Page 10 of Suddenly Desired (APEX Billionaires’ Club #2)

ELLIE

What are you doing?

“Trust me,” Ellie said, her voice softer than she intended, her heart thudding wildly in her chest. She could almost hear her brain screaming at her.

You’ve known this guy for five minutes, and now you’re telling him he can’t afford you and holding his hand like it’s a scene from some romantic drama . “It will get better.”

Her fingers still tingled from the contact, the warmth of his hand lingering even as she pulled hers back. The sensation spread like a slow electric current, settling low in her belly and leaving her slightly breathless.

Her cheeks flushed, and she glanced down at the table, unable to meet Blake’s gaze.

The flickering candlelight felt too intimate, the air between them too charged.

She darted a glance at the bar, then at the couple laughing quietly in the corner, before finally settling on the ceiling fan, as if it held the answers to all her questions.

For a moment, neither of them spoke. The silence felt heavy, not awkward, but loaded with something unspoken.

Ellie’s pulse raced as she dared another quick look at Blake.

His face was unreadable, but his jaw was tight, his eyes dark and stormy beneath his hooded brows.

He looked like he was fighting some internal battle, one she couldn’t quite decipher.

Finally he sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. “You have a way of making things sound so . . . simple.”

“It doesn’t feel simple to you?” Her voice was barely a whisper.

Blake shook his head, a faint, rueful smile tugging at his lips. “Not even close.”

Ellie swallowed hard, her fingers fidgeting with the edge of her napkin. “Maybe you’re overthinking it,” she said, trying to keep her tone light. “Sometimes you just need to . . . let go.”

Blake’s eyes snapped to hers, and the intensity in his gaze sent a spark rushing through her. The corner of his mouth curved into something that wasn’t quite a smile — more like a challenge.

“Let go, huh?” he murmured, his voice low, almost teasing. “And what would that look like?”

Ellie’s breath caught, her mind scrambling for a response. “Well,” she said, forcing a small, nervous laugh, “it probably wouldn’t involve brooding over an espresso.”

Blake chuckled, the sound deep and rich, sending a delicious shiver down her spine. “Point taken,” he said, leaning forward slightly, his forearms resting on the table. “But maybe I need some inspiration for what else to do. Any suggestions?”

Her heart skipped, the space between them suddenly feeling much too small. She tried to focus on her drink, but his gaze was magnetic, pulling her back to him.

“I don’t know,” she said, her voice softer now, almost breathless. “Maybe start with something easy. Like . . . relaxing.”

Blake smirked, his eyes flicking briefly to her lips before meeting hers again. “You make it sound so doable.”

“It is,” she shot back, her confidence building under his scrutiny. “You just need the right company.”

His smile deepened, and he leaned in just a fraction closer. “Lucky for me, I seem to have found that.”

Ellie felt her cheeks burn, the heat spreading down her neck as her pulse thundered in her ears. The tension between them was palpable, a slow, simmering heat that made her feel like the room had grown ten degrees warmer.

She cleared her throat, trying to regain some semblance of composure. “Let’s hope I’m as good an influence as you think I am,” she said lightly, though her voice trembled just enough to betray her.

Blake’s lips curved into a slow, deliberate smile, and the look in his eyes made her stomach do somersaults. “Oh, I’d say you’re doing pretty well so far,” he said, his voice low and smooth, sending another ripple of heat through her.

“Mr Fielding,” she said, leaning back and crossing her arms, her confidence blossoming. “Is that your way of saying you’re impressed?”

Blake raised an eyebrow, clearly amused. “Maybe.”

“Not too sweet for your bitter, coffee soul?” Ellie replied, her smile growing.

His eyes gleamed, a spark of intrigue lighting them up. “Oh, I can handle it,” he said, his voice dropping slightly. “The question is, can you?”

Her heart skipped, but she didn’t look away. “Guess we’ll find out.”

The playful tension between them simmered, and Ellie felt like the world outside the booth had melted away. It wasn’t just the flicker of candlelight or the quiet hum of the café — it was him. His presence, his voice, the way he looked at her like she was the most interesting person in the room.

And for the first time in a long time, she liked how that felt.

Ellie traced her finger around the rim of her cup, her gaze flicking up to meet Blake’s. She felt relaxed in his company, not scared that he was going to change his whole persona the way Josh used to, depending on who he was trying to impress.

“You ever meet someone who seems like they have it all together, but underneath, they’re just . . . pretending?”

Blake raised an eyebrow, intrigued. “All the time,” he said, leaning forward slightly. “Why?”

She shrugged, a small, rueful smile tugging at her lips. “I used to know someone like that. They wanted everyone to think they were perfect — untouchable, even. But the cracks always showed when they thought no one was looking.”

“Your ex?” Blake probed, kindly.

Ellie nodded.

Blake’s expression darkened slightly, his hands resting on the table. “Sounds exhausting,” he said. “For him and for you.”

Ellie let out a short laugh, shaking her head.

“You have no idea. Josh was so obsessed with being this picture-perfect version of himself that he couldn’t handle real emotions.

If I ever got upset, he’d act like I was the problem.

Either he’d sneer and fold his arms, or he’d just walk out of the room like I wasn’t worth his time. ”

She glanced up, catching the flicker of anger in Blake’s eyes. It surprised her how much it reassured her.

“He just,” she continued, her voice softer now, “couldn’t let me see him as anything less than perfect.”

Blake’s jaw tightened, and Ellie could feel the heat radiating off him, his frustration palpable.

“He never wanted a real connection,” she said, her voice gaining a sharp edge. “It was all for show. Everything about him was so . . . shallow.”

She stopped abruptly, realising she was venting way too much.

“Sorry,” she said quickly, shaking her head.

“I didn’t mean to dump all that on you. That was probably way too much.

I just wanted you to know that I can see you’re not pretending to be someone you’re not, but it just came out in a stream of crap about my ex. ”

She blurted out a laugh and cupped her hands over her face.

Blake pushed his cup aside, his hands now stretched across the table, like he wanted her to take them. “It’s not too much,” he said, his voice steady. “It’s honest. And you’re right — there are a lot of people like that. And I’m glad you can see I’m not one of them.”

Their eyes met, and the intensity in his look nearly stole her breath. There was no mask, no pretension — just the raw pull of him and the quiet strength that seemed to radiate from every part of him. His voice slid over her skin like a touch she was already craving.

“I’m starting to see that,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper, the air between them almost crackling.

Blake glanced down at their outstretched hands, their fingers so close they may as well have been touching.

For a second, Ellie thought he was about to close the gap, but then his eyes flicked to his watch.

A pang of disappointment shot through her.

Was this it? Had she got too personal, pushed too far?

“Shall I get you another?” she blurted out, speaking before her brain had the opportunity to stop her. “I haven’t quite hit my caffeine buzz yet.”

He chuckled, low and warm, shaking his head. “As tempting as that sounds, I think I’ll pass. I’m already going to be wired enough just from being here.” His smile softened. “I’m glad I could get your notebook back to you.”

They both stared at the little pink notebook that sat on the table. Ellie felt a creeping sense of embarrassment at what he might have seen inside it.

“It’s just a silly thing,” she mumbled. “I use it to jot down random ideas. Helps me keep track of my thoughts because I’m so scatterbrained.”

“I think it’s great,” he said. “When I was first setting up Heartbook I wrote everything in notebooks. There were hundreds of them, overflowing with messy ideas, terrible pitches and sketches.”

She smiled. How did he have a way of making her feel so much better about herself? Josh had always kicked her notebooks under the bed, hating the way they cluttered their apartment.

“My mum is the same,” he went on. “When I was growing up she used to fill a notebook a week. I got the habit from her. I count those notebooks as one of the reasons I am where I am. They’re not silly things at all.”

Ellie’s cheeks burned as she thought of her notebook’s contents. “Well, you obviously didn’t read too much of mine,” she teased, though her voice wavered slightly. God, please don’t let him have seen the boyfriend lists.

Blake’s lips twitched. “I just glanced through,” he said. “I’m so sorry. It was the only way of finding out who it belonged to. I didn’t read much, just the odd line here or there.”

“That’s a relief,” Ellie said.

“But I did catch the thing on the last page,” he went on. “The interview material.”

“Oh crap, you didn’t !” she said, mortified. “It was just to help me focus. I—”

He was holding up a hand. “Can I show you something?”

“Sure,” she said.

He dug a hand into the back pocket of his jeans, pulling out a small, black book.

Flicking through it and shaking his head as if he couldn’t believe what he was about to do, he placed it on the table, facing her.

His handwriting was small, and a little messy, and she couldn’t help but smile as she read it.

Board Meeting

Don’t let Michelle steer the conversation.

Reassure Mike and Agnes and they will reassure the shareholders.

DON’T DAYDREAM. PAY ATTENTION.

There were other notes too, but Blake shut the book and put it back into his pocket.

“If I let you read any more,” he said, “I will literally die of embarrassment.”

He was smiling that big, warm smile again.

“The only thing it’s missing is the doodles,” he said, and she laughed. She swatted his hand and he laughed too, feigning injury. “Ow! Easy, tiger. But seriously, there was something in the book that caught my eye. You mentioned LifeWrite. What is that?”

Ellie sat up straight. She’d been so wrapped up in the real-life Blake sitting in front of her that for a moment she’d forgotten who she was speaking to.

Wasn’t this why she’d pushed so hard for an interview, and for a job at Heartbook?

She’d been hoping that one day she’d be able to pitch her idea to the company and hope that it filtered up the chain to the CEO.

Well, now here she was, face to face with him.

Opportunities didn’t come any better than this.

“It’s something I’ve been working on for a while now,” she said, fighting to keep her tone calm.

“For years and years, really. A social network based around books and reading. It’s part friendship, part dating, part business connections, but I want it to focus on stories.

It’s really about being able to write the story of your life, using the power of books. ”

He was interested. She could tell that by the way he was watching her intently, nodding with increasing enthusiasm.

“I’ve always loved to read,” she went on. “Books have saved me so many times — from broken hearts to broken dreams. They’re so powerful. But hardly anyone uses that power to connect people.”

“That’s so true,” he said when she paused. “Books can save lives. If I’m having a bad day I usually head to the library. Just being around all those books makes me feel better.”

The image of him, this powerful, commanding man, sitting quietly in a library, sent her heart fluttering.

She smiled, her excitement bubbling over.

“Exactly. Books unite us, stories connect us. That’s my dream — to bring people together through the power of reading.

That’s what LifeWrite is. It’s a safe place for like-minded people. ”

She smiled nervously, waiting to be shot down like she always had been with Josh.

That’s been done a million times , he’d said.

Or, You’d never be able to do it, it takes a genius to code .

He’d always looked at her with pity and sometimes even anger, as if she was a young Victorian girl who had ideas above her station.

But Blake was genuinely interested. He opened his mouth to reply, but before he could get a word out, the barmaid appeared again.

“Here’s the drink you ordered,” she said to Blake. She was holding a pitcher of something in one hand, and in the other she held a phone. An alarm bell was going off in Ellie’s head.

“I didn’t order any drink,” said Blake. “Sor—”

Before he could finish, the barmaid tipped the pitcher over Blake’s head. A disgusting smell of old coffee grounds and waste water filled the booth, ice cubes smashing on to the table. Blake gasped as the cold water soaked him, and he jumped up so hard his legs cracked into the table.

“You’re not welcome here, you chauvinistic prick!” the barmaid yelled. “Take your woman-hating thoughts somewhere else.”

Ellie was up on her feet, her head full of anger.

“What the hell?” she said, her voice shaking. “You didn’t even give him a chance to defend himself.”

“You should be ashamed,” the barmaid said, turning her phone to Ellie. “You can do a whole lot better than this trash.”

She stormed off, and Ellie walked around the table, shaking out a napkin.

“Are you okay?” she asked. “Let me—”

“I’m fine,” he said, his face carved from stone, his eyes suddenly cold. “I’m sorry, I never should have come. Goodbye, Ellie. Thank you for the drink.”

And without another word, he walked past her and out of the bar.