My Dad’s Billionaire Enemy

by Winters, Bella

  “Soon I’ll be the one helping you, and you’ll be staring at yourself in this mirror,” I joked, but Hailey shook her head with a smile.

  “You and I both know that he hasn’t proposed yet and that it’s a ways off. We’re taking things slow for the moment.”

  Leroi had become such a good person for Hailey. I knew he loved her very much, and despite what she might say, it was only a matter of time before he proposed.

  With shaking hands, I smoothed down the skirt of my dress.

  Malcolm had flown the two of us to Paris on two separate occasions— a month-long trip each time— to have the dress made by one of the haute couture houses there.

  It was made of the most beautiful silk, and the same fine mesh as my veil, with thousands upon thousands of handmade blossoms that were tinged pink in their very center. It fit me perfectly, because it had been made to my exact measurements, and I had never worn anything that felt like this before.

  I could see why people were willing to spend so much just to have clothing custom made for them. It moved with my body like water and once it was on it felt like nothing more than a slight breeze caressing my skin.

  I took in a deep breath, turning to Hailey so that she could hand me my bouquet. It was made of cherry blossoms and baby’s breath and made me look like a nymph that had just stepped out of the forest.

  Hailey, as my maid of honor, was dressed in a matching pink silk gown that hugged her body like she was a Grecian goddess. Her cheeks were bright and her eyes shone as she took a final moment to survey me.

  “I don’t know if he’s going to be able to breathe,” she said.

  “Him? What about me? I feel as if I’m going to pass out.” That wasn’t exactly true, but my whole body felt light at the prospect of now walking down the aisle.

  It felt like I had been waiting for this day my whole life, and now that I was here, it didn’t feel like it could be more than a dream.

  “You’re going to do great,” she said, placing a comforting hand on my shoulder. “He’s going to be there waiting for you, and I’ll be right at your side while it happens. I know that this will be wonderful, so just try to enjoy it, okay?”

  “Okay.” I inhaled deeply, then let it out as Hailey led me from the dressing room. I could hear the orchestra that Malcolm had hired, along with an organ player, playing some traditional wedding music as Hailey hurried to her place in the procession.

  I waited in the wings so that I wouldn’t be seen, an attendant standing nearby to give me my cue when necessary.

  I anxiously watched as the sets of groomsmen and bridesmaids walked down the aisle, then Charlotte— with the help of her nanny— spread flower petals as the flower girl. She looked confused by all that was going on around her but otherwise seemed genuinely happy to be getting so much attention.

  Then, there was my father.

  He was dressed in a clean and recently-pressed suit, and the smile on his face almost made me cry as he came up to me to take my arm.

  “My girl, my sweet Aurora, you look so beautiful,” he said. “You remind me of your mother so much. I wish that she could be here to see this day. I know that she would be so incredibly proud of you.”

  He took my arm in his own, patting my hand gently. I could feel him shaking beside me.

  “You know, I didn’t know if I was going to be happy when this day came,” he said as we waited by the entrance. “But I’ve quickly realized that there is no one else I would rather hand you off to, even with everything that happened.”

  He looked as if he was about to cry, and I was unsure what I might say to console him.

  I rested my forehead against his. “I’m so glad. I love you so much, and the fact that you’re handing me off is more than I could ever ask for.”

  “Of course my sweet girl. I’m glad that I’m around to see this day.” He pressed a gentle kiss to my forehead, and then the attendant signaled that it was our turn.

  We strode to the wide archway, and immediately there were gasps as the guests laid eyes on my dress.

  But the only person that I could see was Malcolm.

  It could have just been the feelings that were bubbling up in my chest, but he looked more handsome than I had ever seen him before. His dark silver hair was combed back in a way that showed off his angular face, and his blue eyes were visible even from where I stood.

  His dark blue suit fit him perfectly, and I knew that after this was all over he would show me the beautiful body that was beneath it again.

  And his smile.

  He looked at me as if there was no one else in the room, no one else in the world, no one else in the universe. He looked at me as if I was a saint, his salvation, and like he knew me deeply but still needed to know more.

  I knew then that there was no way this wouldn’t work, that no matter what troubles might arise and come our way we would be fine. The way he looked at me with love like I had never seen on any other living being’s face before. It was pure, it was beautiful, and it was mine.

  The music reached a crescendo and I stepped down the aisle with my father. One step, into a future of many.

  Excerpt

  A hot guy who’s a billionaire but also… a firefighter?

  Damn.

  Lance is a mystery.

  He’s the very definition of complicated.

  A playboy.

  Heir to the Dows fortune.

  But his inheritance is being held from him.

  Unless he finds a pretty little thing to… marry.

  Could I be that woman?

  Probably not.

  What if he offered me five million dollars to flash a wedding ring?

  Well, now we’re talking.

  The deal was for him to give me the money.

  Not his heart.

  And definitely not a baby.

  How the heck are we going to clean up this mess now?

  Lance

  I entered the fire station feeling like I was home again. There was something about the atmosphere of a fire station that really embraced me and made me feel alive. It was as if the time I spent away from there was just an intermission until I could be where I wanted to be. It had been my calling since I was ten years old and I’d never looked back.

  “Hey, Lance,” Davey Nelson said slapping me a high five as I entered the building. Davey was a newbie, but he was learning fast. One of the funniest guys around, he could always make you laugh without even trying. Half the time he didn’t even know he’d said something funny. The guy was just happy to have a job. He was newly married with a brand-new baby at home. I did not envy that situation at all.

  “How’s it going,” I asked Davey as I half turned to him. I didn’t really care, but I always liked to be polite. We had to operate as a family unit here. You didn’t want to piss off guys who most likely at one time or another would have your very life in their hands. That was the nature of the fire game.

  “Good,” Davey said wiping his eyes.

  “Ah, you look beat man. When did your shift start?”

  “Like an hour ago,” he said.

  I raised my eyebrows. “Damn, you better be drowning in coffee soon. You look like you are about to collapse, my friend.”

  “Yeah, the baby was up all night screaming her head off. There was nothing wrong as far as I could tell. I let Amy sleep, and I tried everything I could think of; I gave her a bottle, rocked her, sang to her, held her, I even drove her around the block for like a half hour—nothing worked. Finally, right about five this morning she conked out. So, I’m on about three hours sleep.”

  He seemed almost proud of it. I tried to sound supportive. “Um… yeah man. That’s pretty rough. But it’s totally worth it, right?”

  The man smiled from ear to ear. He looked as happy as anyone I’d ever seen. “Yeah. She’s my angel,” he said.

  “Glad to hear it,” I replied quickly. “Look I got to go get ready for my shift. I’ll talk to you later.”

  “Take i
t easy man.”

  I walked away from the conversation feeling a bit depressed. Talking to a new father and husband like Davey would do that to you. I was happy for the guy, but I honestly didn’t get the appeal. I was having too much fun being me, to even think about settling down and donning the dad hat. And I especially didn’t want to be anyone’s husband. Half of all marriages end in divorce, with the primary breadwinner paying a ton of cash to the other one, and then there’s child support. It was ridiculous. Plus, I’d seen what my parents went through in their marriage. They yelled and screamed at each other pretty much nonstop the entire time I was growing up. It was awful.

  I went to my locker and sat my stuff down, getting settled in. I hung up my coat and I pulled out my gym clothes, squared away for a good workout later, and then I went to the breakroom to grab some coffee. I had to start my morning right. I’d already gone for my morning jog as always, but the station had a great weight room in it. We were very lucky to have such a state-of-the-art gym in our very own firehouse.

  “How’s the morning crew?” I asked as I entered and headed for the coffee pot.

  A few of them murmured. They all looked unhappy to be there. I didn’t get that. I woke up every day pumped to come to work, but they were all sitting around practically whining about getting to do one of the coolest jobs on the planet where we might actually save some lives that day.

  I poured my coffee into one of the large Styrofoam cups. I turned around and leaned against the counter. I watched them all with a bit of pity as they tried to wake themselves up. I had to laugh.

  “Wow… you guys look really sad,” I said. “Why am I the only one who loves coming here in the morning?”

  Neil Watson grunted. “Because you are the only one who doesn’t have to come here,” he replied.

  “What is that supposed to mean?” I asked. I knew what he was getting at though. I’d heard it the entire time I’d been a firefighter.

  He grinned. “You know, since you don’t actually need a paycheck. You can just decide to leave if you really wanted to.”

  I got a bit testy when he said that. It was kind of true, but it was insulting to know that they thought I would just abandon my post like that.

  “Funny,” I said. “But I don’t see half of you putting in the effort to train like I do. I don’t see you taking the risks that I do out there in the field. I give this everything. Put my life on the line for you just as much as you do for me. I would never just up and leave it.”

  “Look, rich boy,” Neil said. “Don’t get so defensive. You have to admit I have a pretty good point here. Be honest, you get off on all the cowboy antics that put yourself and the rest of us in danger.”

  “I’ve never put any of you in danger. And the only time I put myself in danger is to save someone else. That’s bullshit, man. I’m not sure why you’re trying to talk down to me today, but it’s wearing thin.”

  Neil stood up just then. The prick. He had been busting my balls ever since I started with this ladder two years ago. We’d almost come to blows several times, but he always backed down. That was a wise decision on his part. But he seemed to constantly forget what a bad idea it was to poke the bear.

  “Or I’m going to kick your ass,” I said stepping across the lounge room towards him. Neil stepped forward ready to throw down. I was already clenching my fist. I was so ready to clock this fool. I’ve never put up with shit from anyone in my life. I didn’t care if I thought I could win the fight or not. If someone wanted to mess with me, they would regret it quickly.

  “Guys. Knock it off. You’ll both get canned for fighting, remember?”

  Tony Squier was standing between us now. Neil used it as an excuse to back down and go back to eating his breakfast, which looked like some fake, fast food garbage. Good for him.

  I went back to my coffee and relaxing against the counter. I continued to stare in Neil’s direction. I’d seen the fear in his eyes when he had stood up ready to fight me. It was the last thing he wanted. But his mouth was so good at writing checks his ass couldn’t cash that he constantly found himself in trouble. The guy was a borderline alcoholic and got in at least one drunken barfight every week. Mondays he would come into work with a new shiner, like clockwork.

  After a few minutes of staring at him, he finished his food quickly and then left the room tossing his trash in the bin next to me. He grunted at me as he walked by. I had to chuckle. What a goon.

  “Why do you get him so wound up like that?” Tony asked.

  “Because he’s an asshole,” I said. “And he started it.”

  “But he has a point. You know that never having to worry about money makes all the struggles of this job much easier to take. If you depended on this for your bread and butter, I think you would feel differently.”

  I shrugged. “I doubt it.”

  It was true that I was rich. I was rich beyond my wildest dreams, and I had not done much to really earn it. It was something I was not at all proud of, but it was what it was. My father was a very successful businessman. He’d made the bulk of it in real estate and had parlayed that success into the world of investing. He had invested in well over a hundred very lucrative corporations. One day, his fortune would be passed down to me.

  I was living in a house that used to belong to my grandfather, a wealthy businessman in his own right, and much of the money I lived on was paid as a monthly stipend from my father. But I had the feeling that he was getting tired of that handout. He wanted me to go into the business with him, and I had no interest. I didn’t care for business. I did what I loved for a living, but my father thought I was wasting my potential doing something that would probably get me killed at an early age.

  He kept hoping I would outgrow it and come around. But I was twenty-seven, happy, and I had no interest in changing anything about my life.

  “You totally would,” Jamie Devers said as she walked in. I’d barely noticed her, even though she was quite beautiful and often flirted with me. I was not about to date a woman I worked with, even if it wasn’t against company policy. I’d trained myself to ignore her. But she kept trying…

  I slowly glanced at her. She smiled and turned her head away a bit, trying to expose her long, slender neck to me. She was damn hot. I’d be blind not to notice such a thing, but I had rules in every area of my life. Don’t shit where you sleep, you know? Not gonna happen.

  “What makes you think that?” I asked.

  “There are days that are boring, that frustrate you and are hard to deal with. But, being anywhere when you don’t need the money, and don’t have to be there, takes all the pressure of “having to go to work”. You have to admit that.”

  I sighed. “Ok, I’ll buy some of that,” I said as I looked over at her. She was sitting down with her breakfast and looking a bit tired. “So, what did you get into this weekend?”

  I was a little curious, but mostly I just wanted to change the subject -off myself. The enthusiasm I had for what we did sometimes got to the rest of these guys and I tended to forget that. Yeah, if I did have to depend on the forty grand a year salary to pay my bills, there were bound to be aspects of the job that might get to me. But I knew my love and passion would always override that, regardless.

  “Wouldn’t you like to know,” she said.

  “I asked, didn’t I?”

  She took a bite of her breakfast sandwich and washed it down with a bit of coffee before responding. “I played in a golf tournament with a few friends.”

  “I didn’t know you played golf,” I said.

  “You never asked,” she replied coyly.

  “We should play sometime,” I said, without thinking it through. “I play at least once a week.”

  “You should get out more,” she replied. “I play at least three times a week, several times on the weekends.”

  “Well, what do you know?” I teased. “We spend so much time with each other and it turns out that we barely know each other. Now that is interesting.” />
  She gave me an eyebrow flash and smiled at me. “I’m glad you think so.”

  I smiled and grabbed my coffee. I headed out of the room, mostly because I suddenly did not like where this conversation was heading. Jamie and I were having a moment of connection. I wasn’t about to fire that sort of thing up. I had to remember that it was a bad idea.

  I didn’t want to date a coworker for a few reasons, but the biggest was of awkwardness when I ended things, because I always did. I did not want to fall in love. The next logical step from there would be marriage, and I did not want that kind of permanence.

  The rest of the day was pretty standard. We spent some time checking the equipment, trucks, and breathing apparatuses. I enjoyed this time of the day. It was fairly easy and it was a great bonding activity with the rest of the group. Then we did an hour of gym time.

  While working out, Jamie positioned herself right beside me. I noticed she’d changed into a tight tank top and shorts to workout in. She was doing her best today to entice me, and I was more than a little interested. But I couldn’t have any of this right now. I focused on my workout. I knew she was watching me and there was an electricity between her and I.

  Even though corporate had eased up on the no fraternization rule, it was still in place and it could still make your life miserable if you gave into it. I decided that Jamie needed a reminder from the seminar we had last month.

  “You keep flirting with me and people are going to talk,” I said.

  “Who’s flirting?” she asked.

  I laughed. “Oh, that’s the game? Total denial? Interesting.”

  She giggled and slid back under the bar.

  I did my best to ignore Jamie’s come-ons for the rest of my shift, but she kept throwing them at me. They were getting harder and harder to deflect, but I had to keep turning her down.

  By the time I finally ended my twenty-four-hour shift and made my way home, I was exhausted. I was drained like usual, but thankful there hadn’t been any calls. Some days, they don’t stop, that’s just the way of the job.