Page 99 of Assistant to the Billionaire CEO

“I don’t understand,” she said, her lower lip trembling. “Who are we even hiding this whole thing from? I’m pretty sure that Damon already knows, considering he has asked both of us about it already.”

“It’s not just about Damon though,” I replied. “There are other factors. But we’ve thrown your brother off our trail. Hopefully he’ll leave it be, at least for a while.”

“I doubt it. My brother isn’t the kind of person who just lets things go, you know?”

“I do, trust me. I know him better than most.”

“You didn’t tell him that you know he sent me to snoop on you, did you? Because that would be opening a whole different can of worms.”

“I didn’t,” I murmured softly, caressing her long hair. “Of course I didn’t.” I leaned in and kissed her furrowed brow, hoping to chase her fears away.

“He wouldn’t be happy to find out,” she said sadly. “I know we need to tell him eventually. He’ll be so angry at me.” She shook her head, got up off the couch, and sauntered into her small kitchen. “Would you like some chai? Maybe some matcha tea? I think I need some.”

“Do you have whiskey?” I craned my neck to watch her as she made her way over to her stainless-steel kettle. She lifted it up and walked over to the tap to fill it. I couldn’t help but be mesmerized by the swaying of her hips. It was like all the light in the room bent around corners and crevices to wrap itself around her beautiful body. Each curve of it was like the most breathtaking landscape you could possibly imagine, an enchanting scenery upon which the sun always rose, but never set.

“I have wine?” she offered, her words sounding more like a question than a statement. I watched her smiling over her shoulder at me. Her face was almost enough to stop my heart in its tracks. I didn’t believe in magic, but I knew she had cast some kind of spell on me.

“What kind of wine?” I asked, trying not to reveal how taken aback I was by her beauty.

“They’re in a box in the closet. Mooncake Vineyards…I think,” she said. “Sorry, let me go find it, I don’t remember.”

I shook my head. “Wait. No, thank you. I’ll have some tea.”

“Coming right up,” she said as the scent of tea filled the apartment, swirling into the living room like eddies of water. She returned carrying two cups and handed the larger one to me. “I hope I put enough sugar in it.” As she leaned forward to give it to me, her enticing breasts threatened to pop out of the neckline of her dress. I didn’t avert my gaze, because why would I? I was already imagining tearing her crimson dress right off.

“Thanks, babe.”

“Did you know that chai means tea?”

“I didn’t. Not much of a tea drinker.”

She sat down again and smiled at me. She knew perfectly well I was thinking less about the tea and more about her beautiful breasts and how they felt under my hands. “Try it.”

“All right.” I took a sip of my tea, surprised at the pleasant nutty taste. It was sweet, but not overly sweet. “This is pretty damn good.”

“Right? Damon gave it to me as a gift for my last birthday. He imported about four pounds of the matcha from Japan after I told him how much I loved it.”

“Hmm,” I hummed. “He’s not always an asshole.”

“No, he’s not,” she agreed. “I know he loves me very much.” She took a drink of her matcha and stared contemplatively at a painting of colorful birds sitting on a tree branch, hanging on the wall across from us. After a moment of silence, she shifted her weight around nervously. “Can I ask you something? It’s something I’ve been meaning to ask for a while, but the opportunity just never presented itself.” Her chest heaved as nervous breath after nervous breath passed through her lungs.

I took another sip of my matcha.

42

ACE

“Ask away,” I said, curious as to what she wanted to know.

“Okay, but don’t freak out when I do.” She took a deep breath and put her hands on her lap. “What happened between you and Allison? Why didn’t you two work out?”

Not what I expected. I was slightly taken aback.

Although, I supposed she had the right to know. “She left me.”I knew, of course, that Stella would follow up, but that was all I could say about Allison.

“Oh.” She gulped and looked away. “Why?”

I put my cup down on the small table in front of us. “She fell in love with somebody else.”

---