The Billionaire Replacement Read online

  “Peyton is my assistant,” Brandi said to the puzzled glances.

  Thankfully the waiter arrived with their drinks and Brandi took hers gratefully. It was going to be a long night. Abby seemed lovely but the waves of distrust rolling off Harper set off alarm bells in Brandi’s head. The woman didn’t like her and she didn’t know why. Hopefully it wouldn’t be a problem and ruin Bailey’s wedding.

  6

  Brandi dragged herself into the conference room and sat heavily on the chair. Monday morning staff meetings were never her favourite place to be, but at least there was coffee and pastries. She’d overslept and had barely gotten to the office on time, let alone having time to eat breakfast. She reached for the pot of coffee in the middle of the table and poured herself a mug, snagging a cronut as well. She sipped her unadulterated coffee and closed her eyes enjoying the moment. She had drunk far more than she had intended last night and had to get an Uber home, which meant she’d had to get an Uber to work and would have to go and find her car sometime today so she could drive home this afternoon. Ugh! She was never drinking again, especially not with Bailey, who seemed to have an inordinate tolerance for alcohol.

  Peyton tucked some ibuprofen into her hand and Brandi smiled gratefully. Her father generously let her run her side business out of her office in his tech company, which meant that Peyton worked for both companies as well. Despite her propensity for drama, Peyton was actually working out well as Brandi’s assistant. She was glad, because it would have been awkward to have to fire her being that she was Bailey’s little sister.

  Colin Calloway strode into the room and sat at the head of the large conference desk. Brandi’s father was a good looking man who had only gotten better with age (according to her mother). He had taken over the company a few years ago and he had the same zeal that had characterised her grandfather’s time at the helm. They both passionately wanted Sabre Management Systems to succeed and so far things were going great guns, as was evidenced by the luxury lifestyle she had been raised in.

  The meeting started and progressed as normal. Brandi didn’t contribute much; she worked on the back end of their software, working with databases and code and very rarely had anything to do with the end-user. Mostly she attended these meetings to get new tasks and troubleshoot any issues. She was only one of several programmers, but her father made it clear that he wanted her in meetings. He knew she didn’t share his passion for the business, but he still tried to get her involved in the management side of things. She indulged him good-naturedly. It was the least she could do for the amount he paid her.

  “I need someone to cover Dan at a meeting today,” Colin said, looking around the table. “He was scheduled to meet with Declan Mayfield from The Mayfield Group.”

  Brandi’s ears pricked up and she slowly straightened in her chair.

  “Where is Dan?” someone asked.

  “Family emergency,” Colin replied.

  Brandi cleared her throat. “What was the meeting about? Was it just an initial meet-and-greet or…” Brandi faded out as her father eyed her, an interested look on his face.

  “Mayfield wanted to see the program in action. He’s seen the mock-ups and Dan has gone through all the literature with him. Mayfield wanted a hands on demonstration.”

  Brandi cleared her throat again and took a sip of water before speaking. “I could do it,” she said.

  Her father’s eyebrows popped up and buried themselves in his hairline. “You can do it?”

  She shrugged and tried to act casually. “Getting The Mayfield Group on our roster would be good for the company, right?”

  “The group has hotels in every major city in the world not to mention the island resorts and the new casino, so yes. It would be good for us.”

  “Well, I built the system and I know it probably better than anyone else,” she said, sounding reasonable to her own ears. “Who better to demonstrate it?”

  Her father just looked at her, his gaze calculating, but he didn’t say anything.

  “Besides,” she went on, licking her dry lips, “I met him the other night at the school reunion. It was in one of the conference rooms of his hotel,” she rushed on. “We happened to have a conversation. It might go some way to getting a foot in the door.”

  She tried not to sound too desperate, but she really wanted to be the one to take the meeting with Declan. If she could get in to see him under another guise, then she could talk to him about posing as her fiancé at the benefit and then hopefully put Dr. Shane in his place so he would finally leave her alone. The guy just wouldn’t take no for an answer and turning up with Declan on her arm would prove once and for all that she wasn’t interested.

  But she didn’t want her father to know any of that. She especially didn’t want him to know that she and Declan had had more than a shared conversation. She suppressed a shiver that threatened to overtake her body as she thought about the things he had done to her that night. Things that she would not be opposed to repeating.

  Peyton coughed delicately beside her. “Um, I could go with her,” she said hesitantly. “I used to work for Declan.”

  Brandi turned her head sharply and looked at Peyton. Why didn’t she know that?

  “It was just a short internship,” she said hurriedly, “but maybe he would let his guard down a bit if I was there too?”

  Her father pushed up from the conference table and looked at Brandi and Peyton. “Fine,” he said, “but there’s a lot riding on this account. We want The Mayfield Group and I want you to do whatever it takes to get them.”

  Brandi sighed with relief as her father exited the room and the other staff members followed in his wake.

  “Find out what time the meeting is,” she said to Peyton, “and order us a company car.”

  Peyton scurried off to complete her tasks and Brandi looked down at herself. Thankfully she always carried an emergency makeup kit with her at all times. She had rushed to work without thinking too much about her appearance, but now she needed to go and repair the damage. When she saw Declan again she wanted him to be incapable of saying no to her… for anything.

  “Have you had any luck with that other thing I asked you to do?” Declan asked his assistant, Shelley, as he walked out of his office.

  “Not yet, Mr. Mayfield,” she replied and he looked up from the documents in his hand at her formality. That was when he spotted Peyton sitting in the waiting area outside his office. He held back a groan and then his eyes snagged on the person sitting beside her. Brandi.

  Brandi stood and smiled at him, stepping forward with an outstretched hand. “Mr. Mayfield?” she asked with a mischievous grin. “I believe we’re your eleven o’clock.”

  He shook her hand, a crooked smile lifting the corner of his lips. “My eleven o’clock?”

  “Sabre Management Systems,” Shelley said.

  His eyes widened in surprise and he realised he was still holding her hand. He let it go slowly and took some time to let his gaze dance over her body. She wore a pants suit today, the jacket fitted and clasped snuggly at her waist. Her long legs encased in slim fitting navy blue wool and nude stilettos on her feet. Her golden tresses were pinned up in a professional chignon and she wore black framed glasses. The outfit did nothing to hide her flawless figure and he felt himself go hard instantly. Several dirty, and entirely clichéd librarian fantasies scrolled through his brain like a movie montage. Sexy and smart. What an intoxicating mix.

  “Come on in,” he said, his voice deeper and huskier than he had intended.

  She brushed past him and her scent filled his nostrils. He bit back a groan and turned to follow her into his office. He wanted to do dirty, dirty things to her on his desk and up against the big window behind his desk and on the couch in the corner of his office.

  Peyton cleared her throat as she brushed past him too and Declan was pulled up short. Peyton was with her? He followed them into the office and closed the door. He took his time walking around the other side of his
desk to take his seat in his leather chair.

  “Mr. Mayfield,” Brandi began.

  “Please, call me Declan.”

  She smiled, just a little tilt of those luscious lips that he was desperate to taste again. “Declan,” she said and his name sounded like a naughty promise as it crossed her lips. “I’m not sure if you remember me—”

  “Brandi,” he said and her eyes flared with delight. “Brandi No-Last-Name.”

  She ducked her head to hide her grin, but he saw it and grinned one of his own.

  “Brandi Calloway,” she said, “Sabre Management Systems. I believe you already know Peyton?”

  He nodded but didn’t take his eyes off her. He knew who Sabre Management Systems were, he was keen to work with them. He’d found the current booking management system they were using too unwieldy and he was desperate to find something that could streamline the booking process for not only the guests, but the staff as well.

  “I thought I would be meeting with Dan today,” he said, still trying to work out why she was here. Not that he was complaining. Her turning up here was an answer to his prayers.

  “Dan had a family emergency,” Brandi replied, “so I offered to step in.”

  He couldn’t help the smile that broke across his face. She was here on purpose. “Dan was going to show me a live demonstration of the software.”

  Her eyes sparkled as she smiled at him. “I am the head programmer on this system,” she replied. “I can show you everything you need.”

  Not just smart then, fucking brilliant. Brandi Calloway was one tempting package and he definitely hadn’t slaked his thirst with her the other night. The fact that she was there now boded well for a future liaison between them. Declan sat forward. “Show me,” he said.

  Brandi pulled a laptop out of her red leather bag and Peyton stood to help her set it up. Brandi came around the desk to stand beside him. She leaned down over his shoulder and tapped a few keys on the laptop. He could feel the warmth of her skin and smell the subtle scent of her perfume. He was already hard, but with her this close to him, his cock hardened further, trying desperately to bust through his trousers so it could get to her. He used his peripheral vision to watch her and as she moved he got a nice look down the front of her white shirt to the pretty white lace beneath. He wanted to bury his face between her breasts and breathe her in. He wanted to run his hands over her body and see what her naked skin looked like in the sunlight as it poured in through the windows of the penthouse suite. He wanted her spread out across his sheets, her hair a wild tangle on his pillow. He wanted to bury himself so deeply inside her that they both forgot their names.

  “Here we go,” she said and her voice brought him back to the task at hand.

  He cleared his throat and focused on the screen. He fought off the images that tempted him and valiantly concentrated as she clicked around the software, showing him how it worked. He was already sold on it before she had walked in to his office, and asking for this meeting had been more about seeing the level of customer service he could expect from the company. Customer service was his highest priority and was the reason his hotels had done as well as they had. He expected nothing less from the companies he worked with. Having Brandi come out to personally demonstrate the software that she built was better customer service than he could have dreamed of.

  She straightened and indicated that he should drive the software for a bit to get a feel for it. He took a breath and tried to concentrate, but all he could think of was getting rid of Peyton so that he could have Brandi all to himself. He was going to go mad if he didn’t taste her lips again and soon.

  “Hey Peyton,” Brandi said, stepping away from the desk and pulling Peyton over to the corner for a private conversation. “I need a word with Mr. Mayfield, would you mind heading back to the office without me?”

  “How will you get back,” she asked, eyeing Brandi suspiciously.

  “I left my car at the wine bar last night, I need to pick it up and then I can drive back to the office.”

  Peyton looked over her shoulder at Declan. “What do you need to talk to Declan about?” There was caution in her tone and Brandi barely restrained herself from rolling her eyes.

  “I need to finish a discussion I had with him the other night at the reunion.” Brandi took a quick look over her shoulder to make sure Declan was still occupied with the software. “I won’t be long and you can let my dad know that we have The Mayfield Group. Declan loves the software and he’s going to sign with us. Dad will be pleased and you could start on the contracts so we can get the ball rolling. If I know Declan, he is going to want this installed as soon as possible.”

  “She’s not wrong,” Declan said coming to stand with them. “I want the software and I want it yesterday. How long will it take to roll out?”

  “It will take us a few days to personalise it to your specifications, but we should have you up and running within the month,” Brandi said, turning to face him. He was standing really close to her and she felt the magnetic pull of him. She wanted to step closer and align her body with his. It took all her effort to turn back to Peyton. “If you can get the contracts ready and the work order lodged we can get the process started today.”

  “I’ll want you to install it,” Declan said and Brandi could feel his eyes scorching her.

  “Me?” she turned to look at him. “I don’t—”

  “You told me you built this software and that you know more about it than anyone else. I want you to install it.” His eyes brooked no argument and she felt her knees go a little weak at the commanding tone in his voice.

  “I’ll need to speak to my father—”

  “Good.” He turned to look at Peyton for the first time since the meeting had begun. “Good to see you again Peyton.” He turned and strode back over to his desk and retook his seat.

  Peyton sighed. “Fine, I’ll go.” She gripped Brandi’s upper arms and leaned close to whisper furiously. “Be careful. He’s a player.”

  “I’m here about business,” Brandi lied.

  “Uh huh,” Peyton grunted before moving towards the door.

  The door was barely closed before Brandi felt herself being turned and pushed back against it. Declan pressed his hard body up against her and her nerve endings cried out in joy.

  “You left without saying goodbye,” he growled at her and her belly fluttered.

  “I didn’t want it to get awkward—”

  He crashed his mouth down on hers and the rest of her sentence was lost to a moan. God, she’d missed his mouth on her. How could one night with him have left her body so conditioned to his touch?

  “Wait,” she said breathlessly, tearing her mouth away from his.

  “I’ve waited long enough,” he growled again, lowering his head.

  “No, hang on. Just hang on a minute.”

  He stopped inches from her lips.

  “I need to ask you a favour.”

  He ground his hips into hers and she could feel the long, hard length of his erection through the wool of his suit pants. It made her eyes flutter and her core heat.

  “As it so happens,” he said, “I have a favour to ask you too.”

  He kissed her again. A greedy kiss that promised more and then he pulled away, leaving both of them breathing hard.

  “What’s your favour?’ she asked, her brain fuzzy from his nearness and her want.

  “You first,” he said, giving her a heated glance as he swiped at his bottom lip with a thumb. Oh God she wanted to do that with her tongue.

  She cleared her throat and closed her eyes trying to get her bearings before speaking. “I was wondering if you would consider revising your role as my fiancé for a night.”

  His eyebrows popped up and he angled his body towards hers, not touching her but close enough that she could feel the heat emanating off him.

  “Another reunion?”

  She quirked her lips in a wry smile. “No. An over-familiar coworker who won’t take
no for an answer.”

  His eyes darkened and he stepped closer, his body brushing hers lightly.

  “Has he hurt you?” he asked, his voice low and dangerous.

  “No,” she said, her voice barely a whisper.

  Declan lifted a finger and traced the side of her face with a soft touch. “When? When do you need me to play the role of fiancé?”

  “At the hospital benefit,” she said and he smiled down at her.

  “It just so happens,” he said, brushing his lips across hers, “that I was going to ask you a similar favour. I need a pretend girlfriend to get my mother off my back and to stop her setting me up with her little clones. So, if I pretend to be your fiancé for the fuck-face that is harassing you, would you pretend to be my girlfriend for my mother?”

  Brandi swallowed. She wanted him so bad. She wanted him naked and rubbing up against her and she was willing to do anything to get it, but that wasn’t why she was here. She needed him to pretend to be her fiancé and the least she could do was pretend to be his girlfriend.

  “Of course,” she said, her voice husky. “When do you need me?”

  He groaned and pressed his body into hers. “I need you right now,” he whispered in her ear and his hot breath sent tingles through her body.

  “I need you too,” she said breathlessly.

  The phone on his desk buzzed and he hung his head. He pushed away from her and walked over to it, pressing the intercom button.

  “Yes?”

  “Your next appointment is here.”

  “Thanks,” he said before releasing the button. “Fuck.” His eyes sought hers and before she knew it, he was pressed up against her again. “Have dinner with me,” he said, “and we can discuss the terms of our agreement.”

  She looked up at him and saw something more than just lust in his eyes. Her brain warned her that this was dangerous, that getting close to him would only get her hurt. But her heart and her body drowned out her brain and she felt herself nodding. He kissed her again. It was a long, slow, drugging kiss and she melted into him. This man. He had the ability to wreck her if she wasn’t careful.