P.A. to the Billionaire Read online

  When he collapsed down on top of her he kissed her forehead, holding her close as his sweat trickled down from his brow and onto hers. He smiled at her, cupping her cheek and kissing her lips softly, and Amanda looked into his eyes with a sense of true belonging and safety. She had never felt like this before, it was as if she had finally found her true place in the world.

  Suddenly, the buzzer to the entrance of the building started to shrill loudly through the entire top floor of the warehouse. Amanda and Russell were wrapped up together in a mess of each other’s limbs, and Russell slapped his forehead and started to laugh.

  “Fuck,” he panted as he was still trying to catch his breath. “I guess that will be the architects.”

  Amanda put her hands over her eyes and tried not to giggle, but it was too late… her and Russell both fell about the floor laughing as they both tried to scoop up their clothes and wriggle back into them before he dashed over to the intercom and answered it for the architects and designers who were waiting down at the door below.

  Amanda smoothed down her hair and watched him and the way he moved so fluidly, the way he held a confidence that was addictive and inspiring. He turned back to face her and he looked flushed and radiant. He looked relaxed and as if he was going to be able to focus properly and give it his all.

  He waited for a moment and held her gaze. She could feel something coming from him that was a mix of passion and lust and appreciation.

  “You have no idea how much you’ve helped me,” he said as he crossed the room to be right in front of her and he wrapped his hand up in her hair. “Since you’ve been by my side, each day has brought me back closer to who I truly am.”

  He cupped her cheek with his big, rough hand and stared deeply into her eyes. They lingered like that for a moment, not wanting to break something so raw and real, but the buzz of the elevator and the whir of the cameras around the building let them know that their visitors were coming, and Russell stole one last kiss while he had the chance.

  He smiled at her, and she felt so tiny and safe next to him it was wonderful.

  “Get yourself home,” he said as he slapped her playfully on the ass. “Otherwise, I’m not going to be able to keep my eyes or my hands off you while they’re here and quite frankly, I don’t need the distraction.”

  Amanda laughed and let him kiss her again.

  “Okay,” she grinned.

  She wasn’t going to argue with that. She didn’t think there would be any way she would be able to sit through a meeting without shifting uncomfortably in her chair, her pussy still hot, tingling and aching from having Russell inside of her.

  He kissed her and let it linger on her lips. She could tell that he didn’t want her to go, but at the same time, this meeting was going to be one of the most important when it came to the regeneration of the whole site, and she knew he needed to have his head screwed on.

  She moved toward the elevator and waited for it to ping with the architects and designers inside. As they exited and moved out onto the warehouse floor, she slipped inside without them seeing and pressed to go down to the ground floor.

  Russell winked at her over the tops of the visitor’s heads and she blew him a kiss. As the doors closed, she sagged back against the wall and wrapped her arms around herself.

  What the hell had just happened?

  Had any of it even been real?

  All she knew was that her head was spinning, and she had found something she never thought possible.

  Her arrogant boss was turning it all around.

  And now, she could feel herself falling for him.

  Deep, hard, and fast.

  Without a safety net in sight.

  9.

  Russell Newport worked his way into her dreams and made her feel alive again. There was something so innocent and powerful with their relationship, that it was hard for Amanda to stay away.

  The evening following their tryst in the warehouse office, Russell had called her and asked if he could come to see her.

  “But my kids,” she had told him. “I’m about to put them to bed.”

  He had still not been deterred but she had said it would be for the best if they waited until the next day at work.

  Working with someone she had slept with, and someone who was in charge of her, became a red-hot fantasy overnight. She had never known excitement like it, and each time she set foot in front of Russell and he gave her a look that she knew meant business, it sent her careering toward an orgasm before she even had chance to know what she was doing.

  She was falling hard and fast, and she was loving every second of her newfound sexuality. It had been such a long time since she had explored it, that being with Russell was like being born all over again. He ignited all the right sparks in her and had brought her back to life.

  “I don’t want you to go tonight,” he whispered into her ear as they lay on the floor of the office, tangled up together yet again. It had turned into their ritual at the end of the day – that was if they could wait that long – and Russell would summon Amanda to his office and dive on her the second she opened the door.

  She loved his wicked ways and the ability he had to dominate and control her in the bedroom. It was as if she gave over her complete control and let him do whatever he wanted. He was strong and powerful, and he knew what he wanted to take from her. Their union was so hot and raw, it was as if they had been waiting for each other their whole lives, and now that they had finally found each other, everything suddenly made sense. Everything they did was as if they were reading each other’s minds, and Amanda loved the way Russell just claimed her in any and every way he desired.

  “Well, we can’t very well stay here, can we?” she smiled up at him as he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her closely into his chest.

  “Let me come home with you,” he said. “I want to meet the girls.”

  Amanda’s heart began to race and she looked up at him with trepidation.

  “Seriously?” she asked. “You want to meet my kids?”

  Russell nodded.

  He looked at her with a genuine face of concern, as if he couldn’t believe that she would have to question that, and then he brushed a loose strand of hair out of her eyes.

  “Amanda, I’ve never felt anything like this before,” he told her sternly. “And I don’t fuck around.”

  She swallowed nervously and nodded her head.

  She had never introduced the girls to anyone else. It’s not like she had ever dated since Rob. But with Russell being her boss, maybe this was a good way to introduce him to her family without it feeling too overbearing and scary. She could simply say that he was coming over for dinner to discuss a work project, and nothing more.

  “Well, okay, Boss,” she smirked. “Come home with me then. As long as that’s all you’ll pretend to be for now.”

  She gave him a stern glance and he smiled and kissed her lovingly on the lips.

  “Of course,” he said as he held her there and stared deep into her eyes.

  She smiled back at him and her heart felt full and heavy.

  Everything had taken her by surprise, but with each passing day, and with the closer they became, she was feeling things she had never felt with anyone.

  She remembered back to her time with Rob when they had first met, and she hadn’t felt anywhere near as much passion and excitement with him. Her and Russell had never even left the office together since they had started sleeping together, but she had had more fun with him confided within those four walls in a few weeks than she had with Rob in almost ten years.

  She leaned up on her elbows and started to pull her shirt back on and fasten the buttons slowly from the top to the bottom.

  “We better stop on the way and get something to eat,” she smiled at him.

  “I’ll cook,” he said as he rose to his feet and held out his hand to help her up to.

  “No way,” Amanda laughed. “The girls will know something is up. Why would I invite
my boss around for dinner and then make him cook?”

  He smiled at her knowingly and kissed her again.

  “Good point,” he said. “Then we get takeout.”

  Amanda wasn’t going to argue. This whole evening was going to be such a surprise, she could barely keep one coherent thought together.

  Russell was going home with her to meet the girls.

  Russell fucking Newport.

  Out of nowhere, her entire world had changed.

  As he pulled the blacked-out Range Rover up onto the edge of her drive, Amanda’s heart was racing in her chest, but she was also calm. She knew the nerves inside of her were ones of hope, and not of fear, and with her taking such a huge step as to bring someone home with her, she just wanted to make sure she was doing the right thing.

  Russell looked across at her and narrowed his eyes.

  “You’re quiet,” he said as he reached up and stroked her face. “If you’re having second thoughts and want me to go, I will. I don’t want to put any pressure on this, or on us…”

  She smiled as him and leaned in to kiss him.

  He really was a caring man. He had spent so much time projecting to the world a hardened exterior, but when it came to Amanda, he could truly be himself. He had a love inside of him that he had needed to share, and Amanda could hardly believe her luck that she had been the one he had chosen.

  “I don’t want you to go,” she smiled as their lips broke apart. “Come inside.”

  On the back seat were two large pizza boxes, and Russell opened the door and pulled them out into his arms. Amanda watched him as he smiled across at her, all the while from the inside, she could hear the chatter and laughter of her two children while they played with the babysitter.

  Amanda opened the door and stepped inside, and Maddie and Grace came hurtling toward her with big wide smiles on their faces and a lot of love in their hearts. They wrapped their arms around Amanda’s legs and hugged her tightly, while they nuzzled into the long, flowing pleats of her maxi-dress and mewed ‘Mommy, mommy, you’re home.’

  Russell stood in the doorway and smiled at the scene unfolding in front of him, and then Amanda turned to look in his direction and tapped her two girls on the head.

  “Madeline and Grace,” she said as she displayed them both. “This is Russell, Mommy’s boss.”

  She was aware of the babysitter tensing in front of her, and when she looked in her direction the girl’s mouth was almost on the floor. It was clear that she knew exactly who Russell Newport was and was more than impressed by him walking into the house like this, carrying two pizza boxes and kneeling down on the floor to fist bump with the kids.

  “Hi, Russell,” the girls said in unison, and his smile widened across his face as he got right down to their level and held out his hand to shake with both of them.

  “It’s an absolute honor to meet you both,” Russell said with genuine heart. “You mom has told me a lot about you, and I can see now the family resemblance, what a beautiful pair of girls!”

  They twirled on the spot and giggled and then they ran through toward the couch and started to play with their toys again.

  “Girls, it’s time to wash up!” Amanda called through to them. “Russell and I have brought in pizza while we finish off some work, okay?”

  The babysitter was still standing in the hallway dumbfounded and it was clear she wanted to say something, or even just reach out and touch him. Russell raised his eyebrows and walked past her, taking the pizza with him and finding his own way through to the kitchen. Amanda smiled as she watched him navigate his way around her house with ease and confidence, and then she turned back to the babysitter whose eyes were wide and startled.

  “Oh my God,” she whispered. “I didn’t know it was Russell Newport you worked for.”

  Amanda smiled sheepishly and then she reached into her purse and pulled out some notes to pay her.

  “Erm yes,” she said coyly, and she tried not to blush.

  If the babysitter was impressed that she worked for Russell, she could only imagine how over the top she would be if she knew the true extent of their relationship.

  She said goodbye to her and closed the door, and then she looked across to the girls and motioned for them to come into the kitchen with her. When she walked through and saw Russell standing there, leaning against her counter and helping himself to a cold beer from the refrigerator, she had never known a feeling as complete. There was so much ease between them, it was as if they had known each other a lifetime. Him being there in her home, with her and the kids, just wandering around and setting out the plates and things felt so right; it was almost making her want to cry.

  She helped him set the table and the girls washed their hands and poured themselves glasses of orange juice. Amanda put some table matts down all along the middle like a runner, and then she spread out the two pizza boxes and threw some serviettes down next to them.

  “Okay, guys,” she said as she opened herself a beer. “Tuck in, we’re not messing around tonight.”

  Russell smiled up at her and patted the chair next to him secretly, so the kids couldn’t see, and Amanda went and sat there so she could rest her toe against his and let her knee brush up against him.

  When she looked at him siting there with her as he played with the girls and made conversation with them as if it were the most natural thing in the world, she had honestly never felt happier. He had brought a whole new dimension to her life so fast and furiously that she had barely had time to stop and think about it.

  The first day they had given over to their passion and slept together in the warehouse office she had been afraid that she was making a terrible mistake, but now, as the weeks had passed by and Russell had remained consistent, she could see that he was in this with her for real. He was looking at her as if he loved her, as if he never wanted to be apart from her, and as if he were investing in her and the girls too.

  “Thank you for the pizza,” Madeline said as she got to her feet after they had finished eating.

  “You’re welcome,” Russell said with a smile and he watched them with warmth as the two girls ran back through to the living area to watch TV and play with their toys.

  He reached out and took hold of Amanda’s hand and squeezed it tightly.

  “They are incredible children,” he said as he held her eyes with his. “They are an absolute credit to you and all you have done for them. You’re extraordinary.”

  Amanda’s heart pounded in her chest as he cupped her face and smiled at her.

  “I don’t know if I ever could have done what you’ve done,” he said. “I’ve always had so much just handed to me, and now that I’m working for it myself, I can see how tough it must be. For you to have to raise these girls on your own, do you know how amazing that is? You get up every day and you come out to work, and then you come home and you’re in mom mode.”

  He stopped and shook his head as if he was in awe of her and then he looked back into her eyes and smiled.

  “You are just wonderful, Amanda…” he whispered. “And I love you.”

  Her heart felt as if it was about to explode with happiness.

  When she had agreed to let Russell come to her home and meet the girls, she had no idea that he had been feeling so strongly. He was clearly very into her and their relationship, but she had no clue that he had fallen in love with her. She felt her jaw sag open and her eyes filled with happy tears. She wanted to speak and she wanted to say it back, but she was so stunned no words would form.

  “Since you walked into my life, you’ve made me a better man,” he said. “No one has ever stood up to me the way you have. You took the job I offered you and immediately you weren’t going to take any shit. Do you know how refreshing that was for me? I am so used to people scurrying around me, agreeing with everything I say and telling me I’m right all the time. You didn’t do that once. You just acted however you wanted, you were yourself one hundred percent and you got me to see that wo
rking with someone properly can be done. You’ve literally changed my entire outlook on life and on the world. You’ve changed me.”

  She felt a single tear roll down her cheek and she couldn’t stop herself from smiling.

  “Russell,” she whispered as she gripped his hand. “I love you too. You have no idea how much you’ve changed my life either. You’ve helped me get my independence back, but you’ve also shown me how to stand up for myself. Before you, I was a shell… I was living in people’s shadows. I took the job with you and I knew I had to rise to the challenge. I knew I had to be as strong as you were if we were ever going to stand a chance of working alongside each other… and look where it’s led us.”

  He leaned in and kissed her and wrapped his arms around her.

  She truly had never known happiness like it before. And it was such a surprise for it to be happening this way, it made it feel even more real and exceptional.

  “And your girls,” he said as he smiled at her and held her tight. “They are little versions of you, and that makes me love them instantly.”

  She felt her heart swell again.

  How had she been so lucky to find a man like him? A man who had convinced the world he was entitled and bad to the bone, when really, he had a heart of gold. He truly was a misunderstood genius, and now that he had found Amanda, he showed no signs of slowing down. She was his muse, his inspiration, and it was clear that everything he wanted to achieve going forward was going to be for her.

  “I always wanted this,” he said as if he were confessing some terrible secret. “I always wanted a happy home and children. My upbringing was so fucked… my parents were never around and we had nanny after nanny, chauffeurs taking us from one home to the next, one country to the next. Zero stability and no grounding. I think I must have attended seven different international schools.”