Billionaire Temptations: Rich, Ruthless & Obsessed

Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

Anna

Wes made a reservation for two at Le Bernardin. When we stepped inside the elite French restaurant, the young blonde hostess seated us at a quiet table in the corner for two.

“Good evening, Mr. Carter. May I start you and the lovely lady off with something from our drink menu?”

“Good evening, Enzo.”

“I’ll have a neat martini, please,” I said with a smile.

“And I’ll have the same,” he spoke.

“So, what did you think of Franco?” I asked.

“He seems very nice, and I can tell he cares for you a lot.”

“He’s my best friend. Honestly, I don’t know what I’d do without him.” I picked up my glass of water and brought it to my lips.

“On a more serious note, tell me how you wormed your way into being my personal assistant. I’ll be honest, Anna, I have trust issues when it comes to women, and knowing that you sent in a fake resume raises some red flags for me.”

I sat there for a moment and narrowed my eyes at him. Okay. I could understand his concern.

“Well then, we both have something in common. You don’t trust women, and I don’t trust men. But, if you want the truth, I had to run Franco’s sketchbook over to his studio yesterday, and when I arrived, Jules was there. She was going on and on how she was on a time crunch because she had to find a replacement for you. Franco opened his big mouth and created the story of how I worked for Mr. Baker. Then, before I knew it, she gave me her business card and told me to send over my resume. So Franco had his criminal cousin, Lars, make a fake resume with fake references, and I sent it over, and she hired me. Trust me, I had no intention of getting a job so soon. It all happened so quickly.”

He sat there with a narrowed eye and listened intently to every word I spewed at him.

“So then you don’t have any personal assisting or office experience at all?” he asked.

Moment of truth.

“Oh no, I have a lot of ‘corporate’ experience. But I’m usually the one sitting in the big office with the personal assistant.”

“What?” he asked with confusion.

Enzo brought our drinks and proceeded to take our dinner order. After he walked away, I took in a deep breath and extended my hand to Wes.

“I’m Anna Young, Chief Operating Officer of Young Vine Enterprises. I graduated from Harvard with an MBA and was valedictorian of my graduating class.”

He slowly placed his hand on mine as a look of shock swept over his face.

“As in Young Vine Wines?” he asked.

“Yep. That’s the one.” I threw back my martini. “Except now, I’m just Anna Young. My father fired me because I didn’t marry Matthew. In fact, he did it that night I was with you.”

“I’m sorry, Anna. I don’t understand. You’re his daughter. Why would he do that? Why would he choose him over you?”

“If you knew my father, you would understand. It doesn’t matter. I knew there would be no going back if I left Matthew standing at that altar. He hired Matthew to groom him to be my right-hand man when he retired from the company. He took him under his wing and called him the son he never had. You know what, I need another martini.”

“Of course.”

Wes held up his finger, got our waiter’s attention, and ordered two more martinis.

“Why are you taking a job as a personal assistant?” he asked. “You are so enormously over qualified.”

“I didn’t plan on it. Like I said, it just happened. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do. But Franco knows I get bored easily, so he thought it would be a good idea since it was only temporary. Now, on to you, Mr. Carter. Why don’t you trust women?” I grinned.

“I’m not finished asking the questions, Miss Young. So your father cut you out of the company completely?”

“Yep.” I sipped my martini. “Technically, I quit. I knew I was done when I got on that plane to Paris.”

“But why? Didn’t you like working there? If I recall, I read an article once about Young Vine, and the company has been in your family for generations.”

“You’re right. It has been. I liked working there but not with my father.”

“And what about your mother? What does she have to say about all this? I noticed you haven’t mentioned her.”

“I don’t talk about my mother and for good reason. She’s not a part of my life. She never has been, and she never will be.”

“I’m sorry,” he softly spoke.

“Don’t be. She’s a subject I don’t talk about.” I looked down, and I could feel my eyes start to swell with tears.

Damn it. I was stronger than this.

Enzo walked over and set our plates down in front of us.

“Is there anything else I can get for you?” he asked.

“I think we’re good, Enzo.” Wes gave him a smile.

“Now it’s your turn to answer some of my questions,” I spoke.

“Fair enough. Go right ahead, and I’ll do my best to try and answer them.”

Something told me he was going to pick and choose what he would and would not answer.