Bared by the Billionaire (6 page)

“I’m not sure if you remember,” Harmon was saying, “but we’ve met before.”

Kyra nodded and gave him a dazzling smile. “At Vizcaya. How could I forget? The media went into a frenzy.” She quoted from memory. “The elusive Jake Harmon made a rare and totally unexpected appearance at the private, invitation-only swank gala hosted by International Technology Consultants.”

She went on, chatting away as though this was the prelude to just another business meeting. “I’m sure you know that the few reporters who decided to show up to cover what they thought was going to be another boring self-promotion by Alejandro were the envy of their peers when they published the exclusive photos of you.”

“As I recall, you were the focus of a great deal of interest as well. You had an entire retinue of international power players enthralled by your every word that night,” he replied. “And by your beauty.”

“Oh, sir. Y’all have my poor l’il head spinning from your charm,” she replied in a Southern accent, fluttering a hand in front of her face in what she hoped was a passable imitation of Scarlett O’Hara.

He laughed. “I just exhausted my entire repertoire of small talk. How about if we get down to the reason I invited you here?”

He went on without waiting for her assent. “Cabrera left us both in a bad way,” he said. “I lost millions and friends and business acquaintances of mine lost even more based on my recommendation. However, my sources tell me that you are in an even more precarious position. Not only are you out of a job, but Cabrera made it look like you were in collusion with him. He’s gone. With his powerful connections, there’s no chance that he’ll be extradited. Unfortunately, he’s left you holding the bag. I’ve heard rumors of formal charges of fraud and embezzlement being discussed as a very real possibility. Even prison time. The Feds don’t like being made to look like fools. They need someone’s head on a platter for this, and it might as well be yours.”

Harmon leaned forward, his manner projecting very real concern. “I think we can be of help to each other. You need the best in high-powered legal assistance. I’m working on a new project and I happen to be in need of an associate with some very special qualifications, ones I’m told you possess. I’d like to hire you, Miss Thornton. Under what may sound like a rather unusual contractual agreement.”

She pretended to look surprised, then was silent for a moment, as though trying to guess what he meant. “Please, call me Kyra. You have my attention, Mr. Harmon. Do go on.”

“As I said, I’m no good at small talk. I’ll be blunt. Cabrera was very open with his friends and even casual acquaintances about the intimate details of your relationship. It’s common knowledge among certain circles that you are into BDSM, that you get off on playing the role of submissive. Now that Cabrera is gone, you’re without a dom. I want to take on that role. In exchange, I’m prepared to offer you the full backing of the legal team I have on retainer. Quite frankly, they’re the best that money can buy. They can keep this matter tied up in court for years. If charges are brought against you, I’ll make unlimited funds available to cover any demand for bail the government might make, no matter how outrageous. And I’ll put my team on notice that they are to use all the resources they have at their disposal, do whatever it takes to keep you out of trouble. No questions asked.”

Kyra stared down at her hands, unable to look him in the face. She’d been prepared for this meeting. Or so she thought. But hearing intimate details from her personal life laid out in what was supposed to be a job interview left her feeling sick. She realized that until this moment, some part of her had been secretly hoping the story was all part of the FBI’s plan to manipulate her into going undercover for them, that Patterson had been lying about how Alejandro bragged to everyone and told wild tales about their sexual relationship.
Yeah, the same part of you that still believes in Santa Claus and happily-ever-afters,
she told herself angrily.
The man stole millions of dollars, framed you for it, then ran off. And you’re still surprised that he lied about your sex life?

According to Patterson, this man sitting in front of her had masterminded the whole thing. So he knew she’d be framed for the theft, knew she’d be desperate right now.
He’s worse than Alejandro,
she told herself.
He’s planning to victimize me all over again. Well, let’s just see who comes out on top this time.

She lifted her chin to meet Harmon’s gaze. A tiny smile played at the corners of her mouth. “You seem to have me at a disadvantage.” She paused for a moment. “Sir,” she added. “It would be foolish of me to refuse your terms when I need exactly what you’re offering—in every area.”

His eyes narrowed. She saw an unmistakable flash of lust. Her use of the word ‘sir’ had had the desired effect. No doubt he was already imagining her on her knees in front of him, naked. She swallowed nervously, feeling out of her depth. This was not the geeky scientist she came here expecting to find. The man in front of her was dark, dangerous. He gave off an aura of tightly controlled power. For the first time, she felt a stab of real fear at what she was about to do. She struggled to keep her voice even. “Please, tell me more about the nature of the services you’d be requiring of me under this agreement.”

“You will sign a six-month contract. You’ll live here during that time, all expenses paid. I have a suite of rooms that I’ll put at your disposal. When I’m doing business, you’ll function as my private consultant, attending meetings with me, going over my corporate accounts and advising me on business decisions. I know you have an impressive grasp of international finance and frankly I’d like to have someone competent to give me an unbiased opinion on what my accountants and tax attorneys are doing.”

He went on without waiting for a response. “I’ll pay you $1,000 per hour after taxes for your consultation work, with a minimum guarantee of 20 hours paid per week. Your duties will take up no more time than that, often less. When you’re not working as my consultant, you can come and go as you please during the day, unless I require your presence as my sub. I’ll sign whatever paperwork you want to assure you that you’ll get your money. I’ll even put the entire amount into an escrow account up front. In addition, as I said earlier, you’ll have the unlimited support of my legal team. That access will continue indefinitely, for years if necessary until their investigation ends—if you complete all the terms of our agreement.”

She nodded, trying to keep the surprise off her face. She hadn’t expected that part of the deal. She wouldn’t have to sneak around to get Harmon’s financial records. It sounded as though she’d have full access to anything she might need. Along with that, he seemed eager to take full advantage of her business knowledge. In some ways, it was comforting to know that she’d be spending at least part of her time doing the kind of work she loved. Sinking her teeth into complex financial transactions, dissecting legal contracts and pages of numbers to reveal the hidden agendas that always lay behind them, the very human needs and desires.

She hadn’t expected to be compensated so well either. It didn’t take a math genius to do those numbers. A cool half a million in cash for a part-time job over the next six months would give her the time and the capital she’d need to decide how she was going to support herself in the future. And the legal assistance he was offering was potentially worth millions more. Of course, if she was able to find evidence while working here that he’d been behind the whole scheme, she wouldn’t need his attorneys. The FBI wouldn’t be bringing any charges against her.

But even if she was able to prove he’d masterminded the theft, she doubted whether she’d ever be employable again as a financial officer of any business with the scandal of a massive fraud at her last place of employment hanging over her head. Even if no charges were ever leveled against her, gossip would brand her as guilty without ever going to trial. Having a hefty nest egg behind her would make it easier to start over in some other field.

He was watching her face, waiting for her response this time. She finally asked the question that had been uppermost in her mind ever since Patterson had come to her with his outrageous proposal. “And what would be the terms of the rest of our agreement?”

He smiled again. This time the smile never made it to his eyes. “You will stay on the premises every night. You’d be on call, 24/7, just like my trainer and my personal assistants. But your contract, unlike theirs, will have a very special clause. As my sub, you will be required to do whatever I tell you to do, following my every whim or command immediately, with no argument and no questions asked. Oh, yes. One other thing. You’ll be required to sign a non-disclosure agreement, barring you from ever speaking or writing about what goes on during that time. If you fulfill all the terms of our agreement, at the end of the six months, you can go your own way—with a bonus of an additional $500,000.”

He paused for a moment to let that sink in, then went on. “Ultimately, you’ll still be in control. If at any time you find yourself unable or unwilling to comply with the clause requiring your total, unquestioning obedience to me, you need only to say the safe word we decide upon. I’ll stop whatever is happening and you’ll be free to go.”

His voice turned cold. “If you do, however, our entire contract will immediately become null and void. You can keep whatever portion you’ve earned of the $20,000 per week, but the remainder of the funds in escrow will revert back to me. The support of my legal team will end, and you’ll be required to vacate this building within one hour. In addition, I will use my considerable influence to see to it that charges are brought against you for the theft. If I’m asked to testify, which I assure you I will be, I’ll give my opinion under oath that someone with your degree of expertise must have been involved because Cabrera didn’t have the brains or the technical know-how to pull off a scheme like that alone.”

Kyra was indignant. “You’d lie?”

“That’s not a lie. It’s what I believe. I can’t help the fact that it will implicate you.”

She swallowed, fighting to take it all in. “Sounds like choosing to use the safe word would be worse than submitting to whatever you may command me to do.”

“I’m banking on that,” he replied. He softened his tone. “I know this is a big decision and I’d like you to take some time to think it over. I wouldn’t want you rushing into something you weren’t prepared to follow through with. My car and driver will take you back to your condo shortly. However, I want to stress that this is a one-time offer. It expires in twenty-four hours.” He glanced at his watch. “That will be eleven a.m. tomorrow. If you choose to accept my terms, you have only to send me a two-word text any time before that, day or night. ‘Yes, sir.’ You will then be picked up precisely at noon tomorrow, along with whatever personal belongings you choose to bring with you, and brought here to begin your duties.”

He let that sink in for a moment. “Before you leave, I’ll give you this one opportunity to ask me any questions you want. I will answer them as honestly and completely as I can.”

She was numb, her brain unable to form rational thoughts. Kyra blurted out the first thing that came to her mind. “Will you hurt me?”

He paused, as though considering the nuances of her question. Kyra could almost see his mind working, deciding exactly what to say. She realized this man would never utter a word without weighing all the consequences. “As your dom, I will discipline you as I see fit, whenever and however I choose. I may also feel the need to punish you at times. As my sub, you will of course accept it all without protest. My discipline may create pain at times. My punishments certainly will, perhaps lingering for several hours afterwards. However, I will never draw blood or do you lasting physical harm.”

“Will you expect me to… do things… with anyone else?”

“I’m not a pimp. Nor do I like to share my playthings. You will not be required to have sex—oral, vaginal or anal—with anyone except me.”

She blushed at his frank words. Harmon was telling her she’d be expected to give herself to him without question, any time, any way he wanted. Kyra had never experienced anal intercourse, although she’d fantasized about it. The thought of having it become a reality with the dark stranger in front of her without having any control over how and when it would happen sent a totally unexpected shiver of arousal through her.

She was silent for so long that he finally spoke. “Let’s be honest here. I’m probably not going to require you to do anything you haven’t already done before—and loved doing, according to Alejandro. But with me, you’ll fare much better in the end than you did with him. Do you have any other questions?”

She shook her head. She had tons of questions, but didn’t really want to hear the answers to any of them. She had to accept this outlandish job offer no matter what. Knowing more details would only make the text message that much harder to send.

He stood and offered her his hand. “Whatever you decide, this meeting was an experience I won’t soon forget.”

Kyra automatically reached out for his handshake and was shocked when he drew it to his lips instead. He held her hand firmly, turned her palm up and licked it, then ran the tip of his finger slowly along the line his tongue had traced, sending another involuntary shiver down her spine. His eyes were locked on hers the entire time.

She barely noticed when he drew a business card from his pocket with his other hand. Pressing it into her damp palm, he curled her fingers around it. “I look forward to hearing from you, Miss Thornton.”

Chapter Five

The trip back to her condo seemed endless. Another burly man who looked equally as tough and humorless as the security guard was waiting for her in the lobby. Despite the crushing summer heat outdoors, he wore a heavy, dark business suit, long-sleeved shirt and tie. Kyra couldn’t help wondering if the thick fabric of the suit hid the outline of a gun and holster underneath. So far, the members of Harmon’s staff she’d seen all looked as though they could double as bodyguards.