His Needs:Billionaire(6)

"I don't know." Ben stood and wiped his mouth before stretching. "I'll  ask him, but for now, just download the client files and get yourself up  to speed on Zarpeth. The information on the company is in their file.  We're going to be pulling seven days a week until we get everything  sorted out. I think the plan is to head down to their main warehouse in  Florida next weekend, not this one. We'll see who's going on that trip,  but I remember Damon mentioning that he wanted you there."

"All right. I'll jump on the review and get ready. I guess me being  there Thursday night to Monday morning is going to be enough?"

"Yep. We'll take every bit of help we can get." He gathered his stuff.  "Let me know if you have any questions and I'll keep you in the loop as  much as I can."





Chapter 5

Damon





It was just after lunch, and she'd yet to stop by or text. She was  upset, and he couldn't blame her, nor could he console her. It was a  simple request to leave the ring at the house, and it had very little to  do with him not wanting to show her off, and everything to do with  laying the proper foundation for their relationship.

He'd been cocky about the situation before, but that was before he decided to up and ask the pretty girl to marry him.

Marriage. Fuck. The word alone seemed to bring with it a whole host of  feelings that Damon wasn't ready to face. It was supposed to be the  binding of two people into a relationship that spanned time until the  end showed up for one member or the other, but it rarely happened.

The phone buzzed as he sat at his desk, taking a quick five-minute breather for the only break he would have that day.

"Mr. Bryant, Erica Hall is on line one for you. Are you free to-"

"Put her through, Linda." Damon sat up and pressed his forearms to the desk in front of him as Erica's voice filled the room.

"Hey there. You recovered from all the Mai-Tais yet?"

"I'm definitely feeling a sense of longing to be back out there. Nothing  like walking into a shit-storm after a relaxing vacation."

"That's the way it always works, but something tells me that you create  shit-storms if there isn't one waiting on you. It helps you feel  wanted."

He chuckled. "Right. What can I do for you, Miss Hall?"

"Back to business, I see." She cleared her throat as Damon increased the  volume on the phone and got up to pace the floor. He slipped his hands  into his slack pockets and tried to let his worry over Bethany go. They  would work things out.

"Always business with me." He smiled.

"Agreed. This call is a bit of business and pleasure, I guess. I wanted  to make sure that you guys were still planning on being in town this  next weekend."         

     



 

"We are. We're meeting with an art dealer for Matthew and working on an  audit for M&B for the rest of the time. Are you wanting to get  together while we're there?"

"Actually, yes, and I'm hoping that you're still working on Matt about  joining me up here. I think him finding someone to sell his art is  great, but he still needs a steady income."

"You just want him near you, Erica. You're not fooling any of us," he snorted and stopped by the window.

"Is it that obvious?" Her strong tone dimmed a little.

"It is to me, but I get it. He would be great working in the advertising department as a designer-"

"Lead designer."

"Right, but Matt doesn't care about being in leadership or ruling  Corporate America. He cares about being free to be and do what he wants  to do. He doesn't need money, though I suppose he's trying to cut the  ties from our father as I did just after college."

"Then he can just come and be a designer for me. I think he would really  love the city, the people, and he could grow so much as an artist  here."

"I agree. I'll talk to him and see where his thoughts are. I can't  promise much as Matt has always been a free spirit, but I'll have the  conversation."

"Soon please. I need to fill the spot I have available, and I'd love to  put his name on it instead of opening it up to the public." She sighed,  and Damon couldn't help but let the smile on his face widen. The woman  had been after Matt since they first met five years ago at a large  conference for growing businesses. The fact that she'd come to work for  M&B three years after that conference left him to believe that some  part of it was to get closer to Matt.

It was creepy, and yet sexy as hell.

"Will do. Anything else?"

"Not really. You and Bethany okay? I know you made a big decision while you were in Jamaica. How is the aftermath of that?"

"Good. It's great. I gotta run, but we'll see you this weekend." He  waited for her to say her goodbyes and pressed the button to end the  call. He wasn't sharing his feelings with anyone, especially not another  woman. He might have the reputation of a playboy with an open  invitation to get hit on, but he was far from it. The day he'd found his  mother in bed with some random guy from her work had changed  everything.

Fucking around was out. Nothing could tempt him to change his mind, not even a ghost from the past.



*



"Damon, I'm not sure if you remember, but your father scheduled an  interview for the open Senior Manager position we have. One of the  interviews are today and the rest later this week. I do believe this one  comes highly recommended from a good friend and your dad was leaning  toward giving her the job. He just needed to go through the motions to  make it look legit." Linda stood just inside the office, her back to the  door.

"Really? Damn." Damon reviewed his schedule and didn't find the interview anywhere. "Was the interview with me or him?"

"She's supposed to meet with him, but he's out of town, as you know. Can I show her in?"

"I guess. Cancel my lunch appointment with Bart Darren today and  reschedule it. Get me a sandwich with the office order if you guys are  ordering out."

"Ham and swiss cheese with mustard?"

"Yep, and chips. Surprise me." He stood and pulled his jacket off the  rack behind him as he walked toward the small circular table in his  office. He needed the candidate's resume, but hopefully she brought it  with her.

The woman that walked in behind Linda almost made his heart stop.

"Delilah?" He forced a smile and moved around the desk to give her a quick hug. She returned the gesture and laughed.

"I should have told Christa to tell you, but you know she's in Jamaica.  They turned off their phones just to get away from everything."

"I saw her there, actually." Damon moved back and nodded to Linda. "Thanks for showing her in."

"I was supposed to meet with your dad, but he's still on vacation from  what your secretary told me." She snorted. "I've never known Kurt Bryant  to take a vacation since I met your family in middle school."

"He hasn't. It's half the reason he's a grumpy old bastard." Damon  pulled out the chair for her as he worked through how he was going make  sure Delilah didn't get the job. Where she was a great lady, her little  sister was the bane of his existence. Having dated Christa through most  of his high school years and college, he always thought they would end  up together, but it never happened. There was little love loss, but  having the blond bombshell back in his life would only create tension  for him and Bethany.

No thanks. We have enough as it is.

"And you're turning out just like him, right?" She sat down and crossed  her long, shapely legs before offering a sweet smile. "Well, you know I  have to tell you that Christa said hi. She's going to find it pretty  funny that I had to interview with you instead of Kurt."         

     



 

"Why's that?" Damon took the resume she offered and leaned back in his  chair as he unbuttoned his jacket. Delilah was the spitting replica of  her twin sister, Christa, her long blond hair full and shiny, her skin  flawless, eyes crystal blue and tits as fake as the wrapping on his  breakfast sandwich earlier that morning.

"Because when we were kids, I had a crush on you before you guys started  dating. That little twit talked me out of asking you to the Sadie  Hawkins dance at school because she wanted to ask you. She kept making  fun of me because I was in the band and you were a football player. Such  a bitch, right?" She shook her head and laughed.

"You were much more my type than Christa, but I figured I'd cut my  losses and say yes to her." He glanced down at the resume as foreign  emotions raced through him. How many conversations had he had with  Delilah about his suspicions about his mom when they were kids? He was  too embarrassed to bring it up with Christa, but her sister had always  been so sweet, so inviting.

"Figures. We could have been married for six years with kids by now.  Remind me to slap her when she gets back to the States." She leaned back  and dropped her hands into her lap. "Any way, let's do the interview,  and don't do me any favors, okay? If I'm not the best person for the  position, don't hire me. Promise."