Close To Her Asian Billionaire

“But you’re always complaining about going out to big parties you’re forced to attend, saying you’d rather be at home.” Richard reminded him. “Sounds like she’d be perfect for you. If you’re looking to explore a proper relationship, that is.”

Jason wasn’t looking to have a proper relationship. Or so he thought. But the more he thought about it the more he realized that having a proper relationship with Carla Romaine sounded like a really good thing.

He was in trouble. He really needed to get laid.

*****

Jason was still deep in his thoughts when he left the gym, barely watching where he was going. His shoulder was bruised after bumping into several people, which had resulted in several apologies. He made a mental note to send each of them a bottle of wine for apologies.

No one couldn’t say he didn’t look after his employees.

His personal assistant was seated at her desk when he arrived, her manicured fingers flying over the keys as she stared at the screen with a frown, squinting at what she was doing. Jason had told her many times to get her eyesight checked or her eyesight was going to deteriorate but she was too stubborn to go, saying glasses didn’t look sexy on her.

“Any messages for me, Danielle?”

Danielle McLaren looked up and the frown disappeared. She nodded, her brown ringlets bouncing around her face, and reached for her notepad at her elbow.

“Just the usual, sir.” She began to read from the page, her squint coming back. “Mr Lamb wants you to call him back about his client.”

“Which one?”

“Didn’t say. Just said that you’ll know who he’s talking about.”

“And I don’t.”

Ryder Lamb was an agent Jason worked with. While he was a complete and utter bastard he was a damn good agent and sent a lot of really good writers Jason’s way. He had to put up with his behavior and his cryptic talking so he could keep the royalties coming in.

Danielle shrugged and scanned the page.

“Also a few people want you to endorse them and the such. A writer saying they’re available for that meeting later in the week and a couple of job applications for the editor spot that was freed up when you fired Joanie Oldham.”

She tore the page off and handed it to Jason. Jason took it, knowing that most of the messages would have already been dealt with. Danielle was efficient. Even at only twenty-two she had proven to be a hard worker and had figured out pretty quickly what Jason wanted and liked, from his food preferences to his replies to certain things asked of him. She had caught on a lot quicker than his previous personal assistant, who chose to sit at her desk filing her nails instead of actually doing anything.

People had been concerned that Jason had hired the daughter of Jesse Taga but Danielle had proven herself without using her father’s name, even using her mother’s maiden name to stop any preferential treatment. Jason was happy with her work and wasn’t planning on replacing her anytime soon.

“Thanks, Danielle. You’re a star.”

“Oh, you.” Danielle rolled her eyes. Then she cast a look towards Jason’s office. “And that’s a fed in your office.”

“A fed?” That had Jason’s attention. “Did he say what he wanted?”

“Something about a rumor regarding you that he wanted to check out.” Danielle bit her lip. “Did I do wrong letting him wait in your office?”

“I don’t know yet.” Jason softened when he saw Danielle’s nervous look. “Don’t worry about it. He wouldn’t find anything. Everything’s just boring paperwork in there.”

Jason really wanted a shower before he faced a visitor but there was no choice here. He pushed through into his office and saw a huge black man in his early thirties sitting behind his desk looking through a file. Jason could see it was a profile on one of his writers. A chic-lit specialist. Nothing to really worry about.

He closed the door a little louder than necessary.

“Can I help you?”

The visitor looked up. He was handsome in a rugged sort of way, his hair styled in a regulated crew cut. Ex-military, for sure.

“Mr Liu?”

“That’s me.”

The visitor stood up and came around the desk. Standing he topped six-five at least. His body could have rivaled Richard’s. Dressed in a charcoal-gray suit he looked like a federal agent. There was no way around it; he couldn’t disguise himself as anything else.

The other man held out a badge in one hand and his other hand out to Jason for a handshake.

“Special Agent Luke Whitely. White-Collar Crimes Division.”

“White-Collar Crimes?” Jason shook the offered hand, noting his strong grip. “Have I done something wrong?”

“I don’t know yet.”

That didn’t bode well. Dumping his gym bag on the floor by his chair, Jason took a seat behind his desk, offering Whitely the seat opposite.

“Then why are you here?”

Whitely sat, looking far too big for the chair.

“There have been a number of rumors going around that an employee in your publishing house is laundering money. Your name came up a few times.”

Jason blinked. Money laundering? In his building? He couldn’t believe it.

“And you think I’m laundering money through my own company?”

Whitely didn’t blink.

“It wouldn’t be the first time a CEO did something illegal.”

“Well, not here.” Jason didn’t like the implication. “I’ve never laundered money. Why would I? I earned everything here through hard work, not by cutting corners.”

“Maybe one of your employees? They used your name to cover themselves, perhaps?”

Jason didn’t like that, either. He trusted his employees. They wouldn’t do anything like that; he made sure they wanted for nothing. But he had to be objective.

“It’s possible,” he said dubiously. “But I refuse to believe that anyone would do that.”

“Is there anyone you fired recently or pissed off?”

“I fired a couple of people in the last month. Both of them were not up to scratch so I got rid of them.” One had been so drunk he hadn’t realized what was happening until he was driven home with his belongings and the other had threatened a lawsuit for unfair dismissal. That had easily been thrown out within hours. “Danielle can give you their names and addresses.”

“I’ll ask her.” Whitely sat up and rolled his shoulders. Sitting in the chair was clearly not comfortable. “I just thought I’d give you a heads up that there may be a few more of my men wandering around. If someone’s laundering money here, we need to find them quickly. And if someone is just trying to blacken your name it’ll be easier to find the source and shut it down as quickly as we can.”

“I’m all for that.” Although Jason had a feeling Whitely clearly didn’t think the second one, merely saying it to pacify him. He’d go along with it for now. “Do what you need to do. Just run things by me and my associate Richard Stevens when you do.”

“No problem.” Whitely stood, giving Jason a long look. “I do hope you haven’t been involved in anything, Mr Liu. Money laundering is an automatic prison sentence. And they are lengthy.”

Jason tensed. He recognized the veiled threat. But he had nothing to hide; he hadn’t done anything wrong.

His employees, on the other hand, needed to prove they hadn’t been hiding behind his name.

Moments after Whitely left Jason buzzed Danielle.

“Call Mr Stevens and tell him to get in here now.”