to make the call to my parents.

  “Worst fucking plan ever,” I groaned to myself, dropping on the cot, only to wince. The cot only had one thin mattress and two thin blankets, so it was no comfort.

  Hell, I hadn't even had the option of a bath and a change of clothes, so I felt utterly disgusting, and I had just to sit there and wait for news because my fucking parents couldn’t help me out.

  I sighed, throwing an arm over my eyes and I squeezed them closed. “I should have called one of my friends and talked to them.”