TheBillionairesPilot by Suzanne Graham Read Free Book Online Page B

your rooms,” Xavier said, motioning to a uniformed woman who appeared from
the hallway to the right.
    “Please follow me, Señor and Señorita.”
    Cassie walked behind the older woman and
tried not to be too obvious as she ogled the elegance inside the mansion.
    The foyer opened up to a two-story living
room, surrounded on three sides by columns and arched balconies with decorative
wrought-iron railings. Heavy, dark wood tables and soft ivory sofas faced an
entire wall of windows on the far side of the living room and looked out over a
pool and a densely landscaped tropical garden. Beyond the garden, Cassie caught
sight of the turquoise sea.
    “Your suite is in the guest wing,” Santie
explained as they climbed the stairs to the second floor and wound their way down
a long hallway. “The master and mistress are in the other wing, and your
assistant will be in the guest house where he will have access to the guest
office.”
    They reached the end of the hall and
followed the woman into a sun-filled sitting room. A short sofa was grouped
with two armchairs around a low coffee table in the middle of the room. In the
far corner, a mahogany bar appeared to be fully stocked with top shelf liquor.
Next to it, sheer white curtains billowed gently in the sea breeze floating through
the open doors to the balcony.
    “Here you go,” Santie said with a wave of
her hand. “If you have any need of staff, you may dial number one on the
telephone.” She pointed to the desk sitting against the right wall.
    “This looks perfect,” Evan said.
    “Gracias, Señor. Please enjoy your stay,”
Santie said then turned to leave.
    “Thank you,” Evan replied and closed the
door behind her.
    Cassie glanced beyond the arched columns
to the left to the large bed on the platform in the middle of the adjoining
room.
    As if reading her mind, Evan said, “I’m
not sleeping on the couch.”
    “Then I will,” Cassie quickly acceded.
    “No. I don’t want any of the staff
talking about my girlfriend sleeping on the sofa. It’s a king-sized bed. We can
share it…without touching.”
    She stared at him. “That evasive move
from earlier was only the beginning of what I know about self-defense.”
    He held up both his hands, palms out. “I
promise you won’t need to show me any more of your defensive moves this
weekend.”
    For a moment, she wondered if she’d
bruised his ego by being able to defend herself so easily against him.
    Then a sexy grin quirked up one corner of
his mouth. “But feel free to show me your offense at any time.”
    And any self-doubts about whether he
found her attractive fled, making her even more nervous about keeping her
distance from her new boss. She absolutely could not make the same mistake
again.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Five
     
     
    While
Cassie washed up in the bathroom, Evan grabbed a bottle of water from the bar
in the sitting room. Twisting off the cap, he walked out to the balcony
overlooking the turquoise water of the Caribbean Sea. The salt-laden air blew
lightly over his heated skin.
    Playing the boyfriend role with Cassie
this weekend might be the most fun he’d had since before taking over the wheel
at Mitchell Industries. She was feisty and obviously didn’t back down from a
challenge—a lot like him.
    He wondered if that was another trait
they shared because they’d both been raised without siblings. Had she also
wished, like he had, that she had a brother or sister growing up?
    Being a part of the racing team, working
side by side with the other men on the crew, was the closest he’d ever been to
having brothers. And it had been harder to give up that than the thrill of the
racing, though walking away from the winner’s circle had been pretty damn tough
too.
    This upcoming merger negotiation with
Xavier was Evan’s first opportunity to score a big win for Mitchell Industries
as the new president and CEO. He owed it to his father to pull it together.