The Billionaire's Touch (BDSM Erotic Romance) (His Submissive, Part Two) (5 page)

She traced the circular base of her wine glass and let out a chuckle. "I was wondering when you'd ask." She ran a hand through her hair before sitting up tall, ready for the inquisition. "Ask away."

"The guy I know is incredibly driven, charismatic but.
.
." I trailed off, trying to figure out the word.

"Guarded?" she finished for me.

"Exactly!" I said, clapping m
y hands together. "But with you, he's different. The laughing--
hell, the smiling. He just seemed so open. A complete polar opposite."

"
Sì
," she said after polishing of
f her wine. A long moment passed
as she
reached for the wine bottle, refilled her glass and then
looked at the
burgundy liquid
like she was hypnotized. "The lights on Jacob are so bright that you only see the truth if you know where to look."

I fiddled with a curl
, puzzled by what she
was saying. "So he's not happy
being in the public eye?"

It didn't make sense--the reality
TV
show, the high profile celebrity clients, the glitz and glam that I'd been bombarded with since I agreed to be his assistant. None of it seemed to match up with someone that didn't love the flashing lights and everything they bring.

"What is happiness?" She didn't wait for an answer. "You are too young to be fa
miliar with his father's work. He was h
u
ge in the pictures back in the 7
0's. Well, huge in Europe, anyway. His father, Carlton, came from nothing, so he invested, saved every penny so Jacob could have more." She shrugged her shoulders. "Jacob grew up in wealth. He knows nothing else."

"So, poor little rich boy
?" As soon as it came out I regretted it and Allegra's eyes darkened. "I didn't mean that as harsh as it came out."

"It's alright,"
she said,
but I could tell from the way she gripped her glass that I'd just lost some
major
points. "The world has no sympathy for the lot of those with money. We forget that money can't buy happiness."

Not knowing what to say to that, I stuffed a corner
of bread in my mouth and chewed
it
nice and slow. I was hard on him, but the truth was I had no i
dea what it would be like to have my
success
, failures, loves and
catastrophes to be br
oadcast for public consumption.
I figured it was something I should say out loud so she didn't think I was completely rude when the chatter around us re
ached a fever pitch. Shouts in I
ta
lian mixed with other words, but there were two that I, and most of the free world, were familiar with. ‘Rachel Laraby’.

The
sound of my chair creaking back met a chorus of others as everyone's attention turned to the
front and gawked at the
statuesque woman at the hostess desk.

Rachel Laraby—A
merica's sweetheart since she played a plucky high school dropout alongside George Clooney. From there it was a string of romanti
c comedies and a sprinkle of indie films to maintain
her street credit
among the critics
.

But it wasn’t all red carpets and Oscars for Rachel. At twenty-
six
,
she'd bee
n in and out of rehab three, no, four times. 
Unlike most celebrities that never fully recover
ed
in the public eye, after each stint, Rachel
regained
the hearts and minds of anyone that set their eyes on her.

It made sense, I guess. She was the
perfect Hollywood star with
impossibly beautiful bone structure paired with bright green eyes and a smile photogenic
enough
to se
ll whatever it was tacked onto
.
Her ebony colored hair
was always glossy with the right amount of body. Her curves made her relatable, but she
was thin enough that she could wear the hell out of anything
. Every woman wanted to be
her and every m
an wanted to take her to bed.

A
nd she was our client.

I glanced back at Allegra
, the stars wearing off and confusion
setting in. "Was there a meeting tonight?" I looked down at my outfit. "I can't meet Rachel Laraby wearing this."

"There is no meeting," Allegra said darkly. "Only trouble."

"Trouble?” I asked, even more confused. “
But I-"

"Allegra De Luca!" If the flashes of
cameras and phones
intensifying around us was
no indication, there was no mistaking Rachel's signature Southern drawl. "If you don't stand up so I can hug your neck!"

I'd seen the r
eal thing enough to know the smile
Allegra slathered on as she rose to her feet was far from genuine.

"Rachel," she said, wary edging her voice. "I didn't think we'd
be seeing you until
tomorrow morning."

Rachel waved a manicured hand, dismissing that whole notion. "I just
had
to come and say hello to my favorite woman in Venice!" She spun in a circle and
swiped a nearby chair, managing to
squeeze the wicker thing between the two of us
and
completely ignore my existence. Allegra flashed me an apologetic smile and when Rachel lowered her lean frame into the seat, began the pleasantries.

"Rachel
," she began. "This is-"

"Any friend o
f Al's is a friend of mine!" Rachel
cast a
phony smile
at me
before she flipped her hair and leaned in toward Allegra. "I wanted to ask you about Jacob's new assistant. He
's been keeping it so hush hush,
so she must be something special."

"Allow me to introduce
Leila Montgomery," Allegra said with a smug glimmer in her eye. "Jacob's
lovely
new assistant."

Rachel turned
her head so hard I was surprised she didn't get whiplash.
She inspected me, nice and slow,
and from the snort that fell from her lips, I came up wanting.

"You can't be serious." She jutted a finger in my face, literally inches from my nose. "
She's
the new assistant?"

I felt anger sparking all over my body, but I tried to breathe through it. Maybe she didn't mean it as jack ass-y as it came out.

"Yes," I said placidly. "I'm the new assistant. And, uh, your finger-"

"Is this some sort of joke?" She ga
ve me a sly smile. "Am I being
P
unk'd
?"

"Get your hand
out of my face," I growled,
nostrils flaring.

She finally droppe
d the pointer, but not her
shock at someone like Jacob hiring someone like me.
For choosing someone like me. I glanced at Allegra and she was clearly struggling to hold her tongue too.

"Well,
maybe after the others he
finally
went with
som
eone that can do their job." Rachel
gave my hand a sympathetic pat. "Someone...bookish."

"Bookish?" I fired back. I'd had my fill of people judging me by my employer and job title, and celebrity or not, I wasn't gonna lay down and let her denigrate me. "I don't know what your problem is-"

"Leila," Allegra intervened, trying to diffuse the situation. "Maybe we should-"

"No," Rachel hissed, raising her nose so high I was surprised I couldn't see her brain. Her eyes narro
wed as she looked
at me like I was something stuck on the bottom of her shoe. "I'm doing you a favor
, sweetheart
. This isn't a movie--this is real life. On what planet would a girl like you end up with someone like him?" She didn't give me
a chance to reply, shoving backward
from the table with a screech. "I've lost my appetite."

I balled my fists in my lap as I heard mur
murs of interest all around us.

Allegra's voice cut throug
h it, low and concerned. "Leila,
don't you go listening to a thing that woman says."

I gave her a
halfhearted
smile and swallowed the lump in my throat. "You know, I'm not very hungry either."

"Leila-"

"I'll see you in the m
orning."

I moved to the lobby
, shooting a look toward the
entrance
where Rachel stood posing for pictures, each one snapped better than the last.

Who was I kidding, thinking that Jacob could have a connection with me?
I thought despondently.
I tried to get close
and
he took two steps back. And now on top of that, I was competing with Rachel Laraby?

I walked briskly in the direction of the elevator
, but a bellhop stood in my way, looking over at Rachel like she was his soulmate.

“
Molto bella
, no?” he said with a sigh. I didn’t need
a dictionary to figure out what he said.

“Yep,” I said acidly, pushing past him. “Gorgeous.
”

I fussed over my hair, trying to tug it into submission
. With a groan of frustration,
I snatched a Cha
nel scarf from the bundle of accessories Jacob
had given me
. I gathered my dark spirals int
o a bun at the nape of my neck
then wrapped
the scarf around
the rest,
letting only a
curve
o
f curls peek out. Paired with a
black sheath dress and gold sandals, I actually pulled off chic.

Appearances can be deceiving,
I thought glumly, grabbing my purse stuffed with a planner and a note
book. Truth was,
I felt like the new girl on the first day of school, completely out of my element.

I moved to the elevator and punched the ‘C’ for the conference floor and the elevator zipped me to my destination.

You can do this,
I thought to myself.
You’re just taking notes
.

But the thought of being in a room with Rachel Laraby was enough to make me hyperventilate. I ha
ted to admit it, but the notion
that she’d ever been with Jacob coupled with h
er disbelief that he could
be attracted to someone like me was enough to make my blood boil.

I took a deep breath as I rounded the corner and came face to face with the ornate door of the room Jacob reserved for the meeting.
Here we go
.

When I pushed into
C12, the sight of Allegra, dressed in a crisp charcoal jacket, slacks, and a supportive sm
ile, was enough to make me sigh with relief
.

“Leila,” she breathed, bringing me a piping cup of coffee. “You look well rested.
”

I gave her a look and
glanced at the clock on the wall. It was three minutes
‘
til 10. “Jacob’s running late?”

She moved to a
table on the wall, lined with fruit, slices of bread, and cheeses. “He had to pick up Rachel.”

A part of me couldn’t help but leap at the last bit. ‘Pick up’ meant that they hadn’t spent the night together. When Allegra turned and gave
me a curious look, I brought the mug to my mouth
, trying to hide the smile at my lips. If she picked up on my reaction there’d be even more questions, which meant more confusing emotions for me to muddle through.

T
he door creaked open and the sound of Rachel chattering about chateaus and gondolas came rushing in.

“You should have seen it, Jacob. The stars, the music, the water.” She cozied up to him, obviously for my benefit. “Maybe tonight?”

I hated myself for
moving to a
table near them, making my presence known. I found his gaze and held
it, silently hoping he would just tell her “No” flat out. T
hat he had something. Had someone.

Jacob only looked at me for a moment before he broke away, extricating himself from her arm. “Perhaps we should talk about this later, Rachel.”

I bristled at his vague response,
slamming my purse onto the table. “Good morning.”