The Hated Billionaire by Erica Frost

Chapter16: Brett

I drove home in a daze. I kept on thinking of Christina. All the way back to my apartment, thoughts of her floated through my head and I couldn’t get her out of my mind. She was so sexy, so funny, so interesting. I kept on seeing her body – naked and beautiful – stretched out on the bed, her smile so gorgeous as she looked up at me with those big brown eyes. I kept on remembering what it felt like to hold her, to kiss her.

“Damn it, she’s hot.”

I blushed, despite the fact that there was nobody there to hear me. I had never felt like this before about anybody. Sure, I had a lot of experience, but I hadn’t actually fallen in love before.

“Oh, heck.”

I rested my hands on the dashboard as we stopped in heavy traffic. I hadn’t really thought about it before, but that was what had happened. I’d had my eye on Christina for months and, now that I had really, well, met her…now I was developing feelings towards her that were more than just lustful.

I grinned, feeling a hardness in my loins just thinking about Christina.

This was weird for me – I’d always imagined that I’d never get attached to anyone, and now here I was, falling in love. I wasn’t sure what to think about that. I would have imagined that I’d feel scared about that – after all, loving someone was a big deal, and generally speaking I wasn’t that good with my emotions. If I thought about it, that was probably why I’d effectively pushed her away for months. But I wasn’t anything but happy, I realized as the traffic cleared and I headed up towards my house. I

“I should have asked her about her past.”

I couldn’t forget that she had been crying that night – when we’d made love the first time after I found her at work. She had been very upset about something, and I’d never really made a deeper inquiry as to what it might have been. I guess I didn’t want to remind her.

Whatever it was, just the memory of it terrified her.

The traffic was mercifully-swift – after all, it was Sunday afternoon – and I arrived back at my apartment in good time.

I leaned back on the couch. It was so strange that she had managed to hide any hint of the pain inside her for so long. When I first saw her, at work, I would have thought that her life was without any particular incident – she seemed so calm and self-contained. But, I thought with a grimace, you can never tell what’s going on in someone else’s life. You might think they’re so serene and everything is perfect, but there’s no way of really knowing until they tell you.

My mind wandered back to Christina, to her beautiful curves and how she gasped as I held her, my lips on her breast, my hand wandering over her soft, smooth waist and downwards, gripping her tight buttocks as I drew her against me, her legs parting for me to enter.

“Come on, Brett,” I said to myself. I got up off the couch and went to my bedroom to get my forms from work. I was supposed to be finishing the budget meeting stuff. That was why I was here.

I found my mind wandering back to my conversation with Christina and how she always seemed to want to sidestep questions about her past. I dismissed the thoughts.

If I had wanted to find out about Christina, I should have stayed there with her. Speculating wasn’t going to get answers.

I was just settling down to work when my phone rang. I swore inwardly.

“Hello?”

“Hi!” It was my brother. “How are you, Brett?”

“I’m fine,” I said. My annoyance evaporated. “Good to hear you! How are things?” I felt relaxed, hearing his voice. There’s something reassuring about a big brother, especially when you are navigating unknown territory, like I was. I wanted to ask him about Christina, but I couldn’t just jump into it. I’d have to wait.

“Oh, fine,” he said. He sounded genuinely positive, which was nice. “I had a great weekend – went out to go hiking…it’s such great weather. You should join us sometime.”

“Yeah,” I said. “It was great weather.” It was a warm day – I was tempted to open the window, but I left it for the moment. Even in this place, the traffic could get pretty loud. “Did you go anywhere particular?” Maybe he had some good ideas about where to go for a hike and I could take Christina there sometime.

“Not really. I always go to the same hill. It’s a nice walk, and I’m challenging myself – I want to do it in an hour and a half.”

I shook my head. “Damn it! You can’t stop being a pro, can you?” I tensed, the moment I’d said it.

“That’s not amusing, considering.”

I swallowed hard. I hadn’t meant it like that. I knew that since the accident, he’d regretted the end of his career, but I hadn’t meant to be referencing that. I knew he would take it like that, though. I meant that despite it, he still…I sighed. I guess it was a bit callous.

“Sorry,” I said quickly. “It was a stupid thing to say.”

“Quite.” my brother said. It was a weird expression for him to use, but I ignored it and tried to think of something else to say.

“Um…so, is it a good hike? For beginners, I mean?” I asked. “I mean, if I were to take someone there who had no clue what they were doing, would they manage it safely?”

“Sure,” my brother said. He sounded more like himself, and I was glad of that. I hadn’t meant to say something stupid that referenced his accident. I hadn’t really, but I could understand that it meant that to him. He had literally gone from professional to unable to play and I knew how much it had hurt him and how long it took for him to come to terms with it and start a new life. “It’s quite easy – there aren’t any bits that need climbing. You could manage it in a few hours, I think. It’s well-suited to beginners.”

“Thanks,” I said. I laughed. “That makes me feel like you have a lot of faith in my training.”

He was laughing too, now. “You know what I mean,” he said, chuckling. “It takes me two and a half hours now. I don’t think it’ll take you much longer, and even a complete beginner would get it done in four. It’s a nice walk.”

“Thanks,” I said. “And if I brought someone reasonably fit along, they’d be fine too.”

He sighed. “Yes. As I said, anyone could manage it. Are you seeing someone?” he asked directly. I stared at the phone, astonished by how quickly he’d assessed my motives.

“Why would you conclude that?” I asked, though I was laughing now too. He really was way ahead.

“Well,” my brother said. “I never heard you want to get out into the outdoors before. Not in such a big way.”

“I do like the outdoors,” I said, laughing as I spoke.

“Well, yes, I guess. But you have never asked me about a hike before.”

“No,” I agreed. “I guess that I haven’t, no.” I shook my head. “Damn it…you are a natural big brother, aren’t you?”

He laughed. “I try to be,” he agreed. “Well, are you going to tell me more details?”

“About what?” I felt guarded. How I felt about Christina was so new and so beautiful to me and, though I really wanted to get my brother’s advice on this, I also felt the need to keep some of that information to myself.

“About the new girl, Brett,” he said lightly. “Who is she? Can I at least know where she’s from?”

I sighed. “Sure. She’s a girl I met at work. She works for me. I guess that should be a problem, hey?” I tensed. I personally didn’t see it as wrong, but I was sure not everybody would share my views on that. I waited for my brother to judge me – he was always a bit judgmental and I had come to expect it.

“Um…well, I don’t know,” he said. I tensed. I’d been waiting for the judgment, and there it was.

“Yeah, I know…it’s not appropriate, and all that stuff,” I began tensely. “But…”

“It’s not about that,” my brother interrupted quickly. “It’s about how does she feel, Brett? You know how it is – she might feel pressure, since you own the company…”

“Thanks!” I said, outraged. “Thanks a lot, man. You mean to say that she’s only interested in me because I’m her boss? That she feels coerced and pressured and that’s the only reason someone’d look sideways at me?” My reaction was sudden, but I guessed he’d stepped on raw nerves.

“I didn’t say that, Brett,” my brother replied. He sounded quite calm. “I never suggested that she wouldn’t look at you if…”

“Yeah, but you did say that the only reason she’s looking at me is because she’s scared that if she turns me down, she’ll be unemployed. Damn it!” I was hurt. I was also scared. It was just possible that he was right.

Christina had acted like she hated me until just recently. Had I inadvertently pressured her that night, forcing her to change her attitude? I gasped, just thinking of it.

“Brett, calm down,” my brother said patiently. Telling someone to calm down – which is, in fact, a command – doesn’t have the effect of making someone feel calmer. It makes them feel threatened or judged, and I felt both.

“Calm down! No, I damn well can’t be calm.” I was furious now. “I’m insulted, and I don’t think I’m going to continue this conversation. Maybe we should talk tomorrow.” I took a deep breath, struggling to get a hold on feelings that even I knew were unreasonable.

“Maybe,” my brother agreed. “I’ll phone soon.” He sounded relaxed, but I couldn’t be sure.

I stood up, to find I was shaking. I went through to the kitchen and made some coffee and something to eat – being tired and hungry isn’t known for its benefits to decision-making – and when I had eaten and drunk, I tried to think logically about what my brother said.

“He didn’t say that she was feeling coerced. He said she might be.”

I had to admit, that could be correct. I hadn’t actually even thought that she might be, but it was something I should ask about. I would take an opportunity to ask her about it tomorrow, I decided. She should be able to tell me, if that was true, and it was something that I certainly wanted to know.

I would ask her tomorrow after work. I just had to think of a way of raising the subject properly.