The Billionaire's Assistant

Chapter 1

Naomi

Hot , smelly breath on her face slowly woke Naomi up, then the pressure on her body finally registered, jarring her wide awake.

Someone was on top of her.

She started struggling and two rough-skinned hands were immediately on her wrists, limiting her movement.

Just as she was about to scream, one large hand found its way to her mouth, muffling the beginning of it, so she bit the hand hard.

A stinging slap stunned her for a few moments, giving her attacker time to reposition himself, and before she knew it, he had planted himself between her legs and started working on removing her panties.

Jenna! she screamed, now that her mouth was free, horror and fear merging into a blood-curdling sound, and soon she heard her roommate’s footsteps running toward her room.

Her light flicked on, and she caught a glimpse of Jenna’s horrified pale face before her green eyes snapped around the room as she looked around for the nearest viable weapon.

Then Jenna grabbed the nearest lamp and brought it down on the head of the strange man on top of her.

The man collapsed immediately, successfully knocked out cold, and Naomi shoved him off of her to the ground, breathing hard and fast as adrenaline continued coursing through her.

The intruder had gotten so close!

Call 911! Jenna reminded her, and Naomi fumbled around for her phone to make the call.

Once the operator answered, she spilled the events of the past few minutes, begging them to send the cops soon; she didn’t know how long it would be before the guy regained consciousness.

But Jenna had her wits about her and was already working on makeshift restraints, tying one of the assailant’s arms to the foot of the bed using a piece of clothing, then working on the other.

Not the best knots, but it’ll take some time for him to wriggle free if he wakes up before they get here.

Naomi nodded, still stunned by what had just happened.

Who the heck is he? she demanded after a few heart-pounding moments, her blood rushing so hard and fast, she could almost hear it.

Then it dawned on her.

She stared at Jenna accusatorially.

Did you bring him home with you?

Jenna shifted, looking guilty and sheepish.

Yeah, she said softly, then more firmly, she said, Naomi, I would have never brought him home with me if I thought he’d do this. I’m so sorry! I don’t know what got into him. We had fallen asleep, and I was right there if he needed some more relief. I mean, damn—we did it twice!

Naomi held up her hand.

I don’t want to hear any more of that right now. We’ll talk about this later, once he’s out of here.

Are you gonna try to get him charged?

"Of course! He can’t get away with this! Who knows if he’s done this before? And if he gets away scot-free, he most certainly will try to do it again. He has to answer for this."

But do you think anything’ll happen? Jenna asked.

Naomi suddenly realized her roommate’s eyes were glistening.

Then she remembered a possible reason why.

She was there when Jenna herself was assaulted by a new member of their group home, and nothing really came of it.

Jenna’s attacker got a slap on the wrist, even though he actually managed to get all the way inside her, so as far as Jenna had always been concerned, he essentially got away with his crime.

Nobody cares about us, Jenna reminded her, snapping her back to the tense moment. Even girls who get to go to college and have their parents behind them don’t get convictions sometimes. What chance do we have with no one to back us up? Especially now that we’re grown-ass women that people have no problem blaming for poor choices?

Okay, this sure as hell wasn’t my fault; I didn’t make the choice to bring him home.

No, I know—it’s mine. But we’re here together and…what if he gets mad if you keep pushing for him to get prosecuted or whatever?

Wait, you think I should just let it all go and hope he doesn’t try to come back here anyway?

Sort of! I mean, if he gets off easy, he won’t bother us again. But if you gun for him to pay and go through the court and all that stuff and he still gets away, he might want revenge.

I can’t believe you’re saying this, Naomi said. I can’t talk to you right now.

A groan made them both jump, and they realized that the man was slowly waking up, but they also heard sirens in the distance.

The next hour was a blur—Naomi and Jenna gave their accounts to the cops, the stranger got taken away, and a detective left his card with them, promising to keep them updated.

By the time the night quieted back down, leaving her and Jenna alone, all Naomi could think about was possibly having to cover up dark circles from a restless night in addition to a mark on her face from her attacker’s slap.

She hoped she didn’t end up late to work again.

Naomi stayed in place, unable to return to her bedroom just yet, and watched Jenna go to the bathroom, then watched as she exited it and headed toward her room.

Just as she crossed the threshold of it, Naomi said, Not so fast.

It had been about fifteen minutes since the commotion had died down.

Naomi knew she should really just get to bed since, unlike Jenna, her shift started in the mornings, but she had no chance of sleeping if she didn’t say what was on her mind.

This can’t happen again, Jen—you can’t have strangers spend the night here.

Not looking at her, Jenna said, Look, I know this was horrible, but what happened here could have happened anywhere—while you were walking to your car after a shift or even on the way to the library. Sometimes, regardless of how careful you are or what you do, shit just happens, and who knows that better than us? People bring strangers home all the time and it usually doesn’t work out like that.

Finally, Jenna’s green eyes met hers again.

I’m sorry it happened this time, but I don’t think it’s fair for you to try to make some rule about my dating.

"I’m not saying you have to change anything about who you ‘date’ or anything! What I’m asking is perfectly reasonable. I got attacked by some stranger—a stranger you let in. I’m just saying we should make a rule not to bring strangers home. If you want to bone someone, just go to his place or take it in his car. I shouldn’t have to pay for your careless, slutty mistakes!"

Naomi regretted the words almost as soon as they left her mouth.

Jenna let out a dry chuckle.

There you go again, all high and mighty. You think I don’t know you’ve been looking down on me since the day I started stripping? She put on a ridiculous high-pitched, mocking voice. "Ooh, look at me! I’m a virgin. I’ll never have to strip. I’m gonna make something of myself despite everything. My sister’s adoptive parents are gonna regret not taking me too." Jenna rolled her eyes. You really think you’re better than me just because you haven’t started using your body to your advantage yet? And yes, I’m saying ‘yet’ because it’s probably just a matter of time. If you want to make any kind of money, that’s how girls like us do it. I’m telling you, while you’re still young and tight, you might as well let those assholes throw money at you.

I doubt I’ll end up like you, Jenna; I have a moral opposition to the whole thing.

Jenna let out a nasty laugh.

Who cares? Your morals definitely don’t pay our bills with your minimum wage four or five shifts a week. You keep talking about getting your own place, but how the hell are you gonna do that making that kind of money? Do you have any idea how much money I make now? Remember how excited I was when I made two hundred dollars in one night? I make more than double that now, and I can get my own place with two or three bedrooms if I want. I’m doing you a favor. I paid the deposit and first and last so we could get this place, so who the hell are you to tell me what I can and cannot do here? As long as I’m paying the bulk, we’re going by my rules.

Naomi’s shoulders drooped.

Jenna was right—what say did she really have?

I really can’t believe you, Jenna said, suddenly sounding really hurt. You know we have no one—no one but each other. How dare you look down on me for doing whatever the fuck I have to do to survive? You know what? You probably wouldn’t make that much anyway—everyone prefers skinny and white.

Naomi let the sting pass.

She realized she had carelessly offended her friend, and now she was lashing out.

She and Jenna had lived together in a group home for three years and since then, they had been rooming together for two years in their current apartment.

Like Jenna said, she was doing her a favor while she tried to get her life together, so what alternative did she have?

She was stuck for now, but she had been saving up and was planning to give her thirty-day notice in a few months or so.

She just had to bide her time a little longer, and in the meantime, make sure her door was locked at night.

She had been waffling about moving out for a while, postponing thinking about the logistics—especially since it was out of the range of affordability—but tonight it was clear: she had to move out as soon as possible.

Long before tonight she knew she had to leave sooner than later—the day Jenna mentioned she was considering leaving the stripper world to try to become a porn star, Naomi got a sinking feeling that a part of her life was coming to an end.

They had both worked at fast food restaurants until Jenna decided she wanted more money faster and became a stripper, and Naomi figured she could live with that.

But porn?

Naomi had never said it out loud, but all she could think was that she couldn’t room or be friends with a potential porn star.

She worried about various things—including the fact Jenna might earn a crazy fan who might track her down to their home.

Naomi had tried to talk her out of the whole thing, but all Jenna had said was, Look, I do it with dudes all the time, and sometimes, I don’t even get to come. Might as well get paid for doing it!

But there’s an obvious difference—you don’t usually broadcast your…sessions for the world to see. Do you?

No, but I might as well just embrace this totally natural thing. It’s just my cunt, after all; I’m happy to be paid for owning it.

It’s more than that!

Naomi had always felt it was more sacred, hence her virginity.

She also knew there was no arguing with Jenna, especially since she had no experience to speak from, so she never brought it up again.

She would simply plan to get her own place sooner.

And now, with tonight’s horrifying incident and Jenna’s almost casual response to it, she knew it was time.

One way or another, as much as she hated the thought of leaving her closest friend, she had to find her own place.

After a moment, she said quietly, "Just so you