Free Deacon: A BWWM Billionaire Romance by Paige Notaro Page A

asked.
    “What?”
    “Am I a human or just some toy?”
    “You're not a toy!” I wheeled around the corner, but she clattered her chair chain further back and I stopped. “I respect the hell out of you. You're more real than any other girl I've met.”
    She shook her head. “I always knew there was something off about you. It didn't click until I heard the word ‘billionaire,’ but it makes so much sense now. What I do - my job, my life. It’s all just a game to you.”
    “It's not.”
    “No? Then why did you march in here and take over my life?”
    “That wasn't my aim. I thought if you were too busy to see me, then I could bring myself to you.”
    Her eyes flared wider. “So this job is all BS? You wasted a couple hundred grand just to have me in arm's reach?”
    “The job's completely real.” I pulled open my laptop. Fuck, was I going to have to write this girl a powerpoint to show her what she was doing to me?
    Just my luck, the presentation crashed on me.
    “You seemed like a decent guy.” She was speaking to herself. “You treated your men well. You tried to understand their work. Heck, I thought you were smart. And now you’re wasting company money trying to buy me.”
    “Habibi Solar is real. The project is real and so is my acquisition. I came here with real work. I just thought it'd be fun if I could get you out to the Middle East with me.”
    That stopped her sulk, if only by igniting her. Her skin glowed like lava against the dark leather seat. She looked like a goddess in her rage.
    “This isn't fun, Deacon. This is my place of work. This is my livelihood.”
    “I understand. Trust me, darlin', I do.”
    “No, you don't.” She spat, edging in closer. “How could you? You were handed the keys to the world the day you were born. I had to fight to even get the freedom to think my own thoughts.”
    “What?” I had no idea what she was on about now. “Listen, it wasn't as easy as you think for me, either. I'm a fighter just like you.”
    “Not a fair fighter.” She sank back in her seat. “It worked so hard to get this job. It took me two years to get choice assignments, but I did it on my own. No family to help me, no money to back m. Heck, I’m not even the same color or gender to let me blend in with most people here. I got this job through pure hard work. And I wouldn't have it any other way. Now you swoop in and act like you're god’s gift by forcing me to be yours.”
    “I'm not! This is an international assignment. That'd be a boon to your career no matter which way you cut it.” I held a hand to my heart. “Say the word and I'll take you off though. I promise. I overstepped here. I see that.”
    She laughed harsh and high. “It’s too late for that, now. People are already watching the two of us. They’re analysts. If I skip on this 'awesome international assignment,' people will figure out why. Suddenly I'm the office slut.”
    I rubbed my forehead, my world dissolving as she laid bare the truth of what I'd done. Yeah, I had considered her career, but I had put my desires first. It'd be bad enough if that was all there was to it, but by the molten tremble in her brown eyes, I’d clearly hit on something deeper. Something dark and wrong.
    “What should I do?” I asked.
    She rolled back towards me, her flower scent wilted over that of my own dawning sweat. “Don't worry, I'll do your job. I'm damn good at what I do. But that's all I'll be doing for you. The only time you'll be seeing me is when I'm in the office.”
    My heart turned to a prune, but I nodded. “Whatever you say.”
    She clutched her dark binder against her chest, eyes tight in another swell of anger. “You’re going to listen to me from now on? Good. Forget about putting me in your cage. Don’t ever come near me again.”
    She turned and clipped out as professionally as she had entered, shutting me in alone as she left. Only the buzzing lights filled the silence.
    I sat under the glow of the