by Zoe Piper
Table of Contents
AUTHORS NOTE
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
Epilogue
Acknowledgements
About the Author
Winning Love’s Lottery
Zoe Piper
Copyright © 2018 Zoe Piper
All rights reserved. No part of this story may be used, reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission of the copyright holder, except in the case of brief quotations embodied within critical reviews and articles.
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used factiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organisations is entirely coincidental.
Published by Apollo8 Publishing
All products and/or brands mentioned are registered trademarks of their respective holders/companies.
Cover design: Morningstar Ashley, Five Star Designs
https://www.facebook.com/FiveStarGraphicDesigns/
Editor: Jenni Lea, Proof Your Love
https://www.facebook.com/ProofYourLove/
Professional Beta Reading: Leslie Copeland, LesCourt Author Services
https://www.facebook.com/SupportingYourBoys/
Proofreading: BM Edits
ISBN-13:
978-0473426835
ISBN-10:
0473426838
Contents
AUTHORS NOTE
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
Epilogue
Acknowledgements
About the Author
Authors Note
This book is set in New Zealand and as a result uses New Zealand English spelling and grammar, except in the case of the Texan who's moved there.
Chapter 1
The rhythmic sound of feet slapping against concrete echoed the beat pumping through Jase MacKenzie’s headphones as he made his way along the waterfront of Auckland’s harbour. The sun was making an appearance and it looked like it was going to be a blue sky, early spring day in the City of Sails. The smell of the ocean was sharp in the air as it gently rolled onto the beach.
Completely in his running zone, mind floating as he made his way towards home, his zen-like mood was abruptly interrupted by the music shutting off at the sound of Matt’s personalised ringtone. Cursing under his breath, Jase slowed his pace and answered the call, using the small microphone on the headphone.
“Morning brother.” He panted into the phone. “Why are you calling me so early?”
“Oh God, have I called at a really bad time? Why are you breathing so heavy? No, don’t answer that, I-I’ll call you back later.” The horrified voice of his older brother came down the line.
Jase laughed. “Calm down you idiot. I’m out running, not doing anything exciting like you’re imagining.”
“Oh, well, thank fuck for that. I don’t need that visual at this hour of the day,” Matt replied. “So, why are you out before seven in the morning?”
“Woke up early and decided to get a head start on the day. Why are you up so early and calling me?”
“Got an early meeting in the city and now I’m sitting in traffic, not moving, so I thought I’d call my favourite brother and check we’re still on for tonight?” Matt's voice sounded tinny as it echoed through his car’s hands-free system.
Jase grinned as he reached his house and stopped to lean against the wall at the front, using its support to stretch out his calf muscles and quads. “I’m your only brother,” he said wryly, “and yes, we are still on for tonight. Are you sure you’re happy to hang out with us for Stuart’s birthday?”
“Of course I’m sure. Why wouldn’t I be?” Matt’s confused tone made Jase smile again.
“Well, you know half the gang heading out tonight are gay which means at some point we will probably end up in an establishment that has a clientele that’s not one hundred percent straight.”
Matt’s snort of disgust came down the phone. “Really Jase?” He asked in an aggrieved tone. “You know I have never had a problem with you being gay, so it goes without saying that I’m fine with a lot of your friends being gay. Have I ever given you a reason to doubt that?”
Jase realised he had annoyed his brother and rushed to assure him. “No, you’re right, I’m just winding you up for interrupting my run.”
“Well then, consider me wound up,” his brother retorted grumpily.
Jase changed the subject. “So, are you bringing anyone with you tonight?”
“Nah, don’t have anyone I’d want to bring and it’s not really fair to introduce someone new on an occasion like a friend's thirtieth birthday,” Matt replied.
“What happened to Kara?” Jase asked. “I thought you really liked her?”
“I do, but… well… you know,” Matt hedged.
Jase sighed as he headed up the path to his front door. “What did you do?”
“Nothing?” Came the unsure reply.
“Uh huh. Nothing? That’s probably right.” Jase fished his front door key out of his wristband.
“What do you mean?” Matt asked.
“What I mean, brother, is that you didn’t do anything, did you? You went out a few times, probably with your mates as a group, then you pushed for something more and she started not being available. Am I right?”
Matt sighed down the phone. "Yeah, I suppose you’re right. I know I should have done more and paid her more attention but, to be honest, I got scared.”
“Scared of what?” Jase interrupted. “Scared of being a grown up and having a real relationship that is more than a few dates and sex?” He continued as he pushed his way into his house and turned off the alarm. “It’s all very well having a good job, decent money and a flash car, Matt, but you’ll end up lonely. You’re thirty-three. You’re not getting any younger.”
“Ha! You’re a fine one to talk,” Matt retorted. “You’re only three years younger than me and you can’t even say you have a proper job, let alone I can’t remember your last relationship.”
Jase paused in his hallway, toeing off his shoes and shrugging out of his light running jacket. He sighed as he realised his brother was about to start another discussion on how he perceived Jase's life.
As calmly as he could, he replied to his brother. “I have a proper job.”
Matt snorted. “Working part-time for some rich dude's foundation trust, doing his admin scut, is not a proper job, Jase. You could run rings around any business manager I have come across, yet you don’t use half the skills you have.”
Jase groaned and ran his fingers through his sweat-dampened dark hair. “Matt, I’m not having this discussion now or, in fact, ever again. I’ve explained more times than I can count that I enjoy wha
t I do, I earn enough to live on and really, it’s no one else’s business but mine.”
“You’ll never get anywhere, Jase, if you don’t earn more. Christ, even your house is owned by the Sherwood Foundation. What assets do you actually have? You turn thirty in a few months' time. You really—”
“Matt, that’s enough. I’m hanging up now. I need a shower before I head into the city myself, and you’re supposed to be concentrating on driving.”
“Fine. But this conversation is not done.” Matt growled back.
“Yes. It. Is.” Jase said between clenched teeth. “See you tonight at the restaurant.” He hung up his phone, unplugging it from his headphones before he threw it on to the kitchen counter, as he headed to the fridge to grab a water. His brother and his family could be so infuriating at times but unfortunately, they didn’t know the truth behind Jase’s job and he felt if they did, things could be even worse than they were now.
As Jase stood under the stinging spray of his shower, he let the conversation with his brother run through his mind. It really did frustrate him that his family—and a lot of his friends, if truth be told—thought he was wasting his talents working for the Sherwood Foundation and volunteering at a number of local charities that couldn't really afford business services. However, he only had himself to blame as he had never told them the 'rich dude', to use Matt's words, who set up the Foundation was actually Jase himself.
Nearly twelve years ago, a week after his eighteenth birthday, Jase had won the lottery. A ticket bought on a whim as a birthday treat for himself had won. He had become a multi-millionaire at eighteen, winning twenty-five million dollars plus change and the only people that knew were his accountant, his lawyer and his former high school Business Studies teacher, Peter Harris. He had decided to stay anonymous when given the option by the Lotteries Commission. He’d been overwhelmed by it all, and at the time, had felt that the fewer people that knew the better.
He finished his shower and dried off in front of the mirror. His dark green eyes stared back at him as he cleaned his teeth and moved on to the rest of his morning routine. He didn't fuss too much with his hair, preferring to brush back the dark curls while damp and let it dry naturally and fall where it would. He noted he needed a haircut and decided he would style it later before he headed out for the evening, but it was presentable enough for his work day. He also left the faint shadow of his beard, wanting a bit of scruff for later.
After a quick breakfast, he picked up his keys, wallet and phone and headed out to work. Fortunately, the small office where the Sherwood Foundation was based had three coveted carparks. A luxury in the central business district and Jase was assigned one of them. He pointed his nondescript, ten-year-old sedan towards the city, enjoying the fact he got to view the sun sparkling off the sea running alongside the route and he didn't have to sit on the motorway, crawling his way in like Matt was currently doing.
Fifteen minutes later, he pulled into the small carpark behind the building housing the offices for the Sherwood Foundation as well as a small accounting company and a two-person law firm. Both firms worked with the Foundation and it was handy having them on site.
He let himself into the small lobby and then headed to the back of the single-level building. The suite that the Sherwood Foundation occupied had two small offices, a general reception space and a mid-size meeting room. They shared a kitchen and other facilities with their neighbours and the arrangement worked well.
"Good morning Peter," Jase called out as he pushed open the office door. "How are you this morning?"
"Jase, good morning. I’m well, thank you," Peter Harris replied. Peter was the chief administrator for the Foundation as well as Jase's personal trust. Peter had been the Business Studies teacher at Jase's high school, and when Jase had suddenly found himself with more money than he could spend in ten lifetimes, he had turned to the one person he felt he could trust to be unbiased and give him the advice he desperately needed.
As Jase set his phone and keys on his desk, Peter smiled at him. "Are you all set for today's meeting at the Hilton?"
Jase grinned back. "Yep, got most of the details sorted and just have to go over some of the finer points and confirm the layout of the ballroom. I'm due over there at about two o'clock, so I'm going to go through anything new that has come in and then I'll head out and grab lunch on the way. Is that okay with you? Did you have something you needed me to work on this morning?"
"No, it looks like you have the Christmas Gala under control and I can handle anything that does come in," Peter replied.
Jase was organising a Christmas Gala Ball, which honoured the hard work done by the people who ran the charities the Sherwood Foundation supported, as well as some of the organisations that applied for sponsorship grants for various projects throughout the year. It also doubled as a fundraiser with the proceeds being split between the Central City Homeless Centre and its offshoot, a centre for homeless LGBTQ youth.
Matt thought that Jase didn't utilise his business management degree and skills to their full potential, but savvy investing by Jase, along with the advice from Peter and his other foundation and trust board members, meant that the Sherwood Foundation would be around for many years to come and Jase's original win was now worth nearly double in value.
As Jase booted up his computer and waited for his emails to load, he mused back to when he had won the money. He had turned eighteen the week before and had decided to come out to his family and friends. He had known for a while he was gay as he felt no attraction for the girl's netball team but had rather enjoyed watching the boy's rugby team practices after school a lot more. A little experimenting with the captain of said rugby team had confirmed his suspicions. His family had been a little shocked, but the initial reaction had soon worn off and they had supported him ever since. Most of his friends had been the same, but there had been one or two that had decided they didn't want to hang out with a gay guy and Jase had not missed them.
He had decided to celebrate his birthday and the decision to come out by treating himself. He had been in a large, faceless mall, wandering around when he had seen the sign advertising the jackpot draw. On a whim, he had bought a ticket and put it in his wallet and then completely forgotten about it. It had been two weeks later, after much publicity about the winner having not come forward, he had remembered the ticket in his wallet and had gone online to check it. At first, he couldn't believe it and had checked again. He had then taken his ticket to school and asked Peter to confirm it.
It wasn't that Jase didn't trust his family, but he had felt at the time that he would have become Jase, the lottery winner, rather than Jase, son and brother. His parents wouldn’t have taken advantage, but they certainly would have tried to influence him, and he maybe wouldn't have been able to make all the decisions he had made. Besides, they had still been coming to terms with the whole gay son thing, and he hadn’t wanted to add fuel to the fire.
He had chosen his Business Studies teacher as they had discussed this very scenario in class a few months before. One of the boys in the class had been crowing about the fact his parents had won a minor prize of twenty thousand dollars in the lottery draw that past weekend. Mr Harris had turned the lesson into an in-depth discussion as to what each person in the class would do if they had personally won a large amount of money. Most of the seventeen and eighteen-year-olds had chosen cars and holidays. A lot of the girls had chosen shopping trips in Sydney. A few had mentioned using it to pay their university fees and putting some aside for a house in the future.
"Sir, what would you do if you won?" One of the boys had asked their teacher.
Peter had smiled and replied. "Well, first of all, I wouldn't tell anyone I’d won."
"What, no one?" Another classmate had interrupted.
"That's right. I would keep it to myself at first. At least for a week or so to let the idea sink in. I would then set up a trust with only a few select people knowing. People can change so much when the
y know you have money. You will never know if people like you for you or whether they like you for your money. I wouldn't flaunt my wealth and I'd arrange for a small monthly allowance, so I wouldn’t have to worry about bills, but I’d still work, maybe reducing my hours to part-time."
A few of the students had laughed at this idea, but it had stuck with Jase and when, a few months later, the exact thing happened to him, he knew Peter Harris was the best person to talk to. Jase had put the money straight away into a trust and arranged things, so he wouldn't have full access to it until he turned thirty, which was now less than five months away. He had asked Peter to head up the trust and be its chief administrator. At first, the job hadn't involved much as Jase had done his best to forget the money and focused on getting his business degree. He had then headed to London on his OE, his overseas experience, a tradition with many young New Zealanders. He had worked odd jobs and toured and seen the sights of Europe.
On his return to New Zealand at the age of twenty-four, he had decided that he wanted to do something worthwhile with his fortune, so he had convinced Peter to take early retirement from teaching and help him set up the Sherwood Foundation and start working towards helping smaller charities and causes that needed assistance. On paper, Peter was the head of the Foundation and Jase the paid, part-time administrator. Together they worked between thirty and forty hours a week, following up on applications and administering funds to causes they felt needed it the most. Over the years Jase had found some smaller organisations that had poor business practices and limited funds to hire someone to help them. As a result, he had volunteered his skills and now assisted several people with their finances and administration.
"Jase, may I have a quick word?” Jase, jolted out of his reverie, looked up to see Peter standing in front of his desk, holding out a cup of coffee for him to take. He accepted the proffered cup with a nod to his mentor. "Have you thought about what’s going to happen in January when you turn thirty?" Peter asked, settling himself into the chair opposite Jase's desk.
