Read TheBillionairesPilot Online

Authors: Suzanne Graham

Tags: #billionaire, #spanking, #boss, #BDSM, #helicopter, #blindfold, #pilot

TheBillionairesPilot (5 page)

BOOK: TheBillionairesPilot
4.48Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

“Here you go,” Santie said with a wave of
her hand. “If you have any need of staff, you may dial number one on the
telephone.” She pointed to the desk sitting against the right wall.

“This looks perfect,” Evan said.

“Gracias, Señor. Please enjoy your stay,”
Santie said then turned to leave.

“Thank you,” Evan replied and closed the
door behind her.

Cassie glanced beyond the arched columns
to the left to the large bed on the platform in the middle of the adjoining
room.

As if reading her mind, Evan said, “I’m
not sleeping on the couch.”

“Then I will,” Cassie quickly acceded.

“No. I don’t want any of the staff
talking about my girlfriend sleeping on the sofa. It’s a king-sized bed. We can
share it…without touching.”

She stared at him. “That evasive move
from earlier was only the beginning of what I know about self-defense.”

He held up both his hands, palms out. “I
promise you won’t need to show me any more of your defensive moves this
weekend.”

For a moment, she wondered if she’d
bruised his ego by being able to defend herself so easily against him.

Then a sexy grin quirked up one corner of
his mouth. “But feel free to show me your offense at any time.”

And any self-doubts about whether he
found her attractive fled, making her even more nervous about keeping her
distance from her new boss. She absolutely could not make the same mistake
again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter Five

 

 

While
Cassie washed up in the bathroom, Evan grabbed a bottle of water from the bar
in the sitting room. Twisting off the cap, he walked out to the balcony
overlooking the turquoise water of the Caribbean Sea. The salt-laden air blew
lightly over his heated skin.

Playing the boyfriend role with Cassie
this weekend might be the most fun he’d had since before taking over the wheel
at Mitchell Industries. She was feisty and obviously didn’t back down from a
challenge—a lot like him.

He wondered if that was another trait
they shared because they’d both been raised without siblings. Had she also
wished, like he had, that she had a brother or sister growing up?

Being a part of the racing team, working
side by side with the other men on the crew, was the closest he’d ever been to
having brothers. And it had been harder to give up that than the thrill of the
racing, though walking away from the winner’s circle had been pretty damn tough
too.

This upcoming merger negotiation with
Xavier was Evan’s first opportunity to score a big win for Mitchell Industries
as the new president and CEO. He owed it to his father to pull it together. If
he’d been a better son, his father would still be here.

The spicy Asian floral scent of Cassie
reached him from the sitting room, drawing him out of his depressing thoughts.
Turning around, he caught her staring at his butt, but she quickly averted her
eyes.

He grinned, ridiculously pleased that for
all her tough talk she was still susceptible to his physical attributes. Maybe
he’d be able to get her to change her mind about the no-sex part of their
agreement after all. He’d loved to tie up her small frame with red silk scarves
and watch her writhe under his touch.

“I-I could use some water too,” she
stammered. “Is there another one?”

He walked to the mini-fridge and grabbed
a bottle, opening it before handing it to her. “Here you go.”

“Thanks.” She took it without meeting his
eyes.

Interesting. It was the first time she’d
been anything but brutally honest and straightforward with him. Well, other
than her fib about her salary last night, which he’d known before he’d even
asked her, but that was part of her ballsy negotiating that he’d admired.

Now, her avoidance of eye contact made
him want to get inside her brain to find out what she was thinking. He watched
and waited while she drank the water, but she kept her gaze directed outside on
the waves sparkling in the late afternoon sunlight.

After setting the nearly empty bottle on
the coffee table, she glanced up at him. “Is there anything else I need to know
before we go down?”

He shook his head. “Nothing that I can
think of. Just relax and be yourself. Xavier’s focus will be on trying to sell
me on the value of his company.”

“Okay.” She wiped her palms on the hips
of her sundress, which brought his attention to the curve of her waist above
the gentle rise of her backside.

In her dress last night and this one
today, she was shapelier than he’d originally imagined when he’d first seen her
in that boxy suit. Perhaps tomorrow while she lounged by the pool, he’d get to
see the rest of her curves in a bathing suit, preferably a bikini. He predicted
her skin would be smooth and creamy and so soft to the touch, just like her
shoulders.

“Ready?” Cassie’s question jolted him
from his salacious thoughts.

“Right. Let’s go.” He held the door open
for her, inhaling her unique scent as she passed. Yeah, it had been much too
long since he’d gotten into a woman’s personal space.

Downstairs, they met Xavier and Esmé on
the patio, standing near a thatched-roof bar next to the pool. After providing
Evan and Cassie with cocktails, Xavier got right to the point.

“At Estrella, we’re concerned with your
inexperience and your reputation,” he stated. “We’re looking for maturity and
stability in the president of the company we decide to partner with, not a
playboy.”

Evan chuckled when he really wanted to
give Xavier a piece of his mind—so much for enjoying the pleasure part of
this weekend. Apparently, Xavier was planning a strictly business weekend,
after all. So, why did he insist that Evan bring a woman with him?

“My playing days are over,” Evan
responded mildly, deciding to use the woman at his side to his advantage.
“Cassie has cured me of that.” He set his drink on the bar and circled his arms
around her waist, pulling her tightly to his side.

Initially, he felt her resistance, but
then she softened as she slid her right arm around his back. The sensation of
her halfway wrapped around him was utterly distracting, sending his thoughts
racing toward the finish line with him and Cassie both naked. He had to focus
to keep his concentration on the conversation.

“Yes.” Esmé smiled, placing her hand on
her husband’s arm. “A good woman can tame the wildest of players.”

Cassie stayed silent at Evan’s side,
which surprised him. He’d thought she’d have something to add to Esmé’s
comment, especially after her experience with Trent. Maybe it hit too close to
home, and she was afraid of giving something away. If that was the case, he was
grateful she was choosing the more conservative approach and remaining a silent
observer.

Xavier was giving Evan a skeptical look,
and he knew he had to go the distance with this pretense. “In fact, we are
getting ready to announce our engagement.” He prayed Xavier couldn’t read
Cassie’s face as easily as Evan could.

She sported a bright, fake smile and
seemed willing to follow along with his fabrication. But he already knew her
well enough to expect she’d try to take it out on his hide later in the privacy
of their suite, and he was perversely looking forward to the altercation. Why
did he enjoy tangling with her? He usually preferred his women to be submissive
both in and out of the bedroom, but Cassie didn’t appear to be either.

Xavier looked at Cassie’s left hand where
it rested over the top of Evan’s. “No ring?”

“Not until we make the announcement
public,” Evan smoothly lied. “We didn’t want the paparazzi scooping our big
moment.”

Cassie’s grip on his hand tightened,
sending her manicured nails digging into his palm and forcing Evan to hide a
wince with his own bright, fake smile.

“Congratulations, then.” Xavier shook
Evan’s hand and kissed Cassie’s cheek.

“Thank you.” Cassie managed to sound
natural, and Evan gave her waist a small squeeze of gratitude.

“Of course, Estrella is a company built
on traditional beliefs. We frown on divorce or even broken engagements.” Xavier
narrowed his eyes as if he was trying to see through Evan’s bluff.

For a moment, Evan feared Xavier would
notice the dampness on Evan’s brow. Xavier’s intense scrutiny and Cassie’s
sweet body pressed against him were sending Evan’s internal temperature
spiking. He could really use a dip in the inviting pool behind Xavier.

Xavier held out the tension-filled moment
a bit longer. Then his face broke into a wide grin. “But I can see that won’t
be a problem with you two. You are so very suited to each other. Such a lovely
couple.”

Cassie’s nails in Evan’s palm dug deeper.
Was she reacting to Xavier’s not-so-subtle message that Evan better not be in a
sham engagement?

Damn, he’d just made the situation worse
and could have really botched up this deal. As soon as he and Cassie returned
to New York and their regular lives, Xavier would find out there was no
engagement…unless Evan could convince Cassie to go along with this charade
beyond the weekend.

He would need her cooperation at least
until Estrella had signed all the contracts and felt comfortable with Mitchell
Industries’ new role as their parent company. That could take a few weeks at
the minimum. He nearly grinned when he thought about how
that
negotiation was going to go with Cassie. He anticipated some feisty finagling
from her.

“If all goes well tomorrow in our
discussion,” Xavier continued, “perhaps you’ll be announcing two new
partnerships to the press—our business relationship and your engagement.”

“Yes, I look forward to discussing the
merger with you tomorrow.” Evan refrained from emphasizing the last word. He
would prefer to get through this evening without the additional strain of
talking about their forthcoming financial arrangement.

“Do you have a ring picked out?” Esmé
asked Cassie. “If not, I can have my jeweler bring some to the house tomorrow
morning.”

Cassie shook her head. “This decision was
quite sudden, and we haven’t had time to shop yet.”

Thank you, sweet Cassie
. Dan was right about her being capable
of pulling off any kind of charade. She was quick on her feet.

“An engaged woman should never be
unadorned for too long,” Esmé said to Evan. “It gives the impression that she
is still available, and I’m sure Cassie is anxious to pick out her special
ring.”

“Yes, I’m sure she is,” Evan replied.
Especially since she’d be able to cash it in as partial payment for her
services when this deception was over
.

His stomach soured at the idea that he
was lying to make this deal with Xavier. Only five months into this business
and Evan was already shoving his ethics aside for the sake of making money. At
least his father wasn’t alive to see this, but Evan was going to have to decide
what to tell his mother.

Would it be better to come clean with his
mother from the start or to let her believe he really had found the perfect
woman to marry? Either way, he was bound to disappoint her. She’d been not so
subtly hinting at grandchildren for years.

This fake engagement only highlighted how
far he really was to making a serious commitment, especially when the thought
of settling for a lifetime of vanilla put him in a cold sweat. Besides, he was
nowhere near ready to settle down with a family. All his time and energy needed
to be focused on learning his father’s business.

He glanced down at Cassie at his side.
She was going to make cute kids someday, and she would be a ferocious mother
bear, judging by the way she could take care of herself. He didn’t imagine
she’d let anyone mess with her children. An unwelcomed feeling of tenderness
for her swelled in his chest.

Damn, he needed to step back and gain
some perspective on the situation.

She was his employee, not someone he
should be considering any kind of involvement with. Moreover, she wasn’t what
he’d be looking for in a lover. She’d never let him dominate her if her
self-defense demonstration earlier was any indication…but sometimes the
strongest ones out of the bedroom made for the best subs in the bedroom. Could
she be hiding her true inclination?

Shaking the disconcerting thoughts of
Cassie from his mind, Evan focused on Esmé extolling the craftsmanship of her
favorite jeweler to Cassie. He sighed inwardly; this was definitely going to
cost him a bundle.

* * * *

Storming
ahead of Evan into their suite after dinner, Cassie was finally able to break
her tightly held composure. She spun on Evan where he stood with his back
against the closed door.

“How long will we have to keep up this
engagement charade?” she demanded. “You said you only needed me for the
weekend.”

“I did originally only need you for the
weekend, but obviously, I’ll need to extend our arrangement.” He stepped
further into the sitting room, and she resisted the urge to get in his face and
shake him by the shoulders. How could he put her in this situation?

“For how long?” she asked with forced
calm.

He shrugged, and she wanted to sock him.

“Four weeks…six at the most.”

“Six weeks! You want me to pretend to be
your fiancée for six weeks?” Getting through three days was proving challenging
enough with this damn magnetism she felt for him. When he’d held her close to
his side tonight, she’d been so tempted by his hard body and warm masculine
scent. She was proud of herself for not giving in to the urge to let her hands
roam, but she’d had to employ all her military discipline to keep her palm from
sliding down to feel his tight ass.

“You’ll be compensated, of course.” He
sat in one of the armchairs.

She stared down at him. “You think money
will convince me to lie about our relationship for six weeks?”

He gave a brief nod. “You were willing to
pretend to be my girlfriend for three days when the price was right.”

She sat in the facing armchair. “This
engagement is different. This is going to go public. I’ll have to tell my
father and friends.” But how was she going to explain it so it didn’t sound
like she’d sold herself? And why would she even be considering this when she
knew how hard it would be to quell her feelings for him? This situation was
definitely something she needed to get out of quickly.

BOOK: TheBillionairesPilot
4.48Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

Other books

Paying the Virgin's Price by Christine Merrill
Soul and Shadow by Susan J McLeod
Elizabeth I by Margaret George
Falling Out of Time by David Grossman
Love a Sailor by Amanda Sandton
Not Afraid of Life by Bristol Palin
Wildfire by Chris Ryan