BREATHE: A Billionaire Romance, Part 2 Read online

  We were about to kiss again.

  I felt the rush of nerves bundle up in the pit of my belly once again, so intense that it felt like cracked-out butterflies fluttering inside. I was so nervous, in fact, that I couldn’t even focus on his face. I could only focus on the movement of objects, and in the confines of my vision, I saw his blurred face bend down towards me until I felt hot fire scold my lips.

  He was kissing me. All over again…

  It was soft at first, as pleasant as they come. And I felt myself surrendering to the gentleness. But then, swiftly, yet completely unsurprisingly, it intensified to such a degree that I felt nothing but desire, the desire to cling onto him tighter and fully, giving myself to him.

  I felt dizzy all of a sudden as our tongues danced together in a whirlwind of fervor.

  His mouth was insistent and strong, as it parted my lips more and more, his tongue delving and whirling in the depths of my mouth until I began to shake with nervous arousal.

  I moaned into him, unable to control myself.

  I couldn’t believe I was kissing him back as passionately as I was, enjoying every moment of it.

  Hell, I couldn’t believe I was kissing him at all. And this wasn’t even the first one… this was the second time I let it happen.

  It wasn’t the kiss that surprised me, though, nor was it the intensity. What truly surprised me was the sensations it evoked from me. They were sensations I never knew existed within me before, let alone ones that I could have with and for Derek Sholts.

  To say it scared me would be an understatement, the understatement of the century in fact. To say that it scared me, would show nothing of how fearful I actually was. I was scared shitless. How could I have enjoyed the kiss and date as much as I did with a man whom I didn’t enjoy at all?

  And not to mention, that horrible, unenjoyable man was also dying!

  I wanted to have faith in a recovery, for his sake—but I couldn’t have faith in a recovery for my sake, too.

  In all honesty, I didn’t know what to do about it.

  I didn’t want to give him the wrong impression, but at the same time, I really did enjoy the date. Well, I enjoyed what he had intended the date to be. Really, the date had been short thus far. Nothing had really happened. We hadn’t even gotten through dinner before we had our little sob fest.

  Chapter 6

  “Zoe, if you can’t do what I hired you to do then why don’t you get the hell out!” Derek screamed, slamming his phone down. He was on another one of his tyrannical melt downs at work, and a dozen other people had already lost their jobs for the day.

  I wondered—if he kept it up—whether there would be anyone left to operate the company. But rather than focus too much on it, I focused more at the words he just spoke.

  To be honest, with how crazy he was acting, I wasn’t sure if he had meant that I was fired or not, so I just stood there, and stared—eyes unblinking.

  I was worried, but not just about my job. About him. Because in that moment, I had never wanted to assault someone more.

  “Why are you just standing there!?” he screamed. “Get back to work!”

  I groaned, but obliged, not really in the mood to fight. It was funny though, I had actually looked forward to coming to work after last night’s date ended so sweetly.

  We kissed, and then parted ways after dinner—which was probably the most delicious thing I had ever had the opportunity to put in my mouth. So delicious in fact that I gobbled it relentlessly, not caring about manners or decorum in the slightest.

  Part of that was because I didn’t really know how to react after the kiss… but part of it had completely to do with the fact that the food was to die for.

  No pun intended. But if there were any sort of lingering feelings for him before his little childish outburst, then there definitely weren’t anymore. He was a jerk. A world class one at that. If he couldn’t treat his employees with respect, or me—his assistant, Public Relations Representative, his closest “friend”, and his previous date, then he wasn’t worth my time and thoughts.

  To think, it all started because there wasn’t any paper in his printer.

  Which, just to shove in his face, was not in my job description.

  Indeed, he wasn’t worth any sort of feelings.

  A man should be judged based upon how he treats the people around him, and Derek Sholts treated everyone horribly.

  And I judged him on that, completely and without a shadow of a doubt. His illness didn’t merit any sort of pity from me. There was no excuse for the way he was acting, and no amount of sympathy would make one.

  I went through the motions for the rest of the day, trying to steer clear of his outbursts—and him. And as soon as my shift was over, I didn’t ask if he needed anything else, I didn’t go to his apartment after my on-clock shift, and I didn’t even hesitate when I started my car and headed off towards my apartment.

  Hell, I wasn’t sure if I had ever gotten home so quickly in fact. Not only that, though, but I had no problems parking when I got into the parking garage… and the elevator was working when I walked into the building.

  I sighed a sigh of great relief as I reached the floor of my apartment and could do nothing but relish in the fact that it was the first time that I wasn’t out of breath when I reached the door.

  The only thing that made being home a terrible thing, though, was Polly and her refusal to speak to me.

  I said hello, though, just like any other day, and pounded off to my room, thankful that the day was over. Derek Sholts was across town, away from me, and my bed was all mine …. for a lot more hours than usual.

  I smiled before plopping down onto the pillow top and sinking into the wide array of pillows that I had perfectly placed on my bed. And then, all of a sudden, just as I felt myself dozing off, a knock at our door sounded.

  Suddenly I felt nervous, afraid even. I didn’t want it to be Derek. I wanted it to be anyone but Derek. I would have even settled with Luke, our creepy, lecherous neighbor from down the hall.

  “Please don’t be Derek…” I pleaded over and over, just under my breath.

  And it didn’t take long before I realized that I was off my bed and standing, but I wasn’t heading towards the door. I was frozen at my spot in my room. And I could hear that Polly was already at the door ready to answer it, whoever it may be.

  I cringed when I heard his voice, knowing that it would make everything more difficult with Polly that he was even there.

  “So you’re here to pick Zoe up for a date?” she asked, loud enough for me to hear from the other end of the apartment. She was purposely trying to get under my skin. I knew that. But even though I knew it, it still worked… She was under my skin.

  “He’s a jerk…” I sighed, as I crossed the threshold of my room out into the living room, almost feeling guilty for saying something negative about a man with cancer, but at the same time, he was a jerk. A major, good-for-nothing jerk.

  “Did you two hook up or something?” she asked, her brows suggestive, but her eyes angry—glaring in narrowed slits.

  “No!” I blurted. How dare she insinuate something like that?

  “Then why is he here? Does he need to impregnate you?!” she screamed, and immediately I felt my brain melt into nothingness.

  “Does that even make sense?” My eyes widened, and I could do nothing but blink at her. She was being ridiculous.

  “I don’t know!” she huffed. “I’m just mad at you!”

  She looked at me and then back at him. “Sorry to say, but she doesn’t even like you one minute and now you’re at our door!” She was ball-busting angry. “So something is going on!”

  “It isn’t like that…” I trailed, not wanting to spill the fact that I was only going out with him for pity because he was dying.

  “Sure it isn’t!” she scoffed, just before glancing back at him through the same narrowed slits she had just used to burn a hole in me. “Why are you here?”

 
“We had a date,” he said simply, not knowing that this entire argument was because of him in the first place.

  “Well, there ya go!” Polly called out sarcastically, raising her arms in the air in defeat, just before glaring at me once again. “See, you start talking all this shit about how much of a jerk he is, and how he’s not attractive because he’s such an asshole, but here you are dating him now! After all he’s done!”

  “Not after what happened today, we don’t have a date.” I was angry—and that anger trumped any sort of want to reconcile with Polly or even an explanation of what had been happening. I crossed my arms to reflect that sentiment. My body language meant “get the fuck away from me before I pummel you” and I hoped he’d respect it.

  “Zoe!” he said, grabbing my hand, ignoring Polly completely. “I had to make it look like I was just as angry at you as I was at everyone else!”

  “And why are you so angry with everyone else?” My eyes narrowed in similar pattern to Polly’s as I snapped at him. And it was then that I realized that somewhere in the conversation Polly had retired to her bedroom … or the bathroom… Somewhere that wasn’t in the middle of the large, open concept commons.

  “Look, let’s go out and I’ll talk to you about it,” he pleaded.

  “Are you really going to talk to me?” I asked, my eyes widening in shock.

  “Yes,” he said. “I will talk to you and tell you whatever it is that you want and need to know.”

  I sighed, but didn’t for a second bother to fix up. I had hair that showed I had been laying in my bed, but I didn’t care. And my makeup had mostly worn off of me throughout the length of the day, and again, I didn’t care.

  If he wanted a date with me, he was going to get a date with the me that really didn’t give a shit what he thought.

  “I’ll be home soon!” I called out from behind me, but I knew that she didn’t care. She was still mad at me, now probably more than ever, since it looked like I missed her audition for a booty call.

  But I went with him, reluctantly. I didn’t want his company, but I did want to know what was going on. I wanted to know why he was the way that he was, and why he was treating people so horribly.

  There wasn’t an excuse.

  As we exited my apartment building, I noticed his large black town car was parked outside with Fredrick leaning against it. I smiled; I couldn’t help it, especially knowing that I was wrong before.

  Derek did treat one person well. He treated Fredrick well.

  Fredrick seemed to be the only person he was willing to behave himself around…

  Chapter 7

  “So why are you being so horrible to everyone; why is everyone pissing you off?” I asked, as I shoveled a piece of toast from a nearby diner into my face.

  He sat, hands grouped together on the table, a coffee just beside them and thought for a moment.

  “Because I’m angry in general,” he said.

  “Well, I get that… but you can’t treat people that way!” I said, over a mouth full of food.

  “You don’t ‘get’ anything.” He sighed out in frustration, leaning back. “I’m fucking furious, Zoe.”

  He grabbed his coffee cup so violently that he spilled bits of the liquid on the table, but he didn’t seem to care.

  “I’ve worked hard my entire life; and finally when I can enjoy it, it ends.” He was snappy as he took a drink. “I hate feeling like it was all for nothing!”

  “But it wasn’t for nothing!” I snapped, hating the self-pitying act. I couldn’t stand for someone to wallow. “You built an empire that will be used, hopefully, way after you! Whether you die today, tomorrow, or a hundred years from now!”

  He sat down his cup and looked at me, his brows twisting, clearly unsure of what to say next.

  “You have hopefully opened a door for a multitude of possibilities for the present and future,” I said, using my perfected Public-Relations-type speech. “However, firing your employee base and treating me with disrespect is not the answer.”

  “I’m telling you, Zoe…” he huffed, his color turning from pale white to red in a matter of moments. “I can’t give you special treatment.”

  “Because you’re embarrassed to be dating me, although it was all your idea in the first place!” I snapped, not really understanding why I was saying what I was saying. I didn’t consider myself “dating” him. I considered myself giving him pity.

  I only really expected respect in return, and he couldn’t even give me that.

  “I’m not embarrassed if people know,” he said. “I don’t want people to know for your sake.”

  “My sake?!” I huffed. “Don’t pretend you care about ‘my sake’!”

  “Right, because people finding out that you’re sleeping with the boss won’t be detrimental to your career or anything.” He rolled his eyes.

  “I’m not sleeping with you!”

  “Doesn’t matter. That’s what they’ll think.” He leaned back in his chair and looked at me with a smug expression. “Besides, even if they did know, I still couldn’t treat you special—that would ruin my reputation.”

  “And there it is,” I said. “It’s always more about what’s better for you than it is anyone else.”

  “Well, of course,” he smiled. “We’re human beings; we’re selfish creatures.”

  “You’re a selfish creature.”

  “We…” he corrected me, gesturing towards me and then back to himself, just before taking a sip of his drink. “Human beings are always out for themselves over anyone else; it is instinctual. And it is our animalistic nature. We take care of ourselves before we can aid others.”

  “And what about your reputation as a boss? You don’t care that you’re firing people left and right without any good reason?”

  “I have a reason for every person whom I’m firing. You just have to trust that.”

  “Well, I don’t!” I snapped, pushing my plate away.

  “Well, then that is your prerogative,” he replied matter-of-factly. What reason could he possibly have for firing people left and right?

  Without any further discussion, he threw down a wad of cash and grabbed my hand, pulling me up gently.

  “Do you mind if we go to my place before I take you home? I need to give you some documents that you need to look over.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Sure…”

  Chapter 8

  We walked into his apartment building and saw Jim, the doorman, at the front desk reading a book.

  “Do you mind actually doing your job?” Derek sounded, clearly frustrated with the fact that Jim hadn’t opened the door for him.

  “Yes, Mr. Sholts, sir. I’m sorry…” He staggered, hurriedly, to his feet and rushed over to him and pressed the elevator’s button.

  “You don’t have to apologize, Jim.” I said, equally as frustrated with Derek that he felt so entitled.

  “Excuse me?” Derek asked. “It’s his job, as doorman, to get the door.”

  “And is it your job, as asshole, to constantly talk shit?” I was actually proud of myself with that little comeback. I didn’t have many good ones, but I was actually proud of that one.

  I could tell, though, that Derek wasn’t as amused. His face grew redder, and he looked at Jim.

  “I’ll be speaking with your boss in the morning,” he snapped to Jim just as the elevator arrived.

  My mouth fell open in terror, as I stepped in the elevator. Just before the doors closed, I looked at Jim, who I knew had to carry two jobs for his small daughter, and I could tell that he, too, was filled with terror and fear.

  “Don’t worry, Jim.” I assured. “He will do no such thing.”

  And then the doors closed.

  Immediately, furious red rose to my cheeks… but I held off.

  I said nothing.

  Not until we got into his apartment suite.

  “How could you do that!?” I screamed, hoping that the entire ground shook as I yelled out. Complete, earth-shatter
ing, seething anger was the only way to describe the emotion that I was actually feeling. I was furious, more furious than I had ever been. I was so furious that it surprised and terrified me.

  “How could I do what? I’m so beyond sick of you arguing with everything that I do and say!” he shouted at me. Only, he wasn’t angry—at least, not to the degree that I was. He sighed. “You’re my employee. I should fire you for your insolence.”

  My mouth fell agape and immediately more anger fueled. It wasn’t even just what he said, it was how he said it. He said it so calmly.

  “Insolence!? Are you shitting me?!”

  “You just cursed!”

  “I’m about to curse you into a lifetime of oblivion!” I retorted, swinging my hand back, loading my arm up for a punch.

  But just as I had my arm drawn back, he began to laugh.

  He laughed at me!

  I growled with intensity, my anger growing, and dropped my balled fist to my side. I wasn’t going to hit him. I couldn’t.

  Instead, I turned around, my body shaking, the anger so pent up that I felt as if I was going to explode. “You have lost your mind, and I’m not going to be a part of it!” I said, my back towards him.

  Nothing was going to stop me from walking away from him—the job, his illness, any of it. In that moment, I was as done as I ever could have been.

  But then he spoke. “I’ve lost my mind?” he asked, a mocking tone not exactly hidden in his voice. "Do you have any idea how delusional you are?” he chuckled.

  And then I had to stop walking away. I had to face him once again. Hell, I wanted to smack him. Nay, I wanted to beat the ever-living-shit out of him. But I couldn’t. I knew that I couldn’t.

  It was crazy though. I had never had even so much as an inkling of a feeling of wanting to hit someone before. I had never wished harm on anyone, but of course, Derek Sholts had to be the first.

  “Oh, really? I’m delusional?” I spat, pivoting on my heel to face him. I threw my hands up in the air, rolling my eyes. He loved to push my buttons.