Yahrah John - Taming Her Billionaire

“Who’s to say you’re not what I want?” Maximus said as he pulled into the valet area of a well-known French bistro. He glanced at Tahlia and saw the stunned look on her face, just as he exited the vehicle and handed his keys to the valet.

He was at her door in no time, grasping her hand and pulling her from the vehicle. He liked touching her and that when he did, her reaction to him was purely physically. He planned to keep on touching her. With his hand at the small of her back, he led her inside the bistro.

“Jean George,” Maximus greeted the maître d’.

“Mr. Knight,” Jean George replied. “It’s a pleasure to have you dining with us again. Your same table, I presume?”

“If it’s available.”

“For you, of course. Please allow me.” He led Tahlia and Maximus to a quiet booth away from the bustling interior.

Tahlia slid inside the booth, and Maximus eased in beside her. When their thighs began to touch, Maximus felt his skin prickle and heat up in awareness. Or was it the playful scent of her peony fragrance that permeated the small space they shared? They both peered at their menus for several moments, but Maximus didn’t need to look; he knew what he wanted.

When Tahlia glanced up, she found his gaze was riveted on her. “What are you doing, Maximus?”

“Call me Max. All my friends do.”

“And is that what we are, friends?”

“We don’t have to be enemies,” he stated firmly.

“I guess that depends on you,” Tahlia stated, and his eyebrow rose. Tahlia wasn’t as naive as he imagined her to be.

A waiter came over and took their drink orders, a scotch for Maximus and a club soda for Tahlia. Once he’d gone, Maximus responded to Tahlia’s comment. “All right, I’ll bite. I didn’t anticipate having you or Lucius to answer to when running my company.”

“Don’t you mean our company?” she responded quickly.

He was about to correct her when he saw the smile in her eyes. She was teasing him. “All my life I’ve been groomed to run Knight Shipping, so imagine how you would feel if the shoe was on the other foot and interlopers came in to tell you how to run it.”

“I can only imagine that you feel slighted, as would I,” Tahlia said. “But this doesn’t have to be a battle between you and your brother, Lucius.”

“And how do you foresee this going, Tahlia?”

He liked how her name rolled off his lips.

Tahlia shrugged. “I’m not sure. We’ll have to make it up as we go along.”

At her words, he frowned. Maximus didn’t leave anything to chance. He was all about facts and figures and making a well-thought-out educated decision before proceeding in life as well as in business. It was why he’d been so successful.

“Listen, no one said this was going to be easy. I think your father put me in the middle to help negotiate a peaceful truce between the two of you.”

“You don’t resent that he’s put you in the middle of an untenable position?”

“At first, I did,” she answered honestly, “but then I began to see it as an honor and that I could make a difference.”

“Are you always this positive?” Maximus inquired, steepling his fingers and staring at her. “Because that’s sort of a Pollyanna way of thinking.”

“That might be so, but I’m here and I’m not going away.”

There was never a truer statement, Maximus thought. “No, you’re not, so we might as well get to know each other if we’re going to be spending so much time together.”

“At the office, I presume.”

The waiter returned and set both their drinks on the table.

After they’d ordered dinner, Maximus immediately reached for his drink and took a sip. “As a shareholder in Knight shipping, your presence, although not required, is expected at functions in town or around the globe if needed.”

“I only own two percent. You and Lucius have the lion’s share. You don’t need me there.” Tahlia reached for her beverage and drank liberally from her club soda.

“What if I want you there?” Maximus countered.

Tahlia looked up at him through thick lashes, and Maximus’s stomach lurched. He did want her around and not just for business. He wanted her for himself. He wanted to get to know her story and how she’d become this beacon of positivity.

“I—I’ll be there, if I’m needed.”

She didn’t rise to his bait, but that was okay. Maximus wasn’t sure where this was going, but there was an attraction between them. He felt it because his heartbeat was thumping at a rapid pace and he couldn’t take his eyes off her and vice versa. She was looking at him like she wanted to jump his bones. And if she did, Maximus wouldn’t mind at all.

“So, Tahlia, tell me your story.” He drank a bit more of his scotch and regarded her with interest.

“You mean you haven’t researched the interloper who just burst into your life?”

He stared at her long and hard until she looked downward. “No, I haven’t. I was hoping to do that personally.”

“All right,” she said. “What do you want to know?”

“Everything.”

“That’s very vague. Hmm...” She paused. “I guess I can tell you that I was raised by my mother, Sophia Armstrong. It’s always been Mama, Kaitlynn—that’s my baby sister—and me. My mother is an RN at UCLA Medical Center, and my sister is an accountant.”

“And your father? You didn’t mention him. Where’s he in the picture?”

“He was mugged and shot one night coming home from work. He—he didn’t survive his injuries.”

Maximus noted how formal she sounded about losing her father so young. It had to have been devastating for her. “How old were you?”

“Ten years old,” Tahlia said. “Kaitlynn was only six. She barely remembers him, but I do. He was such a good dad. He taught me how to ride a bike, he helped me with my homework. He tucked me into bed at night and read us stories...” Her voice trailed off, and he could see the toll talking about it was having on her. Her eyes had become misty and wet with tears.

Maximus reached across the table, placed his hand over hers and squeezed. She didn’t move away. Instead, she let him comfort her, and he used his other hand to wipe away an errant tear that slid down her cheek. When she looked up at him, so soft and tender, all Maximus wanted was to wrap her in his arms and kiss her until the hurt went way. Instead, he just slid closer and wrapped his arm around her, and they sat silently for several minutes.

“I’m sorry,” he finally said.

“No, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get emotional. I just get choked up talking about my dad sometimes.” Tahlia sniffed.

Maximus turned to her, offering her his handkerchief. “Don’t be, you loved him. And it shows. I don’t think I’ve even cried over my father since his death.”

She glanced up at him through lashes damp with tears as she dabbed at her eyes with the hanky. “You haven’t?”

“We didn’t have the sort of relationship that you and your father did.” He finished off the rest of his scotch and placed the empty glass on the table.

“You didn’t?” She sounded incredulous as she moved out of his embrace to look inquiringly at him.

“That surprises you?”

“If I’m honest?” she asked. “It does. Arthur was always so caring toward me. And I suppose losing my dad so young that having Arthur in my life was a godsend. We had a special relationship that went beyond a love of art, but was genuine.”

“Then I envy you,” Maximus said. “Because my father was never affectionate with me. In fact, it was quite the opposite. Whenever I seemed to be around, he was cold, distant and indifferent. Which is why I’m still boggled over why he stayed with my mother. And the only thing I’ve come up with is money. He stayed with her for money and the power that came with it.