I accidentally married a billionare

Chapter 10

Claire’s Point of View.

As I step into the skyscraper I work in the last two days feels like a dream. The only reminder I have is the slight throbbing in my hand. There is a sense of normalcy in this building. Eroll, the security man, waves at me as I swipe my ID card to enter.

My heels clank on the brown tile floor. Several of my colleagues huddle around the elevator doors with me. I see my reflection in the shiny gold of the doors. Tyler did a great job with my hair today.

The beep of the elevator interrupts my thoughts. The doors swing open and we all clamber on, hitting the buttons to our respective floors. I’m on the seventh, so I wiggle my way through to the front.

A quiet piano music plays in the background as some workers talk amongst themselves.

“Did you hear that Tyler Henderson is coming today? I wonder what he wants?”

A smile builds across my face at the mention of his name.

The elevator dings on my floor, and I step out. The greyness of the room sooths me. A short grey carpet lines the floor with grey cubicles filling the entire space. There are a few windows along the outside, but most of the time, the blinds are down. In the back corner is a storage room with a printer, a small coffee cart, and my manager’s office.

I make my way through the tight corridors to my desk. Unlike my co-workers, it is free of clutter. No pictures of family or friends, nothing hanging on the walls, and no little trinkets taking over the desk space.

As I place my purse in the bottom drawer of my desk, Jane, my neighbour, peeks her head over. She is a simple woman. Excited to work here, almost too excited.

“Hey Claire.” she says, handing me a coffee. “Guess who was down here earlier?”

I already know the answer. I can see the yellow sticky note stuck to my monitor.

“Gigi?”

She nods as I take the coffee.

“What happened to your hand?”

“Nothing much. I fought off a gentleman who was attacking another woman. He stabbed me in the hand.”

Jane smiles. We both clock our manager heading our way and sit down at our desks. I log in and get to work.

“Excuse me. EXCUSE ME!” my manager Betty hollers from the center of the room.

She is a mousey woman, with an upturned nose and short blonde hair. Her attitude displays her dislike for us.

We all stand so we can see her.

“I want to give you all a warning. Our owner, the Tyler Henderson, is touring the building today. When he arrives here, I want you all to stand and give him due deference. Mr Henderson is ruthless. He will not hesitate to fire you.”

I raise my hand to ask a question.

“Yes, Claire?” She says. Exacerbated by my question.

“Wouldn’t Mr. Henderson rather see us working?”

She gives me a stare that could cut glass.

“You better watch your tongue. It’s not like you have a Vice President protecting you anymore.”

Everyone returns to their tasks. Today is the cutoff day for payday. If we don’t process this information, the employees don’t get paid.

I take the sticky note from my desk. Gigi doesn’t have to write her name on it, I recognise her writing. She has these distinct letters I that she uses when she writes.

Hey b***h. Just wanted you to know I am watching you. Now that we know where you live, you better watch your back. If you so much as breathe the same air as James, I’ll come for you.

I take the note and shove it in my breast pocket to put in the shredding bin later.

Jane pops her head over the cubicle, her brown braid plopping over one shoulder.

“You should take that note to HR. She’s no right to threaten you.”

I shrug, not worried about her threat at all.

“If I do that, it will make it worse. She’s sleeping with a VP. There is no way they’d fire her for it.”

That is a lie. James is not the type of person to protect someone else. He would let her burn. I am not going to HR because if I make waves then it will come out that I am married to Tyler and that will cause actual problems.

Two hours pass as the day goes by. I am staring at spreadsheets listing hours and pay wages. There are three more sheets, all with errors that need to be resolved.

The doors to our floor swing open. Betty enters, followed by the CEO, CFO and some other executive I don’t know. Behind them are Charlie and Tyler. My colleagues stand at his arrival. I do not.

Betty says, “This is our accounting department. We process anything that has to do with the business finances. Payments, account receivable, payroll.” There is a snooty tone in her voice.

Tyler, who is wearing a perfectly fitted three-piece suit, dress shoes and has his hair slicked back, looks at her like she has three heads.

“I run the largest financial corporation in the country. I am aware of what an accounting department does.”

He breaks from the group and walks toward me. I try hard not to stare at his muscles bulging against his suit. Putting myself into my work, I redirect my focus. Payroll needs to be in by noon, and since no one else is processing right now, it’s on me.

“You.” he says.

Betty steps between us, her face crinkling.

“I’m so sorry, Mr. Henderson. That is Claire. I told her to stand when you came, but she clearly did not follow my direction.” She puts a lot of emphasis on the word “my.”

Charlie places his arm in front of Tyler, protecting him from Betty.

“I’d like to hear from her why she didn’t stand.” His voice sounds different. It’s not fun and playful anymore, but hard and firm, although there is a hint of softness hidden deep in his gaze.

“Hold on.” I say, clacking a few keys on my keyboard. “There, done.”

I turn to face him. “Sorry sir. To ensure timely employee payment, I processed payroll myself, since I was the only one working and there’s a strict deadline,” I said.

Tyler looks around the room at all the standing employees and then at Betty.

“Claire, was it? You have a point.” He pauses for effect. “GET BACK TO WORK!”

The room hurries and clambers back to work. Tyler stands over Betty, menacing and fierce. God, he’s gorgeous.

“And you. What kind of manager tells her employees to stop working when the owner comes in? You and I need to have a chat in your office.”

The sheer look of power on his face makes my insides throb. That man is my husband. Holy s**t. That kicked in. My husband is THE Tyler Henderson.

He turns to look at me, and I bite my bottom lip, pulling it through my teeth. I try to make it look like I am thinking, but I hope he knows I was flirting. He gives me a slight head nod before taking Betty into her office and screaming at her.

A few minutes later, she walks over to me. The glow in her eyes is that of rage.

“I am sorry for how I spoke to you, Claire.” There is nothing in her tone that says she believes her words.

She turns away before I can reply, marching to her office and slamming the door.

Tyler and the other executives leave. A small part of my stomach falls in my chest, knowing he is far from me anymore.

Jane says, from behind her cubicle, “I wasn’t expecting him to be that attractive.”

A huge smile dons my face. “Huh. I didn’t notice.”

Of course, I noticed how attractive he was. I have to keep up the lie.