by Claire Adams
“Yep. I made sure, just in case anything happened,” Lucy said. I knew she was talking from the perspective of if I lost my job, but I was talking about an intentional pay cut.
I wanted to be with my family, especially if we were going to move them into another home.
“Which one do you like?” she asked.
“I’m honestly a fan of this one,” I said. “What do you think?”
She fell silent for a bit, and when her eyes started glistening, I knew exactly what was going through her mind. I’d come to know Lucy inside and out over the past year. I pulled her close into me while the kids ran around the house we would eventually agree upon for our blossoming family.
“I’m gonna miss our rental,” she said. “I mean, it’s where we met. It’s where we cultivated our relationship. It’s the house we brought Jason Jr. home to. It’s where we started, you know?”
“But we do need the space,” I said.
“That house will always be filled with memories of our love,” she said, sniffling.
“But we can also create those new memories here. We can raise the kids in this house. We can send Jenna off to prom in this house. We can meet their first boyfriends and girlfriends in this house. We can create new loving memories in this house,” I said.
I grabbed her ass a bit while the kids were around the corner, and that telltale blush crept into her cheeks. She giggled like the little innocent girl I knew she was inside, but she stood on her tiptoes just as quickly and captured my lips with hers. In that very moment, everything fell into place for me. I was standing with the woman I loved in a home we would raise our children in, and I wanted to grow old with her.
In this house with her.
And fill it with children given to me by her.
“I love you,” she said, murmuring into my lips.
“I love you, too.”
“Ew,” Jenna exclaimed. “That’s gross.”
The two of us laughed while Jenna crinkled her nose and Jason Jr. giggled on the floor by Lucy’s leg.
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BILLIONAIRE’S VALENTINE
By Claire Adams
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2017 Claire Adams
Chapter One
Declan
“I survived my first week without Margery,” I declared as Teddy greeted me in front of our favorite restaurant, Tavern on the Red.
“How are you feeling? Have you been crying? I know how much you loved her.”
“It’s been a rough week. I can’t believe she left me like that.”
“Who? What woman has left you? I don’t believe it,” my best friend Justin chimed in.
“Margery,” Teddy added.
“I’ve known her longer than any other woman except my mother. This one really hurts.”
“Wait, I didn’t know you had a girlfriend? I thought you were just dating that hot brunette we met at the club last week?” Justin asked with a look of total confusion. “Who’s Margery.”
“My assistant. She retired.”
“What!” Justin exclaimed as a look of annoyance crossed his face. “I should have known you wouldn’t get so damn upset about a girlfriend.”
“Margery was better than any girlfriend. She stuck with me. She was always there for me,” I waxed dramatically. “I don’t know how I’ll go on.”
I was playing with them and they knew it, although I was sorely missing Margery over the past week and really was a bit surprised that I had managed to make it through the week in one piece.
“What happened to hiring someone before Margery left?” Teddy asked.
“I did, the girl quit before the week event started.”
“She probably heard the rumors about you,” he laughed, and then Justin joined in.
Teddy, or Theodore, Shields was a great partner and friend to me. At 65 years old, his experience in the hotel business was exactly what I needed to expand my ski and snowboard supply company. Ten years before, Teddy came to me with a big idea to open a resort together. It seemed a little ambitious to me but he pushed me to see the bigger picture, to see beyond the merchandise and form a true brand with him. It was the biggest turning point in my career and skyrocketed The McMillan Westbrook Group into a new hemisphere of success. I almost always listened to his advice, even about things as small as my assistant.
“I would have thought she’d keep the job if she heard those rumors,” I joked.
“You really need to get someone at that desk quickly, Declan. Remember what happened when Margery was out for a month after her surgery,” Teddy said as his face recoiled and we both remembered the disastrous trip to Hong Kong I had scheduled on my own.
“I rather enjoyed our pod hotel.”
“Don’t play it off like that. You booked us in a hotel that was just a bunch of beds stacked together in a hallway. We didn’t sleep for three days and agreed to our least profitable deal in history because of pure exhaustion.”
“But look at us now, Teddy, sitting here, drinking and remembering it fondly,” I said as I lifted my water cup to toast our success. “To me, hiring a new assistant as soon as possible and avoiding the demise of my company,” I laughed.
“Here, here,” Justin added as he tapped his cup against mine.
“Yes, I’ll cheer to that,” Teddy added.
“Are you guys ready to order something a little stronger?” our seductive-looking blonde waitress asked.
“I’d like a whiskey sour please,” I said.
“Your house red wine is fine,” Teddy added.
“A bottle of Grey Goose,” Justin said as he slipped the waitress a wink.
“Starting off a little light tonight?” I teased Justin.
“Yeah, I’ve got a big day tomorrow, keeping it light,” he said, and we all busted into laughter. “I bet you’re glad I sold you my half of the company so you don’t have to worry about me showing up on time.”
“I actually hate that you left me in charge of all this. You do know I’m the irresponsible one.”
“Whatever, you’re doing great. I mean, I’m really glad you paired up with Shield Development and moved onto the resorts, though, because you kind of suck at snowboard designs.”
“Ha, ha, ha,” I said dramatically at his joke.
The waitress sat our drinks down and Justin went straight to work pouring us all shots and downing two of his own rather quickly. I did miss working with Justin. We started our company as friends though, and it was nice that we had been able to part as friends also. So many people ended companies because of their own personal differences, but ours had turned out perfect. I knew Justin wasn’t happy in the corporate world; he didn’t have the passion for it, and when he offered to sell me his half of the company, I took it.
“Hey, I’m glad I found you guys too. Winter resorts were getting a little obsolete without the hip crowd you two bring to it. This was a plus for all of us.”
“Speaking of our awesome partnership, what’s up with the new Breckenridge resort? Did you end up buying it?”
“Declan, this is going to be the tipping point for our new level of luxury. The resort is huge. I mean, bigger than any of the lodges we have purchased before. Plus, the land that’s around it will make it the perfect place to grow and expand. We could end up with the biggest five-star resort in all of Breckenridge.”
“What’s the rehab going to be like?” I winced as I asked.
The resor
t Teddy had purchased wasn’t new at all, and when we talked about buying it, there was concern from both of us about the cost that was going to be involved in the rehab. An old, run-down chalet wasn’t immediately where your mind went when you thought about making money, but I’d learned to trust Teddy and his gut about this stuff.
“The rehab will cost at least a hundred million. We have to rip everything out and rebuild from the ground up.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to just bulldoze?” Justin chimed in.
“No!” Teddy replied. “It’s annoying that you’d even suggest such a thing. This is a landmark chalet in Breckenridge; if we do this right, we could be hosting film festivals and celebrity events all the time.”
“I’m with you Teddy, whatever you need. I want this place to be on every celebrity’s Twitter and Instagram page. I want their fans to be drooling and trying to get rooms with us. I really think we need a two-tier system though. I want the main lodge to be high-end luxury, but I want a traditional hotel on the grounds as well. We need to get the regular people to have the opportunity to dip their toes into the luxury world; I really think that’s where the trends are going.”
“You’ll need to provide high-end ski and snowboard rentals; do you think people will want to pay for that?”
“Hell yes. That’s exactly what they want. Today’s ski and snowboard fans want to be seen in the trendy locations wearing the most expensive gear. They can’t afford to buy it, but they’ll snap some amazing photos during their week at our resorts. I love this, Teddy; when can we get started?”
“You’re obviously jazzed up, but we’ve got some wrapping up of things to do still. It would be nice if you took a peek at the property soon and gave me some of your ideas. I could have a sketch artist meet you out there. I need something innovative, something new; I don’t want this to be like anything else in the area.”
“I’m your man, Teddy; as soon as I get my assistant hired and trained, I’ll head out to Breckenridge.”
“Let me know when you’re ready, and I’ll try and get some free time, too. This remodel needs to happen fast. I’d like to have it ready to go in a year, which means we will need to be ready to build as soon as springtime hits.”
“Sounds good. Now if you two don’t mind, I’m going to go visit that group of young ladies over there. Want to come with me, Teddy?” I said with a wink.
“Still not ready, but someday soon,” he said as he flashed his wedding ring. “I’ll stay here with this drunken bastard.”
Justin was more interested in his Grey Goose alcohol than he was in making the rounds at the bar with me. But that was just fine; I didn’t need a wingman to grab a lady for the night. I just needed a few minutes of conversation.
The Tavern on the Red was a restaurant and not technically a club, but as the dinner service ended, more and more people packed into the bar area. The music scaled to a higher level, and the crowds moved to the beat. It was only a matter of time before some entrepreneur had a full on dance club located next to the restaurant.
I took one last shot of alcohol and then grabbed my whiskey sour and made my way to the bar. It was Friday, and I needed a sweet young thing to keep me company over the weekend. I prowled near the group of women I had spotted from across the room. They were dressed from work still, but a stylish level of clothing that made me think the whole group of them were in the television or film industry. Their outfits were a combination of sleek style and popping color, which of course drew me in to talk to them.
“Now you ladies look like a powerful group,” I said as I interrupted their conversation.
There was a sweet, young-looking brunette standing to my right whom I made my focus of attention. She was around 5-foot-3 with her heels on, and I couldn’t help but smile at her as she looked up at me.
“Oh, we are very powerful,” one of the women in the group said. “We are drug sales reps.”
“Drug dealers, hmmm? I never would have figured that,” I laughed and continued to focus my attention on the young brunette next to me. “I’m Declan,” I said as I reached my hand out to shake hers.
“Hey,” she said softly enough that I could hardly hear her.
“What’s your name?” I asked.
“Samantha.”
“And how is your night going?” I continued on, sure that I could get this shy girl to open up to me.
“It’s good,” she said softly and then looked back to her group of friends.
I wasn’t sure if she just didn’t like me, or was extraordinarily shy, but either way, it didn’t look like she would be the best pick to come home with me for the weekend. Shyness was adorable, but only if it was combined with a high level of sexual tension. Without the sexual tension, we were just two awkward people trying to have a conversation.
I couldn’t help but look around the restaurant as the women went back to their conversation. It wasn’t often that I was pushed to the side for an invigorating conversation about eczema medication, but there was a first time for everything.
“Do you have the time?” I said to a redhead as she stood behind me talking to a rather boring-looking man in a blazer.
“I’m sure you have a cell phone,” she laughed as her hand tapped my phone in my right pocket, then she took a step away from me and toward the man she was talking to.
Instantly, the sexual chemistry was there, and I knew I was going to get this woman to go home with me. The way she handled such a mundane question was like a piece of art. Men like myself had been asking women what time it was for years; it was an easy lead-in line, and despite the truth that I did have a cell phone in my pocket, women normally just gave me the time and went along with my flirting. But I liked women who were different. The thrill of the chase wasn’t lost on me, no matter how much money or power I had acquired over the years.
“It’s 10:30,” I said as I turned to join the conversation the redhead was having with the man in the blazer. He didn’t look pleased that I had joined them.
“Ah, I don’t remember asking you the time,” she said and then moved closer to the man she was talking to.
He wasn’t her boyfriend though; I could tell by the body language between them. He was hitting on her, and she was allowing it. I say allowing, because this redhead had a banging body, and from our brief conversation, I already knew she was out of this blazer guy’s league. But she seemed intent on continuing to talk to him, despite my clear approach to give her an out and pull her into a conversation with me.
“No, you didn’t ask; I was just telling you, in case you wanted to know the time,” I replied, a little more awkwardly than I had planned on. “Could I buy you a drink?” I ventured to ask.
“I’m talking to this nice gentleman right now,” she said as she snuggled up to the mundane man in the blazer. “Maybe later,” she said and literally turned her back on me.
“Wow, okay then,” I said as I walked away and toward the bar, where there was a single woman sitting and sipping a martini.
I tried to move on. I tried to talk to the woman at the bar, and about a half dozen other women, but I continued to look around the bar to find the redhead. She was intently in conversation with the blazer guy, and I had to wonder who the guy was. There was no way a woman as stunning as her was going to spend her whole evening with a man like him; I just couldn’t figure it out. Soon I had given up flirting with other women altogether, and I was totally enthralled with trying to figure out this red-headed woman and what she was doing with the boring man.
A little after midnight, the redhead kissed her boring blazer guy on the cheek and said goodnight. I moved in with a fresh cocktail and and eagerness to figure out more about this woman. She had spent hours talking to the man, but didn’t go home with him. There was more to this story than I knew, and it was a mystery I wanted to figure out.
“Who was he? A friend, brother, client?” I asked jokingly.
“My date?” she asked.
“Yes, okay, wait, that man
was your date? Was it a blind date?” I laughed again, but she kept a straight face, and it made me a little uncomfortable.
“So the only reason I would be with a man like that would be if it was a blind date? That’s chauvinist.”
“Tell me I’m wrong then,” I dared her.
“You’re wrong.”
“So who was he? Your boyfriend?”
She smiled slightly, and I knew he wasn’t a boyfriend. This girl was enjoying playing with me. She had a quiet confidence about her that made me a little nervous.
“No, he’s my agent. We were celebrating a big new gig I got because of all the hard work he had put in over the last few years. I couldn’t ditch him because some handsome millionaire was flirting with me.”
“Billionaire,” I said with a wink.
“Either way, I couldn’t ditch him. I’m glad you stuck around, though.”
“How could I not? You’re mesmerizing,” I said as I pulled into my comfort zone in our conversation. This was the place I liked to be; I knew she liked me and I knew there was chemistry between us; all the rest was just a matter of time.
“Thank you, but I really do need to get going,” she said with a coy smile. “I’m exhausted from my night of celebrating.”
“Going?” I asked in total surprise. “You don’t want to get to know me a little?”
“Sure; invite me over, and we can get to know each other.”
“Come home with me,” I said right away.
“Do you have one of those lavish homes in the hills?” she said playfully.
“Nope.”
“On the beach, then? A luxury estate that takes up the entire coastline?”
“Nope,” I laughed as her arm wrapped with mine and we made our way out to the valet.
I handed them my ticket and we waited there like all the other people. In Los Angeles, having a lot of money didn’t do much for you when it came to getting your car. Only celebrities who had drivers were ever able to get out of a restaurant in a reasonable amount of time.
“You wouldn’t be lying to me about the billionaire part, would you?” the redhead asked as my plain-looking Jeep Wrangler was brought to us.