The Billionaire's Lily

Awkward Timing

"So how sexy is your new boss? On a scale of one to ten?"

"Eww...I'm not talking about my boss in that way. And definitely not with you Casey. Besides, thinking about anyone's new boss like that is just plain inappropriate." Mona pinked even as she caught herself on that lie.

She had not only thought about her boss in that inappropriate way, but David Black had been the object of her fantasies the rest of her weekend after the meeting at the Oasis.

Back in her apartment, she'd shamelessly read into that accidental caress of her back, if indeed it was accidental, and the call she was on was an actual attempt at distracting herself from thinking about how his large hand had felt beneath the light fabric of her dress.

She'd tried many times to dismiss the way he had looked at her in the elevator as nothing too, but somehow he kept slipping back into her thoughts and not in the most innocent way, making her read too much into that moment too.

"You hesitated and that only means one thing. He's sexy as hell." Casey, her young and nosy sister exclaimed at the other end of the call.

"He's annoying and a total pain. That's what he is." He was a total pain, she wasn't lying about that. But Mona would be totally lying if she claimed she hadn't noticed that the man was high on that scale, as in really high and she could give her sister the answer she sought from the top of her head, but the whole mission of this call was to distract and indulging Casey would make it a total failure.

"He's annoying? As in annoying, annoying?"

"Does that word by any chance mean something else to you?"

"Nope. It's just that no one annoys my big brave sis and if he is annoying you it only means one thing."

"It means nothing." Mona tried to sound unaffected, but this was Casey. Her sister just had a way of calling her out on stuff and it seemed, as always, she'd already given her enough ammo to draw her own conclusions. Conclusions that Mona had to agree would not be so far from the truth.

How had she become so careless all of a sudden? David Black still fell in the boss category. In her 'no go area category'. So what the hell was she doing day dreaming about his manly attributes?

"Trust me, it does." Casey answered in her all knowing tone that Mona always hated. For a typical teenager, Casey was just too good at how she was able to read her so easily. "So apart from being a total pain, on a scale of one to ten, I'm guessing you'd probably give him a nine for his sexiness?"

"I am not talking about my boss and his sexiness, not with you."

"Ooh, so he is sexy but you just don't want to talk about it." Casey burst out laughing. "Oh come on Mo, I'll be eighteen in a few weeks. It's not like I'm under age."

"Talking about your birthday, I'm going to send you guys some cash." Mona tried to steer the conversation with her sister away from David Black hoping to save the mission. The man had plagued her mind enough and she was not about to let him dominate her conversations with her family too.

"Mum and dad won't like it and neither do I. You need it more than we do."

Mona's hand tightened on her phone while she fought to keep her tone light. "It's my choice and I'm gladly doing it." She hated that they had to have this conversation at all. Her family needed the money, but as always, she had to be first in their eyes. Always wanting to make sure she was comfortable first. But what would that make her if she could not return the favour?

"We know it's your choice but you should know we still don't like it." Casey protested but Mona's mind was already made up.

"How much?"

"Just a thousand or two, maybe more."

"A thousand or more?!" Casey's scream echoed in Mona's quiet room. "Did you just sell your soul to the devil?"

"No, my boss paid me actually." Mona rolled her eyes at her sister's over the top thinking.

"And your boss is your soul dealer? Or maybe he is your pimp and--"

"Damn it Cas! It was only for working on a Saturday." Mona huffed, her temper rising a little. Even though older, she still had no idea how to survive her little sister's taunting.

"Ooh, so you guys are already doing weekends together? Is this like some hot office romance going on?"

"Oh shut up. And there's no 'us' guys. How's mum and dad?" Mona tried to change the subject for the second time even though she knew her sister wouldn't drop the David Black subject so easily.

"Oh, they are fine. Wait till they hear about your well paying job and boss."

"Don't you dare Cas!"

"Too late." Casey shouted in the background and Mona knew someone else was about to come on the phone. "She's sending a thousand and more this time."

"That much? Oh sweety you know you don't have to. We are doing just fine." Her mother's tender voice stirred her longing for her parent's home.

It had been too long since she'd been there. With the uncertainty about her job in the past months, she'd had to save up every little bit she earned to keep her apartment for a few more months if ever she lost her job. She figured having a roof over her head would serve her well while she tried her luck at landing another job.

"I know you are, but this is my treat. And you don't have to worry, this is just extra pay I got and won't need it. You guys can have it."

"Her sexy boss paid her." Casey shouted in the background again making Mona curse her little sister.

"I hope this is not what I think it is, baby." Mona stiffened, knowing very well what her mother meant.

"It's not." She said through gritted teeth, hating being thrown into the pool of unpleasant memories she had fought to bury over the years. "You know how Casey is, always making a fuss over nothing.

"This is not nothing and you know it." Casey shouted into the phone.

"Mom, am I on speaker?"

"Of course, dear. Everyone wants to say hi."

"Mom!"

"What?"

"A little warning before you ask me about personal stuff."

"We are family, sweetheart. It doesn't get any more personal than that."

In short, your business is our business. Mona sank back down on her bed, unable to protest that. Once upon a time, that was the one thing that had held her together when everything had come crashing around her. "Family shares too and you can't just say no."

"Well, that depends." Casey came back on, mischief clear in her tone.

"On what exactly?"

"On whether you'll pass on our thanks to your boyfriend."

"You have a boyfriend?!" Her younger brother Josh exclaimed and Mona could already picture his surprised expression. "Since when and should I be gearing up to set him straight when he gets out of line?"

"There is no boyfriend!"

"It's her boss."

"Your boss?!"

"Damn it Cas!"

"We miss you sweetheart." Her father finally came on, saving her from all the taunting. "Don't mind them, you know how they can get. So how is the new company and this new boss?"

"Dad! Not you too." Mona groaned.

"What? Perhaps I'm just happy to see you move on and do something else other than work. And your mom is right, we are good over here. That money will do you more good."

"I moved on a long time ago and for your information, I was working." Not that admitting to still having a boring life was any better, but she couldn't let them loose on this path. News of a new boyfriend would have them plan this huge family dinner to welcome him to the family or worse, plan her walk down the aisle before she could blink. "As for the money, your protests are a tad too late."

"You shouldn't have--"

"When are we going to see you, baby?" Her mother interrupted her father's incoming protests.

"I only want to know when I get to meet him."

"Shut up Cas! Mom, I'll let you know as soon as I work out my new schedule. And hanging up now. Love you, bye." Mona exhaled heavily after that chaos of a call, glad to have escaped unscathed.

But her freedom was short lived when her phone rang and she picked it up ready to meet the taunting head on.

"I swear, one more word about my boss, his sexiness or whatever and I'm disowning all of you guys." She warned, but when the line stayed quiet still she peeked at it and regretted not checking the caller I.D. first.

"T--That was so not meant for you." She stuttered, biting her lips nervously. Was it too late to hope that he heard no part of her warning? Talk about awkward timing. "Sir?" Mona braced for impact but only silence. Was he perhaps upset or did he just decide to ignore her...again?