Secret Billionaire

by Leah Torie

  “Can you take those on a plane?” Jessie hadn’t been on a flight in so long, she had no idea what the rules were anymore.

  “I want it for the car ride,” Anna explained. Jessie went to the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle.

  “Here. Fresh and cold. Is one enough?” Jessie looked outside. The midday sun suggested it was road-melting out there.

  “Should be. There’s a café at the airport.”

  A thick silence settled between them like mist, obscuring the thousand things Jessie wanted to blurt.

  A horn honked outside.

  “That’s our ride,” Richard said, coming down the stairs with his carry-on in one hand.

  Jessie looked at Anna, wishing they had more time.

  “Stay in touch,” Anna said.

  Jessie nodded. “You too. Message me when you get home.”

  They hugged, and Jessie somehow kept her emotions in check.

  The horn honked again.

  “Okay, okay, I’m coming,” Anna grumbled. Her fingers wrapped around the handle of her suitcase and she headed for the door. Jessie hesitated in the kitchen, as though she could prevent change by not moving, but then she hurried to the front door to see her sister off.

  The cab pulled away and Anna waved. Jessie waved back, a big smile on her face, but as soon as the vehicle was out of view, Jessie’s face fell and she sighed heavily.

  The show was over. She didn’t need to pretend she was okay about the fact her sister was leaving. Once she closed the front door, Jessie went into the kitchen and sat down at the wooden table. Ghosts from the past few weeks appeared around her. Anna helping Taylor with her school work. Serving dinner and having another adult there to appreciate the effort real home cooking took. Someone to run to the store when Jessie hadn’t got the right ingredients.

  She dragged herself to her feet and trudged upstairs to her daughter’s room. Taylor was asleep. She would be disappointed that she had missed seeing Anna off, but after the week they’d all had, Jessie had thought it was kinder to allow Taylor to rest.

  Jessie gazed down at the sleeping figure of her daughter. Mrs. Martin had been slowly fading away for so long that Jessie had thought, when the time came, it would be a lot easier than this.

  Hadn’t she let go of everything she had wanted a mother for, years ago? It wasn’t like she could call her mom when she needed help, or to vent about something, or in an emergency. Mrs. Martin had been pushing her away in a number of ways ever since Jessie’s stomach had popped out in the second trimester.

  How different would Jessie’s relationship with her own mom have been if she hadn’t had Taylor? Would it really have been all sunshine and mom-daughter trips to the beach? The part of Jessie that yearned for her mom to love her was positive that they would have been the best of friends as adults if she hadn’t disappointed her mom so bitterly. But the rest of her knew it was a fantasy. Mrs. Martin would have found other things to take issue with.

  Jessie wouldn’t ever change what had happened. She would never trade her daughter’s existence for a shot at a good relationship with her mom. But it seemed very unfair that she couldn’t have both.

  Chapter 17

  The doorbell rang. Jessie had lost track of time. Bibbi had been feeding the horses since the day of Mrs. Martin’s funeral, so Jessie was haunting her home feeling lost and without a purpose. Whenever Taylor asked about homeschooling, Jessie told her they were doing English Lit and gave her another book to read. Alone. In a different room to Jessie. It wasn’t what she’d imagined when she’d told the school she was removing her daughter, but it was all she could manage at the time.

  Anyway, she didn’t want her daughter to see her crying regularly, so she was avoiding Taylor whenever possible.

  Through the frosted glass, she saw that there was nobody on the doorstep. Had they given up and left already? Maybe it was the mailman. He could be impatient sometimes. She opened the door and saw a parcel on the step.

  The sound of a car driving away made her look down the street, but she wasn’t fast enough to see who it was.

  Jessie brought the parcel indoors and placed it on the kitchen table, which was getting full of unopened mail. She was going to simply leave it there, but someone had written “open immediately” in black marker. Her finger rubbed against thick cardboard as she slid it down the length of the papery tape that held the package closed. The flaps raised a little, and she pulled them the rest of the way open. Inside, there were four cupcakes, a foil-topped container that looked like it might be a lasagna, a bottle of soda and a notecard.

  The card had a picture of a horse on the front. On the back, someone had written in cursive script using a blue pen.

  Care package.

  Beneath that, a scrawled signature that was impossible to read. Jessie’s first thought was it might be Bibbi or Becca, so she called them both on a group video chat.

  “How are things?” Becca asked straightaway.

  “Weird. Someone left this on my doorstep. Was it either of you guys?” Jessie asked.

  Bibbi raised a brow then shook her head. “Nope.”

  “Me either. Sorry,” Becca added.

  Jessie sighed. “Figures. Someone brought me cupcakes and now I can’t eat them in case they’re poisoned.”

  Bibbi snorted. “You’re being dramatic. Eat the cakes. Or send them this way. I’m not afraid of lemon butter icing.”

  Jessie shrugged. “They do look good.”

  “They’re from Carluccio’s,” Becca said. “That’s where I’ve seen them before. I had no idea they were doing takeout!”

  “They don’t,” Bibbi added.

  “Then how are they in a box in my house?” Jessie asked.

  “It’s a tasty mystery and the only way to solve it is to eat the cakes.” Bibbi was practically reaching through the phone to get to the cupcakes.

  The corners of Jessie’s mouth turned up for the first time in days. She nodded. “Sure. I’ll try one. Only one, mind.”

  “Yeah, only one. Save the others for a second opinion,” Bibbi said with a wink.

  Jessie ended the call and picked up one of the cakes. Biting into it, she tasted lemon and sweetness. The cupcake was possibly the most delicious thing she had ever eaten.

  But who had left it on her doorstep? And why?

  She hoped nobody wanted it back.

  The cakes were long gone when, a couple of days later, Taylor opened the front door to put a spider outside.

  “Mom, there’s a box on the front step.”

  “Another one?” Jessie put down the cloth she’d been cleaning with and went to investigate. It was identical to the first box. She took it into the kitchen and opened it. This time, there were exquisitely decorated chocolate truffles. Another card was tucked down the side of the box.

  A pick-me-up.

  Jessie got her phone and called Bibbi. Becca was on shift at the hospital about then.

  “They’ve sent me another one,” Jessie said, instead of a greeting.

  “Hello to you too,” Bibbi replied wryly.

  “Sorry. But you have to see this.”

  “More cupcakes?”

  “Truffles.” Jessie held one up to her phone for Bibbi to see.

  Bibbi let out a low whistle. “Those are handmade by Gherardini. I’ve read about those truffles in the Southern Tatler. They have a waitlist.”

  “For chocolate?” Jessie clarified.

  “It’s that good,” Bibbi replied.

  Jessie laughed.

  “Can I... pretty please...?” Bibbi left the question hanging in mid-air. Jessie nodded.

  “Come on over. I’ll save you some. There’s about thirty here.”

  “Thirty?” Bibbi’s voice was a squeak. “They cost about five bucks each!”

  Jessie wondered if Bibbi had made a mistake, and if these chocolates just looked similar to the ones she was thinking of. Who would spend one hundred and fifty dollars on an anonymous chocolate gift?

  �
�How’s about we celebrate our good fortune with Good Fortune?” Jessie suggested. Bibbi laughed.

  “I shouldn’t... I’m trying to lose a few pounds.”

  “We can’t have fancy chocolates with cheap soup for dinner,” Jessie pointed out.

  “I mean, if you insist,” Bibbi replied with a shrug, feigning disinterest.

  Jessie snorted as she tried to play along. “I do.”

  “Okay, but you’re going halves on the spring rolls,” Bibbi said.

  When Bibbi arrived with takeout, Jessie was dying of curiosity to know what the chocolates tasted like. Taylor sat at the kitchen table patiently.

  “Just in time,” Jessie joked. “Taylor and I were about to eat all the truffles ourselves.”

  “Not without me,” Bibbi replied. “That would just be mean.”

  “Mom made me wait,” Taylor explained. “She said we couldn’t have dessert before we had eaten dinner.”

  “Your mom is a very wise and kind lady who generously offered to share her delicious chocolates with us both,” Bibbi said with a grin. “But she’s right, so I brought food. Yours is the kid’s meal.” She passed a colorful box to Taylor and Jessie turned away to fetch some plates.

  “I never thought it would be a chore to eat takeout,” Bibbi remarked.

  Jessie chuckled. “I agree.”

  “It’s good to see your sense of humor is coming back.”

  Bibbi’s words made Jessie pause. “Is that bad? That’s bad, isn’t it? I should still be serious and sad.”

  Guilt prickled at her chest.

  “There’s no single way to do grief. You should know that from when your dad passed on,” Bibbi pointed out.

  Jessie bit into a prawn cracker and avoided thinking about the fact she was now an orphan.

  Once they had eaten their takeout, Jessie got the chocolates out of the refrigerator.

  “I don’t have any fancy plates to put them on,” she pointed out. “Guests first.” Jessie looked pointedly at Taylor, whose hand had been reaching for the plate.

  “Sorry, Mom.”

  Bibbi took a truffle and popped it into her mouth. She bit down. Jessie watched her with intense curiosity.

  “Mmmm...” Bibbi couldn’t say anything else with a mouth full of chocolate. Jessie offered the plate to Taylor, who took one. Last, Jessie picked up one for herself.

  The chocolate was crumbly and had a gentle caramel undertone, but it wasn’t too sweet. In the center, there was softer, buttery chocolate mousse. It was light and easy to eat. She could easily eat twenty of these without caring that she’d need new pants afterwards.

  “These are the real deal,” Bibbi said, once she’d finished her chocolate.

  Jessie nodded in full agreement. These were the best chocolates she had ever eaten.

  “But who sends anonymous gifts of expensive chocolate? The cupcakes were enough.”

  “Jessie,” Bibbi’s tone was thoughtful. “You don’t think it was Tom, do you?”

  Jessie raised a brow, contemplating it. “Tom? He drinks terrible instant coffee from hospital vending machines.”

  “So did you. But he also drives at least two fancy cars and dresses in tailored suits. And handmade Italian shoes.”

  “You noticed those?”

  “I’m a cosmetologist. I notice style,” Bibbi explained.

  “Okay, let’s suppose it was Tom for a moment,” Jessie conceded. “Why would he send me these things?”

  Bibbi put her head in her hands and Taylor giggled.

  “C’mon, Jess, make the connection. Why do guys leave gifts on people’s doorsteps?”

  “I have no idea.”

  “Romance. Love. He likes you. Like likes you.”

  “It might not even be him,” Jessie countered, but it sounded weak, even to her ears. Who else could it be?

  “I’m telling you, Jessie, this is the work of a man with money, taste, and affection for you.”

  Jessie hovered beside the front door far more than usual over the next few days. She wanted to catch her mystery gift-giver. Unfortunately, she also had to cook and eat meals, and clean her house regularly, to stop it descending into total chaos. She was washing the windows out back when she heard the doorbell.

  “No! Not now!” She dropped her squeegee back into the bucket, hoping to run around the side of the house and catch her mystery man, but one of her feet tangled in the handle of the bucket and she tripped, covering her legs and feet in dirty, soapy water.

  Her hands stung where they had hit the gravel.

  “No fair,” she grumbled, separating herself from the bucket and getting to her feet. She needed a shower and a couple bandages before she could think about going to the door.

  In clean clothes and having tended to the grazes on her hands, Jessie went downstairs and opened the door. There was a thin envelope on the front step, and the note card was on the outside.

  “Open me here.” She undid the ribbon and pulled out the thin envelope. Her heart fluttered as she opened it. Something told her this gift was something far more profound than chocolate.

  There were three plane tickets inside. Business class return flights to Honolulu.

  She sensed movement and looked around. Tom was stood in the front lawn wearing an indigo suit with a white dress shirt, looking very neat.

  “Will you come on vacation to Hawaii with me?” he asked.

  “Those care packages... they were from you?” Jessie knew Bibbi had guessed already, but there was always the chance it had been someone else.

  “I wanted you to feel taken care of. I couldn’t be here in person because I got called away on business. I’m sorry. Now I want to take care of you in-person.”

  “What is your business, anyway?” Jessie asked.

  “I’m the CEO of a tech startup.”

  “Have I heard of them?”

  He shifted awkwardly. “Yes.” He named his company. Jessie dropped the envelope and sat down heavily.

  “But... but... that means... you’re...” She couldn’t get the words out; she was too shocked.

  “Does that change anything?”

  “Should it?” she countered. If she didn’t know better, she’d think he was nervous.

  “No.”

  “Good. Because I will go to Hawaii with you on one condition. Taylor doesn’t get left out.”

  “Of course.” He sounded surprised that she’d even thought she needed to bring it up.

  Jessie grinned. “In which case, yes, I will go to Hawaii with you.”

  He got up off the lawn and jumped up, punching the air in a very un-Tom-like way.

  “Sorry, I had to. I wasn’t sure if you’d say yes.”

  “Me either,” she chuckled. This wasn’t how she’d expected the day to go, when she’d awoken this morning.

  “Here, let’s swap phone numbers again. I think I typed yours in wrong, before.”

  Jessie punched in the number, and her phone recognized it immediately.

  “You were the mystery man asking me on a date, weeks ago?”

  “You got my messages? You never replied!” He looked a little hurt. Jessie didn’t blame him.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t know who was sending them. I didn’t want to reply to a stranger.”

  Tom sighed and shook his head. “One of these days, I’ll get to take you on a date.”

  “How about when we go on vacation?” Jessie smiled a little and shrugged. There were probably a lot of places in Hawaii where they could go out on a date.

  “Absolutely,” he replied, and Jessie’s smile widened as her heart leapt.

  Chapter 18

  The waves rose up the beach like the water was trying to race itself, until, when one particular wave seemed to get ahead of the others, the sea receded again, leaving the sand sparkling.

  Jessie had nothing more pressing to do right now than watch it, while the sun warmed her legs, propped up on the sun lounger. Occasionally, her gaze flicked over to where Anna was helping Taylor bui
ld a sandcastle.

  “Here, I got you a drink,” Tom said, as he came into view with two glasses, both full of brightly-colored liquid and complicated straws.

  “Thank you, what is it?” Jessie hoped he hadn’t got something expensive.

  “Mango and passionfruit mixed with a lot of crushed ice. The bartender said it’s supposed to be very refreshing.”

  Jessie took a sip and nodded. “This is great!”

  “Mmm,” Tom agreed, after trying his own drink. He sat down in the sun lounger beside Jessie’s and she tried to absorb every single detail of this scene. It was too perfect not to. She wanted to remember it forever.

  “I’m surprised you don’t have to work every day of your vacation,” Jessie observed.

  “I’ve automated a lot of things and delegated most of the remainder. A lot of the time, people only think they need my advice.”

  Jessie laughed. “It sounds a lot like taking care of a child. Taylor is wonderful, but often she just wants me to acknowledge something she’s done or how she feels.”

  “Heh, don’t let my employees hear you compare them to a seven-year-old,” Tom said. The corners of Jessie’s mouth turned up and she said nothing else about the topic.

  It was easy to forget that Tom was someone important, because he seemed like a regular guy. Okay, not just any old guy, Jessie corrected herself, he was a very special regular guy.

  “Did you ask Anna about this evening?” Tom’s voice was casual but Jessie knew this mattered.

  “Yeah, she said that’s fine. She’ll have Taylor tonight for a couple hours.”

  His eyes crinkled at the edges and his smile flooded Jessie’s heart with warmth.

  “Perfect. I’ll make the reservation.”

  Jessie raised a brow. “Surely they won’t be able to fit you in at the last moment?”

  He chuckled. “Oh, ye of little faith.”

  Tom pulled out his phone and made a call while Jessie’s attention returned to watching the glassy sea.

  “Seven thirty, missy.”

  Jessie nodded, then frowned. “Wait. What do I wear?”

  “The dress code is black tie.”

  “I don’t have a black tie.” She said it without thinking, then laughed as she imagined herself at a fancy restaurant in a tux. Tom apparently found it funny, too, because he chuckled again. It was a sound she liked to hear, Jessie decided.