Surrender to My Prodigal Billionaire

Chapter 3 - Sugar and Spice

Drake

My head throbs as I roll over to silence my alarm clock. You would think by now that I would know better to stay out as long as I do, but these years are meant to be a little reckless. I made a promise to myself long ago that I wouldn't let work consume every bit of my life like my father had. There will come a day when all this partying is in the past. Might as well live it up while I can.

A warm hand runs down my side as I hear a muffled moan from behind me. s**t! I almost forgot she was here.

"Morning sexy!" she purrs from besides me.

The fog in my brain is no help when I try to remember what her name is. Going with what always works best, I look over my shoulder at the petite red head that caught my eye last night. "Morning yourself, babe."

It must work because I'm rewarded with a sleepy smirk. "Why are we up so early? Set an alarm for round two?"

This is the worst part of these nights. I have no interest or want to ever see this woman again but breaking that to them always ends in one of two ways. Either she will take it as just a night of fun for both of us or she will become angry and start spewing hate at me. Time to see what the winner will be.

"As tempting as that may sound, I have work and you have to leave," I say as I remove her hand from my side and get up to get ready for the day.

The look that crosses her face tells me she will be that latter. "Oh. Alright. Why don't I give you my number and you can just give me a call when you are free later?"

Yep. There it is. I don't do calls or relationships. I can't remember once in my entire life when I have ever used a number given to me. To be fair, I didn't make any promises to her last night. It isn't my fault that she expected more than I was willing to give her.

"Look, you seem like a nice girl. I don't know how you took last night, but it was just a bit of fun. Nothing more."

She bites her lips and huffs. "That's it? If I knew that, I would have gone after your friend instead."

Ouch! She is proving the old saying true. Red heads are a sassy bunch.

"Sorry to tell you, but you would have been having the same conversation either way." I chuckle as I head into the bathroom to shower. By the time I get out, she will be gone, and I can get on with my day.

To my dismay, I find her perched on the edge of the bed when I emerge fifteen minutes later. At least she is fully dressed. I pretend as if she isn't there as I go to the walk-in closet to pick out a suit. I only have about an hour to get to the office and still wanted to stop for breakfast on the way, since my new assistant won't know what to bring in on her first day.

Dad text me last night and told me that they had already hired Alicia's replacement and I needed to be on my best behavior. That contributed to last night's drinking binge. The unknown of what I was walking into today would have anyone drowning their sorrows. Reminding myself that it just had to be someone I can be civil with, I lace up my last shoe and exit the closet to find that she still hasn't left.

"Listen, I don't want to make this awkward, but I have to leave soon and you can't stay." I try to hide the irritation in my voice, but it is getting harder with her refusal to just take it for what it was and leave.

She gets up and walks to stand in front of me. She examines me a little before she speaks. "Can you just tell me what it was that I did?"

Her question takes me by surprise. I'm at a loss as to what to say. "Excuse me?"

"What did I do that would make you not want to see me again?"

Oh. I let out a sigh of relief. "That's easy. Nothing. No matter how the evening played out, I wouldn't have wanted to see you again. Just a fun one-night stand. That's all it was ever meant to be, sweetheart."

Her head jerks back and she narrows her eyes at me. "I will leave then.... once you tell me my name."

I shrug my shoulders, "Not a single clue. That should have been your first hint."

My face stings as her hand makes contact. It doesn't faze me at all. It isn't the first time it has happened, and it certainly won't be the last.

Without another word, she stomps out of the room, and I hear the door slam moments later. There's one problem down for the day. Now onto work to see what the hell is in store for me there.

I finally get to the office almost fifteen minutes late thanks to the morning breakfast stop. I can't believe the amount of people in line this morning. And some of them with screaming children. Aren't they supposed to be at school already? A small migraine is starting in the base of my skull, and I pray the day ends quickly so I can go home and sleep this all away.

My phone rings and I let out a frustrated sigh when I see Ellen's name pop on the screen.

"Hey, Ellen. What's up?" I do my best to keep my tone even.

"Good morning. I have your new assistant here and I am going over a few things before we come over and meet you. Would right after lunch be a good time?"

Checking my appointments today, I see that I'm free for the day after lunch for the most part. One meeting at three and then I'm home free afterwards. Better to get this over with quickly.

"That works for me. Let's say one."

"Great. We will see you then."

Without another word, she disconnects the call and I'm on edge more than I already was. Not once in that conversation did she give me any information about my new assistant.

Flopping down in my chair, I rub the tense muscles in my neck. If this person is insufferable, there are other ways to get rid of them. It isn't beneath me to be a boss from hell if they are too uptight or report everything back to Ellen or my dad.

"Doesn't look like your day is going well."

I look up and see Jordan come strolling in. I need to remember to close the door more often.

"That's an understatement," I grumble.

I tell him all about the girl this morning, who he tells me was named Lisa, and then the coffee shop, and end with the call I got from Ellen right before he came in.

"Sounds like I ended up with the sane one then. But she may have been a little more stable if you could have told her what her f*****g name was," he howls in laughter.

"So, your girl took it better?"

"Yeah. But that is probably because I actually got her number and planned a date with her."

"What?!" I almost choke on my sip of coffee. I had to have misheard him.

Shrugging at me, Jordan continues, "She's actually pretty great. Funny, smart, gorgeous, and a Blackhawks fan. How could I turn that down? If my grandmother was still alive, she would have been pushing for me to marry her already."

What the hell is going on today? My head spins with everything he just said. Jordan and I had both planned on living our lives to the fullest as long as we could. We are each other's wingmen. I can't have him going all soft and sappy on me now.

"She that good in bed?" I c**k my eyebrow at him.

"I had her back home and tucked in bed before midnight. We talked most of the night while you and Lisa pawed at one another, and we clicked on a lot of different things. I'm a good boy. I gave her a goodnight kiss on the cheek and left with my virtue in place."

I laugh and fake gag as I throw a balled-up napkin at him. I know him well enough to know that this won't last. He will soon grow bored, as everyone does in relationships, and be onto the next person.

Turning our conversation to business, we talk a bit more about the meeting this afternoon before he leaves, and I get back to my notes.

This possible merger meeting this afternoon would be a huge win for me in my father's eyes. It will be a way to show him that no matter what is going on in my personal life, it doesn't affect my headspace here. I'm still at the top of my game. Nothing will get in the way of me becoming the best in our field.

The day passes in a blur and before I know it, Jordan has returned with our lunch, and we discuss our strategy for this afternoon.

As one of the largest development firms in the Chicago area, we are always searching for similar companies that are on the brink of bankruptcy to merge with. They get the benefit of our resources and backing, and we share in the immense profits. It is a win-win for both of us.

The time nears one as we start to prepare for the rest of the day. No offense to Jordan, but I prefer he isn't here when Ellen and my new assistant show up. The last thing I need is the extra ribbing that could come from him if it ends up being a disaster.

"I'll meet you in the conference room ten minutes before hand," I say as I shove his papers towards him.

"Where's the fire? Seems like you want me gone fast."

"Nah. I just know that you have a few things to check on before then. Don't want to keep you." I try to say it as nonchalantly as possible, but he doesn't buy it.

"I'm fine. Got plenty of -"

The knock on the door cuts him off and a sly grin forms on his face.

Rolling my eyes, I know there is no way of getting out of this now. I call for them to come in and Jordan sits back down as if he is a kid on Christmas morning waiting for his first gift.

Ellen steps inside and her eyes flicker between the two of us. "Is this a bad time?"

"No," I insist, "Just finishing up. Please, come in."

Ellen moves further in and waves for the person behind her to enter. The air gets knocked from my lungs the moment she steps in the room. Her emerald eyes captivate me in a way I've never felt before. Her long light brown hair hangs loosely down her back as she smiles awkwardly in my direction. She's wearing a tight but modest black dress that lands just above her knees, showing off her sculpted calves and amazing curves. My voice sticks in my throat as I stare at her.

"Drake, I'd like you to meet Nicolette. She's your new assistant."

What the hell was Ellen thinking?!