Quarantined with the Billionaire Read online

  I wondered if all the other restrooms would be as whimsical.

  When I left, shutting off the chandelier lighting the small space, I felt the urge to explore some more. I peeked through the open doorway to the north and made the guess that it led to the front entryway. It appeared to be a great room through the open arch and, as I walked closer, I could see a set of double doors farther through, confirming my suspicion. As I neared the closed door at a diagonal from the arch, I strained, because I could hear a voice.

  Ah. That was the other entrance to Mr. Steel’s office.

  The stairs…those were tempting, but I decided to avoid them for now. I had work to do, and I doubted I’d be invited back here if found snooping. But the art on the wall near the entrance to the dining room distracted me.

  The paintings were both what I’d call abstract and yet they pulled together all the elements of the room in what seemed an intentional way, making me wonder if this artwork had been commissioned by Mr. Steel. One painting appeared to be like what I imagined a hurricane looked like on the inside, only the color wasn’t that of a cloud but of the earthy tones throughout the house; and the other was an artistic arrangement of patterns—blobs, strokes, with subtle bright colors here and there mixed in. I could get lost in both paintings for hours, trying to discern the meaning of them.

  “Lovely, aren’t they?”

  I nearly jumped out of my skin when Simon’s voice pulled me out of my trance. I hadn’t realized he’d returned to the house from his errands, much less snuck up on me—but the rug on the floor was good at absorbing the sound of footsteps apparently. Despite the gasp that flew out of my mouth, I didn’t want to act guilty or frightened. After all, I hadn’t done anything wrong.

  “Yes. They’re stunning. I, um, had to use the ladies’ room.” Relief washed through my veins that he hadn’t seen when I’d been peeking around the sitting room and looking through the big doorway.

  Or had he?

  “But I guess it’s time to get back to work.”

  He nodded, standing next to me. “Can I make you anything to drink? A latte? Hot or iced tea? Water?”

  “Water would be nice. Thank you.”

  I walked with him through the dining room, disliking that I had to have him fetch things for me, but this wasn’t my house and he wasn’t my employee. Even though I was quite capable, I wouldn’t just come to someone else’s house and start helping myself. I had to remind myself that this was no different.

  I just wasn’t used to having someone wait on me in this fashion. When we got to the kitchen, I paused so I could take the water back with me. Simon said, “You don’t need to wait. I’ll bring it to you.”

  I might have taken it wrong had Simon’s brown eyes not seemed so warm and kind. “Okay. Thank you.” Heading back to my space, I tried to focus. It was a little easier now, because I’d been through these rooms a couple of times now, and I could allow my curiosity to simmer down a bit. And, unlike my tiny apartment, I thought I could actually get in some steps in this house, which I’d been lacking since not having to walk to work.

  Sitting back down at my desk, I removed the sticky note from my monitor and began making calls again. I’d just finished rescheduling another appointment for Mr. Steel when Simon entered the room.

  Wow. He took his job pretty seriously—or, perhaps, I didn’t take it seriously enough.

  He carried my drink on a tray, but it was more than that. Placing a napkin on the desk, he then set a glass of ice on it before putting a bottle of water and a small bowl of lemon slices beside it. “Would you like me to pour it for you?”

  “No, thanks. I’ve got it.” That would be too much.

  Smiling, Simon turned to leave but then paused.

  Oh, God. He’d figured out I really didn’t belong there. What was he going to say?

  “By any chance, Miss Bernard, did you rinse off the breakfast dishes?”

  Yeah, he’d figured me out. Was I about to be in huge trouble?

  I couldn’t lie. It was something I would have done again and again and I wasn’t going to apologize for picking up after myself. Turning my head away from my monitor, I nodded, feeling like George Washington admitting to cutting down the cherry tree.

  The urge to say sorry was strong, but I resisted.

  Simon’s expression softened and I even thought I saw a small smile. “I just wanted to thank you.” And, with that, he turned and left the room.

  And I was all but speechless.

  As I readied myself to make another call, I paused, remembering I’d wanted to take a picture for Elise because, after all, I’d probably never be here again. And Elise, my funny friend, would tease me mercilessly. I needed a little proof. As it was, she’d already texted me twice, asking me what was up and then asking if I was okay because I hadn’t called or texted. So, first, I messaged her back. Doing fine. I’m on a special assignment.

  Then I took my phone and turned toward the windows, snapping a photo from where I sat.

  Attaching it to another text, I typed, Guess where I am?

  And then I made another phone call. This one took longer, as this client, an older woman, wanted to meet with Mr. Steel as soon as possible, so I set up a Zoom meeting for the next morning, now that most of his Tuesday had now been cleared, thanks to my earlier work.

  Elise had already texted back. Did you get stir crazy? I have no idea. Doesn’t look like the any of the coffee shops near your apartment.

  I considered stringing her along, but I couldn’t spend all day texting. I’d call her tonight and give her all the details. For now, though, I’d just put her out of her misery. I’m at the boss’s house on special assignment.

  But her text back to me was going to draw it out. The boss? That doesn’t look like Dominique’s place. Jeffrey’s?

  No. I waited a few seconds before sending another text. Maddox Steel.

  I knew that would have her freaking out, so I sent a final text. I’ll call you tonight with all—

  But, of course, her phone call interrupted my typing. My cell was on silent, so the ringing wouldn’t get anyone’s attention, but there was no way in hell I was going to have this conversation now. I swiped to ignore her call before finishing my message, telling her I’d give her a ring later with all the juicy details, finishing it up with CAN’T TALK NOW!

  Hopefully, my friend would understand, and I realized then how cruel my messages had been—but I’d been dying to share it with the one person who would actually appreciate where I was today.

  Pouring the water bottle onto the ice, unable to resist adding the lemon Simon had sliced for me, I took a sip before making more calls. Even I was impressed with how quickly I was getting the job done.

  After about an hour, Maddox Steel appeared in the doorway between the two rooms. His deep voice resounded with an ominous tone, sending a chill down my spine. “Bailey, we need to talk. Finish what you’re doing and then come to in my office.”

  Oh, crap. What had I done?

  And would I be able to fix it?

  Chapter Six

  Walking through the doorway, I felt my stomach clench. I wouldn’t have panicked if not for the tone in his voice—and I decided right then and there that I never wanted Maddox Steel to be full-on angry with me.

  He was kind of scary.

  In fact, I hadn’t felt this terrified since my first week in college when I was a clueless eighteen-year-old in what felt like a foreign land. That was no comparison, though. The sound of his voice took me back further, to some of the darkest spots of my teenage days. Since growing up, I’d conquered fears one by one, learning as I went, never looking back.

  Fear is an illusion.

  I’d be okay, no matter what happened, and I repeated that little mantra over and over in my head as I crossed the room.

  At his bidding, I sat in the chair that was now at a diagonal from his desk. Turning his monitor, he pointed at it as if I wasn’t already staring at it. Obviously, I’d done something w
rong, but I had no clue what that was.

  “I appreciate that you’re clearing my calendar, but I explicitly asked that you give clients a choice between rescheduling an in-person appointment or scheduling one in Zoom.”

  Swallowing, I tried to stifle the nerves that were nearly causing my hands to shake. I didn’t want my voice to reveal just how intimidated I felt—which was silly. Maddox was just a man, albeit a powerful one, and I was an adult. This was nothing to freak out about. So I pursed my lips, drawing in another breath before answering. “Yes, you did. And that’s what I’ve been doing.”

  He clicked on his screen to shift the view of the calendar from that of a week to instead that of a month. “Most of those appointments are gone.” Once more, he clicked, this time shifting the view from March to April. “And they’ve just been moved over here. It looks to me like you’re simply rescheduling them all as in-person appointments.”

  Now my body prepared to fight. Righteous anger threatened to overwhelm all other emotions, but I wrestled against those just as I had the fear. Being defensive wouldn’t win any points with this man.

  Although the shine had already worn off and I was beginning not to care. As difficult as Dominique had been as a boss over the years, at least she appreciated when I did what she asked.

  “Mr. Steel, most of your clients want to meet with you in person. I’ve offered them virtual meetings, telling them that would be the quickest way to meet with you, but most of them prefer being able to sit down with you, even if it means having to wait. If you’ll go back to your March calendar, you’ll see I scheduled Portia Daughtery for a Zoom meeting tomorrow morning.”

  As he clicked back, I resisted the urge to say something smug. Told you so. Because even if I was ultimately right, maybe I’d misunderstood his directives—and that wouldn’t be good, either.

  The urge to say something sarcastic was even stronger, but I managed to speak like a professional. “I apologize if I made a mistake. I thought you’d asked me to offer both alternatives—but if you want me to try to persuade your clients into taking a virtual meeting, I can do that. I just didn’t understand that’s what you wanted.”

  Boy, I couldn’t read his expression. Was he still angry?

  “No, I don’t want you forcing people to do something they don’t want to do. I expected more people to be panicking, wanting to meet with me right away.”

  When he was being suave and charismatic, I could understand why his clients wanted to meet with him personally, breathing in his air, drinking in his charm. If only they could see him now…

  “Ms. Daughtery was. She was freaking out about her stocks and wanted me to transfer her to you immediately when I called her.”

  He didn’t smile, but his tone lightened. “Sounds like Portia. Maybe I should call her now.”

  I sat there, wondering if he had other issues, grateful that his brow had relaxed somewhat.

  “I misunderstood, Bailey. It sounds like you’re doing exactly what I asked you to.” He stood, and I followed. “How many more calls do you have to make to finish out next week?”

  “Just a couple.”

  “Okay. Go ahead and do those and then we’ll reconvene. In the meantime, I think I’d better call Portia.”

  Simon tapped lightly on the open door before peeking his head in, and I wondered if he’d heard Mr. Steel chewing my butt moments earlier. I couldn’t bring myself to call him by his first name in my head, even more so after the incident I’d just survived. And why did I even care if Simon had heard any of it? If Mr. Steel was that big an ass, he’d probably torn through this poor man a time or two.

  “I’m leaving now, Mr. Steel. Is there anything else you need today?”

  “No. Thank you, Simon. Have a good night.”

  “Pleasure to meet you, Ms. Bernard.” With a nod of his head, he left the room.

  But he was my ride. I refrained from saying a word about it. My expression, however, must have given me away.

  “Don’t worry. I’ll get you back to your apartment. I gotta take the Ferrari out for a spin today anyway.”

  I wished I could be excited at this point, but all the wind was out of my sails. I returned to my desk, taking a drink of water, wishing I could have a good cry now—but that would have to wait until later. Poor Elise. She would be expecting a fun story and instead she would have to help me stop sobbing.

  I managed to make the other calls, this time talking both people into virtual appointments later in the week. Despite what Mr. Steel had initially said he wanted, I understood now what he actually preferred, no matter what he said. The Zoom appointments took a little longer to schedule, because I had to set up the meetings and email both parties the link while also placing it on Mr. Steel’s calendar, but I hoped he’d be pleased at what I’d done.

  I considered going to Mr. Steel’s office to let him know I was finished but thought twice about it. The less attention I drew to myself, the better. So I spent a few moments double-checking my work, wanting to avoid any other unpleasant emotions from my temporary boss.

  Soon, though, he entered the room. “Ready?”

  More than. “Yes. Um, Simon took my coat and put it somewhere.”

  Mr. Steel nodded, a slight smile on his face. “Good old Simon. Be right back.”

  Grabbing my purse, I walked to the space I considered a family room, the first place I’d stepped inside Mr. Steel’s home, and waited patiently. I stood over by the bar, looking at some of the bottles along the wall, but none of the drinks were familiar.

  It really was like I was on another place on the planet. Visiting here for the day had been, at best, amusing, but my emotions now were wrought, and I just wanted to be somewhere safe. As stifling as my little studio apartment might feel now, at least it was a place where I’d feel secure.

  Unstressed.

  “That didn’t take any time. The bright blue stood out in the closet like a sore thumb.” Mr. Steel strode through the room, holding out my coat. I got ready to put it on myself until I realized he was holding it so that he could help me put it on.

  Something else that felt strange.

  But I set my purse on the bar and let him slide the coat onto my arms, and the sensation of his strong hands on my shoulders did not go unnoticed.

  Also unusual—but not unwelcome. And had I not still been smarting from his earlier tongue lashing, I might have appreciated it more.

  Holding the door open for me, he said, “I think the fragrance on your coat will linger in my closet for some time as well. What was that scent? It reminded me of cloves.”

  The grin on my face was genuine even if remaining cautious. “That’s what it is. It’s just essential oil. One of my coworkers in Customer Service is kind of sensitive to a lot of scents, so I quit wearing traditional fragrances.”

  “That’s too bad. Engaging all the senses is good for the soul.”

  “I don’t disagree—but essential oils can fit the bill,” I said, now standing outside, breathing in the cool fresh air.

  “I suppose they can. But sometimes there’s nothing like a mingling of exotic scents to stimulate the palate.”

  What did that even mean? “I guess so.” Pausing, I let him lead the way to the garage, disliking the feel of his eyes on me. I now felt like I was under scrutiny, as though whatever I did would never be good enough.

  He held the garage door for me, unable to help himself from being a gentleman—and, even though I’d vehemently insisted over the years that I didn’t need a man, part of me really liked that kind of attention.

  Was I forgetting that I was upset with him?

  The lights in the garage flooded the vast space. Simon had parked outside the garage rather than inside, so I didn’t know until then that Mr. Steel had three vehicles under that roof. The silver Lexus I’d ridden in earlier today wasn’t here, but the car Mr. Steel was walking toward was cherry red. A sports car.

  Stunning.

  I’d love to drive it.

  I
wasn’t sure what type of car it was, and I wasn’t about to ask. I knew he’d mentioned it earlier, but I couldn’t pull it out of my brain. I could tell it was a convertible and it looked brand new. Mr. Steel opened the passenger door for me and I got in, wishing I’d had my phone handy so I could send Elise a picture of the car, too, but my phone was buried in my purse.

  Maybe when he sped away after dropping me off at my apartment.

  But I was mad at him.

  So I cemented a serious look on my face as he walked around the car and got in the driver’s side.

  It was hard not to notice how hot he looked in the black leather jacket and jeans he wore, and the fact that my mind kept going there only made me angrier.

  With him.

  As he backed the car out of the garage, I saw Ferrari on the front of the dash, and I stifled a grin, because I’d never been in a vehicle like this one before. Once he got the car out on the street, I could feel the smoothness of its tires against the pavement, along with bridled power. I was almost sad we wouldn’t be driving down the interstate, because I would have bet this car would be fun and go from zero to sixty in seconds.

  And I wondered if this car was a metaphor of the man himself. Driven. Powerful. Mysterious.

  Yes, mysterious. I didn’t know anything about this man, and that made him all the more intriguing, even though I still harbored the belief that he was an asshole. And the latter part of the day had only confirmed that belief. But I’d seen a side of him today I hadn’t known about—a sweet side. Inventive. Fun. Even kind.

  I was still smarting, though—and reminded myself that I’d been chosen out of an entire pool of coworkers, because I was thorough, hardworking, and good with customers.

  And I finally decided I was going to say something about that incident when he dropped me off.

  “You’re on Pearl Street? Off of Colfax?”

  “Yes.”

  He wasn’t using his phone, but what little I knew about Maddox Steel was that even before he’d begun renting the building I worked in (or maybe he owned it—I wasn’t sure), he’d rented other property downtown and worked in that same area before then. So he probably knew downtown like the back of his hand. I drove around the area a little but walked more, so I had to use Google Maps when I wanted to go somewhere new. Driving to my mom’s or going to my favorite places were easy.