1. THE CEO FROM MY DREAM (1. The Villain)

​JADE

"Jade, move it! The client is going to be angry if we aren't there in five minutes!"

My sister, Celia, hissed the words while pacing in front of my desk. She didn't wait for an answer before reaching down and snatching the paperback out of my hands, and then slamming it shut.

"You can read 'The Villain’s Sinful Debt Collection' later," she snapped, tossing it onto the edge of the table. "Right now, we have a job. Get your bag. Move! Move! Move!"

I am an avid smut reader, it was my favorite pastime, trying to drown the sorrows of this horrible job that I couldn't stand.

I felt my face heat up. I scrambled to shove my pens and legal pads into my oversized tote bag. Celia was already halfway to the elevator, her heels clicking on the floor. I hated being the assistant. I despised the way everyone in this high-end marketing firm looked through me like I wasn't there.

My sister was the golden girl. The one who everybody praises, and I, just the supporting character. I've learned to take it.

What else can I do other than immerse myself in books and fantasize about being the female lead being dominated by the billionaire boss who could change my life?

I grabbed the book and shoved it between my files before rushing to the boardroom. Not one minute after I settled did the door swing open.

The investor walked in and the air left the room. He was tall, broad, and dressed in an expensive suit, and the second I saw him my stomach dropped. He looked exactly like I had been picturing the man in my book. Every single detail.

He didn't offer a smile, which made me gulp. We needed this deal and his expression wasn't giving anything away. His eyes found mine and he held the gaze a second too long, making my skin prickle.

Throughout the pitch I couldn't concentrate. Everything about him kept pulling my attention back. I kept looking at his large, vein-streaked hands resting on the table and I kept thinking about page two hundred.

Then I noticed the book was sitting in my open tote bag beside my chair. I didn't know if the cover was facing up and I didn't want to look down and draw his attention to it. I spent the rest of the meeting convincing myself he hadn't noticed.

"We'll consider it," Ryan said after an hour. His voice was deep and gravelly. "I'll have my assistant send over the terms."

Celia stood up instantly, nodding. She grabbed my arm and dragged me toward the door. In the rush I grabbed my tote bag but I didn't realize the paperback had slid out onto the carpet beneath my chair. We were halfway to the lobby before I remembered.

"My book," I whispered.

"Forget the book, Jade. We have work to do," Celia snapped, pressing the elevator button.

"No, I left my notes in it," I lied, my face heating up. "Go ahead. I'll catch the next one."

I turned and ran back. I pushed open the heavy boardroom doors expecting the room to be empty, but it wasn't.

Ryan was standing by the window. My book wasn't on the floor. It was in his hand. He was slowly flipping through the pages and he stopped near the end, his thumb resting on the spine.

"I was wondering when you'd come back for this," he said. He didn't look up. "You left it right at the best part. “The desk scene."

I froze near the door. My face was on fire. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to leave it. Please, I'll just take it and go."

I walked toward him, my knees feeling unsteady. He didn't hand it back. He waited until I was inches away, then he stepped into my space and backed me up against the edge of the table. He was so close I could feel the heat coming off his body.

"You were staring at me during the meeting, Jade," he said, his voice dropping low. He held the book up between us. "Tell me. Were you picturing me doing what he does?"

​"No," I lied, though my voice cracked.

​"Liar." He leaned in closer, the scent of expensive perfume filled my nose.

He used the edge of the book to tilt my chin up, forcing me to meet his predatory gaze. "I saw you crossing and uncrossing your legs.

You were also biting your lip when I looked at you. I’m sure you want to know if the real thing lives up to the fantasy you have in your head."

​He reached out, his hand hovering just inches from my waist. "In this chapter," he said, his voice a low, commanding growl, "he tells her to lift her skirt. He doesn't touch her, instead he makes her do it herself because he wants to see how bad she wants it."

​"I... I can't," I whispered, my heart hammering against my ribs. "I have to go. My sister is waiting."

​"Your sister wants this funding, Jade," he countered, his eyes dark and unwavering. "And I want to see if you’re as brave as the girl in your story, so lift it."

​I stood there, paralyzed. Everything in my brain told me to turn and run, to scream, to be the professional assistant I was supposed to be. But my body was acting on a different set of orders.

​My hands were shaking so hard I could barely feel my fingers as they reached for the hem of my skirt.

I hated how much I wanted to obey him because the small voice in the back of my mind has always wanted to be in this position…to be like the female lead in the books that I read.

Slowly, as if I was being controlled, I began to lift the fabric up.

​"I shouldn't be doing this," I choked out, even as I pulled the skirt higher, exposing the lace of my panties.

​"But you are," Ryan said, his voice a dark caress. "Because you've been imagining this moment for a very long time, haven't you?”