by Ann Omasta
Table of Contents
Bonus Chapter ~ The Billionairess
Free Novella!
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Love sweet romance? Don’t miss The Pet Set Duet!
About the Author, Ann Omasta
The Billionaire’s Brother
The Broke Billionaires Club
Ann Omasta
Contents
Free Novella!
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Bonus Chapter ~ The Billionairess
Love sweet romance? Don’t miss The Pet Set Duet!
About the Author, Ann Omasta
Free Novella!
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1
“Ugh! My brother is an infuriating, arrogant ass!” Trevor Donovan yelled as he slammed down the telephone on his desk.
Michael Bandy, one of Trevor’s only friends at work, peeked his head into the office to see what the ruckus was about. “You okay, dude?”
Trevor disliked being called ‘dude,’ but he didn’t want to insult Bandy. After all, he referred to the other man as ‘Bandy,’ so he didn’t really have any right to be indignant about his nickname. “No… I mean, yes… Oh, hell, I don’t know.” Trevor ran his hand through his thick, jet-black hair as he stared out the window.
Bandy walked in and shut the door behind him. “Spill,” he instructed.
“Trey is putting me in charge,” Trevor revealed.
“Of the Midwest Division? That’s fantastic!” Bandy sounded enthusiastic, but Trevor couldn’t help wondering if his friend was really happy for him, or if there might be some heavily concealed envy in there somewhere. Bandy had been with Donovan Enterprises longer, and he had a better track record than Trevor. Nepotism was a real thing, and he knew most of his brother’s many employees wouldn’t be at all thrilled to hear the news he had just been given.
“No, man.” Trevor shook his head, still not quite believing it himself. “All of it.”
“All of it?” Bandy’s head actually jerked back. “ALL of it?” He was having trouble comprehending what this meant. Trevor understood the confusion because he couldn’t quite wrap his head around it either.
“The whole empire,” he finally clarified, mostly in the hopes of erasing the perplexed look from Bandy’s face.
“But he built this company from the ground up,” Bandy started, “And he loves it. I’ve never seen a man more dedicated to his work.” Trevor nodded, unable to argue with the accuracy of any of those statements. “What is he going to do?”
“I think he’s going to bake cupcakes, or something.” Trevor flinched, even as he said the words. The entire conversation had been so out of character for his brother that he almost wondered if he was being pranked.
“Cupcakes?” The one-word question was overflowing with disbelief. Bandy shook his head, obviously as confused as Trevor.
“I guess.” Trevor shrugged his shoulders, unsure what else to say. He didn’t understand it either. His ruthless, workaholic brother was not the type to just hand over the reins of his billion-dollar company so he could go put on an apron and bake. It simply didn’t make any sense. Restless, Trevor got up and strolled over to stare out of his office’s one window. Soon, he would be able to view the world below from a wall of windows.
After a lengthy silence, Bandy finally said, “Wow.”
Trevor turned back to look at his friend then. He nodded his agreement with the assessment. Neither one of the men could quite believe it. “We’re announcing it tomorrow, so keep it on the down-low.”
“Sure, dude. No problem,” Bandy promised jovially, already backing out of the office. “Well, good luck and don’t forget about us little people,” Bandy added before walking out and reclosing the door behind him.
Trevor already regretted telling the other man the news. He might as well have announced it over the office intercom system or sent a company-wide email. Bandy was such a gossip-queen that he had probably already told everyone he passed in the hallway on the way back to his own office.
Trey would be pissed if word leaked out before he had a chance to make an official statement. Taking a deep breath and dreading his brother’s reaction, Trevor suddenly realized that Trey’s reaction really didn’t matter anymore. He was in charge now. Just the idea of it made his chest puff up a little bit.
He was so used to obediently complying with his older brother’s wishes that it had never occurred to him that he might someday be the one in the position of power. It was something that Trevor had always longed for, but never quite believed would actually happen.
It was real, though. He was the boss, not Trey. The realization was shocking and liberating and frightening all rolled into one big ball of delicious anxiety.
What the hell was he supposed to do now?
2
The big announcement went by in a blur. If any Donovan Enterprises employees were offended by Trey’s decision to leave Trevor in charge, he didn’t catch wind of it. The only sentiments he heard from them were concerns about Trey’s health and mindset. It was so out of character for Trey to take a leave of absence like this that it made people wonder what was truly going on. Trevor couldn’t provide them any answers because his brother hadn’t confided in him regarding the true reasoning for his abrupt departure.
It felt larger than life to sit at his brother’s desk. He felt like an imposter, as if he were a little kid sneaking into his father’s office. Everything in Trey’s space screamed power––from the imposing, almost-regal chair, to the massive windows and impressive balcony that looked out over the tiny minions far below.
Trevor slowly sat down at the shiny, mahogany desk and savored the powerful feeling of taking the helm of this empire. He had dreamed so many times of being in exactly this position, but he had never quite been able to convince himself that it would actually happen. The idea that his dominating, power-hungry brother would step down and let Trevor take over was almost inconceivable.
He snapped forward from his relaxed position when Trey’s––make that his––assistant, Millie, swished into the room. He couldn’t keep the lustful look at bay as his gaze swept over the beautiful woman. She was so polished and professional, it made him wonder what it would be like when she let her golden blonde hair down from its smooth, tight chignon and had fun… if she ever did.
Had she ever let her guard down and cut loose with Trey? The thought made his face pinch involuntarily. For some reason, he couldn’t stand the thought of his brother being intimate with this gorgeous, brilliant, utterly amazing woman.
Bringing him back to the present moment, Millie efficiently handed him a file containing contracts with colored arrow stickers marking the spots that required his signature, his agenda for the day, and a one-page brief on the company’s holdings that summarized their latest moves on the stock market. They had taken a significant financial hit across the board since the announcement of Trey’s departure, but that
was to be expected.
Trevor tried to quell the panic that threatened to rise up in his throat at the thought of ruining the empire his brother had worked so hard to build. He must have gone pale because Millie paused her monologue, seeming to see him for the first time. “It’s going to be okay. We will bounce back,” she promised, placing a reassuring hand over his.
Her comforting touch felt marvelous, but all too quickly it was gone, and she swished back out of the room, leaving only a faintly floral, delicious scent wafting in her wake.
Trevor puffed out a breath and tried to focus on the papers she had presented to him. The numbers swirled before his eyes as he tried to make sense of it all. Running his fingers through his dark hair, he stared out the window wondering if he was in way over his head.
Just as his cell phone dinged with a reminder about a meeting, Millie appeared back in his office with a stack of neatly bound booklets. “It’s almost time for the board meeting,” she announced breezily.
“Board meeting?!?” Trevor sat up so fast, he nearly fell out of his chair. “Today?” he asked lamely, already having figured out the answer.
“It was on your agenda.” Her brow furrowed slightly as if she was uncertain how he could not have known.
“I’m not ready,” he admitted, hating having to admit to a failure already.
“We have fifteen minutes,” she smiled confidently. “I’ll brief you.” She sat down on the edge of the deep, dark brown leather couch, keeping her back perfectly straight and indicated that he should join her.
Once Trevor was settled beside her, Millie handed him a bulleted list of talking points. She then proceeded to familiarize him with the tabbed board book and his list of highlights. By the end of her monologue, he felt almost prepared, but he was still nervous.
Sensing that he needed some reassurance, Millie stood and offered her hand to help him up. “I’ll be right beside you,” she promised, and somehow that gave him all the confidence that he needed to go face the dreaded Board of Directors.
3
He managed to wait until he was back in his office before letting the whoop of excitement escape from his lips. “That was amazing! YOU were amazing!” He lifted Millie into his arms and twirled her around, thrilled that her impeccable notes and presentation materials had made him look informed and prepared.
She kept her body stiff as a board. “You need to put me down, sir. This is highly inappropriate.”
“Sir?” he asked. “That’s my brother’s name. I’m Trevor.”
“Yes, well Trevor, nailing your presentation in that meeting was just the beginning of your day. You still have a lot of work to do.” She pushed her snooty reading glasses higher up on her nose. The dark-rimmed glasses should have looked too prim and dorky, but on her, they just added to her sex appeal. The fact that the woman seemed to be all business made the thought of persuading her to relax, cut loose, and get naked seem nearly irresistible.
She went on, clearly oblivious to the naughty turn his thoughts had taken. “You have a meeting on the mall project in…” she checked her wristwatch, “ten minutes.”
He was staring at her dainty, perfectly-manicured hand, marveling at the fact that she still wore an actual watch, when she frowned at him. “You ARE familiar with the mall project?”
Something about the terse way she asked the question made him feel defensive. “Of course,” he lied.
“Good,” she said, visibly relieved. “I’d be really concerned about you filling in for Trey if you didn’t know about it.”
She turned to leave, but he stopped her by yelling after her a little louder than he intended. “Thank you. You were a lifesaver in that board meeting!”
“Just doing my job, SIR.” She looked back at him and enunciated the use of the formality that he had asked her to drop. Then her lips turned up into a tiny, nearly imperceptible, ornery grin. When she sauntered out of his office, he could almost swear that there was an extra bit of sway to her delightful, curvy hips.
“This just keeps getting better and better.” He leaned back in his chair and smiled to himself, beginning to feel comfortable in his new digs.
Deciding he shouldn’t take too long to bask, he sat up and scrambled through his papers from Millie to learn anything he could about the mysterious mall project his next meeting was about.
He didn’t discover much in his folder on the deal––probably because Millie assumed he was already familiar with it––but the meeting was only with a financier who was hoping to negotiate the deal for Donovan Enterprises, so Trevor decided that he would listen more than he talked.
The mall meeting went smoothly, and he learned some vital pieces of information… the project involved a series of high-line outdoor malls, signing the deal was Trey’s top priority before he left, and Trey’s arch nemesis, Selena Chase, wasn’t going to make this easy.
4
By the end of his first week, Trevor was absolutely exhausted. He honestly didn’t know how his brother managed to do it all, but he was determined to keep up with the breakneck pace that Trey was known for.
He decided to duck out a little early––at six pm––since it was Friday night. He was just passing Millie’s desk when she stopped him in his tracks. “Do you have time to go home and change before the gala?”
“Gala?” he asked, realizing too late that he sounded like a clueless dope.
“It was on your agenda,” she informed him in her no-nonsense tone.
“I didn’t… I can’t… I’m not ready,” he finally admitted.
Opening one of her desk drawers, she poked around for a moment before pulling out a rolled-up, sleek silver tie. “Lucky for you, I’m prepared for anything.” She smiled as she handed him the necktie. He wondered what ‘anything’ might entail. “Some of the guests will be in tuxedos, but you can make a bold statement by showing up in this. It matches your suit perfectly,” she assured him.
“I don’t have a date,” he muttered the thought out loud.
“Once people figure out who you are, a date will surely find you.” She raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow at him. He wasn’t used to the clamoring for attention that went along with his powerful new position, and he wasn’t sure he ever would be.
He shook his head, not wanting to attempt to slice through the fake, money-hungry groupies that always seemed to want to dig their long, red claws into Trey. Being his brother’s proxy would likely mean they would now come after him. “Could you go with me?” He hated to use Millie as a crutch, but he always seemed to feel more comfortable when she was nearby.
“That’s not in my job description,” she informed him.
“I know, I just want you there… for moral support.” He added the last bit rather lamely.
She seemed torn to the point that Trevor was convinced she was going to say no. Instead, she told him to give her a fifteen-minute head-start before picking her up at her condo.
“What’s the address?” he asked as she quickly grabbed her expensive leather handbag and bolted for the elevator.
“Jim knows,” she smiled at him as the doors closed separating them.
Trevor had forgotten that he now had a limo with a driver. That particular perk was especially difficult to get used to. He tried not to let it bother him as he pondered the fact that Jim had been to Millie’s condo before. Did that mean that Trey had been there? Would it be against the rules to ask Jim??
He had to assume that Jim’s loyalties were with his brother––just like those of everyone else in his employ. That tough realization confirmed his first instinct… not to ask Jim any questions about Trey and Millie’s relationship. He wasn’t entirely sure that he wanted to know the answer anyway.
Millie’s three-story condo was modern and picturesque. Just as Trevor was reaching for the car’s door handle to climb out of the back of the limo, Millie emerged from her front door. Talk about picturesque… she was an absolute vision in a long, beaded, emerald-green cocktail gown. Her blonde hair
was still coiled into the French twist she often wore at work, but a few curly tendrils were now framing her lovely face.
“You look stunning,” Trevor informed her when she joined him in the limo.
He didn’t think it was possible for her to be more beautiful, but the rosy pink blush that surfaced on the apples of her cheeks proved him wrong. He lifted her hand to press his lips to it. When he set her hand back down, he tried to keep it clasped within his own, but she pulled away. “You’re my boss,” she reminded him simply, as if he had forgotten.
“Acting boss,” he amended, pulling a grin out of her. “I looked it up in the Employee Handbook, and it doesn’t specifically mention acting bosses and employee relationships.”
“You did not look that up,” she accused, but she couldn’t seem to keep a straight face.
“I did,” he confirmed. “It’s very clear that supervisor-employee relationships are forbidden, but we are definitely in a gray area as far as that goes.”
“Human Resources wouldn’t see it as a gray area,” she informed him before adding, “and I’m the one who would lose my job. They can’t afford to let you go.”
He couldn’t deny the truth to her statement, so he decided to let the topic drop. The stretch limo was already pulling to a stop at the curb of the art museum where the gala was being held anyway.
Quick as a wink, Jim was around the car and holding a large, black umbrella out to protect his passengers from the misting rain that had just started falling. Unsure what to do and not wanting the chauffeur to feel like he had to accompany them inside, Trevor took the umbrella and told the driver he would text when they were ready to be picked up. Jim nodded and returned to his post.