Page 341 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol. 1

I wasn't sure how much I liked her anymore. I silently laughed at myself. Surely Sierra wouldn't be saying those things if she knew I was engaged to him. I just needed to ignore her until I finally told them. It wasn't like I hadn't experienced the way other women were around him. He had this magnetism that no one seemed to be immune to. Everyone loved him. If only his parents would open their eyes. I realized I was so in my own head that I was missing his speech.

"Each one of you is going to become a vital part of that. But since each department is part of the whole, I think it's important for us all to work together. We're extremely goal oriented here. And right now our goal is growth. So when working on your individual assignments, make sure to keep the main goal in mind. I know that together we can grow this company to be larger than Blive Tech International.

"And if you have any ideas, don't hesitate to share them. I see so much potential in each and every one of you and I'm not putting a cap on anything. Work between departments. Don't let the colors of the walls fool you, you're allowed to enter a color that your desk isn't in."

Everyone laughed.

"Putting what you learned in school into action is one of the most rewarding feelings. The department heads are meant to foster that experience, so go to them with any questions and insights. I think we have a great new team here and I think we can all learn from each other. And trust me, working in the real world is a lot more than just application of principles. You still have so much to learn. Your education doesn't stop once you throw your cap in the air. Welcome to the real world, class of 2018."

Everyone started clapping. James and I didn't talk about his work very much. He had helped me study so often that his work had taken a spot on the backburner recently. I knew about his current projects in principle, but I didn't really know what he did on a daily basis. I had never thought about myself as being self centered, but I had been recently. I wanted to do something nice for him. To show him how much I appreciated everything he'd done for me.

"You okay, Fight Club?" Zach asked. He was standing up, looking down at me. I hadn't realized that everyone was leaving the room.

"Yeah." I quickly stood up. "And don't call me that. I wasn't in a fight."

"Mhm."

I really hoped that nickname didn't stick. I looked over my shoulder to see James talking to some of the interns in the front row. It was only a few hours until lunch, but it felt like I hadn't gotten to talk to him in forever. Or taste him.What?He wasn't an addict. I was.

Eruption - Chapter 12

Monday

I was sitting in James' favorite pizza place, Totonno's Pizzeria, which had become my favorite pizza in the city. It wasn't just that the pizza was amazing, the people were so nice.

"Hi, dear. Where's James today?" Marie, the little old woman who owned the place sat down across from me with a huge smile.

"He's meeting me here any minute."

"I'll go put your usual order in. I just wanted to come over and see how your first day was going."

I smiled. I was glad I was on Marie's good side, because she had seemed suspicious of me the first few times I had come here. That side of her was scary intimidating, but now she was as nice as could be. It was so sweet how much she seemed to care about James. "It's good. Kind of overwhelming."

"You'll be used to it in no time."

"I know. And the other interns seem nice enough." They had invited me to eat with them in the break room, but I had told them I already had plans. Which resulted in Tavon teasing me about my overbearing boyfriend. If only he knew. Maybe tomorrow I should eat lunch with them, though. I wanted to be one of them. But right now all I wanted was a kiss from James and to tell him how much I loved him.

"Let me go put your order in so it's ready when he gets here."

"Thanks, Marie."

My phone started vibrating in my purse a minute after she left. I pulled it out and ran my thumb across the screen. Thecaller ID said Hunter Technologies. Hopefully I hadn't forgotten about some important meeting for all the interns or something. "Hello?"

"Hi, Penny, it's Nita."

"Hi, Nita. Do you know if James has left for lunch yet?" I looked out the window at the passing cars.

"That's why I'm calling. He had a last minute meeting. He's tied up and can't make it."

"Oh. Okay, thanks for calling, Nita." I hung up and looked down at my phone. I wished he had told me before I had taken the subway all the way here.

***

I stepped out of the subway car with the pizza box in my hand and made my way up the stairs. The sun was blinding as I made my way outside after being underground. I wasn't sure how often I'd be able to go to Totonno's with James during lunch. My break was already almost over and I had quickly eaten a slice in the restaurant because I hated eating alone. I wasn't sure why I thought leisurely lunches were in the job description for interns.

I walked into the building and got onto the elevator. The last thing I wanted was to be late getting back from lunch when I was already late this morning. Hopefully James' meeting would be over and I could drop the pizza off for him real quick. I had five minutes to make my way through the cubicle maze. I quickly got off the elevator and walked up to the reception desk.

Nita wasn't sitting there. Maybe she was on her break. I looked over at James' office. The blinds were closed. I hoped he hadn't left and tried to meet me down there anyway. I walked over and put my face close to the window to see if I could see him through the slants in the blinds.