Bet On It: An Age Gap Billionaire Office Romance(36)

She turned to me. "What do you think? Does this dress show confidence too? I don't want Paul to forget why he proposed to me."

Oh, God. "About Paul. Last night, when you went out—"

She walked over to her dresser and grabbed a pair of earrings. “I overslept during my nap, so I'm running late. You think I look alright?"

"You look beautiful. Confident. But—"

She grabbed her purse and then pushed past me out the door. "He's going to be here any minute."

I followed her out to the living room, determined to tell her that Paul was a dirty, rotten cheater. “Betts, I'm trying to talk to you about something that happened last night."

She turned to me. "Okay."

A knock on the door had her turning away from me. She looked back with an apologetic expression on her face. "I'm sorry, Analyn. Can this wait?"

She didn't wait for my answer as she went to the door and opened it.

Paul stepped in, looking at me and then to Betts. "We’re still good for tonight?"

I got the feeling he was trying to find out whether I had told on him or not. Betts smiled, radiating with happiness. "Of course."

He looked at me, probably wondering why I hadn't told her what happened. He’d better not think it was because I changed my mind about his proposal. Weird how I was propositioned twice in one night.

Betts put on her coat and then she turned to me. "We'll talk tomorrow. I promise."

I nodded, my gaze still on Paul, letting him know his time was running short. Maybe he'd realize it and he’d do the right thing and tell Betts the truth.

His smirk over his shoulder as he walked out the door told me that his douchery was still in full swing.





19





Reed





Gino and his company spared no expense on this presentation he brought me regarding a partnership. But it was all gloss and shine. It was clear they'd decided that I was motivated by money and money only because there was no substance to what they outlined. I wanted to toss the material back at him about two seconds into the presentation, but I let him give his spiel. I'd decided that I’d be polite, but my answer would be no.

To be honest, I wasn’t paying that much attention as Gino rambled on. My mind was on Analyn and wondering whether she was considering my proposition. It was all I could do not to call her over the weekend to find out. Now it was Monday morning, and there still hadn't been any word.

Gino finished his presentation and sat across from me. He didn't look expectant like he was eagerly awaiting my answer. No, he looked smug. Like he was certain I was going to say yes. And based on all the things that he explained, I could see where someone who was only interested in money would say yes.

But I had plenty of money, and I wasn't impressed. I knew that by raising objections, he’d end up sticking around to respond to each and every one of them.

So instead, I gathered up the information, putting it in a pile on the corner of my desk. "I will bring this to my team, and we will thoroughly go through it and get back with you."

Gino arched an eyebrow at me. "You're the CEO of this company. You look weak if you have to get permission from your team."

Instead of looking offended, I stared at him in surprise, maybe even projecting that I thought he was an idiot. "Any leader who doesn't utilize the men and women he's hired for their very specific talents to advise him is an idiot."

Gino's eyes narrowed for a moment, but then just as quickly, his smile was back in place. "You must have faith in your team."

"I do. That's the whole reason I hired them. And that's why we're number one." I really wanted to put this guy down a peg or two, and reminding him of my placement in the marketplace was one way to do it.

Thank goodness he seemed to catch on as he stood and buttoned his coat. "Well, in that case, I know I’ll be hearing from you as soon as you and your team meet. This is a solid plan. I know you and your team will see that."

I doubt it. But I reached across my desk and shook his hand. "I'll let you know."

When he left, I opened the top drawer of my desk, pulling out the bottle of hand sanitizer and using practically the whole thing to wipe Gino's essence off me.

Once I felt cleansed, I pulled up recent financial reports and was scanning them when my phone rang. Checking the caller ID, I saw it was Pierce.

"Hey, Pierce. What's up?"

"I've noticed that your private VIP spot at the rink has been empty the last few games. Have you actually solved your women problems, or are you just at home drowning in your tears?"

"Har-har. Neither."

"Listen, if you're not going to use the space, you should donate it to charity."

"That's not a bad idea." I felt bad for not paying attention to the fact that I hadn’t been to a game in a while or that I could have helped a local charity by donating the spot.

"So, are you going to be at the game tonight or not?"

I was scanning my brain on who I could donate the use of my booth to when I decided I would invite Analyn to attend the game with me instead. "I'll be there."

"Good. Your absence was beginning to worry me."