by Jenna Brandt
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Locale and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, actual events, or actual locations is purely coincidental. All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, email [email protected].
Text copyright © Jenna Brandt 2020.
Cover design by Jo Grafford and Jenna Brandt
The Billionaire’s Birthday Surprise
Billionaire Birthday Club
Jenna Brandt
Contents
Billionaire Birthday Club Questionnaire
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Epilogue
Sneak Peek of The Billionaire’s Birthday Wish
Sneak Peek of Waiting on the Billionaire
Sneak Peek of The Billionaire’s Reunion
A Note from the Author
Also by Jenna Brandt
Join My Mailing List and Reader’s Groups
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Praise for Jenna Brandt
I’m always excited when I see a new book by Jenna Brandt. This very talented author can create an amazing storyline without missing a beat!
Lori Dykes, Amazon Customer
Jenna Brandt is, in my estimation, the most gifted author of Christian fiction in this generation!
Paula Rose Michelson, Christian Romance Author
Jenna Brandt writes from the heart and you can feel it in every page turned.
Sandra Sewell White, Longtime Reader
Jenna Brandt does a good job of pulling you in quickly and creating characters that you care about.
Kathy Church, Advanced Reader
I love this author - She always writes intriguing and amazing stories. She can write in any time period and owns it.
Connie C, Longtime Reader
Thank you Jenna Brandt for good wholesome novels that focus on Christian values.
Anonymous Amazon Customer
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The Billionaire’s Birthday Surprise
What do you give the billionaire who has everything?
Samuel Butler is a billionaire celebrity chef, equally known for his playboy ways as he is for his Irish gourmet cooking. When a close friend encourages him to use his next birthday adventure to find something deeper, he’s not sure if he’s ready to stop giving in to life’s pleasures.
Vanessa Lewis is staying on the Billionaire Birthday Club’s private island to celebrate her sister’s extravagant birthday. When she runs into Samuel Butler, the charming hunk she shared a passionate kiss with on New Year’s Eve two years earlier, she wants nothing to do with the man who could so easily forget her. Fate intervenes, however, when the sisters are invited to join a private party for the very man she wants to avoid.
Will Samuel’s birthday surprise be more than he bargained for? Can Vanessa trust Samuel to change? And what happens when their new relationship is tested in more ways than one?
Billionaire Birthday Club Questionnaire
1.What are your hobbies, or do you collect anything?
2.Are you a beach, mountain, city, or country person?
3.Where is somewhere you’ve always wanted to go?
4.Are you an adventurous eater? What is your favorite food?
5.If you had one day to do anything, what would you choose to do?
6.What is something that you’ve never experienced that is still on your bucket list?
7.Who is your secret celebrity crush?
8.What is your ideal perfect day?
9.Where did you go as a child (summer camp, family trips, summer abroad)?
10.Do you enjoy large parties or intimate gatherings?
11.What colors do you gravitate toward and why?
12.What inspires you?
13.Do you have a pet? Why or why not?
14.How would you describe your dream vacation?
15.What’s your guilty pleasure?
16.What song lyric moves you the most?
17.Do you have a deserted-island book or favorite quote?
18.What’s your number one film?
19.How do you want to remember your experience?
20.What have you seen at other birthday events that you did or didn’t like?
-To All those who are stuck inside-
Don’t stop believing, dreaming, hoping, persevering!
We can survive this together!
Chapter One
“Samuel Butler, aren’t you going to give a kiss to your oldest friend in all of Manhattan,” Melissa Vanderhilt, a pretty, Upper Eastside brunette socialite who ran an online gossip column cooed, as she sashayed over and wrapped her arm through his. “I can’t believe you’ve released your tenth cookbook, and it’s already hit the New York Times and USA Today Bestseller lists, all on the same day.”
Samuel shrugged half-heartedly, trying to appear nonchalant about the huge achievement. “What can I say; people want to know all the secrets that make my dishes so popular on my cooking show.”
“Are you still just calling it a cooking show?” Wade McAllister inquired with amusement as he sauntered up to the two of them with a pretty blonde on his arm. “We both know you’ve turned it into a talk show-cooking competition hybrid. Chef’s Compliments is a rather ingenious concept.”
“It’s nothing.” Samuel lifted his palm up loosely in a ‘who cares?’ gesture. “The producers knew to combine a few of my favorite things—talking, cooking, and competition.”
“For being nothing, it sure has shot to the top of the most-watched list on the streaming services. It’s knocked my own show into the second spot in the ratings.”
“You don’t hate me for it, do you, Wade?” Samuel jested with a smirk.
“No, I wouldn’t give you that satisfaction,” Wade teased back.
“This must be Tara Wilson.” Melissa inspected the other woman as if sizing her up to decide if she should continue giving her any attention. “I have to say, the photos in the newspaper don’t do you justice. No wonder you swept Wade off his feet when he was away on that mysterious birthday trip of his last year.”
Tara shifted her stance, then glanced away for a moment before returning the other woman’s stare. “What can I say, you never know when love is going to find you.”
“What did the two of you do on that trip?” Melissa probed with an inquisitive look plastered across her face. “Everyone’s speculated since you announced your engagement.”
“Oh, no, you don’t, Melissa.” Wade shook his head, causing his brown hair to swish back and forth. “You’re not prying into that special time. We’ve managed to
keep it between us since we went public with our relationship; that’s not changing because you think you might get a juicy morsel for your gossip column.”
A pout formed on Melissa’s full lips as she pulled her arm free and placed it on her hip. “How do you know I would print something like that?”
“Isn’t that why you come to all of these parties—to glean information from unsuspecting guests who have their guard down?” Wade countered, narrowing his eyes as he crossed his arms over his chest. “It won’t work with us.”
“Don’t be so hard on Melissa; she can’t help herself,” Samuel interjected, hoping to calm the situation between his friends. “Besides, this is supposed to be about me anyway, so let’s keep the focus where it belongs. I’ll answer any questions you have for me about my new book, Melissa.”
“Aren’t you just the best,” she gushed, placing her arm through Samuel’s a second time. “Your friend could learn a lesson from you on how to keep the media happy.”
Samuel spent the next fifteen minutes being interrogated by the brunette before he was able to disentangle himself from her. He checked in with his literary agent, business manager, and signed a few books before tracking down Wade across the room.
“I see you managed to escape Melissa’s claws,” Wade stated with a roll of his eyes. “I don’t see why you insist on inviting her to all of these events.”
“She gives great publicity,” Samuel explained before taking a sip of his champagne. “Even if it comes at the cost of being ogled and man-handled by her.”
“Don’t act like you mind that; you’ve never been one to shy away from a beautiful woman paying you attention,” Wade stated pointedly. Glancing over at his fiancée, he quickly added, “Don’t get me wrong, Tara, no one is as beautiful as you.”
Tara let out a small laugh as her face scrunched up with amusement. “It’s okay, Wade, I knew what you meant.”
“So, what’s your plan for your birthday next week? Do you need Tara to call in a favor at BBC?”
Samuel glanced around nervously, irritated that Wade would think it appropriate to bring up the Billionaire Birthday Club in a public setting. “You know the rules of the club; no one talks about it where anyone else can hear.”
Wade shook his head with a chuckle. “Don’t be so melodramatic, Samuel. You sound like we’re a part of Fight Club, or something.”
“It’s way worse than that—BBC has members everywhere, and all it takes is one call to get us kicked out. You might not mind that happening since you ended up with everything you could ever want.” Samuel gestured with his head towards Tara, the former BBC concierge who planned Wade’s experience at the club the previous year. She subsequently fell for Wade during the course of the weekend. “Attending my specially curated birthday experience is my favorite part of the year. I’m not losing that because you don’t take it seriously.”
“He does take it seriously, Samuel,” Tara defended her fiancé. “We owe our relationship to the club, after all.”
“What club?” Roger Boswell, an oil tycoon and reformed playboy, asked as he came up to the trio, with his wife, Celeste, by his side. “I’m interested in joining a new club.”
Samuel swallowed several times, trying to think of a way to avoid discussing BBC with the blond man. It wasn’t that the club forbid inviting other billionaires—word of mouth was paramount to bringing in new members—but the owner wanted it done in a tactful manner. He didn’t want the information to get into the wrong hands. Discussing it in a room full of media didn't exactly scream “discreet.”
When Samuel had invited Wade to join the club last year, it had been through the secure online invitation process. He thought back to the first time he saw the fancy black invitation with gold details and a diamond encrusted “B” flashing at the bottom of the email. It discreetly asked him to join the most elite and private one-of-a-kind club in all of the world. When he had clicked the button, it had led him to a private site that had him fill out a confidential survey. He never expected to have a curated celebration waiting for him on the island, one designed to make his birthday wishes come true.
“Oh, the men are just discussing the new racquetball club in Midtown. They’re making plans to go later this week,” Tara quickly blurted out.
“You should join us,” Samuel added, knowing that Roger enjoyed the game as much as they, and hoped an invitation would distract him from what they actually had been discussing.
“You met at a racquetball club?” Roger probed, his brows coming together in a confused furrow. “I thought you met when Wade was away for his birthday last year?”
There were several moments of awkward silence before everyone’s attention was diverted when four cater-waiters brought out a massive ten-layer cake with ten candles glowing on top. The assembled guests clapped and cheered as the waiters deposited the cake in front of Samuel at the nearby table.
“Congratulations,” his literary agent shouted, coming up and patting Samuel on the back. “You did it again, Samuel. You live the most charmed life I’ve ever seen; everything you touch turns to gold without you even trying.”
Samuel bit back his knee-jerk response to defend himself, knowing that he’d worked extremely hard to cultivate his lackadaisical playboy image. His public persona played well with viewers, who drank up every moment of the handsome Irish hunk cooking and flirting with women on their TV. He acted like the producers of the show were behind it all, but Samuel had spent countless hours coming up with the concept before making it a reality. The same was true for his growing cookbook empire. He’d let everyone assume he had used a ghost writer, even though he’d actually penned every single word himself.
The rest of the evening passed with guests trickling in and out of the party at the posh restaurant owned by Roger’s good friend, Bryce Montgomery. He also dropped by for a couple of hours since he was in town for business.
As the night was winding down, Wade pulled Samuel aside a final time. “We never got to finish our discussion about BBC.”
“What’s there to discuss? I left everything in the hands of the new concierge that replaced Tara. I told her to surprise me.”
“You’re not planning to bring along a bunch of friends like you did last time?”
Samuel shook his head, causing his black hair to fall forward onto his forehead. “Nope, if my friends need to be there, I have full confidence that Simone will fly them in. Why? Are you actually planning to come this time, since you skipped my birthday last year? Or is it because you’re worried I won’t invite you because you’re engaged? I told you, just because you want to get tied down by a wife, it doesn’t mean our friendship has to change. We’re all good, Wade.”
“No, that’s not why I’m asking. I’m trying to figure out what you want from your birthday experience this year. I was hoping you could go there and be open to finding something more than just temporary pleasure. The experience Tara gave me last year changed my life.”
“I doubt lightning will strike twice and I’ll find my own concierge to give me a new outlook on life,” Samuel mocked as he focused on and inspected his cuticles, as if pretending he was bored with the conversation. The truth was, he didn’t dare open his heart after what happened with Fiona five years ago. He’d learned his lesson about letting a woman get too close.
“You’ve been nonchalant about your life for far too long, Samuel. Part of me wonders if it’s a facade, and the other part of me worries it might be who you are.”
“Don’t worry about me, Wade.” Samuel’s gaze drifted up as he placed his hands in the pockets of his dress slacks. “I’m happy with my life; it’s exactly how I like it. I’m not interested in anything more.”
A week later, Samuel arrived on the Billionaire Birthday Club’s private Polynesian island, ready for the new concierge to top his last birthday celebration. Last year, Tara had brought in an entire vintage circus. It included the best aerial performers in the world as well as all his favorite animals from his c
hildhood. He’d brought along fifty of his friends, including his girlfriend of the week. All of them went on and on about how extravagant the party was, making Samuel even more impressed by the event. The best part for him, however, was when he got to interact with the different performers after the show, including petting the tigers and riding one of the elephants. He had no idea how the new concierge would be able to outdo that.
As he stepped down from the private jet, a curly redheaded woman was waiting at the end of the red velvet carpet. She was standing in front of a long, black limousine, a huge smile covering her face as he approached.
“Good evening, Mr. Butler,” she greeted as she reached out her hand to him. He shook it in return. “My name is Simone. I’ll be handling your birthday experience while you’re with us.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” Samuel took in the woman’s looks, noting to himself that with her willowy frame and crisp bone structure, she was nearly as pretty as Tara was. He knew from his own past experience, however, the concierges didn’t mix business with pleasure. It was a strict rule of the club. He only knew of one breach of the rule, and it nearly cost Tara her job. Besides, Samuel wasn’t partial to redheads anyway, but it didn’t hurt to flirt a little. Knowing his crystal blue eyes and sexy smile were a potent combination, he flashed her his most winning look. “I love that cream suit of yours. This year’s Prada, right?”