Building Billions - Part 1 Read online

  They praised me for my generosity, and I grinned.

  I loved it when they praised me.

  The bass started thumping, and people were holding their drinks up and dancing. People’s fathers were grinding on their wives, reigniting flames of passion that had been dormant for most of their marriage. Single women were drunk and hanging all over the IT guys who would finally get laid for the first time in months. The secretaries were giggling in the corner with their tight little dresses and their salacious heels. The mailroom crew members were enjoying their drinks in the middle of the dance floor, grinding on one another and whooping like they were at a college frat party.

  And then there was Ross, running around and trying to field the kitchen and the bartenders to keep up with the demand of people flooding in.

  “Great party, Mr. Sheldon!”

  “The bartenders are fabulous! They made this drink especially for me.”

  “This food is incredible. Way to go, Mr. Sheldon.”

  “Hey, Mr. Sheldon! Wanna get in on this picture?”

  We raised our glasses high as a bunch of the women gathered around me. Their legs were hoisted up onto my hips, trying to get a piece of what I’d become. And what I’d become was famous. Successful. Rich beyond my wildest dreams.

  And I was never going back. I knew what it was like to live in poverty, to eat food out of dumpsters and skin the snakes I found in the backyard to eat with dinner.

  I was never going back to that lifestyle.

  Ever.

  “Everyone, could I have your attention please?”

  I took the microphone from the DJ as the music came to a pause.

  “I just wanted to say that all of you have been complimenting me on this party, which is wonderful, and you’re welcome. But you’re welcome to it because my company can’t be a success without you guys. I know you complain about the overtime hours, and I know it’s hard, but Big Steps is positioned the way it is because of people like you. I’m the face, but you’re the body. So, for all your hard work, you deserve to let loose and have fun. All the food, drinks, room service, and accommodations are on me for the entire weekend!”

  The crowd erupted into a raucous applause as I smiled out at the crowd.

  “So have fun and make sure to check out by one on Sunday afternoon!”

  I tossed the microphone back to the DJ as my eyes scanned the crowd. People were loosening up with the booze running through their systems, but the best part was that Nina hadn’t shown up. Which was great. There was no press at this event, and there were no national speeches to be given. So there was no point in being seen with her here.

  Which meant I could have any woman I wanted for the entire fucking weekend.

  My eyes landed on a beautiful woman at the bar. Red hair piled high on her head. Big, green doe eyes. I recognized her. Ashley, I thought her name was. Or maybe Andrea. Alicia? Either way, I’d heard wonderful things about her work ethic and all that she had done this past year for the company. She had been one of the most recent hires in Accounting, but she was assigned to overseeing past due accounts. In the time she’d been with the company, over half of our past due accounts had gotten back onto regular payment plans and had been paying regularly for a few months now.

  I figured it was a good time to introduce myself and figure out why she was so persuasive.

  “Hello.”

  She turned her eyes toward me, a cosmo playing at her lips. “Mr. Sheldon! Hello, it’s very nice to finally meet you. I’m Ashley Ternbeau.”

  “I know who you are,” I said as I took her hand. “The head of accounting speaks very highly of you.”

  “That’s very kind of him,” she said.

  Was she blushing at the compliment? So cute, and sensual. Focus buddy. “Care for another Cosmo? Bartender!” I held up my hand and ordered her another glass as she polished off the one in her hand.

  “That’s very kind of you, thank you,” Ashley said.

  “Is everything ‘very kind’?”

  “Nope. Plenty of things are not kind,” she said. “That doesn’t mean you shouldn't be kind in return.”

  “I take it that’s how you’re getting people to start paying their monthly payments. By being kind?”

  “Sometimes all people want is someone to listen to their side of the story. You know, feel like they’re heard before they whip out their wallets.”

  “Better you than me. Contracts are something I take very seriously, no matter what my personal disposition to the matter,” I said.

  “Then I suppose it is a good thing I’m down there, and you’re where you are.”

  I could see why people would yield to her. Even though they couldn't see her physical beauty over the phone, her voice lent much to the ear. It was soft but had sultry undertones. Like she’d lived just enough life to be wise without losing her palatable playfulness for exotic adventures. I liked that in a woman. The delicate fire behind her green eyes. The way she cocked part of her body away from me as if I was supposed to be chasing her.

  But I didn’t have time to chase her.

  I had a party to tend to.

  “It was nice talking with you, Miss Ternbeau. Maybe we’ll run into one another again soon,” I said.

  “I hope we do,” Ashley said with a smile.

  I went to mingle with some of the other employees, learning their names and a little bit about them. But the entire time, my eyes kept drifting back to Ashley. Her sultry gaze and her alluring form was something to be desired. Sometimes, I caught her staring back at me, and other times, I caught her talking with someone.

  But a few times I turned my head, I saw her talking to the same person, a man I didn’t quite recognize.

  I watched as he took the cosmo from her hand and led her to the dance floor. She was shaking her head and resisting his pull, but the smile on her face gave her away. She was enjoying the attention, even though she wanted to resist it. And the man was relentless in getting her to the middle of the dance floor.

  Then, a song struck up, a strong beat with a steady momentum. There was a circle that started forming on the dance floor, and I knew what that meant. Everyone had gotten drunk enough to start challenging people in their dancing.

  And the man wasn’t half bad.

  He had a few moves underneath his belt but nothing like I possessed. I’d danced for years. Formal ballroom. Swing dancing. A bit of jazz and some tap. It helped to relieve stress and made cardio fun, something a gym never could do for me. Exercising and keeping myself in shape was more palatable whenever I was having fun with it, and dancing wasn’t only fun.

  It was a way for me to show off other skills I possessed underneath my clothing.

  I watched as Ashley’s face reddened. I moved closer to the crowd as everyone started cheering her on. They were chanting her name and shouting at her to get on with it, but nothing could have prepared me for the way she moved. Her body started popping, and her legs started going. Her moves were synced to the music, and her jumps were higher than I’d ever seen before. She was definitely a trained dancer. In what, I had no idea.

  But her movements were mesmerizing.

  The crowd was cheering, and the man who had challenged her was getting worried. He had no moves in his repertoire that could’ve ever gone up against the likes of what she was doing. I threw back the rest of my whiskey and unbuttoned my coat, making sure I had enough room to do what I was about to do.

  Then, I backflipped into the middle of the floor.

  Everyone silenced at that moment as my eyes connected with Ashley’s. Her lips parted in shock, but her eyes were impressed. Another song started up, and I recognized it immediately and started in on the smooth moves I’d learned during my swing dancing lessons.

  I twirled, and I went down for a knee-kinking split. My feet glided across the floor as everyone around us cheered. I held out my hand for Ashley halfway through, silently telling her to take it.

  And when she slipped her hand in mine, I
twirled her lovely body into me.

  She moved with a grace that was unparalleled. She had a need she wanted filled, a dance partner who could keep up with her moves. The man who’d pulled her out onto the dance floor didn’t have the skills to fill that need for her, to tend to her the way she needed tending to.

  But I did, and I had no issues stepping in.

  We danced to a couple of songs as people cheered us on. I twirled her around and picked her up for a couple of lifts. She was laughing, and her cheeks were flushing with the alcohol she’d consumed. Her eyes lit up with the joy she got dancing around the floor in my arms. Her hips moved to the beat, and her legs whipped around at lightning speed.

  The song dwindled, and I dipped her into the last chord. Our eyes connected as the crowd erupted into applause, but the deafening sound only served to enhance the beauty of her eyes. Her chest was heaving, bouncing with her contained bosom as my hand pressed dangerously into the small of her back. I curled my fingertips into her warmth, guiding her hips closer to mine before I set her back on her feet.

  “Care for another drink?” I asked. “I need something cool.”

  Before she could answer, I led her off the dance floor. I left her to catch her breath so I could grab her another cosmo and a whiskey and ginger for me. I didn’t want her getting caught up in another dance. I didn’t want some other man putting his hands on her. Ashley had a talent and not simply for getting people to open their wallets. She had the talent of drawing in a crowd and keeping them attached to her. Just letting go of her body against mine had been a feat in and of itself. I slung back my drink and asked the bartender for another. But as I turned around to take her drink to her, she was gone.

  My head was on a swivel, trying to figure out where my redheaded vixen had gone. Had someone stolen her from underneath me? Did they not know who I was? I’d stepped up to the plate and outshined any man who could’ve put their hands on her. Did they not know she was taken for the evening?

  But then, I caught sight of her standing out on the balcony.

  I grabbed our drinks and walked out to where she was. The wind was blowing lightly, pulling a few strands of her dark red hair from the chopsticks in her hair. I handed her the glass, and she thanked me, a small smile playing across her cheeks.

  “You’re the last person I would’ve pegged for a dancer,” Ashley said.

  “It’s something I keep from the public eye,” I said.

  “Why? Can’t have them thinking you’re any fun?”

  “Nope. Can’t have them thinking I’m any good. It’s dangerous to be as perfect as I am.”

  “Oh, you’re not perfect. Far from it.”

  “It wounds me to hear you say such dastardly things,” I said with a grin. “Why am I not perfect?”

  “I don’t know,” she said with a giggle. “I figured it was dangerous for a man of your stature to walk around thinking he was the greatest gift to creation.”

  “Thank you for the title. I’ll be sure to tell the big man you say such wonderful things.”

  “You really are full of yourself, aren’t you?” she asked.

  “Only when the moment calls for it. People love to hate a good man.”

  “I haven’t danced like that in years,” she said.

  “You seem as if you’ve been dancing all your life.”

  “I have. Ever since I was a little girl. I competed in middle school but stopped once high school started.”

  “Why did you stop?” I asked.

  “Math became a passion,” she said.

  “Ah, those pesky numbers. Good thing I keep people like you and Ross around. I’m terrible with them.”

  “I’m sure you make up for it in other areas.”

  I watched her eyes case my body as her cheeks heated. So, this was what it looked like for a smart, intelligent woman to flirt with a man like myself. I grinned beyond my crystal glass as I watched her eyes finally meet mine again. Then she giggled and shook her head before she took a step toward me.

  “If I didn’t know any better, Miss Ternbeau, I would say you were trying to flirt with me.”

  “‘Trying’ being the correct word there,” Ashley said.

  “So it is true.”

  “What?” she asked.

  “You’re flirting with me.”

  She giggled again and nodded her head, but then she took a step away from me. I didn’t like that. I didn’t like the fact that establishing a basic truth made her pull away. There was nothing to be ashamed about. She was letting loose. I was letting loose. I didn’t usually let loose at my own parties, but hell. There was a first time for everything.

  I reached out for her waist, stopped her, and then pulled her back to me, close like we had been on the dance floor.

  “I take it you’re... flirting back?” she asked.

  “Maybe,” I said with a grin.

  I set down my glass before I took hers, allowing our glasses to rest on a table at our sides. Her eyes were entrancing, twinkling with the stars above our heads as the music pulsed through our veins. I could smell the crimson red wine on her breath as my eyes traced the lines of her lips.

  “Kiss me,” she said breathlessly.

  “I’m never one to leave a damsel in distress.”

  I pressed my lips against hers, and the electricity shot right to my girth. The way her hands slid up my arms, feeling them before she clung to my suit coat. It was as if her very body needed me to survive. I cupped her cheek as her lips swelled underneath the contact. My hand slid to cradle her neck, my body stepping closer to her as she warmed underneath my touch.

  She was panting when I broke the kiss, her lips hovering over mine.

  “Would you care to see the penthouse?” I asked.

  “Oh, yes,” Ashley said. “I think I would.”

  I took her hand and led her from the balcony. Our drinks were forgotten as I danced her into the elevator. I slid my keycard in to take us to the penthouse floor, and then I pinned her body to the wall and claimed her as mine. Her hands ran around my waist, slipping underneath my tailored suit jacket. Her hands were trembling, and her legs were growing weak. Her waist begged for my touch, those salacious curves calling out to me in the cramped space of the elevator.

  The doors opened, revealing the penthouse suite of the hotel. Ashley’s eyes slowly panned over to it, then her body drifted out of the elevator. She was stunned at its decadence, taking in the marble floors and the decorative columns that held up the high-vaulted ceilings. She slowly walked over to the floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked Miami, with a view of the beautiful shadows of the ocean.

  She gawked at its beauty, and I caught a hint of her innocence.

  “Beautiful view, isn’t it?” I asked.

  “I’ve never seen Miami from this high up before,” Ashley said.

  “It leaves something to be desired sometimes.”

  “How in the world could you get tired of a view like this?”

  Her eyes slid over to mine, and I could see the wanton look painted across her features. I took a step toward her, turning her to the window as her back pressed against it. I reached out for her hip, settling the palm of my hand onto it. Her eyes were dancing between my lips and my chest, begging me to take her but silent in her pleas.

  But I would make her beg.

  Before I was done with her, I would make her beg.

  Chapter 2

  Ashley

  I could see the want in his eyes. I could see the passion roiling behind them. His large hand on my hip and his breath against my lips. It was all too much. He loomed over me like a luxurious shadow, draping along my body and pulling from me my darkest desires. He was the devil in a blacked-out suit, and I wanted to know what he looked like underneath.

  “Should I get us a condom, darling?”

  I looked up into his eyes as my legs shook at the strength of his voice.

  “I don’t need one,” I said breathlessly. “That’s the great thing about birth control.
”

  I rose up onto my toes and crashed our lips together. He pressed me firmly into the window, his hands pulling my dress up over my hips. I tugged at his black tie and started undoing the buttons on his black shirt. We peeled every single inch of clothing off one another until my naked chest was pressed against his.

  His lips were everywhere, setting me on fire. He pulled the chopsticks from my hair, watching as it cascaded down my back. He twisted his hand in it and commanded my lips, taking them as his as he sucked on my tongue. I could feel his massive cock throbbing against my leg, taunting me with its dripping tip as his hand gripped my thigh. He lifted my leg before he dipped down, then hoisted me off both my feet and pinned me directly to the window.

  Our tongues battled for one another as his cock slid effortlessly into my pussy. He stretched me, filled me to the brim as my juices dripped over his skin. I moaned into his mouth before he released my lips, his face burying itself into the crook of my neck. I was sure the whole of Miami could see my naked body, could see this decadent man with trimmed muscles and long legs pressing me into the window.

  But I didn’t care who saw.

  All I cared about were the places in my body his cock was hitting.

  He thrust into me, shoving me up the window until my breasts were in his face. His tongue lapped at them, pulling them between his lips as I whimpered out into the room. His hand was tangled in my hair, and his cock was stroking every part of my pussy. His skin was tickling the tip of my clit, and I felt my body growing weak against him. His muscles were chiseled and languid, unassuming, yet filled with the strength of a lion. I ran my hands through his thick, luscious black hair, pulling his face deeper into my body.