Page 16 of Battle with a Billionaire

She shoved his hand away.

“Thank you, Julia!” he called as the doors snapped shut. She slid her eyes closed as the car whisked her upward to the executive offices. She stepped out to the din of a working office and headed back to her new office.

Evelyn rose as she swept inside. “Good morning, Mrs. Harrington. I have several messages for you already and one Christopher Metcalfe who claims he’s been asked to meet with you this morning, but I don’t have anything on your calendar.”

“Good morning, Evie.” Julia collected the messages from her and stepped into her office with Evelyn following. “Yes, he’s a last-minute add. I’ll deal with him first, then get to these.”

“Those are sorted by order from most critical to least,” Evelyn said as she collapsed into the chair and shuffled through the messages. “I’ll send Mr. Metcalfe in whenever you are ready.”

“I’m ready now. And, Evie, please call me Julia. There’s no need for all the formality.”

“Of course,” Evelyn said with a smile.

A moment later, she showed the dark-haired man into Julia’s office. He thanked her and strode toward the desk, sticking out his hand to shake Julia’s before they both settled into their seats.

“Well, Mr. Metcalfe, you come highly recommended by Sierra Harrington, but I’m not certain what position you were hoping for here.”

The slick man leaned back in his chair, raising his chin as though he already had her over a barrel. “Well, marketing is my specialty, though, I’d like something really central to the company’s mission.”

Why did he always use the right words but make so little sense? “Do you have something specific in mind?”

“Well, I’ve had a number of directorships as I’m sure you’ve seen on my resume. I’m looking to capitalize on my experience and gain a role with some real teeth.”

“Such as?”

He shrugged, playing cool. “Vice President of Corporate Development? With my background, mergers and acquisitions would be right up my alley.”

“Your background in marketing, you mean?” Julia asked. “You feel that qualifies you for a vice presidency here?”

“I’m more than qualified. I could do your job.”

Julia refused to back down from the overly aggressive comment, certain he was merely trying to insult her into agreeing with him. “Well, that’s confidence. But I’m game to see if you have what it takes to back it up.”

He raised his eyebrows, the corners of his lips turning up. “So, do we have an agreement?”

Julia matched his expression as she rose. “Welcome to Harrington Global, Christopher. I think together, we’ll do great things.”

As they shook hands, Julia’s mind spun. She was fairly certain she’d just invited a corporate spy into her midst. It was a risky move, but it was another move in the chess game she was willing to take. Now she just had to outsmart him.

CHAPTER 5

GRANT

Grant frowned down at the black and white photos as his fingers tightened around the newspaper pages until they crumpled. His heart pounded as anger tore through him. “How the hell did this happen?”

His campaign manager Kathryn sat behind her desk, scanning the images–in living color–now crawling across the internet–aging pictures showing him in his wilder, younger years surrounded by scantily clad women, caressing them, kissing them. “I told you we had trouble brewing.”

Her usual no-nonsense, take-no-crap attitude annoyed him at this moment. “Trouble brewing doesn’t mean my face splashed all over the front page and every news website in the county.”

“Look, I’m not happy about it either, Grant. Believe me.” She flicked a lock of brown hair over her shoulder as she leaned back in her chair. “But if I wanted a saint for a client, I’d never have agreed to run your campaign. I expected this. Frankly, I thrive on it. We’ll spin this, mold it, make it work for us. But you need to trust me and do what I say. Can you do that?”

“Well, I’m glad you could care less,” Grant muttered, his voice a heavy mix of sarcasm and deep-seated worry. The images weren’t just pictures, they were ghosts of his past, threatening to destroy the future he desperately wanted with Julia. Each photo felt like a brick in the wall that would soon come between them.

“I didn’t say that. I care. I would much rather run a clean campaign. It would be so much easier if you hadn’t been a playboy for most of your life, but where’s the fun in that?”

Grant’s jaw tensed as he tossed the newspaper down. “I’m so glad you’re enjoying this.”

“Oh, get your knickers out of a twist. These photos are ancient history, which is exactly what we’ll say.” She clicked off the newsfeed and shrugged.

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