The Billionaire's Hideaway

by Jenna Brandt

  The Billionaire’s Hideaway

  Second Chance Islands

  Jenna Brandt

  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.

  This book was previously published under the title Billionaire in Disguise. Minor changes have been made to the content.

  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 jenna@jennabrandt.com.

  Text copyright © Jenna Brandt 2019.

  Cover photo copyright depositphotos.com

  Praise for Jenna Brandt

  I am always excited when I see a new book by Jenna Brandt.

  Lori Dykes, Amazon Customer

  Jenna Brandt is, in my estimation, the most gifted author of Christian fiction in this generation!

  Paula Rose Michelson, Fellow Author

  Ms. Brandt writes from the heart and you can feel it in every page turned.

  Sandra Sewell White, Longtime Reader

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  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Epilogue

  A Note from the Author

  Also by Jenna Brandt

  Join My Mailing List and Reader’s Group

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Dedicated to my readers:

  You guys make doing this worth it all.

  Thanks for loving my stories as much as I love creating them for you.

  Chapter 1

  The noise from the booming music was getting on Ethan Winthrop’s nerves. Normally, he would be right in the thick of the crowd, dancing with a drink in one hand and his girlfriend, Tinley, hanging onto his other.

  That wasn’t the case tonight. This evening, his girlfriend had decided to make a fool of him again, and on the eve of his birthday, none-the-less.

  As he watched her flirt with the man at the bar, Ethan shifted in his seat at the nearby table. It was all he could do to not march over there and punch the other man in the face, before dragging Tinley out of the club. This was exactly what she wanted. She wanted him to make a scene because she liked the attention. Tinley was like the eye of a hurricane; everything around her got wrecked, but she remained unscathed, ready to tear down whatever came around her next.

  He hadn’t seen her true nature when they first got together. She had been fun and flirty, paying him compliments and telling him everything he wanted to hear, right up until the crazy started to come out. By then, it was too late. He was hooked. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t seem to shake the addiction he had for the woman.

  Ethan stood, and before he could think better of it, he was by Tinley’s side. Her flirtatious laugh drew him over like an angry tiger ready to pounce. “You ready to leave? This place is getting on my nerves.”

  “Seriously? You want to go, now?” she asked irritably, only glancing at him for a moment before flipping her platinum blonde hair over her shoulder, returning her attention to the other man.

  “Yes, I’m serious. You seem like you’ve had enough to drink by the way,” Ethan observed, reaching out and taking her drink away. He placed it on the bar and pushed it away. “Let me get you home before you do something you’ll regret.”

  “Haven’t you learned by now, I don’t regret anything I do,” she countered with a shrug. “And I’m not done drinking,” she added, pulling the drink back towards her, then taking a huge swig to prove her point.

  “Tinley, that’s enough, it’s time to go,” Ethan stated emphatically this time, placing his hand on her arm to get her attention again.

  “I’m not going anywhere with you,” she slurred out, pulling away from Ethan’s touch. “I’m quite content here with…” she looked over at the other man who mouthed the name ‘Tom’ so she could repeat the name. “…Tom. If you’re not happy here, you should go.”

  “I don’t want to leave you here, especially with someone you just met and don’t know,” Ethan protested, giving a dirty look to Tom.

  “Whatever,” she said with a giggle, placing her hand on Tom’s chest. “I’m not leaving, and you can’t make me.”

  “Stop this, right now, Tinley,” Ethan begged through clenched teeth. “Don’t make another scene.”

  “You don’t own me, despite what you might think. All your billions can’t make me do what you want,” she said, taking another shot the bartender just put out for her.

  “I don’t want to own you, I just want to be with you,” Ethan countered. “Please, let’s get out of here and head back to my place.”

  “Look, man, you’re coming off pretty pathetic here. The lady said she’s good. Why don’t you move along, before I decide to make you,” the other man threatened.

  Ethan’s attention shifted to Tom. The dark-haired man must have spent a great deal of time in the gym because his muscles were rippling under his skin-tight black t-shirt. He wore a leather jacket that did little to hide his massive build and menacing demeanor. Of course Tinley would pick the one man in the room who looked like he was itching for a fight.

  “You should stay out of this. It’s none of your business,” Ethan said, not caring about the consequences. “She’s with me.”

  “Man, you picked the wrong person to mess with,” Tom said, coming off his bar stool and lunging towards Ethan. His fist met with Ethan’s face, knocking him backwards.

  Ethan saw stars as the room swayed. He tried to regain his footing, and managed to dodge the next swing and land one of his own. The man grunted, but it was the only acknowledgment that his punch impacted Ethan’s target.

  Suddenly, a third man—Ethan recognized him as the bouncer from when they arrived earlier—was pulling them apart.

  “That’s it, both of you are out of here,” the bouncer ordered. “We don’t allow this here.”

  Neither of the men argued, knowing that the cops would get involved next if they didn’t obey.

  “You need to let him go,” Tinley shrieked, reaching out and hitting the bouncer with her handbag. “Do you know who that is? You’ve messed with the wrong guy. Wait until his lawyers get through with you. They’re going to have a field day.”

  “That’s it, you’re out too, sweetheart,” the bouncer said, gesturing for another worker to come help him. “I don’t care who he is. We don’t put up with this.”

  A few minutes later, the three of them were unceremoniously dumped out on the street, right in front of the waiting paparazzi. The flash of the lights caused Ethan to avert his eyes as he placed his hand up to shield his face from their prying ways.

  His actions didn’t keep their questions at bay though. Their words came spraying out like bullets
from a gun.

  “Where are you and Tinley headed to next?” one reporter asked. “You got big plans tonight?”

  “What happened in there? Who’s the guy with you?” a second reporter probed.

  “Where did you get the black eye, Ethan? Did Tinley get you into trouble again?” another reporter inquired.

  Ethan ignored the questions, but true to form, Tinley sucked up every moment of the spotlight. “We’ve decided to take the party back to Ethan’s penthouse. The Sphere isn’t what it used to be,” Tinley said, gesturing behind her to the nightclub they just got kicked out of.

  “My readers love you, Tinley. Give me a smile over here,” a reporter from the back requested.

  Tinley did as he asked, placing her hand on her hip and pushing her chest out to make sure she looked perfect in the photo.

  Ethan had reached his limit. “I can’t be here anymore,” Ethan whispered in Tinley’s ear. “You got what you wanted. You’re on your own.”

  Without waiting for her response, he took off towards his waiting limo. His eye was throbbing as well as his pride, and all Ethan wanted to do was head home and sleep the bad night away.

  Ethan’s phone was buzzing with notifications, but he didn’t want to look at them. He was certain it had to do with last night, and he didn’t want to deal with the fallout, especially considering he still felt awful from the incident. Maybe a good workout would take his mind off what happened.

  He climbed out of bed and slipped on his sweats and a t-shirt, then placed his phone and earbuds in his pocket. Next, he grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge before heading towards the front door. Though the apartment complex provided them, he wanted to grab a towel. He liked his own better.

  Just as Ethan slung the towel around his neck, a knock at the front door drew his attention. He made his way over and opened it. On the other side stood his father. A disappointed look made his face look even older than it should for being just fifty years old.

  “Can I come in? We need to talk about what happened last night.”

  “I was just on my way down to the gym,” Ethan said, trying to avoid talking about the situation. The last thing he wanted to do was hear another lecture about how Ethan had embarrassed the family name.

  “There isn’t time for that,” his father objected, pushing his way into the apartment. “We need to deal with this straight away.”

  “What’s going on, Dad?” Ethan inquired, shutting the door behind his father.

  “Someone in the club had a phone and took pictures of your fight. The photos are all over the internet,” his father said, running his hand through his dark brown hair, the same color as Ethan’s. “They’re saying that you’re out of control, and you have an abusive relationship with your girlfriend. To make matters worse, she’s going around saying that the two of you have a passionate relationship that sometimes turns explosive. She isn’t outright denying the allegations, which makes it even worse.”

  Of course, Tinley wasn’t denying it. It just added fuel to the fire and made her five minutes in the spotlight lengthen to ten. Why did he let her keep doing this to him?

  “It’ll blow over in a couple of days, Dad. It always does,” Ethan said, trying to convince his father as much as himself.

  “Not this one; not this time, which is why I’m here. You need to leave Boston for a while and stay away from the press. Most importantly, you need to cut off all communications with Tinley. She’s done nothing but get you into trouble since you started seeing her.”

  Ethan wanted to argue the point, but he could tell his father was barely keeping his anger under control. The last thing he needed to do was make his father turn against him.

  “Where should I go? I hadn’t really planned on leaving, but I suppose I could always take the yacht to the Bahamas or charter the private jet to the chalet in Paris.”

  “No, both of those places are filled with paparazzi because they’re tourist destinations. You need to go somewhere no one will expect you to go; some place where you can blend in.”

  Ethan didn’t like the sound of that. Any place that didn’t know who he was meant they were way off the grid. Where was his father sending him?

  “I just bought a new property on a small Island in the Florida Keys. You’ll stay there until I tell you.”

  There was no way he wanted to hide out on some remote island where there was absolutely nothing to do. He liked having all the luxuries at his fingertips. “Is this a punishment? I swear I’ll be on my best behavior going forward.”

  “It’s too late for that. This is as much my fault as yours. I’ve spoiled you, and shielded you from reality. It’s about time you found out there’s consequences for making bad decisions, Ethan, and this is yours. While you’re there, keep quiet about who you are. I’ve told the real estate agent that I’m sending over a groundskeeper, so he’s expecting you.”

  “Wait, on top of everything, you’re expecting me to take care of this place? I won’t have staff?” Ethan asked in disbelief.

  His father shook his head. “No, I haven’t had time to do that, and under the circumstances, you need to keep a low profile. You don’t want to take the chance someone we hired to work there would recognize you.”

  Ethan highly doubted that anyone there would even know who the presidential candidates were, let alone the son of a billionaire; however, he didn’t want to make matters worse by voicing his opinion. He figured he could go spend a couple of weeks there, and once all the bad press died down, he could return to Boston.

  Nicole Hutton pushed her strawberry blonde hair out of her face as she rubbed the side of her head and shifted her stance. The summer sun had been beating down on her head for the past six hours, and all she had gotten was a measly twenty dollars in donations.

  How was she ever going to be able to save her beloved lighthouse with such little local support? One would think with the lighthouse being one of the oldest landmarks on Angel Island, the residents would care more about it. Trying to convince them it was worth saving by registering it as a historical landmark was like pulling teeth.

  Nicole raised her hand and knocked on the door of the cottage. A woman with a weary smile answered the door. “What can I do for you, Nicole?”

  “Good morning, Gabby, I was hoping I could get your support to save the lighthouse. Anything you can donate would help with the process of getting it registered as a historical landmark.”

  “You know, I’ve seen you through the glass of the window outside the grocery store. You’ve been out there whenever you’re not working at the school, and I have to hand it to you, you’re dedicated to seeing this through. The problem is, a lot of people are for the development of the land. We’re tired of barely getting by. The extra income the resort promises to bring in could help a lot of us out.”

  It was the same argument Nicole had heard from the residents of the last half dozen houses she had approached in Camden Bay. Many of the townspeople thought the idea of a high-end resort would bring tourism and more jobs, but Nicole worried it would destroy the purity of the tropical island. She didn’t want her home being turned into another yuppie summer vacation spot like most of the Florida Keys.

  “I know that, Gabby. I’m not trying to deny that the resort would bring jobs and more tourism, but it would come at a cost far beyond money. It would change our island forever. We’ll lose the beautiful simplicity of how life is here, and once it’s gone, we won’t be able to get it back. Plus, you have to consider how important the lighthouse is to the island. It was one of the first buildings ever built, and the history behind it is astounding.”

  “I get it’s important to you, Nicole. If my father and grandparents both lived in the lighthouse, I’m sure I would view it differently; however, the developer of the resort has promised a huge tax break for all the island’s residents. Couple that with new jobs, I can’t see why a lighthouse that has fallen into disrepair should stand in the way of the help we’ll get.”

  �
�I just think…”

  “Look, I have to get to work over at the grocery store. I’m sorry I can’t help you, but let me give you a little advice—you should give this up. This island is moving in a new direction, and you need to accept that.”

  The door shut firmly in Nicole’s face, making it clear that she was done at Gabby’s house.

  As Nicole headed down the sidewalk, her shoulders fell forward as defeat took root in her heart. She wondered if Gabby was right. Was Nicole fighting a lost cause? Ever since her parents passed away in a plane crash three years ago, Nicole had found comfort visiting the lighthouse. It brought to memory her monthly walks with her father where he would point out all the architectural features, technological advances, and secrets of the beacon.

  Now that her parents were gone, it was all she had left of them. With no siblings or family to speak of, letting it go would be like giving away the final piece of them.

  Nicole pushed her shoulders back and raised her chin in defiance. She wasn’t going to give up on something she cared so much about. She would do whatever it took to save her family’s lighthouse.

  Money, she would need a lot of money, and getting five bucks here or ten dollars there wasn’t cutting it. She needed to figure out a way to drum up some bigger supporters. She needed to find someone with deep pockets. Where on the island could she find someone like that?

  The private estates on the west end of the island came to mind. There was only a handful, but if even one of the owners made a big enough donation, it could change everything.