Page 2 of Quarantined with the Billionaire

Lovely. Elise and I were team C, which meant we’d be last.

“If you need a break, take it. After we receive instructions, teams B and C will begin taking calls again while team A receives equipment and heads out.”

Dominique continued droning on but, by this point, Elise had moved closer to me. She held her hand up to her mouth, making it look like she was pondering information. But I knew this was Elise’s clandestine mode. “Do you suppose we’ll see Mr. Steel today?”

I let out a sigh and tried not to roll my eyes. I didn’t need my manager thinking I was being insubordinate. But Elise’s obsession with the CEO and owner of Essential Solutions had grown tiresome. Sure, he was good looking. Well, that was an understatement. The man was like I’d imagined Hercules would have been in the flesh. You couldn’t see his musculature with a jacket, but when he took it off, you could see his sinewy torso through the shirt. And he had a strong jaw, dark brown hair, eyes the color of the late evening sky.

Tall. Formidable.

Really gorgeous, too, but he’d always come across to me as a bit of an asshole. Elise and I had debated the possibility during many a lunch break. She insisted it was because he was the CEO of a powerful company. How would you act if you had thousands of people’s fates in your hand, if you controlled billions of dollars? I’d reply to my friend that I still wouldn’t be a jerk until she’d shut me up by telling me I had a decent job, so I should be grateful.

Except Elise hadn’t been in the elevator that one day.

Maddox Steel’s office was on the top floor, along with his legal and administrative staff in his five-story building in the middle of downtown Denver, Colorado. While we received information from him on a weekly basis, most of the time it was passed down through directors to managers before it came to us. We usually had an annual meeting in January when he’d grace us with his presence and he’d give us a pep talk about the coming years. Most of the time, though, he seemed like a recluse, confined to the top floor. He arrived early, usually before anyone else, save the security staff, and he usually left later than most.

I’d give Elise one thing—he was driven.

But the elevator. I’d been working for Essential Solutions for close to a year, and I’d just gotten back from lunch that day. Elise must have been out sick or something, because I was by myself. I stepped on the elevator to head back up to the third floor and, just as the doors started to slide closed, a big hand stopped them. Maddox Steel entered…and he took my breath away. The man really was a sight, but up close, it was almost unbearable being near him. I felt my muscles tighten as my hands started to shake. I gave the man a shy hi. He nodded, jaw clamped closed, and then he began touching the screen of his phone, putting it up to his ear.

Rude.

And I’d hated him ever since. A pompous, uncaring, unconcerned asshole. I worked my fingers to the bone for his company, and he couldn’t even be bothered to say hello. That had probably been the first time I decided I wouldn’t want to spend my life at his company.

It was not the last.

“God, I hope not.”

Elise flashed a frown at me, but she knew how I felt.

“What was that, Bailey?” Shit. I was on Dominique’s radar.

“Nothing. Sorry.”

Fortunately, a lot was going on today, so she didn’t make an example of me for a change. “That’s what I thought.”

While she added a few closing remarks, I lowered my head so she couldn’t see me but Elise could hear. “I don’t think we’re worth a thousand dollars of Mr. Steel’s time, do you?”

Elise didn’t answer, probably because Dominique was still looking our way. “Okay, break time, people. Be back here by eleven sharp.”

I looked at Elise, eyebrows raised, communicating to her that I didn’t appreciate her almost getting me in trouble, and she flashed me a smile, tossing her blonde hair behind her shoulder. “Let’s go get some coffee.”

In some ways, we were lucky to be on the third floor. The breakroom was close by, and so we often got to see different people from other parts of the building that we wouldn’t usually see. I nodded at my friend, thinking maybe a little caffeine would help me focus on what was sure to be a harrowing day. But, in the back of my mind, I felt a little happy. Not about a sickness sweeping across continents, but a break from my dull, unchallenging job. I’d long since grown tired of it and I’d become equally exhausted with trying to move up the ladder at this place.

As we made our way there, Elise asked, “So what was that about us not being worth a thousand dollars?”

“Don’t you remember that anecdote—that a CEO earns more money during the time he takes a piss than one of his employees makes in a week?”

“Yeah, I remember something like that.”

God, how could she not? It was one of the things I ranted about the most, and the longer I worked here, the more I mentioned it. It seemed unfair that, by and large, the workers doing the hard work got the worst pay while the CEO sat on his fat ass raking in the dough.

It was, of course, a generalization, and Mr. Steel didn’t seem to be the type to have his feet propped up on his desk just basking in the glow—and he most certainly did not have a fat ass. I’d give credit where credit was due. He appeared to work just as hard, if not harder, than the rest of us did.

Blowing me off, Elise grinned, slipping a paper cup in the deluxe coffee machine, a “perk” that employees had been raving about over the past year since Mr. Steel had purchased it. One thing I’d say about the place was there was nothing trashy about the building or any of the amenities we offered clients. I just didn’t belong here anymore.

“I’m making mine with chocolate. You should, too.”

“We’ll see.”

Removing her cup, she put it to her lips and blew. “I’m gonna go get something out of the vending machine. Want anything?”

I shook my head, rifling through the packets of coffee before settling on a plain medium roast. As it brewed, sending a stream of brown liquid into the cup, I sensed someone behind me. Not surprising, as this was a popular place. But I didn’t want anyone getting impatient with me, so as soon as it was done, I picked up the cup and turned quickly, ready to join Elise at the vending machines.

And whom did I nearly run into as I turned?

Our elusive but magnetic CEO, Maddox Steel.

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