Devotion - Billionaire Contemporary Romance Novel by Aria Hawthorne

before pushing past her towards the windows.  He adjusted their blinds, cutting off the unforgiving light and focusing the dark contrasting patterns onto Isabel’s flushed face.
    “Yes, of course,” he said softly, attempting to refrain from distressing her more.  “Anything that is mine…is yours.”
    He peered at her with quiet conviction.  “I simply came back to retrieve a file that I had forgotten.” 
    But Phillip did not move towards his desk.  Instead, his eyes searched out the unmarked white box in her hands.  “I shall leave you now.”  He nodded and passed through the door, closing it behind him with a gentle tug.
    With a heavy sigh, Isabel dropped onto the couch and tossed the lingerie box onto the coffee table.   The sharp shadows from the blinds cut across the box and she rose from the couch to gaze out at the city’s skyline.  Watercross Tower , she thought, studying its neon blue antennas, beaming up into the hazy stratosphere like a launching spacecraft.  She pressed herself against the cold glass of the window and peered up to its top floor.  Flickers of strobe lights flashed through the panoramic windows of the casino.  Eliot Watercross had built the tower as if it was a reflection of himself—garish, domineering and impossible to ignore.  He had successfully cajoled city officials into granting him unprecedented landfill rights along the Chicago River to the build the foundation for his behemoth tower, and he had garnered the sole permit to operate a casino within the downtown city limits.  There seemed to be nothing that he couldn’t obtain through sheer persuasion and charm, and as a result, he always got exactly what he wanted—whenever he wanted it.  As Isabel stared out at the jagged skyline, owned by a handful of powerful men who she could name on both her hands, she wondered if any of them besides Eliot Watercross was bold enough to send her roses, luxury jewelry, and lingerie to her office.  Were any of them bold enough to send them without revealing his mysterious identity while still expecting her to accept his seductive overtures by agreeing to meet him tonight at the Duchess Suite of the Peninsula Hotel?
    No one was bold enough except one man—Eliot Watercross. 
    Isabel glanced back at the lingerie box.  She needed to put an end to this.  Whatever this was, it had to stop.  She could no longer sit back and silently endure the romantic advances of one of Phillip’s competitors.  She had to make it very clear to her admirer that any expectation of a sexual relationship between them was both unprofessional and unrequited.  Her sole commitment was to Phillip. There was no other choice—absolutely none .
    Fueled by renewed commitment and conviction, she left Phillip’s office, shut off her desk lamp and computer monitor, and slipped the lingerie and Cartier necklace into her purse.  She retrieved her coat from the office closet and flicked off the general lights, but stopped when she heard the soft flutter of typing down the hallway. Isabel slowly approached the doorway of Norton’s corner office and peered inside.
    “Giselle?” Isabel said, surprised. “What are you still doing here so late?”
    Beaming with enthusiasm, Giselle looked up across the wide screen monitor. “Hello Miss Alvarez.  I hope it’s okay.  I’m working here late on a project for Mr. Spears.  He asked me to create a social media campaign for a gala that he’s hosting at The Old Main Post Office.  Have you heard about it? ”
    Isabel stared at Giselle, unable to comprehend her words.  “Yes, of course.”
    “Well, I just got so excited about it,” Giselle gushed, “that I started working on it right away and I haven’t been able to stop.”
    Isabel stared at her.  Isabel was Phillip’s most trusted employee; he rarely delegated anything off her plate unless it was with her consent.  Plus, the orchestration of The Old Main Post Office gala was Isabel’s official