Controlled By The Billionaire

Chapter 8

Tristan tried to focus on what Rob was saying but all he could think about was Mel sitting next to that douchebag Louis and how his arm kept touching hers. He saw red when Louis came over to Mel and escorted her away from him, guiding her by the elbow like he had any right to touch her. Mel noticed and she didn’t care. Feeling possessive of a woman he was about to let go was rubbing him the wrong way. She wasn’t his. She wasn’t supposed to be his. He didn’t do love or relationships and it shouldn’t matter which douchebag was touching her. But it did and he hated that it did.

Tristan turned so he was facing away from them, but the image of them burned behind his eyes as he closed them and took a deep breath trying to re-center himself. Getting emotional in front of the people he was in control of at work was not a good thing. He needed to remain cool and aloof if he wanted any respect from them. Tristan nodded as Rob asked him a question, one he vaguely heard because Mel was laughing behind him. His body stiffened. Fu*king Louis was making her laugh now? He had to put a stop to it no matter what anyone thought. It didn’t matter that Tristan was going to tell her their deal was fulfilled and walk away from her this evening, all that mattered now was that Mel was his and he wasn’t about to let some asshole undermine that.

*****

“Mel, can I talk to you for a moment?” Tristan loomed over the back of Louis’s chair, anger flashing in his icy eyes.

Mel nodded, excusing herself from Louis. Louis looked at bit miffed but didn’t say anything; Tristan was his boss. She followed Tristan from the room, unable to meet anyone’s eyes in case they saw the surprise, and lust that was blooming in them. He was jealous and that turned her on. Perhaps that was a good sign. Perhaps he wanted to be with her as much as she wanted to be with him. Mel sighed with frustration, she couldn’t keep getting her hopes up with this back and forth game. They stopped outside of the conference room, around the corner from the entrance and in front of Tristan’s office.

“What’s going on, Tristan?” Mel asked, unable to keep silent much longer.

He didn’t respond. Instead he captured her mouth with his, pressing his hard body into hers and backing her against the wall.

He sighed as if the weight of the world was weighing him down. For a brief moment Mel felt sad for him, but she wasn’t sure why. Then he raised his eyes to her, they were sad for a moment, a look Mel never saw in them before, but then it was gone and all that was left was regret. That was when she knew.

“We should get back, people will wonder…” He began but Mel cut him off.

“Why does it matter what they think anyway, Tristan?” Mel asked before she could stop the words from coming out of her mouth.

An emotion that resembled hurt flashed across his face but was gone quickly. “Mel, I’m the boss and you’re the talent. It’s not appropriate…”

“I’m assuming you do this all the time then?” She cut him off again, turning away from him and looking out the window at the sunshine and palm trees. Outside everything looked perfect. There was no pain, no heartache, and no loneliness. Inside the building, and inside of Mel, there were all of those things, because she knew what he was going to say next. She ran a hand over her face and was surprised by the wetness she felt on her lashes. There wouldn’t be any more of that; she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of seeing her cry.

“Why does it matter, Mel?” Tristan threw her own words back at her and they stung. “We had a deal. This wasn’t a love match. I didn’t propose. I don’t do relationships and you know that. I was honest with you. But I can tell by your reaction you weren’t honest with me.”

Mel put a hand over her mouth, willing the tears not to fall. He knew she loved him and he was using it to hurt her. “That’s not fair Tristan and you know it. I never said I wouldn’t fall in love with you. Just because you want to be a cold, heartless bas*ard and push away people doesn’t mean that’s what I want. I’m alone in this world besides Blake and I thought maybe I had finally found someone. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Goodbye, Tristan.”

Mel gave him one long glance and despite her best efforts a traitorous tear slid down her cheek, the look on his face indecipherable. Then she turned and walked away.

*****

Tristan brooded in his office the rest of the work day. When his secretary came in, he snapped at her and he refused any calls that were sent to his office. He wasn’t sure why he was in such a funk after what went down with Mel after her small celebration. It was something about the way she called him a cold, heartless bas*ard. It made his chest ache in a way he wasn’t used to and even though he knew he made the right decision letting her go, his heart was having a hard time accepting it.

She had said she was alone… No that wasn’t right, she must have a family, parents and siblings. Her anger was making her say things that didn’t make sense. She couldn’t possibly be alone. Not like he was. Or could she. The pressure in his chest came back, crushing his lungs and making it hard to breath. He shot back the liquid in his glass, closing his eyes and resting his head on the seat back.

Everyone, including Louis, wanted to know where she went and why she left early. Tristan made up an excuse about a family emergency. He knew now that Mel had no family or so she claimed. The thought of her alone in the world made his chest ache again and he took a swig of the amber liquid in the tumbler on his desk.

It was his third glass and he didn’t care that the room was fuzzy around the edges. All he cared about was that he was numb. Numb from the pain of losing the woman he loved all because he was unable to love or be loved by another person. Laughing at his own disability, Tristan stood and loped over to the sideboard, sloshing another splash of bourbon into his glass. Tristan used to cherish being alone, unmolested by idiots and clingers. Now the loneliness loomed over him like a plague, waiting for him to succumb. Tristan plopped back into his desk chair, throwing back the bourbon and not even noticing the burn any longer. This was all he had to look forward to for the rest of his life, he better get used to it.