Chapter 15: The Internet Is Always a Reliable Source on Gorgeous, Affluent Men

“It’s all about control,” Gracie said knowledgeably, passing the tub of buttery popcorn over to Octavia.

“He’s the kind of person who always gets what he wants and is always surrounded by people who are eager to get it for him. In fact, they probably feel rewarded by the opportunity to serve him.”

Octavia snorted to convey her opinion on that.

“He’d probably like to do nothing more than fire you. But first he wants to make you scared,” Gracie continued.

“He just has to have you cower in fear at his terrifying power. If you don’t, it would be such a blow to his ego. He’d be a disappointment to billionaire-playboy-alpha males everywhere.”

“I’m out of fucks to give,” Octavia said, tossing three fluffy kernels into her mouth.

It was a Friday night, and they were sprawled out on the couch in Octavia’s apartment, a movie flashing on the TV screen before them.

But Octavia had long since turned down the volume since they were more preoccupied with talking. She was curled up on one end of the couch and facing Gracie, who sat on the other end.

The front door opened and Sierra waltzed in. When she saw the two of them, she rushed over to the armchair nearest the side of the couch Octavia sat on.

“Well? Has Raemon Kentworth asked about me?” Sierra asked eagerly.

Octavia gave her housemate a bewildered look.

“No. Why would he?” Octavia answered.

Sierra rolled her eyes. “When are you going to tell him about me?”

“Never…?” Octavia said slowly.

Sierra scowled. “Jealous bitch. You just want to keep him to yourself! I hate you!”

“Believe me, I would like nothing more than to trade places with you right now,” Octavia said.

“You probably don’t want her to mention you to him just yet; there might be a negative association,” Gracie said. “Currently, Octavia is not exactly in his good graces.”

Sierra blinked at Gracie.

“He’s pissed off with her,” Gracie explained.

Sierra’s eyes widened. “What did you do?” she asked Octavia.

“Nothing,” Octavia grumbled, “merely assert my rights as a human being.”

Sierra was shaking her head furiously. “Uh-uh. No. Absolutely not. You shouldn’t do that. You shouldn’t ever piss off Raemon Kentworth.”

Octavia placed her hand over her chest dramatically. “You know that he’s a psychopath too?” she said earnestly.

“Raemon Kentworth does not take ‘attitude’ from anyone. Especially women,” Sierra said.

Octavia’s hand dropped to her lap. “And you know this—how?”

Sierra flashed them an expression of utter scorn, then seeing Octavia’s laptop sitting on the table before them, she snatched it up and flipped open the lid.

“I’ll show you what I mean,” Sierra said, typing an address into the search bar of the open browser.

A few clicks later, she pulled up a particular site and settled herself in the middle of the couch, right between Octavia and Gracie.

Gracie only just managed to swing her feet out of the way before they were squashed by Sierra’s behind. Octavia glared at Sierra before unfurling herself to make room for her.

“See this right here,” Sierra said, pointing to the screen.

“‘The Devouring Darkness Hidden in Fire Struck Eyes’?” Gracie said, reading the bold print of what appeared to be a title on the screen before them.

“‘Chapter one,’” Octavia said, continuing where Gracie left off, “‘I couldn’t believe I would be working at the firm of none other than’…” Octavia paused, squinting at the screen in disbelief. “Raemon Kennerly?!”

“She changed the name, of course,” Sierra said in exasperation. She spoke as if she were explaining quantum physics to third graders.

“It’s fan fiction. But the author based it on real life. On REAL events,” Sierra said.

“Oh?” Gracie said. “Did this author”—she peered at the printed name of the author nestled beneath the bold title—“Mildred Haggersby know Mr. Kentworth personally?”

“No,” Sierra said, “but she interviewed millions of the girls he’s dated.”

“Millions?” Octavia repeated.

Sierra rolled her eyes. “Okay, maybe hundreds. I don’t know. She talked to a lot of the women who knew him in preparation to write this, so it’s obviously the truth.”

“Obviously,” Gracie said with a blank face.

Sierra continued, oblivious to the reactions of her audience.

“I read all her work on him, so I pretty much know everything about him. You can tell this is legit. This book alone has the most views on the fan fiction site.”

“Then I doubt she portrayed him very accurately,” Octavia muttered.

Nevertheless, the three of them delved into the completely-based-on-true-events story by Mildred Haggersby.

~I couldn’t believe it. I would be working for HIM. Raemon Kennerly. Only the most insanely handsome and wealthy man to ever cross the planet.~

~Sure, I was just an intern. And it probably wasn’t likely that I’d ever speak to him, let alone be in the same room.~

~What was I thinking? I, Trixie Goldwater, was nothing to Raemon Kennerly. I couldn’t imagine him actually speaking to me anyway.~

~I was just an inexperienced writer, looking for work to pay my rent. He ran the biggest business firm of the country.~

~He had a net worth of over a billion dollars. He owned thousands of private planes, yachts, and mansions. A guy like him only dated supermodels and actresses. He’d never look twice at me.~

~I stared at my reflection in the window—at my curvy hips, full breasts, and tiny waist, at my long, glossy, fiery red hair—he definitely wouldn’t see anything in someone as worthless and hideous as myself.~

“Very self-deprecating,” Gracie observed.

“Damn, why is she so obsessed with him being attracted to her?” Octavia said.

“Did she interview with the explicit purpose of sleeping with her boss? With those kinds of career goals, why not just go into prostitution?”

“Shut up and keep reading,” Sierra growled.

They continued to read as the story unfolded. Trixie moved through her first day at work shy, unsure, and desperately hoping to make a good impression so she could get a full-time position at the firm.

Unfortunately, she managed to spill an entire cup of iced coffee onto a person as she was walking hastily out a hall. That person was none other than Raemon Kennerly himself.

~I looked up, taking in the dark-brown stain of what was only minutes ago in my cup now spread all over the crisp, white shirt of the company CEO.~

~When my eyes landed on his face, my blood ran cold at the sight. He was ten times more gorgeous in person.~

~His muscles were practically ripping out of his shirt. He was tall and looked like he could break a tree trunk in two with his bare hands.~

~He had an air of command and power about him, and I wasn’t sure I could remain standing in his presence.~

~You could tell when he walked into a room that he was there, his presence was so strong and overpowering.~

~But his eyes—his eyes almost destroyed me. They were set into his gorgeous face, dark and daring. A bright fire burned within them. A fire that could destroy someone.~

~Under his gaze, my knees became weak, my head began to spin, and even though I knew there was no way in hell it could happen, I wanted to fall into his thick, strong, muscular arms and press up against his chest.~

~I wanted to feel his hands on me, touching me, caressing me, making me feel things I didn’t know were possible. And his lips. I wanted his lips on my face, my neck, my chest, everywhere on my body.~

“Is all of this happening while she’s standing there? Having spilled the coffee?” Octavia asked.

“Awfully accommodating of him to wait patiently while she works out her lustful thoughts,” Gracie remarked, “and the stain sets.”

“Don’t you get it? It’s love at first sight,” Sierra said.

Octavia and Gracie exchanged glances.

“I don’t get it,” Octavia said plainly.

“She totally fell for him the minute she saw him,” Sierra said.

“She was already pretty enamored before then,” Gracie pointed out.

Sierra continued. “And he fell for her too, she just doesn’t know it yet.”

“Of course,” Octavia said, rolling her eyes, “being drenched in iced coffee by lowly but super-curvy interns is such a turn-on.”

The story progressed.

After Raemon Kennerly cussed her out and threatened to kill her, she miraculously was still allowed to continue working there. She was even eventually promoted to being his personal secretary.

It seemed as if the only words that came from him were a constant string of insults (“That does seem accurate,” Octavia noted), if not that, he completely ignored her.

Trixie grew to hate him with a passion, though for some reason the mere sight of him sent her into a frenzy that elicited orgasmic shivers through her body.

She would be muttering murderous thoughts about him in one sentence and in the next waxing eloquent on the thought of his hand between her thighs. This seemed to go on for pages.

Eventually, Octavia pestered Sierra to scroll forward a few chapters.

~“Cassandra is getting married,” Raemon said, not looking me in the eye.~

~That dirty, disgusting whore Cassandra—his ex—had broken his heart so long ago, but the scars were still alive and fresh on his soul.~

~I could see the pain behind his fiery eyes. I could see the hurt she had caused. I wanted nothing more than to be his comfort in his time of need.~

~“Raemon…,” I said slowly.~

~“There’s only one solution for this,” he said, cutting me off.~

~I was silent, waiting to see what he would say.~

~“Marry me, Trixie.”~

~I couldn’t believe the words that came out of his—~

“Wait, wait, wait,” Octavia interjected, “just hold up. Marry him? Why the hell is that the solution?”

“Because, duh,” Sierra said, “Cassandra is marrying his enemy Reginald Parker. With her family fortune and his combined, they’ll take over Raemon’s company.

“But if Raemon marries Trixie, he’ll be able to inherit his great-uncle’s sister-in-law’s estate, giving him enough money to take over Reginald’s company.

“The will stated he could only inherit the estate if he settled down and married.”

While Octavia blinked, Gracie responded, “Thank you so much for clearing that up for us. Now it all makes sense.”

Sierra nodded graciously.

“I hope she’s not dumb enough to say yes,” Octavia mumbled.

A few pages on, she said yes. They began their lives as husband and wife. Did the insulting behavior from Raemon Kennerly stop? No. They continued as they had before.

Except now that they were living in the same mansion (though sleeping in separate suites), Trixie found it that much harder to keep herself from throwing her clothes off and jumping into his arms.

She only kept herself from doing this by the will of the Almighty, it seemed.

Eventually, she didn’t need to keep a tight rein on her panties. Raemon Kennerly was good enough to tear them off.