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  Craving Her Curves: A Billionaire Alpha Romance (Book I)

  Hope Paris

  Published by Hope Paris, 2020.

  This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.

  CRAVING HER CURVES: A BILLIONAIRE ALPHA ROMANCE (BOOK I)

  First edition. April 26, 2020.

  Copyright © 2020 Hope Paris.

  Written by Hope Paris.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  Chapter 1 | Jason

  Chapter 2 | Melanie

  Chapter 3 | Jason

  Chapter 4 | Melanie

  Chapter 5 | Jason

  Chapter 6 | Melanie

  Chapter 7 | Jason

  I would like to dedicate this book to all my loyal readers ❤️❤️❤️

  Without you, I have no one to share my stories with :-)

  Hope P xxx

  Chapter 1

  Jason

  I look at the clock again. God, the time! It’s five-thirty and there is still no sign of Raul. I hope to God that he isn’t standing me up. I need him here, right now. I don’t tolerate lapses and he knows that. Now is not the time to test my patience.

  Where the fuck is he?

  I don’t have time for this. This idea is a big one and I’m keen for Mr. Salazar to get on board. He needs to be comfortable investing his money with my pharmaceutical company, a company I worked on from the ground up, or he’s going to walk and we lose a big deal. I can’t walk in alone, without my CFO. I’m not the numbers guy and Raul knows it. He’s the one to crunch everything, to run up all the details involving sums.

  And he isn’t here. Not in the office. No one has seen him all day and his cell phone’s going straight to voicemail.

  This meeting is at six.

  Fuck.

  The staff is filing out, finished for the day. I watch them go from my window, high above everyone else. The desks are always busy, everyone getting on with their tasks. The office staff and various coordinators had left ages ago. To be honest, I’m surprised at the way my staff work without any problems or complaints. In that respect I consider myself lucky—I don’t have time to deal with petty problems, like they don’t know how to turn on a computer.

  But I can’t trust any of them to replace Raul. They won’t be able to understand what’s going on. They’re the workers, that’s it.

  Then my eyes snag on the young woman sitting at the desk at the end of the row, right at the back of the office. She doesn’t move as everyone else leaves, turning only to smile at them before going back to her work. She must be a new hire. HR deals with all the new staff.

  I would certainly have remembered her. I’ve never met anyone so beautiful. Her long dark hair is held back in a simple clip, away from a heart-shaped face with a healthy complexion. And that blouse of hers doesn’t do anything to hide those gorgeous breasts, which strain at the fabric. I have always had a fascination with curvy women, and she had curves—curves that my hands are itching to touch.

  She’s been a distraction all day. Even though she wasn’t introduced and I stayed in my office for most of the day, I kept finding myself looking over at her desk. It’s like she was a beacon. I don’t think I saw her leave her desk except to use the restroom or go to lunch. The pile of papers in her tray was slowly shrinking.

  It was only then that I realized I work my staff too hard. I make a mental note to look for some more help. The paperwork is coming in so fast we’re beginning to get swamped. Why did it take just watching one beautiful woman dealing with her work for me to realize that?

  A sudden shrilling jerks me out of my thoughts. Of course, my cell phone. Reluctantly turning away from my view, I snatch up my phone from the desk. It’s Raul calling. Good. I’m in the mood to shout at someone.

  “Fucking hell, where are you, Raul? You haven’t been seen all day.”

  “Sorry, sir. I’m in Houston.”

  Now I am stunned. Raul’s family lives in Houston, but he’s made no indication that he’s going to visit them. Christmas had come and gone three weeks ago and Raul visited then. He should be in the office, not across the country.

  “What the fuck are you doing in Houston?”

  “Emergency meeting.”

  “What’s more important than the meeting we were supposed to have in this office in half an hour?”

  Raul snorts.

  “You’d be surprised.”

  I have a feeling that I would. What could be more important than having a face-to-face chat with Warner Investments? Jorge Salazar is a smart man and I’ve been trying to get his boss at Warner Investments on board for some time. Now they’re finally sending Salazar over so they can look at the proposal.

  Raul knows a lot is hanging on this. And he isn’t here.

  “Couldn’t you have told me about this before? Left a replacement for me?”

  Raul sighs. I hear something else in his voice. Pain. Then I remember: his grandmother hasn’t been too well lately. She’s been suffering from Alzheimer’s for the last five years, and over the last six months she’s deteriorated. Raul is concerned about her, as is the rest of his family. The only time he drops anything is if his family is involved.

  “Is it your grandmother?”

  There is silence. Then Raul draws a sharp breath.

  “Yeah. She took a fall. Broke her hip. It’s bad.” There is an audible swallow. “Mom’s in pieces and Dad’s withdrawn into himself. I need to be there for them and mediate.”

  I understand that. One thing I can never fault Raul for is loving his family. Now the wind is taken out of my sails. I was ready to shout at him for leaving on a day he knew was important, but I find myself backing down. Raul is my vice president but also a friend. One of the few friends I have.

  “I’m sorry, Raul.”

  “Did I just hear the Jason Ford apologize?”

  “Don’t push your luck.” I sigh and rub my hand over my eyes. “Can you at least give me the financial side of the presentation? That was supposed to be your job while I sorted out everything else.”

  “I sent it through to you earlier today. Haven’t you checked your emails?”

  I curse and check my laptop. Sure enough, Raul’s email arrived at lunchtime. In my frustration, I hadn’t seen it.

  “Good. At least you’re not slacking in that part.”

  “Gee, thanks.”

  I roll my eyes. This does not pacify me much. I still need him here.

  “Focus on your family, but get back here as soon as you can. And next time you suddenly disappear, make sure you’ve got someone to cover you.”

  I hang up, tossing my cell phone onto the desk with a growl. It’s just typical that when something important happens, I’m on my own. I shouldn’t have had so much depending on Raul; I’m relying on him too much.

  I need to start remembering that the only person I can rely on is me.

  Wandering back over to the window, I look down and see the woman hasn’t moved from her desk. I watch as her fingers fly across the keys in a fast dance, her eyes squinting at the computer screen. There’s a small frown appearing between her eyes. She is going to get a headache if she keeps working.

  Why do I even care?

  Then she pauses, glancing off to her left. She frowns even more and picks up something from her desk. I see the bright light of a screen. Cell phones are meant to be turned off and put in the bottom drawer for the whole day. Only on breaks were they allowed to come out. I watch as she rises to her feet and hurries to the restroom. Even though she is the only one in the office now, she’s still sneaking away.

  I watch her go into the restroom. Then I come back to reality as I remember that I need to do something more important: find Raul’s replacement. If this woman is in the building, maybe someone else is. I just need to find them.

  Chapter 2

  Melanie

  My heart sinks when I see my mother’s name flashing up on the screen. She knows not to call me at work, that I will call her when I’m leaving—even though I’m going to be leaving much later than I said I would. And it is only my first day.

  But she worries about me, and I can’t be upset with her about that. Not when she deals with my little sister. Claire is making Mom’s illness with her antics. I just wish that Claire would grow up and see the damage she’s causing.

  Taking my cell phone, I get up from my desk and hurry to the restroom. A brief respite from typing is a relief. I don’t mind data entry and compiling notes on the clients, but it’s long and sometimes taxing. I already have a headache from staring at the screen. This was not the day to forget my glasses.

  Mom has stopped the call. I sit on the seat and call her back. She answers on the first ring.

  “Where are you, Melanie? I thought you were going to be home by now.”

  “I’ve got a lot of work to do still, Mom. I said I would call when I was on my way home.”

  Mom does not sound happy.

  “It’s your first day!”

  “And they like to throw you into the deep end.” I look at my

watch and realize that it’s past five-thirty. “Is that why you called me, Mom?”

  “I...” Mom’s voice falters. “I was wondering if you could get hold of Claire.”

  Now I’m worried. Mom and Claire have not had a good relationship lately, and I know it is upsetting Mom. She’d recently come clean to Claire about her birth parents. Claire hadn’t known that she was adopted until she was eighteen, and now she’s lashing out. I understand that, but I think Claire’s behavior is too much.

  “What’s happened now?”

  “She didn’t go to school today. I thought she had, but the truancy officer called me about lunchtime. Claire hasn’t been to school for the past week and she’s refusing to answer her phone.”

  I groan. Claire is a senior and an adult, but Mom is still her legal guardian. Claire has skipped school before, but nothing of this magnitude. I knew that if Claire keeps going like this, she’s not going to graduate. And Claire’s told us several times that she’s going to go as far away from us as she can.

  Mom is at her wit’s end. I can tell. I have no idea if I can do any better, but I do not like hearing Mom close to tears over my sister.

  “I’ll see if I can get hold of her, Mom. Don’t worry too much. I’ll make sure she’s safe.”

  “Thank you.” Mom sniffs. “I’m sorry to bother you at work, love. I know this is important to you. If your father was here...”

  “I know.” I cut her off. “Let me see what I can do.”

  I hang up and dial Claire’s number. I will not think about my father. He does not deserve my time or my thoughts. Not after what he has done to us.

  It takes a few tries to get Claire to answer. And that makes me agitated. Even though it’s after-hours, I should not be away from my desk. Finally, Claire picks up.

  “Yeah?”

  She sounds slurred. Not again.

  “Claire, where the hell are you? You didn’t go into school again. That’s the fourth time this week.”

  “I didn’t feel like going.” Claire’s words don’t sound right. “So I went to hang out with some friends.”

  “Are these the same friends that got you so stoned you almost walked into traffic last month?” I snap.

  I can’t forget about that. Claire has fallen in with a bad crowd who are all older than her. They drink and do drugs. Mom and I found out that Claire smokes weed after she came home smelling like a pot house. I’m shocked at Claire’s attitude. She doesn't care anymore. And that’s painful to realize.

  “They made sure I didn’t get hurt.” Claire sounds hurt. “They look after me, Mel. Unlike some people.”

  I bristle.

  “Mom and I don’t feed a minor alcohol, weed, and God knows what else.”

  “I’m not a minor anymore.”

  “You’re not twenty-one, so they are committing a crime feeding your alcohol and illegal drugs.” I pressed my fingers to the bridge of my nose. My headache is not going away. “You shouldn’t be around them, Claire.”

  Now Claire sneers at me. It’s a nasty sound and it makes me flinch.

  “You’re not my mother, Melanie. You can’t tell me what to do.”

  Then I hear jeers and laughter at the other end. Claire has me on loudspeaker. I take a deep breath and try to start again.

  “Mom’s worried about you, Claire.”

  “She doesn’t own me. She’s not my mom.”

  “You mean a woman who brings you in as a baby and takes care of you out of the goodness of her heart isn’t your mother?” I snap. “You think you would be better off with the woman who abandoned you at birth?”

  Too late, I realize what I have just said. But Claire has a way of making me lose my composure. There’s silence from Claire, while some of his friends jeer even more. Someone tells Claire to give me hell. I wish that I was there now. I would happily give them hell.

  “I’m done talking.” Claire sounds stiff. “I’ll be home when I want to be home.”

  “Claire...”

  But she hangs up on me.

  “Fuck!”

  I resist the urge to throw my cell phone. She is going down a bad road, and Mom and I are struggling to stop her. It started when the man we call Father left us with practically nothing. Now she knew she was adopted, Claire was spiralling even faster.

  And we don’t know how to deal with it.

  But I am not going to get anything done by sitting in a toilet cubicle. I need to get back to work so I can finish and head out to find Claire. I have a good idea where she’s going to be, so it should not be too difficult. But I am not looking forward to the confrontation.

  I take a few deep breaths before I leave the cubicle, slipping my cell phone into my pocket. Then I hurry out, only to run right into someone. All the air is knocked out of me as they grab me to stop me from moving away. Then I look up, and everything seems to stop.

  Oh, God. Jason Ford. He’s standing right in front of me with a curious expression. I saw him that morning when the HR manager, Rebecca, was showing me to my desk. He was in his office on the phone, looking very handsome in a shirt and tie that he was loosening as I watched. I had read up on my new boss, and I knew he was barely thirty. Yet he has silver at the temples, streaking through his dark hair. He looks like he has spent most of his time in the sun with a healthy tan. I can feel his muscular chest flex under my hands, and I am resisting the urge to touch him further. Every part of him is just solid muscle.

  Jason Ford is hot—there’s no other way to put it. And he certainly has enough of the ladies in the office swooning, myself included. But I thought he had gone home. I was so engrossed in my work that I hadn’t noticed anyone else.

  And now he’s holding me, his face inches from mine. Staring at me.

  Chapter 3

  Jason

  I am not expecting to feel the lust slam into my gut so hard that I forget how to breathe. Up close, she is even more beautiful. There is an innocence about her that makes me want to hold onto her and not let go. Her dark eyes widen as they meet mine. Her mouth falls open. I have a sudden urge to see if her mouth tastes as good as it looks.

  I know I should let go of her and step back, give her distance. But I find it a struggle to move away. I know my cock has flared to life now that I’ve touched her, and I’m trying to stop myself from pushing her up against the wall so I can touch her all over.

  She licks her lips, and I have to bite back a groan. Then she swallows, her voice coming out as a slight croak.

  “I’m so sorry, Mr. Ford. I didn’t notice you.”

  So she knows who I am. I manage a smile.

  “It’s fine.” Then I notice that her complexion is pained, and there are dark circles under her eyes. “Are you okay? You look pale.”

  “Hmm? Oh.” She blinks and I feel her pulling away, her hands lifting off my chest. Then she lifts her chin and meets my gaze with a defiant one. “Nothing to worry about. I don’t let it get in the way of my work, Mr. Ford.”

  I let her go, shoving my hands into my pockets to stop myself from reaching for her again.

  “Do you not...” I glance down at her name badge, which is very nicely placed over her breast. “Melanie?”

  I leer at her breasts, which seem to be big and perky. I can still feel them pressed against me, and I find myself again wanting to put my hands on them to see how they feel. I swallow hard. So does, Melanie. A slight flush appears on her cheeks.

  “I can be professional.”

  I’m sure she can. I watch as she steps around me, giving me a wide berth, and goes back to her desk. She sits and begins to type again. I watch her, realizing that she should have gone home by now. She should not still be here. I approach her desk. And I have no idea what I’m doing. The meeting is in fifteen minutes, but I’m hovering around Melanie.

  “How long have you been working here?”

  “Why?”

  Melanie doesn’t look up as she types. I frown and lean my hands on her desk.

  “Because I’m the boss and I’m asking the questions here.”

  I have not become a billionaire by age twenty-eight by letting people talk to me in the way she has just spoken. Melanie looks up sharply, her eyes widening when she realizes how close I am. She looks away quickly and stops typing with a heavy sigh.

 

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