How To Marry A Billionaire: A BWWM Billionaire Romance (10 page)

“I’m fine, thanks.”

“Have a seat and I’ll announce you when he’d ready.”

The woman went back to her typing, her face lit up by the computer screen. Ellyn’s nerves were a little frayed and she didn’t want to have to deal with Colton. She had feelings for the man and the less she saw of him, the better.

Colton’s door opened and the man himself stood there in his tailored suit, looking better than he had a right to be. Ellyn’s heart leaped in her chest. Damn. Maybe this would be the last time she’d have to see him.

“Hello, Ellyn. Come in.” He looked at his secretary. “Hold all my calls.”

Ellyn strode into Colton’s office. He closed the door behind her.

“Have a seat, Ellyn.” He sat behind his expansive desk with his back to the Manhattan skyline. He folded his hands in front of him, seeming to drink her in for a moment. “How are you doing?”

“I’m fine.”

She wasn’t going to reveal that she hadn’t slept last night thinking about today. Or thinking about him.

“Good. I trust you got everything squared away with HR?”

“All but the direct deposit. I’ll take care of that later in the week.”

“Do that because I think I already have a job for you. It’ll begin next week.”

“Next week? I have shifts at the restaurant.”

“You haven’t quit there?”

“Not yet. I need to have an income and I didn’t know when I’d get paid so I didn’t want to quit yet.”

“I see.” He frowned. “The client really wants you next week. Can you work that out? We can provide you with a loan until your first paycheck comes. It’ll be three weeks or so.”

Three weeks? “Uh, I can’t go three weeks without getting paid.”

“Let me work this out. Figure out how much you need to live on and we’ll fill in and then you can pay us back out of your first payment. Does that sound okay?”

She gulped. “I guess it has to.”

“I promise you, this is worth it. If this cosmetic company likes you, you’ll have a lot more work. And you won’t have to travel since you’re doing just face work,” he said.

There was no hint of rancor in his voice. Colton was all business and that relieved Ellyn. She didn’t want to talk about them anymore. She wanted to work and get paid and make her life better. More importantly, make Derek’s life better.

“Okay. I’ll let you know my expenses when I bring in the check for HR.”

“Sounds good.”

***

Colton could not take his eyes off Ellyn. She looked even more beautiful to him. She seemed calm and was taking in what he had to say. Taking it all in stride would help her in her new career.

“This client is a cosmetics company, as I said. They are looking for a new face and to expand their reach into the African American community. That’s where you fit in.”

“They want me to be the new face of their company?”

“Yes. You are not the only one in the running, but I got the definite impression that the owner wanted you.”

Not every model did this well on the first job, so Colton was excited for Ellyn. She’d get some real money right away. Which she needed. He knew. He’d seen where she lived.

The next part of this conversation would be tough. He wanted her to move out of that apartment as soon as possible. She may not want to, but he wanted her and Derek safe. Her neighborhood was not the place for them.

He tapped the folder in front of him. It held her pictures and they were fantastic. “I have your portfolio. I’m really impressed and the photographer enjoyed working with you.”

She licked her lips as he held out her small body of work. She took it then opened it. He wanted her to like it. She was beautiful. “So, this client is in Manhattan?”

“Yes. There would be no traveling. I know that would be a problem with Derek.”

“Not sure I can depend on my babysitters to take care of him overnight,” she said.

“I understand. This is a great place to start. What do you think of the photos?”

She let out a noisy breath. “They are interesting. They don’t look like me or what I think of as me.”

He laughed. “Not even the ones without makeup?”

“No, not even those. I guess the photographer saw something I don’t see when I look in the mirror.”

“That’s because you underestimate yourself,” Colton said.

She waved a hand. “That may be.”

“Is there anything you’re nervous about?”

She bit her lip. “No.”

He didn’t believe her, but he’d let her go on that subject. He had a more important one to bring up. “I’d like for you to move into the company’s condo.”

“Why?”

“For several reasons, including the fact that you aren’t safe where you are.”

Her back straightened. “We’ve done well.”

“No, you’ve survived. Look, the condo is empty most of the time. It’s across the street from Central Park so you have a place to take Derek. He needs open space.”

“What do you know about what a boy needs?”

“In case you don’t remember, I am a boy. Or was at one point. I remember days of running around outside.”

She cocked her head. “How much will this cost?”

“You get it for free. When you make more money, you can move out and get your own place. No lease. Move out anytime. There’s a cleaning service so you don’t even have to do housework. The food is stocked on a regular basis and you’ll have control of that. It’s a win-win, Ellyn. Just take my offer. No strings attached.”

His dick wanted to see Ellyn. He wanted to kiss her and taste her body again. Hopefully, this itch would go away, but he doubted it. This sucked for him.

She showed no signs of being affected by his presence. Damn.

She licked her lips again, drawing his gaze to them. Did they taste as good today as they had over the weekend?

She spoke and he shook himself out of thinking about her body parts. “What?”

“When can I move in?”

“Immediately. There’s room if you need to bring someone with you to take care of Derek, or we can find him a preschool in the area.”

“I’ll have to think about the preschool,” she said.

He nodded. He had to tread lightly when it came to her son. She would be stubborn if he pushed too hard.

“I also would like to spend time with Derek.”

“Why?”

“Because he has no male adult influences in his life and I’d like to be one. I have no children and I love kids. My sister can be my reference if you need one. I’ve taken care of her kids more than once overnight. No one has died.”

She eyed him, and he bet the gears were whirring in her mind. She was trying to figure out his angle. His motives were simple. He wanted to spend time with Ellyn and Derek. He liked the kid and frankly if he could, he was willing to make a difference in his life. He put his hand under his desk, his fingers crossed, hoping she would agree.

“Okay,” she said finally.

CHAPTER 9

Ellyn arrived at the studio for her first shoot five minutes early. She’d wanted to be even earlier, but Derek had been difficult about her leaving. She had no idea why of all days he would be clingy today. As if he knew this day was important.

Taking a deep breath, she blew it out, trying to settle herself before she opened the door on her new career. When she did, the whole place reminded her of a beehive she’d seen on a field trip years ago. Everyone was moving. Her eyes grew large just watching them.

Her heart raced. She could not figure out who was in charge. Finally, someone noticed her. A young skinny girl came over. “You Ellyn?”

“Yes.”

“Come with me.”

She followed the girl to a room with a rack full of blouses and tops.

“Put the first one in line on, then come out and find me.”

The girl didn’t close the door behind her so Ellyn did it instead. She put her purse down on a chair then took off her blouse to put the other one on. Now dressed, she returned to the room that was the hub of activity.

She looked around for the woman, but didn’t see her. A stool was set up in front of white sheets just like her first shoot.

A man with a camera in his hand came up to her. “You the model?”

“Yes.”

“You need to be in makeup. We start shooting in half an hour.”

He strode away, not bothering to tell her where makeup was located.

“Ellie?”

Ellyn looked around to find who was shouting. It was the skinny girl. She was waving at her.

“Ellyn,” she corrected.

The girl waved her hand as if it didn’t matter what her name was. Very cold, but Ellyn refused to let it bother her. They were paying her a lot of money. She just hoped she didn’t lose her soul to this job.

“Sit,” the girl commanded. “Winnie will be out to do your makeup in a moment.”

The girl walked away, leaving Ellyn sitting on a chair similar to one she’d seen in a hair salon. A woman with blue hair and her lip pierced appeared in front of Ellyn. “This hair will not do. We need some extensions.”

Was she talking to her?

“You must be Winnie,” Ellyn said. She held out her hand. “I’m Ellyn.”

Winnie eyed her hand then dismissed it. “I don’t shake hands. Have you ever had extensions?”

“Uh, no.”

“Sal. Get me those dark brown extensions,” Winnie said to someone behind Ellyn. She glanced in the mirror, but couldn’t figure out who Sal was.

A young man brought Winnie what looked like a suitcase. She didn’t even thank him when he put it at her feet. He walked away, clearly not expecting thanks.

Is no one civil?

Winnie stared at her. “Okay. Gorgeous lips. I’ll have to do very little to enhance those. You’ll need some fake eyelashes.”

“Okay.”

“Don’t speak. I’m just thinking out loud.”

Okay. Winnie got to work and at the end, Ellyn did not recognize herself. Her hair was longer than she’d had it in years. She kept it long enough to pull back, but not too long. She’d never had so much makeup on her face.

She wondered, if they really liked how she looked, why did they change how she looked? She had a queasy feeling in her stomach. Had she made the wrong decision?

She was whisked away to sit in front of the camera. The photographer gave her rapid-fire instructions, which she thought she followed. He didn’t give any feedback to her at all. He just took the pictures, changing his camera every so often.

That went on for a few hours. The only breaks were to change tops and give her a different hairstyle. Her stomach rumbled and she hoped a lunch break would be called soon. The shoot ended before lunch.

The crew began to pack up and Ellyn was unsure what was next. Winnie was nowhere around. Was she supposed to wear this makeup home?

She hadn’t felt this lost since Derek had been born and she was all alone with a new baby. No one made eye contact with her. At least at the restaurant, the wait staff joked with each other. She stood all alone in a room full of strangers.

She sighed, found a bathroom and began to scrub off the crap on her face. Her skin was raw when she was done, but she’d earned a huge paycheck and that should give her consolation.

She called Shalia on the way home, but then remembered that she let Colton take Derek that morning.

On the subway, she stared out the window. Was this her life now? She’d been a piece of meat to those people. Her heart hurt. What had she expected? This was not it, but she had to do what was necessary to make Derek’s life better.

She could suck it up if she had to.

***

Only an hour after Colton had picked up Derek, did he realize that he’d overstated his experience with kids to Ellyn.

Derek had already run him ragged and all they’d done was go to the park.

Colton now understood why all of those moms sat on the bench. He’d followed Derek as he used every piece of equipment. One after the other. Running up the ladder to the sliding board, then once he was back on the ground, back to the merry-go-round, then back to the swings. Derek pumped himself high, then jumped off, making Colton’s heart stop for a moment.

He landed unscathed. “Does your mother let you do that?”

“Nope.”

“Then don’t do it with me,” Colton said.

Derek laughed. “I do it with Shalia. She lets me do anything.”

Finally, Derek found a playmate and Colton watched from the sidelines, catching his breath. Good thing he’d worn sneakers on his day off. He’d need a new pair by the end of the day.

Ellyn had no one else to watch Derek, and Colton hadn’t taken a day off in months. Here he was at a playground with Derek. As much as he was enjoying himself, he was tired already. He had three more hours before he expected Ellyn to be done.

Derek ran to him, then stopped in front of him. “I’m hungry.”

“Okay. Let’s get you a snack,” Derek said.             

They walked to the local quickie mart. Well, Colton walked. Derek did every other means of travel, including hopping and skipping. Colton wondered how he was going to last this whole morning.

He’d need a nap. Derek had recovered well from his ear infections. As much as that was good, Colton would have liked a little less energy from him.

Colton bought the boy some juice and some carrots in a bag. They sat on a bench outside. The day was a little warmer than the weather had been. Colton put his face to the sun. He didn’t usually get out of the office during the week.

He’d left his phone on vibrate and it had been doing that, non-stop. He couldn’t answer. Derek needed his attention.

“Have you ever flown a kite?” Colton asked.

He’d been brainstorming what to do with Derek all weekend. He remembered what he and his father had done together.

“No.”

Derek finished his snack.

“Then let’s go find a toy store and buy a kite.”

Colton knew he should have been better prepared. When Derek entered the toy store, it was if he’d been given crack. The kid ran around. Colton had trouble keeping the kid in his sights.

At one point, he lost him. Damn.

“Derek?”

The place wasn’t even that big. Colton strode to the Customer Service Desk.

“I’ve lost a child.”

The kid at the counter picked up the phone and made an announcement. “We have a Code Adam.”

The drill had clearly been practiced, because the kid ran to the front door and locked it while a managerial-looking person came to talk to Colton.

“I’m the manager. What was your son wearing?”

Colton didn’t bother to correct him. “His name is Derek and he’s in a striped shirt, I think. He’s got brown hair and skin.”

The manager blinked. “Okay.”

All the mothers looked at him with obvious scorn. Guess they’d never lost their child. Or maybe they just figured he was a stereotypical Dad. He ran a company. Every day he commanded people.

How had one small child gotten the better of him?

Finally, someone found Derek.

Colton squatted down to him. The boy’s eyes were wet. He must be scared.

“You scared me, Derek. We’re not buying the kite now.”

Derek’s bottom lip went out. He sniffed. “Okay. Can we go home?”

“Of course,” Colton said. “You’re going to hold my hand the whole way.”

“Yes, sir.”

They left the store with a much more subdued Derek by Colton’s side. They walked to Ellyn’s apartment. She’d given him a key to get in. Once inside, Colton gave Derek some more juice, then they sat on the couch.

“Why did you run away?”

“I saw something I wanted to see and you weren’t moving fast enough.”

“But you have to stay with me. I’m responsible for you. What do you think your mother would say if she knew I lost you? That you ran away from me?”

Colton’s heart had finally returned to beating normally. If he messed up this time, Ellyn would never let him take Derek again. Next time, he’d have a better plan. Less free form and more structured.

Derek looked at his feet. “She’d be mad. At both of us.”

“I don’t want your mom to be mad at me. Do you want her to be mad at you?”

“No.”

“Okay. So you’re sorry?”

“Yes, I’m sorry, Mr. Hamilton.”

“Okay. You’re forgiven.”

Derek reached out and wrapped his arms around Colton’s neck in a sticky, sweat hug. The gesture warmed the executive’s heart and he didn’t want him to let go. But he did.

“Can we watch TV?

“Yes.”

Derek turned on the television. Colton tried to watch, but he couldn’t follow it, so he took out his phone to answer his emails.

Well, what he could answer. For some of them, he’d have to call the person, but that could wait. He expected Ellyn any minute and he didn’t want her thinking that he was neglecting her son.

While Colton was on his phone, Derek snuggled himself up against his arm. Colton had trouble typing, but he wasn’t about to move Derek from that spot. The kid liked him. Maybe his mother would loosen up and like him also.

He was not a bad guy, and he’d catch on to this parenting thing at some point. It just took practice, he was sure. Colton’s own father had made it look easy. He should probably call his father and get some advice.

But not now. Now was Derek time. Colton put away his phone and put his arm around Derek. The boy looked up at him and smiled. Colton couldn’t help but smile back.

*

Ellyn’s feet dragged the last block to her apartment, but she picked up speed when she realized she would see Colton.

“Don’t go there.”

She shouldn’t. Colton was not hers. She had to do this without him. Ironically, he’d already helped her today by taking Derek. The last flight of steps to her apartment were killing her. She wasn’t usually this tired from waitressing.

When she opened the door, Derek and Colton were snuggled on the couch watching one of Derek’s shows. She stood in the doorway for a moment taking in the domestic scene in front of her. What if she could come home to this all the time?

The situation warmed her heart. Colton saw her first, but he didn’t get up.

“Hi,” he said.

He looked a little bleary-eyed to her. Must have been a rougher day than he’d been expecting. Derek was a high-energy boy. Colton had insisted all would be fine, but Ellyn had had her doubts.

Looking at his mussed hair and tired face, she knew he’d been through the wringer. “Hi.”

Derek finally looked up at her, but he just said, “Hi, Mom.”

He didn’t get up. He was snuggled up against Colton who had his arm around the kid. The man had won over her son pretty easily. She wondered what they'd been up to today.

“How was your shoot?”

She frowned before she could suppress it.

“Not good?” Colton asked.

“Not what I expected, but it was fine. Have you heard from them?”

“I haven’t been looking at my phone.” He indicated Derek with a jerk of his head. “I’ve been busy.”

“You guys hungry? I’ll make some lunch,” Ellyn said.

“You look tired. Let’s order out,” Colton said.

“Pizza,” Derek shouted as he jumped onto his feet on the couch.

“Get down, Derek. We can get pizza,” Ellyn said.

“Will they deliver?” Colton said. “If not, I’ll go out and get it.”

Ellyn dropped her purse by the front door. She dropped into the other chair in the room. “They’ll deliver. Derek, go get the phone and the menu.”

Pizza was a rare treat on her budget, but she knew what was coming from this job. More than she made in a year waitressing. Holy crap. It just hit her.

“You, okay?” Colton asked as Derek bounded into the kitchen.

“Just tired and a little shell-shocked.”