Contracted By The Billionaire

"Stop daydreaming and get back to work, Crystal."

Crystal glared at the back of her boss, Darren, as he walked past her. She was often caught 'daydreaming' because she much preferred to think about a different life than the one she was currently living.

Darren, however, was the manager of the coffee shop she worked at. She found him annoying as all he ever did was complain about their work ethics even if they weren't doing anything bad. He never praised them for a job well done when all he did was sit in his office and watch porn.

Nothing about her life fascinated her. She was twenty-three with a degree, drowning in student loans, deceased parents, and a sick grandmother, which meant she had to work twice as hard at the coffee shop she worked at. She'd been working here since she was in college and when she finally graduated, she started working full-time.

Even though she hated her boss, she couldn't let it be obvious. New York was not a place to willingly lose your job despite how annoying your boss could be; that could mean ending up on the streets or in her case, doing the one job she hated the most.

She didn't judge her friend for being a stripper. It brought about good money, but she just couldn't see herself doing it. Her parents didn't raise her to dance half-naked for horny men.

Her eyes caught the gaze of her coworker, Stacy, rolling her eyes when she caught Stacy's amused smile.

"It's not like there's anybody to serve."

"Well, there's one now," Stacy pointed out just as the bell rang, indicating the entrance of a new customer. Crystal groaned. "Now, stop daydreaming and get to work."

Crystal threw her rag at Stacy's face and turned to see the customer who just came in. She blinked, doing a double take to make sure she saw right.

Her novels describe the man as a Greek God with broad shoulders and sharp features. His hair was half parted to the side and it looked like what she would willingly run her hand through. She couldn't see his eyes because they were covered by his pair of sunglasses, but she bet they were just as alluring as the rest of him.

While she was drowning in debt, she knew Armani when she saw one, and this man was clad in a three-piece Armani suit that screamed wealth.

It wasn't a regular coffee shop. The coffee here was incredibly expensive and was meant for billionaires of his kind, which was probably why the shop was located in the heart of New York, where all the huge companies were located. It was a high-end shop that required them to wear uniforms; the usual black and white and the pay were generous.

His steps were slow and calculated as he looked around to find an empty table. His aura was domineering and she didn't know if it was just her, but the air in the room had intensified. She was feeling hot. Was the air conditioning not working anymore?

"Stop eye fucking the man and go get his order," Stacy said, bringing Crystal out from her thoughts that were becoming dirty, and that was when she realized that the man had taken a seat, looked in their direction, and most likely waiting to be served. "You're drooling, babes."

Crystal touched the side of her mouth and it was dry. She gave her coworker the middle finger and walked to the table where the man sat. Like him, her steps were also slow, but it was more of hesitation as she found his presence intimidating.

"Good afternoon, sir." She greeted as she dropped the menu on the table, proud of herself that her voice didn't come out shakily. They also sold different kinds of pastries and some people liked to have that with their coffee. "What would you like to get?"

He didn't even glance at the menu before handing it back to her, their fingers touching as he did so. She gasped, amazed by the jolt of electricity that surged through her. He cocked his head at the sound and removed his sunglasses, staring directly at her. It was unsettling, but she managed to not show how his gaze affected her.

"What would you like to get, sir?"

He trailed his eyes up and down her body and his expression was neutral as he said, "Coffee. Black."

Crystal nodded. "Anything else?"

"That's all."

As he returned to staring at his phone, she quickly left him going to the counter. She was very distracted, thinking about how blue his eyes were as she poured freshly brewed coffee into a mug that she didn't realize when she poured too much and had it pouring out the mug until it touched her finger.

"Shit," she hissed, putting her index in her mouth to relieve the pain. "Get yourself together, he's just a man." She gave herself a pep talk, taking deep breaths. "These men are assholes. He won't be different."

"You're down bad." She heard Stacy snicker. "Get another mug. I'll clean this one up."

Stacy nodded, not having the mental strength to reply to her first sentence. She got another mug, concentrated as she poured the coffee in, and put it on the saucer.

She took another round of deep breaths before she made her way back to his table. Stacy was right. She was down badly. Why was a random man making her feel this way? Sure he was very attractive and his voice was deep and pleasing to the ear, but that didn't mean she should lose her focus. Men were bastards. Rich men were even bigger bastards.

She tried to convince herself of that as she reached his table. She didn't know how it happened. One second, she was holding his coffee, the next second, her leg was hitting the table and the mug was falling from her hand.

Crystal couldn't even give a fuck about the pain in her leg as she watched the mug fall on the man, the coffee pouring all over his suit.

"Fuck." She muttered, fearing her fate.

The coffee was scalding hot, but he didn't make any noise as it poured on him. Instead, he blinked in surprise, and when his furious gaze met hers, she knew she was fucked.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry." She apologized profusely, wanting to dab his clothing with the rag on her hand, but he held her wrist.

It was not a time to react to his touch, but she couldn't control her body's reaction to his. She stared at the place where he held her hand, wondering what it would be like to feel his touch on the rest of her body, specifically between her legs. That was until he spoke though.

"Are you fucking stupid?"

She knew she was in the wrong, so she couldn't take his insult to heart. "I'm sorry, sir. It was an accident."

It was like he wasn't even hearing her. "This is a new suit that you've ruined because of your carelessness."

"I'll pay for it. I promise." She didn't know when it exited her mouth, but it already had and there was no going back.

He stood up, staring at his ruined suit. "If you could pay for this, you wouldn't be working as a waitress." He informed her through gritted teeth. While his voice was calm, his anger was obvious and it scared her that he could remain so calm with the kind of aura radiating off him at the moment.

He was right. She could not afford it, so the next option was to keep apologizing. Since he had stood up, they had attracted attention and everyone was staring at them. "It was an accident. I'm sorry, sir."

"You working here is an accident. Where's your manager?"

Crystal's eyes went wide and teary. "No, please. It would never happen again. I'm begging you."

Darren, whom she hated even more at that moment, thought that was the best time to join the scene. "What's going on here?" His eyebrows shot up as he saw the mess on the man's shirt. "Did she do this?"

"I apologized." Crystal was quick to defend. "I told him it would never happen again."

"Yes, it wouldn't," the man spoke again, "because the next time I come here, I don't want to see her working again."

"You won't, sir, I promise you." Darren agreed.

Nothing could stop the stream of tears that flowed down Crystal's face. This kind of thing had happened once in the shop, and Darren was deaf to the waiter's pleas, so she knew he would be deaf to hers as well.

"To compensate, we'd give you free coffee and pastries for a month." He added, and the man just nodded before leaving us in the shop.

"Darren, please." She begged. "Please, you know I need this job."

"You heard the man, Crystal." He said it nonchalantly. "He has influence, and I'd run out of business if I don't do as he says."

Crystal was right in thinking she was an asshole. And she had just lost her job because she was attracted to him. What a life!?

With the bad day she just had, Crystal was feeling very down and unmotivated. As soon as she was dismissed from the shop, she found herself walking the busy streets of New York and searching for a job. She wasn't very lucky.

Her grandmother, diagnosed with cancer and undergoing chemotherapy, was in the hospital, and her bills were due. And she was hoping to buy a car with this month's payment. She had even paid for part of it. It was easier to navigate the city with a car rather than the subway. Add to that the fact that the subway was full of weirdos and creepy men who stared at her while she waited for the train.

She had no choice, but to take that same subway to the hospital where her grandmother was admitted. She had talked with her friend, who was also her roommate, and Lisa had given Crystal an idea that wasn't very pleasing to her. She reminded her that she could work as a stripper for the time being while she searched for a new job as Lisa's b