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  Damon

  A Billionaire CEO Series

  R.K. SCARLETT

  Copyright © R.K. Scarlett 2020

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any similarities to actual events or persons are entirely coincidental.

  Content

  Prologue—Damon

  Chapter 1—Damon

  Chapter 2—Amber

  Chapter 3—Damon

  Chapter 4—Amber

  Chapter 5—Damon

  Chapter 6—Amber

  Chapter 7—Damon

  Chapter 8—Amber

  Chapter 9—Damon

  Chapter 10—Amber

  Epilogue—Damon

  Other Books by R.K. Scarlett

  Prologue—Damon

  It all happened so fast.

  I was heading to the company’s café to get myself a coffee and some lunch, with my secretary in tow. As the CEO of the company, this was my first time going to the café in the corporate building to get my own coffee. Normally, my coffee would be brought to my office, but for some strange reason I decided to get it myself that day.

  But then, just like that, it happened.

  When the barista handed me my coffee, it was as if sparks flew when we touched hands. Suddenly, I felt my arm give out. I looked at the redhead in front of me as her mouth fell open.

  “Shit!” I cried out, feeling the hot liquid burn my hands and drip down my wrists.

  “I’m so sorry! Let me clean that up for you and—”

  “No, you don’t have to. I’ve got this,” I muttered.

  Anger was the last thing on my mind. I couldn’t think of anything to say to her. The only thing I could think about was the urge to caress her body. She tried to fix the situation, but I gently eased her hand away.

  “No, don’t worry about me,” I said.

  My secretary Lisa rushed over, grabbing some napkins and shooting the barista a dirty look. I put my hand out, staring at the redhead with a lustful gaze.

  “Don’t worry about this, Lisa. I have a meeting to get back to. Let me order another coffee, and we can take care of this mess with some dry cleaning later on,” I said.

  There was a sudden feeling of excitement and allure as I laid my eyes back on the barista. I felt my heart beating fast, and I was overcome by the desire to have her as my own. I badly needed to know who she was.

  Damn...I was already late for my meeting, and I had to get a move on.

  Later that day, I sat in the meeting, wondering what that mysterious girl was up to.

  I pondered if I would ever see her again.

  Maybe it would be sooner than I thought.

  Chapter 1—Damon

  I typed up the next business report and gave it to Lisa, who quickly ran it over to the billing department.

  “That’s odd,” I said to myself.

  I looked at the report at least three times, trying to figure out the error. Why were we losing so much money? I figured that since we had been selling more products, we would have more of a surplus in our accounts.

  “What’s the matter, sir?” Lisa said, her blonde hair pulled back in a tight ponytail.

  “I’m seeing random numbers here, and they make no sense. I’d like for billing to go through and fix this for me,” I said to her. I pushed my brown hair back, sighing in frustration.

  “Will do, sir,” she replied to me with a wink.

  “Right. Anyway, do I have any more meetings today?” I asked.

  “No, sir. By the way, I was wondering if you’d like to go and get some dinner together? You know, after all of this is done?” Lisa asked.

  I rolled my eyes. Lisa was always doing this shit. She would try to ask me out, and I’d always refuse.

  “You know the rules, Lisa. I don’t date coworkers,” I told her.

  “Right. Well, I was just saying as friends and—”

  “Lisa. I’ve told you many times: I’m not doing this. I have a business to run, and an image to uphold,” I muttered.

  The look of annoyance on her face said it all, but I certainly wasn’t going to go against my own morals. I had no desire to date anyone at this point in my life. Relationships, to me, felt meaningless.

  Especially after the last one.

  I sighed, putting my head in my hands. Even though I reminded myself daily that relationships weren’t worth the trouble, it still didn’t offset the loneliness that I felt.

  I figured I would meet someone eventually. Sure, I was busy, but for now, even a vacation would be nice.

  I quickly made my way out of the office and went downstairs. I figured I could go down to the company café again.

  Then I remembered the last time I had gone there.

  That girl.

  A part of me wondered if I would see her again.

  Our last encounter was thrilling. Holy shit...come to think of it, I hadn’t felt like that in a long time. She probably felt bad about spilling coffee on me. Plus, Lisa had glared at her like she meant nothing.

  She probably had even left the company by now. Someone was bound to have fired her during the two weeks I was away on my business trip.

  I went downstairs to the café, ignoring the stares from various employees. But then, when I arrived at the counter, my eyes locked with hers.

  I felt my heart skip a beat. My breath stopped for a moment, and my body tensed up with nervousness.

  Why did I feel this way?

  This redheaded woman had me in a trance. It’s not like she remembered me, right?

  I turned to the counter and looked into her eyes. The words that came out of my mouth flowed naturally.

  “One latte, please.”

  Chapter 2—Amber

  It was as if fate was trying to mess with me.

  Damon Grant, the CEO of the company was here, and he was looking at me and asking me for a latte. It had been two weeks since the humiliating incident that occurred the last time I’d served him.

  I was so excited to see him again, but also completely terrified of the outcome. What was he going to say? Did he even remember me from last time? My hair was longer and pulled back, but not much had changed on either of our ends.

  He was still just as attractive as he’d been when I’d first laid eyes on him.

  “Sure, give me just a moment!” I said in a saccharine tone.

  My lips curled into a smile, and I tried to keep calm as I prepared the order for him.

  I quickly made my way to the serving counter, my hands shaking with nervousness. I really didn’t want to mess up again. I would be zero for two. Suddenly, I remembered what my boss had said last time.

  Basically, I was lucky to not be fired.

  I brought the latte back, my hands shaking almost uncontrollably as I set it down.

  “Sorry, I’m just making sure I don’t drop it or anything,” I stammered.

  “You’re fine. I understand not wanting to repeat what happened last time. I wouldn’t want to spill hot coffee either,” he replied with a smile.

  Holy crap!

  He did remember.

  I felt like all eyes were on me, like I was at the center of the room with a spotlight shining on me. I wanted to run away and hide, but instead I tried to keep myself calm.

  “Anyways, here you go,” I said.

  “Thank you very much...Amber,” he said, looking at the nametag on my chest.

  I flushed, trying my best to keep still. I wanted nothing more than to just hide away and forge
t about everything.

  “Is there anything else I can help with?” I asked.

  “Not at all. You’re a gem, Amber,” he said, flashing me a pearly white smile.

  I wanted to say something more, but I felt like trying to put words together at this point wouldn’t get me anywhere.

  “I’ll see you around,” he said.

  He walked away, and it felt as if everything had stopped for a minute.

  I went back to working the counter when customers came by, but I wondered if I would ever see him again.

  The rest of the day seemed to fly by, and I didn’t have any other memorable encounters. Damon was the billionaire CEO of Grant’s Design, a high-end clothing company. The fact that he remembered a mere peon like me, someone at the bottom of the corporate food chain, made me feel like I truly mattered.

  I really only took this job because I’m in college and need to make some cash. Luckily, my boss is pretty cool most of the time, except of course when I make stupid mistakes like spilling coffee all over a customer. I finished up with my shift and clocked out. As I was about to leave, my boss looked at me with a curious glance.

  “You seem happy,” he said.

  “I am. I saw Damon again today, and I didn’t spill his coffee this time,” I joked.

  “I see. You’re lucky that didn’t happen again...his secretary gave me hell for it the first time,” he said.

  I nodded.

  “I figured. She gave me the worst look, Patrick. I’m not sure why,” I said.

  “Take a guess, genius. Maybe because you spilled hot coffee on the CEO?! Anyways, are you heading to class?” he asked.

  “Yeah, why?”

  “Oh, just wondering. It all seems like a lot of work, but you keep it up pretty well,” Patrick said.

  “I try to. I got to go,” I replied.

  As I was about to head out, I heard Patrick speak once more.

  “By the way, I was thinking about checking out this movie on Friday. Are you down to join?” he asked.

  I paused. Why was Patrick doing this? He probably only wanted to go as friends, but still, it made me feel slightly uncomfortable.

  “No, I can’t, I’ve got school,” I said.

  “Fair enough,” he replied.

  He looked dejected, but whatever. I had a class to get to. I quickly made my way to my car and rushed to campus for my 8 pm class.

  The class was another boring lecture. I was tired, and much more focused on what had happened earlier that afternoon. I couldn’t get the thought of Damon off my mind.

  When I got home later that evening, my mom greeted me.

  “How are things at work, dear? You’re not overwhelmed, right?” she asked.

  “No, mom. I want to continue to work. I want to provide for the both of us; it’s only fair,” I said.

  My mom was partially disabled due to a stroke she’d suffered years ago, and she couldn’t work a full-time job. It was quite hard to keep up with all that I did, but it was necessary to keep us both afloat.

  My mom shook her head.

  “Well, if it becomes too much, know that I can try to find work. I’ll deal with it,” she said.

  My mom did freelance graphic design, which was good work, but her limitations meant that she could only take on so much. I felt bad for her, but I needed to hold myself together.

  I went to my room and laid down on the bed for a moment to close my eyes. I still had homework to do, and I’d have to check into my online class as well.

  This wasn’t easy, and I knew that it would only become harder to keep this up. But merely seeing Damon today made me feel good, and even if life went to shit, at least I had more chance encounters with him to look forward to.

  I opened my books and started working on my homework. I couldn’t help but feel like a kid that had met their celebrity crush. But instead of it being a fleeting dream, it was so very real.

  Chapter 3—Damon

  I arrived at work the next morning with a big grin on my face, feeling like I had just won the lottery.

  Lisa looked me over, I could tell that she was trying to find something with which to incriminate me.

  “By the way, Gabriel called. He said for me to relay a message to you,” she said.

  Oh, great...Gabriel. Talking to him always vacillated between decent and completely insufferable.

  “What is it?”

  “I don’t know. He just said to call ASAP and that it’s important,” she replied.

  This meant that, whatever it was, it wasn’t important at all. I doubted that whatever he needed to tell me wasn’t really anything of value. I sighed and headed over to my office to call him back. Gabriel, who was actually one of my business partners, had played a key role in getting me to where I am today. When I heard the phone ring a few times, I tapped my finger on the table, annoyedly waiting for him to answer.

  “Damon! What’s up?” he said.

  “Make it snappy, Gabriel. I don’t have all day,” I simply stated. Gabriel would talk your goddamn ear off if given the chance.

  “Well, hello to you too. So, I wanted to extend an invite to you. I’m throwing a gala soon, and I thought maybe you could bring someone with you. It’s a fundraiser, but a lot of the bigshots will be there. That Lisa girl is pretty sweet,” he said.

  “Lisa is my employee,” I muttered.

  “Sure, whatever you say. Anyways, it’ll be on the 30th of this month. So, if you have some time, please try and come. Oh, and if you do bring someone, make sure they’re someone important. I’m only inviting the biggest of the bigshots. This is for a new clothing line, and we already have some donors lined up. I figured I’d invite you as a connection, that’s all,” he said.

  “Right. I’ll consider it,” I simply said.

  “Sure. I know that Lisa would be great at dealing with all of the people you don’t want to deal with yourself, like Malcolm. He’s still upset that you bought that property, you know,” he said.

  I didn’t need to hear about that right now. It’s not like I really cared all that much anyway.

  “Well, Malcolm can go to hell for all I care. Right now, I’m just focusing on my life and my job. I’ll think about coming to the gala, but I have a lot going on right now. I’m not really in the mood to deal with something like that,” I said.

  “You just don’t like shit that doesn’t directly involve the company. I get it, it’s your baby. Your parents gave it to you. But you should also think about the future. Maybe focus on finding someone to produce an heir, or even give some thought to merging the company with someone. I’m just saying,” Gabriel said.

  “I said I’ll think about it,” I told him.

  “Right, well that’s all. Talk to you later,” he said.

  The phone clicked off and I sighed. I felt like Gabriel was practically forcing me to go to this stupid gala.

  I heard a knock at the door, and I quickly hollered for whomever it was to come in. I figured it was probably Lisa.

  She sauntered in, moving her hips back and forth in an attempt to get me to notice. I was frankly way too flustered with the way work was going to even think about anything else.

  “Is everything ok with Gabriel?” she asked.

  “Oh, yes. He was just asking me what I’m up to, and he wanted me to meet with some sponsors and such,” I said to her.

  “Do you need me to tag along?” she asked, pushing a little tendril of blonde hair back behind her ear. She dyed her hair blonde this week, but next week it would probably be red. I had only noticed because it was so difficult to keep track of what color hair she’d have each week.

  “I’m good. Thanks, Lisa,” I said to her.

  The look of disappointment on her face was obvious as she walked out of the room.

  I went back to work and focused. I wasn’t sure how to tell Lisa nicely to knock it off. She was certainly a valued employee, but I definitely didn’t like her in a romantic way. Still, my thoughts were muddled, and I hoped that I hadn�
��t been too terse with her.

  I sat back in my office chair and tried to clear my head. Man, I could really go for a cup of coffee. Suddenly, I thought about that mysterious girl. I remembered her name from her nametag: Amber. I felt my face flush hot.

  I laughed to myself. Did I really even want coffee, or was this simply an excuse to see Amber?

  I decided to go down to the café when I knew Lisa would be busy with the other departments. I didn’t need her around all the time, and that little bit of freedom from her was quite nice. I hated how she always seemed to hover over me, despite me telling her that I didn’t need the attention.

  I went to the café, and there she was again; the adorable redhead. I walked over to the counter and smiled at her.

  “One latte,” I said.

  “Your usual, it seems,” she said.

  It was the first time she’d managed to say something other than “here you are,” and that alone made me smile.

  “Yeah,” I replied, as my eyes scanned her body.

  She went over to get the latte, looking me in the eye as she placed it down in front of me. She had a smile on her face that said everything.

  “What’s up?” I asked her.

  “Oh nothing. Just...glad to see you again, that’s all,” she said to me.

  “I guess you missed me a latte,” I teased.

  She blushed, then quickly nodded.

  “I guess you could say that. You’re certainly the most interesting person to come in here. And plus, you’re kind of nice,” she replied.

  Our hands touched as she gave me the coffee cup, and we locked eyes. I could sense the tension and the nervousness in the air between us. As I grabbed the cup out of her hand, I cleared my throat.

  “I, uh, kind of need my card back,” I said.

  “Oh gosh, sorry!” she cried out.

  She scrambled over to the register and quickly put my information in. I couldn’t help but laugh as I watched her frantically struggle with getting everything in order. In a way, I understood why she was so nervous. She didn’t want to screw up, and I didn’t want her to either. It was an understandable feeling.