All Chapters of One Weekend with the Billionaire: Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

Leaving Julia at home is something I’m going to have to figure out how to do more effectively because walking away from her this morning was almost physically painful. I wish I would’ve talked to her about the situation with Jeff the night before. I should’ve known she was too smart not to have known something was going on.I sit behind my desk and flip through some papers, not really looking at any of them. I know I have to figure out a way to concentrate on my work because it has to get done whether or not I can focus on it. I spend an hour or so looking through the files I have to approve, seeing very little of what’s written on the papers. I sign off on a few things that I know my top staff members have already looked over so there’s a pretty good chance they are fine. I know that it isn’t okay for me not to do my work because I am distracted, but at the same time… I can’t control my thoughts today.My eyes are drawn through the window where I see that Jeff Thompson has his phone

It’s clear over dinner that Julia is distracted, though I can’t say why. I decide we should finish eating before I start asking questions. But I will ask her. After all, I spent so much of last night too worried to mention to her something she already knew all about, so it’s ridiculous for me to try not to discuss what’s going on with her. I need to know what’s bothering her, just as she wanted to know what was bothering me the night before.As soon as we finish our dinner, I say, “We should go spend some time in the hot tub.” My muscles ache from being so rigid all day at work, on edge, waiting to see what was going to happen next. Since I heard nothing from my lawyers today, it is unsettling to think I may spend the next several weeks or months just waiting for a phone call that might not come.“Okay,” Julia says. “That’s a good idea. I have something I’d like to talk to you about, and it will be less stressful if we can chat in the hot tub.” She smiles that beautiful smile of hers,

As soon as we get out of the hot tub, we don’t bother to put our wet bathing suits back on. It would be too difficult to get back into them, especially my bottoms, so we just wrap up in big, fluffy towels, and Braxton guides me over to a large chair where we can sit together, his arms around me, my legs over his. I gaze up at the stars, breathing in his scent. He smells so good, I can’t help but nuzzle my nose up to his face. The scent of deep woods and his natural musk make my skin light on fire again, my heartbeat racing.I don’t know how long I can sit her, wrapped up in his warm embrace, only towels between our naked bodies, and not feel a rush of longing again. I wonder if Braxton is having the same problem as his lips graze my temple. I lean into him, and his mouth rests on the top of my head for a long moment.I raise my hand to his neck, stroking him gently, before I move my lips to the spot near his Adam’s apple where I can feel his heartbeat. He murmurs, the vibrations from

Over dinner, I want to ask Braxton more than just how his day was. When I ask him that question, he says, it was fine and tells me a little bit about the accounts he’s working on. We both know that’s not what I’m asking about, but he hasn’t volunteered any information about Jeff and his lawsuit. That’s what I want to know about, and Braxton knows it.So… when the dessert is served, and we are almost done, I ask. “Have you heard anything from the lawyers yet?” That is pointed enough that he can’t just brush it away.He puts a bite of tiramisu in his mouth as I am asking, so I have to wait until he is done chewing for a response. Once he swallows, he wipes his mouth politely on a napkin and finally says, “My lawyers made his lawyers an offer today, but I haven’t heard anything back yet. I think it’s a strong offer, one he can’t easily turn down.” He gives me a reassuring smile and then takes another bite.I take a bite, too. The tiramisu is delicious. I wish I could just concentrate on

Days go by without a response from Thompson’s attorneys. I wait impatiently, trying to absorb myself in my work during the day and with Julia at night. The nights pass more quickly as I relish every moment I have with her. The days are long, and I do not feel as focused as I used to. I know I am distracted.One day, after a particularly rough meeting with some of our clients, one where I have little to say and can hardly stay focused long enough to answer their questions, Luckily, I have some talented associates in the room with me who are able to cover for me. I think I hear one of them say that I’m feeling under the weather. The clients make sympathetic faces in my direction, but they might know already what’s going on. There have been rumors in the tabloids that I’m being sued for taking one of my employee's wives. None of them have been substantiated. Yet.Once the clients have left the room, Stringer lingers, sending everyone else out of the room. I know the look he has in his ey