Romance: Working for the Billionaire's Pleasure (2 page)

Chapter 3

“He couldn’t be more arrogant,” I sigh.

Eva smiles to me over the glass of wine, “Have another glass.  That will help things calm down.”

“This man is driving me to the drink.  This is the second night in a row that I have had to drink wine because of him.”

“As arrogant as he may be, he still is extremely dreamy.”

“That doesn’t matter,” I bite back, “He’s a prick and he is going to ruin my company.  He has no clue about the music industry and he doesn’t care about it.  All he wants to do is make money.  That’s all he wants.  I tried to explain to him today our company is built on respect for the industry and he laughed at me.  He
laughed
at me, Eva.  Right in my face.”

“Why would he buy the company if he doesn’t love the industry?”

“Because he wants to make money.  He saw this company as a way of making money.  That’s it.  That is all the he is interested in.  But our company is so much more than that.  We are a company that protects the industry.”

“It’s the direction that the whole industry is heading though.  I mean, look at all the big record labels now.  They make millions every year and they don’t care about the industry.”

“But the reason that bands signed with us over other labels is because of our reputation as a genuine record label.  Our business name is built on respect for the industry.  The bands signed with us because we could provide them support.  Our company cares about bands, not money.  We care about music, not profit.”

“What are you going to do then?”

“I’m going to show him that you can’t run our record label like that.  I’m going to show this billionaire what the music business is all about.”

“And how will you do that exactly?”

“I’m going to win him over with kindness.”

“Oh sure,” Eva laughs.

“What?” I respond, “I’ll be nice to him and he’ll be forced to be nice back to me.  I will work my way through his tough exterior and then I’ll be able to influence all his decisions.”

“He is probably confused about you,” Eva comments.

“How so?”

“Honestly, you don’t look like a music industry girl.  You don’t have tattoos all over your body and piercings in places where there shouldn’t be metal.  You look like a nice girl that does what she is told.  He is probably surprised by your business sense.”

I shake my head, “He thinks he is better than everyone else.  And that makes me angry.”

Eva shakes her head, “You know, maybe he makes you angry because you like him?”

“Like him?”

Eva smiles at me.

“I don’t like him,” I respond.

“Really?”

“Wipe that cheeky look off your face, Eva.  I don’t like him.  I don’t like people like him.  He is all about the money.  That’s not what I am about.  The money comes second to the music.”

“You don’t like him at all?  Not even a little bit?” she smiles, “You wouldn’t want to know what is under that shirt?”

Eva knows me better than I know myself.  She can tell when I am lying to myself.

“Maybe a little bit…”

She laughs.

Eva has always been more experienced with men than I have.  Her long flowing dark hair, olive skin, and stunning green eyes make most men melt in admiration.  I have seen men cross a busy street just to walk past her. 

She started with the company not long after I began and we instantly hit it off.  From the first time we met, it was clear that we were going to be friends. 

The only real difference between us was that when I was working in the office, she was out partying with the bands we signed.  The amount of lead singers that had fallen for her beautiful looks is unbelievable.

“But I don’t know why I feel like that, Eva.  I don’t like men like Mitchell. I never have. I don’t like his arrogant swagger or his harsh tone.  I could never imagine falling for a man like him.”

“What sort of men do you like?”

“I like…” I ponder that the question for a while.

I have had so little time for men that I don’t know whether I like soft, delicate ones or hard, rude ones. 

“Do I have to have a type?” I question Eva.

“No… but generally people are attracted to a certain type.  I know that you haven’t spent a lot of time with men but I think you like him.  I can see it in your eyes.”

“But I don’t want to like him.”

“You can’t help who you fall in love with.  Love doesn’t play by the rules that you set out in life.”

“I certainly don’t
love
him.”

“Sorry,” Eva states, “I should have said lust, not love.  Lust doesn’t play by any rules.”

“What’s the difference?”

“Between love and lust?  One is your body telling you to devour someone, and the other is your heart telling you to spend time with a person.”

“When does your mind come into play in all of this?”

Eva laughs out loud, “Your mind plays no part in any of it.  It’s your body or your heart that makes those decisions.”

“I think it’s my body that wants him, because when I think about it, I don’t want him at all.  But every time I see him, my body goes crazy.  I feel stupid when that happens.”

Eva grins, “That’s definitely lust.”

“But I don’t want to lust after him.”

Not an asshole like Mitchell.

Eva shrugs her shoulders, “You can’t help it.  You can’t control what your body is doing.  As hard as you try, you can’t deny the feeling of lust.  It’s too strong.”

“This is all too complicated,” I say, “That is why I work so hard.  With work, I have always known what I was doing.  With men… I have no idea.”

“I have found men a lot like restaurants.”

“Restaurants?” I laugh, “Really?  Why?”

“I’ve been all over the world and seen the world’s finest restaurants.  I’ve eaten in big ones, small one and busy ones.  Some are fun, some are very tasty and some are mind-blowing.  Some restaurants, I lust for their beautiful food and others, I love their atmosphere.  But I know what sort of restaurant I love.  I love good-looking, intimate restaurants that provide a lot of attention.  And it’s the same with men.  I love men that are good-looking, intimate, and provide me a lot of attention.  That is the sort of man I love.”

I laugh out loud, “I have never read that in a woman’s magazine.”

“You’ll never know what you like from a magazine.  That’s why you have to try all sorts of restaurants before you settle on your favorite.”

“What sort of restaurant do you think Mitchell is?”

“That’s for you to find out.  Everyone feels different about each restaurant.  You have to find out for yourself.”

“What should I do then?”

“Try it.  Eat out at his restaurant.  But whatever you do, don’t confuse lust for love…”

Chapter 4

I arrive at my desk early the following day but Mitchell is already there.  He was here after I left last night too.  He likes to work hard, I’ll give him that. 

With a desire to win him over with kindness, I prepare a coffee for him and bring it to his desk.

“Good morning, Mitchell.  Here is your coffee – just the way you like it.”

Mitchell looks up from his computer with an expressionless face, nods to me, and looks back down.

I take a long, slow, deep breath before walking out of his office.

Being nice to him is going to be harder than I thought!

The day slowly passes and I make numerous attempts to be nice to my new handsome boss.  Each time the man rejects my attempts at kindness with a cold-hearted stare.

He may be a handsome man, but he is also a bastard.

“Process this.”

He walks out of his office to dump a file on my table.

“
Please
,” I say to him, indicating that he should be more polite.

He looks straight at me.  Not around me or over me, but straight at me with a piercing glare.

“I employ you.  That’s it.  You work for my business.”

“I’m still a person,” I reply, my heart beating faster as I become ready for an agreement.

But he turns around, and walks away from me without another word.

Bastard.

The anger fumes inside me.

How can I work with someone like him?

Am I really willing to put up with his attitude day after day?

No.

I don’t think so.

I’ve already had enough of this guy.  He is a bastard.  I’ve tried to be nice to him but I can’t.  He’s a bastard.  I…

Deep breath. 

I take a long slow, calming, deep breath.

Don’t let him get to me.  I can’t let him get to me.  This is my company.  He may think I am just an employee but I am more than that.  This is my company.  I’ll show him. I have to be nice to him.  I have to win him over first and then I can influence his attitude.

After a few more long, deep breathes, I flick open the folder he dumped on my desk.

I read the first page.

Then I read it again.

Each time I read the page, I feel the anger overtake me.

Is he serious?

I read the first page of the file again.

No! 

That’s it!

Storming into his office, I demand his attention with an aggressive stance.

“What do you think you are doing?!” I state angrily.

Slowly, he looks me over and then leans back in his chair.

“What are you talking about?” he asks calmly.

“This!” I throw the file on his desk.

“And what is the problem with this?”

“It’s the pricing for the latest Neil Strongbow album.  You changed it.”

“And?” his eyebrows rise.

“You raised the price of the album from $12 to $19.99!” my hands go to my hips, “That is unacceptable.  That is not what we do as a company.”

I stand before him, waiting for him to respond.

He considers his response for some time before asking, “And what seems to be the problem with that?”

“$12 is the right price point to reach the widest audience.  It makes the album more accessible to the listener and still makes a profit for us.  It’s the cost that will let Neil entertain the most people.”

“But $19.99 is the proven price point to make the most profit.  It has been shown time and time again that this is the price where enough of the audience still buys the album but we make more profit.”

“You can see the stats in the folder – we have shown that we receive 2,000 less buyers if we price an album at $19.99.”

“But we make at least $10,000 more profit.”

“It’s not about the money! It’s about the listener.  We are providing a service for the musician to reach the listener.”

“No.”

His tone is blunt.

“No?” I question.

“That may have been what you were doing in the past but it is not what you are doing now.  We are going to work towards the best profit that we can make.  And that’s it.”

“But what about the audience?”

“Stuff the audience.  We’re here to make money.  We run a business.  Our goal is to become a bigger business,” Mitchell stands up, asserting his dominance. “And to do that, we need to make more money.”

The anger fumes inside me.  I don’t know what to do with all that frustration.

I am so angry that I don’t know how to express it. I want to punch him. He has taken my life work and changed it in a day.

My fists curl up as I think about punching him in the mouth.

Mitchell begins to smile at me.

“What?” I ask angrily.

“Your passion is impressive,” he grins.

“I hate you,” I react. 

But that’s not what I mean.  I mean I hate what he is doing to my body.  I hate that he makes me so angry but so weak and vulnerable.

“No you don’t,” he laughs, “You only hate how I make you feel.  You hate that I have control over your body and you can’t resist mine.”

He says the statement with such conviction that redness comes all over my face.  I am angry with him, but I am angrier with my body betraying how I should feel.  I want to hate him.  He is destroying my company.  I want to hate him.

“What a stupid thing to say,” I reply but he only grins more.

“You hate that your body is betraying your thoughts.  I can see you blush.  I can feel the chemistry here.  You hate that your body belongs to me.”

“No it doesn’t,” I resist quietly.

“Yes it does,” Mitchell replies.

What a bastard.

He knows he affects me so much and he is playing with me.  I have to get out of here before it is too late. 

I pull away from Mitchell’s gaze and storm out of the office.

What a bastard.