Farewell to Lust (Falling for the Billionaire #3) (4 page)

When she did and she looked down,
she smiled at the mess she had made… well, the mess Bradley had made.

“Now we have to get cleaned up,”
Bradley said.

Becky looked at Bradley. 

“For my choice?” Becky asked.

“For your choice,” Bradley said.

He kissed her again, a gentle peck
on the lips. 

Part of Becky’s heart fluttered and
part of her heart shattered.

What would she have to choose?

8.

T
hey
showered and dressed.

Becky had no choice but to wear the
clothes she had worn.  Bradley dressed in a suit, stepping from a large closet
as he adjusted his cufflinks and his tie.

He looked ready to do business.

That worried Becky.

“Please, let’s sit and talk,” he
said.

He reached for Becky’s hand, walking
her to the corner of his apartment that had an exact copy of the desk he had at
his office.  He sat her in front of the desk and he took his place behind the
desk.  Nothing about his action or demeanor suggested they were just in the
shower pleasuring each other. 

“I’m a man of success,” Bradley
started.  “A man who finds a deal, lands it, and moves on.  What happened last
night… it was business.”

“You could have told me what you
were doing,” Becky snapped.

“I was worried you’d leave before
the meeting.”

“It was a Halloween party.”

“No, it was a meeting.  I went
there, met Carlello, and left.  The rest of the social nonsense was left with
those who stayed.  That was nothing but a meeting.”

“And you used me.”

“I utilized you,” Bradley said.  He
half smiled, looking cocky enough that Becky wished she were in reach to smack
him.

“You told him I was your wife.”

“Fiancée,” Bradley corrected.  “And
it worked.  The deal is done.  Contracts are on their way.  And here we are,
talking.  You have a choice in front of you, Becky.  You have a meeting, right
now, with me.  You have a deal, right now.”

“I do?”

Bradley nodded.  “You came here for
a job.  If you worked that first day, by now you would have been fired.  I
assure you that.  But after what you’ve shown me, given me, and proved… well,
like I said, you have a choice to make.”

Bradley opened the top drawer to
his desk and took out two white envelopes. 

“This is your choice,” Bradley
said.

“I have to pick one,” Becky said.

“Yes.  Just one.”

“What’s inside them?”

“Start with this one,” Bradley
said.

He held out the envelope in his
left hand.  Becky took it and opened it.  There was a piece of paper that
looked like a ticket.  She took it out and read it. 

“That’s a ticket on a private jet,”
Bradley said.  “A ticket to get away for a little while.  A break, a vacation. 
A chance to lap up luxury and rest for a while.”

“Where to?” Becky asked.

Bradley grinned, his eyes cutting
into her.  “To Cancun.  Open ended ticket too.  You stay as long as you want.”

Becky tried to channel Bradley,
hoping to keep her face stone like too.

“And the next one?” Becky asked.

Bradley handed it to her.

“There’s two items in there.  The
papers first.”

Becky retrieved them.

“That is a contract,” Bradley
said.  “A contract for employment.  At HB-Ley.  With your degree and
experience, plus what you managed to help me with last night, I can use you. 
It’s a five year contract.  Guaranteed job, guaranteed money.”

Job and money.

Becky was going to ask how much but
then she saw the yearly salary.  She dropped the contract and looked up to
Bradley.

“One million dollars a year, base
salary.  I’ll also be offering a cut of deals and after a full year of
employment, there will be stock options.  If all goes well, for five years of
hard work, there’s a possibility of you making tens of millions of dollars with
me.”

For a second, Becky saw herself
scrambling to find a pen and sign the contract.

“Something else too,” Bradley said.

Becky put her hand back into the
envelope and felt something.  As she pulled it out, she knew what it was but it
didn’t make sense.

It was a picture.

The same exact picture she had in
her bag the first day of her job.  The picture of herself and her friends in Cancun.  The picture that Bradley had thrown into the fireplace.

“How?” Becky asked.  Tears were in
her eyes. 

“I have my ways.”

“What’s the point?”

“The point is to choose… you can choose
freedom to discover your life or you can sign an employment contract with me
and fulfill your promise to yourself, the one you made when you took that
picture.”

“So it has nothing to do with
friends?”

“Of course not,” Bradley said.  “It
has to do with memories.  And dreams.  And hopes.  And your ability to choose
between them all.  A life of…”

“I’ve made my choice then,” Becky
cut in.

“That was fast,” Bradley said. 

“I don’t think I really ever had a
choice.”

Becky took the picture and placed
it on her lap.  She then put the contract back into the envelope but not before
looking at it.  A million dollars a year as a salary.  In return she’d have to
be Bradley’s anything woman.  She’d have to do what he said when he said to do
it and chances were it would come without the physical benefits.  And even if
the physical benefits did exist, how long would they last?  How long until
Bradley would pull in another intern to fuck and pay?

Becky ended up crumbling the
contract a little as she sent it into the envelope.  She tossed it to Bradley. 

“No contract then,” Bradley said.

“No… anything,” Becky said. 

She then took the first envelope
and threw that at Bradley too. 

He stared at the envelopes and his
lips puckered.  

Becky couldn’t tell if he was
surprised or not.  To her shock though he pushed himself up from his chair.  He
adjusted his tie and licked his lips.

“So you’ve made your choice then,”
he said.  “You’re taking your picture with you.”

“Leaving with what I came with,”
Becky said.

“You realize that yesterday is
gone, right?  That you can’t go back to yesterday?”

“I realize it, do you?”

Bradley’s lips curled.  His fists
balled.

“I’m well aware of how time works,”
Bradley said.  “A smart businessman gauges the future by the past but doesn’t
get lost in either.  There’s always a variable in place, one that most people
don’t account for.  Even myself…”

“A variable?”

Bradley nodded.  “My variable… is
you.”

Becky turned her head.  She wanted
to shield her face, shield her tears.  She looked out the window and again she
thought about flying. 

“Do you understand what I’m
saying?” Bradley asked.

“Does it matter?” Becky asked.

“I’m in control here.  I’m in
command.  Of everything.”

“Actually, I’ve made my choice…” 
Becky held up the picture of her and her friends. 

“I see,” Bradley said.  “Well, if
that’s the case, the limo will take you home.  But first, I want you take
this…”  Bradley slid his suit jacket off and walked it to Becky.  “It’s
freezing outside and only going to get colder.  Winter’s coming early this
year.” 

Bradley put the jacket over Becky’s
shoulders and her fingers quickly grabbed the lapels and pulled it close.  She
smelled him, and her memory flooded with everything.

Becky turned and walked to the door
of the apartment.  She froze and thought about it for a second.  She tried to
picture her life in so many ways.  So many options.  Nothing made sense but one
thing Becky knew for sure, she needed to leave the apartment.  She needed to go
home, be home, be by herself.  Inside her mind she envisioned a man changed
when she woke that morning.  But it had only been about lust… with a touch of
love.

“It’s been a pleasure,” Bradley
called to her.  “My pleasure, and yours.  I hope to see you again Becky.  I’m
sure I will.”

Becky didn’t respond, she opened
the door and left.

When the door shut behind her, it
took all her effort to step forward and walk away. 

Her body, no matter how hard she
tried, still wanted him. 

9.

I
t
took Becky a full hour back at her own apartment to pick up Bradley’s jacket
from the floor where she had dropped it.  She told herself she’d leave it there
forever.  She’d leave it there until it dissipated into the carpet and became
nothing. 

That wasn’t possible and now Becky
held the jacket in her hands, clutching it tight, holding it to her face. 

She had memories.

That was it.

She chose memories.

She chose the picture of her
friends.  A time of innocence and freedom.  Her feeble attempt at getting back
to that.  But with that came the now fresh memories of Bradley.  He had taken
her hand and her life – and her heart and lust – since autumn came and gave her
nights and days that she could never forget.  Every man, dare him try, would be
judged against Bradley.  And it wouldn’t just be in the financial sense
either.  It’d be in the ability to capture Becky the way Bradley did.

Why did he give her a choice?

That was a question that killed
Becky.  It left her feeling weak and wanting to collapse.  For a man who
commanded everything in his life, he was the one who put options in front of
her.  The only reasoning Becky could come up with was that Bradley wanted to
see how far she’d go for him.  Would she give up her previous life to lead a
new one? 

Becky knew she would… she’d give up
anything Bradley needed, except her memories.  He could burn pictures and he
could demand her, even spank her if need be, but she would never let her mind
slip away.  She would never take away what happened in her life.

As anger started to build, wanting
to take the place of regret and emptiness, Becky felt something.  Her fingers
had started to ball up the jacket and there was something in one of the
pockets.  The front right pocket. 

Something…

Becky dropped to her knees and laid
the jacket out.  She reached into the pocket and found it.  It was a ticket,
the one from Bradley’s office.  The ticket that he promised would take her to Cancun to rest and relax.  To find herself…

But that ticket had been put back
into the envelope.

This was another ticket, a second
ticket.

Becky took a deep breath and
started to smile. 

Another ticket.

She jumped to her feet and grabbed
the jacket.  She rushed from her apartment without even bothering to lock it. 
She left her phone, her purse, her life.  As she pushed the main door open, she
knew the third time would be the charm.  The third time seeing the limo out of
her building, it would be the right time.  The best time.

When she saw the limo, she halted. 

She blinked a few times, making
sure it wasn’t just her mind playing games with her.  It was really there.

She walked right to it, this time
the door not opening and the driver not coming to help her.  It bothered her,
leaving her worried, her hand shaking as she reached for the handle.  She
pulled and found the limo unlocked.  Her eyes instantly shut and it took her a
few deep breaths before she opened her eyes and looked into the vehicle.

There he was.

Bradley.

He sat with one leg up and crossed,
his arms outstretched.  He turned his head and looked at Becky but didn’t smile. 
Instead, he threw his arm out and looked at his watch.

“Took you long enough,” he said. 
“Get in.”

Becky hesitated.

“This isn’t a negotiation.  This is
an order.  Get in.”

Becky put one foot into the limo
and paused.

“Did you figure it out yet?”
Bradley asked.

“Figure out what?”

Now Becky got into the limo.  She
closed the door and felt the vehicle moving. 

“Oh, dear Becky, you’re so
beautiful.  I’m trying to open you up.  There was no choice, don’t you see
that?”

Becky didn’t respond.

“There never was a choice on the
table.  The money is yours, you just have to take it.  I need you in my life,
in whatever way you want.  You’re my one variable I can’t quite figure out. 
You’re amazing to me.  I needed you for my deal but now I can’t let you go. 
And I’m not letting you go.  Do you have your ticket?”

“My ticket…”

“I put it in the jacket pocket for
you.”

“Oh.  That.  Yeah.  You took it back
out of the envelope and hid it?”

Bradley laughed.  “Not at all. 
Becky, someday you’ll realize it… life is a transaction.  And we’re embarking
on our next one.  The ticket in the envelope wasn’t yours.  It was mine.  You
could have taken it and you could have had both tickets to enjoy.  But instead,
you gave one to me and kept one for yourself.”

Becky’s mouth fell open.

“And so we’re off.  To sun.  To
luxury.  To… us…”

Bradley placed his hand to Becky’s
and opened his fingers.  Becky curled her fingers up and squeezed his hand.

“I meant it when I said I loved
you,” Becky whispered.

“And I mean it when I say I need
you… you listen to me with your heart and your soul.”

“And my body,” Becky added with a
grin.

“Of course.”

“Plus, who wants to be here in the
winter?  Everything’s dead, waiting to come to life…”

“… and there’s a deal happening in Cancun?” Becky asked.

“Of course there is.  A small
software company is looking to expand.  The man who runs it
loves
American women, much like yourself.  Ready to earn your salary?”

Becky could only respond the way she
knew how.  “Yes… sir…”

And with that, they both fell
silent.