The Billionaire Wins the Game By Melody Anne
Prologue
“It’s just not right Katherine!” Joseph slammed his fist down on the table, making the dinnerware shake.
“Those kids simply don’t listen to us, not one of them. Can’t they see we aren’t getting any younger? I should’ve had grandbabies bouncing on my knees years ago.” Katherine smiled to herself as she listened to her husband complain about his disobedient children.
She knew what he said was nothing but empty words. He adored their kids as much as she did.
She had to agree with him though that women holding babies would be an excellent addition to the house. She’d always dreamed of rocking grandkids and chasing down toddlers.
“Now Joseph, you know if you go meddling again the boys are going to disown you,” Katherine warned her husband.
“If they don’t do something about this grandbaby situation I’m going to disown them,” he growled, though with zero conviction in his voice.
“Since you retired last year you’ve had way too much time on your hands Joseph Anderson. The boys have all been tossed a lot of responsibility already. Are you sure you want to add more to their plates?” she finished, knowing the answer already.
“The boys are ready for love and marriage. They just need a helping push.” The decision had been made. He would have at least one grandchild in his empty house before Christmas.
Katherine suppressed her sigh, knowing there was nothing she could say that would change her willful husband’s mind. Where did he think their sons’ acquired that particular trait? Even with their flaws she couldn’t possibly love any of them, including her husband, more than she already did.
“Lucas will be first,” Joseph said in his booming voice startling Katherine out of her reverie.
“I’ve already found him the perfect bride.”
Joseph leaned back in his chair with a very pleased expression on his face. Finally he had a project to keep himself occupied, with the prize of grandkids as a reward. Lucas was in for some wild adventures come Monday morning.
Chapter One
“You can do this. Walk in there with complete confidence. Who cares if this family is worth more than Bill Gates and Donald Trump combined. You were hired for this position and you need this job. ” Amy Harper continued to lecture herself on the elevator ride up to the twenty-fifth floor.
She brushed the few strands of escaped golden hair from her face, more out of nervousness than necessity. She considered herself to be of average looks and actually tried to downplay the assets she’d been given. She wanted to be respected, not lusted after like her mother. She had long hair that she couldn’t find the will to cut off, although when out she always placed it in an unflattering bun.
She always hid her curves from the world. She’d been well endowed, in what an ex-boyfriend had called all the right places. Her green eyes gave away every emotion that she was feeling and no matter how hard she tried she couldn’t manage to eliminate, what she considered, a fatal flaw.
She still couldn’t believe she’d been hired as executive secretary for Lucas Anderson. Anyone who’d lived within a thousand mile radius of Seattle Washington knew who the Andersons were.
Their company had many different divisions, which required a very large staff. They dealt in everything from construction and farming, to high end corporate takeovers. Although their headquarters were in the US, they did business all around the world and she was excited to be a part of it all.
As she made the long ride up in the elevator her mind flashed back to the previous week when she’d interviewed for the job.
Her interview with the head of the family had terrified her, but she’d found he was a really decent guy. He was kind and if she’d met him at a café instead of his million dollar mansion she wouldn’t have even known he was worth more than royalty.
She’d gone to his place expecting a very formal interview with a rigid man. She’d been pleasantly surprised by the reality. He’d welcomed her into his home and seemed to care more about her as a person than what was on her resume. That was a good thing considering she’d recently graduated college and the only other jobs she’d held had been anything but corporate.
She’d originally met Joseph at a college fair towards the end of her senior year and he’d given her his card and told her to call after graduation. She’d done so and he got her in for an interview faster than she’d ever imagined possible. She assumed it was because she’d graduated in the top five percent of her class.
Amy snapped back to the present as the elevator chimed her arrival. “Do not blow this job Amy.
If it all works out you could have that child you want so badly by Christmas time next year.” With her final words of encouragement to herself she took a deep breath and waited for the doors to open.
When she stepped onto the twenty-fifth floor she was momentarily paralyzed with fear. It was the most beautiful office she’d ever seen. The doors opened up to a massive lobby area with a round cherry wood desk. Behind the desk was a stunning blonde who looked more efficient than Amy ever hoped to be. She felt increasingly frumpy and inadequate as she stepped forward.
Behind the desk was a hallway to the right, where she assumed the offices were.
“Can I help you?” the woman asked Amy.
Amy snapped out of her temporary paralysis and walked forward. “Yes, I’m Amy Harper. I’m the new executive secretary for Mr. Anderson. I start today,” she finished with as much confidence as she could rally.
The woman looked at her blankly for a moment before finally reaching for her phone. “Mr.
Anderson, I have Amy Harper here who says she’s your new executive secretary.” She paused for a few moments, “okay…yes sir.”
She hung up the phone and turned back towards Amy, “Mr. Anderson says he already has an executive secretary and has hired no one new. He also said if you’re a reporter, trying for another story on his family, all his answers are no comment.” The woman looked dismissively at Amy and then said “have a nice day Ms. Harper.”
She didn’t give Amy another glance. She just turned towards her computer and acted like Amy wasn’t in the room. As far as she was concerned Amy was dismissed.
“Um, excuse me,” Amy looked at the secretary’s name plate. “Shelly, I was interviewed last week by Mr. Anderson. He told me to be in the office at eight am sharp, so you may want to just check again,” she said a little bit more powerfully. Shelly glanced up, as if shocked the disturbing woman was still there.
Just then the elevator chimed and in walked an older woman with smiling blue eyes. “You must be Amy. I’m sorry that I’m late. I got stuck behind an auto accident,” the woman said as she approached. “My name’s Esther and I will be working with you this week, getting you all trained to be on your own. Joseph called me and let me know he found my perfect replacement,” she said with humor in her voice.
Amy took a deep breath and felt some relief that the job really wasn’t just in her imagination.
“It’s so good to meet you Esther. I was a little nervous when Shelly said there was no job,” she finished, not even glancing at the secretary.
Esther looked over at the woman in question with disapproval. “She answers the phones here temporarily and didn’t know that I’m retiring. I’m sorry about any lack of communication,” she said. It was obvious there wasn’t any love lost between the two of them.
“Walk with me and I’ll show you your new office. You should love it but if you want to make any changes please feel free to do so. You’ll be spending many hours in there, as I’m sure Joseph already told you, so it needs to be comfortable for you.” They walked down the hallway and through a large oak doorway into a massive office. Was everything in the building done on a much grander scale than your average building? There were floor to ceiling windows against the back wall, letting the early morning light shine through. She was grateful for the natural light.
In the middle of the room was a huge three sided desk. On top of it sat a top of the line computer and an overflowing in and out box.
“Come in, come in. Have a seat. I’ll show you what you need to get started and before you know it you’ll be excellent on your own,” Esther said kindly.
The two women worked together the rest of the morning. Amy felt slightly overwhelmed, but she really enjoyed the company of Esther and was starting to pick up on some of the tasks they were doing. After lunch she felt comfortable enough to admit to Esther she really wasn’t qualified for the position, but she was a very fast learner and would study day and night to learn the systems.
Esther reassured her that Joseph had obviously seen something in her and he only hired the best.
“Esther, I need those Niles reports please and can you cancel my appointments for the rest of the day. My father needs me to come over to his place.” Amy glanced up as the most stunning man she’d ever seen walked through the door. He was looking down at a paper in his hand, which gave her time to secretly observe him from head to toe.
The first thing she noticed was his stature. He had to be at least six foot four with wide, strong looking shoulders. Lithe muscles could be perfectly seen, even through the obviously tailored business suit, which was dark and worked to clearly accentuate his golden tan. The outfit was complete with a loosened tie, making him look like he could’ve just stepped out of a photo shoot for GQ magazine.
His hair was dark brown and looked as if he’d been running his hand through it all morning. In the next moment he finally looked up and his deep azure blue eyes met her startled green ones.
“I’m sorry Esther, I didn’t know you had someone in here with you.”
“Hello, I’m Lucas Anderson,” he finished and held his hand out to her.
Lucas was known for his ability to read a person. It was how he was so successful in the corporate world. The woman seemed to be going through a myriad of emotions, from nervousness to desire and everything in between as she stared back at him. She was sparking his curiosity.
When she sat there in silence he raised his eyebrows at her questioningly. Her face turned a nice shade of red and then she finally broke eye contact.
She snapped out of her trance realizing that he was waiting for her to introduce herself so she stood up and gave him her hand, “Hello, I’m Amy Harper.” The moment her fingers touched his Lucas felt like a bolt of lightning went racing through their joined fingers, straight to his groin. She was beautiful, sure, but so were many other women he was in contact with each day. None of them had the power to electrify him with the mere touch of hands.
Lucas turned toward Esther, while releasing Amy’s hand at the same time. “When your guest leaves can you come into the office to take care of a few things,” he said and then turned away.
“Has your father not spoken with you yet Lucas?” Esther asked, stopping him.
“Talked to me about what?”
“I sent you my notice last month and told you your father would be hiring a new assistant for you,” she simply stated.
“I told you last month that I needed you to stay longer. I assumed the matter was settled,” he said a bit too harshly.
“Lucas, don’t you dare use that tone of voice with me. Don’t forget I’ve seen you running around in nothing but a diaper on. You knew that when your father retired I would be leaving as soon as you got settled in. I stayed on to make sure you had a smooth transition but now it’s my turn for retirement. I love this company but like your father sometimes it’s best to get on with things and bring in a new generation.”
“I’m sorry about the misunderstanding. Can you work one more month so I can find an appropriate replacement to take your position? I will double your salary since I know it’s an inconvenience to you,” he pleaded, trying to forget that Amy was even in the room.
“Your father already conducted the interviews and Amy’s your new assistant. I’ve been training her all morning and she’s doing a remarkable job,” she finished and patted Amy on the back.
Suddenly Amy had his undivided attention once again. The minute he turned those eyes back on her she felt her stomach drop. The man had enough heat packed in his eyes to be considered a fire hazard. She’d never reacted so strongly to a man before and wasn’t happy about the unfamiliar feelings flooding through her.
“I’ll speak to my father about this but I should’ve been informed about the interviews. Don’t get too comfortable in your new position Ms. Harper,” he spoke with the upmost authority, then stormed back through the doorway, shutting it a little bit harder than necessary.
“I thought he knew that I’d been hired. He didn’t even know you were leaving,” Amy said with apprehension in her voice. She could be losing her dream job before it had even started.
“Now don’t you worry about anything Amy, everything will be just fine.” They got absorbed in their work and the incident was placed on the back burner, still there, but put away for the moment.
“Dad, how do you expect me to run this company when you’re stepping in and doing things without letting me know?” Lucas was pacing in front of his father, back and forth across the parlor at his parents’ home.
“Now son, I told you when I left Esther would be retiring once you got settled in. I also told you I would take care of her replacement. It’s not my fault that you forgot about that. And it’s not Esther’s fault you didn’t take her resignation seriously,” his father said.
“Dad, I know you’re up to something. I just can’t figure out what it is this time but I’m capable of hiring my own staff,” he spoke with frustration. It was so much harder to argue with the man when he was being reasonable. “It doesn’t exactly look good when the president of the company doesn’t know what’s going on in his own offices,” he finished.
“Son, I interviewed about thirty people and Ms. Harper was, by far, the most qualified candidate.
Believe me, you’ll have no problems with her. I checked her out extensively before sending her to you.” Little did his son know that he was actually checking her out as his future daughter-in-law and could care less about her qualifications as an executive assistant, although she’d done very well in school and would most likely do an extraordinary job at the office.
“Fine, I’ll see how she works out but if she doesn’t work soundly with me then I’ll fire her and the next person will be someone that I find, not you,” he said.
“Of course Lucas,” his dad quickly agreed. “Now on to other business,” he prompted, before getting back to work. By the time Lucas returned to the office everyone was gone. He could still smell Amy’s scent in the room. He had a feeling her employment wasn’t going to work out. He had the feeling that his new employee was going to be nothing but trouble for him.
He had a lot of work to do so he walked through their connecting doors into his own office, which made Amy’s new one seem small, if that were possible. He sat back on his couch and started reading a file, falling asleep before he knew it. That wasn’t unusual. He slept at the office as much as he did in his own home.
Lucas’s brothers would mock him growing up, saying he was a sixty year old man in a teenager’s body. He didn’t care if they teased him. He had goals and responsibilities and if that meant he wasn’t into the stuff most teenagers were into, then so be it. Look at where he was now.
He was the head of a company respected throughout the world and had more than most people could even dream of.
Amy stepped off of the elevator feeling pretty good. What a difference from her first ride up such a short time ago. The month had flown by and she was doing well at her job, if she did think so herself.
“Amy, come on over and have some cake,” she heard Esther calling. “It’s my retirement party.” Amy looked up to find hundreds of people crowded around the front office. Everyone was chattering and eating cake.
“Amy dear, how are you doing?” This came from Joseph Anderson. He walked up and threw an arm around her shoulders.
“It’s great Mr. Anderson. Thank you again for giving me this opportunity.” She added bashfully, not knowing what else to say.
“Nonsense my girl, you earned this position. Esther said you are fitting right in and doing a fantastic job.” He laughed heartily.
“Now come with me. There’s someone I want you to meet.” He wrapped her arm in his and dragged her across the room.
“Mike, I want you to meet Amy. She’s the new executive assistant for Lucas,” he said in an excessively loud voice, which had several heads turning towards them. Amy could feel her face grow warmer as she didn’t like to be the center of attention.
“Nice to meet you Amy,” Mike replied.
“I will just leave the two of you to chat for a while,” Joseph said with a chuckle while walking away. Amy stayed and chatted with Mike, finding his company pleasant.
Mike was far more the kind of man who normally interested Amy. He was average looking, not someone you would place on a calendar, but someone you would definitely give a second glance.
He had a sense of humor and kept up a witty conversation. He was safe.
Amy almost wished she was searching for a relationship, as Mike seemed the kind of man who would be pleasant to date. He wasn’t arrogant and he didn’t seem to be demanding. Oh well, she sighed to herself, letting the thought pass.
Across the room Lucas was glaring daggers at his new employee. She never smiled that way when he talked to her. Of course, he was normally barking orders at her. He still didn’t like the attention she was giving to another male and he really didn’t like the interest he saw in Mike’s eyes. As Lucas slowly looked her up and down he could understand that interest.
What did his father think he was doing, introducing her to Mike? Everyone knew he went through women faster than he changed clothing. Many women had been fooled by his act of affection but Lucas knew the guy only had one goal in mind and Lucas was sure that Amy wasn’t ready for the consequences of a failed office romance.
Lucas was even more irritated he cared. He consoled himself by thinking he was only concerned because if she got discarded her work performance would suffer, which would make him have to fire her. He would then have to take time away from his busy schedule to hire a new employee.
He was just about ready to storm over there, grab her arm and drag her away when his father approached him. “How you doing boy?” he asked far too slyly.
“Fine Father and you?” he automatically responded, not taking his eyes off of Amy.
Joseph was thinking that his plan was coming along just fine. His son was falling for Amy quickly and he didn’t even realize it. Joseph may as well push things along a bit more and help speed things up. In the game of love no one could lose.
“Don’t you think Amy and Mike look good together? She’s seemed a little lonely this past week,” he said.
“Mike’s a cad. I’m going to put a stop to this. You need to quit meddling in people’s lives Father,” Lucas said angrily.
“I’m sorry Lucas. I didn’t know you were interested in her. You know a boss shouldn’t have a romance with his employee,” he added. He knew his son well. There was nothing he enjoyed more than a challenge.
“I’m not interested in her," Lucas said, not fooling his father in the least. “I just know what kind of a man Mike is. He’ll break her heart and then her work will be affected. I’m only thinking of the work environment.” With those parting words he started walking in her direction.
Joseph chuckled to himself feeling downright giddy. Oh yes, his son was falling hard. He’d picked out the perfect match for him.
“Amy, we have some work to do," Lucas said as he approached her and Mike. He didn’t even acknowledge Mike’s presence. Mike, not wanting to upset the boss, slunk away without another word. Amy lost a bit of respect for him. She turned around, inwardly sighing.
“Yes sir, I’m sorry. I’ll get right on it,” Amy replied with her head held high while heading towards her office. She didn’t understand why he sounded so irritated. Everyone was at the party.
It wasn’t like she was the one who’d thrown it.
Lucas followed her into the office, then stood there looming over her as she sat down. “I don’t like office romances, they cause nothing but trouble,” he informed her in his most stately tone of voice, which caused the hair on the back of her neck to stand up. She had to silently count to ten before responding.
“First of all, Mr. Anderson," she said through clenched teeth, “I was simply socializing with another employee. And second of all, who I do choose to have a romance with is none of your business.” Amy was surprised by the acid in her own voice Suddenly he was only inches from her face. “When you work for me you will listen to what I say. Mike’s a womanizer and I don’t want to deal with the repercussions when he throws you out like stale bread and believe me, he will.”
Amy leaned back from him as her heart started beating hard. She was sure it was visible to him, even through her shirt. She forgot all about her anger with the man as the urge to reach out and grab him was so overwhelming. She wanted Lucas. Everything about him screamed sex and if he leaned in a couple of more inches and claimed her mouth she would welcome it.
For what seemed like an eternity she couldn’t break contact with him. She felt liquid heat pooling inside of her. Look away, look away, look away, she shouted at herself until she finally found the will-power to turn her head, wondering how long they’d stood there face to face.
Realizing how close he was to her and also the intense desire he had to kiss her shocked Lucas enough into standing up straight and retreating from her office. Before he could think about it he slammed the door, causing the pictures on the wall to shake.
Lucas leaned against the door and willed his body to return to normal. He hadn’t felt so much desire for a woman since his college days. Even then he knew he’d possessed more control. If she hadn’t broken their eye contact he may have ended up taking her right there on her desk, just a few short feet away from hundreds of employees who could’ve walked in at any moment.
It was most definitely time to go work out and expend some of his pent up energy. He went down in his private elevator, avoiding Amy the rest of the day, choosing to communicate through email only. It seemed to be much safer that way for the both of them.