His Needs:Billionaire(20)

"I guess."

"I know she is. Stop treating her like she's at the office all the time. Knowing you, that's what's happening."

"We have to be professional here. I refuse to be anything but," Damon  huffed and got up. The only good thing about having yet another fight  was his hard-on was officially gone.

"Right, but you don't have to be professional the minute you walk out of  the office. Take her out and have fun. Let that angst go while you're  at home, at the hotel, out for a dinner date. Don't carry it with you. I  know how you are. I bet you're being office Damon all the damn time."

"I am not." He forced a chuckle as he realized that he was doing exactly that. Fuck.

"If you guys love each other, work it out. It will be fine. I promise.  Just force her to be like you in the office, and force yourself to be  like her anywhere else."

"All right. I'll be in touch." He dropped the call and swallowed the  need to apologize a million times to her. It wasn't that he wasn't  willing to, but that he couldn't figure out what the hell he was  actually apologizing for.

Be more fun outside of work. He could do that. Maybe.





Chapter 16

Bethany





Maybe she was overthinking it. A few weeks back he'd been more of an ass  than ever, and she'd been fine with it. For some reason, she  half-expected him to change simply because of the engagement, but she  hadn't changed much, right?

She packed up and walked out of the conference room after everyone else  had skipped off to dinner thirty minutes before. Damon had texted  sometime just after lunch for her to meet him out at the street around  seven. After a long day of trying to catch up to where everyone seemed  to expect her to be, a hot bubble bath and TV sounded good, but that  wasn't happening.

As long as there wasn't another fight to deal with, she'd be good. Too  much more and she was liable to crack and chuck the ring at him. There  was only so much someone could be expected to put up with, even someone  head-over-heels.

She took the elevator down and stifled a yawn as she walked out of the  building. A sleek black Mercedes much like Damon's sat parked in front  of the building as other cars moved by in the street. Bethany clutched  her bag in front of her and tried to appear casual as she looked around.  If Damon were in the car, he needed to roll the damn window down.

As if on cue, it rolled down.

Her breath swept from her chest as he smiled, neither of them saying a word.

Don't cry. Don't cry.

The five o'clock shadow that dusted his chin and cheeks left him looking  more rugged than she could handle. How physical attraction could wash  over the aches and pains and make them momentarily better was a mystery  that she was too tired to think through, but it worked its magic on her.         

     



 

"Hi, pretty girl. I have the night off and was wondering if maybe you'd  like to go to dinner? Maybe grab a drink at a piano bar after and let me  twirl you around the floor a little? Dessert could be optional, but  might be fun. A long shower?"

"I thought you didn't dance unless forced to." A smile touched her lips  as she trapped the pain of their roller coaster relationship deep inside  of her.

"Only at a wedding or when-"

"Seducing a woman. I remember." She glanced down the street and shook  her head. "I'm good, but thanks for the offer. I'm not looking for one  night, but many. The guy who's supposed to come get me is... well, he's  soon to be everything to me. I think." Tears blurred her vision.

So much for trapping it behind a cheeky facade.

He got out of the car and moved to stand in front of her, his expression loving and filled with concern.

"Baby. I'm right here. You know we have a lot to work through."

"And a ring doesn't change that. I get it." She reached up and wiped at  her tears angrily. "I wish dinner and dancing were the cure-all for the  hurt inside of me, but it isn't."

"Can it be a start?" He touched the side of her face and licked at his lips. "Please."

It wasn't a request.

"Yeah. Sure." She touched his hand before turning her face to kiss his  palm a few times. "Stop shutting me out, and stop being a dick. I've  kept up with your rules and your demands and your needs. Give back a  little before this thing falls apart."

He nodded stiffly, obviously not liking the idea of her taking control of the conversation or directly addressing the issue.

His problem. If it falls apart it won't be because I didn't give it my all.

She walked around him and got into the passenger's side of the car to  find a pretty bouquet of red roses laying between the seats.

"What do you feel like for dinner? Seafood, steak, something else?" He picked up the roses and handed them to her. "For you."

"When did you have time to get these?"

"I made time." He reached over and touched her arm with the back of his  fingers. "Let's have fun tonight and try to leave all this angsty  bullshit behind us for a while."

"I'll try."

"What can I do to change that trying to doing?" He tugged at a strand of  her hair before leaning into her seat and kissing her softly a few  times. "Where's my girl under all this drama? Is she in there? I want  her. I need her. Tell her to come out and have dinner with me."

She nodded, not willing to push it any further. "Okay."

"Good." He dropped back in his seat, clueless. "Now, where to?"

"Let's go to the steakhouse Erica was talking about in Jamaica."

"You wanna fly to Jamaica?" He winked at her and reached for her hand,  pulling it up to his lips and kissing softly. "I know the one. It's one  of the best in the world."

"Good." She pulled her hand from his and turned to look out her  passenger's side window. "I heard it rains here all the time, but it  hasn't at all today, unless I missed it."

"You were trapped in a conference room all day." He brushed his fingers  by her leg and pushed her skirt up a little before gripping her thigh  softly. "You want me to stop by the hotel so you can put on something  more comfortable?"

She glanced over at him and rested her hand on his, not wanting him to  go any higher. The need to protect herself from whatever they were  headed toward rolled through her violently.

"Yeah, that would be great actually." She forced a smile and reached to turn on the radio.

"You sure you're all right?"

"Yep. Just a lot on my plate right now." She crossed her legs in a way  that forced him to pull his hand back. "I think the one thing I can't  shake is why you wouldn't have told me about Christa's sister coming to  work at the firm. I guess it's really not my business." She shrugged and  kept her voice soft and conversational, as if they were discussing the  color of the drapes in a house. "It just shocked me to see her there  with no clue of who she was or that she was coming."

"I get that." A tenseness entered his voice that didn't belong there. It  should have been her that was tense over the situation. Omission of  truth was the same as lying, or at least that's the lesson he'd taught  over her punching Sadie in the face and not saying anything about it.  How was this situation any different?

She pulled out her phone and texted Matt as Damon sighed softly and put  both hands on the wheel, squeezing tightly until the leather creaked in  protest.



Bethany: Where are you?

Matt: At the hotel. What's up? You need me?         

     



 

Bethany: Yes. I'm going to tell Damon I have a stomach ache. I can't do this tonight. Can we go somewhere undercover?

Matt: My chest hurts over this, but yeah, I like undercover.

Bethany: Mine too, but I can't keep up this fake shit anymore. I'm hurt  and I'm sure it's my fault, but I need to get away from it for the  night.

Matt: Text me when you're free.



The phone rang on the car's console, and Damon tapped it twice. Ben's  voice filled up the car as they pulled up into the driveway of the  hotel.

"Hey boss man. We're all going to a great piano bar down the street from the office. You and Bethany should join us."

"Naw, man. We-"

"Just a second, Ben." She pressed mute on the dashboard. "You should go.  My stomach is starting to get sick again. Seriously. Come back to me  tonight and we can catch up."

"No." His expression tightened further as anger burned across his face. "I'm coming up with you."

"No. Really. I don't want to be sick in front of you. I love you." She  leaned over and kissed him, but he didn't return the gesture.

"Beth, I'm not letting you be sick alone. We're in this thing-"

"Go. I need some time to myself. I'll text you if I need something. Let  me be gross in peace." She forced a laugh and grabbed her purse and got  out of the car.

He sat in the car, staring out the front window as she turned to wave at  him. Nothing. It wasn't until she was standing in front of the elevator  with tears running down her cheeks that she realized that she left the  flowers he got her sitting in the front seat.