The Billionaire's Lockdown Baby - Holly Rayner Page 0,1

boss to celebrate five years of working together, and he was taking me to the fanciest restaurant in Honolulu. Which was why I couldn’t afford to be late. He was my freaking boss.

But there was another very big reason that I was going out of my way to get there in time. I wanted to be early. I wanted to have a chance to get settled at the restaurant, figure out my surroundings… have at least one margarita before he arrived.

Because Damon Parker and I had been working together for five years now. I’d known for four of them that I was in love with him, but I’d never said anything, too scared to ruin the job or make it uncomfortable or destroy whatever reference I was going to get if I ever left the company, or even get myself fired. I knew I’d never find another job like the one I had with him.

Damon owned the largest media company on the island—which didn’t boast that many corporate jobs—and as a marketing major, I’d found it to be the ideal fit. If I lost the job, I didn’t know where I’d go or what I’d do.

If I got fired, I also wouldn’t be able to spend ninety percent of my time around Damon. And though he didn’t know how I felt about him, and I always had to be on my best behavior, getting to work with him was still a huge plus—and one that I didn’t want to throw away.

It was one of the biggest perks of the job. One of the only perks, if I was being honest. Because the pay certainly wasn’t doing it for me.

So why was I currently sprinting toward my car, blood running hot about going on a non-date with the boss who didn’t pay me enough and who I had a huge—and very conflicting—crush on?

Well. The thing was, my little sister had just gotten engaged and called me screaming with excitement over the prospect of marrying her best friend and all that jazz. And though I was happy for her—really, I was, though I was nervous at the thought of all the work I was going to have to do as maid of honor—it had brought my situation into very clear, very sharp, and very sudden perspective.

I was keeping a sucky job for the simple reason of getting to be around my boss—who I was in love with. Who I’d been in love with for four freaking years.

And because I’d been such a chicken that entire time, I’d never even put a thought toward moving things forward with him.

Now my little sister, a full five years younger than me, was getting married… while I kept my mouth shut about my feelings so I could move forward with my career. I mean, theoretically move forward with my career. And that realization right there? It had made everything extremely clear.

I was a hamster on a wheel, running my butt off and not getting anywhere. And I didn’t feel like I’d even had a hamster treat in years. I was getting tired and frustrated, and I definitely wasn’t moving forward in my career.

The only thing I had was a crush. A crush that was holding me down.

Which was exactly why I was going to tell him how I felt. Tonight. At dinner. During our five-year work anniversary celebration. I figured there would be alcohol and good food and congratulations and plenty of good juju going around. It would be the perfect time.

Right?

I got to my car and threw my bag into the passenger seat, revving the engine and then squealing out of the parking lot before I could rethink what I was doing—or turn around and run right back into the water, my safe place.

Chapter 2

Damon

I walked into the restaurant talking away on my phone, but that wasn’t my fault. I was the CEO of one of the most successful companies on the island, which meant that I logged a lot of time—like, way more than I wanted to—on the phone. The time difference between Hawaii and the rest of the world meant that I had to be available at odd hours, conducting business outside a normal nine-to-five kind of deal.

Of course, at that moment, I was actually on the phone with a girl I’d met last week. But who’s really paying attention to details like that?

The moment I saw Aubrey, though, I made an excuse to hang up and put the phone away. The sight