A Brilliant Arrangement: A Sweet Billionaire Love Story (Falling for the Billionaire Book 1)

by Laila Kelly

  Graham shook his hands, “No it doesn’t have anything to do with me placing an order. I’m not here to do that,” he explained. “I’m not here for that. I need your help in another way.” Joleigh tilted her head and put down the note pad. “So if it’s not about an order, then what is this in reference to?” she asked slowly. He stepped closer to her, “This is about an order that you delivered about a week and a half ago,” Joleigh dropped her pen and shook her head, “Are you the reason that a private investigator called my business?” He bent down at the same time as her and they bumped heads as they both grabbed for the pen. Joleigh picked it up and stepped away from her. “And you’re the reason that there was someone sitting outside this morning, aren’t you?” she stepped back until she bumped into the counter behind her. She turned around and ran behind it.

  Graham stepped closer to her, “Well, yes, I am but I can certainly explain,” Joleigh walked closer to the door to the back of the shop, “Mr. Brentwood, I don’t need any explanations, but I do know that I need you to leave or I’ll have to call the police,” the look of shock that ran across her face made him turn pale. “No, please just give me one minute to explain to you what’s going on,” Joleigh stood by the door and crossed her arms, “You have thirty seconds and I’m going to need you to leave,” her voice cracked when she spoke. It was hard to be stern when it was such a handsome man standing in front of her. His huge arms looked like they were one flex away from bursting out of his polo shirt. The way that his olive-green eyes peered into hers made her want to sit down and stare into them for hours, but she didn’t have time for that. And she certainly didn’t have time to sit and figure out what he wanted her help with. She didn’t have anything to give.

  He took a deep breath and walked closer to the counter. “My name is Graham Brentwood and I’m from Piney Point, Texas. I hired a private investigator because I was adopted when I was less that one day old. The private investigator that I hired is one of my high school best friends, and he’s been helping me find my birth mother. Last week I found out from him and my mother that she has been sending flowers to my birth mother almost every month since I was born. Her secretary had written down this address and told him that this was the latest place that she placed an order from,” his words came out so fast it was like he was trying to tell her his entire life story in thirty seconds. “So, doing the job that I had asked him to do, he called here to see if you could give him the information that he needed, and the man from this morning is one of his contacts from Atlanta that he sent out here to see if he saw her around this area. I really do apologize if he startled you. That was the last thing that I wanted to happen. I just really wanted to get the opportunity to see who the woman who gave birth to me is, and hopefully get to meet her,” he ran his fingers back through his hair. Joleigh unfolded her arms and folded them the other way, trying to prevent herself from reaching out and touching it herself.

  “All I know is her name and that she lives here in Flowery Branch now, so what I was hoping to get from you is a simple yes or no answer,” Joleigh huffed, “What is it?” He leaned against the counter and with pleading eyes he stared at her. “Can you tell me if you’ve made a delivery to a Tamara Griffith in the past two weeks?” Joleigh pursed her lips, trying to decide how much information was too much to give out. Certainly, a yes or no wouldn’t hurt, or would it? “How do I know that you are who you say that you are and that you aren’t some serial killer trying to track down a woman who lives in this area?” He tilted his head as if he was playing back his words in his head. “Well, I have my business card.” He reached out in his wallet and pulled out a card and handed it to her. “And what is this supposed to mean to me? Anyone can get a business card.” He held up his hands. Joleigh wasn’t usually this cold to strangers, but the events that have been brought into her life were caused by this man, and she wanted to understand why. He reached back into his pocket and pulled out his wallet, flipped it open and showed her a Texas license. “Still, anyone can get a fake one made,” she huffed. Graham tilted the wallet back and forth to show her a watermark. So what, she thought to herself, serial killers can get drivers licenses too.

  “Look,” she said, sounding exhausted. “If I answer yes or no, you can’t ask me any more questions. I don’t want any part of whatever you have going on,” she unfolded her arms and put them in her pants pocket. He did a little dance that made her crack a smile that she quickly repressed. “Yes, I know who you’re looking for, and yes I’ve delivered flowers to her.” His face lit up and she held up her hands, “No more questions,” she said quickly. Graham nodded and walked over to the display and looked at the flowers. Joleigh pulled up the stool and sat on it, watching him walk around the store. A few moments later he walked back over to where Joleigh was sitting. “I want to thank you for answering those questions for me,” with a smile. Joleigh nodded, “Your welcome, but if that’s what you’re going to count as a segue to me answering more of your questions then you’re going to be disappointed, Mr. Brentwood,” she crossed her arms across her chest.

  Graham cracked a smile, “Please, don’t call me Mr. Brentwood. That’s my father’s name, please just call me Graham,” Joleigh smiled at his charm, but quickly dropped it, not wanting him to see that she was falling for it. “So,” he paused and leaned into the counter, “I know that this seems like a long shot, but I wanted to ask you out on a date to say thank you for helping me out,” his voice was low and hoarse, and reminded her of some sort of rugged Cowboy from the western shows that Mrs. Dabney used to watch while she babysat Joleigh after school.

  “Well, you could just say thank you and that will give the same effect,” she shrugged and unfolded her arms and put them underneath her legs. He stepped back and looked shocked like he wasn’t used to not hearing what he wanted to hear from women. His shirt, a navy-blue color, was one of Joleigh’s favorite and while she was thinking of snarky ways of getting him to leave her alone, she couldn’t help but want to touch it. It seemed like it was soft, and it most certainly didn’t come from one of the local feed stores around town.

  “I do understand that a simple ‘thank you’ would suffice, but I really would enjoy the opportunity to get to see you again,” Graham smiled slightly and ran his fingers through his hair. Wherever he was from, she was surprised that he wasn’t already attached to someone. He was surely handsome and of course him being so rich, it seemed virtually impossible to understand why he wasn’t already married. It wouldn’t have been the first time that someone had come to Flowery Branch to have a fling with someone and then return home to their significant other. The thought of experiencing that type of embarrassment was too much for Joleigh to think about. “Well I’m not sure that your girlfriend would appreciate that, you know, you asking me out on a date,” her words came out harsh and he widened his eyes. He looked around in awe, “Um, I don’t have a girlfriend,” he said slowly. She looked him up and down and wondered why she felt so compelled to believe him. She didn’t even know him, but when he looked into her eyes, she felt something that she hadn’t felt in so long. The palms of her hands began to sweat, and she felt like she could hear her own heartbeat.

  “Mmhmm,” she replied, not sure if any real words would come out of her mouth with an ounce of confidence. He brushed his hand against hers, “So, now that you’ve verified that I’m indeed a single man, what do you say about going on a date with me?” Joleigh gasped a little, his touch was electric, and she pulled her hand away. His face dropped at her pulling away and he self-consciously put his hands into his pockets. “It’ll be my treat, and I’ll take you to any restaurant in Atlanta that you’d like to go to,” He smiled, and for a moment, she could see a resemblance between Tamara and Graham. The way that his eyes twinkled and crinkled at the sides when he smiled was exactly what Tamara’s did when she smiled.

  Joleigh shook her head. “I don’t know about dinner, I have some things to do tonight,” she didn’t find it necessary to disclose to Graham that
tonight was the night that she and Amber binged watched reality television shows, a ritual that she held very near and dear to her heart. His face dropped. “But we can go to get ice cream, I know a place in downtown Atlanta that hand makes all of their ice cream,” she tilted her head to the side. His smile reappeared and he looked like she had just made his day. “That sounds great, what time does your shop close?” He looked around for her hours of operation sign. “I’m surprised that you don’t already know that with all of the research that you’ve done on my shop,” she teased. He held his hands up in mock defeat. “You do have a point there,” he chuckled. His smile sounded like a melody that only Joleigh could understand. “I close at 6:30,” she pushed her hair back into its bun and hoped she didn’t look like a child who had a long day in kindergarten. “That’s perfect. “I’ll pick you up at 7:00,” he smiled again, showing off his perfect smile and started walking back towards the door. Thank goodness he suggested seven o’clock instead of actually picking her up at six-thirty. At least that gave her half an hour to get herself together mentally. “Alright, seven sounds good,” she replied and watched him walk off. He turned around and waved and winked at her. It took all of her balance to not fall off of the stool. She waved back weakly and took a deep breath when he finally got into his car and drove off.

  For some reason that she couldn’t quite figure out, she found herself extremely excited to be going out on this weird version of a date. It had been far too long since she had actually gotten some sort of attention from a man aside from her neighbor down the street Randy that had been in love with Joleigh since they were kids. Maybe tonight’s outing could be the catalyst that she needed to get back out into the dating world. Excitement was an understatement of how she felt on the inside, and she stood up from the stool and did a happy dance.

  “You’re actually going to go out on a date with that man?” Sam snapped her out of her daydream and made her grab her chest. “Really, Sam? You’re going to really give me a heart attack one of these days.” “I need to put a bell on you,” she murmured to herself. She cleared her throat. “And yes, I am going on a date with him,” Joleigh paused and tapped her finger on her chin, “Well it’s technically not a date. I’m going to get ice cream with him, though,” she shrugged and walked back to the flower prep station. “Um, clearly it has been a while since you’ve been on an actual date, but what you just described to me is qualified to be a date.” Sam followed her into the prep area. “Well that’s hurtful Sam,” she teased. “It hasn’t been that long since I’ve been on a date.” They both looked down at the next order and went on separate sides of the refrigerator. He shrugged, “Regardless of how long it’s been, whatever you call yourself doing tonight is a date, and you don’t even know this guy,” he grabbed a few flowers and then headed to get a vase out of the storage room.

  “And that’s exactly why you’re going to deliver this order and I am going to internet stalk him,” She looked at the calendar and saw that this was the last order that she had to complete for the day. Sam looked at her and rolled his eyes. “I just can't even believe that you're really thinking about doing this going on a date with someone you barely even know,” he seemed concerned and his level of concern touched Joleigh deeply, but it didn’t deter her from what she had already intended to do. She just looked at him and sighed, “Sam I really don't see a problem with going out on a date. I think it’s pretty innocent,” she grabbed a handful of chrysanthemums sedums and placed them into the vase. “So you're actually serious about this,” Sam’s eyes bulged out of his head, resulting in Joleigh doubling over in laughter. When she was done with her laughing fit, she stood up and grabbed her stomach, “Oh Sam you tickle me pink, but yes I'm very serious about this.” She paused and grabbed another handful of flowers. “Think about it this way Sam. There have been the same five thousand people living here in Flowery Branch that there's always been, and I haven’t seen anyone new coming into town. Quite honestly, I don’t see anyone new beginning to come out this way for quite some time, especially not in my age range. So, what's the harm what's the worst that could happen in going out for ice cream with him?” He walked over to her and handed her another few flowers.

  “I mean I see what you’re saying with that. Even though you’re young, you really don’t get out much,” she took the flowers and set them off to the side and turned to Sam. “Exactly, and what are the odds of a single, mildly attractive man who’s not from around here waltzing into the shop and asking me out on a date? Slim to none. I could’ve played the lottery this morning and had a better chance of winning there than going out on a date. Besides, it’s not like I just agreed to marry the man.” She turned around and finished up the vase. “It’s not like this could go anywhere really, I have too much going on,” she muttered to herself. And that was exactly the mindset that she had to have when she was going on her date tonight. This wasn’t going to turn into anything, but it could get her back into the swing of actually going places outside from the flower shop and her house. She needed to get back to her old self. The fun Joleigh that was always experiencing new parts of life.

  “I understand. I just want you to be safe, that’s all,” Sam patted her on the shoulder and headed over to the coat rack to grab his jacket. “I will be. All this will be is just me getting to know the guy and see what he’s like. Especially if he’s going to be sniffing around town looking for people. Plus, I'll have my taser on me tonight if anything goes wrong.” She walked over to her ribbon station and pulled a baby blue piece of ribbon to wrap around the vase. “Where are y’all going to be going? Dinner and a movie?” She scrunched up her nose, “No, we're definitely not going to be doing either of those. We’re going get ice cream at that homemade ice cream shop I was telling you about,” Sam laughed. “Since when did dinner and a movie become such a terrible idea?” Joleigh giggled. “There’s nothing wrong with dinner and a movie, just not for a first date. What if halfway through the dinner you find out that your date is an absolute creep. Now you’re stuck having to experience a movie with him. Doing something quick as ice cream gives you enough time to see if you actually would like to spend more time with that person in an enclosed space like the movie theatre,” she said matter of factly.

  Sam grabbed his keys and the flowers shook his head and laughed at Joleigh as he walked out of the shop. “Alright, I’ll try and figure out what you mean by that while I deliver these flowers. I’ll see you in a few.” When the door closed, Joleigh watched as he walked to his car and drove off and ran into her office to grab her phone. She quickly dialed Amber’s number and she answered the phone on the third ring. “Hello,” she answered in her chipper voice. “Amber you will never believe what has happened to me since I got back to the shop.” Joleigh couldn’t contain her excitement as she began typing on her computer. A quick Google and Facebook search should give her all of the information I need, she thought to herself.

  “Didn’t you just get back from the hospital? What’s happened already?” Amber laughed. She was right, this had been an eventful day already for Joleigh. “I know right? I said the same thing. Anyways, long story short is I’ll be going on a date tonight!” Joleigh got quiet and tapped her hand on her desk. Amber squealed and Joleigh pulled the phone away from her ear to avoid losing any hearing. “With who? Who’s the lucky guy?” Joleigh typed in Graham’s name on the computer and almost dropped her phone, “Oh my God,” she said slowly. She scrolled down the page and looked at all of the articles written about him. “What?” Amber questioned. Joleigh took a sip of her water and clicked on the most recent article. “Well, his name is Graham and he came by the shop a few minutes ago. He was the guy that had arranged for the private investigator to call and ask about the woman that I told you about. He asked me another question and explained to me what he was up to with all of the private investigators and calls. Then he asked me out for dinner tonight.” Amber was silent on the other end, and Joleigh looked at her phone to make sure that she was still o
n the line.

  A few moments later she spoke again. “Is that it? Did he tell you why he had all of these things happening, or why he couldn’t call and ask himself? What’s his name? At least tell me what he looked like,” Joleigh finished reading the article and scooted back her chair from her desk. “He’s tall and he’s absolutely gorgeous but check this out. I Googled him because he’s from Texas too, and according to the past two articles that I’ve read on him, he’s a billionaire,” she said slowly. “No freaking way,” Amber started laughing hysterically, “What’s his name? I want to look him up,” Joleigh clicked out of the first website, “His name is Graham Brentwood.”

  Joleigh looked at another article about his business and she put her hand over her mouth. His picture popped up of him in his office and he was definitely more handsome in person than he was in the picture, and she definitely liked him a lot more when his hair was a bit longer. As she stared at his picture, she stared into his eyes, something that she was afraid to do when he was standing in front of her. They were the most beautiful shade of green that she had ever seen in her life, and she began to feel butterflies growing in her stomach. “We’re going out for ice cream tonight, and now I kind of don’t want to go,” she closed out the browser and looked out the window. “What? Why wouldn’t you go with him? You said he was handsome and clearly he has enough money to take you out, so why wouldn’t you go?” Joleigh shook her head and watched the birds splash in the puddle of water near the water, biting her lip until it bled. “I have to stay home with Dad. I don’t think it’s a good idea to be out too late.” If Amber would buy her excuse, she would get to call the number on the card and cancel. She nodded her head, fully convincing herself that not going would be the best decision. “Umm, no. That is definitely not an excuse. You know that I’ll be here with your dad until you get back. What’s the real reason that you don’t want to go anymore, because when you called me you seemed very excited about going.” Joleigh sighed, wishing that for once Amber would allow her to not be social.