Blackmailed by the Billionaire Brothers: The Complete Series (2 page)

Ellis was his usual friendly
self when I walked in his office. Getting up from his desk to greet me, his
warm hand enveloped mine. He always shook everyone’s hand—employee or
client. The H.R. head of the company was a stark contrast in manner and
complexion to his brother. The most noticeable thing about Eli was his light
blue
eyes
. More often than not,
they
glittering
in mischief. His skin was pale but from there Eli’s facial
features screamed he and War were brothers. They possessed the same mouth, nose
and eyebrows. Only Eli used his features to wrap you in warmth and compassion.

As we shook hands he gave me
the best opportunity to tell him all about my woes. “
Fabiola
,
how’s the new
position?”

“It sucks,” I said, letting go
of his large hand.

His startled surprise lasted a
nano
-second,
then
he sighed. “What
has War done now?” Ellis sounded resigned. Apparently, this was a common complaint.

“He wants to transfer me to
accounting.”

Ellis crossed his arms and
leaned on the edge of his desk. “Because you’d be excellent there.”

“No, I wouldn’t.”

“I don’t see why not.” He
shrugged. His strong, broad shoulders reminded me that I had a dare to fulfill.
I didn’t always like having to use my womanly guise to get what I wanted, but
it was effective.
Bouncy’s
challenge put me in the
right frame of mind and I was ultimately fighting for my dream. If I could
persuade Ellis by any means, sex would be the easiest. Still I’d try reasoning
first.

“If I go into accounting, I’ll
go out of my mind,” I said. I was going for desperate, pleading with my eyes
and begging with clasped hands.

The H.R. chief smiled. I was
sure he was thinking somewhere along the lines that I was already out of my
mind. “
Fabiola
, is there another reason you don’t
want the transfer?”

What was he implying? I turned
my pleading to anger. “You’ve seen my record. I don’t have a blemish on my
credit, I’ve never been accused of stealing and my license is in good
standing.”

Ellis reached out and touched
my shoulder, trying to calm me. “I believe you, it’s just hard to believe you’d
go through all the trouble of school and the state exam just to let it…go…”

His kind gesture of human
contact was my chance. Remember the dare…I leaned my body into him and wrapped
my arms around my hiring manager. Up against his desk, he had nowhere to go.

But instead of leaning back and
becoming uncomfortable, he held me in a soothing embrace. Keeping me at an arms
distance while still giving me a refuge was a skill he must have perfected a
thousand times. Ellis
Trost
was a very intriguing
man. He could both comfort with sincerity and abate any sexual contact with
respect. His hands didn’t wander, his body didn’t react, and his breathing was
steady. It might be more difficult to seduce him than Warren. He was
strategically careful while I was in his arms. Damn.

I gave him my best pouty face. “Please,
if Warren doesn’t want me as his assistant, fine. But don’t transfer me to
accounting. I’d rather go back to filing.”

Ellis gently pushed me back and
gave me a solemn stare. “Is there another problem? Is someone harassing you in
accounting?”

“Oh, no,” I stiffened. I didn’t
want to get anyone in trouble. Not for no good reason. “Everyone gets along
great. My co-workers aren’t the problem.”

He nodded. “I had to ask.”

“I understand.”

His blue eyes searched me in
concern. “Why then?”

“It’s a long complicated story.
It has to do with family. Just trust me, you don’t want me in accounting. Not
because I wouldn’t be good at it, but because it’s not what I want to do.”

He nodded like he understood.
“Okay.” Ellis expertly turned me around and escorted me to the door. “I will
talk to War.”

With expert ease he ushered me
out. Damn. I couldn’t seduce him. Hmmm. I wondered about Warren. I hadn’t heard
any rumors about him, except the ruthless business ones.
Nothing
about his sexual preferences.
But, I knew how I could find out.

Filing is the world’s most
boring job, but I like it. I’m weird that way. Whatever stress I can relieve
others from is no burden of mine. It’s also easy. Gossip comes naturally for
those who slide files into their respective folders.

David, or “
Daaavid
”
as he liked to be called, stood flamboyant in his navy slacks and shirt
assisting me with the huge pile Barbara kept adding to. David was the type
never to wear white or black, proclaiming life is too short for boring colors.
I think he stays away from bland because his job is too boring for him. He’d
fit better as a bartender at a chic underground
night club
.
But I figure a file clerk doesn’t have the most glamorous job and
Daaavid
has to express himself somehow.

“I might be back here with you
guys tomorrow,” I said, starting up conversation.

“Warren chased you off
already?” David smiled with a teasing grin. He flicked his dyed magenta hair
from his slanted pitch black eyes.

“He wants to put me in
finance.” I shuffled a file in a cabinet and closed the drawer.

“Girl, I don’t see the problem.
Your view is much better than mine.” David cocked his hip and scanned the room.
Even though there were plenty of pretty girls in the office, he wasn’t
interested in any of them. If there
was
anyone who’d
know if Ellis was gay—it would be David.

I leaned over to him and
whispered, “What about your boss?”

“Eli?” David snorted. “That’s
like being an orthodox Jew craving bacon. Not
gonna
happen.”

“Is he married?” I’d never seen
a ring on his finger but always good to check.

“Since never,” David said with
his special flare.

“So he doesn’t go for men?” I
double checked
. I didn’t want any uncertainty.

David shook his head. “Nope.”
It was his
I tried
expression that
convinced me. “But with Warren, I think I might have a chance to bring him
around.”

Barbara snorted as she walked
in the door. “A bad divorce doesn’t make a man turn the other direction.”

I beamed a smile at Barb. “He
was married?”

“Oh yeah.” Barbara rolled her
eyes. She set down a pile of folders next to me. “It was before your time
here.”

“You would’ve remembered, trust
me.” David said. “I think everybody went through his divorce.”

Ouch. By everybody, I assumed
he meant all of
BankTrost
. I didn’t want to pry but curiosity
won over politeness. “He took it out on you guys?”

“Oh, no. Not him,” Barbara
said. “His wife.”

“That’s why I have a shot.”
David closed a drawer and grabbed another file.

“His wife?” I said shaking my
head for more of an explanation.

Before Barbara walked out the
filing room she chirped, “Let’s just say, she’s the reason why his office is
sound proof.”

I turned to David. “His office
is sound proof?”

He nodded his head. “Mostly.”

I rolled my hand for more.
“Come-on. Spill.”

David darted his eyes around
and leaned in closer. “His wife would come in and give him the third degree.
She could be heard on the floor below us.” He pointed down. “Everyone got an
ear full of the daily complaint.”

“She worked here?”

“No.” David straightened and
went back to his filing. “She didn’t have to. Not with the money he makes.”

Wow. What a way to cut a guy’s
balls off. Being yelled at in front of employees…I couldn’t imagine. If my
mother came to my work and yelled at me, I’d sound proof my cubicle too…or
maybe shoot her. “Then I don’t blame him. I’d divorce her.”

“Oh he didn’t divorce her,”
David flipped his hair. “She handed him the papers herself and screamed how
she’d be free of his jerk-ness forever more.”

“Shit,” I whispered.

“Yeah, I’ve got in the bag.”
David slid another file in its place. “I was just waiting for him to recover.”

I snickered. “How long you
gonna
wait?”

David blushed. “I’m working up
to it. He’s kina—intense.”

“Overbearing if you ask me.” I
looked at the teetering pile of files next to me. For everything going
electronic, we sure did have a lot of paper.

“So can you give me any
pointers?” David gave me a coquettish grin.

Oh boy.
What
to say about Warren.
Thinking about my boss, he was not just intense. He
was fierce. His eyes were vivid and never soft. He was a man with a mission.
A CEO with a purpose.
Every girls dream,
right?

“All I know is if you get ahold
of that rock, you better hold on tight or prepare for jagged edges,” I said.

David smiled wide. “It’d be a
fun ride.”

~
~
~

Filing for most the day, I
finally got back to my computer at four-forty six. I sat in my chair and turned
my monitor back on when the floor vibrated from pounding footsteps. Several
heads peeked over the cubicle “ceilings” to watch a fuming Ellis storm Warren’s
office.

Ellis threw open the CEO’s door
and slammed it shut. Now that I knew Warren insulated his office, I didn’t
bother trying to listen. Ellis’s empathy for employees meant he was the Human
Resources head that fought for the little guy. I wondered if they were fighting
over me.

My cell phone rang and I
checked the screen. Mom was calling. Or, better put, the reason I’d gone to
college was calling. A flash of resentment washed over me. We didn’t have
enough money to pay for tuition so I took out a loan. Six years later, I was
still paying for school. I let out my tension with a
long
suffering
sigh and answered the call.

“Hi, mom.”

Her thick Brooklyn accent
chided me. “Did your sister call?”

“No, why?” Flipping on my computer
monitor, I checked my work emails while mother babbled. There was one from
Warren. He wanted me to come see him before I left for the day.
Something about papers to sign.
I looked at his office door.
No way was I going to interrupt two brothers going at it.

“Are you listening to me?”
Mother said.

“Call sis, yeah got it.”

“Oh, Mother Mary, I’m trying to
help you and this is how you treat your mother…”

“Mom, I’ll call her.”

“This is about your cousin, you
know, the baker?”

“Mom, you don’t need to remind
me. I have a job at a bank.” Accounting never was the plan. I wanted to be like
my cousin the baker, but mom always took the opportunity to point out how Phil
never had money. How he was always broke.

But, my bakery was the
motivation for going to business school. It’d been a curse to be good at
accounting. One thing
lead
to another and I found
myself taking a state test for certification in accounting. Mother had never
been so ecstatic. You’d think I won a noble peace prize.

The horror and disappointment
when I told her I just wanted to own a small bakery in the local neighborhood
was the worst thing I could have done to her. She sobbed for a week. That alone
was motivation enough for getting my own apartment. I was on the
ten year
payment plan until I moved out of my parents’
house. I could not take any more of the guilt-trip brow-beating for “wasting a
career”.

Zoning Mom out I tapped away at
my computer giving her
a
“uh-
hu
”
or a “yeah” at the appropriate pauses. Her call spurned me to ask the hard question.
If it came down to it, would I leave if I
was
forced
to work in the accounting department?

Yes. I was done doing things
other people wanted me to do. I was certainly done with accounting. If Ellis
couldn’t make Warren see things the “Fabulous” way…then I’d have to make a hard
decision.

When Warren’s door cracked open
I scrambled. “Okay,
mom,
gotta
go, bye.”
Click.
She’d probably call
me back in two minutes and chew me out for not saying, “I love you”.

I peeked over the walls of my
cubicle. The office was barren. I looked at the time. Five twenty-four. The
mass exodus of
BankTrost
employees came and went.
Ellis’ voice filtered through the desolate office. “How long are you staying?”

Warren’s soft murmur answered
something incoherent.

“Okay, don’t stay to
long…what?” Another round of soft muttering, then Ellis said, “No, I’m going
home.”

I stood up and leaned against
my cubicle opening. When Ellis shut the door and turned around, his forlorn
face told me the whole story. I’d made my decision so there was only more
thing
to do. Warren couldn’t hear us and from what I could
tell, he wasn’t going to come out of his office any time soon, despite what
Ellis said. Warren never left before six. This wouldn’t take too long. Not with
the way my lack of love life was going.

“He didn’t change his mind, did
he?” I asked.

Ellis washed his face and
walked over to me. “
Fabiola
, he’s got a point. You’re
really talented in accounting.”

I sucked in a deep breath then
sighed. “Well, then I guess I have no choice.”

He smiled. I bet he thought I’d
conceded to Warrens demand. But I licked my lips. The only warning he’d get. “I
guess I should do this before I quit.”

Before my words registered, I
grabbed the collar of his shirt and hauled him in my cubicle. Using the element
of surprise, I pushed Ellis against my drab carpeted wall and started kissing
him silly.

He managed to pull away. “Wait,
you’d quit for being transferred?”

“Yep.” I went back to kissing.

Again he pushed my shoulders
back, as if we hadn’t been sucking face. “You should have told me that before.”
He turned like he’d go back to Warren’s office.

“Too late.” I grabbed him and
turned him back towards me. This was happening. It would be my little goodbye
present. Our lips collided again. Ellis protested, but every swipe of my tongue
weakened his objections. He started moaning and kissing me back. The wall he
used to guard against inappropriately touching an employee started melting
away. His embrace was still nowhere near the naughtiness I wanted but it was a
start. I’d get him past that boundary with encouragement.

My hands roamed and clasped the
buttons of his shirt. One hand unbuttoned, while the other grabbed handfuls of
polyester and pulled up. Soon I combed my hand through sparse chest hair. Ellis
sucked in his stomach but otherwise didn’t pull away. His reaction was of a man
who’d been too busy with work for a girlfriend.

I scratched my nails down his
back. He was sensitive. That fact made him attractive. The perfectly put
together HR head was coming apart from just my hands and lips. I grabbed his
neck and traced a line from his
collar bone
down to
his pants. That made him buck and moan. It made me want to mate with his mouth.

His kisses became desperate. Sucking
in air through my nose didn’t give me enough oxygen, but I didn’t care. If I
stopped now I wasn’t sure he’d be able to pull back. A wash of need ambushed
me. I slid my hand down to his slacks and explored the button, clasp and zipper
while he deepened the kiss. His tongue rolled over mine, tangling us in a dance
of lips and teeth. I snaked my hands in his hair and pulled him down so I could
give as good as I got. We were pressed so tight but I wanted more.

As I was getting dizzy from
lack of air, he pulled away. Ellis grabbed my upper lip with his teeth and
nibbled. Then he did the same with my lower lip. All the while we both filled
our lungs with gasping heaves. He planted petite kisses up and down my neck and
I moaned. Our lips collided again and his tongue ravaged me. My breathing
became labored.

His mouth left kisses over my
neck, and his hands only grabbed my hips to steady
himself
.
I used my hands to guide his around my waist, hoping he’d be encouraged to
roam. It seemed the HR head taught his hands to be still. Ellis managed to pull
away and whisper, “Fab, what are we doing?”

In slow deliberation, I said,
“I’m fucking you.”

Ellis shook his head. “Oh,
okay. Carry on.”

Men were so easy.

Since my fingers were having a
challenge opening his trousers, I looked down. Ellis leaned over and nibbled my
ear. The man liked to bite. It distracted me from getting his pants open. When
he gently clamped his teeth over my shoulder I arched my back and finally got
his slacks loose.

Muscular, gorgeous thighs sported
beautiful curly-haired legs. His black briefs couldn’t hold all of him and the
tip of his penis poked out and throbbed hello. I went for the direct approach,
and stroked the bulge threatening to rip his underwear apart. Ellis lifted his
head and cried out, “
Fa
…”