The Billionaire Wins the Game (3 page)

It was most definitely time to go work
out and expend some of his pent up energy. He rode down in his
private elevator, avoiding Amy the rest of the day, choosing to
communicate through email only. It seemed to be much safer that way
for the both of them.

Chapter Two

Time flew by quickly for Amy as she
learned her new job. Lucas was away most of the time and
communication was done through email. Joseph stopped by the office
a few times to help her with things and they ended up chatting for
hours.

Lucas fired the blond receptionist,
thrilling Amy, as the woman had shot daggers at her every time she
came in and out of the office. Amy had wanted to shout at her that
she wasn’t interested in the boss and she could have at him but
somehow she’d managed to maintain her composure.

The new receptionist was a great guy
and with the boss gone, when she had spare time, she would sit with
him, chatting about everything. She’d only been working with him
for a few weeks and he was quickly becoming her best
friend.

Her buzzer sounded. “Amy darling, it’s
lunch time. I need to get out of this place before I go insane.
Let’s head out for some far too greasy pizza and soda,” came Tom’s
energetic voice through her speaker.

“I’m on my way. Give me five minutes to
finish this email for Mr. Anderson and then I’m all
yours.”

Amy came out of her office and Tom
threw his arm around her waist as they headed for the elevators.
The door came open just as he was leaning toward her in what would
seem like an intimate moment to an observer, which was what Lucas
saw as he stepped through the open doors.

“What’s going on here, Amy?” he
practically shouted. “Have you forgotten this is a place of
business? I’m gone a few weeks and you think you can parade your
boyfriends in and out of here? What if I’d been a customer?” The
barely suppressed ire in his voice surprised Amy.

Tom smiled to himself,
turning so his new boss couldn’t see. He could instantly tell the
boss was jealous.
Well, this is certainly
interesting,
he thought to himself. He
decided to have a little bit of fun, “Hello, Mr. Anderson. Ms.
Harper and I were just stepping out on our lunch break. We already
set the phones and will be back in one hour.” With that he pulled
her into the elevator and they were gone.

Before Lucas had time to react, the
doors shut, leaving him stunned and more than a little angry. He
almost followed them so he could drag her back up to the offices.
Only years of tightly managed control had him staying where he was.
What he really wanted to do was pitch Tom out a window and haul Amy
into his arms. He’d avoided her as much as possible in the hope
he’d get over his infatuation, but the way she looked at him didn’t
help. He could see it was a mutual attraction and they both were
fighting their feelings for each other.

He stayed in his office the entire hour
they were gone, not getting any work done. He just paced from one
side of the room to the other, waiting impatiently.

“You know you let him think we were
sneaking off for some illicit affair during our lunch hour. I’m
going to catch hell for that,” Amy tried to say as sternly as
possible as she and Tom sat down.

“I couldn’t resist. He had such a sour
expression on his face at seeing you locked in the arms of my
beautiful self,” he chuckled.

Amy had been fighting her attraction to
Lucas from the moment she’d met him. She knew he wanted her but she
also knew it was a bad idea to get involved with her boss. She
wasn’t one of those women who slept her way to the top. She wasn’t
even close to being one of those corporate barracuda sharks. She
was working hard so that one day she could provide a stable home
for the family she’d always wanted.

“You were holding out on me, you know.
I had no idea the boss was hot for your body,” Tom
continued.

“He isn’t hot for my body,” she said.
“He just likes to be in control of everything, including his
employees. Just you wait, he’ll be telling you who you can date as
well,” she said, starting to see humor in the situation. She knew
they would both end up getting over the attraction soon enough and
she in no way wanted Tom to know she thought her new boss was
stunning and made her breath hitch each time he walked in the
room.

“Darling, I can already tell I’m not
his type, unfortunately,” he sighed, being over dramatic. “I would
love to change him but there are some men who only have eyes for
the hourglass. Poor me, I’m destined for heartache seeing that
piece of man hunk on a daily basis and never having a
shot.”

Tom had successfully pulled her out of
her melancholy. She knew she was going to have to put up with
Lucas’s bad mood when they got back, but for the moment, she and
Tom were having a great lunch.

They laughed and talked between bites
of food and before either was ready, they walked back to the
office, making sure not to have any physical contact. Amy felt no
need to press her luck any further that day. She didn’t want to
lose her job because the boss thought she was the office
floozy.

Before she could even sit down she was
getting buzzed into Lucas’s office. “Ms. Harper, can you please
step in here? We have a lot to go over this afternoon and because
of your extended lunch we’re behind,” his voice snapped over the
intercom.

Amy sighed, knowing her peaceful day
was officially over. She gathered her laptop and headed for the
door that connected their offices. She did grumble a bit to
herself, though, as she’d made sure she didn’t take an extended
lunch and had in fact been back about ten minutes earlier than she
needed to.

Lucas didn’t look up as she walked into
the room. She silently crossed the floor and sat down on the
opposite side of his desk. They sat for several minutes in an
uncomfortable silence. She began to squirm, which ticked her off
even more. How dare he make her feel like a school kid sitting in
the principal’s office because she’d been caught necking on
campus.

Lucas knew the second she entered. She
didn’t make a sound but her scent engulfed him. His eyes were
locked on the computer screen while he blindly punched buttons on
the keyboard, having no clue what he was doing. For all he knew, he
could’ve given away millions of dollars.

He knew he had to make a comment sooner
or later but he was still too close to grabbing her out of the
chair and making her forget any other man but him. He was imagining
throwing her over his desk and ending the torture for both of them.
He could brand her his and she would have no thoughts of any other.
The thought of her crying out his name was almost his
undoing.

“Did you finish that Nielson report I
emailed?” He finally spoke and was satisfied to see her jump at the
sound of his voice. For some strange reason her reaction relaxed
him. He liked how he made her nervous. He wondered what else would
make her jump.

Lucas stood up, walked around his desk
and sat on the edge of it, their legs only inches apart. He noticed
she sat up even straighter if that were possible. Her legs were
locked so tightly together he was surprised she didn’t cry out
suddenly from a muscle cramp.

After what seemed like hours, but was
in fact only seconds, Amy handed him the file wordlessly, having
anticipated he would be asking for it. He took the folder from her,
making sure their fingers brushed. He noticed goosebumps appear on
her arm.

He started feeling much better, knowing
he was back in charge. He pretended to read the file, taking his
time, enjoying the close proximity. “Very good,” she once again
jumped as if she’d forgotten they were sitting in the room
together.

She was far too strong to admit he was
making her feel anything and there was no way she would cry mercy.
He’d figured out that much about her from the first day they’d met.
If she’d looked upset in any way then he would’ve found the will
power to pull away but he could see the passion shimmering in her
eyes.

Lucas shifted his weight, causing his
leg to press against hers. She sat frozen. It was obvious she
wanted to move but didn’t know how to do it without his
notice.

He was getting way too hot sitting so
close to her so he gave them both a break and started pacing the
room to create distance. “Very good work,” he finally said
regarding the file. They got into a comfortable routine after that
and the rest of the afternoon they worked well together. The air
was filled with tension but they made a good team when they both
focused.

He didn’t want to let her leave. He was
enjoying the intoxication of her smell. He took pleasure in the way
her eyes would dart to him and then look away. Her seductive curves
made his body tighten.

She didn’t understand her attraction
toward Lucas. She had to continually tell herself she couldn’t
stand his type. She didn’t need, nor want a man to make her whole.
She liked her life just fine and wanted no one to step in and tell
her how to live. He was just another guy, like so many other men
she’d been around.

She would never go for a rich,
egocentric billionaire like her boss. She prided herself on the
wise decisions she always made and the fact that she was careful to
stick with her goals. She couldn’t mess up all her carefully laid
plans by having a meaningless affair.

At five that evening, there was a knock
on the door. “Come in,” Lucas spoke up.

Tom bounded into the room. “Hello Mr.
Anderson,” he spoke, before turning toward Amy. “You ready to head
out? I got the phones switched over and I’m dying for a Bloody Mary
and some hot wings.”

Lucas glanced at the clock and then
narrowed his eyes at the unwanted intrusion. How had the day gotten
so far away from him? He certainly didn’t want Amy rushing off with
Tom for drinks. He wanted to keep her with him.

Amy started to get up from her seat
when Lucas spoke. “We have too much work to finish tonight, Tom.
Amy will have to miss out on happy hour,” he said rather rudely, in
her opinion.

“It’s okay, Tom, I’ll catch the bus
home tonight. I appreciate the ride in today, though. I’ll see you
on Monday.” She gave him an apologetic smile before going back to
work on her laptop.

“Okay, Hun, see ya Monday,” he
winked.

“Have a great weekend, Mr. Anderson.”
Tom breezed out quickly and once again Amy was alone with Lucas.
She stared after Tom for a few minutes with longing. She would love
to just sit down and have a drink. Her nerves had been on edge all
afternoon.

Lucas’s mood seemed to deteriorate
after Tom left. “Why didn’t you take your own car into work today?”
He finally asked, ending twenty minutes of awkward
silence.

“I don’t have a car. I usually just
ride the bus into work but Tom doesn’t live too far from me so the
last couple of days we’ve been carpooling. I have no problem riding
the bus, though.” She resented having to explain things to
him.

“
I’ll give you a ride home
tonight since I’m keeping you late,” he said as if the matter was
instantly settled. He didn’t expect anything but her
compliance.

She sat for a moment before replying.
“I don’t need a ride home. I told you I’m used to riding the bus.
I’ll be fine,” she said between clinched teeth. She could tell that
wouldn’t be the end of the discussion but she wouldn’t let him walk
all over her, boss or not.

Her reply infuriated him. How dare she
tell him no when he was offering her a ride! He wasn’t used to
anyone defying him and it really pissed him off she would rather
ride the bus than accept a ride from him. Was his company so
repulsive she couldn’t stand to be in his presence for even a
moment longer than she had too?

He was already confused enough about
how he felt. Not wanting to say something he would regret, he
decided to say nothing else. If she really believed he was going to
allow her to ride the bus, then she wasn’t as smart as he believed
her to be.

She may be stubborn but he could
certainly outlast her. He was used to people bending over backwards
for him. It was a bit of a shock, but not all that unpleasant, to
find someone who was willing to argue. He found he liked Amy a bit
more each time she challenged him but there was no way the tiny
little vixen was going to get her own way that night, not when it
was an issue of her safety at hand.

He could see she was getting tired but
he kept piling work upon her. For one thing he was still angry she
refused to ride with him and secondly he just wanted to be in her
company. He was used to working late and before he knew it, time
completely got away from him.

“Mr. Anderson, I don’t want to complain
but it’s eleven o’clock. Can I just come in tomorrow if this really
needs to get done?” she asked with fatigue showing. He felt a
little guilty he’d let his temper override his good judgment. He
would’ve never normally made her stay so late.

“We can finish this on Monday,” he
said. “Let’s get out of here.” He placed his weekend work in his
briefcase and walked with her into her office. He stood by the door
while Amy placed her work down and gathered her purse and coat. She
glanced up and he could tell she was surprised to see him still
standing there.