The Billionaire Wins the Game (4 page)

“Okay, Mr. Anderson, I‘ll see you
Monday.” She tried to make a quick exit and headed straight toward
the elevators, hoping he would forget about the ride issue. He
grinned to himself, enjoying the edge to her voice. He found it
comical she thought he could so easily be dismissed. Usually women
were chasing him all over the place. He liked the cat and mouse
game with his new assistant.

Amy pressed the elevator button and
they both stepped in for the long ride down. Neither of them spoke.
He was smiling to himself while she was fighting her
irritation.

When they reached the lobby, they got
out and walked toward the doors. “Hi Amy, you’re working late.
There aren’t any more busses running. Would you like for me to call
you a cab?” the night guard asked.

“That would be great, Paul,” she gave
him her best smile. “How’s that beautiful little girl of yours
doing? Did she make the basketball team?”

“Yes, she made varsity and has been
prancing around the house for two days now. I’ll show you the
pictures as soon as my wife gets them developed,” he continued.
“Good night, Mr. Anderson. Have a safe ride home,” he said to Lucas
as if just realizing he was there with the two of them.

“Paul, Ms. Harper won’t need that cab
called. I’ll give her a ride home tonight,” Lucas stated with the
confidence of knowing his word would be taken with no questions
asked. Paul looked from her rigid face to his boss’s unyielding
expression and decided he wasn’t getting in the middle of whatever
was going on.

“Okay then, enjoy your weekend.” He
turned and walked back over to his desk.

Lucas pulled Amy through the front
doors, while gripping her arm. She didn’t want to cause a scene in
front of Paul so she went without a struggle but she was going to
give Lucas a piece of her mind once they were outside. Of all the
obnoxious, arrogant things the man could do. If he felt he could
manhandle her and expect her to go along with it he had another
thing coming.

As soon as they were outside she turned
toward him, ready to unleash all her anger that had been building
the past few hours. “Look...” she didn’t get to finish. He suddenly
pulled her into his arms and crushed his lips to hers.

She was so stunned she stood rigid in
his arms for about three seconds while his lips stroked hers. Then,
she forgot who she was, let alone who he was, and melted into him.
All of the anger, frustration, and her building attraction for the
man spilled over and she turned to putty.

There were no thoughts of protest or
anger anymore. She’d never been knocked off her feet before but
there was a first time for everything. Her body was on fire and she
never wanted the feeling to stop.

Her arms reached around his neck and
her lips opened in invitation, allowing him full access to her
mouth. His lips softened, caressing instead of bruising. His arms
moved up and down her back, molding her body to his. She felt like
she couldn’t get close enough.

She couldn’t breathe, but she had no
need for oxygen. Her only desire was for his body to be pressed
against hers and his lips to keep working their magic. Her stomach
had a million butterflies fluttering around and sparks of
electricity shot through her.

Lucas was ready to take her there on
the sidewalk. His body and mind were on fire for her. He couldn’t
have remembered his own name if someone had asked it right then. He
had to have her. He started to lift up the bottom of her shirt,
forgetting they were standing in full view of anyone who cared to
walk by.

Amy was the first of them to snap back
to reality. What was she doing? She was about ready to let her boss
take her against the outside wall of the office building. She
snapped her head back and pushed him away. Before she knew what she
was doing her hand came up and slapped him hard across the
cheek.

She stood there, breathing heavily, her
eyes rounded to twice their normal size. She’d just about made love
to her boss against a wall, in public, and then she’d slapped him
in the face. She could do nothing but stare in horror.

Lucas couldn’t tell if she was stunned
from the kissing, the slapping, or both. She also looked flushed
and disheveled. He took a step back so he wouldn’t grab her again.
He would gain control of himself because he knew beyond a shadow of
a doubt she’d be his. He knew he wouldn’t be able to break the
spell she had over him until they both caved into the feelings
coursing through them.

“I will allow that one for free, but be
ready to face the consequences if you slap me again,” he said,
while rubbing his jaw. She had really put her body weight behind
the hit. She wasn’t some helpless female who couldn’t hold her own
against him.

“How dare you,” she spat. “You don’t
just go around kissing anyone you feel like. You may be rich and
great looking, but you don’t own me. I’m your employee and nothing
more.” With those words she spun around and started walking away.
She had no idea where she was heading. She just knew she had to get
away before she burst into tears. She was completely confused about
how she was feeling and needed a few minutes to clear her
head.

She took about five steps before Lucas
grabbed her arm and spun her around. “I don’t know what kind of a
game you’re playing Amy but you gave just as much as you took back
there,” he snapped. His body was still on fire and her hot and cold
was playing havoc with him. He wanted to throw her down on the
sidewalk and take her in one swift move, which shocked the hell out
of him.

“I’m sorry about that,” she barely got
out. “I lost my head for a moment, but if you think I took this
position so I could sleep with my boss, then you have another thing
coming. Just forget this night happened. I know I will. I’ll see
you on Monday, Mr. Anderson.” She struggled to pull free from his
iron grasp.

Her words were escalating his temper.
It was like she’d thrown a cup of ice cold water in his face. She
would forget about what had just happened? Like hell she would. He
was close to reminding her once again of their chemistry. Only a
lot of years of tightly reigned in self-control prevented him from
doing just that.

He wouldn’t be forgetting about her
anytime soon and he realized he didn’t want her to forget about him
either. He was sorely tempted to call her bluff but knew he didn’t
have the willpower to stop twice in a few minutes time. The next
time he started something they’d be somewhere it could be finished
and he’d make sure she was an active participant and not playing
the victim.

Instead of kissing her, he turned and
pulled her along behind him. She fought him each step of the way
but he guessed she knew her words would do no good because she
remained silent. He reached his car and clicked the lock. He wasted
no time tossing her in the front seat and then walking around to
get into the driver’s side.

He turned the car on and pulled out of
the parking lot. “Where do you live, Amy?”

She was so seething mad she had to
count silently to ten before she could speak again. “I told you I
didn’t want to ride with you!” she finally spit.

“Well, whether you wanted the ride or
not, you got it, so it would be really helpful if you would just
tell me where you lived. That is, unless you want to come back to
my place and finish what we started back there on the street,” he
offered.

Once again, she had to count in her
head. She felt trapped between a rock and a hard place. The last
thing she wanted was for her extravagant boss to see where she
lived. She planned on getting out of there as soon as she had
enough money saved up. She thought for a few moments, then gave him
the address of a nearby apartment complex.

She knew if he really wanted to find
her place he was perfectly capable, but on the other hand, she
didn’t see him ever having a reason to go looking for her,
either.

They pulled up to the building and she
saw a car turn on their backup lights. She knew she’d have to move
quickly or he’d insist on walking her to the door. He stopped to
wait for the car and she jumped out before he could stop her and
dashed around the side of the building.

She said nothing to him, didn’t even
glance back to see his expression. She would assume he was furious
with her for getting the upper hand. Once in a while the man surely
had to lose a battle, even if she was sure he always won the
war.

Amy wasn’t taking any chances and as
soon as he was out of her sight, she went into a full blown sprint
and hid behind some shrubs. She stayed there for much longer than
was probably necessary. Finally, when she figured he was gone, she
crept out and snuck to the front of the building, peaking around
and looking for his car.

The coast was clear. She
sighed to herself. She had about a two mile walk to get back to her
place and the shoes she was wearing were not made for it.
Oh well
she
thought,
I may as well get
started
.

She said a silent prayer
she wouldn’t get mugged on the way. The neighborhood wasn’t exactly
what you would call
family friendly
and she was usually not out so late
alone.

An hour passed before Amy arrived at
her place. She sighed in disgust. It was a very weathered, hundred
year old home that hadn’t been maintained. She’d scrubbed her room
from top to bottom for two days straight before ever sleeping
there.

She’d just needed to stay there long
enough to finish her college degree. She worked full time while
going to school, but had barely made enough to cover tuition, let
alone living expenses. She’d always been willing to do whatever it
took to make a better future for herself. She wasn’t afraid of hard
work and had proven it to herself and others throughout the
years.

Her single mother had been
about the worst parent imaginable and had taken her from one crack
house to the next. Amy had always been hungry, dirty and had to
fight her mom’s many
friends
off on a daily basis.

She was grateful she’d discovered the
local libraries as her sanctuaries and fell in love with reading.
She’d spent hours going through every book imaginable from opening
till closing.

The library had been warm and it was
there she knew she’d go to college and never live that way again.
Amy’s mother died when she was only fourteen years old and she had
been one of the lucky few to be placed in a good foster home. It
was there she’d received her first real break in life. Amy had
mourned her mother, even though she hadn’t deserved to be mourned,
but at the same time, she’d known she was one of the lucky ones to
have gotten out of the bad situation.

She’d gone from a drug infested
apartment to a family friendly neighborhood with a great school and
she’d even earned some scholarships. She already knew how to
survive on nothing and once she graduated and then landed the great
job with the Andersons Corporation her dreams were finally almost a
reality. In one more month she’d finally have a real home of her
own.

Amy snapped back to reality as she let
herself into her shared rental and looked around her dilapidated
bedroom. She lifted her head high, because she was soon going to be
out of the horrible place and she’d never once look
back.

Saturday morning, Tom was getting ready
to head out the door and drive to Amy’s house when his phone rang.
“Speak to me,” he said in his usual chirpy voice.

“I’m looking for Tom, please,” replied
the very formal tone of Lucas.

“This is Tom. How can I help you, Mr.
Anderson?” Why would the boss be calling him on a
Saturday?

“Tom, I’m searching for Amy’s address.
The one in her personnel file appears to be wrong. She left her
purse in my car last night and I need to return it. Since you’ve
been carpooling together you must have it.” Tom almost gave the
information to him without thought.

The way his boss spoke,
came out much more like a command from a drill sergeant. He felt
like he should be saluting and shouting,
Yes Sir
. He stopped himself in the
nick of time, remembering Amy had a wrong address for a
reason.

“I’ll be seeing Amy this weekend, Mr.
Anderson. I could take the purse to her. She’s meeting me at the
bar later tonight,” he said. Tom figured this would make all
parties happy. He figured wrong.

“Tom, I don’t hand over one
employee’s belongings to another employee. I will see to it that
Amy gets her purse back,
myself
. If you would be so kind as
to give me that address
now,
then I can get her the purse.” His voice had been
formal before, now it was cold as ice.

Wow
, Tom was thinking,
this guy has it
bad. If I want to keep my job, I’d better let him know I’m not
interested
. “Um, Mr. Anderson, Amy and I
are just friends. She’s really,
really
, not my type, if you know
what I mean. So, you don’t have to worry about inter office dating
or anything with us.” He figured Lucas was a smart guy and would
put two and two together.