NOT JUST ANOTHER BILLIONAIRE
EMMA KINGSLEY
Contents
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
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Epilogue
Thank You
Coming Soon
Emma Kingsley’s Newsletter
Also by EMMA KINGSLEY
Chapter 1
Emily
Emily Taylor was on top of the world. Seated at a table in the elegant restaurant Montmartre, part of the Marshall Aspen Resort, she looked out the floor-length picture window and smiled. Life was good. It felt like it had taken her ages to get to this place, where all her dreams were within reach.
“You’re grinning again,” Maggie quipped from across the table.
“You want me to apologize for it?” Emily looked over the rim of her wine glass at the curvy blonde. Maggie was her best friend. They had met in college and bonded almost immediately. After college, they moved to Los Angeles together for their first jobs. Emily was hired by Marshall Resorts as an event manager for two of their California properties, and Maggie had taken a reporter job at a local newspaper, covering business news.
That had been over four years ago, and tonight they were celebrating dual promotions. Maggie was now the managing editor of the tiny paper she had helped grow to its award-winning status, and Emily had been tapped by Marshall Resorts to fill the assistant vice president position in the public relations department. The only downside was the fact that she had to leave the comfort of her home in L.A. with Maggie. She would be moving into an office in the downtown Portland headquarters of the company, but the promotion had come with a hefty pay increase. It had been a dream come true, and the women had decided to book a flight to Colorado to take advantage of the company’s offer of a few days’ vacation before starting her new role.
“Never apologize for being happy, girl,” Maggie said, her eyes dropping to the linen tablecloth in front of her. Emily didn’t miss the flash of sadness there. Maggie was obviously thinking of her ex-fiancé, Erik. The wedding would have been two weeks ago—if he hadn’t disappeared with the newspaper’s secretary last summer. Personally, Emily thought her friend was better off without Erik, but that didn’t ease Maggie’s pain.
“Chin up, buttercup,” Emily said. “We both have bright things ahead of us, trust me.”
After all, Emily understood her friend’s pain all too well. It had been four years since Jason, her first and only boyfriend, put an end to their relationship of six years because he suddenly realized that, as he put it, the idea of spending his whole life with one woman depressed him. Only three months later, he and his new girlfriend announced that they were expecting a baby. Finding love and building a family had been Emily’s greatest desire since she was a little girl. Still, the humiliation and pain that she felt after Jason left discouraged her. She convinced herself that the only way to shield her heart in the future was to put her career before romance.
She was professional and focused, but she had never been tempted by wealth and power. Although her role as an event planner in Los Angeles involved quite a bit of interaction with the rich and famous, she didn’t find their world fascinating, and she did her best to keep their relationship strictly professional. She preferred Skyping with her family in the coziness of her home to attending glamorous parties she was often invited to.
Maggie forced a smile as she pushed her chair back from the table and stood.
“I’m just going to splash a little water on my face before I ruin our night with another annoying breakdown.” She was much better than she was when Erik had first left, but the wedding date had brought with it old memories and fresh pain. It was part of why Emily had suggested the trip. She hoped that being in a new place would help her friend. Erik was not worthy of the kind of love Maggie had to give. He had never deserved her. Emily was sure that Maggie’s promotion at the newspaper was going to be a game changer for her. The future was bright. She just needed to realize that.
Emily sighed as she looked back out the window and admired the mountains in the distance. Lights from the ski lift dotted the trees. She wanted Maggie to relax and enjoy this stunning location.
The Marshall Resorts really knew how to make their guests feel special. It was a part of why she loved working for the company so much. The dining room was adorned in gilt chandeliers, wall sconces, and the jacquard wallpaper with gold undertones and had probably been featured in a luxury living magazine or two.
Glancing up, Emily saw a tall man come in through the front doors and stop at the maître d’ station. From her corner, she watched the employee motion for the new arrival to follow him as they walked onto the main floor of the dining room. There was something magnetic about him, and she found herself staring in his direction.
The closer they drew, the more Emily was taken by the man’s looks. His elegant suit showed off his broad shoulders and lean figure. His dark hair was longer and styled back off his face, revealing dark brows, smoldering brown eyes, and bronzed skin that showed he enjoyed the outdoors a great deal. Her mind wandered, imagining him skiing or surfing, anything to soak up the sun. His jawline was sharp and his lips full. The way he carried himself made it obvious that he knew he was handsome, which Emily usually found unappealing. On him, though, it had the opposite effect. His self-confidence stirred something in her. Emily’s first thoughts were that he had to be some sort of model or actor in town for one of the many film festivals Aspen was known for.
The two men ventured further into the restaurant, and Emily frowned slightly as they walked directly toward her. She worried that he had noticed her staring and her face heated with a blush. The maître d’ approached the empty chair that Maggie had occupied, pulling it out for the gentleman, much to Emily’s shock. She opened her mouth to speak as the host moved away, but the man cut her off.
“Look, I’m really sorry, but I don’t like playing these games,” he said in a low, gravelly voice.
“Excuse me?” Emily muttered. “I can assure you I’m not playing any games.”
“Well, I certainly hope you’re not taking this seriously. I don’t know what my mother told you, but this wasn’t my idea, and I have no intention of sweeping you off your feet just because she ordered me to.”
Whoever the woman was, Emily didn’t envy her the conversation she was likely to have with her son when they next spoke.
“What your mother told me?” She gave him a puzzled look. Having him seated so close, she was even more struck by his good looks, but she was confused by his words.
“She just called me, and I came here because I didn’t want to stand you up, but I don’t like these things. It’s simply not my style. Nothing personal.”
“Oh, that’s very considerate,” Emily replied with a hint of sarcasm in her tone. “But I really don’t know what things you’re talking about. I have no idea who you are or who your mother is, for that matter.” She leaned back and sipped her wine, her eyes locked with his.
“My mother didn’t send you?” It was at that point that he seemed to notice Maggie’s drink and bread plate. His eyes flashed up to hers, but before he could speak, the maître d’ was back and stammering about his date waiting for
him at the bar.
The man swallowed hard as he fought to maintain a calm façade and rose from his chair. It was apparent that he wasn’t someone who was often mistaken.
“I’m sorry about this.”
“Since you arrived, this is the second time you’ve been sorry about something. At least this time I know what you’re talking about.”
“I apologize. I promise you’ll never see me again.” He gave her an apologetic smile. “I hope the rest of your evening goes better,” he said before starting to walk away.
“You mean better than yours?” she called after him, teasing.
He turned around to look at her and smirked. “That won’t be hard.” He seemed to be hesitating, and she couldn’t help but wish he would stay. It was a silly thought. She was there with her best friend. It was their girls’ trip, and she had long ago given up on romance. Still, there was something intoxicating about this man.
Moments after the stranger had disappeared from her sight, Maggie returned. A smile was still playing on Emily’s lips as she finally broke the gaze she’d held on the door the man had retreated through.
“Did I miss something?” Maggie asked.
“I just met the most handsome man on Earth, and he promised I’ll never see him again.” Emily sighed, her eyes drifting back to the direction he had gone.
Chapter 2
Emily
Two weeks later, Emily was unpacking the last of her belongings and setting up her new office in the Marshall Resorts downtown Portland office. As she placed the final picture of her family on the mahogany desktop next to the window that overlooked the downtown district, she could hardly believe her luck. It wasn’t only luck though. She had worked hard for this opportunity, and she had no plans to waste it.
She had spent almost four years working as an event planner for Marshall Resorts. It had been a good job, but she had eventually grown tired of planning weddings and sweet sixteen parties. When the job announcement for the assistant vice president position came up, she acted quickly, submitting her resume the same day she had read the notice. Maggie had teased her about looking overeager, but she couldn’t wait a minute longer than necessary. It just felt right. The interview and hiring process had taken almost six months, and she had lost hope plenty of times along the way. After three separate long-distance and two in-person interviews with the company's president and his team in the Marshall Resort headquarters, she finally received the job offer. She did a happy dance around her apartment before she called her family and friends to share the news.
The job was new to the executive team, created in advance of the opening of the most ambitious project since the Marshall patriarch, the current president’s great-grandfather, opened his first roadside motel in Oregon in 1954. Marshall Resorts had purchased a huge lot in Pensacola, Florida and planned to construct one of the country’s largest luxury resorts. The place was going to have more than 500 rooms spread across eight floors, three casinos, and a dozen eateries and restaurants. The scale of a project like this outside of Las Vegas or Atlantic City was nearly unheard of, and Marshall Resorts was making waves as the rumors of the project circulated.
Emily had been hired to be part of the team, chosen to spearhead the public relations portion of the expansion. While leaving her apartment in Los Angeles and her best friend for a new city and a new job hadn't been an easy decision for her to make, it was something she knew she had to do. This new position within Marshall Resorts was going to change her life.
Her parents had been overjoyed at the news and nothing but supportive of the decision. They were sad that she was moving further north, hours away from their Sacramento home, but happy that she would be close to her brother Lucas, who also lived in Portland.
The new job came at a perfect moment. It took Emily a long time to get over her heartbreak with Jason. When she finally did, Erik broke his engagement with Maggie and painful memories and tears once again flooded the conversations between best friends. Emily doubted that she would ever be able to trust men again, so she was happy to focus on her career and put all her energy into making her professional dreams come true.
She’d spent the last two weeks settling into her new Portland apartment while preparing herself for her new role as the assistant vice president of public relations for Marshall Resorts. Even though she had enough going on to keep her mind busy, she couldn’t stop thinking about the man who mistook her for his blind date. He was gorgeous and clearly wealthy, but there had been a loneliness in his eyes that had drawn her in.
She struggled to shake the thought of his perfectly shaped face and his tall, manly figure from her mind. If men like Jason or Erik couldn’t be trusted, what could one expect from someone like this guy. She was curious what that story of his mother and the blind date was all about. It was a good thing that she would never have a chance to find out though. She didn’t need any distractions on her new path, especially not such a handsome distraction.
On her first day in her new position, she was wistfully looking at pictures of herself with her family and friends over the years.
“I'm going to make you proud, Mom and Dad,” she said. “This is just the beginning.”
Closing her new office door behind her, Emily tentatively made her way through the bustling hallways of Marshall Resorts headquarters. People were dashing to and fro with stacks of papers, handfuls of brochures, and cups of coffee in their hands. Emily had no idea who most of them were, and she wondered how long it would take her to learn everyone's name. She took the staff elevator to the second floor and found her way to the boardroom where Robbie Marshall was going to hold the weekly executive team meeting. She ran her hands nervously down her pencil skirt and fussed with her hair one more time before pushing the oak door open inside the room. Three people were already seated at the giant table: two men, dressed in dark suits, and a pretty blonde.
“I'm Emily Taylor,” she introduced herself and shook hands with the men. The woman, however, hardly cast a second glance at her.
“I'm Bertha Jones,” she said. “You must be Robbie's new pet. I'd bother to learn your name, but I doubt you're going to last that long.” Venom practically dripped from her words as she glared at Emily as though she were nothing more than a bug to be squashed.
Both men glanced down at their papers. Emily looked around the room, unsure of what to do next. Bertha, on the other hand, seemed completely unbothered by the awkwardness. Before Emily could decide how to react, the boardroom’s door burst open and Robbie Marshall hurried inside with a line of people behind him.
Emily had expected that Robbie would introduce her to the executive team at this meeting, but as soon as he took his spot at the head of the table, she knew something was wrong. Robbie's usually tanned and relaxed face was pale, with his lips drawn into a tight line. Nobody wasted any time with niceties when they saw his expression.
“What is it, Mr. Marshall?” someone asked. Clearly, Emily wasn’t the only one who could sense something was wrong.
“The Carlton Group has essentially scooped us,” he said, his voice raw and ragged. “They’ve broken ground ten miles from our megaplex site and revealed identical plans to our own. Anything we try to unveil now has been ruined. We’ll look like a cheap copy.”
The silence that descended over the group was immediate and heavy, and Emily struggled to think through the implications. She didn’t have exact details, but she knew the company had invested a lot of money in the project so far, and it had been poised to make a huge difference in their bottom line. They had been losing footing over the past few years to the ambitious Carlton Group, who had made a career out of replicating Marshall Resorts’ successes.
Robbie Marshall stared into the distance a moment, lost in thought, before remembering himself.
“The meeting is obviously cancelled for now.” He scrubbed his hand over his face. “We’ll reconvene once the board and I finish meeting this morning. Stand by for more instructions.”
&nb
sp; With that, the president of Marshall Resorts and his entourage stomped out of the conference room, the door banging behind the last one to exit.
Emily opened her mouth to talk, but Bertha beat her to it, finally looking her in the eyes before speaking.
“I guess if there’s no expansion, there’s no need for the position they created for you, is there?” She drummed her fingers on the table and smiled like the villain in one of the old movies Emily’s dad liked so much. Emily forced herself to draw her shoulders up and hold the woman’s icy, pointed stare.
“It’s been a pleasure meeting you all,” she said before beating a hasty retreat to her new office.
It didn’t take long to search out the breaking news in the hospitality world. Within two or three clicks, she’d found the headlines she was looking for.
Carlton Group unveils plans for a magnificent luxury resort!
Carlton Group set to overtake rivals with new Florida luxury property!
Emily gulped. It was hard to imagine how the company was going to bounce back from something like this. The new luxury megaplex had been their ace in the hole. And, worse yet, the fact that their rivals got everything down to the zip code right meant that there had to be some sort of traitor in the company.
Enemies without and enemies within. Emily wondered just what sort of job she had agreed to.
Chapter 3
Logan
Not Just Another Billionaire Page 1