The Billionaire's Mistaken Mistress - Part 1 (Contemporary BWWM Romance) Read Online Free

along with a wave of excitement mixed with fear. She'd never done anything like this before, and standing up for herself felt damn good. Knowing she likely just lost her job, however, didn't feel very good at all. With the reality of what she'd just done sinking in, her head dropped slightly knowing she'd just sealed her fate.
                  It didn't take long for her to spot Burt standing on the other side of the counter. He had shot out of the kitchen at the sound of Earle's yell, and at the sight of the crass but loyal regular covered in ketchup, his face turned as red as Earle's freshly-stained shirt.
                  Slowly, she put the spent condiment bottle down, walked to the counter, and looked at Burt apologetically as Earle rushed off to the bathroom to clean himself up the best he could. Burt leaned towards her and pointed to the door.
                  “Out,” he said in a low voice. “Get out before I throw you out, and don't come back. You hear me?”
                  She said nothing. Angry tears were welling in her eyes as she hurried to the back room to get her bag with every pair of eyes in the diner locked on her. She pulled off her apron and made a grab for her cardigan and bag.
                  “Leaving already?” Melanie asked with a sarcastic smile. She had just arrived and was about to start her shift.
                  “I got fired.” Jessie stopped just in front of her, but didn't maintain eye contact.
                  “I guess Burt finally realized you were too big for your britches,” Melanie sneered. “Maybe now you can get the job you deserve.”
                  “And what's that supposed to mean?” Jessie shot back.
                  “Well, everyone thinks you're John Harwood's mistress so maybe now you can go and apply for the job, girl. You need the money, don't you? Shit, don't tell me you'd say no to a guy like him. Is he beneath you, too?” Melanie said with a devilish grin.
                  “Get out of my way, Melanie.” Jessie growled as she barged past her beaming ex-coworker. Melanie barely moved, merely snorting as she watched Jessie's proud figure marching out of the diner. Jessie walked past Burt without saying a word, trying hard to maintain her dignity as patrons murmured all around her, likely commenting on what had just transpired.
                  The moment Jessie got outside she realized the gravity of the situation. What the hell was she going to do now? For as often as Burt threatened it, she never quite believed he'd see it through. Fired? She needed to pound the pavement and look for a new job or she'd have no money to pay her rent, let alone buy food.
                  Something else was adding to her feelings of anger and worry, though. Jessie was sick and tired of her new unjust association with John Harwood, a man she hadn't even met. She wanted so much to look him in the face and say, “Hey, look what you and your crazy bitch of a wife have done to ruin my life!” She wondered if a man of his wealth and stature would even care. Hell, maybe his psychotic wife had fabricated all of this just for the publicity and had chosen Jessie's name at random.
                  Why should she allow these rich elitists to bully her in this way? Without giving it a second thought, she jumped onto the first bus headed downtown. She was going to the busy banking district, straight to John Harwood's office, to see how he liked his life intruded upon by a total stranger.
                  Upon reaching the impressive skyscraper that housed Harwood Finance, Jessie looked up at the seventy-four story building took a deep breath. She had been incensed just twenty minutes earlier, but now that she was so close to the person she held responsible for her losing her job, she was more nervous than angry. As Jessie stood