Bet On It: An Age Gap Billionaire Office Romance(9)

"Well, I'm sorry about that.” She cocked her head to the side. "You know, if he isn't your boss, maybe he could be something else. I mean, you said you had a really good time. And it sounds like maybe he did also until you ghosted him."

"You're running on love endorphins or something. I hope Paul pops the question soon. It's starting to get annoying."

She did a little shimmy. "I don't think it’ll be long now.” She sighed and sat back with me on the couch. "I'm sorry Chase was such an asshole."

"Don’t say his name."

She laughed. "I don't know why you're still even thinking about him. Not after the night you had with Mr. Billionaire." She sat up straight, as if she'd been struck by an idea. "Let's go out tonight. Let's go to the Golden Oasis."

I was shaking my head and grabbing the carton of ice cream before the words had finished coming out of her mouth. "Nope."

"Oh, come on. It'll be fun. And who knows, maybe you'll have the opportunity to make things right with your billionaire."

I sighed as I dug for chunks of fudge in the ice cream. "There's no replicating what happened a month ago. It's one of those perfect storms, only in a good way. That's how I want to remember it. One night, I was daring and met a man who wanted to be daring too, and for one night, it was the ultimate in sexual bliss."

"I don't know. Sounds like there was a real connection between you two. We can go, and if he's there, you could apologize. If he's as nice as you said he was, he’d probably forgive you, and then you could go and he could do all those things to you with his tongue." She waggled her brows. "You’re really going to have to go into more detail about what it is he did."

My cheeks heated even as I stuck a spoonful of ice cream into my mouth. It wasn't that I didn't want a chance to see him again, because I couldn't deny that I wanted to. I wanted another night like we'd had a month ago.

But as I told myself when I drove out of Chicago heading to Las Vegas a month ago, the past was the past. What was done was done. I would always remember my night with Reed, but that's all it would be from now on, a memory.





3





Reed





Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

She was the one who ghosted me last month, but I was the one being an asshole now.

She held her head up high when she told me she didn't think she was a fit for the job, but in her eyes, I saw disappointment. I doubt it was disappointment in me, since she was the one who had taken off the morning after our spectacular night together.

She had come in here hoping to get a job, and I had doused those dreams with a single look. With petty hurt feelings. She had gone through the interview like a true professional, and I was a dick.

Of course, I wouldn’t have been able to hire her, but I could have referred her somewhere else.

The reason I couldn’t hire her wasn’t just because she’d ditched me the morning after our hookup. It wasn't even because seeing her reminded me of the fact that I got my boxers in a bunch.

No, the reason I couldn’t hire her was because I still wanted her.

I hadn't even realized how much until I saw her standing there in her professional attire. It didn't matter how staid her skirt was or how prim and proper and professional she appeared. The moment I saw her, every cell in my body remembered what it was like to touch her, to be inside her. And it wanted to be there again. Badly.

But what was done was done. I regretted being a jerk, but in the end, it was for the best. So, I pushed it out of my mind, leaving the conference room and heading back to my office.

"Your next candidate is here. He's early, but since you appear to have finished quickly with Ms. Watts, maybe you'd like to see them."

I stopped and stared at Catherine. "I have more interviews? How many do I have?" This was proof that I wasn't as involved mentally in my business as I should be since I had no clue what was on my calendar. Then again, I didn't have to know, as Catherine made sure I was where I needed to be when I needed to be there.

Any other admin would probably roll their eyes at my ignorance of my own schedule, but Catherine gave me a sympathetic smile. She probably thought I couldn't get through the day without her, and I'm not sure that she was entirely wrong.

"There are four more. But then that's it. Hopefully, you'll find one you like out of this bunch."

I nearly asked her if she could conduct the interviews since she was probably more knowledgeable about what I needed. But I had to suck it up and be a boss. I needed to stop whining and start taking control. "Let me get a cup of coffee, and then I’ll be back to the conference room."

She nodded. "I will let him know."

I grabbed my coffee and headed back for the interviews. Catherine led in the next candidate. This one was a young man, whose hair was slicked back, and he made me think he'd be more fitting working for a bookie than a respectable online gambling establishment. There was something about him that just felt a little bit off, so when he left, I put him in a “no” pile. Right on top of Analyn’s.

The next three were women, and all of them looked like they had just rolled out of their Instagram profile. I wondered if they had somehow been able to change the lighting in the room into one of those filters that made them look smooth and flawless.