DANCING WITH A BILLIONAIRE

Chapter Three

CHAPTER 3

An email from the Bennetts Group, a missed call, and a message from Ron was certainly not what Eloise expected to wake up to in the morning. It was almost as if a wishing star heard her thoughts last night. The message from Ron was short and cryptic; it read 'We need to talk'- sure they did, but the message from the Bennetts Group on the other hand was the highlight of her day - she got the job! She couldn't believe it; her mom was right. Sure the contents of the contract were a bit sketchy because why did Steve have to be the one to interview her today instead of an HR; but hey, the pay was extremely attractive so she allowed it.

Steve over at his penthouse was all smiling during breakfast that his mom even noticed it. Eloise must've seen the email and was likely on her way here now he was almost certain of this. He couldn't wait to mess with her; it was the only fun thing to do around here.

"What's making my favorite son giddy" his mom couldn't stand being left out of the fun a second longer

"I'm your ONLY child. Plus you don't have to be so nosy" he retorted and they both laughed

"But seriously tell me what's it?"

"Does it have to be anything? Can't I be excited that I'm having a peaceful breakfast because your husband isn't here to bother me?" he raised his hand in exasperation

"Oh c'mon don't be like that he's YOUR father. You shouldn't always fight him" she chided him. "And about last night, you shouldn't have done that. You should've given it some thought before being rude to him."

"I didn't know that refusing to do what you don't want is considered rude now. If he had let me have dinner in peace or let you do the talking, then maybe I would've given it some thought but no he had to open his big mouth."

"Okay, Steve don't speak about your father in that manner again. If you don't respect him at least respect me" his mom reprimanded him; he could tell she wasn't playing because she never raised her voice at him if it wasn't serious.

"I'm sorry mom"

"Why do you even hate him so much what did he ever do to you?"

"I never said I hate him. I don't. He's bossy and I don't like being told what to do that's all" his brows drew together, like a petulant child upset for being scolded.

"Fine but would you consider what we talked about last night? Sophie is a good girl from a reputable family, and acquiring her father's company would be profitable for us"

"I don't think I want to get married at all, and even if I did, I don't want an arranged marriage. Besides what's the big deal about acquiring Mr. Baker's company? We already have a lot of money. We could decide to stop working for a century and still be rich"

"You won't get it. Besides what's so wrong about an arranged marriage, that's how I married your dad and brought you to this world, and look at us now, we love each other." Sure that part was right because they were the reason he still believed in love but he wasn't ready to let that sway him. His mind was already set.

"It's good that worked out for you two but it might not work out for me, and then what happens with my friendship with Sophie? I don't want to gamble that and hurt her. She's a good girl."

"Excuses. Okay how about we do this, you just hang out with her more often and if you eventually fall in love and decide to marry it won't be an arranged marriage anymore if you think about it. Sound good to you?" his mom made a valid argument, stripping him of the excuses he had left.

"Hmm, alright fine. I'll talk to her today and see how it goes."

"Good boy. See? That wasn't so hard" She smiled triumphantly. She knew her son was an attention seeker and if she ever wanted to get anything out of him all she had to do was just that; give him the necessary dosage of attention.

It was about an hour after they had breakfast that Eloise finally arrived at the Bennet's. It wasn't difficult for her to find Steve - she could hear him laughing with his mom in the living area, so she went there.

"Finally, I've been waiting for you" Steve was the first to speak but she made sure to greet Mrs. Bennet before answering him

"Sorry about that, it's just that the interview was set at such short notice"

"What interview?" Mrs. Bennett enquired to understand what was going on.

"Mom, I'm hiring her to be my PA" Eloise was grateful for Steve's help; she felt awkward being in the same space as Mrs. Bennet

"I thought you had one already?"

"Yeah, I fired her last night. As you can see I found a better person for the job." his reply pricked her conscience; someone had lost their job for her to get it. "See you later Mom" Steve blew his mom a kiss and then signaled for them to leave. It was after they were in the elevator heading down that she broke the silence.

"Why did you do that?"

"Do what?" he looked genuinely clueless

"Fire your PA to hire me. Last night you made it look like the post was open. If I knew you were going to do this I wouldn't have sent the email in the first place."

"Well it's not your job to worry about who I fire and who I hire, it's mine. Focus on your job" his reply was a bit harsh but she couldn't retort, he was her boss now, and she didn't want to lose her job. By the way, what the hell was her job?

"And what's my job if I may ask? My duties were vaguely specified in the email"

"I'll brief you about it during the interview" he answered and as if on cue the elevator opened to the parking lot. "I made a reservation at Bouchon's Bakery and that's where we're going" he added as if he knew what was in her mind. She said nothing and just followed behind until they got to his car. She didn't need to be told the Carrera GT was his; it had his name '5T3V3' on the plate number. What a vain prick, she was murmuring in her head before he handed her the keys "You're driving."

The drive to Bouchon was the scariest for Eloise; the Porsche was just too fast and responsive. And even though she wasn't a car person, she could tell the car was very expensive; denting it would put her in debt. She was going to talk to Steve about this later but first, she had to enjoy her breakfast. This was the most decent thing he had ever done for her and she was grateful.

"You know, when you said you made a reservation, I wasn't expecting it to be the entire bakery" she finally spoke breaking the awkward silence between them.

"Hmm. Breakfasts should be peaceful and quiet" he grunted as if that was enough explanation for lavishing money like that.

"So the interview?"

"There's no interview. Your duties to me would just be communicated to you on the go. You're free to resign if it becomes a lot for you" his nonchalance annoyed her. She didn't like that he was acting like pulling these kinds of stunts was the most normal thing in the world. But then again he was her boss so she said nothing. "Good, now your first task" Steve continued after he didn't get a complaint from her "Here's my card" he slid a black card to her "I want you to buy the most beautiful and expensive flower you can find and send them to Sophie Baker, I'll text you her address. Now you make sure you write a beautiful note on it for me, maybe about how she looks as pretty as the flowers or some s**t like that then invite her to dinner. I want you to buy her a nice dress too and ask her to wear that. And then I want you to find a decent restaurant and reserve the whole place for us. You got that?" his demands were simple and enough to let Eloise know the kind of boss he was going to be.

"Yeah I do"

"Good, call me when it's done. I'm heading out, and I'm taking the car," he said and then left. What an asshole she cussed in her head