Bet On It: An Age Gap Billionaire Office Romance(67)

I turned and looked at her. "Reed came by."

She glanced at my bed, and my cheeks inflamed. "I see it was a productive visit." Her gaze returned to me. "Does that mean the issue of his being your boss has been resolved?"

I shook my head. "Not exactly. But we are both determined to resolve it."

She gave me a concerned expression. "You're not going to be one of those women who quits her job for a man, though, are you?"

I shook my head. “But it’s possible, even probable, that I’m going to have to deal with people wondering how I got my job. I hate that."

Betts looked at me in sympathy. "But you can't really go through life worrying about what other people think, right? I mean, that would suck if people thought you slept your way into your job, but you and Reed know the truth. And the quality of your work reveals the truth, right?"

She was right, of course, but it was still no easy feat trying to work in a place where you knew people questioned your ability, questioned whether or not you earned your spot.

Not wanting to think about it now, I asked, "How do I look?"

She grinned. "Confident. The poor guy is going to have a difficult time hiding how much he wants you."

I laughed. "Good."

I put on my coat, grabbed my purse, and headed out the door. Just as I was about to reach my car, a van pulled up, screeching to a halt. The door flew open, and as I turned, wondering what was going on, two arms wrapped around my shoulders and somebody else came around, grabbing my ankles, flipping me up until they were carrying me.

I screamed. "What's going on? Let me go." I tried to flail, but the two burly men had a strong hold on me. They tossed me into the side door of the van and climbed in behind me. I scrambled back into a corner trying to figure out how to escape.

"Your boyfriend really screwed up this time."

When I was able to focus on the man speaking, I realized it was the same person who'd given me the warning the other night. My heart raced and dread filled me as I realized what was going on. I was being kidnapped by people with ties to the mob.





35





Reed





If my office wasn't on fire or otherwise erupting in chaos, I was going to fire Catherine. An emergency at work had come at the worst fucking time. I was on the cusp of creating something with Analyn when Catherine called in hysterics, telling me I needed to get to the office but not giving me any details about what was going on.

On the way to the office, I called the Golden Oasis to arrange flowers and a gourmet dinner for me and Analyn. No matter what was happening at the office, I was going to meet Analyn in an hour and woo her until she fell into my arms.

It was just after five in the evening when I exited the elevators and made my way toward my office. Everything around me was quiet. As I glanced over at the various departments, most were empty. The few employees who were still working were focused on their jobs. Goddammit, if Catherine brought me down here for no good reason . . .

I turned the corner into the space that made up the CEO’s area, which included Catherine's desk and my office. When I walked in, I found Catherine standing in front of her desk as if she were waiting for me. But there were no hysterics in her expression. There was no fire, no emergency.

"What the fuck is going on?"

She lifted her chin at me defiantly. "I have served you faithfully for years. Women have come and gone in your life, but I'm still here."

"What the hell, Catherine?" She wasn't telling me anything I didn't know.

"I don't know how you can be one of the smartest men that I know and yet one of the dumbest."

My jaw tightened. "Watch yourself."

She stepped toward me, looking up into my eyes. "How could you not have seen after all these years how much I love you?"

My brain skidded to a halt. What did she just say? As her words filtered through my brain, much of her behavior started to make sense. I wasn't an idiot, as she seemed to suggest, but I definitely had missed the signs. Signs that started to make a little bit of sense.

Not wanting to be a total asshole, I tempered my anger. "I'm sorry, Catherine. I didn't notice. But if I did, it wouldn't have mattered. I admire and respect you, and I value you as my employee, but that's it."

She stared up at me, and I swore I could see her trying to decide what she wanted to say next. Was she going to lash out or continue to plead her case? Either way, it wouldn't matter.

"I don't know what you see in Analyn. I could give you so much more. I know you, Reed. I can make you happy." She pressed her hand on my chest.

Delicately, I wrapped my fingers around her wrist and pulled her hand off. "I love Analyn."

"No! That's impossible. If you gave me the chance, you would see . . ." She threw her arms around me, crushed her mouth against mine.

Shocked, I jerked away, stepping back, wiping her essence off my lips. "Catherine . . ." I didn't know what to say. I knew I needed to fire her, but it seemed too much to reject her love and take away her job in one breath.

"I'm sorry, but you and me, we’re never going to be,” I said as firmly, yet gently, as I could.

Her eyes fired with rage. Her hands fisted and her lips curled into a snarl. "All the things that I’ve done for you . . . all those women who were unworthy of you, I'm the one who saved you from them."