The Billionaire's Seduction (The Billionaire's Temptation Book 1), page 1
The Billionaire’s Seduction
J. S. Cooper
Contents
About This Book
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Epilogue
Excerpt from To The Rude Guy in Apartment Five
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Acknowledgments
About This Book
I thought I hit the lottery…
I interviewed for a job, but because of my name, they mistook me for someone else. So, instead of being a receptionist, they hired me as an executive working under Harry Green, the CEO of the company. And as luck would have it, he was away on business, so I had time to learn all the skills I needed.
Then I met a jerk in the elevator…
The man in the elevator was one of the hottest men I’d ever seen in my life; his dazzling blue-gray eyes made me want to do naughty things to him. However, our interaction in the elevator couldn’t have gone any worse. He might have been hot, but he was also one of the cockiest bastards I’d ever met in my life. That didn’t stop me from accepting a date with him.
One date led to one hot night…
There are some men that taste like sin. The man in the elevator was one of them. We had our one night of passion and I thought I’d never see him again. Turns out I was wrong. Turns out I hadn’t won the lottery at all. Turns out the jerk in the elevator was my new boss and now I’m caught in the biggest lie of my life.
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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2020 by J. S. Cooper
Copyright Helen Cooper, How To Catch a Billionaire
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the author.
Chapter 1
“Tonight, we are going to have some fun, Sarah.” My best friend Katy grinned at me. “We can do anything we want to do.”
“Well, we can’t really do anything we want to do.” I made a face. “We have twenty dollars to eat, drink, and be merry.”
“Hey, I’ve done all three things on less.”
“I don’t want to know.” I laughed and tried not to look at our squalid little apartment too closely. I was pretty sure I’d seen a rat running in our kitchen last night. If you could call it a kitchen. It had a small dorm room sized fridge, three cupboards, and a mini toaster oven. Next to that was the one and only sink in the place. It felt gross to brush my teeth in the same sink that held my dishes, but when Katy was in the shower, I had no other options.
“Nothing bad, Sarah, you know me.” She slipped her long dark hair back and did a little dance. “Come on, we live in the best city in the world, we need to enjoy it.”
“We kinda live in the best city in the world.” I half-laughed and half-cried. “We live in New York, but I think we live in the worst apartment that ever existed.”
“It’s not that bad.” We both knew she was lying. It was worse than bad. Not only did we seem to have a pet rat, we also seemed to have some pet cockroaches. I shuddered just thinking about it.
“Fine. What shall we do tonight?”
“Tonight, we’re going to go to the best bar we can find and we’re going to find two hotties that look rich as hell and we’re going to let them buy us as many drinks as we can handle.”
“But we go home together, right?”
“Of course, we go home together.” She rolled her eyes. “You start your new job tomorrow and I will not allow you to be late because you’re doing the walk of shame.”
“I don’t do the walk of shame.” I laughed. “I do the run.” And then we both started laughing. “Are we being totally irresponsible by going out tonight when we both have to work tomorrow and we have no money?”
“Girl, we’re young. There is no such thing as being irresponsible.” She grabbed her phone and started playing some music. “Find your sexiest dress and I’ll do your makeup. Tonight we are going to party like it’s 1999.”
“It’s 2020.”
“Close enough.” She winked and placed her phone on our small light pine Ikea table. “Okay, music is on. Do you want to shower first or second?”
“First, please?” I bit down on my lower lip, knowing I was being selfish, but the hot water tank in our building sucked so that there would only be enough hot water for one of us.
“Fine, but that means that I get to start drinking before you.” She smiled. “Margaritas or White Russian’s?”
“Hello, margaritas, please. Is that even a question?”
“I guess not. Now, shoo, Sarah. You have ten minutes in the shower and then I’m going to come in and flush the toilet.”
“You’re horrible, but fine. I’m going.” I shook my head at her as I ran to the bathroom and closed the door. I quickly pulled off my clothes and started singing as I got ready to enter the shower. As horrible as our apartment was, I loved living in the city. I loved living with my best friend, and I was excited for us to have an adventure tonight. “Tonight’s going to be a good night,” I sang to myself as I stepped into the shower. I was starting a new job the next day and even though it didn’t pay terribly well, it still meant that I would have an income. Some money was definitely better than no money. I grabbed the shampoo and poured some into my hands and rubbed it into my hair with my left hand while I grabbed my razor with my right hand. The good thing about living in a shitty apartment was that you became very good at multitasking. As I shaved myself carefully and rubbed my scalp, I saw something move out of the side of my eye and before I knew it I was screaming and on the ground, shampoo in my eye and my right knee cut and bloody.
“What happened?” Katy came running to the bathroom and looked down at me, naked at the side of the tub.
“There was a frog and it jumped on me.” I shuddered at the thought. “How do we have frogs in here?”
“Maybe it’s your Prince Charming. Did you try kissing it?”
“Very funny. Not.” I glared at her as she helped me up. “I can’t wait for us to leave this place.”
“Maybe soon,” she said, but we both knew that wasn’t likely in the foreseeable future. Not on our salaries.
“Yeah, soon,” I said and smiled gratefully at her. “At least we’re here together.”
“That we are.” She did a little pirouette and bowed and I burst out laughing.
“You’re a goofball.”
“I know.” And with that she left the bathroom, while I made my way back into the already lukewarm shower. Tonight, we would have some fun, and tomorrow I would start my new job and work as hard as I possibly could. Maybe I’d get promoted to head receptionist in a year or something. That would be amazing. I’d work hard, but I knew that I could do it.
“Katy, you will not believe it,” I squealed into the phone, barely able to contain my excitement. “For once, my name has helped me.”
“What are you talking about, Sarah?” Katy whispered into the phone. “I can’t talk long. My boss is riding my ass.”
“So, you know how today was my first day at Green & Hall’s Corporation as a receptionist?” I said quickly, hoping I got to tell her of my good fortune before she had to go.
“Uh-huh.”
“Well, let’s just say that today is my lucky day, because I am now a top executive working for the CEO, Mr. Green himself. And the best part is, he is out of town indefinitely, so I have enough time to become as top executive ready as is possible.”
“What?” Katy’s voice increased in volume. “How did that happen? No offense, but you are not a top executive, Sarah.”
I laughed into the phone. “Shh. So, it turns out that another Sarah Smith was hired for the executive position, but when I turned up, they just assumed that I was that Sarah Smith. I mean, at first I didn’t realize. I just thought they were rather nice to the new receptionist but it turns out that they thought I was the exec and by the time I realized what had happened I decided to just play along with it.”
“Sarah.” Katy’s voice was worried. “What are you going to do when the real Sarah Smith shows up? Then you’ll be out of a job, period! And I do not make enough money to pay the full rent.”
“Don’t worry about it, Katy.” I looked around before I said my next words. “I called the other Sarah Smith and apologized to her but said the position was filled and we no longer needed her. I felt bad because it turns out she was really sick with food poisoning from some barbeque she got yesterday and that’s why she never showed up today. For a minute, I debated telling her to forget about my call, but then I realized I really need and want this job. And she went to Harvard Business School, so she’ll have plenty of other opportunities. She’ll be fine.”
“Oh my gosh. Sarah!” Katy laughed into the phone. “What did you do? Are you sure this is a good idea?”
“It’s okay.” I laughed. “No one knows who the other Sarah is, turns out she only did a phone interview because she was overseas on some internship in London.” I sighed in envy. I would love to go to London, but I’ve never even left the United States.
“Well, if you think you can get away with it.” Katy sounded unsure and that made me nervous. Katy was the level-headed one in our friendship and I was the more flighty one. I valued her opinion more than she knew.
“Katy, I didn’t go to school for four years to be an actress for nothing.” I spoke in an English accent, trying to win her over. “It’s going to be fine. And get this, I am making a hundred fifty thousand dollars a year.”
“Whoa.” She sounded impressed. “That’s a lot of money.”
“Right. We can move out of our dump and actually move into the city.” I knew that would win her over. “We can get a really nice apartment, one that doesn’t have pet rats and roaches.”
“Can we move to the Upper West Side?”
“Hello, that’s what I’m thinking too.” I laughed. “I’ve already been looking at newspaper ads and Craigslist.”
“Sarah, I don’t know.” Katy’s voice still sounded unsure. “Do you really think you can get away with this?”
“I know so. My new boss, Lewis Walker, loves me. I think he has a crush on me. There is no way that he will fire me. I’ll just keep smiling and flirting and all will be fine.” I played with my long blond hair as I walked to the subway station and smiled to myself. “Something is finally going right for us, Katy. Maybe you can even quit that shitty job.”
“Do you really think so?” Katy’s voice now sounded hopeful. She was working as a sales assistant at a cell phone shop and hated it. She had gone to school to be a history teacher but hadn’t been able to find an open position due to budget cuts at the board of education. And now she spent her days trying to get commissions from people buying the latest iPhone and Android. I knew that the sooner she could leave, the happier she would be.
“Yes, Katy.” I stopped outside the subway station so that I could continue talking to her without losing service. “In fact, why don’t you just walk out of there today? I get paid every two weeks and will be able to carry the rent until you find something you like.”
“OMG, Sarah. Are you sure?” Katy’s voice got louder and louder with excitement.
“Of course. Do it. Leave now.” My voice got louder along with hers, and more excited. I could see people walking by and giving me a look like I was some sort of mental case. “Our tide is turning, Katy.”
“Okay. I’m going to go and quit now.” Katy sounded excited. “I’ll see you at home later, yeah?”
“Yup. And then we can go out for drinks to celebrate.” I looked quickly at my watch. “But I have to go now too. My lunch break is almost over. I’ll see you tonight.” I hung up and raced into the station and down the stairs so that I wouldn’t miss my train. I was lucky, the train pulled up just as I got to the platform. I grinned to myself, my luck had finally changed, and I was ready to take on the world.
The train was pretty empty in my car so I was able to sit down and check my makeup. I stared in my compact mirror and reapplied some pale pink lipstick and navy-blue mascara. My big blue eyes stared back at me, shining with delight and happiness. I didn’t have to reapply any blush because the cold was making my cheeks red enough. I smiled widely to check my teeth for food and sat back with pleasure, pleased at my appearance.
Katy and I had moved to New York four and a half years ago from Florida to go to college. We had been best friends since high school and had been ecstatic when we had both gotten into college in the Big Apple. She had gone to Columbia and I had gone to NYU. We had shared a studio apartment in Brooklyn since our junior year. Unfortunately, we had both studied subjects that weren’t really sought after and neither one of us had great job prospects when we graduated. We were broker now than when we had been when we’d first arrived in the city. I had always dreamed of being a big Hollywood actress (don’t ask why I live in New York) and all Katy had ever wanted to do was to teach sixth grade history.
We had graduated jobless but we hadn’t wanted to move back to Florida, so Katy had gotten a job in a cell phone store and I had looked for receptionist positions. We had just received an eviction notice about two weeks ago as well. The notice stated that if we didn’t come up with the last two months’ rent within thirty days, we were going to be kicked out into the street. Alvin, the landlord, had offered us another deal but neither one of us were willing to have sex with him to stay in that dump. I’d worried that we’d have to go back to Florida with our tails between our legs, but our luck had finally changed with this new job.
I got off the train and walked down the street with a pep in my step that I hadn’t felt in years. I walked back to the Green & Hall’s building with pride and only a little twinge of worry. I mean, I’m not stupid. I was sure that I would be in a lot of trouble if they found out I was Sarah Smith, NYU drama graduate and new receptionist as opposed to Sarah Smith, Harvard MBA and new executive. But I figured if someone realized the mistake and approached me with the truth, I would just pretend to be confused. I had already practiced the lines I would say if that happened. “Lordy, Lordy, I don’t know what is going on here? I surely thought that God had blessed me on this good day with the job of my dreams. I hope you can find it in your heart to let me prove myself. This is the job I deserve and can do, even if my qualifications would lead you to believe otherwise.” I hoped that whoever I spoke to wouldn’t recognize that I was putting on a Southern accent and send me to a mental institute; though that would be preferable to going to jail. I was pretty sure I couldn’t be sent to jail for pretending to be a different Sarah.
“Hi, Maggie.” I beamed at the receptionist, who looked at me coldly. “I’m just going up to my office, you know the big one on the thirtieth floor.” I almost skipped to the elevator and giggled as I pressed the button. I couldn’t quite believe my luck. Lewis Walker hadn’t even given me any real work—he’d just handed me some files and told me to familiarize myself with Green & Hall’s Corporation’s lists of companies..
“Hold the doors,” a deep voice boomed from outside the elevator and I quickly pushed some buttons. I watched as the doors closed and realized that I had pressed the close door button instead of open. Oops, I thought to myself. I didn’t think it was a super huge deal because the doors opened again before the elevator left, but the man who walked into the elevator didn’t look too happy. “Didn’t I tell you to keep the doors open?” he snarled at me.
I frowned at him. “Sorry, I pressed the wrong button by mistake.” I attempted to smile at him but he continued snarling at me. “I mean it’s not like it’s a huge deal. You’re in here now, aren’t you?”
“What floor are you going to?” He ignored my comment and pressed the button for the fortieth floor.
“Oh, I’m going to the thirtieth floor.” I looked into his eyes engagingly and offered him a sweet expression, hoping he would get over his bad mood. I didn’t need anyone to put a damper on my day. I twirled my hair as I looked at him. He was handsome, and I wouldn’t mind him flirting with me. That would make my day even better.
“The thirtieth?” He raised an eyebrow at me, as his eyes looked over me with a dismissive look.
“Yes.” I stopped smiling. He was annoying me. What the hell was his problem?
