The Billionaire's Obsession

Employees Room

Chapter two – Employees RoomThe ride toward Mr. Woods office was highly uncomfortable, I didn't know what to do or to say. So I opted for staring out the window, pretending to be deep in thoughts. But the only thing on my mind right now was Mr. Woods which only fueled my nerves. As we arrived at the office, the driver got out of his seat and opened the door at my side of the car. It was odd having someone be so polite, but I didn't question it. It was his job and it would only make things awkward for him if I commented on it. Stepping out of the car I thanked him instead and stared at the intimidating tall building which was the place where Mr. Woods worked. If I had to describe the building in one word I'd say 'amazing'. As I glanced at Mr. Woods I couldn't help but think that this building matched him well. He was supposed to work in a building like this. He didn't give me time to admire it more though. He walked straight to the building, not faltering in his stride once. I couldn't do anything else but to follow after him. Entering the building I nearly ran smack into Mr. Woods when he stopped in his tracks. I barely grazed his back and quickly jumped back, hearing high heels clicking toward us. Stepping beside him I spotted a woman in high heels running toward us, well, more like speed walking toward us on her heels. When I narrowed my eyes on her face I noticed how anxious she looked. She didn't seem to notice me, she focused entirely on Mr. Woods.

"Nick, Evan just announced that he is coming half an hour early." She told him in her breathy voice, "He didn't give much information about his unexpected change of plans, but I already prepared the meeting room. I also left a copy of his proposal on your desk-"

"Thanks, Giselle, I'll handle it from here."

"If you excuse me I have a personal matter to attend to right now." He told Giselle and walked past her.

She didn't let him get far though, she spun quickly on her heels and walked beside him. Probably confused about her not knowing about his personal matters.

"What matters? You told me that this matter with Evan has our priority." She sounded bratty and when she flicked her blonde hair back I couldn't help but feel like Mr. Woods was dealing with a teenager who wasn't used to not getting her way.

"There is no need for you to be concerned about this, instead I'd like you to go back to the office and answer my calls."

Mr. Woods was definitely not influenced by Giselle's overly kind attitude. I followed behind them, not wanting them to shift their attention to me instead. It couldn't only cause trouble since it looked like Giselle had claimed her boss. The way she walked beside him, not wanting to leave any space between them at all. It was amazing that she hadn't noticed how annoyed he looked at her mere presence. I guess ignorance was bliss.

Mr. Woods glanced over his shoulder, meeting my gaze, "Are you coming, Emily? If we finish this quickly you'll be able to attend the rest of your classes today."

I thought keeping quiet and keeping my distance would make me invisible somehow, but that was obviously not the case here. I did appreciate the fact that he kept in mind that I wanted to attend my classes. What I didn't like was the glare I received when Giselle finally noticed me. The look I knew so well, I had seen women throw me those looks in the club whenever I was joking around with Brandon. Pure jealousy, that was what I was seeing. She was wishing I'd just die right then and there. The last thing I wanted to deal with right now was a jealous woman who thought she had the right to claim a living human being. There were no words for how wrong that was. So I figured to ignore her, pretending I didn't see her death glare.

"It would be appreciated if we could rush things so I can make my classes."

Mr. Woods slowed his pace so he was walking beside me which would probably anger Giselle even more, "I'll make sure you'll make it." He promised me.

Reaching the elevator bank Mr. Woods pushed the button, still standing beside me as he kept his gaze ahead. Completely ignoring Giselle. She wasn't having any of it though.

"You have a meeting, Nick?" She asked, I could feel her eyes on me but I still refused to look at her.

Nick waited a second before he answered her, I think he timed his answer because when he finally decided to talk the elevator arrived and we could step in. He blocked her way as he pressed the button to keep the door open while he gave her orders.

"I do have a meeting to attend to. I need you to go to the front desk and inform them about Evan's arrival. Also, inform Miles that he needs to wait for a while, I want him to give Miss Pierce a ride back to school later. I see you in the office later." With that he let the door close, effectively keeping Giselle away from us.

"She won't like that." I sang softly, my eyes widening when I heard his chuckle.

"People who act childishly don't need to act so surprised when they get treated like a child."

I kept my gaze ahead because I didn't want Mr. Woods to read my expression as I made a more personal comment, "The tension between you was palpable. You two must have a colorful past."

Another chuckle left his lips, "If you're asking if anything happened between us, I'm sorry to disappoint you but there isn't a juicy story to tell."

The door opened and I was about to step forward but felt Mr. Woods hand on my back as he slightly pushed me forward. I completely shut down by the sudden warmth I felt when he touched me, but I had no time to think about that because he kept pushing me forward to steer me in the right direction and unconsciously I just let him steer me wherever he wanted. We stopped in front of a glass room, I observed the man sitting in the room. He didn't seem to notice us as he went through the papers in front of him. Mr. Woods hand left my back so he could open the door. He held it open for me and gestured for me to step inside first. Walking past him I took a seat across the man who looked up from his papers and flashed me a charming smile. His look was a lot warmer and welcoming than Mr. Woods'.

Mr. Charming held his hand out to me, "Nice to meet you, Miss Pierce."

"Nice to meet you-"

"Mike." Mr. Woods interrupted me while he took a seat beside me, "We need to make this quick because I have a meeting right after this and Emily here needs to go back to school."

Mike, the charming attorney didn't seem to mind Mr. Woods direct approach and just went with the flow instead, "Alright." He pushed a paper toward me and handed me a pen, "This form states that the guy who assaulted you will pay you fifty thousand. In exchange, you'll not go to court."

The pen fell out of my hand, "Fifty thousand?" I asked confused.

Fifty thousand was a ton of money for me, I suppose to the guy who dared to attack me was loaded. I didn't understand why a guy like that felt the need to harass women. I'm sure that if he just flashed his credit card around some women would feel the need to flock around him. It was sad to admit, but I had seen that kind of behavior numerous times at the club. That was just how it worked.

"He'll actually back off if I sign this?"

"He knows it's not beneficial for me if we go to court because even though we'll win the case it will still mean bad press. He is obviously also sensitive to bad press so this works for both parties." Mr. Woods explained, "Trust me, this is the best deal you'll get."

I played around with the pen, "So this is all about keeping your image intact?" I asked, glancing aside at me to meet Mr. Woods' gaze, "I suppose I should settle for fifty thousand then. At least I'll be able to pay some of my student loans off."

"It's good to stay positive." Mike took the papers from me when I signed my name on the line, "I'm glad you decided not to make a big deal about this. We all have more important matters to attend to, it would be a waste of time arguing about scandals and money."

"It just amazes me that a guy who is loaded needed to resort to harassing women." I glanced at Mr. Woods, "I thought guys you like only need to flash your credit card around."

Mike burst out in laughter while Mr. Woods just looked offended by my comment, "Don't put me in the same category as that guy."

Mike collected his papers and got to his feet, glancing down at me with an amused look sparkling in his brown eyes, "I can assure you that Nicolas doesn't need to do much to get women's attention."

Without having control over my own words I made the whole situation more awkward, "I can see why."

The room fell silent and I was sure that if I looked up I'd see both guys staring at me with shocked looks on their faces because I said something so embarrassing. I had to try really hard to keep a straight face when Mike laughed once again. Beside me, Mr. Woods didn't seem that amused with me though.

"You just say what comes to mind, don't you Miss Pierce." He muttered.

"Not all the time. I mean sometimes I do but those words just slipped out without me even realizing it. I guess you can say I do say what comes to mind." I was rambling on and on which only made the situation worse, "You're right." I whispered, admitting defeat because I knew there was no way talking myself out of this mess.

"And there was the babbling." Mr. Woods sighed, "You know Miss Pierce, you have this cute charm, but then you open your mouth and that charm evaporates into thin air."

I knew it was stupid to focus on that word alone because I'm sure he just insulted me, but the word cute echoed through my mind. Mr. Woods called me cute while I openly admitted to him a moment ago that I knew why women were attracted to him. A man who took that compliment without blinking once and then managing to insult me by wrapping his insult up in nice words was a man who was way too complicated for me. Instead, I focused on the lawyer who was about to disappear from sight.

"Are we done here, Mike?" I asked, trying to change the subject not so subtly, hoping the lawyer would save me from the awkwardness.

"Yes, Miss Pierce, we're done here." Thankfully he did save me, "I'll take care of the paperwork, you can expect the money on your account in two weeks."

Pushing the strap of my bag back on my shoulder I rose to my feet and lifted an eyebrow at Mr. Woods who also got to his feet and headed to the door before me to hold it open for me once again. Underneath the cold exterior might be a nice guy hidden. Very, very, very deep. The look of impatience right now was just a bit too much. I didn't want to resort to behaving like a child though, I knew how Mr. Woods dealt with that kind of behavior, witnessing it firsthand.

"I'm coming." I mumbled, turning to Mike who just seemed very amused by the situation, "Bye, Mike It was nice meeting you."

I frowned when Mr. Woods placed his hand against my back and slightly shoved me out of the conference room. I scowled at him but he didn't give me a look worthy, he just grabbed his cell phone again and started typing.

"My driver will take you back, have a nice day, Emily."

I stepped closer to him, knowing that he probably didn't notice since his cell phone had his full attention. When he did look up he seemed amused to see me standing so close to him, invading his personal space without giving a s**t.

"Have a nice day, Mr. Woods." I said overly sweet and grinned at him, "It was very nice of you to handle this personally. I'm sure your overly curious assistant would have loved to help me instead."

And just like that Giselle made her appearance again as if she had a sixth sense and knew when to pop up. I smirked as she just proved my point to Mr. Woods. I thought he'd make a sharp comment back, but his lips just curled up into a smirk.

"Can I help you, Giselle?" He asked in the same impatient tone he used on me before, "I thought I made myself clear that I'll handle the situation after I'm finished."

"I just got off the phone with Evan and he'll be here in ten minutes."

I stepped aside when I saw the dark shift in Mr. Woods's eyes. The murderous intent in his eyes scared the hell out of me and I actually wanted to walk away, but he stopped me by grabbing onto my arm.

"I'll see you tonight, Emily."

I almost tripped over my own feet as I tried to pull away from him, "You-" He dared me to finish that question, "I'll see you tonight." I eventually whispered back, flashing Giselle a small smile.

Mr. Woods finally released me, I guess I responded the correct way. I quickly walked past Giselle and rolled my eyes when she bumped her shoulder against mine. Okay, I definitely needed to stay away from the assistant. On my way to the car, I froze when I heard Giselle calling my name. Here I thought I never had to see her again. I forced a smile upon my face, ignoring the amused look of Mr. Woods's driver and turned to look at Giselle instead.

She knew I was, Mr. Woods clearly announced it a few seconds ago very loudly, yet she asked me the unnecessary question anyways. Probably hoping she heard it wrong, too bad I was not in the mood to play nice. I could tell her the truth and tell her that I didn't have a clue what Mr. Woods was trying to pull, but I didn't like this woman in particular and thought it would be hilarious to see her walking away upset, cursing me while she tried not to trip. Her heels were really not safe for the marble floors in the building, but that didn't seem to stop her from wearing them.

"Yes, we still have a few things to discuss." I played with my hair, "Now if you excuse me, I have a class I need to attend."

She snorted, "Still going to college?" She shook her head and straightened her back, apparently whatever I told her gave her back her confidence, "Then it only can be business, you're just too..." She eyed me up and down and smirked, "Plain." She added and turned on her heels and clicked away again.

I wanted to feel offended by her comment, but I had seen the way she annoyed Mr. Woods. I might not be his type, but she wasn't his type either. So I was kind of okay with it. I shrugged and turned to the driver again.

"Hope you enjoyed the show."

He held the door open for me and helped me inside, "It was quite amusing indeed." He admitted, "Just between the two of us...There is nothing plain about you."

It was nice of him to say that. I didn't need the boost though, I was confident enough not to be bothered by whatever overly obsessed Giselle had said. I leaned back against the seat and took it all in. This was going to be the last time I'd be getting a ride from a driver in such a luxurious car. I never wanted to forget about it.

"Thanks for the compliment."

We talked about the weather and some other minor things, Miles, Mr. Woods driver, did try to make me feel comfortable and I appreciated it. Miles and Mike both seemed to like Mr. Woods and really seemed to know him. I wondered if the three of them were friends, somehow I couldn't imagine them having a drink at the club.

After classes, I called Brandon to ask him if he could pick me up from school. He picked me up in a record of time and preached at me in the car. I was glad though that I had someone close to me who actually cared about my wellbeing. Who cared enough to preach to me as a parent would.

"I got attacked last night-"

He stepped on the brakes causing me to fall forward, "What the hell?" He asked, slowly moving into traffic again, "Are you okay?"

I knew I shouldn't make a snarky comment, but my brain to mouth filter never worked, "That's a stupid question, of course, I'm okay." I gulped when Brandon threw me a dirty look, "Mr. Woods showed up at my apartment. He found out about it because the guys threatened to sue him. He handled it though!"

Brandon clenched his jaw, "What do you mean he handled it?" His voice sounding tight, I was pretty sure Brandon was on the verge of losing his patience.

"He watched the tapes, saw that I was innocent and made sure they wouldn't bother me again."

"Mr. Woods handled it?" Brandon sounded unsure, "And how did he handle it, Em?"

I shifted uncomfortably in my seat, "I don't know the details, all I know is that the guy is paying me fifty thousand to make sure I won't sue him. Something about avoiding bad press on both sides and all."

Brandon banged the steering wheel, "Damn those f*****g rich assholes." He mumbled, "Think they can get away with anything!"

I couldn't contain myself, I burst out in laughter causing Brandon to glare at me once more. He couldn't keep the glaring up either because he joined me, laughing loudly as well.

"Stop making me laugh." He muttered, "I'm furious right now."

I leaned in and pressed a kiss to his cheek, "Thanks for caring, Brandon." I whispered, sitting back in my chair, "It means a lot to me."

His gaze softened, "Em, I'm always here for you." He whispered, "You know that right?"

I did know that. Again I was reminded of how good we could be together, if only Brandon wasn't a womanizer and I was actually attracted to him, sexually. He just didn't give me the feeling that ice queen Mr. Woods did give me. I wanted to scream but forced myself not to, remembering Brandon was right there.

"I'll meet you at the bar, okay? I'm going to have a talk with Victor." Brandon told me, leaving my side to talk to the club manager.

I went to the employees' room and grabbed my uniform from my locker. I had a few more minutes before my shift started so I took the time to get dressed. I wondered if Mr. Woods would actually show up. I'm sure he only said it to get rid of Giselle's attention, but I still hoped he would show up.

I clenched my fist when Mr. Woods eventually did show up, but not alone. He had a pretty woman on his arm while he was talking to Victor. The woman was probably another model seeing how gorgeous she looked. I hated myself for looking forward to seeing him. Giselle had been right, what would a guy like him see in me? I shook my head, trying to get rid of all the ridiculous thoughts I had about ice queen Mr. Woods. A plain woman like me shouldn't have high expectations, it would only get me crushed in the end. So I focused on sorting the washed glasses instead, making sure to keep myself occupied so I would eventually forget about his presence.

"So he graced us with his presence a second time this week." Brandon whispered to me, "That's new."

I snorted, "Probably checking up on us. He doesn't want a scandal tied to his name after all."

"Bastard," Brandon mumbled, before getting back to work.

I agreed. After my shift I headed to the employees' room, rushing to get home. Brandon said he'd stay over because he was worried. I didn't ask him not to. I started to unbutton my shirt when the door suddenly slammed open and shut. I turned around, covering my bra with my shirt while I glared at the man who entered so rudely and not apologizing for intruding either.

"What the hell Nick?!"

He narrowed his eyes at me, "Nick?"

I pressed my lips together, fearing he would scold me for using his first name. For a minute I had forgotten he was the freaking owner.

"Yes, Nick." I tried to keep the act up of being confident because I didn't want him to have the pleasure to see me cower back, "You could have been a little more subtle with the door."

"You dating that tool?"

I frowned, "You mean Brandon?" I tried hard not to laugh because I could understand why people would think of Brandon that way, "That is none of your business, Nick." I tried to keep my voice steady.

He leaned even closer, I could almost taste him and it was frustrating. My breathing picked up and I almost dropped my shirt but remembered that if I did I would flash the owner of the nightclub so I tightened my grip on my shirt. I've already let him seen too much that morning.

"It is my business." He announced without blinking an eye.

I leaned my head against the locker, "I can't date the customers, there is no rule against dating my coworkers."

He clenched his jaw tightly, "You can't date him." My heartbeat picked up when he lowered his gaze to my lips. He was behaving the same way Giselle had that morning and I remembered clearly what he told me. Who behaved childishly shouldn't be surprised when they got treated like a child either. It was the perfect opportunity to get back at him for being so rude and arrogant right now.

I licked my lips, smirking when I saw his anger turn into something else in a split second, "Fine, I can't date him." I repeated quietly, I grabbed onto his chin and made him look me in the eyes again, "But then you can't date her. If you dare to put your claim on me than don't act so surprised when I do the same to you."

He lifted his eyebrow at me. I knew I could have even more fun with him and lowered my shirt a little. He took the bait and lowered his gaze to my chest. This time I couldn't hide my smirk.

"Please leave so I can change."

He pulled away, finally giving me some space to breathe. I watched him straighten his clothes, he was trying to calm himself down. He changed from completely turned on to his usual calculating cool self, ice queen Mr. Woods was back. He didn't say anything when he turned on his heels and left. When the door closed behind him I let out a shaky breath and closed my eyes, trying to calm myself down. I don't know what the hell just happened between Nick and me, but I did know to stay out of his way, the last thing I wanted was to upset my boss's boss.