Coldhearted King: A Billionaire Workplace Romance (Empty Kingdom Book 1)

My ringing phone wakes me from a restless sleep. I fumble around on my side table until I find it. “Hello?” I mumble, squinting against the fingers of light finding their way past the edges of my bedroom curtains.

“We got it!” Paul’s loud voice makes me wince.

I sit up and rub my eyes. “Got what?”

“The King Group project,” he says, and now I’m wide awake.

“Really?” I’m simultaneously shocked, delighted, and wracked with nerves. Delighted that all our hard work has paid off, and excited at the knowledge that something I’ll have a hand in designing will feature prominently in major cities around the US.

But my stomach twists at the thought of being in the same space as Cole for an extended period.

From the way he looked at me during our presentation, it’s obvious he was less than happy to see me. And I guess I understand why. Cole doesn’t seem the type to be interested in mixing business with pleasure, particularly not when the pleasure was only ever meant to be a one-night thing. Luckily, there’ll be more than a few floors separating us, and he’ll probably be dealing mostly with Paul.

Which reminds me . . .

I tune back to Paul’s voice, hoping I haven’t missed out on anything important.

“They’ll have the space ready for us by Monday, so we can start then. I’ll have my own office, but you and the rest of the team will have desks on the main floor.”

“Okay.”

“Cole has also asked to meet with all of us individually on Monday. I suggest saying as little as possible at this stage. Answer his questions, tell him you’re looking forward to working with him, and leave it at that.”

My stomach flips again. Oh god, why do we have to meet him on our own? It would be so much easier if the entire team was with me. Still, disregarding what Paul just said about not saying much, this might be an opportunity to clear the air with Cole. Let him know I won’t go blabbing about our previous . . . interaction to anyone.

“And Delilah,” Paul continues, “I don’t need to remind you how important this project is. You’re the youngest and newest member of the team, so you have to appear professional at all times. Also, I think we should keep quiet about our relationship. There’s no reason to discuss personal details like that with anyone outside of our firm.”

I roll my eyes. I know Paul is angling for promotion to partner, and having a project of this scale go smoothly will improve his chances, but when am I ever unprofessional? Or prone to spontaneous PDAs at work? Or running my mouth to people about my personal life?

It’s not worth saying anything about it now, though. Not when I’d rather get off the phone and digest the news than get into an argument. I just make a general sound of acknowledgement, and he carries on for a few more minutes.

When we eventually say goodbye, after arranging to have dinner tomorrow night, I sink down on the bed. My nerves from before have dissipated and now excitement zips through me.

When the sound of our coffee machine reaches me, I realize Alex must be awake. I immediately throw back my covers and climb out of bed. After using the bathroom, I make my way to our small-but-neat kitchen, which is filled with the delicious aroma of fresh coffee.

“Any left for me?” I ask, smiling at my very tousled-looking roommate, whose long auburn hair is half falling out of its ponytail.

She passes the mug she’s just finished pouring and reaches for another. “Ugh, why are mornings so hard?”

I sit on one of the chairs in our little breakfast nook and pull my knee up to my chest. “They’re only hard because you were sexting your rock star boyfriend all night.”

“Fiancé,” she corrects with a wink as she fills a cup for herself.

I laugh. “I’ll start remembering soon, I promise.” Alex’s boyfriend, Jaxson, is an up-and-coming rock star, whose band Lightning Strikes was recently signed by Hazard Records. A week ago, just before he and his band flew to LA for two months, they’d gotten engaged, and I keep forgetting to call him her fiancé.

I take a sip of my coffee as she comes over and sits opposite me. “So, have you found somewhere for you guys to live yet?” I ask. Alex has started looking for an apartment for her and Jaxson to move into, since Alex isn’t keen on moving into the bachelor pad he lives in with his bandmates. The thought of her moving out makes my chest feel a little hollow.

Alex and I are close friends, despite being opposites in just about every way. When I’m not working late, I’m either reading a good book or binge-watching cheesy television shows, while she loves going out to clubs and socializing. Despite our differences, we bonded over our shared interest in design during our internship at Elite Architecture. When we were offered permanent positions after graduation, we decided to share an apartment. That was almost a year and a half ago. I’ll miss living with her, but I’m happy that she’s happy.

“No,” she says. “To be honest, I’m not looking too hard. There’s a lot going on with the band at the moment. They’re talking about permanently moving to the West Coast now. Not much point in finding somewhere here if they have to move.”

My eyebrows shoot up. “What will you do if that happens?”

She bites her bottom lip. “There’s Elite’s LA office. That might be an option. Or Jaxson and I can do the long-distance thing until we figure out what’s going on.”

“Mmm,” I say, noncommittally. Alex and Jaxson’s relationship seems to be super strong, but long-distance isn’t easy, especially for a newly engaged couple. Hopefully it will all work out.

“Paul called just before,” I say, to change the topic.

“Oh yeah?” She eyes me over her coffee cup, and I wince internally. She isn’t exactly a fan of Paul. Then again, he isn’t a fan of her either. I try to keep them apart as much as I can. Still, after a week of bad-mouthing Paul when we broke up, she made sure not to make too many comments about him when we got back together. But what I have to say isn’t about Paul, anyway. It’s about his news.

“Yes, and guess what? We got the King Group job!”

“That’s fantastic, Dee!” She puts down her coffee cup and half stands to reach across and give me a hug. “Not that I’m surprised. You worked so hard on it. And wow, it’s going to be amazing for your résumé.”

“I know.” The thought sends a thrill through me all over again. I worked long hours and multiple weekends, helping to perfect the proposal. Now all that hard work is going to pay off with . . . more hard work. But it’s what I love doing, so I’m more than happy.

“When do you start?” Alex asks.

“Monday. We’ll be moving into King Plaza for the duration. And Cole . . . I mean, Mr. King, wants to meet with us all individually, too.”

She nods. “Makes sense to welcome you and make you all feel like part of the same team.”

“Yeah, um, there’s only one thing . . .” I’d told Alex about losing my virginity after my breakup with Paul, but I never told her Cole King was the man I slept with. Maybe because I’m still trying to wrap my head around it myself. But now I could use some advice. “I’ve met Mr. King before. About a month ago.”

Alex cocks her head to the side. “Okay. So, you’ve met before. What’s the big deal?”

I take a deep breath. “It was when Paul and I had broken up. The night we broke up, actually.”

Her brows hike skyward and her mouth drops open. “Are you saying you lost your virginity to Cole King? One of the King Group Kings? Billionaire and basically your new boss?”

I cringe. “Yes. I didn’t know at the time, though.”

“Holy shit,” she breathes. “I can’t believe it.” Then she laughs, her big brown eyes tearing up. “Oh my god, Dee. When you finally decide to let your hair down, you go full throttle and hook up with one of the richest, most eligible bachelors in the country.”

“Stop laughing. It’s going to be so awkward. Particularly during our one-on-one meeting.”

She wiggles her eyebrows. “Maybe it will turn into a literal one-on-one meeting.”

The sip of coffee I’ve just taken almost chokes me. “Paul and I are back together. Plus I work for him, so that would be completely inappropriate.” I think back to Cole’s icy expression during our last meeting. “Not to mention, I’m pretty sure he has no interest in a repeat performance.”

“From the minimal juicy details you gave of that night, it sounds like it was pretty intense. Why wouldn’t he want to repeat that? He’s a man, isn’t he?”

“You should have seen the way he was glaring at me. He was not happy to see me.”

“Hmm.” She purses her lips. “Could he be worried you’ll tell everyone you screwed the boss?”

“When we have our meeting, I should probably let him know I won’t say anything to anyone.”

“Have you considered pretending you don’t recognize him?” She lets out a laugh. “I’m sure that would drive him nuts.”

A smile tugs at my lips, but I shake my head. “I’m pretty sure he knows I recognized him.”

Alex taps her nails on the table. “Take this with a grain of salt, since I’ve never been in this situation, but I wouldn’t say anything unless he raises the topic. You don’t want to make it out to be a bigger deal than it was, and if you say nothing and act completely professional, you’ll show him you’re only interested in doing the job he’s hiring you for.”

I scrunch up my nose. “You think?”

Alex shrugs. “You should do whatever you feel is right. After all, if it were me, I’d dump Paul ASAP and give Cole King the best one-on-one meeting of his life.”

I laugh, even as I shake my head. “I don’t have any interest in him like that anymore. It was a great night, but Paul and I are really trying to work on things right now.”

“Mm-hmm,” Alex says. “Have you told Paul?”

“No. And I’m not going to. It was bad enough telling him I’d had sex with someone while we were broken up. I can’t imagine his reaction if he knew who the man was. He’d hate it, and I don’t want to jeopardize their working relationship.”

“Yeah. Probably a good call. I’m sure having to sit across a meeting room table from the man who screwed his girlfriend’s brains out before he had a chance to wouldn’t sit well with him. I don’t have a problem with him getting himself into trouble by trying to one-up his new boss, but I’d hate for it to affect you.”

“So, you won’t say anything to Paul?”

She shakes her head, miming locking her mouth shut and throwing away the key.

I stand and round the table to give her a hug, since I’m not tall enough to reach across it the way she did. “Thanks, Alex.”

“That’s what friends are for, right?” she says. “Keeping scandalous secrets from each other’s boyfriends.”

“Something like that,” I say with a laugh. “Come on. Now that you know, you can help me find something professional to wear to my meeting.”

“By professional, you mean sexy, right?”

I roll my eyes at her before heading to my bedroom, with Alex trailing behind me.

But yeah. It wouldn’t hurt to look at least a little sexy when facing down the man who gave me the best night of my life.

So far, anyway.

IT’S Monday and I’m sitting on the beautiful, uncomfortable leather couch outside Cole’s office, trying not to fidget. My heart raps against my ribcage and a nervous sweat dampens my skin. Cole’s PA, a young man who introduced himself as Samson, eyes me from across the space, and I wonder if he can tell how nervous I am.

He picks up his phone, glances at me, says something, and hangs up. “You can go in, Miss West.”

I smile my thanks at him, then stand, smoothing down my gray pencil skirt. With Alex’s help, I paired it with a cream sleeveless blouse with delicate little buttons running down the front of it. Black strappy heels finish off the look. As Alex put it, the outfit is classy, while still doing a fantastic job of highlighting my curves.

Professional with a hint of sexy. Perfect to give me the confidence I need to face this uncomfortable situation.

Samson gives me a slightly concerned look, and I realize I’ve ground to a halt, standing frozen in front of the wall of frosted glass encasing Cole’s office door. Shaking off my temporary paralysis, I cross the last few feet and knock.

“Come in.” His curt tone stiffens my spine. Whatever his problem is, I haven’t done anything to be ashamed of. I refuse to let him intimidate me more than he already does.

The onyx door effortlessly swings open under my hand, and I step into the enormous office, my eyes sweeping the room to put off looking at the man sitting behind the large mahogany desk.

It’s a corner office, so the expansive windows make up almost all of two sides, and I’m immediately struck by the stunning view of the city’s skyline. Twin couches face each other across a low table at the other end of the office, with a bar and a coffee station alongside. A few artsy black-and-white prints hang on the far wall, and there’s a second door, which probably leads to a private bathroom.

With no more excuses, I finally focus on Cole.

God. He’s still so good looking. Even though he appears far more like the stern businessman he is than he did the night we first met. His suit jacket fits like a dream across his broad shoulders, and as he stands, my eyes drift over the well-tailored lines that only emphasize his stature.

I drag my attention back to his face, my lips twitching up in a nervous smile.

He doesn’t return it, merely rounds his desk and leans against it with his arms crossed, his cool gaze running over me.

After taking a deep breath, I walk toward him and hold out my hand. “It’s nice to meet you . . . uh, again, uh, Mr. King.” My cheeks warm as memories of that night force their way into my head.

He hesitates for a second, and my stomach sinks. Surely he won’t leave me hanging.

He doesn’t. He steps forward and clasps my hand in his big, warm grip.

My palm tingles.

“Is it?” he says.

My brows jump, and as soon as he lets go of my hand, I pull it back. “Um . . .” God, this is embarrassing. I’m a professional, for god’s sake. This situation is awkward as hell, but I should at least be able to string a sentence together. “Of course. I’m very excited to work with the King Group.” There, that sounds professional and upbeat.

His eyes narrow as he studies me. “How long were you working on this proposal?”

I shift my feet and look at the deep leather chairs in front of his desk, wondering if I’m expected to stand here the whole time while he interviews me. Cole notices my gaze but doesn’t invite me to sit.

I bite back a sigh. “We’ve been working on it for about two months.”

He nods, rubbing his hand over his jaw. I have a sudden memory of when that same jaw, rough with five o’clock shadow, rubbed deliciously on the sensitive skin of my inner thighs. My nipples tighten, and I hope my reaction isn’t visible.

“So you knew who I was when you sat next to me at the bar?”

What? I shake my head. “No, I didn’t know who you were.”

One dark brow lifts. “You’re saying you sat next to one of your most lucrative potential clients, dressed to kill and with a ready story about your broken heart, and it wasn’t on purpose?” His voice betrays nothing—he sounds like he doesn’t care what my answer is—but the hard angle of his jaw belies his nonchalance.

“What are you asking me?”

“I’m asking if you planned this. What are the odds you’d turn up next to me at the bar that night, end up in my bed, then walk into my office last week?”

Who does this guy think he is? My shoulders stiffen. “I don’t know the exact odds. I imagine they’re low. But I didn’t plan this. It’s just a crazy coincidence.”

“I don’t believe in coincidences.”

Anger whips through me. What sort of cold, empty life would allow him to see a simple coincidence as some subterfuge to manipulate him? “Are you insinuating that I used my body to get this job for my firm? Because if you are, it sounds very much like you’re suggesting I prostituted myself.”

He stalks closer and my breath catches. I hate that even though I’m furious with him, my body reacts to his proximity. He’s the only man who’s given me such intense pleasure, and apparently my body doesn’t care that he’s insulting my integrity. It just wants to relive the feeling of his head between my legs and the way he filled me so thoroughly.

My gaze snaps back to his as I realize it’s drifted down to his lips.

My nipples tighten even more, and I’m sure by now they must be visible. I cross my arms as if I’m bored with this conversation.

Only the smirk curling his lips lets me know I haven’t succeeded.

He’s standing so close that I need to angle my chin sharply to keep my eyes locked with his.

“I’m not calling you a prostitute,” he says, “but I’ve met plenty of men and women who are prepared to do whatever it takes to get something from me. I want to know if you’re one of them. This job is worth more than a lot of money. It comes with a significant amount of prestige.”

This time my lip curls. “I don’t know what sort of people you spend time with, Mr. King, but that sounds like a you problem. I’m telling you the truth. I didn’t know who you were the night we met. If I had, I absolutely would never have . . . done what I did.” His eyes darken, and I have to swallow past my dry throat before I can continue. “When we were first notified about the project, I looked up the company and the only photos I saw were your father’s and, I’m assuming, your brother’s. So unless your face is plastered all over social media––which, by the way, I don’t follow––I wouldn’t know you from the next guy. I worked my ass off over the last few months on our proposal, and insinuating we couldn’t win this account from merit is a slap in the face. Not to mention you’re basically saying that I, as a woman, would rather use my body than my mind and talent to get a job.”

I raise my chin, doing my best to rein in my temper. As much of a jerk as Cole is, I don’t want to be responsible for our firm losing this job. “But if you still have a problem with me, I suggest you ask for my removal from the team. Otherwise, let’s just act like professionals and maintain our distance from each other until this project is done.”

Cole’s eyes flick between mine, and I can’t tell what he’s thinking at all. Even though I’ve given him the option, I really hope he doesn’t ask for my removal. Not only will that be a professional disaster for me, but explaining the why of it to Paul would be difficult, to say the least. But he just gives an abrupt nod and steps back. He returns to his desk, settling into his chair.

“You can stay on the team, Miss West. Far be it from me to cast aspersions on your character or your talent. Since we’ll have very little to do with each other during your time here, I can assure you, keeping our distance won’t be hard. But let me be very clear, just so there are no misunderstandings. There won’t be any repeats of that night.”

I gasp. The absolute nerve of him. I know I should just turn and go, but I can’t leave it at that. “Of course there won’t be a repeat of that night. After all, I can only lose my virginity once. Now that Paul and I are back together, what would I need you for?”

Something dark flashes in his eyes, but he merely raises his brows. “He convinced you to take him back, did he? Or were you the one who did the convincing with your newfound sexual confidence?”

My head starts to pound at the base of my skull, and I glare at him. “Not that it’s any of your business, but Paul apologized and asked if we could try again.”

Cole doesn’t say anything, just scrutinizes me as I stand there. Do I need to wait for him to dismiss me, or can I just make a move for the door? Before I can decide, he’s out of his seat again and stalking toward me.

He steps right into my personal space, lowering his head until his face hovers just above mine. “So let me make sure I’m clear on this. Now that you’re back with Paul, you have no more need of me?”

“N-No.” My voice comes out shaky and I curse myself, even more so when his lips tilt up in a smile that isn’t a smile at all. He steps closer again and his woodsy, masculine scent brings back memories of that night.

That’s a good girl.

I’m going to come so. Fucking. Hard.

A shiver works its way through me, and he glances down, then up, triumph flaring in his eyes. I look down too, only then noticing that my nipples are clearly visible through my blouse.

And that they’re brushing against his shirt with every rise and fall of my chest.

“Seems like your body disagrees with you,” he says.

“That’s just a biological reaction. It doesn’t mean anything.”

“Keep telling yourself that, kitten. You might actually start to believe it.”

I can’t believe he thinks he can get away with calling me kitten again. In a moment of insanity, I reach out and wrap my fingers around his dick. His very hard dick.

He freezes, eyes flaring wide, and I know I’ve surprised him.

“See? You have no interest in me, but you’re hard. It’s a biological reaction.”

When he speaks again, his voice has gone low and gravelly. “If you don’t stop stroking my cock, you’ll find out exactly how this reaction ends, and I can guarantee it will involve you screaming my name.”

A return to sanity has me snatching my hand away, and a blush sears its way over my whole body. I can’t believe I just fondled him in his office. That’s so far out of line it’s not funny.

He steps back calmly, as if I didn’t just have my fingers wrapped around his erection a few seconds ago, and returns to his desk. “You can go.”

I blink, shocked by the sudden dismissal, even though I’m more than ready to get out of here.

“Now, Miss West. My time is valuable.”

I grind my teeth but turn on my heel and reach for the door handle. My neck prickles as I leave the office, and I can almost feel his eyes on me as I let the heavy door swing shut behind me. I give Samson a tight smile as I hurry to the elevator. I want to put as much distance between me and Cole as I can.

The meeting hadn’t gone at all the way I’d wanted. With the way things escalated, I forgot to mention that Paul doesn’t know about him and that I’d like to keep it that way. Not that I think Cole is likely to talk about me to anyone. I’m sure I’m just another notch on his bedpost. One he’d probably completely forgotten about before I walked into that meeting room.

I reach the elevator and press the button. While I wait, I cross my arms and stare absently at the huge black-and-white print showing King Plaza during its construction.

Thinking of Cole and what he suspected me of tightens my chest, a dull ache spreading through me. It’s hard to believe the man who gave me such an incredible experience could turn out to be such an asshole. The memory of the night we’d spent together, which I’d been holding close to my heart ever since it happened, is now tarnished.

The elevator doors whoosh open, and I step inside, trying my hardest to suppress the hurt. I have a job to do, one which could make my career. Letting a man like Cole derail my dream would be an insult to me and Mom.

I punch the button for the forty-ninth floor, the location of my team’s temporary office space, and watch the numbers tick down.

With any luck, that’s the last time I’ll ever need to get up close and personal with Cole King.