The Billionaire's Heart (Secret Billionaire's Club Book 1)

by Tracey Pedersen

  Held, I remind myself. You don’t work for Mass Media anymore.

  I nod to myself. I don’t work there anymore, and I don’t work for Sayer. Which means I don’t have to sit here wondering what they’re saying about me and who can hear out in that hallway. I motion to the waiter that I’ll take my coffee outside, then I raise my head, pick up my cup, and disappear out the double doors Sayer dragged me through earlier. I dump my coffee cup into a garden bed and follow the path to the carpark.

  Even if I was crazy enough to believe we could become anything more after last night, I’ll never fit into his world. In his mother’s eyes, and maybe in all other eyes, too, I’ll always be the secretary who got her claws into her boss.

  Chapter Fourteen - Sayer

  “I just want you to think, Sayer.” My mother’s tone is shrill, and I don’t care for it.

  “I don’t need to think, and I don’t need you to think for me. Kendra and I are together. That’s the end of it. Who I choose to see is none of your business.” I’ve kept my temper in check up to this point but I’m close to losing it.

  “But she works for you. That’s so… sordid…” More of that tone and I growl deep in my throat.

  I don’t want to share any of the details with her, but I do want her to back off, so I say, “She doesn’t work for me. She resigned yesterday.”

  “Was that before or after she got a look at your apartment? Before or after you got into her pants?”

  “Stop it, Mother!” She looks up at the sharpness in my voice, like she’d been talking to herself all this time. “If you don’t stop, there will be consequences.”

  “What does that mean?” She’s stopped for breath and is gazing at me, examining my face in that way she has.

  “It means, I will avoid any confrontation with you, and therefore, we won’t see each other. You need to get used to Kendra and you need to be pleasant to her. This is serious.”

  I watch as she almost rolls her eyes but thinks better of it. “How can you be talking about getting serious? You just…” she waves her arm, not wanting to put into words what she thinks we did. I’m tempted to spell it out for her, but that would be too mean. Instead, I take her upper arms and step closer, lowering my tone so the entire building doesn’t hear us.

  “I care for her. It might be new, and a surprise to both of us, but it’s serious. We’ve spent a lot of time together over the years and I want to spend a lot more with her. She had already resigned when I made my feelings known.”

  “You made your feelings known?” Now she’s frowning, which means Jacqueline Smith is really out of sorts. My mother is not the kind of woman who’d risk premature aging by adding deep frown marks to her smooth forehead, even if that forehead is cosmetically enhanced.

  “Yes, it was me, not her. So, you can relax about us. She even tried to break it off this morning, but I insisted I was serious. Give her a chance, please.”

  She steps away, the uncertain air she’s giving off making me laugh. My mother has fallen into the twilight zone and she’s not coping.

  “What about the gossip that’s sure to follow? How will she cope with that?”

  “The same as she copes with everything else. With style and grace. The same way she copes with you when you come to the office and demand my attention when I’m in a meeting.”

  Her lips twitch, and in that moment, I’ve won. My mother’s humour is always the sign that she has given in, and this time is no different. “Yes, well, she did protect your honour that day.” Her tone is still haughty. “I was annoyed but impressed. I don’t want to see her ruin her reputation, dear. You know how these things can end.”

  “You can let us worry about that. It really is none of your concern.”

  “Alright.” She pats my arm then adjusts her handbag, as though she’s dismissing me instead of the other way around. “We’ll deal with that when it happens, I suppose. If you’re still together a few weeks from now, I’ll have you around for Sunday lunch.”

  With that she turns from me, grabs the arm of a woman passing by and starts another conversation, as though we didn’t have this argument in the corridor of the golf club.

  I suck in a breath and stare at the ceiling, calming my anger before I head for the dining room. The attendant on the desk gives me an understanding smile and rushes to open the door. I thank him and roll my shoulders, ready to relax now that the biggest battle Kendra and I are likely to face is behind us.

  The table where I left her is empty.

  I stand behind my seat and glance toward the restroom, before the waiter appears beside me. “I believe your friend took her coffee outside, Sir.”

  Oh great. Kendra will have done a lot more than take her coffee outside.

  Chapter Fifteen - Kendra

  I can’t believe I was stupid enough to try and escape without my handbag. Now my purse and my house key are locked in Sayer’s car, and I’m sitting on a giant rock beside it, deciding between an Uber and returning to the restaurant. I wonder if he’s even finished with his mother yet. From the look of her stiff posture as she stomped away, that conversation could take a while.

  I’m scrolling through my phone thinking of a suitable passive-aggressive social media post when he appears at my elbow.

  “Hey.” He sits beside me on the rock, and I slide over to make room. “Sorry about that. I didn’t expect you to run away.”

  “Me either. Hence me being stuck here without a plan.” I nudge his shoulder and he laughs, before wrapping his arm around me. “I’m deciding whether to tag your mother in my bitchy post.”

  “You probably shouldn’t. I expended a lot of energy getting us invited to Sunday lunch in a couple of weeks.” He pulls me to my feet and I’m speechless. He promised me the weekend. Now we’re planning lunch with his mother? This is all moving way too fast. I open my mouth to tell him, but he speaks first. “I could have used that energy for better stuff.” He presses me against the car, and he leans in to kiss me, the promise of his lips pushing all rational thought out of my head. Instead of speaking, I lift my face, almost as a chain reaction to his closeness. Damn, even when I’m angry I want to kiss him.

  Still. I’m not angry with him so I guess it doesn’t count.

  “We didn’t get breakfast.”

  Sayer nods and pushes the button to unlock the car. When his weight lifts off me, I want him to kiss me again. As though he reads my mind, he does just that before opening my door and jogging around to the driver’s side. He puts the car in gear and says, “Any preferences for our second attempt? Maybe you should choose?”

  I chuckle and consider where I’d like to go. “How about the breakfast bar near the office? They have an all-day breakfast I’ve always wanted to try, but poached eggs and business blouses are not a great combination.”

  “Your wish is my command.” He steers the car from the parking lot, and I resist the urge to point out his mother’s car. She’s parked it across two car spaces and on an angle. So typical of Jacqueline Smith.

  A short drive later we reach the restaurant. It’s quiet in the business district on the weekend. We find a seat and hide our faces behind two giant red menus. When the waiter has taken our orders, and Sayer has taken my hand, a voice rings out across the restaurant.

  “Sayer Smith!”

  My eyes shoot to the ceiling. Can’t we get through a single meal without him being recognized?

  Sayer’s face takes on a hard edge. I watch him take a deep breath and transform himself into his business persona. He rises and holds out his hand, a smile splitting his face. “Rodney, how are you?”

  “I’m fair to middling.” They turn to the table and the man’s eyes rake over me and then drop to my chest, his tongue darting out to lick the corner of his mouth. The effect is dirty—full of innuendo even though he hasn’t addressed me. I search my memory, trying to work out who he is. I’m sure if I’d met this man I’d remember. “I see the apple doesn’t fall far from the old tree, ey?” He laughs to
o loudly and slaps Sayer on the back.

  Sayer frowns and looks from Rodney to me. “I’m not sure what you mean, but this is Kendra, my assistant. Kendra, this is Rodney Aimes.”

  It’s my turn to frown and I give myself a mental kick. How did I expect him to introduce me? As his girlfriend? I hold out my hand, but Rodney ignores it, instead slapping Sayer again.

  “That’s what I mean, you sly bird. Screwing the help runs in the family, I see. If I had a dollar for every time I saw your dad with—”

  “That’s enough.” Sayer’s voice is steel, where moments ago it was syrup. His eyes narrow and he shakes his arm, dislodging Rodney’s hand. “You’ll understand if we finish this now.”

  Rodney chuckles, not at all embarrassed, and seeming to miss the death stare Sayer has settled on him. “No problem. I’ll see you at the club, no doubt.” He winks and gives Sayer a nudge, before sauntering to the exit. The waiter rushes to open the heavy door for him and I watch as he leans in to say something to the uniformed man, before slapping his shoulder like he did to Sayer. The waiter glances at our table and then stares straight ahead. It’s a subtle attempt to pretend Rodney didn’t mention us, and it ruins my appetite.

  “I think I’m done.” I push away from the table.

  “I’m sorry. That should not have happened.”

  “It’s fine.” I resist the urge to sniff. I will not cry in this restaurant. Not in front of these people. I come here in my lunch break once or twice a week. “Forget it.”

  “I won’t forget it. Rodney was out of line. We’ll be having words about this on Monday.”

  “It’s fine Sayer. He didn’t say anything that wasn’t true.”

  He shakes his head, his eyes filling with disappointment. “No, he didn’t.”

  “We’ve already discussed this. He doesn’t know that I’ve resigned.”

  His jerks his head and his mouth drops open. “I didn’t mean about you being the help.”

  “Oh?” It’s my turn for the wide-eyed expression. “What did you mean, then?”

  He sighs and runs his hand down his face. As always, he reaches for my hand, and I almost drool on the table when his thumb rubs back and forth over mine. “I meant about my father.” He keeps his voice low. “What he said about my dad was true. When my mother gets that stick out of her ass, she will confirm for you that dad has been less than faithful. He doesn’t care who knows.”

  “Oh.” I had no idea. “Your poor mother. No wonder she reacted to me like she did.”

  “Yes, it can’t have been easy. Why she stays with him I have no idea.”

  “I’m glad to hear you say that.” I squeeze his hand. I can see that hand holding is going to be a thing for us. Wait, am I thinking of a future with Sayer? I shake the thought away before it can take hold.

  “Of course I’d say that. I only have eyes for one woman.” He grins and lifts his drink. “Let’s toast.”

  I lift my water and position it near his glass, “What are we toasting?”

  “To a long and happy future for the future Mr. & Mrs. Sayer Smith.”

  Chapter Sixteen - Sayer

  Kendra’s surprise was not unexpected, but the spray of water all over my shirt definitely was. The end of my toast came after she’d taken a sip, thus ensuring my mini-shower. She gasps and apologizes while I laugh at the look on her face.

  I can’t decide if she’s thrilled, or horrified, at my impromptu declaration.

  “You can’t possibly be serious?” Okay, it seems that horrified is the correct answer. “It’s not even twenty four hours since dinner last night when you were scheduled to be meeting someone else for Valentine’s Day. Someone who wears pink fur, and drives a canary yellow convertible, I might add.”

  “And?”

  “And your mother might be swayed by you and your I’m-a-big-bad-businessman speech, but my mother will not.”

  I scoff. “I can sway your mother. Mothers are a specialty of mine. I do mothers.” She holds in a snicker. “Err… that may have come out wrong.”

  She takes another drink of water and then pushes her glass away. “I’m not saying I can’t handle my mother, or that I seek her approval for my life choices. I am pointing out that while I’m coming to terms with my dream-man wanting a weekend with me, you’re talking marriage. You’ve got this mixed around. I’m meant to be the one sinking my claws into you and planning away our future.”

  “Okay, you plan it, then. I want to live near the beach once we sell the apartment. Anything else I’ll blindly follow where you lead.” I wink, cutting off whatever she was about to say. “I’ll even pay for it all.”

  She frowns and blinks at me. “You,” she says, waggling a finger in a gesture that is not unlike my mother, “are incorrigible.”

  “Why thank you.” I smile as our food arrives. “Now, let’s eat. I’m starving and I have plans for you this afternoon which do not include meeting anyone else I know in a restaurant.”

  “You’re seeing the benefits of eating in, like I suggested?”

  I wink at her. “As your official dream-man, I am. And I promise I will not doubt you again.”

  “Good. Now we’re getting somewhere.”

  Chapter Seventeen - Kendra/Sayer

  Kendra

  “Kendra, could we meet? Maybe for lunch?”

  The voice on the phone is placating and for a moment I’m confused. It’s Monday morning and my whole body aches in the most wonderful way. Sayer made good on every saucy promise and I’m spent. I’ve floated through the morning, knowing he begged me to come home with him tonight, too.

  To hear Jacqueline’s voice on the phone brings me crashing back to reality, a feeling I’ve experienced a few times since Friday night. She can only have one evil plan in mind if she’s requesting lunch with me.

  I scrunch up my face and consider my options, leaving her to wait on the line. Can I hold my own for an hour while she warns me off her son? The son who promised me a weekend and then declared he wanted a lifetime. The son who sits on the other side of his office door, finishing up a meeting, while sending raunchy texts to my phone.

  Another one pops up on the screen, and I hold in a laugh, staring at the rude picture he’s made using punctuation. Yes, I decide, as hearts flood my screen.

  I’ll survive that lunch. We’ll eat, she’ll tell me what she thinks and why I’m so unsuitable. Then I’ll tell her in no uncertain terms that I don’t care for her opinion. That I’m prepared to fight for him. I’ll fight tooth and nail to give Sayer Smith the happy ending he’s looking for. The one he said he wants with me.

  We like the same things. The same stuff. We have similar values. He’s had a completely different upbringing to mine, but that gives us more to talk about. More to learn about each other. When he paints pictures of our future it’s so easy to get caught up.

  “I’ll be free at one.” What will Sayer do when I tell him I’m lunching with his mother instead of him? I grin as I imagine his face.

  “Perfect. How about we meet downstairs. I’ll choose somewhere close.”

  “Sounds good.” No, it doesn’t. “See you then.” I hang up and let out a sigh. Before I can dwell on the unpleasant lunch break I’ll be enduring today, another text comes in.

  I can’t wait to convince you to spend the month with me.

  SAYER

  There’s something wicked about knowing you’ll be taking your secretary to bed later. If I was a different kind of man—a man like my father—I’d have discovered that sooner. It’s kind of sordid to think of Kendra like that, but it’s too late. I’m hard, and she’s about to miss out on the lunch I promised her.

  I finish my meeting and spin my seat, composing my latest, greatest text to her.

  I need you to come in here and take something down.

  She sends an eyeroll emoji and I laugh out loud. I have contracts to sign this afternoon, and a meeting with my legal team, and all I can think about is her. It’s lucky she’s leaving. I’d probably hav
e to fire her for being such a distraction.

  The office door opens, and she walks through, closing it behind her and leaning against it. My eyes take in the vision of sexiness she is today. Red jacket, black skirt and shiny red high heels. My pants get tighter and I shift in my seat, watching her move forward to sit. She crosses her legs, puts a notepad on her lap and lifts a pencil, waiting expectantly with a flirty glint in her eye.

  “What can I take down for you, Sir?” The pressure on the last word makes my dick jump and she grins, like she knows. Her eyebrows raise when I choke out a sound but say nothing. “I haven’t got all day. I have important business to finish up now that I’m leaving.”

  I laugh and slide my chair forward, taking some of the pressure off my straining cock. For ten years I’ve promised myself I’d never have sex in my office, now I’m thinking about tearing off her clothes and taking her on my desk. My mouth waters at the visual but I keep my attention on her.

  “You are a tease.”

  “Hmmm.” She chews the end of her pencil. “You didn’t notice before. What’s changed, Sir?”

  “Stop calling me Sir. It will end with you out of that jacket and your skirt around your waist. We’ll need to go out for lunch today.”

  She pouts. I have never in my life seen anything so erotic as Kendra Snow’s lips, full and pushed out like that. I’m seconds from breaking my own rule when she says, “No can do, boss-man.” She drops the pretence of an all-accommodating assistant and throws her notepad and pencil onto the table. She puts her elbows on my desk and rests her head on her hands. “Your mother has summoned me to lunch. Apparently, we have stuff,” she wiggles her fingers when she uses that word, “To discuss. Though I’d much rather have my skirt around my waist and be bent over your desk.”