by Leslie North
Christmas With the Denton Billionaires
The Billionaire’s Christmas Fiancée
The Billionaire’s Sudden Christmas Baby
The Billionaire’s Second Chance Christmas
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales, is entirely coincidental.
RELAY PUBLISHING EDITION, DECEMBER 2019
Copyright © 2019 Relay Publishing Ltd.
(no alignment) All rights reserved. Published in the United Kingdom by Relay Publishing. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Leslie North is a pen name created by Relay Publishing for co-authored Romance projects. Relay Publishing works with incredible teams of writers and editors to collaboratively create the very best stories for our readers.
Cover design by Cover Art by Mayhem Cover creations
www.relaypub.com
Blurb
The Denton Hotels Christmas gala has always been a big deal, but this Christmas must be the most extravagant ever. Billionaire Mitch Denton’s CEO father is set to make a major announcement at this year’s gala, and Mitch hopes it’s what he’s been waiting for: his promotion to head of the company. Mitch is more than a little surprised when Jules Cardwell, assistant to the now-AWOL event planner, walks into his office, ready to oversee the gala’s planning. With so much on the line, he doesn’t need the distraction of a beautiful woman like her. When they find a real baby in the manger just as a major snowstorm rolls in, the two have little choice but to rely on each other. In Mitch’s luxury penthouse.
Jules tells herself she’s staying for the good of baby Noelle. It’s not because Mitch is gorgeous, rich, charming, and everything Jules has tried to avoid in a man. It’s difficult for her to breathe whenever he’s near. Worse, he’s sweet and kind and makes her heart ache in a way that’s not at all welcome. With Christmas drawing closer, the two work frantically during the day to make the gala perfect, but the nights are completely different. They’re hot and swoon-worthy, and Jules never wants them to end.
But just as Jules thinks they might actually become a real family, she gets a cold splash of reality: this is just a holiday romance. She could never fit into Mitch’s world, and even the magic of Christmas can’t change that.
When Mitch is given everything he’s ever strived for professionally, he realizes the one thing he truly wants might soon be gone forever.
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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
Epilogue
End of The Billionaire’s Sudden Christmas Baby
Thank You!
About Leslie
Sneak Peek: The Billionaire’s Second Chance Christmas
Also by Leslie
1
This year’s Christmas display needs to be bigger than ever. Make it happen because I’m planning a big announcement this year.
Mitch Denton stared at the text from his father for what felt like a full hour. The Denton Hotels Christmas gala at the end of each year was a famous event known to most New York City socialites. Tickets for outsiders were scarce, but invariably some insider shots of the event showed up in the tabloids one way or another.
But this year, his dad wanted things even more over the top, which sent Mitch’s stomach into a hopeful knot.
There was only one announcement that mattered to Mitch—the announcement that his father would be handing over the reins of the company to him.
It was sure to come. He’d been anticipating it and working toward this for years. His younger brother Josh surely wouldn’t be interested in taking over the company. Especially not now that he and his fiancée Amelia were head-over-heels traveling the world and enjoying life together.
Mitch was the only workaholic brother left, which meant that this empire could only become his.
He leaned back in his leather desk chair, swiveling around to gaze out the large curved window overlooking downtown Manhattan. Skyscrapers clawed their way toward the clouds, glittering steel and glinting window panes as far as the eye could see. The sight was inspiring. This was the stuff that grounded him—being up in the air and looking down at it all.
A soft knock on his door sounded. His secretary Rose poked her head in, her silver hair swept back into a low bun.
“Mitch, we’ve got a little problem,” she said, worry straining her voice in a motherly way as it often did. Denton Hotels was a fast-paced work environment, and Mitch made sure she earned her pay.
“What is it?” Mitch swiveled around to face the door, checking his phone. “Where’s the event planner?”
“Yeah, that’s part of the problem,” Rose said with a grimace. Mitch swiped through his phone, multi-tasking as usual. He pulled up the weather app while she spoke. “The head planner was supposed to be here for your one o’clock, but I’ve just received word that she quit.”
Mitch blinked, her news hitting him just as awkwardly as the weather report in front of his eyes. There was a huge snowstorm rolling in, which the sunny but cold day outside hardly betrayed. “What?”
“One of her assistants just showed up to break the news. Apparently there was some sort of family emergency, and—”
“Send her in.” Mitch cleared his throat, tapping his pen against the desk. He didn’t have time to quibble over details. He just had to keep moving on the planning, and stat. He helped with the planning every year—after all, the famous Christmas bash needed a personal Denton touch. But this year? It needed more than a touch. It needed a sensual caress. He wouldn’t let this sudden setback be the reason the bash wasn’t better than ever.
Rose sidled out of the office, and a moment later she reappeared with a woman in tow. This had to be the event planning assistant, but it took Mitch a moment to remember who was joining him and why. The curvy brunette entering his office stole his breath and his thoughts. His pen paused mid-tap as he took her in. There were normal things about her: the smart button-down tucked into high-waisted black pants and the professional and almost plastic smile that he recognized too well in his line of work. But there was something about her face. The sharp nose and the high cheekbones that would have caught his eye in the middle of Times Square on New Year’s Eve.
“This is Jules Cardwell,” Rose said, but her voice sounded a million miles away. Mitch pushed to standing without even realizing, his hand shooting out to grip Jules’s. He’d been in a milli
on business deals before and had perfected the art of not showing that his feathers were ruffled. Good thing, too, because his heart thumped a mile a minute in front of this woman.
“Great to meet you.” He held her gaze for maybe a second too long.
Jules narrowed her eyes slightly as she shook his hand. Like she was on to him. “Likewise.”
“Let’s hear about the sudden change of plans,” Mitch said, clearing his throat again. Rose excused herself, leaving the two of them alone in his spacious office. As Jules took her seat, Mitch forced himself to focus on anything other than her perfectly profiled nose or heart-shaped face. Had she always worked with the event planning team? He certainly didn’t remember this woman wandering the halls in years past.
“Well, as your secretary probably mentioned, my boss took an unexpected…leave of absence.” Jules wet her perfectly pink and plump bottom lip before continuing. “Since I was the assistant planner at Big Apple Events, it was decided that I would take her place for her current projects. I’ve assisted on previous Denton events, so I’m already well-versed in your brand.”
Mitch sighed, leaning back into his chair. “But we’d been working with Rhonda for years.”
“I know. A family emergency has her tied up for the time being. I’m not even sure if she’ll be returning.”
Mitch tapped his pen against the desk again, his father’s text coming back to mind. “We need this party to be the biggest and the best it’s ever been. There’s a lot riding on that this year. There will be pressure. Are you prepared to handle that?”
Jules didn’t even flinch. “Of course. I’ve assisted on events all around the city, with many well-known names and even larger businesses. I have full confidence that I’ll be able to pull this off as well as Rhonda would.” She flashed a smile, and then reached down for the briefcase she’d brought in with her. “I brought along some concepts for the display this year—just preliminary stuff, as a launch pad for refining the ideas further. Rhonda had already set some things in motion, like the Children of the World event, where she already placed a big order for the toys. But some things, it looks like she didn’t make much progress at all.”
Mitch watched with interest as Jules slid out some papers. Every slender finger held a ring of some sort, whether big and gaudy or skinny and silver. He realized he had been staring at the graceful movements of her hands during her entire spiel about the party.
“To celebrate all the different ways people celebrate Christmas,” she went on. “You know—to make it a really inclusive event. Something that people walk away from with a ‘wow’ sensation, probably even tell their friends and family about afterward. If they haven’t been live streaming the whole thing already.”
Mitch hefted with a laugh. “I can tell you’ve been doing some preparing already.” He was impressed as much by the words coming out of her mouth as the heavy curve under her blouse. Mitch knew what he liked, and it was this type of gorgeous—articulate, brunette, and curvy. “But you should know, this party is no easy feat. I was expecting to meet with the old planner today and have her tell me that half the prep work was done already.”
Jules nibbled on her bottom lip. “Right. Maybe we can do a walk-through together of the space to make sure we’re on the same page. Then I can go into overdrive to get caught up and on schedule.”
Mitch nodded, doubt flickering through him. As pretty as she was, Jules was an untested event planner.
He didn’t just need someone good—he needed someone to work magic.
This party would serve as the backdrop to him taking over the company, and it needed to be perfect.
2
Jules felt every click of her heels against the tile floor of the lobby as she walked at Mitch Denton’s side.
Every second spent in his imposing presence wound her tighter and needier.
It wasn’t just that he was taller than her. He had to be around six-one, and he towered over her despite her four-inch heels. No, it must have been the swagger in his step. The way his broad shoulders swayed as they strutted through the main floor. He walked like he owned the place—because he literally did.
But he wasn’t an asshole about it. When employees stopped with questions, he paused thoughtfully before answering. He had the steel face of a decision maker, but none of the snark or sarcasm of a cynic.
Still, managing the Denton account for her first job as head planner was enough to bring on the jitters. Mitch had made it more than clear—this event needed to come together seamlessly. If it didn’t, it would be an embarrassment for his family and probably cost her her job.
“From what I understand,” Jules began, as they came upon a makeshift tent in the hotel’s conference area, which was a series of vast, interconnected rooms, “this is about the extent of what Rhonda had been able to get done.” She sighed, clutching her folder to her chest as she looked at the underwhelming staging area.
This conference room would turn into the entry point for the gala, and this whole, expansive area would become a bustling arena of hors d’oeuvres, champagne flutes, and quite possibly a photo op with a Santa with a manbun if Mitch would allow it. She had a whole list of proposed concepts and attention-grabbing ideas to implement, from the modern Santa photo session to the #MerryDentmas hashtag for social media.
Jules knew how to be over the top. She just didn’t want to go so far that she spun off into outer space. The next phase of her career was riding on knocking this one out of the park.
“We do have the manger scene already set up,” Mitch said, shoving his hands in his pockets.
“Oh, really?” Jules perked up. At least that was one thing she could cross off her list. “I didn’t see it.”
“They moved it this year—it’s right inside the main doors.” Mitch led the way back through the lobby, past the huge—and real—Christmas tree, still naked and unadorned. Workers were just beginning to unload the boxes of decorations and ornaments.
“It’s really starting to feel like Christmas in here,” Jules chirped. This was her favorite time of year, without exception. The decorations, the crisp New York mornings, the flurries and the snowstorms—she loved all of it.
Something about Mitch at her side made her feel a little dreamy too. He had presence. Strong and tall and safe—not to mention drop-dead gorgeous. His dirty-blond hair looked expertly styled yet somehow like he’d spent most of the morning tugging at the front of it. A Manhattan socialite wrapped up in a multimillionaire—hell, probably billionaire—package.
Exactly the sort of man her mother had always warned her about.
“We’re trying,” Mitch said, sending her what looked like a genuine smile. “This was always my mom’s favorite time of year, so we try to go big.”
“Go big or go home,” she joked, without even meaning to. On the inside, she grimaced—what a dumb thing to say! But Mitch laughed.
“Exactly. Sort of our ethos around here. Which would explain why we never go home.”
Jules smiled to herself, the crisp winter air hitting her in a whoosh when the lobby doors opened. Just inside the front door sat the nativity scene, looking out the huge window at the busy NYC sidewalk. Mitch strode quickly toward the creche, which featured a miniature shed and figurines that came up to her hips.
“This is our tried and true decoration,” Mitch said. “It’s always the first thing to go up. Nothing else can happen until the nativity is out.”
Jules peered down at the Mary and Joseph statues. She tilted her head, examining Baby Jesus.
“You always use these statues?” Something about Jesus seemed very…lifelike.
“Yes. Since probably the early eighties. Before I was even born.”
Jules’ chest tightened as she knelt. She could have sworn Jesus had moved. “This baby looks very realistic.”
“Does it?” Mitch stepped closer, and the two of them leaned forward to examine the scene. “I’ve never really noticed.”
The blankets around Baby Jesu
s shifted.
And then his arm moved.
Jules gasped. “I think that’s a real baby in there.” She surged forward, feeling inside the wooden manger. Her stomach sank to her feet when her fingertips connected with a soft, warm body. “Oh my god.”
“Are you kidding?” Mitch asked. She scooped up the baby easily. The poor thing couldn’t have weighed more than fifteen pounds, which meant this was an infant. A young infant. She removed the baby from the wool blanket that had been disguising its presence and found a note pinned to the baby’s jacket.
I’m sorry. I just can’t do this anymore. Please help her find a better life and give her a better Christmas than I ever could.
Emotion clamped Jules’s throat, and she looked up at Mitch. His blue eyes were wide with disbelief.
“Mitch…” Her voice came out a hiss.
She held the baby close in her arms, automatically starting a slow sway. Even though she’d worked as a nanny in her early twenties, she never cared for newborns or infants. She knew how to hold them and could change a diaper if she had to. But what about this? What about now?
She’d never discovered an abandoned infant before.
“Let’s go someplace warm,” Mitch said, urging her deeper into the lobby. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders as he ushered them through the milling guests, and the small gesture helped dissolve some of her confusion. His touch alone was grounding enough to find a path forward.
