The Billionaire Wins the Game (2 page)

The first thing she noticed
was his stature. He had to be at least six foot four, with wide
shoulders. Lithe muscles could be perfectly seen, even through the
obviously tailored dark business suit, clearly accentuating his
golden tan. The outfit was complete with a loosened tie, making him
look like he just stepped off the cover of
GQ magazine
.

His hair was dark brown and looked as
if he’d been running his hand through it all morning. In the next
moment he finally looked up and his deep azure blue eyes met her
startled green ones.

“I’m sorry, Esther. I didn’t realize
you had someone in here.”

“Hello, I’m Lucas Anderson,” he
finished and held his hand out to her.

Lucas was known for his ability to read
a person. It was how he was so successful in the corporate world.
The woman seemed to be going through a myriad of emotions, from
nervousness to desire and everything in between as she gazed at
him. She was sparking his curiosity.

When she remained silent, he raised his
eyebrows at her questioningly. Her face turned a nice shade of red
and then she finally broke eye contact.

She snapped out of her trance,
realizing he was waiting for her to introduce herself, so she stood
up and gave him her hand, “Hello, I’m Amy Harper.”

The moment her fingers touched his,
Lucas felt like a bolt of lightning went racing through their
joined fingers, straight to his groin. She was beautiful, sure, but
so were many other women he was in contact with each day, though
none had the power to electrify him with a simple touch.

Lucas turned toward Esther, releasing
Amy’s hand at the same time. “When your guest leaves can you come
into the office to take care of a few things?” he asked and then
turned away.

“Has your father not spoken with you
yet, Lucas?” Esther asked, stopping him.

“Talked to me about what?”

“I sent you my notice last month and
told you your father would be hiring a new assistant,” she
stated.

“I told you then, I needed you to stay
longer. I assumed the matter was settled,” he said a bit too
harshly.

“Lucas, don’t you dare use that tone of
voice with me. Don’t forget, I’ve seen you running around in
nothing but a diaper. You knew when your father retired I’d be
leaving as soon as you got settled in. I stayed on to make sure you
had a smooth transition, but now it’s my turn for retirement. I
love this company, but like your father, sometimes it’s best to get
on with things and bring in a new generation.”

“I’m sorry about the misunderstanding.
Can you work one more month so I can find an appropriate
replacement to take your position? I’ll double your salary, knowing
it’s an inconvenience,” he pled, trying to forget Amy was in the
room.

“Your father already conducted the
interviews and Amy’s your new assistant. I’ve been training her all
morning and she’s doing a remarkable job,” Esther finished and
patted Amy on the hand.

Suddenly Amy had his undivided
attention once again. The minute he turned those eyes back on her,
she felt her stomach drop. The man had enough heat packed in his
eyes to be considered a fire hazard. She’d never reacted so
strongly to anyone before and wasn’t happy about the unfamiliar
feelings flooding through her.

“I’ll speak to my father about this,
but I should’ve been informed about the interviews. Don’t get too
comfortable in your new position, Ms. Harper,” he spoke with the
upmost authority, then stormed through the doorway, shutting it a
little bit harder than necessary.

“I thought he knew I’d been hired. He
didn’t even know you were leaving,” Amy said with apprehension in
her voice. She could be losing her dream job before it even
started.

“Now, don’t you worry about anything,
Amy. Everything will be just fine.” They got absorbed in their work
and the incident was placed on the back burner, still there, but
put away for the moment.

“Dad, how do you expect me to run this
company when you’re stepping in and doing things without letting me
know?” Lucas was pacing in front of his father, back and forth
across the parlor at his parents’ home.

“Now son, I told you when I left,
Esther would be retiring once you got settled in. I also said I’d
take care of her replacement. It’s not my fault you forgot. And
it’s not Esther’s fault you didn’t take her resignation seriously,”
his father said.

“Dad, I know you’re up to something. I
just can’t figure out what it is this time, but I’m capable of
hiring my own staff,” he spoke with frustration. It was so much
harder to argue with the man when he was being reasonable. “It
doesn’t exactly look good when the President of the company doesn’t
know what’s going on in his own offices,” he finished.

“Son, I interviewed about thirty people
and Ms. Harper was, by far, the most qualified candidate. Believe
me, you won’t have any problems with her. I checked her out
extensively before sending her to you.” Little did his son know he
was actually checking her out as his future daughter-in-law and
could care less about her qualifications as an executive assistant,
although she’d done very well in school and would most likely do an
extraordinary job at the office.

“Fine, I’ll see how she works out, but
if she doesn’t work soundly with me then I’ll fire her and the next
person will be someone I find, not you,” he said.

“Of course, Lucas,” his dad quickly
agreed. “Now, on to other business,” he prompted, before getting
back to work. By the time Lucas returned to the office everyone was
gone. He could still smell Amy’s scent in the room. He didn’t think
her employment was going to work out. He had a feeling his new
employee was going to be nothing but trouble for him.

He had a lot of work to do, so he
walked through their connecting doors, into his own office, which
made Amy’s seem small, if that were possible. He sat back on his
couch and started reading a file, falling asleep before he knew it.
That wasn’t unusual. He slept at the office as much as he did in
his own home.

Lucas’s brothers would mock him when he
was growing up, saying he was a sixty year old man in a teenager’s
body. He didn’t care if they teased him. He had goals and
responsibilities and if that meant he wasn’t into the stuff most
teenagers were, then so be it. Look at where he was now. He was the
head of a company respected throughout the world and had more than
most people could even dream of.

Amy stepped off the elevator feeling
good. What a difference from her first ride up, such a short time
ago. The month had flown by and she was doing well at her job, if
she did think so herself.

“Amy, come on over and have some cake,”
she heard Esther calling. “It’s my retirement party.” Amy looked up
to find employees from the offices crowding the glass conference
room. Everyone was chatting and eating.

“Amy dear, how are you doing?” This
came from Joseph Anderson. He walked up and threw an arm around her
shoulders.

“It’s great, Mr. Anderson. Thank you
again for giving me this opportunity.” She added bashfully, not
knowing what else to say.

“Nonsense, my girl, you earned this
position. Esther said you are fitting right in and doing a
fantastic job.” He laughed heartily.

“Come with me. There’s someone I want
you to meet.” He wrapped her arm in his and dragged her across the
room.

“Mike, I want you to meet Amy. She’s
the new executive assistant for Lucas,” he said in an excessively
loud voice, which had several heads turning toward them. Amy could
feel her face grow warmer as she didn’t like to be the center of
attention.

“Nice to meet you, Amy,” Mike
replied.

“Mike is an assistant next door. If you
have any questions, I’m sure he can answer them for you. I’ll just
leave the two of you to chat,” Joseph said with a chuckle while
walking away. Amy stayed and chatted with Mike, finding his company
pleasant.

Mike was far more the kind of man who
normally interested Amy. He was average looking, not someone you
would place on a calendar, but who you’d definitely give a second
glance. He had a sense of humor and kept up a witty conversation.
He was safe.

Amy almost wished she was
searching for a relationship, as Mike seemed the kind of man who
would be pleasant to date. He wasn’t arrogant and he didn’t seem to
be demanding.
Oh well
, she sighed to herself, letting the thought pass.

Across the room, Lucas was watching her
every move. She never smiled that way when he talked to her. Of
course, he was normally barking orders. He still didn’t like the
attention she was giving to another male, and he really didn’t like
the interest he saw in Mike’s eyes. As Lucas slowly looked her up
and down he could understand that interest.

What did his father think he was doing,
introducing her to Mike? Everyone knew he went through women faster
than he changed clothing. Many women had been fooled by his act of
affection but Lucas knew the guy only had one goal in mind and
Lucas was sure Amy wasn’t ready for the consequences of a failed
office romance.

Lucas was even more irritated he cared.
He consoled himself by thinking he was only concerned because if
she got distracted, her work performance would suffer, and he’d
have to fire her. He would then have to take time away from his
busy schedule to hire a new employee.

He was just about ready to storm over
there, grab her arm, and drag her away, when his father approached.
“How are you doing, boy?” he asked far too slyly.

“Fine Father, and you?” he
automatically responded, not taking his eyes off Amy.

Joseph was thinking his plan was coming
along just fine. His son was falling for Amy quickly and Lucas
didn’t even realize it. Joseph may as well push things along a bit
more and help speed things up. In the game of love no one could
lose.

“Don’t you think Amy and Mike look good
together? She’s seemed a little lonely this past week,” he
said.

“Mike’s a cad. I’m going to put a stop
to this. You need to quit meddling in people’s lives, Father,”
Lucas said angrily.

“I’m sorry, Lucas. I didn’t know you
were interested in her. You know, a boss shouldn’t have a romance
with his employee,” he added. He knew his son well. There was
nothing he enjoyed more than a challenge.

“I’m not interested in her," Lucas
said, not fooling his father in the least. “I just know what kind
of a man Mike is. He’ll break her heart and then her work will be
affected. I’m only thinking of the work environment.” With those
parting words he started walking in her direction.

Joseph chuckled to himself feeling
downright giddy. Oh yes, his son was falling hard. He’d picked out
the perfect match for him.

“Amy, we have work to do," Lucas said
as he approached her and Mike. He didn’t even acknowledge Mike’s
presence. Mike, not wanting to upset the boss, slunk away without
another word. Amy lost a bit of respect for him. She turned around,
inwardly sighing.

“Yes sir, I’m sorry. I’ll get right on
it,” Amy replied with her head held high while heading toward her
office. She didn’t understand why he sounded so irritated. Everyone
was at the party. It wasn’t like she was the one who’d thrown
it.

Lucas followed her into the office,
then stood looming over her as she sat down. “I don’t like office
romances, they cause nothing but trouble,” he informed her in his
most stately tone of voice, which caused the hair on the back of
her neck to stand up. She had to silently count to ten before
responding.

“First of all, Mr. Anderson," she said
through clenched teeth, “I was simply socializing with another
employee. And second of all, who I do choose to have a romance with
is none of your business.” Amy was surprised by the acid in her own
voice

Suddenly he was only inches from her
face. “When you work for me you will listen to what I say. Mike’s a
womanizer and I don’t want to deal with the repercussions when he
throws you out like stale bread, and believe me, he
will.”

Amy leaned back from him, her heart
rate accelerating. She was sure her heart was pounding so much it
was visible to him, even through her shirt. She forgot all about
her anger with the man as the urge to reach out and grab him was
overwhelming. She wanted Lucas. Everything about him screamed sex,
and if he leaned in a couple more inches and claimed her mouth
she’d welcome it.

For what seemed like an
eternity she couldn’t break eye contact with him. She felt liquid
heat pooling inside of her.
Look away,
look away, look away,
she shouted at
herself until she finally found the will-power to turn her head,
wondering how long they’d stood there face to face.

Realizing how close he was to her and
also the intense desire he had to kiss her, shocked Lucas enough
into standing up straight and retreating from her office. Before he
could think about it, he slammed the door, causing the pictures on
the wall to shake.

Lucas leaned against the door and
willed his body to return to normal. He hadn’t felt so much desire
for a woman since his college days. Even then he knew he’d
possessed more control. If she hadn’t broken their eye contact he
may have ended up taking her right there on her desk, just a few
short feet away from hundreds of employees who could’ve walked in
at any moment.