Billionaire Hearts Club- The Complete Series Collection

by Blake Andrews

  His mom looked at him, her lips becoming a thin line in her indignation. She wasn’t accustomed to being spoken to like this, especially not by her son. She’d never been told to step aside in all of the time she’d been working for the ranch, once it’d become an events venue. Doug believed she wanted to work there until the day she died, but he wanted to prevent such a thing from happening prematurely. He lost one parent when it could’ve been avoided; he wasn’t going to lose the other one in the same way.

  “Do you really think this girl is capable of taking over?” his mom asked, her voice icy and dubious. “So far, she’s seemed about as jumpy as a jackrabbit, and about as smart, too.”

  “Well, she’s nervous,” Doug said, feeling unabashed sympathy for Paige. He well knew what it was like to walk into a room and talk with his mother about things he didn’t know anything about up until then. Even though events were Paige’s career interest, it didn’t mean she was suddenly going to automatically know everything about the ranch she’d just set foot on.

  “It takes time to learn when you get a new job,” he pointed out. “She’s got a lot to learn if she’s going to pick up from wherever you leave off. But she can’t learn quickly if you won’t give her a chance.”

  His mom narrowed her eyes a bit as she looked at him. He wondered at first if he was getting through to her at all. “Fine,” she said at last. “I’ll give her a chance. But I still think this ought to be a trial period to see if we have a good match. She’s liable to get overwhelmed by all of the work she’ll have to do around here. And just wait until Bea gets under her skin the way she does to me.” His mom shook her head. “She’s got her work cut out for her.”

  Doug couldn’t help but smile a little. The good thing about Aunt Bea was that she’d been told her place and she’d stayed there. She took orders better than his mother ever did. Also, his aunt was going to have underlings to train and cede power to once they were ready, too. “I’m not as afraid of Aunt Bea as you seem to be,” he said. He knew his mom was a bit jealous of Beatrice’s successful restaurant and cookbooks. She was certainly the better known of the two sisters, though Doug didn’t think fame was as important as a job well done. His mother, he thought, shared that belief.

  “Oh, I’m not afraid of Bea,” his mom said, smiling amusedly at long last. He’d gotten awfully tired of all the scowling his mom did these days. Working on events had turned her into a real sourpuss, which was a problem considering she was a client-facing person on the ranch. At least she was good at turning her smile on and off when it was needed. “I just think your little whippersnapper coordinator might be once she starts working closely with her.”

  Doug smiled back at her. “I have a plan for it, too, though,” he said. “She’s going to have her own new crop of people who will learn from her and eventually take over. Paige will mainly be working with them, I reckon. She’ll be safe from the terror of your sister.”

  Helen continued to regard him skeptically. “I wouldn’t be so sure,” she said. “I know her tricks. If I were you, I’d inform Paige to be on her guard around her.”

  I’m pretty sure she’s on her guard around all of us now, Doug thought. Because of you. He wasn’t going to say this, though. He didn’t want to start a new argument. He was content that his mother now knew the coordinator was going to be hired on for good and she didn’t have a say in the matter. He just hoped she would calm down around her in time. He supposed his mom needed to be trained in training someone…

  He got back to work once his mom left his office to resume her own work and he hoped she’d go easier on Paige now so he wouldn’t have to keep policing her. I wonder if we should go out for dinner, he thought, thinking it could be a nice way to end a fairly stressful week. We could invite Paige along, and some of the other new recruits. It could be like a team-building sort of thing. He’d heard those kinds of activities were helpful in creating a more collaborative work environment.

  As soon as the workday was done, Doug came out of his office just in time to catch Paige in the hallway, slinging her purse strap across her shoulder in preparation for leaving. “Hi,” he said to her, a bit breathless with surprise at seeing her right on cue.

  “Hi,” she said back to him, smiling and blushing slightly. He wondered if she knew he always noticed her little blushes. He thought they were adorable.

  “I was just thinking it might be a good idea for a bunch of us to go and get dinner somewhere,” he said. “It doesn’t have to be anything formal. It’s just a good idea to get to know everyone a bit better so we can feel more like a team. What do you say? Are you free this evening? Don’t let me keep you if you aren’t…”

  She looked at him thoughtfully, blinking rapidly in her surprise. “Oh, um… I’m free. Who would be coming out with us?”

  Doug beamed at her. “Great. Well, you’re the first person I’ve asked, so I’ll see.”

  Paige laughed softly. “Okay.”

  “Okay,” he said. “Great.”

  He awkwardly walked down the hall away from here, giddy, and found his mom and aunt so he could tell them his plan. He also managed to find the new people in the catering crew, so it all worked out well for him. But inwardly he knew the main person he wanted to see at dinner…

  Everyone agreed to meet up at Beatrice’s barbeque restaurant – she was keen to show off to the new employees – and they sat at one long table near the center of the eatery’s space. Doug made sure to situate himself across from Paige, hoping they might be able to chat some of the time while they were there.

  I don’t want her to think I only hired her because I think she’s pretty, he thought as he looked through the menu in an effort to avert his eyes. But it’s a good thing I’m not going to be working directly with her.

  When the food arrived, everyone was quick to praise Beatrice. Doug was happy to see everyone was getting along and relaxing together, even Bea and Helen. “Oh, this recipe has been in the family for generations,” Aunt Bea pointed out modestly. “I may have improved things here and there, but at its heart, it’s a classic.”

  “Like you, Aunt Bea,” Doug said to her with a smile.

  He often wondered if she regretted saying goodbye to her restaurant so she could come and work at the ranch. If she did, she never said so. Like Helen, she was full of an awful lot of pride so she likely didn’t want to seem sad to have changed gears later in life.

  They all raised their glasses and drank to Aunt Bea being a classic. Doug noticed his mom was still being a bit surly, but he thought it had more to do with work concerns and less to do with her hating on her sister. She still raised her glass with the others, after all.

  “What do you think of the food?” Doug asked Paige, noticing she had ordered the pulled pork sandwich, one of his favorites.

  She finished her bite and wiped the barbeque sauce off her lips and cheeks before responding with a smile. “It’s sooo good!” she said to him. “I’ve actually been meaning to stop into this place for a while. I used to come here a lot with my parents.”

  He smiled and nodded his head. He always liked to hear families enjoyed his family’s businesses. This is what sets our town apart from a lot of other places. Everyone’s family here. “I’m glad I was able to bring you back then. Did you know my aunt is the founder and the original BBQ Bea?”

  Paige shook her head, blushing again in that cute way. “I probably should’ve looked it up on the ranch’s website, but I was so focused on the events part of the page.”

  Doug chuckled. “It’s all right. We can’t expect you to know everything right off the bat.”

  He noticed she looked at his aunt with awe instead of fear, and he wondered if he should’ve put her in Aunt Bea’s charge instead of his mother’s. Then again, they would have fought over it because Helen was the one in charge of event planning and he didn’t wish to open that can of worms ever again.

  Chapter Eight

  Paige didn’t know what to make of Mr. Crofton. He seemed
like a sweet man, but he was also a bit awkward around her. She knew he had a lot on his plate, what with his mother’s cold behavior and all of the new employees he was trying to be welcoming towards. She’d been working on the ranch for a while now, but it remained a mystery to her. She was often so busy helping Mrs. Crofton with the event planning she didn’t have time to ask questions about the history of the place. Since Mr. Crofton had acted friendly towards her at the dinner they had recently, she wondered if it might be better to ask him about it.

  Ever since he’d had a chat with his mother, things had improved with her, but the older woman was still a bit stiff with Paige. It was clear she didn’t wish to be sharing the role but she was making do as best as she could. It was an adjustment period for both of them. But Paige was still living in constant fear and doubt about whether or not she was going to be able to keep this job.

  Aside from Mr. Crofton – I’m supposed to refer to him as Doug, she reminded herself – Paige had been able to get to know a few of the other people who worked at the ranch. The new hires who got to work with Beatrice Snyder were so lucky and she was jealous of them, though she didn’t really have any desire to get into catering. She’d never been one for cooking, though she loved eating and she could imagine the wonderful barbeque smells alone, making it all worthwhile. One of the workers who worked with Beatrice wasn’t a new hire, though; at least, Paige didn’t believe so. She was an older woman, a little younger than Bea. She didn’t act as subservient as the new hires did. Paige hoped to get to know this woman and see what she might be able to learn from her.

  A few days after the whole staff of the ranch went out to dinner together, Paige miraculously found some time to go and introduce herself to the woman who worked on the catering staff. She met her in the kitchen, where she was working on cleaning some pots and pans.

  “Hello,” Paige said to her with a friendly smile. She felt much less nervous about meeting her, because she didn’t really have the ability to fire her like Helen did. “I don’t believe we’ve been introduced yet. I saw you at dinner the other night. I’m Paige Lancaster; I work in events coordinating.”

  She offered her hand to the other woman, who gladly took and shook it. “I’m June Banks. It’s nice to meet you.”

  Paige jumped right in and helped her with the pot cleaning; she knew a thing or two about that from her years of helping her mom in the kitchen, even if she didn’t know how to actually cook much. “I was hoping I might be able to find a friendly face here. Mr. Crofton is very kind to me, but he’s always so busy… And Mrs. Crofton…”

  “Oh yes, I understand,” June said to her. “I’ve been Bea’s assistant chef for longer than this place has been an events venue. I used to work over at Bea’s BBQ and she asked me to come over here with her when she started. She and her sister do not get along, which is why Doug wanted to find someone new to take over.”

  Paige was slightly surprised to hear this. She didn’t know anything about the two sisters not getting along. Ever since she’d started, things had been more about Helen not getting along with her. She wondered if the older woman was just like that, though. It seemed to be the case. “I imagine it’s difficult to run things if there’s constant bickering going on here,” she said a bit sympathetically. “I know I for one am constantly wondering if I’m going to be fired for looking at Mrs. Crofton wrong.”

  June chuckled a little, shaking her head. “She may seem tough as nails, but there’s no way she would actually fire you. She knows Doug likes you, and I do think deep down she appreciates the help you give her. Oh, you’ll never hear it from her, but she does. She’s been a lot calmer ever since you showed up.”

  Paige smiled, feeling a small victory. “Did something happen to her right before I arrived? I’ve noticed she uses a cane and Doug treats her a bit protectively…”

  “I think this is what prompted him to hire you and the others,” June explained. “Helen suffered a heart attack after a heated argument with her sister. Mr. Crofton, Doug’s father, died the very same way. Not from fighting with Bea; from a heart attack. This is why Doug wants his mother to calm down and stop having such an ego trip about every event that’s hosted here.”

  Paige frowned, feeling terrible even just to hear about it. She could understand him wanting to protect his mother now, and how it was difficult with her attitude. “I guess this is an extra reason for me to stay out of her way,” she said. “I do my best to please her and do what she asks, but she gets so impatient with me sometimes.”

  “It runs in their genes,” June replied. “Bea and Helen, anyway. Doug managed to get calm genes. I don’t know from where. Perhaps from osmosis when he was married to Roxanne.”

  This was also news to Paige. She’d never heard anyone mention Doug being married. She felt somewhat uncomfortable discussing it with someone other than him, though. Even though she was itching to know more about it, she thought perhaps waiting for it to naturally come up by him in a conversation was a better idea. She didn’t want to be rude or nosy.

  “Interesting,” she said to June, trying to leave it for now so she could respect their boss’s privacy. “Well, thank you for speaking with me. I hope we can be friends here. I know I could use some.”

  June smiled at her, nodding. “I would like that as well. It can get lonely here sometimes, being in their shadows. They will be retiring soon, though. Hopefully whoever gets to take over will be nicer.”

  This was also interesting information for Paige. She nodded her head back at June and then left the room, going back into the planning area so she could keep working on the tasks Helen had asked her to help with.

  “I finally made a friend at work,” she texted her friends later that afternoon, right before heading home. “Her name is June and she’s an assistant chef.”

  “Cute!” Emily texted her back. “It’s always good to have some coworker friends.”

  “Are you trying to replace us? ;)” Kat texted.

  Paige laughed, closing her car door and putting on her seat belt. “Not at all. It’s exactly like Em said. It can get awfully lonely here otherwise.”

  She put her phone away into the recesses of her purse and then carefully drove back to her parents’ house. One good thing she’d say about her new job was it paid well enough for her to start saving up for a house of her own. She’d really wanted to be as independent as she liked to believe she was, but she wouldn’t be able to do so until she left the protective cocoon of her childhood home.

  Her parents would never say so to her, but she knew they were ready for her to move out, too. She never got in their way, but the home was theirs and they deserved to make of it what they wanted without her hogging some of the rooms and space.

  As soon as she got back home, she went into her room and got back to texting with her friends.

  “I still miss you at GeNome,” Iris texted. “Tessa is always complaining about her new admin assistant, so it’s safe to say you were a favorite here.”

  Paige smiled reading that. It was always nice to hear she was appreciated and missed. Even though the job at the ranch was more difficult than she’d anticipated, she still didn’t want to change her mind and go back to being an admin’s assistant. Every job has wrinkles to iron out at first, she thought. I’m getting there.

  “I appreciate you helping me get the job at GeNome,” she texted for Iris. “It was a good experience, even if it wasn’t quite the one for me. I think things will get easier the longer I work at Stony Creek.”

  It wasn’t enough for her to just text her friends, though. Paige missed them. It had been a long time since she’d last hung out with them in the same place. She went out of her room and found her mom in the kitchen. “Hey Momma,” she said, giving her mom a peck on the cheek. “Would it be okay if I went out with my friends tonight instead of eating dinner here?”

  Her mom didn’t seem bothered in the slightest. “Of course, dear,” she said to her sweetly. “Have fun. Tell them your dad and
I say hello.”

  Paige smiled appreciatively at her mom. She was grateful she was never made to feel like a burden, though she often made herself think she was one anyway. “I will,” she promised. She headed back out to the car. She’d forgotten to change out of her clothes from work, but she doubted her friends would mind.

  “Meet me at Zza?” she texted her friends. “I miss your faces.”

  “LOL, okay,” Kat texted.

  “We miss YOUR face,” Emily added at exactly the same time, which made Paige extra touched.

  She couldn’t believe she was fortunate enough to have not only one but three close friends who were willing to drop everything and be there for her when she asked them to. She was also fortunate she didn’t have any dramatic reason to need to see them; she just wanted to spend time with them and see how they’d been over the past few weeks. She had a lot to update them on about Stony Creek Ranch and the odd people who worked there.

  Okay, I also want to tell them about Doug, she thought. But they’ll probably pressure me into flirting with him, even though he apparently has a wife? Or something?

  She knew she was going to need to ask him about that, but she didn’t know how. Perhaps her friends would be able to offer her some advice. June spoke of Doug’s wife in the past tense, so Paige wondered what had become of her… She knew it would be a tricky conversation to initiate.

  Since her friends had agreed to meet with her at the popular pizza place, Paige drove there and went inside, staking out a nice booth for them to sit in and gossip. She didn’t bother getting into line and ordering a pizza because it would be better to line up with her friends and chat while they waited. Truth be told, Paige always hated standing alone in lines. They made her feel awkward and lonely, which was weird considering a line meant she wasn’t alone. She supposed she just didn’t like being surrounded by strangers who didn’t have anything to talk about with her to pass the time.