Sleeping With My Boss: A Standalone Novel (An Alpha Billionaire Romance Love Story) (A Dirty Office Romance) (51 page)

Chapter
Fifty-Eight

Austin

I
stopped over in L.A. to meet up with Bax before heading to Vegas to visit the
casino and check in with the managers who would be training the Paris crews.
When I saw my friend in the lobby of the Marks Hotel on Rodeo Drive, I smiled
and pounded him on the back just like we'd done when we were kids.

"Bax!" I called. "Good to
see you, my friend."

"Hey, boss," he smiled as he
looked up from a stack of papers he was reading. Bax had always been a serious
person, even when we were kids. The neighborhood kids had called him "The
Accountant" because he'd dressed in pants with creases down the front and
buttoned up shirts, no matter what the season was. He wore thick-rimmed glasses
and his smiles rarely reached his eyes, but I knew why Bax was so serious. I
was the only one who'd seen what the inside of the home he'd shared with his
father while we were growing up. Bax's mother had died in childbirth and his
father was a hard working, hard drinking union laborer, but the place was like
a mausoleum and we were warned not to touch anything. Once a week, Bax's dad
had a cleaning woman come in and dust, vacuum, and do the laundry, but that was
the extent of any kind of a woman's touch in the home.

I forgave Bax his shortcomings because
he'd been my best friend since we were nine. He'd defended me against the
neighborhood bully by telling him that I'd hooked up with the gang that ran the
drug trade in front of our neighborhood bodega and the bully had never bothered
me again. Bax was loyal and smart, and I loved him like a brother.

"So, what's up with Daniel and his
henchmen?" I asked as I signaled the waiter to bring us a couple of
glasses of whiskey and two cold beers.

"I'm trying to figure out what kind
of game he's playing over in Eastern Europe," Bax said as he looked back
and forth between two sheets of paper comparing numbers. "But I cannot,
for the life of me, figure out what the heck he's doing!"

Daniel Wentworth had driven both of us
crazy for years, but he hadn't actually gotten in the way of any projects until
now. We knew that he was a slick, crafty businessman and that if he was
opposing us, then there was something going on we didn't know about. Bax
accepted the drink from the waiter and we toasted to our Parisian endeavor.

"I don't know, boss," Bax said.
"I can't find anything on this Berlin deal that indicates that there's
anything out of order there."

"Nothing at all?" I asked.

"Not a single paperclip," he
sighed. "My gut tells me that there's so much more than meets the eye, but
my eyes can't find the loose thread."

"Well, keep looking," I said as
I sipped my whiskey and tried to think of another way to approach the problem.
"Eventually, we'll figure it out, the truth always outs."

Just then, I looked up and saw a familiar
shapely blonde crossing the lobby and walking toward me. I smiled as I held out
my hand, "Anna! How have you been, beautiful?"

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Austin
Marks and company!" she laughed as she gripped my hand and pulled me to
her for a hug. "What are you doing here?"

"Business," I said, nodding
toward Bax. "This is Jonathan Baxter, or as I call him, Bax. Bax, I'd like
you to meet Anna Sommerhill."

"It's nice to meet you, Ms.
Sommerhill," Bax said as he took her hand and shook it.

"Oh, please, call me Anna, won't
you?" she stared at Bax like she'd never seen anything like him before.
Admittedly, Bax was movie star handsome, but in a shy unassuming way. Women
often fell head over heels for him, but he regularly failed to notice. He was a
numbers guy to the core.

"Sure, Anna, it's still nice to meet
you," Bax said in a serious tone.

"Aren't you adorable?" Anna said
as she moved around and sat down next to him on the chaise lounge. "Where
did you find him, Austin?"

"Austin and I have been best friends
since we were nine, Ms...Anna," Bax replied. "He didn't find me
anymore than I found him. We're just good friends."

She recoiled as if she'd been stung, but
then leaned in closer and said, "Would you like to have dinner with me
tonight, Mr. Baxter?"

"Why would I want to do that?"
he asked.

"Because I think you are the most
interesting man I've ever met and I would like to get to know you better,"
she said as she lightly rested her hand on his thigh. Suddenly, the lights in
Bax's head went on and his eyes widened as he looked over at me. I smiled and
nodded.

"Then, I'd love to have dinner with
you, Anna," he said. "But please, call me Bax."

"Bax, eh?" she said smiling as
her hand moved a little higher. "That's kind of a sexy nickname you
know."

He swallowed hard and looked to me for
help, I shrugged, got up from the chair, and said, "Well, I've got some
phone calls to make. You kids have a great time!"

"Austin?" Bax called after me.
"Don't forget to call Benoit and find out what they decided!"

"Done!" I waved as I walked to
the front door and hoped into the waiting car. I had someplace I knew I needed
to be.

#

As
the car whisked me to the airport to catch my flight, I pulled out my phone and
texted Emily.

Austin_Marks: Hi

Em_Flies: Hi

Austin_Marks: What are U wearing?

Em_Flies: WTF?

Austin_Marks: JK. How are U?

Em_Flies: Good.

Austin_Marks: Just good?

Em_Flies: Fine. How are U?

Austin_Marks: Good. On way to Vegas. Have
breakfast w/me tomorrow?

Em_Flies: Don't think that's a good idea.

Austin_Marks: Please?

Em_Flies: Where?

Austin_Marks: Pick U up at 7:30 am.
Address?

Em_Flies: Not a good idea. I'll meet U.
Address?

Austin_Marks: Marks Hotel on Las Vegas
Blvd.

Em_Flies: CU in the morning.

Austin_Marks: CU then!

#

The
next morning, I looked up from the newspaper and saw Emily crossing the lobby.
She was dressed in a sundress the color of a clear summer sky and had her hair
loose around her shoulders. She smiled at me as she walked toward me and when
she reached me, I stood up and pulled her into a tight hug.

"I've missed you," she whispered
into my chest as she wrapped her arms around my neck.

"Likewise," I said as I hugged
her a little tighter.

She sat down next to me and we laughed as
we both began to speak.

"No, you first," she said.

"No, no, go ahead," I laughed as
I waved my arm in a traditional display of chivalry.

"I'm so glad you texted," she
began.

The smile on her face grew wider as she
spoke, and she told me about what she had been doing to try and get the house
ready for sale. Tommy had agreed to a separation, but he wanted to stay in the
house and work on it together before they put it up for sale. She'd agreed,
thinking that it was the least she could do before she exited the marriage.
Things had been fairly smooth for the past several weeks, but Tommy was still Tommy
and so he went out sometimes and came home smelling of booze and sometimes
other women. Emily consoled herself with the fact that she'd be out of the
house by the end of the month and then could move on with her life.

"Are you alright?" I asked. I
was concerned about her safety, but I knew it wasn't my place to take a stand
on that issue.

"Oh yes, I'm fine," she said.
"There's nothing to worry about, it's just the tough part of breaking up,
you know?"

I nodded, but didn't say that I had no
idea what she was talking about. I'd never broken up with anyone in my life.
The girls I'd dated had all broken up with me when they realized that my focus
was on school and then, later, the business. It never really bothered me
because I didn't let myself get attached enough to feel hurt when they left. I
just let go gracefully and moved on.

"So, did you clear the whole day for
me?" I asked excited about what I'd planned for us to do.

"Wait, what?" she said confused.
"I thought we were just having breakfast and catching up."

"No, I planned a whole day full of
activities for us," I said as I smiled at her.

"Austin, I'm not sure this is a good
idea," she said hesitantly. "I mean, you and me? Here in my hometown?
Where my husband lives and works?"

"Where is he today?" I asked.

"He's at work, of course," she
said. "But you're the boss and this is a little weird, don't you
think?"

I could see that the stress of me being
here in her actual life was getting to her, so I backed off and said,
"It's fine, no worries. Let's just enjoy breakfast and then we'll see what
we want to do after that, okay?"

She nodded and I saw the tension recede a
little. I had ordered the chef's special for us both and Emily laughed with
delight as plate after plate began to be delivered to the table.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so stuffed!"
she cried as she took one last bite of the eggs in front of her before the
server removed them and set a plate of steaming hot crepes down in its place. I
watched as she savored each of the dishes and then offered her bites of my own.
She gladly accepted the offerings, and she smiled when I reached out under the
table and rested my hand on her thigh.

"You like it all?" I asked.

"I love it! You're a great foodie,
Austin," she smiled as she tucked a piece of ripe melon between her lips.
The juice ran down her chin and I reached out with my napkin to blot it. She
was mesmerizing.

After we'd finished breakfast, I looked at
my watch and said, "It's still early, how about we go do one of the things
I'd planned?"

"Austin," she said hesitating.
"I'm not sure..."

"It won't put you in a compromising
position, I promise," I said putting my hand over my heart then raising it
up to the air. She burst into giggles as I held my hand up in a perfect Boy
Scout salute.

"Okay, fine," she agreed.
"This one thing, let's go do it."

I smiled and offered her my hand as I
stood up. We walked out to the waiting car and got inside. Once inside the car,
I pulled her to me and put my arms around her.

"I just need to hold you close,"
I said. "I've wanted to do this ever since I let you go that night in
L.A."

"Mmmm, it feels so nice," she
said as she leaned against me and looked out the window. "Where are we
going?"

"It's a surprise," I said as I
bent my head and nuzzled her neck.

"Austin, you promised!" she
laughed as she wrapped her arms over mine and rested her head on my shoulder. I
was content just holding her like this all the way to the helipad.

When we arrived, I got out of the car and
pulled her with me. She looked at the helicopter and then back at me with a
confused expression.

"Let's go see the Grand Canyon, shall
we?" I said as I helped her up the steps into the jump seat and handed her
a pair of earphones.

"Oh, Austin!" she gasped as she
looked out the window during takeoff. "This is incredible!"

"Wait till we get over the canyon and
you can see it all!" I shouted into the mic. "It's
breathtaking!"

Emily grabbed my hand and squeezed it
tightly as she looked out at the view of the canyon. Before us stretched
hundreds of miles of striated rock cut by deep crevices that allowed the river
water to flow through. The pilot dipped down into a canyon and we watched the
rock walls rise up around us as the engulfed the copter and dwarfed its
occupants.

"Pretty amazing, isn't it?" I
shouted into the mic. The whirring of the copter blades made it difficult to
talk, but the look in Emily's eyes told me all I needed to know. Her eyes were
shining like a kid on Christmas morning, and she squeezed my hand with every
new breathtaking view we encountered.

The landscape of the canyon was
spectacular as we flew down into the crevices and looked out at the walls
formed by layers of rock millions of years old. The natural beauty was
overwhelming and Emily and I took it all in together.

We'd been flying for almost an hour when
the pilot informed me that it was time to head back to the base. We were
running low on fuel and he needed to set the copter down. I agreed with his
assessment and as we flew back to the base I shouted, "Are you hungry
yet?" Emily nodded and I smiled back at her and shouted, "Don't
worry, I know just the place!"

We set down at the base site and thanked
the pilot for the spectacular ride, then got back in the waiting car and headed
toward the best roadside grill in the state of Nevada. I knew the owner and he
had agreed to prepare his specialty on the condition that I brought a guest
rather than eating alone as I usually did.