Bound By The Billionaire's Terms

Ashley’s POV “I doubt you are the type of man that I can work with.” These words have never been, and I could have sworn, would never be spoken to Dante Cole. Until now. My lungs forgot how to function as Simon King leaned back in his chair, his eyes gleaming with the kind of satisfaction that came from catching a giant off guard. I risked a glance at Dante, but he gave nothing away. No twitch. No sigh. Just the heavy silence that wrapped around us. But I knew him better than most. Mr. Cole wasn’t expecting this. And neither was I. “And why is that?” Dante’s voice was smooth, but I caught his hands as they curled into fists under the polished table. Simon folded his hand across his legs. “Can I be painfully honest with you?” “I expect nothing less,” Dante responds. Personally, I did not like where this was going. The power struggle in the air was real and Simon King seemed to be winning. I squirm in my seat from discomfort. Simon had a knowing look on his face. I knew that whatever direction this conversation was going to take Mr. Cole wasn't going to like it. “Well…” There was a long pause. “There has been talk.” “What type of talk?” Dante's jaw tightens as he questions further. “Speculations. Particularly among investors about your sexuality.” Mr. King blatantly states. “Left to me I will be signing that contract right now, but we will like to make sure first. It could damage our reputation to align with a partner who, well, doesn’t represent the… traditional image we prefer.” Dante didn’t move. But I see the storm in his eyes as his jaw tightens from grinding his teeth. I am half tempted to reach out to him and hold him before he does anything drastic. However, he has said multiple times that he would prefer if I brought as little attention as possible to myself during important meetings. So I don’t. Instead, I bite my lips to stop myself from saying anything foolish, dig my fingernails into my notebook, and keep my face blank. “So?” Mr. King pressed, voice oozing fake politeness. “Are you gay?” For a moment, I thought Dante might grab onto Mr. King across the table and maybe knock sense into his head. But instead, he smiled. Not the charming kind. This smile was a weapon in itself. “I am most certainly not gay. In fact, I am sure my girlfriend will have a thing or two to say about that.” I barely contained my disbelief. Being Dante Cole’s assistant meant knowing every single part of his life. Business meetings. Charity galas. Even his goddamn tailor appointments. And in all the time I’d worked for him, not once had he mentioned a girlfriend. So I was pretty certain his said girlfriend was nonexistent. “In that case, excellent. We would like to set up a meeting with her. Perhaps dinner next week on Thursday?” Dante gave a curt nod. “I will check in with her and see if it works.” “Wonderful.” Unable to resist, I lean across from Mr. Cole from my seat and whisper, while resisting the urge to yell, “Are you sure?” He offers me a smile that unnerves me slightly. It is hard to ignore the man’s handsomeness as often as I had to. But I had trained myself to resist. I like to think I was immune. Reconnecting my frame back to my seat, I tried to pay attention back to the meeting, but my mind was unwilling to stay in the conversation. When the meeting finally ended, I heaved a sigh of relief as we all rose to our feet. Leaving the building, I felt like we had managed to avoid one storm only to stir up a bigger one. I glanced up at the sky as clouds gathered and hurried after Mr. Cole. Finally, when it was just the two of us in the comfort of his car, I snapped my head toward him “Are you serious?” I hissed under my breath. “A girlfriend?” Dante adjusted the cufflinks on his charcoal-gray suit, his expression unreadable. “I’ll figure it out.” “Oh, you’ll figure it out?” My voice was low, but the disbelief was loud. “And when Simon realizes there is no girlfriend?” He met my eyes, and for a second, the storm in his gaze softened. “Then I’ll have to find one.” Damn it. I could already feel the disaster brewing. And once again, it would be up to me to clean up the mess. “Perhaps you should consider taking back the statement. We could look for other ways to assure them about… your preferences.” “So I should tell Simon King that I lied?” I slumped back into the seat. “That isn't something you can do is it?” “It isn't. It seemed like the best course of action at that time.” I did understand a little where Dante was coming from. Since I joined his firm four years ago, I had always been putting tabs on Simon King and the contracts he offered and this was the only one that had captured his attention. There could be more to it. “Besides, it can't be that hard to find someone willing to act like my girlfriend.” Mr. Cole comments. Fake girlfriends only existed in cheesy rom-coms. In real life, they unraveled into PR nightmares and lawsuits. And I’d be the one cleaning up the mess. I scoff. Startled by my action, my hand flies to cover my mouth and offer a mumbled apology to him. “Is there a reason you doubt my ability to charm a woman?” “No, I don't. But I have a very strong feeling that there are not a lot of women that exist that you will deem worthy enough to constantly be in your presence.” “What is that supposed to mean? “I mean you have insanely high standards. “I suppose it is a good thing then, that you will be vetting the candidates before they come to me.” “She's going to be your girlfriend.” “And you are my assistant. You know me better than most people. I am sure you'd figure out someone that I could manage to be around for at least a week.” Before I can issue another protest, the car pulls off in front of the office and Dante walks out. Damn it. I was officially the assistant to a billionaire on the hunt for a fake girlfriend. Just perfect.