I wanted to create a neighborhood bakery that offered necessities as well as specialities. Yes, there would be fancy cakes and frosted cookies and little puff pastries decorated with delicate sugar art. But I also wanted to offer loaves of bread for those busy families that were always out of something. Sandwiches for lunch on the run, and chicken pot pies for quick and easy dinners. All sourced from local suppliers and run by people in the nearby communities. A real neighborhood establishment.
Now all I needed was a store front.
On reflex, my hands reached for my unopened mail. It was never long before my fingers itched to be doing something. That was why I liked the coffee shop job; it kept me moving while my mind digested everything I was trying to learn and do.
The pleasant flow of my thoughts was interrupted as I focused on the first piece of mail. Bright red figures stood out across the top.
The blood drained from my fingertips and I slumped farther down in my chair.
I only had a few months left of my business classes. Until then I couldn't approach investors about my idea. And I was stuck scraping together every penny just to keep the lights on.
My eyes felt dry and tired. Too tired to tear up anymore. It had been a long time since I had anyone to share my burdens with, much less my ever-encroaching bills.
Not that my last roommate had supported me mentally or financially.
A flicker of righteous anger started and I fanned it. When I was worn out and on the edge of not believing in myself, I found a little anger could drive me forward until I was back up to speed.
And Jake deserved it.
I crumpled the bill into one tight fist. I had never wanted to punch anyone until that last week of living with my ex-boyfriend.
Ex-fiancé. I cringed as I corrected myself.
It was a small comfort knowing I wouldn't have to face any enormous wedding bills right out of business school. The very next day after Jake had walked out, I calculated I saved over forty dollars. Without his subtle demands for groceries, booze, or the latest apps for his outrageously unnecessary cell phone, my budget just about stretched to cover me.
Or it would once I took on a few more double-shifts.
And thank god Jake hadn't gone for my idea of long-distance; the gas money alone would have ruined me. As it was, I walked to work and hadn't been out of the city for months. I thanked my lucky stars that Jake was in Connecticut and well away from anywhere I might accidentally run into him.
I scrubbed both hands over my face and pushed away from the table. I took a deep breath and exhaled all the painful memories and angry thoughts. If I hurried, I still had time to shower before work. I'd even have time to try that new top knot in my hair.
Toying with the idea of a new hairstyle reminded me of a cheek-searing scene from my dreams. I don't know who he was, but it had been one helluva kiss.
That was the boost I needed to get going. Now that Jake was long gone, I was finally free to think about meeting someone new. I had been so focused on school that the thought of dating, much less being intimate, had been shoved aside. It was a thrill to feel it come back on its own.
Maybe things were finally changing for the better.
*****
I was still fiddling with my new hairstyle when I came out of the bathroom. My elbow hit the stack of books in front of my digital clock and tumbled to the floor.
"No way!" I shrieked.
After getting up so early, the entire morning had somehow gotten away from me. My chest constricted at the thought of being late, but I still felt good. It had been a long time since I had put some care and effort into my appearance. Too bad it would be wasted by the time I ran the last few blocks in order to get to work on time.
I raced down my apartment stairwell and skidded into the foyer. Then I swore out loud and ran back up the steps. Not only had I scheduled myself for a double-shift, but it was my night to tutor at the community college. It was only a few extra bucks but after the bottom line on my bills that morning, I couldn't afford to pass up any work.
I jogged down the stairs again and said a few breathless hellos to my neighbors. They nodded back and went about their mornings at the leisurely pace of people already settled in their careers.
"I'll get there. I'll get there." I repeated the words like a mantra as I picked up my pace and trotted down the city blocks to work.
As soon as I saw the coffee shop's bright awning, I slowed down to a brisk walk. That gave me enough time to glance in the picture windows of the neighboring stores and try to fix my new hairstyle. I tightened the knot and smoothed back the wispy hairs that curled around my forehead and face. I even took a second to smear on a little tinted lip balm.
My feet flew over the sidewalk until I came to crosswalk directly across from the coffee shop. A black car cruised past and then slipped into a prime parking spot with one effortless backwards maneuver. I would have admired the parking job if my stomach wasn’t busy doing belly flops.
What was his name? Brenden.
I recognized the sharply-dressed driver with his close-clipped hair, and knew the man I had met the day before was already in line.
Was that why I had taken the time to style my hair? I hadn't worn mascara for weeks because I was constantly rubbing my eyes in a desperate effort to stay awake over my classwork at night. I blinked and hoped I hadn’t smudged it on my sprint to work.
Then I slipped around to the alley and sneaked in the back door to the coffee shop.
"I don't care that you're late, just that you're here," Cheryl snapped. "We've got a line to the door. Got your apron?"
I nodded and shrugged off my jacket to reveal I was already wearing my barista apron. Cheryl didn't expect employees to launder them, but I always took my home because it was easier that sorting out all my scribbled notes at work. I didn't want anyone to know about my business ambitions until they were within my grasp.
"Sorry." I dodged past Cheryl and took my place near the register.
"Thank god," Tiffany said. "I've got to get to school. I'm super behind as it is."
"I know the feeling," I said.
"Whatever's good and strong," the next customer said. He turned back to his companion and continued their conversation. "So, yeah, I'd give this place about a six in terms of attractive women."
"Just a six?" his friend asked.
I jolted and was glad neither of the men noticed. "Would you like your usual order?"
Brenden, the handsome man from the day before, craned his head over his friend's shoulder and nodded. "Hey, new girl. You remember it?"
"With extra sprinkles, right?" I asked.
"Seriously, Brenden, there's this chick in the corner with the sexiest pout. Maybe she's hungover and needs a little TLC. Or hair of the dog. What do you think?"
"I think you should pay for coffee, Darin," Brenden said.
His friend swung back to me and tipped his head as he checked over my new hairstyle. "Kinda works. Cute enough to tip."
I frowned as he shoved a miserly tip into the jar on the counter. "Will there be anything else?"
"Oh, now here we go. Here's someone you've just got to meet," Darin said. He circled around a woman waiting for her drink farther down the counter. "Have you met my friend Brenden? Brenden, this is. . . What did you say your name was?"
The striking woman with silky black hair giggled. "I'm Anya."
"Anya. Did you hear that, Brenden? Beautiful name for a beautiful woman." Darin took her hand and led her along the counter to Brenden.
"Is she?" Brenden asked.
I was surprised to find he was still facing me. "You're asking me?"
"I'm putting my faith in you," Brenden said.
I wondered if that was his way of telling me he remembered my name, then I realized it was just his way of drawing the pretty woman closer.
Anya stepped up to his side and flipped her hair back over one shoulder. "How about you ask me? I'm a writer and very good at descriptions," she purred.
I choked back a groan and tried to concentrate on their coffee drinks.
Brenden lingered near my section of the counter and, every now and then, tipped his head in my direction as if checking that I was still there. I thought maybe he was waiting to talk with me, but his friend and the flirtatious Anya kept interrupting.
What did I care?
He was obviously in the coffee shop without his horrible girlfriend and was taking the opportunity to flirt with anything that moved.
"Ouch!" I sloshed the hot coffee and a few droplets burned the back of my hand.
"Are you okay?" Brenden turned toward my yelp.
"Oh, you're so sweet," Anya cooed.
"I'm fine," I said tightly. I put their drinks on the counter and turned away to rinse cool the burn in the hand washing sink.
What was wrong with me?
Just because I'd felt the urge to style my hair and put on a little make-up did not mean my dating luck was automatically going to change. Jake had told me he was the best I was going to get right before he broke off our engagement and walked out of my life. It was going to take more than a little mascara to turn that kind of luck around.
Besides, I was busy. By the time I turned back to the counter, there was an impatient line of customers. Brenden lingered until he heard me take the next order, but I brushed that aside. I would be better off keeping my head down until school was done and I had something better to do than wish for some silly little romance.
Finish Reading Blind Faith Here
His Town
A Country Billionaire Romance
By
Ellie Danes
www.EllieDanes.com
Copyright
First Edition, February 2018
Copyright © 2018 by Ellie Danes
This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is entirely coincidental. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events and situations are the product of the author's imagination.
All rights reserved. No parts of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without written consent from the author.
License
This book is available exclusively on Amazon.com. If you found this book for free or from a site other than an Amazon.com country specific website it means the author was not compensated for this book and you have likely obtained this book through an unapproved distribution channel.
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Book Description
Leaving town made me a celebrity.
Coming back made me a local hero.
I didn’t ask for it.
It just happened.
And now I’m protecting the town from the girl I’m falling for.
She doesn’t belong here.
Big city girl in a small country town.
But she’s lost and needs a favor.
Who am I to turn down such a request.
After all, this is my town.
Emily Lewis is everything that doesn’t fit here,
including the secret she’s keeping.
Her father, his past and the real reason she’s at my doorstep.
Never mess with two things, my town and my family.
And he’s about to do both, with Emily right in the middle.
Chapter One
Emily
Houston traffic was like a moody lover. Sometimes accommodating. But most of the time, not so much. Today, on the day I needed it most, it wouldn’t give me a break.
I pulled into my parking spot in the garage structure with just two minutes to spare. I hustled to the elevator and went up to my company’s office floor.
“Faster,” I urged the elevator, patting my hair and hoping I’d done my make-up okay while in a rush at home. A big day like this meant I hadn’t been able to sleep a wink.
The doors parted, revealing the receptionist’s desk. Penelope waved to me and muted the phone with her shoulder. “Hey, Em! The big guy’s looking for you.”
“Yeah, I’m sure he is,” I said, taking a quick, deep breath. There were already a ton of people in the office. Some were heading to the break room and kitchen to get coffee or to heat up their breakfasts. Others were chatting, doing the normal morning things.
I spotted the door to the CEO’s office, and to my relief it was closed. If I was lucky, I could scoot past it to my office, and no one important would know that I had technically come in late.
I ducked my head, hoping that no one else would notice me and call out my name. I got halfway across the office, and had just walked past the closed door to my boss’s office, when I heard him say, “Emily,” in a deep, booming voice.
A second later, the door opened. The man who stood before me was tall and imposing, with salt and pepper hair. I’d once overheard a couple of assistants describe him as a “silver fox,” but the thought had grossed me out. Not that I had anything against silver foxes, but I certainly wasn’t interested in this one.
I tried to cover my shock and nervousness. “Morning, boss,” I said.
“Come in, Em—need to talk to you for a minute,” he said.
I nodded and followed him into the office, closing the door behind me.
“I was just about to come and see you,” I said. “Sarah told me you were looking for me.”
“We’re going to leave in about thirty minutes to head out to Mustang Ridge,” he said. “Have you got everything ready?”
I nodded. “I’m ready to go, I just need to check my emails and make sure I’ve responded to the urgent ones,” I said.
“I’m going to want you ready to take up a lead position on this, Em,” he said. “This is one of the biggest deals this company has had going for it in three years—it’s important.”
“I know,” I said. “I was up half the night reviewing the proposal.”
“As long as you managed to get enough sleep not to fall on your face later,” he said with a grin.
“I’ve run on caffeine and nerves before, and I will do it again.” I answered his grin with a weak smile.
“Let’s go over the details one more time before I let you go,” he said.
I nodded and sat down. I’d had those same details running through my mind most of the night, so I could recite the facts and figures from memory, which made him happy.
“Okay. We meet up with them today, and we should have an answer within a few weeks, right?”
He nodded. “This is going to be the first time I let you take such a prominent role. I want to make sure you’re ready for it.”
I felt a little lurch in my stomach. Most of the deals the company had made in the past year had kept me in the background, mostly doing research and getting things ready for the pitch. But I’d been waiting for a chance like this ever since I’d taken the job.
You know what you’re doing. You’re not going to let him down, you’ve rehearsed all this mess a dozen times, I reminded myself as we went over everything one last time.
“I’ll let you get to your office now, ,” he said, rising to his feet. “See you in a few minutes.”
I stood up also, feeling the little wobble in my knees—a combination of nerves and lack of sleep—but I covered it up immediately, before he could even notice. “See you,” I said.
“By the way, Em—try not to be late again.”
“Sorry, Dad,” I said, giving him a wry smile. “I left early, but apparently not early enough.”
“The one thing you can count on with Houston traffic is that it’s going to be worse than you think,” he said. “Just keep in mind that people are watching you, and what you could get away with if you weren’t my daughter, everyone’s going to try and call out. Nothing personal against you—but there are folks in any business who’d resent the daughter of the CEO being in a cushy job while they’re still climbing the ladder.”
I nodded again. “I know,” I said. “It won�
�t be a problem.”
I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before opening the door to his office and letting myself out. Some of the cheerful chaos in the main part of the office had started to calm down as people went to their desks, and I hurried to my office, intent on wrapping up any little chores before we left for Mustang Ridge.
“Hey, slugger!”
I looked up at the sound of Jacob’s voice and gave him a smile. He was on his way back to his own office, a giant mug of coffee in one hand. I slowed to a near-stop when it became clear to me that he wanted to chat. Hopefully he wouldn’t want to talk for too long—I only had twenty minutes before it was time to leave.
Jacob had taken as much care with his looks as I had with mine, but that wasn’t anything unusual for him. His dark brown hair was slicked back, his face was so clean-shaven that I wasn’t even sure he really had to shave in the first place. He was in a tailored suit that looked like a slightly updated version of something from a 1920s gangster movie. I had long suspected that Jacob might spend even more time on his skincare routine than I did, but of course being a native Texan, he would never admit it.
“I heard you’re coming with us to podunkville,” he said.
I rolled my eyes, still smiling. “It’s Mustang Ridge. Really something you should know, since you’re going to be helping pitch them on the development there.”
“Have you seen that place?” he asked. “It’s only maybe three thousand people living in the whole town—it is podunkville, whatever its proper name is. They might not even have electricity.”
I laughed and shook my head. “They have electricity, and even the Internet.”
“Will wonders never cease,” he said, shaking his head. “I was hoping maybe we could sneak off for lunch, after the big proposal and before the boring tour.”
“It’ll depend on what the big guy wants,” I told him. “He might take a notion to have a big lunch with some of the town fathers, you know? Wouldn’t want to go missing from that.”
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