Bet On It: An Age Gap Billionaire Office Romance(14)

Is that what she thought? "I'm hiring you because your resume shows that you are the ideal one for the job. And even though I didn't get a chance to interview you, I interviewed several other people today, and it was clear that you had the professionalism and the knowledge that I need for this position. I'm not the only one who thinks so. My admin does as well."

She sat back, her features softening somewhat, making me hope I had given her the right answer.

"You essentially had an advantage over all the other candidates because I know how creative and inventive you can be."

Immediately, she stiffened, and her cheeks reddened in rage. Her jaw tightened, and her dark eyes narrowed like lasers, trying to disintegrate me on the spot.

Only then did I realize how my words could be construed. Fuck. Everything I was saying was giving her the impression that I wanted to hire her because I wanted to continue to fuck her. And while I couldn't deny that getting her into bed was an appealing proposition, I knew that if I hired her, it would be an impossibility.

How was it that things between us had been so easy a month ago, and now we were like two different people? I suppose it was the circumstances. Tonight, we weren’t two strangers wanting company at a club. I was a CEO and she was a job applicant.

I started to open my mouth to see what I could do to defuse the situation and get us back on the topic, but she shot up from her chair, nearly tilting it back.

Fuck. She was leaving.





6





Analyn





I stared at Reed, wondering how I’d misjudged him a month ago. He was a misogynistic pig.

Then again, I had picked him up in a bar and had sex with him. What else was he supposed to think about me? Well, if he thought that by hiring me he was going to have a piece of ass to play with all day, he was sorely mistaken.

With indignation filling my tone, I let him know the facts. "My qualifications for this job are strong. I have the education and experience. If you think you're hiring me to be a little side piece, you've got another thing coming."

There was no sense in staying because there was nothing he could say. Even if he apologized, I couldn't work for him. Not if he saw me as the woman he fucked a month ago.

I started toward the door, but his hand reached out, wrapping around my wrist. Heat shot through my arm, and the image of him holding my wrists over my head as he thrust into me flashed in my brain. Stupid hormones. Stupid memories.

I gave my head a shake to clear the image out and tugged my arm free.

"You've got the wrong idea. I want to hire you, but not to sleep with you."

Yeah, right. "I find that hard to believe."

He motioned to the chair. "Please sit. Let me explain."

I glared down at him.

"Remember that night a month ago? How I bet you that a man would hit on you or that you were a better dancer . . .?"

I stared at him in shock. What was he getting at? If he didn't want to sleep with me again, why was he bringing up what happened a month ago? "I don't see how that's going to make your case that you're not trying to hire a mistress."

He nodded toward the chair. "Please. Sit, and I'll explain."

Leave, leave, leave, ran like a mantra in my mind. And yet, I pulled out the chair and sat, crossing my arms as if somehow proving my resistance to him. "Okay, I'm listening. What do the various bets we made have anything to do with the job?"

Then it occurred to me that his business was a gambling establishment. Maybe that's where the betting came in. Still, it was weird for him to bring up our night together at a job interview that he was telling me had nothing to do with our night together.

"My life has become boring as hell."

I rolled my eyes and scoffed. "Oh, yeah, Mr. Billionaire can't afford any fun in his life." I leaned forward. "How many other women have picked you up in this place since I last saw you? How many before that? Seriously, you are the epitome of First-World whining."

He mimicked me, leaning forward, his eyes staring directly into mine. "None."

"What?"

"I haven't been with a woman since you, and before you, well, let's just say it'd been a while. And the last person hadn’t been someone who picked me up while I was sitting by myself, minding my own business, in a bar."

I flinched at the reminder that the whole reason we ended up together a month ago was because I’d started it. But I’d ended it as well.

"So, what does your being bored with life have to do with me?"

He sat back. "You'll bring some excitement to the office."

What the hell? "What is that supposed to mean? For somebody who’s trying to tell me that you didn't bring me here because you want to sleep with me, everything out of your mouth suggests the opposite."

He shook his head. "I didn’t realize I was so bad with words. Even if we hadn't slept together that night, I enjoyed your company. I like your personality, and I think it would bring a lot to the office."

I narrowed my eyes, studying him, trying to decide whether he was telling me the truth. "So that means you're saying you have no interest in sleeping with me. You just think I have a good personality—"

"And as you pointed out, you have the education and experience."