Stolen from The Billionaire

MarieI snorted in a not-so-lady-like way and snatched the glass, downing the liquid in one go. “For happiness? I’ll take four more please.” He chuckled, and then slid into the seat opposite me with ease that was purely sinful. “You seem to be enjoying yourself, the perfect company I’m looking for in this dull establishment.” His baritone voice caused rumbles inside me.It was my turn to throw my head back and laugh. “If you call this enjoyment, then it’s either you’re blind or you’ve done this more times than I could count, or you don’t know the meaning of the word enjoyment.”He leaned forward, eyes twinkling with amusement. “And which do you think is it?”I studied him. There was something alluring about him, something I couldn’t place my finger on. “I think you’re blind, because if you weren’t, you wouldn’t be at my table right here right now,” I threw her hands in the air. “I’m literally alone, by myself. You should talk to someone else before I bore you to death.”He sat back.

MarieRick.Maverick.Rick was Maverick??? Holy shit.Our brief encounter awoke things in me I thought had disappeared that night when I left him alone in the hotel room. His huge hands on my back made my body flare up with heat. His blue eyes that reminded me of a perfect afternoon sky, thick black hair that made my fingers twitch to run through them, like I had done ten years ago…I had heard about the media giant; Maverick Russo, but I’d never really taken interest anything related to him. Luckily for me, I wasn’t asked any questions about him during my concluding interview last week or else I probably wouldn’t have gotten this job.I also wouldn’t have been here if it weren’t for him –his watch that I had stolen and sold at a jewelry pawn shop. I swallowed hard, my mind raced with the possibilities that he recognized me.I stabbed the thought and shook my head. No. that wasn’t the reaction of a person who recognized his thief, it was the face of a person who has had so many one ni

Marie “Marie, are you there?” I blinked, letting my thoughts drift away and returning back to the present.I looked at the faces of my work colleagues seated around the cafeteria table. I was lucky enough to still meet them here and join themJules chuckled. “Where were you? We've been talking for a while now and you're yet to say anything.”Another colleague nodded in concern. I couldn't remember his name. Jeff –Jim. Or something else. “Yeah, are you okay? First day pressure a little too much?”I shook my head and cleared my throat. “No, it's nothing. What were we talking about?”Of course I fucking lied. There was no way in hell I could tell them that I was in Maverick Russo’s office, fighting for my life.Or rather, the life of my future career in media. I wanted to call his bluff. But even I could tell that every word he said, he meant. So, I stood there, and watched him call me a thief. I watched him say that fucking ridiculous proposal that would be my ticket to redemption –

Maverick Marie Cooper was making me lose control.Her big green eyes were locked on mine like I was both the villain and the addiction she couldn’t run from. She didn’t realize it. Then there was that damn fire and stubbornness in her that I vividly remember from eight years ago was still there. She was still fierce, still proud and still breathtaking and beautiful.But now? There was something else –something new. Pain formed from over the years. Secrets behind those eyes that I wanted to fish out one by one.She stood there with her back pressed to the wall and her chest rising and falling. Her lips were slightly parted, but no words came out. And her scent? God, I

Marie I just signed my soul to the devil, and the devil? He was smiling at me like I’d walked straight into his trap , head first with no parachute or helmet.I broke up with my fiance for him, then I lied to him when he asked me if I had someone back at home waiting for me. Now that I have successfully signed his contract, I was his for the next six months. I was his arm candy , his girlfriend….his woman-toy.But I knew why I was just doing this. I was doing this for my family and for my daughter. Then I would leave, permanently.“So what happens now?” I had to ask.Charlie leaned back on the couch and grinned like this was the beginning of a fun little rom-com. He was charming, I had to give him that. With his golden blond hair, dimples, and soft warm eyes, he looked like he’d walked out of a Disney movie –like a Prince Charming.He was the exact opposite of Maverick Russo, who gave off the energy of a fallen angel –beautiful, yes, but dangerous in all the wrong ways. I couldn’t he