His Dirty Secret - Slave To The Billionaire - Contemporary Erotic Romance (14 page)

She gave a tinkling laugh and shook
her head. “I’m sorry, Tyler. No, nothing is amusing me. It was just
a private thought.”

He smiled at her. “I love it when you
laugh. You should do it more often.” He raised his eyebrow again.
“Care to share your ‘private’ thought?”

Isobel felt herself
blushing. “Um, no, but it was nothing bad, I promise you.” She
cleared her throat nervously. “There is something I need to ask you
though, Tyler.” Her blush deepened. “Remember when you left me in
your office yesterday?” Tyler frowned reflectively and nodded.
“Well I was sort of curious about you, and I, um…” Her words
trailed off as she fidgeted nervously.
Please, God, don’t let him be too mad
, she thought.

“Out with it, Isobel.”

His tone brooked no further delay, and
she gulped and took a deep breath. “It’s about the night we met.”
He scowled again and raised his eyebrow in that sexy way she had
become used to. “Well, you were kind of drunk, and you kept
referring to something that’s had me wondering.”

“Continue.” Just a single word, but it
held a wealth of emotion; curiosity, impatience and a hint of
annoyance.

“You kept talking about a woman. And
from the tone you used I don’t think you like her very much.” She
hesitated again to gather her thoughts. “I was wondering if she was
a woman you’re in a relationship with, or maybe it’s someone you
possibly work with?”

Tyler leaned forwards in his chair and
steepled his hands together, resting his chin on top of them as he
regarded her thoughtfully. “I can’t remember that conversation.”
His tone was thoughtful as though he was really trying to recall
what he’d said. “Why are you even wondering about this,
Isobel?”

Oh man, she wished he hadn’t asked her
that. “I found a ring in your desk drawer and it looked like it
might be a wedding band. Are you married, Tyler?” She took another
gulping breath and sat back in her chair to await whatever fate and
answer he gave her.

“In my desk…” Isobel watched his color
deepen and his eyes darken. Tyler was pissed off, and she knew that
it was justified. “What the fuck were you doing going through my
desk?” She very rarely heard him swear, so the fact that he did it
now showed her just how angry he really was.

“Like I said, I was curious. I know I
shouldn’t have done it, Tyler, and I’m sorry, but…” She jumped as
he brought his hand down on the table, making the plates and
silverware rattle.

“You’re damn right you shouldn’t have
done it.” His back was rigid and Isobel quivered in her seat. But
it was too late to take her words back now. All she could do was
sit there and wait for whatever came next.

Tyler sighed again and ran his fingers
through his hair, tousling it sexily and making Isobel wish they
were back at the office rather than sat in a restaurant. Coming to
a decision, he squared his shoulders again and started talking. “I
don’t agree with what you did, but I can understand why you did it.
I need to be honest with you if we are to continue with our office
relationship, but please understand that I have very good reasons
for not volunteering the information previously.”

Isobel sat silently; suddenly nervous
about what he was about to say and what the impact on her might be
once he’d said it.

“The ring you found is indeed a
wedding band, and it does belong to me.” Isobel felt her heart
sink. She’d never had an affair with a married man before, and she
distinctly abhorred the knowledge that she’d embarked on one now,
albeit unknowingly. “However, it’s a marriage of convenience and
not one of love, so I don’t consider myself to be a husband in the
conventional sense of the word.”

“Married is married, Tyler, no matter
what the reason behind the marriage or the emotion that is or isn’t
in it.” Isobel felt stupidly close to tears. What the hell was
wrong with her? She’d only known the guy for a few days, and
nothing about their relationship was conventional or traditional,
so why on earth did she feel so betrayed? “I’ll send my resignation
when we get back to the office.”

“There’s no need for that, Isobel.
Please don’t make any hasty decisions until you’ve heard the whole
story.” He paused as the waitress came and placed their meals in
front of them. Neither he nor Isobel picked up their silverware and
started to eat; thinking more about what was being said rather than
the food.

As the waitress left the table, he
took a breath and continued talking. “The woman I’m married to is
the daughter of the owner of Holbrook Holdings. Have you heard of
the company?” Isobel nodded to let him know that she had. “We
married so that we could merge the two companies and consolidate
our assets. Holbrook had dealings with a number of my rival
companies, and I had dealings with a few that they wanted to get
their claws into. It was mutually beneficial to us both at the time
and more secure than a mere contract. It meant that in the long
term I knew that my company was going to grow.”

He hadn’t taken his eyes off Isobel
while he talked, and she could clearly see the sincerity, as well
as hear it in his tone. “It’s a paper marriage, Isobel. It means
nothing to either of us other than the wellbeing of our respective
companies.”

Isobel sat there in thoughtful silence
for a few minutes, formulating what she wanted to say next. “Is
your company secure now?”

“Yes, it is. We’ve actually grown
exponentially in the last five years, so it’s even bigger than I
initially anticipated.” She loved the look of pride that flitted
across his face.

“Then why are you still married to
her?” The question was one that she hadn’t been sure she should
ask, but it was something that she had to know.

Tyler laughed sardonically. “To be
honest with you, I have no earthly idea. Maybe it’s because I’ve
never thought about doing anything about it. It suited us both to
be married; kept away unwanted attention from unsuitable people,
both on a personal and a professional basis.” His expression
changed to one of thoughtfulness as he seemed to digest his own
words. “I’m not so sure if it suits me as much now though, and
neither one of us is happy with our lives the way things are
now.”

“Sometimes we do the wrong thing for
the right reason. You’re only human, Tyler, but maybe it’s time to
reevaluate your business and corporate needs.” She knew she sounded
like a lecturing schoolteacher, but it was something that she truly
believed, and not to say it would have gone against the grain, and
it would most definitely have been out of character for
her.

He looked at Isobel and smiled. “You
do realize that if we don’t eat this food now it’s not going to
taste as delicious as it really is.” He picked up his knife and
fork and promptly started to tuck in, and Isobel followed his
example, but as delicious as the food was supposed to be, it tasted
like cardboard.

Tyler had made it crystal clear that
the conversation was over, but she had so many questions left
unasked. Oh well, it looked like they were going to have to wait
until another time. They finished their meal in silence, both of
them lost in their own thoughts.

As they made their way back to the
office, Isobel had a silent war going on within her. Should she cut
her losses now before she got in any deeper with either Tyler or
the company he owned, or should she stay and see where the natural
progression of both their personal and working lives
went?

On the one hand, Tyler had been more
open with her than she could have dared to hope for, and the
unspoken barrier that had been between them had seemed to crumble
slightly. But, on the other, she knew that there was still a lot
that she didn’t know, and probably even more that he had no
intention of ever telling her. The look on his face when he’d more
or less told her that he wasn’t happy had cut her to the
core.

As they pulled up in the office
parking lot, Tyler put a hand out to stop her from exiting the
vehicle right away. “Isobel, while I do appreciate why you went
snooping through my desk, you do realize that there will be
consequences, correct?”

Isobel felt her pussy come to
immediate attention at his words. She knew that he was referring to
her having to be punished, and she also knew what that entailed.
What she didn’t know was why her body reacted in delight at the
prospect rather than quiver in fear. She decided not to analyze it
too much right now, however, and just settled with a demure, “Yes,
Sir,” as an answer.

“Good girl.” He brushed his thumb over
the pulse in her wrist and then released her so that they could
both get out of the car. They walked to the elevator in silence and
Tyler pressed the button to take them up to the top floor, and
Isobel stood by his side with both her mind and her body in
turmoil.

As the elevator door opened, Tyler
stood to one side to allow Isobel to exit first, giving her ass a
swift swat as she passed him. She turned her head and stuck her
tongue out at him cheekily before walking away towards her own desk
with his, “You’ll pay for that later,” ringing in her ears. She
grinned to herself as she set her bag on top of her desk. Maybe
working for him wasn’t going to be too bad after all, she
mused.

She turned from her desk to go to the
ladies room and was brought up short by a cloud of expensive
perfume and what originally felt like a huge dog being shoved into
her hands.

“Don’t just stand there gawking, girl,
hang my coat up. And be careful, it’s a genuine fox fur that cost
more than you’ll make in your measly lifetime.” Isobel stared
open-mouthed at the speaker, a tall leggy blonde, dripping in what
were obviously real diamonds and a pure wool skirt suit that looked
like it had come straight from the cat-walk in Milan. She was the
epitome of female perfection, but even Isobel’s untrained eye could
see that she’d had an obvious boob job, and her nose was too
perfect for it to not have had some work done to it.

“Hello. I’m assuming that you do
actually speak English?” The unknown female placed a slender hand
on a boney hip and just stood there glaring at Isobel in
frustration. Then she dared to clap her hands together
condescendingly. “Chop chop! For heaven’s sake, Tyler really should
have a word with the agency he uses, because you’re blatantly
incapable of following simple orders. How on earth do you manage to
even do the simplest of secretarial duties such as typing out
letters and such?”

She waved her hands in a dismissal and
turned her back before Isobel even had the chance to formulate a
response. Silently seething, she threw the coat over the coat rack
and went in search of Tyler. Just who the hell did the bitch think
she was talking to her like that?

She knocked on Tyler’s office door,
and at his prompt she opened the door and walked in, dismayed to
see the obnoxious woman sat on the leather couch in his office.
“I’m sorry to interrupt, Mr. James, but could I possibly see you
for a second?” She kept her tone neutral when all she wanted to do
was rant and rave about how the mysterious woman had treated her.
She wasn’t usually a person to tell tales, but she was damned if
she was going to simply stand back and take being treated like a
second-class citizen.

A look crossed Tyler’s face that could
only be described as relief. “Certainly, Ms. Cairns.” He stood up
and walked towards her and then looked back at the woman draped on
his couch. “Excuse me, Jessica. This shouldn’t take long, but it
depends on what it is that Isobel needs.”

Isobel felt herself turning beet red
when Tyler turned his head in her direction and actually winked at
her. He knew exactly what it was that she needed, the smug bastard.
And, judging by the snooty woman’s indignant expression, she had a
good idea too although she didn’t actually say anything and just
contented herself by giving Tyler a black look that would have had
most men quaking in their proverbial boots.

“I would tell you to make yourself
comfortable,” Tyler was addressing ‘Jessica’ again, “but you always
do, so I won’t bother. I’ll be back when I’ve dealt with
business.”

~
Chapter Nine

~

Tyler held the door open and Isobel preceded him out of the office,
pausing to turn around and face him when he’d also exited and
closed the door behind him. “I assume that that’s your wife?” She
nodded her head in the direction of the door, with a thoughtful
scowl that stirred Tyler’s loins and had him wanting to kiss the
petulant look off her beautiful face.

“I wish I could say no, but
unfortunately you’re correct in your assumption.” He started to
walk off down the corridor, in the opposite direction to the rooms
they had ‘played’ in previously, much to Isobel’s
disappointment.