Undercover Billionaire Boss: A BWWM Contemporary Romance (14 page)

She grinned. “For you? Of course.”

She took him through the documents he needed to sign. On her way out, she paused by the door.

“You know, we missed you while you were gone. Also, you have an event tonight, I put a reminder on your desk in the morning,” she said. “The annual Gala for the New York Patrons of the Arts?” she added when she saw his blank look.

Christian ran his fingers through his hair. The last thing he wanted was to spend the evening making inconsequential conversation with women who considered themselves the cream of New York society. Still, maybe he would find one diversion to spend the next couple of weeks with.

* * *

A
t the gala
, which was to celebrate something Christian had no interest in, he drank too many glasses of champagne, talked to too many boring people, and fielded too many press inquiries about his recent absence from his company. Listening to another such request, he glanced at a blond, stick thin woman holding a microphone in front of him and stifled a yawn.

Being with Raina had spoiled him. He longed for her curvy body, her wild, dark, curly hair, her soft skin, her full lips.

He saw her face everywhere he looked.

Right now in his tipsy mind, he wished that Ms. Fontaine or whatever she had said her name was would disappear, and that he could close his eyes and Raina would be in her place.

In his inebriated state he didn’t care that she had stolen from him; his need for her was that bad. In his mind he was taking her to his bedroom to make love to her until she screamed in pleasure for him.

The mental image of Raina writhing and moaning under his touch caused him to groan.

“Are you alright? Is it the canapés? They didn’t go down well with me either.…”

“Excuse me,” Christian said. No, he wasn’t feeling well, but it had nothing to do with the overly rich food. Leaving abruptly, and very rudely, he left Ms. Fontaine gaping at him. He made a dash to the dive bar he’d seen on the far end of the block on his way to the event.

He sat at the counter of McGilly’s Tavern and continued drinking until the bartender cut him off for having had too much. An hour later, Jim was guiding him out into the street and into his car.

Jim never said a word to him and Christian slept through most of the ride home. He rarely drank more than a couple of glasses of wine, but tonight, he had felt in need of something to dull the pain.

Had he been in Palm Beach, he knew he was weak enough that he would have gone to Raina’s door and begged her to let him make love to her.

He staggered into his apartment.

“Will you be all right, boss?” Jim said, with concern written all over his face.

Christian squinted, the image of his driver dancing in front of his eyes. He waved Jim away—all three versions of him—and shut the door. He stumbled towards his bedroom and fell onto the bed with all his clothes on.

Hours later, he woke up with a stiff body and a dry throat. The moment he lifted his head, pain rushed in. Christian groaned and turned over but his thirst got worse by the second. He dragged himself out of bed and flicked on the light switch, and then immediately regretted it, and turned the lights off once more.

In the living room, he checked the time. It was two in the morning.

He drowned a cup of cold water from the fridge, poured another and returned with it to the bedroom. He undressed and slipped back into bed. He needed a plan. He could not drink Raina away; besides, drinking himself to a stupor every night did not appeal to him in any way.

If he lay still enough, he could almost hear her soft breathing and smell her scent and almost imagine that she was lying next to him.

This was lunacy! Christian had never been affected in this way by a breakup. To him, moving on from a relationship was like flicking off a fly from his suit with a single movement of his fingers.

The solution was to immerse himself in work. It had always worked for him in the past.

But that would not be enough this time
, he grimaced at the thought, knowing the truth behind it. He enjoyed giving talks on business and consulting and he could do that to fill any stray hour that wasn’t taken up with running his own empire. He could take up jogging or tennis.
Hell, he would take up knitting if it helped him take his mind off of Raina
, he thought wryly.

If he was exhausted enough, within a few weeks, he would not even recall what Raina had looked like—the way she threw her head back when she laughed, or the way she bit her lip when she was worried, or the way she could look professional and confident giving a talk to her staff. The way she looked when he made her come … no, he would
definitely
not remember that.…

He wondered if she was happy now wherever she was.

Was she counting the money she had stolen and patting herself on the back, literally laughing all the way to the bank? A sneer crept across his face at the thought.
She was a greedy thief and a liar,
he reminded himself. No matter
how
good his cock felt when he was buried inside her, he had to keep that thought at the forefront of his mind.

“Oh, Raina,” Christian said out aloud, “Why?”

If only he could see her and hold her one more time. Except that it wouldn’t be the same. Her betrayal and deceit would always be a barrier to them, separating them like an invisible force field.

If he saw her, who knew what he would do to her, with his anger still so fresh, his pain still so raw? He wanted revenge, but he knew the people who would ultimately get hurt would be the children—so he could not act on his wishes.

Still, it puzzled Christian that she could be so kind and caring to a stranger, going as far as inviting him to her own house and then turn round and steal from the very company that provided her and the children financial security.

It was difficult to fathom.

“
I
’m looking for Christopher
, the maintenance guy, is he off today?” Raina asked. She kept her voice light and casual, hoping no one would notice the strain or the worry she felt.

It had been two days and Christopher was still avoiding her calls and he had not been back to the house.

“Oh him, no, he just went AWOL, I guess,” Genevieve, the human resources manager said with a shrug. “Another one bites the dust, huh? Ugh. Staff are so unreliable these days, aren’t they? Did I tell you about the contractors who are building my garage? Can you believe they—”

“Oh, thanks,” Raina managed to say and stumbled out, leaving Genevieve to pratter on about her own troubles.

How could he
? How could Christopher just
leave
? Without a single word? Her eyes were flooded with tears and she staggered towards Kelly’s office. Before entering, Raina tried to compose herself. She needed another opinion from someone not involved.

“Hi,” she said softly.

“Hi. You look terrible,” Kelly commented. She leaned back in her chair and assessed her friend objectively.

“Gee. Thanks.”

“You know what I mean.”

“Yeah. Yeah, I do. I do look terrible.” Trust her friend to say it as it was, Raina thought wryly. She sat down without an invitation.

“I feel as terrible as I look. Would you believe that Christopher just took off? Without even a single word to me?” Raina choked. “He just
left. Just like that.
” She waved her arms in the air, like a magician showing off his disappearing act.

She was unable to believe that the man who had been so gentle with her and the children could just up and leave without even a goodbye to them.

“Oh, Raina, I’m so sorry,” Kelly commiserated.

Raina did not seem to hear her. She thought of Christopher and was beginning to wonder if she had known him at all.

“If I was in his shoes, I would give myself a chance to explain,” Raina said with feeling.

Kelly raised an eyebrow. “Really, Raina?”

Raina sighed. “Okay. Okay, maybe not.” She sighed again, her shoulders slumping. “I know it looked bad, Kelly. Pervy Roger on my neck, his hands up my skirt—but! But Christopher could at least have waited to hear what I had to say before jumping to conclusions! He clearly thought the worst about me, and never gave me a chance!”

“Some people react differently to situations. You said so yourself, he had a bad experience with a betrayal from a friend. He must have seen you and Roger as a betrayal.”

Raina groaned. “What am I going to do?”

“Can’t you try and explain to him in an email? He can’t walk away from email.”

“I don’t have his email address, or a phone number other than his cell for that matter.”

“A past reference? Maybe they could tell you where he is.” Kelly said.

“Maybe.” Raina was doubtful. She recalled his resume had been filled with a lot of random odd jobs.

“I have no way of contacting him and he seems to have disappeared off the face of the earth. I went to the homeless shelter on the third and fifth street; you know the last place he lived in. They had never heard of Christopher Smith.”

“He might have gone by other names,” Kelly said. “I mean, ‘Christopher Smith’ is about as unique as John Doe. Are you sure that was even his name?”

Raina was stricken at the thought, but she sensed some truth to what Kelly was saying. She was starting to wonder if she had ever really known Christopher at all.

Kelly looked into Raina’s eyes and said softly, “You know, you may have to accept that it’s truly over.”

Raina slumped into her chair. She knew that Kelly spoke the truth. How would she cope with not having Christopher in her life? He had been a part of it for such a short time, but it had felt so good to be loved. It had felt amazing to have a partner who was there for her
and
the kids. Her life had acquired color and a purpose with him in her life.

Worst of all, the kids had really taken to Christopher and now they were constantly asking her when he would return. “What will I tell the kids?” Raina said.

“They’ll forget him soon enough … and so will you,” Kelly said in a gentle voice. She opened her mouth to speak again, but they were interrupted before she could get out a word.

The door to the office swung open. “I knew you’d be here, you little bitch.” Roger sauntered in with a huge grin on his face. “But you won’t be here much longer.”

He kept his eyes on Raina and the moment she met his cold ones, she knew it was the news she’d been expecting. He was sacking her.

He held a big, shiny, white envelope in his hand which was marked “Confidential” and had her name emblazoned on the front. He waved it around like a trophy.

“Your day of reckoning is finally here. This is your letter of termination Raina McMillan. And you’ll be getting no severance from us.” He said her name like it was a dirty word. She had expected this but the reality was still a cold shock. “You’re getting fired.”

“I’m being fired? On what grounds?” Raina said, thrusting out her chin. She wanted to hear what he would make up, since legally “not sleeping with your boss” was not a good reason to put in writing, so she assumed he wasn’t stupid enough to have done
that.

“
Theft
.”

The word hung in the air for several moments. Raina’s gasp was audible.

He grinned wider at her look of genuine shock.

“Yes, that’s right. Stealing money from the company is a punishable offense under the law, dearie. And this little bit of larceny could land you 10 to 20 years of hard time.” His oily voice took on a sinister edge, and for the first time Raina felt genuinely afraid of him.

Roger snarled. “Lucky little whore though, aren’t you? The company has decided not to press charges as long as you sign a statement owning up to your misdeeds and returning the funds. If it were up to me, I would have you locked away for 50 years.”

Raina gaped at him. “Theft?”

She still did not understand what was happening. Of all the reasons Roger could have trumped up to get rid of her, she hadn’t expected something as nefarious as
this.

“Yes Raina,” Roger said in a mocking sing-song tone. “Posing as a supplier and diverting money from the Del Mar to your off shore accounts. Your scam has been discovered. Get the hell out of here! You have five minutes to clear out your things.”

Kelly stared at her, mouth ajar.

“I didn’t do it!” Raina said to her friend. She begged Kelly to believe her.

“I know, Raina.” Kelly said her voice miserable. Her head hung low, avoiding looking at Roger.

“Do you want me to get security? Move your fat ass now. And don’t let me catch you within 500 feet of the Del Mar ever again.” Roger threatened.

Raina scrambled to her feet and then took her time straightening her skirt. She knew it would give Roger great pleasure to have her hauled out by the security in front of her staff.

It hurt.

She knew his cruel pettiness did not reflect on who she was as a person or impeach her integrity, but her heart sank at the stories she knew he would tell about her.

She walked out of Kelly’s office with as much dignity as she could muster. To her chagrin, members of staff hovered around the hallway. Damn, Roger! He had no doubt ensured that her exit would be as humiliating as possible by calling the staff to witness her departure.

She smiled bravely and blinked away the tears. The staff watched her in ominous silence, their faces grave. Many of them avoided her eyes.
What must they be thinking
? She wondered. Raina hoped they would know her well enough to figure out the truth. She went into her office, picked up her handbag and a couple of photos from her desk and walked out. She didn’t give a damn about any of the rest of it.

She began the long walk of shame down the hallway where the staff was still lined up.

“We’ll miss you Raina!” someone called out.

“We know it’s not true!” another said.

“You’re the best, girl! Don’t let ‘em get you down!”

“No one can replace you, Raina!”

The voices were clamoring in unison, growing ever louder.

She turned, and looked at them, the tears that had been threatening to fall chose that moment to spill over her cheeks. She smiled back at them and waved. “I love all of you too.” she said simply, her hands over her heart. She blew them a kiss.

The more than twenty staff members started to clap slowly, then faster and louder, until it became a crescendo. Her eyes landed on Roger who was standing at the end of the hallway with a self-satisfied grin on his face. She felt a smidgen of glee as she watched his face start to crumble as the staff continued to shout praise at her.

“That’s enough! Get back to work or you’ll all be fired,” he snarled at them.

She felt nothing but contempt for him. The silver lining was that she would never have to lay her eyes on his grotesque face again. He was an evil man.

* * *

I
n the car
, Raina’s control broke. She cried and hugged the steering wheel. After all the years at Del Mar, it hurt to leave under a cloud of shame. Where was Christopher when she needed him? When the tears subsided, Raina started her car and drove home. She was glad it would be hours before the children got home from school.

In the hallway, a letter had been dropped from the mailbox. She took it with her to the kitchen. She smiled sadly. It was from the hospital. She now owed them nothing. It was odd to have so much money in her account, yet she felt as though pieces of her had broken away.

She had identified herself with her job for so long. It would take getting used to not going to work in the morning. As for Christopher, it was time she faced reality. He was not coming back and the sooner she got that into her brain, the better it would be for her. Raina made herself a scalding cup of coffee and sat in the kitchen sipping it.

It was time to go into survival mode. Since she had received the check, Raina had idly gone through properties for sale in the paper and circled those that interested her.

But now? Now it was time to think seriously about her future. It was a future that
didn’t
include Christopher Smith.

* * *

T
he following morning
, after the children had gone to school, Raina left the house, walking towards her car with a renewed sense of purpose.

She’d let herself have a good cry the night before. One of those times when you find yourself crying for everything and nothing all at once. She cried for her sister and brother-in-law, for her nieces and nephews, for losing the Del Mar, for being wrongly accused … but most of all she cried for Christopher. She cried for believing that a fairy tale might come true for
her
for once, for thinking “happily ever after” was going to be in her cards.

But after her good cry, she had wiped her face and gotten down to business.

Sure, she had been humiliated and she had lost the man she loved, but Raina was made of sterner stuff, or so she told herself. She was dressed formally in her work clothes, a chic little ensemble from when she’d had money in the past. It was a youthful skirt suit in a cream-colored silk with which she wore a purple ruffled blouse and a long gold necklace that bounced with every step she took.

She tried to exude the confidence she did not feel. The confidence she used to have when she was the manager of the Del Mar. She tried to channel that energy now.

She had an appointment with the elderly owners of the bed and breakfast she’d liked best—circled and starred multiple times in the paper. It was at the edge of town, about thirty minutes away. She had liked the cozy, homey picture of the B&B, the Cliff West Inn. It had eight rooms and several common rooms like the dining area, the TV room and a huge kitchen.

Raina pulled up to the brown bricked property thirty minutes later. A blue flowered sign with the name of the B&B hung cheerfully above the entrance. Several stone steps led up to the swinging door, and on the side a wrought iron railing that had been exquisitely detailed by hand.