The Billionaire Wins the Game (11 page)

The next door he led her through had a
hot tub and sauna. Lucas was watching her reactions to the things
he never even thought about as special anymore. Her face, lit up in
delight, actually humbled him. He noticed she was working hard to
control her features, but she’d never succeed at poker. She
couldn’t hide the pleasure running across her face.

He showed her the private backyard
garden with benches and another fountain. She knew she’d spend
hours there reading a good book; that is, of course, after her work
out and swim.

Finally, she lost her ability to
maintain her calm and let herself enjoy the moment. She spun in a
circle and laughed aloud. She almost grabbed him in her excitement,
but at the last minute pulled back.

“Um, sorry about that; I tend to get
too excited sometimes,” she mumbled and walked back into the
building.

“Well, you may want to reserve judgment
until you actually see your apartment,” he said, while leading her
back into the lobby. He was having a difficult time keeping the
smile from his face. She was contagious in her excitement, and he
found her such a pleasure to be around. He was trying not to like
her and it wasn’t working out so well for him.

He pressed the elevator button and
stepped inside once the doors opened. They rode to the nineteenth
floor in silence. They arrived quickly on their floor. As she
looked around at the extra wide hallways with beautiful paintings,
strategically placed, she realized the massive size of the
building.

When she was told it was a corporate
apartment complex, she’d assumed it only had a couple floors, with
minimal units. But from what she was seeing, there must have been
at least several hundred apartments.

As they walked down the hallway, she
noticed there were hardly any doors. They came toward the end, and
he placed a key in the door on the left. Her curiosity got the best
of her and she asked, “There aren’t many doors up here. How many
apartments are on each floor?”

“This floor only has two. They’re
bigger than the other units and there are a couple of conference
rooms up here, as well,” he replied. “The other floors have quite a
few more, but each apartment is spacious. Most of our employees
have families and we want them to be comfortable living here,” he
finished.

They walked in the door and her breath
rushed out before she could stop it. When he said the place was
large, he hadn’t been kidding. It was enormous. There was a vast
entryway, tiled in comfortable earth tones.

Stepping further into her new living
room, she discovered the furniture they’d picked out was arranged,
along with a few extra items, such as a large screen television
with a bunch of DVD’s on the side. She quickly skimmed the titles
and noticed some romantic comedies she was excited to
watch.

“Esther said you told her you loved
romance stories, so she picked a few movies she thought you may
like,” he said in explanation.

That was such a personal thing to do,
it touched her. Lucas stood back and let her wander through the
apartment. There was a nice-sized room, set up for a guest, should
she bring anyone over. The main bathroom was decorated in her new
linens, with a few added touches of bath and body washes from nice
boutiques.

She opened the door at the end of the
hall and was stunned by the master bedroom. There was a huge four
post bed in the middle of it, covered in the purple comforter she’d
picked. It was the kind of bed she’d always dreamed of owning. She
walked over and jumped into the middle of it and let out a
giggle.

“I don’t know what to say. I’ve never
known a company to be so generous. It makes me feel guilty having
all this when so many people don’t have even a third of it. What if
the corporation hates me in another six months? What if I’m a
complete failure and can’t do the job, after all? This is so much
pressure,” she said.

“Amy, we wouldn’t have done this for
someone we didn’t have full confidence in. You’ll do an amazing
job, you already are, and not to repeat myself, but we do this for
all executive positions,” he finished.

Amy smiled. She wasn’t receiving any
treatment they didn’t offer other executive’s, and that made her
feel better. She didn’t want to stand out. She didn’t want to feel
guilty for what they’d given her. She’d enjoy it and try not to
feel guilty. For now, it was all hers.

Amy walked back into her
living room and Lucas was standing with his back to the wall,
watching her.
Here goes
, she thought. He didn’t look as if he was planning on
leaving anytime soon and she just wanted to de-stress and enjoy her
new place. If things were different, she’d be able to imagine the
two of them snuggling together on the couch, watching one of her
romantic comedies, but it would never happen. She needed him to
leave, so she could breathe.

She took a deep breath and remained
calm. “Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to do
all you did today. This place is amazing. It’s better than I
could’ve ever imagined or hoped for, though, I really don’t need
all the space. If you want to move me into a smaller apartment and
save this space for an employee with a family, I’m fine with that.”
She was talking quickly, so he couldn’t interrupt.

“I’m not saying, I don’t love the
apartment, because I do. It’s seriously more amazing than any place
I’ve ever even seen, let alone lived in, but it just seems to be
such a waste of space for only me,” she continued rattling
on.

Lucas knew Amy was babbling so he
wouldn’t have time to speak. He figured he’d let her talk herself
out and then get his say.

When she finally stopped speaking and
looked at him, their gazes locked for a moment. He saw her raise
her chin slightly and visibly firm her shoulders, while maintaining
eye contact. She seemed angry all of a sudden and he couldn’t
figure out why.

“I think you should go now, Mr.
Anderson. I have a lot to do, tonight, and I’d like to get settled
in,” she said tightly. She stood across the room from him, with her
arms crossed, refusing to say any more.

Lucas finally stepped away from the
wall and started walking toward her. It reminded her more of a
prowl, than a walk. She took an involuntary step back as he got
closer. She was furious with herself for showing that little bit of
weakness. She decided the best defense was a strong
offense.

“Mr. Anderson,” she emphasized his
name, “Last night was a mistake. It shouldn’t have happened and it
will not repeat itself. I’m sorry if you think you deserve it or
that I’m going to roll over on my back in appreciation of your
family’s generosity, but I’m not some cheap hooker,” she
finished.

As she stopped speaking, she was a
little frightened by the look that came into his eyes. She took
another step back without thinking. That seemed to make his eyes
light up even more with fire. She was really pissing the man off.
He must not like to be rejected. Well, he’d just have to get used
to it with her because she didn’t want him. Well, she did want him
but she wasn’t going to act on it again.

Lucas was more angry than
he could ever remember being. He had to stay where he was because
he feared he may strangle her if he got too close. How dare she
think he expected her to pay back his company’s generosity with her
body!
She
was the
one who was out for the ultimate prize, him! She hadn’t been
innocent when she was crying out his name in pleasure. She’d wanted
him just as badly as he’d wanted her.

He stood glaring at her for a couple of
minutes before he was finally calm enough to speak. “I told you
earlier we had to talk about a few things, which we still need to
talk about. But right now, let’s straighten out those comments you
just made. I have never paid for sex in any form. Any woman I’ve
taken to my bed has come willingly, begging for more. Last night
you were just as willing to jump into bed with me, as I wanted to
be there with you. It took two of us to make love. and I refuse to
take all the blame,” he said in anger.

Amy’s temper was just about equal with
Lucas’s as his words continued slashing at her. She reached up to
slap his face, but he caught her hand before it connected. “I told
you, I’d only let you get away with that once,” he said, smirking
down at her.

He then yanked her into his arms and
smashed his lips to hers. He was so angry his kiss was almost
bruising in its intensity. He wasn’t gentle as he willed her to
surrender to him. He grabbed her hair and yanked her head back so
he had easier access.

She fought against him for a few
moments and then her body betrayed her and she began kissing him
back just as passionately. When he knew he had her full surrender,
he pushed her away from him, though it seemed like the hardest
thing he’d ever done. Her eyes were glazed over with passion and
her anger had turned to need.

They both stood at a standstill,
panting heavily, fighting their emotions. “Sit down, Amy,” he
finally said, much calmer. He walked over to the sofa, expecting
her to follow.

As reality started resurfacing, Amy
berated herself. She told him she wouldn’t be doing anything with
him and then at one touch of his lips, all rational thought ceased,
and she could do nothing but pull him closer. She was beginning to
realize there was a thin line between love and hate. She wasn’t
nearly as antagonistic toward Lucas as she wanted to be.

The more she was around him; the more
she noticed the attractive things about him, not just his great
looks. What was even more attractive than his looks though, was the
way he talked with other employees, and was willing to lend a
helping hand. Maybe she’d pre-judged him too soon and that was what
had caused them to be so unfriendly toward each other. She knew
she’d been giving off a negative attitude from the first day she
started. She was willing to make a change. She didn’t want to get
involved with him in a relationship, but she could respect him as a
boss.

She finally figured she may as well get
this over with, so she sat in the chair opposite him. “I’m
physically attracted to you. It doesn’t mean anything, though; I
meant what I said earlier. Last night shouldn’t have happened. It
was just a moment of weakness for me. I don’t want to lose my job,
and I don’t want to have a cheap affair with my boss. We need to
remain professional from now on,” she stated in what she hoped was
a professional manner.

He looked at her like she’d lost her
mind. “I agree with you, Ms. Harper,” he said, reverting to her
last name. “Last night shouldn’t have happened. But we need to deal
with the consequences of the night. I forgot to use protection,
which is a first for me. I know you were a virgin and most likely
not on birth control,” he finally stated.

“I don’t neglect my responsibilities,
so if you’re pregnant, I need to know as soon as you do. I won’t
have a child of mine raised without me. We would marry immediately.
Do you understand?” he finished.

Amy was so stunned by Lucas’s words,
she didn’t reply for several heartbeats. She wouldn’t have thought
it was something he’d even consider. If she’d become pregnant, she
would’ve thought he was more likely to ask her to get rid of it.
She never would, but she knew many men wouldn’t want an unexpected
pregnancy. The more she thought about it though; the more it made
sense he’d do what he considered the right thing; to take care of
his child. He came from a loving family, who’d never deny one of
their own.

Amy took some deep breaths before
speaking to Lucas. She repeated to herself that she couldn’t afford
to lose her job, and if she was pregnant she couldn’t afford for
him to know about it. He could easily prove he could take better
care of the child. She didn’t need, nor did she want, a man in her
life. She needed to focus on herself. She’d watched her mother go
through more men than anyone could count. She’d also watched those
men abuse her mother on a daily basis. Most men couldn’t be
trusted.

“Are you going to just sit there and
glare at me or are you going to behave like a grown up and talk?”
he snapped. He wasn’t going to analyze the fact he was the one who
sounded like a pouting child.

“First of all, just because I’m an
employee of yours doesn’t give you the right to speak to me the way
you are. Second of all, I’d never marry you for any reason,
especially to torture any child of mine,” she said
coldly.

“If there’s a child, you damn well…”
Lucas began demanding of her again, but she interrupted
him.

“If there were a child, it would be
mine and mine alone. This isn’t the old days where a woman has to
do a man’s bidding. But a child isn’t something you have to worry
about. I’ve already checked my calendar and there’s nothing to
fear.”

“Last night was a mistake. I’ve been
dating a man for about a year and have been reluctant to take that
last step. Since being with you wasn’t too uncomfortable, I can now
cement our relationship,” she lied.

Lucas was stunned by her words. He knew
she’d been a virgin. The thought of her with another man sent
physical pain coursing through him. She had a boyfriend! She sure
hadn’t mentioned him when she was moaning his name. He was steaming
mad, but maintained an outward calm.