Mr. Arrogant: A Billionaire Romance by Alexis Gold Page B

surprise. Then a smile began to curl at the corners of her mouth and she turned her head slightly. “You fell in love? Well honey that’s no screw up, that’s wonderful! Who’s the lucky guy?”
    She pursed her lips together and shook her head again. “It’s not good, and he’s not lucky, and neither am I,” she said sadly. “I fell in love with Jonathon Cross!”
    Andrea’s mouth fell full open. She stared at Naomi for a long minute before she closed her mouth once more and leaned forward, staring, almost unblinking. “You…. You fell in love with Jonathon Cross? With your boss? The Jonathon Cross?” She turned her head back and forth and hummed low.
    “Mm hmm honey, you did screw up. How in the world did that happen? I thought you didn’t like him. I thought you couldn’t stand him! We talked about how much you didn’t like him! We sat right here on this sofa and you told me all kinds of things I didn’t know and wouldn’t like, and even all of that was on top of a reputation that I already knew all about!” Andrea was astounded and it showed in her wide eyes.
    Naomi shrugged. “That was him… and I didn’t like him. I couldn’t stand him. Apparently he must have viewed that as a challenge. I got to know him and he never made a move on me; he never tried anything with me. We got to be sort of friends, and then I started to like him. Just as a person,” she explained sadly, “you know, I thought I was seeing the real him. I thought I was seeing someone worth knowing. He had me fooled. I thought he was so different than all of the rumors and everything everyone says about him, including me.”
    Andrea watched her and sighed as she listened, handing a tissue to Naomi as she saw Naomi begin to tear up again.
    “Then our friendship kind of… grew… into something more, and I realized that I had fallen in love with him.” She let her head fall back miserably.
    Andrea frowned. “Wait a minute, what do you mean your friendship grew into something more. Is he in love with you, too?” she looked stunned.
    Naomi laughed out loud and two tears fell from her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. “In love with me? God no. Nothing like that at all. I fell in love with him, and I don’t think he knows it. At least, I hope he doesn’t know it. It would be horrible if he did. No, he doesn’t fall in love. He likes to get around with too many women too often.”
    Andrea tipped her head and gave Naomi a curious look. “Have you seen him with a bunch of other women? You said you saw the real him. Is the real him like all of the rumors?”
    Naomi shook her head. “No, the real him, or at least the part of him that he let me see, is nothing at all like the rumors, and I didn’t actually see him go after any women, now that I think of it. I have seen women flock to him, but mostly just in the office and when we are out for public functions, but he never takes them up on anything; he just kind of flirts back and then leaves. He’s totally noncommittal.”
    Andrea raised her brows in surprise. “Huh, well, there you go. I never would have thought that. I thought he had a different secretary on his couch every day.”
    “No, I’ve never actually seen a woman in his office with him with the door shut, come to think of it.” Naomi frowned slightly and thought about it. The realization came as a surprise to her.
    “So why is it so bad to be in love with him if he isn’t the slime ball that everyone makes him out to be?” she asked curiously, rubbing her thumb over the back of Naomi’s hand.
    Naomi shook her head. “Oh, well…. It’s just that he’s my boss and he has been with a lot of women, I think… at least, that’s what the ladies in the office say. They’ve all been there longer than me, but I’ve never seen it. Anyway, I have no business falling in love with my boss, especially him, and especially since he doesn’t love me back.”
    Andrea’s eyes grew wide with understanding then, and she