Mr. Big: A Billionaire Romance (5 page)

She listened as he explained and her mind wrapped around the concept that he was sharing with her, and it told her a good deal about what kind of person he was. “Do you do that often? See things that others might pass by and pick them up, dust them off, and make them shine again?”

He smiled quietly at her, his eyes searching hers in surprise for a moment before he gave a small nod. “Yes. I do that now and then. It’s almost a form of treasure hunting, I think. Things aren’t always what they seem on the outside, and it takes the right person to look at something and see the treasure on the inside. This place is like that, and Liam is helping me dust it off and make it what it could be.”

She grinned at him. “Liam is going to help you make this an incredible place. You couldn’t have found anyone better to help you.”

He nodded and chuckled. “I agree. I researched several people before I decided on hiring him for the job. He’s the best at what he does, and I want the best. I would rather have it done right the first time than have someone have to come and fix mistakes and problems afterward. I’m a fairly busy man, and I don’t have time for situations like that. Besides, I really like Liam. He’s a good man who does excellent work, and you can’t really ask for much more than that.”

Pride and happiness brightened her smile at hearing such good things about her friend. “I’m so glad that you brought him on. You’re right about him.” She tilted her head and searched his eyes with hers, wondering just who it was behind them that she was beginning to find so intriguing. He was different from any man she had ever met, right from the very beginning, and she felt pulled to him, fascinated with the mysteriousness of him.

“I believe I am. Now we just need to get all of the work here going so that I can run my office the way that it needs to be run. There are a lot of employees that rely on me to have this business going, and they need an office to do their jobs in,” he said seriously.

“Do you mind if I ask you what kind of business it is that you do?” She took a step toward him and he stayed where he was, watching her.

“We provide housing for low income families and we create community service facilities to offer them assistance and aide,” he told her matter-of-factly, his eyes steady on hers as he spoke.

She blinked and her mouth opened slightly. “You… you make money doing that?” she asked in disbelief.

He was silent a moment, as he regarded her, and then he shook his head slightly. “This isn’t the only business I do. This is just one of the most important things I do.”

Mia shook her head as the grin on her face widened a bit more. “You are so fascinating!” she spoke softly. She wanted to get to know him better, and she knew that if she was going to ask him out that she needed to do it. She looked up at him through her eyelashes, giving him a subtly flirtatious smile. “You know, I think I could talk with you for a long while and have nothing but more questions for you afterward.” She bit her lip a moment as she looked up at him and he stayed contemplative and still as he watched her, giving her no hint of his thoughts.

“I hope it doesn’t sound too forward of me, I know we just met, but would you be interested in having dinner with me some night soon?” she was sure that her blood pressure had hit an all-time high as her heart raced and her lungs tightened, but she remained calm and collected on the outside, trying her best to flirt a little without going too far.

Like her dress, she wanted to be alluring without seeming too obvious. He didn’t answer her right away, but instead he looked around the room for a moment and she thought she saw a small frown at the corner of his mouth, although it wasn’t entirely clear and she couldn’t be sure it was there at all.

She waited, and every moment that passed while she was waiting felt like an eternity. She watched him as he thought it over, and then he turned back to her and gave her a kind smile and she saw genuine care in his warm brown eyes.

“I am flattered, Miss James, and I appreciate the offer, but things here are really just too busy for me to take any personal time away from it just now. I need to keep my focus on the changes I’m making here and I’m afraid you would be quite a distraction for me, but thank you for asking.” He turned away from her and then stopped and looked over his shoulder at her, giving her another smile as his eyes met hers once more, briefly.

“Don’t forget, that lunch menu is in the kitchen. You’re welcome to get whatever you like.” He turned then and walked out of the room and back down the hall with his hands in his pockets and his head down as if his eyes were on the floor in front of him.

She watched him, the corners of her mouth turning downward and she felt the pout forming as her lower lip projected just slightly. There was a soft voice over her shoulder, quiet and consoling.

“That was a really good try. You did it all right,” Liam said.

Mia started just a little and lowered her brows. “Where have you been? How do you know what happened?” she asked in a light whisper.

“Oh, I’ve had my eye on you all day, and as soon as I saw him walk out of his office and come here to find you and talk with you, I knew I needed to be close but out of sight. I was just around the corner there.” He spoke in a hush over her shoulder.

She shrugged one shoulder as she watched Alexander’s door close. “You were spying!” she accused quietly.

“I was silently supporting and wishing for success in your endeavor. Don’t be so negative,” he justified.  You were really close.”

“He said no.” Then she turned her face toward Liam’s and looked at him pointedly. “The bet is still on. I’m not done with him yet.”

Liam grinned and nodded. “I agree. The bet is still on. I didn’t really expect immediate success, I mean, there are miracles, but it would have surprised me if he had agreed to it. He just met you. You still have a shot at him. I think if he was around you a little more, if he saw you here a time or two more, you might get him to go out with you for whatever, and then maybe you could get him where you want him.”

Mia raised one brow. “Then I can get a ticket to Rome,” she said confidently. “I’m going to do it. I have commitments the next two days in a row, but I can certainly come back after that, and I will make sure the next time I see him he says yes to spending some time with me outside of here. I don’t feel bad about him saying no; he just met me. It will happen.” She narrowed her eyes and smiled, and Liam laughed at her.

“I don’t doubt it. Now, let’s get into the kitchen and have a look at that lunch menu.” He nudged her with his elbow and she followed him out of the room.

Lunch was delivered to the office and when Liam and Mia had finished eating, she knew that it was time to go. She had been there, she had met Alexander, she’d talked with him and she had even asked him to go out with her. She knew that there was nothing more that she could do that day and that there was no reason to stay longer than she already was.

Mia did want to do one last thing before she left the office, however. She took a deep breath and lifted her chin and walked down the hallway toward Alexander’s office. She knocked on the door softly and heard him bid entrance. Pushing the door open, she stepped inside and he looked up from his computer. As she walked toward him, she could feel his eyes on her and though he was subtle, she knew he was watching her.

“Mia, what can I do for you?” he asked with a polite smile as his eyes met hers.

She stopped just before his desk, and curled her mouth into a wide grin. “I just wanted to thank you for lunch. That was sweet. Also, I’m leaving for the day, and I won’t be back right away, so I wanted to leave my number with you. I know you said that you have a lot to work on getting this place ready and the business up and running here, but if you happen to find yourself with some free time, I would love to visit with you.”

She slid her business card across the desk and he stared at it a moment and then raised his eyes to meet hers. She wasn’t waiting for any kind of answers. She was just there to give him her number. He nodded and slipped it into his pocket.

“Thank you, I appreciate the gesture,” he said lightly. He turned from her just a little, but his eyes stayed on her and he watched her as she turned to go.

“My pleasure. Have a good afternoon Alexander,” she said smoothly, and then she turned and headed toward the door, remembering her little sashay as she walked. When she reached the door, she looked over her shoulder at him and found him still gazing at her. She smiled and winked at him and then closed the door behind her. As it clicked shut, she let out a huge sigh of relief and looked down the hallway to see Liam leaning against the wall at the end of it, watching her.

She walked toward him and he grinned almost ear-to-ear at her. She felt her cheeks warm and she bit her lower lip, holding his gaze as she approached him.

“Come with me,” he said quietly as he slid his hand through her arm. “I’ll walk with you to the elevator and go down with you.”

They entered the elevator and when the doors slid closed, he turned to look at her. “So? How did it go? What did you say?”

She giggled a little and looked at him with a sidelong glance. “Oh not much. He couldn’t take his eyes off of me, and when I gave him my number, he put it in his pocket instead of in his desk.” She laughed out loud then and Liam gave her a scandalous look as he winked.

“Good girl! Just give him some time. I bet he’ll call and you’ll wind up with your ticket to Italy!” he reached an arm around her and hugged her close as the elevator came to a stop. She hugged him back and thanked him, waving as she walked out and the silver doors closed between them.

***

The day after she met Alexander, Mia looked at her phone twice during the day with Alexander on her mind, checking for messages. There were no messages. The second day, she checked it more frequently, but not to excess. By the third day after she’d met him, she was checking it even more often, wondering if she should message him or go back into the office. She was less busy, she told herself, and she had said that she would be back in to work with Liam, but she didn’t want to seem desperate at all. She was quickly becoming impatient with Alexander, waiting to hear from him.

Mia had told herself and Liam that he would call her. She had been sure of it. She had seen him watch her as she walked. She had seen him put her card into his wallet. She knew that he was single and she was beautiful and coming on to him, and by the fourth day she was incensed with his lack of communication, and she didn’t look at her phone once, although she did think of him often. Every time he crossed her mind, she pushed him out of it and focused on what she was supposed to be doing. She couldn’t fall behind in her work because of some man who was becoming more ever present in her thoughts.

By the end of the week, it had been six days and there was no word from him. Liam had texted her twice to ask if she had heard from him, and she’d had to tell him no. She asked Liam if Alexander had said anything about her around the office and he had had to tell her no. Alexander hadn’t said one word to him about her.

Mia sank into the thick cushion of her sofa with a glass of Merlot, watching the sun sink lower over New Jersey. She sipped her wine and felt grateful that she was able to live like she did, in the city that never sleeps. Her phone rang and she reached over and picked it up, answering it without much more than a glance at it. It was a number she didn’t know.

“Hello?” she said casually.

“Hi, Mia? This is Alexander Daniels.” His voice was that same deep soft voice that had drifted over her shoulder in the office. Everything in her tightened sharply and she sat up spilled a few drops of wine on the table before her as she moved to set her glass down hurriedly.

Her heart jumpstarted and she tried to draw in a shaky breath to steady herself as she answered in as calm a voice as she could muster.

“Oh yes! Hello Alexander. How nice to hear from you. How are you doing?” she sat up straight and took another deep breath, trying to convince herself that the best thing to do was to relax.

“I’m fine, thank you, and how are you doing?” he returned pleasantly.

She was slightly miffed that he didn’t sound at all nervous. She felt that he should at least have the decency to sound a little nervous. He was as calm as a still water.

“I’m good,” she rushed out swiftly. “I’m… just…. here drinking some wine. In my apartment….” She fumbled through her response and clenched her eyes and her hands tightly, wondering when she had lost her super cool ability to speak to men.

No man made her uncomfortable or nervous. It was always the opposite with her; she was the one making them freeze up and forget how to speak and think and move, but here was one man who seemed to make her feel like a school girl on the first day.

She took another breath and tried to recover quickly, changing the subject. “How are things going over at the office? Have you been able to move ahead with any of the plans and changes?” she asked hopefully.

There was a tired sigh in his voice. “It’s coming along slowly. I wish there was more that I could do to speed it up, but unfortunately, there isn’t. Thank you for asking.” He paused and sounded thoughtful.

“I’m calling because there’s an event that I need to go to next week; there’s not really any way out of it for me, although I wish there was. It’s a formal event, a dinner. I thought you might like to come with me as my guest.”