Billionaires in New York Boxed Set: Billionaires in the City Books 1-3 by Laura Burton (learn to read books .TXT) 📕

around the room until her wide eyes rested on Emily, who was sitting on the couch sipping herbal tea.

“What can I get you, Ms. Stewart?” Jaqueline asked in her fake-polite voice. Emily motioned for her to sit on the couch. She watched Jaqueline chew her lips and fiddle with the ties hanging down from her wrists. Her white ribbed shirt laced up on the sleeves and neckline; it was quite trendy. Her pencil denim skirt hung past her knees and she wore a pair of brown faded cowboy boots. All in all, not a bad look, she just needed a checked necktie and her hair in a braid and she’d be ready for a rodeo. Jaqueline sat down next to Emily; she was so slight that the couch barely shifted under her weight.

“How old are you, Jaqueline?” Emily asked softly. Jaqueline stared back, her eyes like saucers and her mouth hanging open.

“Twenty-one, Ms. Stewart,” she said in the smallest voice. Emily could hardly make out the words. Her hands were trembling. She sat like a little lamb waiting to be taken to the slaughterhouse.

Really? Am I that scary? Poor timid thing.

“Are you good at keeping secrets?” Emily asked as she patted her knee. Jaqueline jumped as if struck by a bolt of lightning.

“I––well––um––yes, I think so,” she stammered, now on her feet again.

“Great.” She needed to let someone in on the situation she’d hatched and now found herself embroiled in with David. She was too busy to nurture friendships and she hadn’t seen or spoken to her sister for months. Jaqueline on the other hand, well, she saw her every day and she had the added bonus of knowing where she lived. Who better to divulge your deepest secrets to than your personal assistant who picks up your tampons?

“Sit down, Jaqueline. I need to tell you something. Big. And it needs to stay between us, okay?” Emily said slowly and firmly. Jaqueline’s eyes grew even wider and she settled back down in the seat, looking at Emily with a mixture of relief and intrigue.

“Okay, Ms. Stewart, I won’t tell a soul, I promise.”

Emily stood in the restroom staring at herself in the mirror. She pulled off a few stray hairs from her red sweater and smoothed the wrinkles out of her black trousers. A toilet flushed and one of the cubicle doors opened behind her; she turned to see Jaqueline.

“Did you make the call?”

“Everything is set up,” she said as she bent over the sink and washed her hands.

“Good,” Emily said as she exhaled. She eyed Jaqueline carefully, watching her delicately dry her hands with a paper towel.

“You can call me Emily, you know.”

Jaqueline stopped moving momentarily and her nostrils flared. Emily couldn’t decide if that was a good sign or not.

“Thank you, but I think I prefer Ms. Stewart,” she said finally before throwing the used paper towel in the trash. She was so timid, and now she was moody?

What is the deal with this girl?

“You have a bit of a temper, don’t you?” Emily rested a hand on her hip as she ran her fingers through her hair.

“I’m sorry.” Jaqueline’s shoulders slumped in defeat. “I feel better calling you Ms. Stewart… seeing as I’ve called you that for years.”

“Years? How long have you worked here?”

“Three years.”

“Didn’t you go to college?”

Jaqueline’s nostrils flared again, and her pupils dilated. Emily chewed the inside of her cheek.

Why is she behaving this way? I’m her boss.

“I took an internship here instead,” she said firmly. Emily drummed her fingers on her hip bone and surveyed the girl’s determined expression. She was hungry for something. Was it money? Recognition?

“So, you’ve been here for three years as my personal assistant. Tell me, do you want to work with clients?” As soon as the words left Emily’s mouth, Jaqueline’s eyes lit up.

“Yes,” she said back to her small voice. The two women stood facing each other in silence.

“Right, you know the plan. If this works out, you can expect a promotion.”

Jaqueline rocked on the heels of her feet and clasped her hands together her face broke out into a beaming smile.

“Thank you, Ms. Stewart. Thank you.”

Emily sat at her desk with her fingers interlocking and resting on her pink notepad. She looked up at the clock and shifted in her chair, uncrossing her ankles and crossing them again nervously. She had managed to keep busy with meetings that morning. Now that she’d met with everyone in her company, she sat at her desk with nothing left to do but wait.

When her yellow phone rang, Emily jumped in her seat and stared at it like it was a bomb. She cleared her throat, straightened her back, and picked up the phone.

“Emily Stewart speaking.”

“Hi Emily, it’s Matthew.” Emily deliberated whether he spoke in a tone that suggested he was happy or politely irritated.

“Ah, thank you for your call Matthew.”

“Found yourself a fella already, have you? That was fast.”

“Actually, I have a bit of a confession to make.”

“Ah. I’m sorry, but you should know that I’m happily married.”

“Sorry?” She leaned back in her chair and folded her arms.

“Hmm, you weren’t going to confess your undying love for me?”

“I––we’ve never even met!” Emily spluttered, caught off guard. Mathew chortled down the phone as she chewed her lip and wondered what to say.

“Sorry,” he said as he wheezed. “Bad joke, but I couldn’t resist.”

Emily swallowed and clutched the phone in her hand as she built up the courage to speak again.

“I was not entirely honest with you during our previous conversation.”

“Is that so?”

“You see, I like to keep my private life just that, private. When you asked me if I was in a relationship, I was not quite sure how to reply honestly. My husband––”

“You’re married?”

“Yes, my husband is very private and stays out of the media.”

“Oh, so he’s famous? Some hunk Hollywood actor I know?”

“No, no he’s not an actor.”

“Hmm. All right, well this is interesting. I’ll tell you what, let’s have dinner and talk about