Billionaire Undaunted:The Billionaire's Obsession ~ Zane(13)

Zane named a yearly salary and explained the benefits, as much as he  knew anyway. He had a human resources department that dealt with that  kind of thing.

"Oh, my God. That's way too much."

"It's not much more than I paid my last assistant," Zane said  insistently. "And that was a few years ago." He paused before adding, "I  really do need you, Ellie. After what happened, I doubt I could trust  anybody else to do the job."

He held his breath as he watched her brows draw together, her expression  thoughtful. Zane wondered what the hell she was thinking, but he didn't  want to stop her thought process to ask.

"Okay. I'll do it. What would you like me to do first, boss?" she asked teasingly.

Zane released a long breath of relief. "I'd like you to get well and be happy," he grumbled. "No work until you feel ready."

She nodded sharply. "I'm ready."

"Smartass," he rasped.

"Zane, I'm already bored," she cajoled. "Give me something to do."

"Let's go into town. I need a haircut, and I'd like to check out the new bookstore."

Ellie ran a hand through her hair. "I need somebody to cut mine, too. I  was going to do it myself, but I was afraid I'd screw it up because I  can't see the back very well."

"Then let's go." He jumped up and held out his hand. Waiting.

Come on, sweetheart. Take my hand. Let me fucking help you.

"We need to go to the grocery store. I can't keep making something out of nothing. We need more food."

Zane didn't miss the flash of fear that crept across her face when she  was talking about needing food supplies. Obviously, being low on food  frightened her. "We'll fill up the cupboards. I promise."

He'd take her out for dinner tonight, and then they could shop for other  things. Zane was pretty sure it was safe enough to go into town. Either  the media had given up and moved on to a new story, or they were still  camped out at the hospital in Denver.

Tate had mentioned he'd taken care of the problem, and Zane hadn't asked  any questions. Knowing his youngest brother, he'd created a good story,  and had steered everyone away from Rocky Springs somehow.

Zane nearly groaned with pleasure as Ellie placed her smaller hand into  his and let him pull her to her feet. The way she trusted him floored  him after all she'd been through.

As his engorged cock threatened to separate the zipper of his jeans,  Zane knew that if the touch of her hand in his got him this hard, it was  going to be a very long evening.





Ellie was exhausted as she walked down Main Street in Rocky Springs,  tugging at her new short, curly haircut. Her hair had always been just a  little bit wavy, but cut in a style that barely touched her shoulders  instead of her lower spine, the big curls were now more pronounced.

She smiled as she looked into the window of a local clothing store,  remembering how Zane had supported her by going into the salon with her.  He'd even gotten his own hair cut right there beside her, and the  shorter style suited him.

Like he's not hot enough?

The hairstylist had clipped him short, and it made those Colter gray eyes pop, making them even more expressive.

"And I look like a poodle," she mumbled to herself as she let the curl  she was fingering spring back into place. The style was fine, but  without the length, she thought her hair did rather resemble that of the  curly-haired canine.

Still, her heart ached with gratitude that Zane had been kind enough to  sit right next to her as the stylist clipped off all of her fuzzy,  damaged hair.         

     



 

It's just hair.

Zane was right, of course. Ellie wasn't vain, and it wasn't the loss of  her only decent physical asset that she was mourning. It was admitting  that the toll of the entire months-long ordeal was getting to her now  that she was physically healing.

She sighed as she pulled open the door of the clothing store,  remembering Zane's demanding parting words as he'd walked across the  street to check out the bookstore while she went to buy a few more  clothing essentials after they'd gotten groceries and loaded them into  his SUV.

Don't leave the store without everything you want.

Of course she wouldn't buy everything she wanted. She never did. Ellie  lived on a tight budget, but she had almost everything she needed to get  by for a while. Thanks to Zane, she had more money in her bank account  than she'd ever seen before. Her future plan was to take an accounting  of what she owed him and work it off while she worked for him.  Unfortunately, he wasn't about to tell her exactly what he'd spent, but  she could work the numbers out fairly accurately.

Her spirits lifted as she thought about working for Zane, learning new  things as his assistant. She wanted to just be a sponge and suck up as  much information as she possibly could about biotechnology. Ellie wanted  to be an asset to Zane, and she knew she could be, especially if it  required organization-something he desperately needed and one skill that  she had where she definitely excelled.

As she walked through the door, she literally collided with a woman who was hurrying toward the exit.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Ellie apologized.

"My fault. I'm always in a hurry," the petite woman answered, breathless. She paused for a moment before she added, "Ellie?"

It was her previous landlady who owned her old apartment building. "Hello, Gina."

"Oh, my God. I can't believe it," Gina squealed, hugging Ellie tightly before stepping back. "You look … "

"Tired?" Ellie suggested, feeling wiped out and knowing her body was so  unused to physical activity that it would take a while to build her  stamina up again.

"No, no, no," Gina denied. "You look good. Just different."

Probably because I'm skinny and I have hair like a poodle.

"Getting kidnapped can change a person," Ellie joked, still not knowing  how to respond to people who looked at her like she was a ghost. She'd  lived in Rocky Springs all her life, and she knew a whole lot of the  residents. It seemed strange that they looked at her like she'd come  back from the dead. Well, maybe they were mostly right.

"You look good." Gina smiled at her.

"I'm sorry you had to evict me. You lost money on my apartment. I'd like to repay you."

Gina look stunned. "I didn't lose money, and I never evicted you.  Everything was paid every month by one of the Colter boys. The  scientist. He just had your things removed a little while back, when he  found you alive." She dug around in her purse and handed Ellie an  envelope. "The apartment was in amazing condition. Thank you for getting  it cleaned. This is your deposit. I made it out, but I wasn't sure  where to send it."

Ellie took the check distractedly, shoving it into the pocket of her  jacket. "So you never had to store my stuff? My rent was always paid on  time?"

"Of course," Gina answered earnestly. "And I never would have evicted  you until I knew what had happened. I knew disappearing wasn't like you.  I knew something bad had happened."

This means that Zane lied. But why?

"Thank you," Ellie replied awkwardly.

Gina patted her cheek. "You're very welcome. Let me know if there's anything I can do to help you."

Ellie watched as Gina turned and pulled open the door.

"Gina?" she called impulsively. "Did you rent my apartment out again?"

The other woman smiled. "Somebody just signed a lease today."

Today? It wasn't rented before? Another lie?

Ellie tried to smile as she called to the exiting woman. "Thank you."

Gina waved as she rushed out the door.

Ellie was confused, her mind filled with questions. Why had Zane lied  about her apartment already being rented? Why hadn't he told her that  he'd paid the rent every month? Why hadn't he let her go back to her own  apartment?

It was clear that her staying with him was no accident. Zane had set it  up to be that way. He'd made sure she had absolutely no option but to  stay with him.

She was angry, furious that he hadn't been completely honest with her.  Feeling conflicted because he'd taken such good care of her, Ellie went  to find some clothing, hoping that Zane had a damn good explanation.         

     



 



"I know you're a damn genius, but do you really need that many books?"

Zane froze as he heard his brother Tate's sarcastic voice right behind  him. Hefting the books to his chest so his brother couldn't see what  they were, he turned slowly, realizing it wasn't just Tate in the  bookstore. Blake, Tate, and Marcus were all looking at him  questioningly.

"I happen to enjoy reading. Unlike the rest of you, I like to keep my  brain active," he answered defensively. "What in the hell are you all  doing here anyway?"

"Lara is coming home late from school, and Mom isn't around tonight  either, so we all went to get something to eat," Tate confessed.

Zane smirked, knowing not a single one of his brothers could cook worth a  damn … just like him. Their mother had spoiled every one of them by being  a Betty Crocker clone. There was never a moment during their childhood  when their mother hadn't cooked like a fiend because she loved doing it.  Still did. And Zane took advantage of the fact that his mother liked to  cook as often as possible. He knew when his brothers were home; they  conveniently sought her out at dinnertime, too.