The Billionaire's plaything

Chapter 1

"s**t!"

"Drew, you need to get up. I have work this morning."

Jade blurts out after glimpsing at the clock on her phone after an early morning doom-scroll, dragging the sheets off herself and her fling's body — the man who had tagged along after the drunk night she had at the club.

"What time is it?"

Jake rolls over with a twisted look on his face, half awake, the rays of light that escaped through the window stinging his tired eyes.

"It's wake-the-f**k-up o'clock."

Jade says, running into the bathroom in her underwear, leaving a half-naked Drew on the bed.

"Leave before I'm out, okay?" The bathroom door closes behind her.

A couple of minutes later she's perfecting her lip combo when the alarm on her phone interrupts her.

"Oh, I'm so fired today."

"Talk about timing, Jade."

Malia, her co-worker, interrupts her as she sweeps past her desk. Jade threw her a smile as she made her way toward her own desk, letting out a relieved breath as she sat down.

Jade had perfect green eyes, with long dark hair that ran almost to her waist. Full lips and a small nose were already a good combination to go with her model's figure — one that looked like it had escaped from a Vogue magazine.

"Look who decided to finally show up."

Elizabeth, her grumpy supervisor, walks into her compartment. Dressed in a tight black suit that clung to her curvy body, her dark skin and striking eyes gave her almost everything she needed to command a room.

She dumped a load of paperwork on Jade's already full desk. Jade, already a little steamy from the workload and her messy sleep schedule, used only the corner of her eye to glance behind her without a word.

Jade glimpsed at a few of the papers she had been assigned and her face twisted.

"I've already gone through these," she blurted out, holding a page so tightly her finger nearly tore it, standing up to her supervisor.

"Apparently you haven't, Jade — and you should mind your tone, lest I remind you who the boss is here."

"You have your partner over there to blame, so you'll have to cross-check the contracts again without her."

Elizabeth added, pointing toward Malia's desk. Malia instinctively hid her face in shame, pushing her glasses up and muttering under her breath.

The entire room went quiet. Though filled with over a hundred desks, the tension had ceased all the fingers punching their keyboards.

The elevator doors opened. Instantly, the whole room turned.

A tall figure walked out — Cole Hartwell. An absolute phenomenon in business. A self-made billionaire who flipped companies for fun, and to fuel his ego and his image above that of his father, Scott Hartwell.

Dressed in a fitted black suit, he had cold blue eyes that looked almost dead but charming. Perfect bone structure and a strong jawline paired with a stubble that matched his short, dark gelled hair.

His presence filled the room, oozing competence and power. A true one-percent man.

"Beth, see me in my office in five."

His cool voice warmed the room as he glanced at his watch and walked toward his office at the far end — behind a tall black door with his name written on it.

"What are you all looking at? Get back to work."

Elizabeth blurted out, causing the clatter of keyboards to resume as if she had pressed play. She hissed at Jade and walked toward the black door.

"Jade! Come back to us."

Malia pulled Jade's gaze away from the black door.

"Sorry about the paperwork. I had plans, and I told you about that guy I just met."

She walked over to her distracted friend and sat on the edge of the desk.

"Who's that?"

"Who? You mean Cole Hartwell?"

"Yeah, the hunk of a man who just walked through that door."

Jade's eyes were still glued to the door, a mix of lust and curiosity in them. His presence intimidated her, but she wanted a piece of it.

"You mean you've worked here for a year and you've never seen him before?"

"Nope. Not even once. Always too busy to notice."

Jade replied,

turning her eyes to Malia. Malia took a deep breath before explaining who the billionaire playboy was to her captivated friend.

Hours went by, and the workstation emptied like leaves falling from a tree. Jade remained glued to her screen, the printer still running in the background.

The black door clicked open and Elizabeth strode out with a smirk, adjusting her dress as she stopped at the elevator.

"He's probably sleeping with her, Jade. You have no chance."

Malia's text drew Jade's eyes to her phone. She replied with a faint smile.

"I really don't care about him, Mal."

"Sure you don't, Jay. I saw the look in your eyes."

Malia replied, getting up from her desk, leaving only herself and Jade in the now-silent workstation.

"I'm heading out, girl. Wanna hang? And yeah, sorry again about the paperwork."

Malia said behind Jade, who sat with her head buried in paperwork, sorting documents.

"Nah, I'm going to stay late. Maybe some other time, Mal."

She swiveled to reply to her friend, who stood with arms folded and a smile on her face.

"All right then, see you tomorrow," Malia said, walking away in a hurry.

"Tomorrow's Saturday, Mal," Jade corrected her friend softly, eyes not leaving her work.

The closing elevator reintroduced the silence, and the air grew colder.

Two hours later, Jade was done with her work, staring at the ceiling of the elevator, waiting for the doors to close. She leaned against the wall with her head tilted back, a few buttons of her suit undone, letting out a tired breath.

Then, all of a sudden, a hand intercepted the elevator doors before they could close. Her heart nearly leaped out of her chest. Cole Hartwell walked in after the doors reopened, slightly adjusting his suit and barely acknowledging the other occupant.

Jade could tell he was tall, but nothing had prepared her for the height difference up close.

His presence was both intimidating and calming. His face was so striking she could think of a dozen things she wished she could do with it.

The silence in the elevator was piercing. Jade adjusted her hair behind her ear a few times and noticed him making small adjustments of his own.

"Are you all right, sir?"

She broke the silence.

The doors opened. Cole hesitated, then turned to glance beside him — and walked out as though no one had been there with him.

Jade's instant regret curdled her short-lived attraction into disgust as she walked toward the exit and watched him speed off in a sleek black Bugatti Chiron.

"What a jerk," Jade scoffed.