Page 4 of The Billionaire's Lust

Her mouth spread into a smile of awe as she moved out beside me, scanning the place she’d only seen on television. People bustled past, not doing anything remotely glamorous, but in my mother’s eyes, she was on the red carpet.

She gripped my arm as Missy came out of one of the private offices on the wall. Her gaze narrowed over the bullpen, clearly looking for someone that wasn’t working at a fevered pace. When her dark stare made its way to where I stood, she scowled--until she cut to Mom. Her eyes went back and forth between the two of us, weighing our similarities and when she figured it out, she smiled like she’d just won the lottery.

Great. She was coming over.

“Leila!” Missy gushed, flipping her mahogany hair over her shoulder. “To what do we owe this honor?” She didn’t even wait for me to respond. “It’s so great to see you!”

Great to see me? I thought, eyebrows perking. Why was she so happy to see me?

It took less than a second for me to answer the question. Mom was shaking her hand like she was meeting a celebrity and Missy was eating it up. I wanted to tell her that Missy wasn’t what she seemed, but I knew that would just make things worse for me.

“Miss Montgomery, Leila is such a great addition to our team,” Missy said effusively. “She has such poise, grace and tenacity.”

“That’s my Leila,” Mom beamed. She took a step back, peering at Missy with her head tilted to the side. “You and Leila are close then?”

Missy lied as easily as breathing. “Of course.”

“Hmm.” Mom stroked her chin. “I thought it was just TV, but you’re a horrible liar in person too.”

Just when you think you know what to suspect, people can surprise you.

I pressed my fingertips against my lips, stifling the laugh that I knew was coming. Missy was genuinely flabbergasted.

Mom looked past Missy, craning her neck like she was looking for someone important. “Could you take me to Mrs. Joy’s office, Leila? I’m dying to meet her.”

I could barely keep the smile off my face now as we sidestepped a stewing Missy. “Right this way.” Once we were out of hearing range I whispered, “I thought you were a fan of hers?”

“Please,” Mom scoffed. “She’s such a witch to her poor staffers. I was going to be cordial though--until I saw the way she looked at you.”

Oh God...she was really going to make me cry. I thought about Missy, Natasha, anything to make me angry and remember why I couldn’t show an ounce of weakness around these people. I saw Claudia’s office, shining like some light at the end of the tunnel and that did the trick.

Claudia was curled up in her armchair, her laptop on a sleek lap apparatus, a cup of coffee in hand.

I tapped on the door and she looked up, smiling brightly when she made eye contact.

“Leila!” Claudia noticed my mother beside me. “And who’s this?”

“This is my mother, Cheryl Montgomery,” I answered. “She was in the neighborhood--”

“And I just had to meet you!” Mom didn’t even wait for an invitation before she pushed into Claudia’s office.

Claudia put aside her mug and laptop and extended her hand. Mom shook it so hard that I was surprised she didn’t snap Claudia’s arm right off.

“I’m so sorry,” I said, taking a step forward. “She just wanted to say hello. She’s a big fan of PR.”

Claudia chuckled good-naturedly, holding my mother’s hand in both of hers. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“The pleasure is mine!” Mom grinned, still staring at Claudia like she was the second coming of Christ. “I know Lay really looks up to you.”

My cheeks tingled with embarrassment. It was true, but oh my gosh...

“Well your daughter is pretty amazing in her own right. She’s been an indispensable resource on several cases.” Claudia glanced at me, her eyes warm. “I can’t wait until she becomes a member of the PR team.”

I felt the burn of tears in my throat. It meant so much coming from her. Sure, Jacob had said the exact same thing for months now; that I deserved to do more than arrange his calendars and be the woman behind the man. But hearing it from Claudia…it was just different. Of course parents tell their children they’re awesome. Of course significant others support their other halves. But Claudia had nothing to gain by saying that I was great at my job and that she thought I’d excel doing my dream job.

“Well, we’ll let you get back to work.” It was my mother that steered me from the office and back to the elevator. I didn’t even care that Missy was glaring at us, probably planning something especially terrible. Bring it on. Not even she could bring me down right now.

We shuttled up to our final destination and I sniffled, remembering Natasha. But I didn’t have to pretend we could stand each other because she was away from her desk.

---