The Billionaire's Board

by Lark Anderson

  “I live for mocha caramels, and I live for the details. Now tell me how are things with your coffee maker.”

  “Don’t call him that. I don’t want anyone to catch on to who he is. We can call him…Mr. Drip.”

  “Why do you want me to call him that?”

  “Because he has so much precum.”

  A fountain of latte spews from my mouth and nose, Analise squeals a response, grabbing napkins to blot my desk.

  “Okay, so now that we’ve ventured into TMI territory, do you care to guess what I did last night?”

  “Well, I hate to go with the obvious, but my guess is Gabriel Icor.”

  “Ding, ding, ding, we have a winner.”

  “Is it everything you hoped it would be?”

  “That and more. Oh my God—that and more.”

  She scrunches her nose in distaste. “I don’t know if I wanna hear all this.”

  “Well, you’re the only one Gabe will allow me to tell, so deal.”

  “Fine. Go ahead. Make me vomit.”

  “So, you’ve never been curious?”

  “About Gabriel? No! But I’ve heard details from my friends.”

  “Oh…”

  “Look, don’t be upset. He’s the heir to Icor Tech. There’s been a revolving door of women since he was sixteen. If he’s had all that and then he wants you—that’s something special. You’re special.”

  “I wish that were the case. However, he’s made it clear it’s an ‘off the record’ kinda thing.”

  Analise looks down. I can tell she has something to say on the matter.

  “You knew, didn’t you?”

  “Knew what?” she asks, a tight look on her face.

  “That he wasn’t looking for anything serious.”

  Analise exhales, then bring her feet up and sets them on my desk.

  “Remi, whatever goes on between you and Gabriel, is between you two, and it will never make it past my lips. I promise not to betray your trust, not even to Gabe. I like you. Whatever you have to say, say it without fear, but just know, I extend the same courtesy to him.”

  “So you know things. Things he’s not telling me.”

  “His life is complicated—and it’s also unfair. I’m here to listen, but that’s all I can do.”

  “I understand,” I say, but I don’t. There’s something Gabriel hasn’t told me. Something that has Analise tense.

  “So, I know you want to tell me all the dirty details. Spill it. I’ll bathe in acid afterward.”

  “Oh my God! I swear, I came so hard, it’s like he launched me to another planet!”

  Analise’s face contorts in horror. “Holy fuck, maybe not all that.”

  Analise is laughing. I’m laughing. This is girl talk.

  “It started in my tub. It’s heart-shaped. It also ended in the tub.”

  “I’m familiar with said tub.”

  “He had me sit on the little platform, between the two heart halves, and holy shit, what he did to me—”

  “Does it involve his mouth traveling south of the border?”

  I feel my cheeks redden, I want to scream out yes, but all at once, I feel shy. “It was amazing. Everything about him is amazing.”

  “And is it a one-time thing, or will it be ongoing?”

  “With how he was talking, I think he wants it to be ongoing. He treated me so sweetly, like I was his girlfriend. I slept in his arms. He made me breakfast.”

  “That’s good. No, that’s great. Just…be careful. I don’t want to see you hurt.”

  “Yeah, you’re right.”

  “So, there’s nothing with Tom?” she asks.

  “Well, Gabe told me at the beginning of the evening that Tom was interested in dating me on the books. He wanted to go to HR with it.”

  Analise’s brows rise in clear surprise.

  “On the books?”

  “Yeah, why?”

  “That’s just…unlike Tom. He’s always been a bit of a player. He must really like you.”

  “Oh, well, he came in this morning, and I guess he rethought things. He doesn’t want to mix work and personal life.”

  Probably because you refused to go to dinner with him.

  I immediately fill with regret.

  What if I made the wrong decision? If Tom was a player, but he’s settling down, maybe he would have changed. Not been so self-involved. What if I just ruined my chance with someone that I could be happy with, forever, and not just right now?

  “Okay, enough of this chat, come look at this,” I say.

  I show Analise the slides, and she’s impressed. When I show her my thoughts on lowering the price point of enCor, she says it’s a bold move that none of the board will agree with because they’re old and dumb, but give it a shot anyway.

  She leaves, and overwhelming loneliness threatens to consume me.

  I’m conflicted by my decision, but as soon as I look at my phone, all worry washes away. I’m in a good place.

  Gabriel: I want you to know how amazing you are and how you make me feel. You’re gorgeous, beautiful, and I’m completely unworthy of your charms. I can’t wait to hold you again!

  I smile as I grab my things to go to my new apartment. Gabriel made sure my refrigerator was well stocked, and I’m glad I have no reason to leave the suite tonight. It will be just me and Kibbles.

  CHAPTER 25

  Remi shows the numbers…

  Why is this week going so slow?

  To put it simply, nothing has been going my way, and I’m about ready to say screw it all and beg for my job as a program manager back.

  I know I’m being dramatic, but this week has been about people management, which I hate, and now I’m sitting in a meeting with a team that has absolutely no confidence in me. And it sucks!

  My phone has been buzzing for ten minutes now, but it’s clear that the team assigned to me needs guidance on a few projects that have gone stale.

  The lead, Ernest Feltmore, is at least two decades older than I am, and it’s clear he doesn’t like reporting to me. I imagine it must sting to see me as a director, a position he no doubt once dreamed that he would be in, but I make it clear, he’ll either work with me or work for another company.

  It takes about twenty minutes to set directives and drill in the importance of their timeline, then I send them on their way. Analise, who was asked by Gabriel to sit through the meeting, says farewell, and I’m left to my own work.

  Tomorrow is Friday, the day of my big meeting, where two things are going to happen.

  The first is that I’m going to give another presentation. This one is regarding the shipping route. The second is that the switch to Expressions is being put up to a vote.

  This is terrifying. Voting is not taken lightly, and it’s not done often. Not only are we voting on my proposal tomorrow, but Gabriel wants to set up another vote scheduled two weeks from now for the port shift.

  In other words, in a very little amount of time, I’m having an enormous impact.

  The door opens, and Gabriel pops his head in.

  I swear, I cease functioning when I see him. The last time we were together was Tuesday morning, or as my biography will read, the day I gave my first blowjob. It was such an intense experience, so primal. I never understood why any woman would ever want to do such a thing, but I’ve found myself thinking about it several times since.

  Craving him.

  Some acts are meant to be savored.

  “You busy?” he asks.

  Oh, God, how is he so hot?

  “Yes, I’m always busy.”

  He comes in, closing the door behind him.

  Oh, God! I cannot be trusted alone with this man.

  “I’ll have to work around you working.”

  “Work around me working?”

  He comes around to my side of the desk, repositioning my chair to face him and goes to his knees.

  “What are you—”

  There’s a devilish look in his eyes. He’s licking
his lips and waggling his eyebrows.

  His hands are traveling up my skirt, along my thighs, and I suddenly realize why he came here.

  “It’s the workday!” I gasp.

  “All work and little play makes Remi a—”

  “Seriously, though! We can’t do this!”

  He withdraws his hands from my skirt, a frown on his face.

  “But I want to taste you,” he says with such longing I find my resolve weakening.

  “I thought you had that interview?”

  “They’re lucky to get an interview. I am running late so I can see you.”

  I glance at the door.

  “It’s locked. I pressed the button when I closed it.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I own the company—the building even. I’m sure.”

  I part my legs slightly, inviting him to explore.

  “We’ll call this a working lunch. You’ll work, I’ll lunch. There’s an email sent to the directors, one that you need to respond to. You must send the reply before I am through.”

  “What?”

  But he says nothing more. Instead, he positions himself under my desk, pulls down my pantyhose and panties, and brings my chair towards him. I feel his hand slide into place, then he scoots me closer. When his tongue connects with my core, I melt.

  Holy fucking shit—it feels so good!

  “You have roughly fifteen minutes to reply,” he says.

  I pull up my email, trying to stifle my moans. Below my waist, Gabriel is licking, stroking, and sucking me into a frenzy. I don’t know how I’m ever going to get this email done.

  “Is it up?” he asks.

  “Y-y-yes,” I stammer.

  “Read it out loud.”

  Fuck me!

  “F-f-for the a-a-attention of t-the—”

  “That’s fine, carry on.”

  His tongue is on my inner thighs, my labia, the bundle of nerves that he uses to send me into bliss. It’s everywhere, all at once, and through it all, I have a mission to complete.

  He wants numbers from the last two quarters. All I have to do is pull up the slides from the quarterly meetings and report the numbers for the teams that have been assigned to me.

  I hit reply all, as required, but I don’t get much further.

  His tongue is a tornado, and I can’t last much longer. My leg is shaking. I feel lightheaded. I’m close.

  Then—his tongue withdraws.

  “How are you doing?” he asks.

  “Please-don’t-stop!” I scream as my body threatened to recede back into work mode.

  I feel a long lick, then another.

  “You have a job to do, Remi.”

  He gives me another slow lick.

  “You like this?” he asks.

  “Faster.”

  “Then I better hear you typing.”

  I pull up the slides I need to enter the numbers. He’s licking faster now, rewarding me for complying.

  I type my opening, having to correct it half a dozen times before getting it right.

  Meanwhile, Gabriel is moaning while he licks, and rubbing his stubble on my inner thighs in such a sexy way, it’s setting my body up for one hell of an explosion. This man will ruin me.

  “You almost done?” he asks.

  Oh, God! How does he expect me to concentrate?

  “Yes!” I blurt out, worried he’ll stop.

  “Good.”

  He focuses his attention now, licking me so fast I can barely get the numbers typed as my fingers tremble.

  It takes just a minute longer to get the data input, then I hit send, sit back in my chair, and allow Gabriel to release me from my torment.

  He rewards me, and soon I’m shaking violently, screaming out in pleasure. He’s pressing his arm across my abdomen, trying to lessen the bucking of my hips.

  When I come, I see a thousand stars, all of them pulsing with lust, singing the name Gabriel.

  He’s scooting my chair back now, his mouth moist and grinning.

  Fuck me! It doesn’t get much better than this.

  CHAPTER 26

  Cregor hates board meetings…

  Gods, if I have to suffer through many more insufferable meetings run by people who just want to hear themselves talk, I’m going to just up and retire. Gabe would like that. I imagine. Analise would be rather pleased as well.

  I cast Lindel a stoic look. A look she knows too well. We’ve seen the highs and lows of Icor Tech. We know how to weather a storm.

  Insufferable Tom is seated, glowering. It’s not like him to don a dour face.

  Jim takes a seat, followed by Essie. The board is now present, except for Gabriel—which surprises no one.

  One minute to go now, and Remi is making her way into the room, walking with entirely too much confidence.

  Her name has been on everyone’s lips for all the wrong reasons. First, there were her bold assumptions during the so-called ‘Innovation Meeting.’ Then, there was her sudden promotion that caused all kinds of chaos. People mad they’ve worked well and faithfully for the Icor’s for decades without such a promotion. And finally—the release of that YouTube video.

  So erratic, it’s hard to tell whether or not it was planned, though why anyone would want a video of them dancing around a cat tower in that god-awful frock is beyond me. Analise insisted it was just her having a fun night with a girlfriend, that the upload was done by the friend unintentionally, and when it took off, they just decided to go with it. To that, I responded: to what end?

  It’s a rather poor representation of the whole of Icor Tech, if you ask me. Analise says it will appeal to a younger crowd, and we’ll get an influx of resumes from young professionals that think Icor will be fun to work at, but do we want to look like a ‘fun place to work?’ That all sounds rather dangerous. We’d never get anything done.

  Remi takes a seat, and I can’t help but notice Tom casting her an icy gaze.

  I approve.

  The meeting begins, and we cover a few issues that had been previously tabled. Gabriel is nowhere in sight, which is no surprise. He’ll come in at the last minute to cast his vote, telling us he’s already reviewed the slides.

  Remi is due to present in the second half of the meeting, and although I’m sure what she’s presenting is rubbish, I am interested in what she has to say.

  Barry breaks to go to the bathroom, no doubt his IBS has been acting up again.

  I turn to Lindel, who is checking her phone. “Can you believe it, Lindel? That we’re forced to sit through so many damn meetings?”

  “Well, it’s how we get shit done,” she says, not bothering to look up at me.

  “You can’t mean that,” I say.

  “Creg, how do you think we got Icor Tech up off the ground? We sat in a room, much smaller than this, with folding chairs, around a table that needed a brick to hold it level, and we talked and brainstormed. This is no different.”

  “But it is! Back then we had six minds working together, all of us—”

  “Underqualified. Underpaid. Scraping to get by. Yeah, we did that, but climbing our way to the top is very different from staying up there. If we aren’t careful, this will all go away just as quickly as it came. Scratch that, it took decades to get up here, and it can take a matter of days to send us crashing.”

  “This Remi woman—”

  “Deserves to be heard,” she snaps at me. “Did you have a chance to look at her slides from last week?”

  “No, why would I?”

  “Because it’s part of your job. We are set to vote on that this evening. Get with it, Cregor.”

  “There’s no way—”

  “I sure do hope you are voting to pass it.”

  “Voting to pass it—”

  “Yeah, Remi hit that shit home. I didn’t even realize until I looked late yesterday afternoon, at the behest of Analise. We might as well just be burning our money.”

  I straighten up in my chair, one part insulted, another part co
nfused.

  “This Remi girl may not be who you like to see in our boardroom, heck at one time I wasn’t either, but she knows her shit. And so help me, if we go under and it’s because of your refusal to bend even the slightest and admit when someone you deem inferior has a good idea—Analise will never forgive you.”

  If anyone else had said what Lindel just said, Barry included, I would be seeing them out of the boardroom and demanding a formal apology. The last thing I need is for Analise to have another piece of ammo in her arsenal against me.

  It’s time for the meeting to resume, and I force myself to look at Remi as she makes her way to the front of the room, smile on her face.

  Well, I might as well listen to what the mouse has to say. After all, if Lindel is willing to hear her out, I suppose I should as well.

  The door opens, and Gabriel sneaks in. Taking his seat without a word.

  “Good morning, everyone, I’m pleased to stand here before you today presenting some research I’ve been looking at over the last couple weeks. It’s regarding shipments and ports, and our practices regarding importing into other countries.”

  “We’re excited to hear what you have to say, Remi,” Tom says, staring at Gabriel rather oddly.

  There’s an edge to his voice. It certainly wasn’t there when the mouse presented previously. There was a rumor that he was seeing Ms. Stone, and a parade of flowers entering her office all but confirmed it. But this edge, well, that’s new.

  Remi brings up a visual of our shipping routes, and we go through our current practices. She is very knowledgeable, answering questions from both Jim and Essie. She brings up the costs and how much we’re spending along with turnaround times. Nothing too surprising, until she goes into her ‘Bold Efficiency Plan.’

  Or at least that’s what Gabriel calls it. After last week’s meeting, Gabriel announced she would be looking at our processes and focusing on updating outdated systems. It’s not something we’ve approached with vigor in quite some time, because a simple change in one system can affect so much. One mistake, and you’re burning money.

  “Now, I’d like you to look at what we could accomplish by changing our current route into Asia,” Remi says as we stare at the figures on the screen.