The Billionaire’s Unexpected Proposal (Evelyn and Derek)

Chapter 17

Evelyn stared at Derek, her heart pounding in her chest. Recovering quickly from the initial shock, her hands moved involuntarily to the front of her bathrobe and she held it tightly together. "What are you doing here? What do you want?"

Derek's grin widened. "May I come in?"

"Certainly not," she snapped.

His eyes glinted mischievously. "You can either let me in, or we can stand here with you dressed in your bathrobe for everyone to see and speculate about our relationship."

Her eyes darted to the corridor. The last thing she needed was gossip. Reluctantly, she stepped aside.

"Fine, come in."

Derek stepped into the room, his presence filling the space. Evelyn closed the door behind him, her mind racing. Derek couldn't be here. What if Samantha returned now? She needed to think fast. "Excuse me for a moment," she said, walking into the bedroom. She quickly grabbed her phone and sent a text to Maya, asking her to keep Samantha out for a while longer.

Hearing movement behind her, she turned to see Derek approaching and she stiffened. "What are you doing?"

"By here you mean, here in your room, here in your suite, or here in this Hotel?" He asked with an innocent smile, his gaze sweeping over her.

She clenched her jaw, "I didn't invite you into my room. It is rude to barge into my room..." she trailed off when he chuckled.

"What's funny?" She asked, glaring at him.

"You. And the fact that you think I'm being rude when you did the very same thing six years ago. You even did worse. At least I'm not stripping like you did," he said, and her cheeks flamed. "Seeing you in a hotel room, dressed in a bathrobe, brings back memories," he drawled.

"I apologize for what happened then. I wasn't in my right senses," she said without meeting his gaze.

"Like I'm not in mine right now," he said, taking a step forward and she instinctively took a step back.

"Things are different. It's not the same," she said, trying to reason with him.

"How so? Because you're a lady and I'm a man? You can get away with seducing me that way, but I can't?" He asked, holding her gaze.

"I was immature. I didn't know what I was doing. I acted out of my pain and foolishness and I swear to God, I regret it," she said, telling herself inwardly that she didn't regret having Samantha but she only regretted all that led up to it.

"You regret it? Does that mean you didn't enjoy it?

Cause I remember differently," he asked, his voice low.

She looked away, refusing to answer. "I suggest we stick to business and not talk about the past."

He chuckled softly. "But I'm here to talk about the past." He said, taking another step forward.

Annoyed and tired of rehashing the past, she met his gaze, her resolve hardening. "What do you want, Mr Stone? Are you here to play around or discuss business? If you plan on making a habit of these visits, I will have to move to a different hotel." She threatened.

Derek raised his hands in mock surrender. "Alright.

Alright. No need to get all nasty. I came to discuss our arrangement."

"Then let's do so," she said, leading him back to the living area.

"So. What did you want to discuss about it? Didn't we conclude on it earlier at your office?" She asked with a raised brow as they both sat down.

"We didn't talk about when you'd be resuming and your working hours," he pointed out.

"I'm resuming tomorrow. The sooner we start the better. And as for the working hours, it shouldn't exceed your usual office hours, should it?" She asked, and he paused, studying her.

"I'm glad I came to have this conversation with you. I can see you're mistaken," he said, and she frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"You're going to be spending the next month closely by my side. It is not restricted to only my office hours.

You will go wherever I go with me. If I'm going on any trips, you're coming with me. You will spend your weekdays and weekends with me..."

"Absolutely not! That's not going to be possible," she cut in before he could finish, "There is no way I can do that. I have other responsibilities."

"What responsibility could you possibly have aside from your job? You're not married, you do not have kids, and your boss has assured me that in the next month, you're mine. So, what else could there be?" He asked, and she shook her head.

"I can do weekdays, but I can't work with you on weekends. And I can't travel with you either. I'm sorry."

"Does that mean you're backing out of our agreement?" He asked and she frowned.

"Why are you really doing this? What's the big deal about an interview with you that you have to bring up all of these ridiculous rules?" She asked, clearly exasperated.

"Why don't you find out?" He said with a shrug.

Evelyn took a deep breath, "My weekends are important to me."

"It's just four weekends. I'm not asking for all the weekends of your life. It's up to you to decide whether you will do it or not. How can you say you've understudied me if you only get to know about me during work hours when I'm playing my official role?

You have to spend the weekend with me getting to know other parts of my life. My family, my hobbies, my interests."

"It's an interview, not a relationship. I don't need to know everything about you," she said stubbornly.

"That's for me to decide not you. It's that or nothing.

I've drafted out the details of the arrangement. If you're interested, you can come over to the office tomorrow to resume and sign the agreement form...

"There is an agreement form?" She asked in disbelief.

Derek rose, "Of course, there is. You have to assure me you will only write about all you see and learn about me sincerely and not what you think. Whatever you put out about me has to be objective." Evelyn sighed as she rose, "Is there anything else I need to know before tomorrow?"

"I think that will be it. As much as I enjoy your company, I'm sorry I have to leave now. I have an appointment with a friend," he said, thinking of Samantha who he believed was expecting him at the playground. "That's fine, Mr Stone..."

"Please call me, Derek. Even though the introduction came late, I believe we've long past this stage. Don't you agree, Eve?" He asked and she forced a smile.

"I don't. But whatever you say," she said as she escorted him to the door.

"And you should know that one of the benefits of our arrangement includes taking care of your accommodation and transportation. I could upgrade your suite if you'd..."

"I'm fine where I am""" she replied tersely.

+5

"If you say so. I'm looking forward to working with you," he said with a satisfied smile on his face.

She opened the door, gesturing for him to leave. The moment he stepped outside, she held his gaze. "Next time, communicate through the phone. No more unannounced visits." Before he could respond, she shut the door in his face and leaned against it with a heavy sigh. Glad that he was gone.

Derek grinned as he looked at the door. That had gone quite well. Better than he imagined, he thought as he turned around and headed for his suite on the top floor.

He mentally patted himself on the back for coming up with those new conditions on the spur of the moment.

He was just going to ask the secretary to print an agreement form before she arrives.

Spending the weekends and going on trips together would definitely be a nice way to seduce her and sweep her off her feet, he thought with a chuckle.