In Love After Office Hours (Wrong For You series Boxsets #7)

Four

"I T'S MR. SIMONIDES , Mr. Collins."

Discipline was the only reason Acheron's face didn't reveal his amusement as an unexpected scene unfolded before him, and a blank-faced Pippilotta Jones stepped back to let him inside Timothy Collins' office.

She was the most reluctant little thing, with the way she avoided his gaze as she returned stiffly to her seat and focused her attention on her computer screen. It was only when her boss, known for his bluntness, asked Acheron for the reason of his visit that she became animated. He saw her suck in her breath, her body jerking in her seat just as her panicky blue eyes flew to him in horror.

It would serve the girl right if he made her squirm, Acheron contemplated. Looking back at Timothy, he murmured, "I wanted to speak with you in private about the Excalibur acquisition." Fortunately - or unfortunately - for Ms. Jones, Acheron would rather punish her in far more pleasurable ways.

The girl relaxed visibly when her boss took his answer at face value, and he almost smirked. She was acting like he was the last person on earth she wanted to see, and the sheer novelty of it only made her more desirable in his eyes.

Poor baby , Acheron thought. If she had truly wanted to turn him off, she should've acted like other women and thrown herself at him the first chance she got.

For the next few minutes, Acheron discussed his concerns about the project, and afterwards the older man asked him about his latest trip to the Amazon. He answered without missing a beat even as he worked to conceal his surprise.

He had not expected her to keep his illness a secret even from her own boss, but there were apparently no bounds to Ms. Jones' discretion.

Another minute passed before Acheron was able to put his plan in motion and he was able to get Collins out of the office on a made-up pretext. If his calculations were correct - and they always were - it would be a while before the executive would be able to return.

"I'll see to that myself," Mr. Collins decided. Standing up, he tossed an absent-minded look at his secretary, saying, "Please attend to Mr. Simonides while I'm away."

"Yes, sir." But inside herself, Pippi was dreadfully alarmed. No! Don't go! Don't leave me alone with him! She wanted to shriek for help, but reality forbade her to speak a single word of protest. All she could do was watch the older man leave, and with every step he took, her heart began to race faster and faster.

Nooooooo!

Acheron's gaze gleamed with amusement at the way she jumped out of her seat the moment she saw him coming towards her. In spite of the apprehension that so clearly filled her eyes, there was also a proud tilt to her chin, making the girl appear like some resisting little prey determined to fight for her life.

And what a wonderful fight it would be , he thought lazily while watching her plant herself behind her high-backed chair. He saw her fingers curl over its top, almost as if intending to use it to run him over if needed be.

Her fierce, defensive stance made her resemble a wildcat in the making, and the thought brought Acheron immense pleasure. Ah, to tame one such as her...

And she was all mine, he thought possessively.

The Fates had bequeathed this girl to him, and he would damn well take it.

Pippi tried not to fidget as she felt Acheron's dark-as-night eyes run over her figure, leisurely and thoroughly, almost like he was having fun thinking of the many ways he could eat her. It had her body reacting with the oddest sensation - burning hot and freezing cold at the same time - and she would've crossed her arms over her chest if not for the knowledge that doing so would make her appear weak.

Which was the one thing a woman couldn't ever afford to do , Pippi thought nervously, with the type of man Acheron Simonides was.

"You didn't tell Collins anything." The tone was casual, but she had a feeling it was only to disarm her.

"It wasn't my place to do so." She prayed that would be the end of it, prayed that he would be satisfied with the answer and go away and never come back.

But it wasn't.

"Is that so?" This time, his voice had lowered into a velvety murmur, and she found herself gritting her teeth against the seductive temptation of his voice. Don't fall for it! Just don't!

His eyes narrowed, and it was almost like he could see all the way to her soul. "Is that also why you haven't come to see me since then?"

Oh, the way he so sinfully couched things, making it sound like she had a long-agreed assignation with him.

"You thought it wasn't your place to do so?"

There was that sensual purr in his voice again, threatening to entice Pippi out of all rational thinking. Thankfully, she had just enough sense left to stay silent. To answer him in any way would only invite more trouble in her life, and she just wanted this to be over with.

"Do you know that there's security footage of that night?"

The sudden change in topic threw her off, and she blinked at him in bemusement. "Security footage ? " In the heart-hammering, knee-buckling state Pippi was in, she was having a hard time grasping his meaning.

"Your ability to keep your wits about you even under pressure was quite commendable."

Oh, so he was talking about that night.

There was a pause, and then the billionaire drawled, "I also couldn't help but notice there was that part when you fell on top of me—-"

Omigodomigodomigodomigod!

She had forgotten about that - again!

"I am so sorry!"

The strangled tone of her voice, combined with the guilt in her expression, had Acheron blinking. "Perhaps I'm reading this incorrectly, but are you apologizing because you feel you've...err...taken advantage of me?" He almost grinned at the tiny, shamefaced nod she gave him, and he said gravely, "You have done nothing inappropriate, Ms. Jones... but I do wish you had ."

It took a full second for the penny to drop, and when it finally did, the look of scandalized shock on her face was everything he had hoped for, and he smiled. "What an enchanting novelty you are, Ms. Jones." Her stony silence in response was also what he expected, and his smile widened.

She really would be the best diversion he’d had in years.

Gazing at her with veiled lids, he murmured silkily, "If you're free, I'd like to take you out for dinner tonight."

He saw her face resume a blank expression at the invitation, and he instinctively knew that it was to hide the way the gears of her mind were working furiously to come up with a plausible excuse. If it had been any other woman, he would've thought of it as nothing but a devious, calculating ploy to have him crave for the unattainable.

But with the girl in front of him...

"I'm sorry," Pippi said finally, "but I don't think I'm your type, and it would hurt me to see you bored with my company after just a few minutes." She had thought long and hard about the best way to refuse, and in the end she decided that the safest thing to do was to appeal to the man's ego.

"I appreciate your attempt at tact—-"

Pippi watched a smirk unfold over the billionaire's lips and knew right away that he had completely seen through her.

"But I know when I'm being blown off."

Bollocks!

Pippi frantically sought for another way out of her predicament. She thought of asking the most obvious thing (why was a man like him wasting time on a girl like her?), but no more than a second had passed when she realized how pointless that was. Why he deigned to notice her now was immaterial. The more important thing to do was finding a way to change his mind.

"I just want a simple life, Mr. Simonides." Deciding she had nothing to lose, she simply stated the truth and laid all her cards on the table. "And getting involved with you - in any way - is just too much of a risk for me."

The silence that followed was nerve-wracking, and Pippi found herself holding her breath. Acheron Simonides might be many things, but he had always been fair and honorable. Hopefully, those two traits would make themselves felt today and subsequently persuade him to act in her favor.

"Point taken, Ms. Jones."

Thank You, Lord! She felt slightly dizzy with relief, but just as she allowed herself to breathe again, she heard him say decisively, "We'll protect your privacy by having dinner at my place instead."

Dinner? With him? At his place? Her mind became a complete blank. That would...work, wouldn't it? But then she saw the way he was still smirking and shook the traitorous thoughts away. Oh, for the love of God, Pippilotta Jones, stop acting like a shameless hussy where this man is concerned!

Acheron saw the girl open her mouth, and knowing she only intended to refuse him, he said softly, "Don't answer me with what you think you should say, Ms. Jones."

And in a blink of an eye, the chair between them was suddenly out of the way, and Pippi suddenly found herself being backed against the wall as he advanced like an unstoppable force of power, heat, and seduction.

"Answer me with what you want to say."

He looked down at her and her breath caught. With his too-gorgeous face filling her vision, it was easy to imagine how it would feel to have her life revolve around a man like him.

Heaven and hell , she thought helplessly, but more than that, it would mean losing complete control - and that scared her above most.

"I can't," she choked out.

"Why can't you? We both know you want to."

She shook her head. "I don't—-" His body moved an inch closer, and it made her wish she could melt into the wall. "Please, Mr. Simonides—-"

Acheron relished the way his blood heated at the husky plea in her voice. "I like the sound of you begging, Ms. Jones."

Pippi almost threw her hands up in despair. So on top of being the most seductively beautiful man alive, this man turned out to be a sadist as well? "I'm not—-" She choked off when his hands slammed against the wall, and she found herself trapped in the most deliciously agonizing way possible.

Lud, lud, lud, this could not be happening to her. It just couldn't!

His head started to lower, and she panicked, the words flying out of her mouth. "I'm scared!" It was a brainless, last-ditch effort to save herself from being consumed, and she squeezed her eyes shut, knowing how stupid and hopeless an attempt it was.

She waited with bated breath, dreading the inevitable, but the moments passed, and - nothing?

Pippi slowly opened her eyes.

A good three feet now separated them, and Acheron Simonides was staring at her with an unreadable expression.

"There's nothing for you to be scared of," he said in a clipped voice. "I give you my word."

And then he was walking away without looking back, leaving a slightly stunned and thoroughly bewildered Pippi in his wake. What just happened?

Acheron's mood grew increasingly black with every step he took.

I'm scared!

No girl had ever said such words to him before, and regardless of Ms. Jones' true nature, he was experienced enough to know that the fear in her voice had been real.

He had scared her, and he probably was still scaring her.

The right thing to do at this point would be to forget she ever existed. It was clear that she wasn't cut out to have an affair with him, just as it was equally clear that she didn't have the strength to resist him all the way.

If he continued pursuing her, it was only a matter of time before she became his.

But at what cost?

Acheron had just stepped inside the elevator when he heard a husky, feminine voice say, "Hold please." He stiffened, knowing exactly who it was, even before a familiar waft of perfume hit him as a woman joined him inside.

Was this coincidence or the heavens warning him from repeating the same mistakes?

As soon as the doors closed, he heard her speak again. "Hello, Acheron."

"Hello, Millie." His tone was pleasant, but his face was deliberately impassive as he met her gaze.

Millicent Longbourn was still as beautiful as he remembered her, and the black dress she wore was a feast for any man's eyes, with its low-dipping neckline leaving little to the imagination. Although she no longer heated his blood the way it had in the first few days of their affair, it was still easy to recognize what it was about the sultry brunette that had once captivated his attention. There was a wantonness about her that made one imagine she would do anything asked of her in bed - for the right man.

It was just too bad she had insisted , he thought, despite all his warnings from the start, on seeing him along those lines.

"You don't need to look at me like that, lover boy."

"I was only admiring your beauty" was Acheron's smoothly diplomatic reply, to which Millie only responded with a tinkling laugh.

"No, you weren't." She gazed at him with eyes that were merry and wise at the same time. "You were looking at me like you regretted ever having anything to do with me."

Acheron's lips tightened. Their affair hadn't even lasted a month, and it had nearly ruined her life. He had seen how the other women - cruel, jealous bitches, the lot of them - had deliberately shunned her, and he had been fit to kill when he realized how the men had started leering openly at Millie, cracking vulgar jokes at her expense -

And it was all because she had made the mistake of thinking she was in love with him, Acheron thought bitterly.

Millie had no problems reading into Acheron's silence, and she let out the tiniest of sighs. "For the last time - there is nothing for you to feel guilty about." He had broken her heart, yes, but he had also more than made up for it. She had asked him for a promotion, which they both knew she had damn well deserved, and he had given it to her. She had asked him to sack the man she had been working for - the jerk had thought she was an easy lay just because she had been caught with Acheron's dick in her mouth - and he had done that, too, labor disputes and potentially harmful conflicts of interest be damned.

He had been willing to give her anything really, almost everything except for what she had wanted the most.

"What are you doing here, anyway? I've never known you to use one of the public elevators." When she saw him hesitate, everything suddenly became so clear it was almost as if she was meant to know...

Millie's lips parted in surprise. "You're seeing someone - and she's working for you. Isn't she? " The slight clenching of Acheron's jaw was all she needed to see. She was right, and equally obvious was how uncomfortable the billionaire was at having to discuss the matter with her in any way.

Because he was a gentleman , Millie thought. Acheron Simonides might have been born in the gutters and lived more than half his life with the poorest dregs of Athens, but it still didn't change the truth. He had more honor and nobility in him than most men who had been born with silver spoons in their mouths could ever earn in several lifetimes.

And yet...

"I hope she's smart enough to know how lucky she is to have you." Her voice was light, but it also carried the faintest trace of wistful envy. She might have gotten over Acheron a long time ago, but it didn't make Millie any less vulnerable to having fanciful daydreams about having someone tall, dark, and handsome sweep her off her feet.

"Actually..." An odd smile had begun to play on Acheron's slips. "I rather think she feels the opposite."

"Because you like playing up to the media's worst expectations?" Millie's voice was unintentionally tart. Whoever Acheron's new woman was, if she was that big of an idiot to buy the media's lies about her boss, then she didn't deserve the Greek billionaire at all.

"I couldn't care less of what strangers think of me—-"

"And that's the reason why all those women are quick to say the most outlandish stuff about you," Millie retorted. "They get paid to lie, and you're letting them get away with it." She shot him an admonishing glance, saying, "I get that you grew up in a world where showing weakness would get you killed, but that part of your life is over. Don't you think it's time to show the world who you really are—-"

"And that's what exactly?" His voice was of cool amusement. "An ex-mob boss foolishly trying to turn over a new leaf as the long-lost heir of a Greek empire?"

Her lips curved, but her next words, albeit spoken lightly, held a meaningful undertone. "A man who gives a damn about the women he takes to bed, more than most men would."