Free Anything He Wants 2: All's Fair by Sara Fawkes

 
    1
     
    Limousines
were roomier than I remembered. Of course, the last time I’d been inside one
was high school prom and it had been packed to the gills with friends and their
dates.
    I snuck a
glance at the handsome man near me in the back seat of the limo. He ignored me
for the moment, focused on the tablet in his lap and leaving me to my own
devices. My leather handbag sat in my lap and I hugged it close, still reeling
over the day’s events. Was I really on my way to Paris?
    The last
two days had been crazy. Twice while at work I’d been seduced by the gorgeous
stranger I saw every morning: first in the public elevator, then later in the
parking garage. My out-of-character and shameless behavior had me confused
about my sanity, but I’d been given the shock of my life only an hour earlier
when I found out the same dark stranger was a billionaire.
    Worse
yet, he was my boss.
    Jeremiah Hamilton,
CEO of Hamilton Industries, a multinational business conglomerate to rival
anything Trump ever produced, sat across from me in the dark limo. I hadn’t
recognized him, never even realized who he was, when I rode that elevator. That
thought was embarrassing; although he didn’t have a television show or his name
slapped on magazine covers that I’d actually read , I still should have
known what the CEO of the company I worked for looked like. Now it seemed I was
heading to the airport to fly with him to Paris. As his
personal assistant. With a forthcoming contract whose stipulations
revolved around the phrase “anything he wants”.
    As far
as ranking in the Worst Days Ever, this was in the top five. Definitely
a tie for first on Most Mindboggling Day Ever.
    Manhattan
rush hour traffic being the normal tangle of pedestrians and vehicles, I didn’t
pay much attention to our route, too caught up in my thoughts. Too soon however
I noticed a traffic decrease and the car passing planes behind a tall fence.
Looking out the window I saw with some surprise the sign for Teterboro Airport.
The New Jersey airport wasn’t as big as its New York City counterpart and while
I’d never flown through there, I knew it served a large number of private
flights and airplanes. I’d only ever been through JFK so the smaller airport
was something new. I saw a number of small charter planes parked along the
asphalt, the kind taken by tours and the very rich.
    Well,
I suppose today that’s us. The thought sent a wave of chills up my spine and I
shivered, rubbing my arms. Oh God, what was I getting myself into?
     “You’re
sure I won’t need clothes?” I asked for the third time as we pulled into the
terminal. I hadn’t been allowed to bring anything with me aside from personal
effects already in the office – namely, what was in my purse – and had nothing
but the day’s work clothes I was still wearing. The skirt and blouse were clean
but hardly enough for any kind of overseas trip.
    “They
will be provided for you,” Jeremiah assured me. “Your contract will go over all
of this.”
    It was
the same answer I got anytime I asked him a question about this surprise trip. At
this rate, my contract will be longer than Tolstoy. The flippant thought
did nothing to settle my nerves. I haven’t signed anything yet. I can still
leave, find another job.
    The
sudden image of me flipping burgers for a living made me shudder and a wave of
sorrow washed over me. Is that where I’ll end up? Could this really be my
last chance? I looked up to see Jeremiah watching me. It was like he could
read my mind but there was no emotion on his stoic face. Frustrated, unwilling
to let him see my indecision, I clenched my jaw and refused to look away first.
    The door
opened, breaking our staring contest. I grabbed my bag and climbed out past him,
but thought I saw humor on his face as I passed. So he likes conflict , I
thought as we were hustled into the building. Good, because I’m not going to
crawl and beg for respect.
    An image
popped into my head of me