She fixed her hair in the mirror. It was hard to feel comfortable when she had nothing of her own. There was nothing of hers here, not even makeup. She used some of his spray deodorant. It smelled like him, and she found herself closing her eyes and savoring the scent.
Until she thought better.
Why was her body and heart in such conflict?
By the time she left the room, Drake had just grabbed his keys from the hall table. He picked up his briefcase and motioned her to come.
“I expect you’ll give me your best effort at work today. Just because I’ve paid off your brother’s debts doesn’t mean I can’t make things unpleasant for him if you recant your end of the deal.”
She rolled her eyes. “If you haven’t noticed, I’ve kept my side of the contract. You took my virginity yesterday.”
Drake smirked and approached her. With his hands full, he brushed his forehead to hers, inhaling deeply near her neck. His lips grazed her cheek, then he pulled away. She was already breathing through her mouth, the moment raising her blood pressure to critical levels. Why did he have such power over her?
They drove in silence to his office building. She’d be spending a lot of time in his penthouse office suite. Did he expect her to learn the business or was she only there as his sex toy?
“I should call Nigel. He’s home alone with two broken legs.”
“Your brother is taken care of.”
“Am I not allowed to have contact with my family?”
“Family is overrated, Mira.”
She gritted her teeth. It was one thing to steal her life, but cutting off her brother wasn’t part of this bargain. Their father’s death had destroyed Nigel. Losing her would be too much. All they had left were each other.
“Relax, Mira. You can call your brother from my office.”
She exhaled, glad she didn’t have to fight Drake on this. It was hard enough dealing with her former bully every day. He was a constant reminder of a childhood she’d rather forget.
The city flashed by as they drove along the downtown streets. So much had happened the past few days. It was all surreal.
He pulled into the underground lot of his building, the one with his name in big, bright letters. Drake Eastwood had made himself into a multi-millionaire, or was he a billionaire? And she’d just sold her body because Nigel was drowning in debt. Where had she gone wrong in life?
They rode up in the glass elevator. He constantly kept a possessive hand at the small of her back. She had to admit it felt good to have such a powerful man choose her. Her mind and body were in constant conflict. When they entered his main office lobby, the first thing she noted was Glenda’s absence.
“When does your PA start? I’m sure she won’t be happy I’m here.”
“Who? Glenda? She doesn’t work here anymore.” Drake grabbed the stack of mail from a tray on his secretary’s desk as he made his way to the double doors of his private office. She followed behind him.
After closing the doors after them, he tossed the mail onto his desk.
“Did she quit?”
He narrowed his eyes as if confused about what she was talking about. Or maybe he just didn’t care. “I fired her.”
“What? Why?”
“You didn’t like her. Since you’ll be here with me every day, that wouldn’t do, would it?”
She was speechless. How did he know how she felt about Glenda? And the fact he fired her just so she wouldn’t be upset was almost … gallant. This couldn’t be the Drake Eastwood she knew.
“So, you just fire people on the whim? I’m sure she has bills to pay like everyone else.”
“Mira, she was a bitch. I won’t have anyone second-guessing my woman.”
She swallowed hard this time, her pussy tingling. It was so hard to pretend to be insulted when he was only turning her on.
The views from the large windows were breathtaking. She wandered around the huge office, taking in the sights and sating her curiosity about Drake. There were no pictures, a few awards, but nothing too personal.
“You were an accountant. You like working with numbers?”
She turned to face him. He was setting up his desk and opening his laptop.
“Well, you know I have issues with reading and writing. Numbers come naturally to me.”
“You compensated,” he said.
“Excuse me?”
“When someone is weak in one area, it’s natural to excel in another. You know, like how blind people have better senses. Maybe that’s God’s way to make amends.”
“I don’t know about that,” she said. “But I’ve been doing accounting for a long time now.”
“After all these years, I was surprised to find you unmarried. Not that I was disappointed.”
“I’m not like you, Drake. I’m not good at meeting new people, but I was quite content living alone.”
“Not me,” he said.
This piqued her curiosity. She came to sit in the chair facing his desk. “How so?”
He punched at the keyboard for a bit, then closed the lid to the laptop. Drake stared at her. “I’ve focused my life on being successful. Making something of myself. It took a long time, but I finally realized there are a lot of things money can’t buy,” he said. “It can’t buy happiness. It can’t buy love. After a decade of working nonstop, by the time I stepped back, I realized how fucking lonely I was.”
She scoffed. “You could have any woman you want, Drake.”
He shook his head. “Not the kind of woman I want. Do you think it’s flattering when someone wants you solely based on your bank
