The Hot Billionaires Box Set

by Nella Tyler

  I’d thought about trying to sell it for my father, since he has no use for it now whatsoever, however, it was too old and too cheap to be worth anything at this point. So, there in the corner of the den it would remain.

  The second I had my father settled in the recliner, there was a knock at the door. I grumbled, not wanting to have company being that it was hard enough for my father and I to keep the conversation light.

  However, when I answered the door, I was happy to see that it was Hayden. “Your father is out of the hospital, right?”

  “Damn, word travels fast.” I stepped aside to let him in.

  “Yeah. Small town. Everyone knows your business. You know that. Besides, my father made it a point to ensure that the hardware store was for men as the beauty parlor was for women. The old man loved his gossip…” He chuckled. “When he passed, his legacy for swapping rumors remained.”

  “Well, I’m glad you’re here and I’m sure my dad’ll be happy to see you,” I replied earnestly.

  “Who is it, Tim?” my father called from his recliner.

  “Hayden. He came to see you!”

  “Why? I’m doing better; I ain't dying!”

  Hayden laughed and started toward the living room. “Of course, not!” he called. “You ain't never gonna die!”

  “Damn straight!” my father assured with confidence.

  The two of them immediately entered into conversation that I was no part of. I watched them for a moment, unable to help the same sting of jealousy I’d felt as a kid when I saw my father blossoming into the life of the party, talking to everyone but me.

  I sighed and pushed the thought that Hayden would’ve been my father’s ideal son out of my head. After all, like myself, my father could talk to a wall and earn its favor, but he always had as hard a time talking to me as I had talking to him. Maybe that’s where I get it from.

  Knowing that their conversation would only be hindered by anything I tried to interject, I went into the kitchen to sort my father’s medicines. When I brought his pills out to him, the conversation Hayden and my father was having abruptly stopped, making it instantly awkward.

  “So, I was wondering if you would like to go fishing, once you’ve got your father settled,” Hayden inquired with a grin.

  Strangely enough, I wanted to go and it wasn’t simply to get away from my father or to catch up with Hayden. I genuinely wanted to go fishing. What the hell is wrong with me? I thought, knowing that I had to work and thus, couldn’t go, anyway.

  “I’m sorry, dude. I have some work stuff to catch up on,” I answered in a manner more prone to our teenage jargon than I intended.

  “I’ll go with you! It’ll get me out of the house!” my father spoke up, excitedly.

  I glared at him, in sheer disbelief. “You can’t go, Dad. You just got back from the hospital. You’re on pain meds—”

  “Oh, come on, Tim,” Hayden interrupted. “He’s not driving, and I can help him with whatever he needs.”

  “What if he falls in?”

  Hayden tried to hold back laughter. “I think you have to come to the lake again, buddy. It’s like, four feet where we go fishing. He’ll be fine!”

  I looked between them, once again having the annoying feeling of the roles being reversed. I narrowed my eyes at them. “Make sure you watch him, okay, Hayden?”

  “I promise to be good.” My father cackled in a condescending way. “I mean, as happy as I am that you care, I’ve lived this long without you. I think I know what I can and cannot do,” he huffed.

  “Fine,” I answered, throwing my hands up in the air, knowing I was outnumbered.

  Hayden grinned and I got the feeling that he was using this opportunity to connect with his own father, in a manner of speaking. He had always been close to my father, closer than I had ever been, and even though Hayden’s father was always in his life, Phil was definitely another father-figure to Hayden.

  So, the two of them were off as hastily as my father could go, I guessed before I could change my mind or think of another argument. When they had left, I took advantage of the quiet for a moment before I headed out the door myself, back to the coffee shop. It wasn’t great, but I knew that was still my best bet for getting work done.

  However, while I was there, I was continuously distracted by the memory of my father and Hayden. I would have liked to think that he was ornery from getting out of the hospital and simply happy to see another face besides mine. However, that was how it had always been. My father was always good at talking to everyone, was up for anything – except for when it came to me.

  That thought led to others, concerning my accomplishments. I had done more with my life so far than most had done in generations. Already, I had built a legacy, but my father didn’t care about that. He never even tried to understand it. Even if he didn’t understand it, I couldn’t fathom why he couldn’t simply be proud of me, knowing that what I did made me happy and I was good at it.

  I grumbled, frustrated by the issues with the system and my own personal Hell. I can’t wait to go home. I wondered momentarily if Hayden would take over caring for my father.

  However, feeling guilty for even the brief consideration, I shook the thought out of my head and returned my attention to the program.

  Chapter 14

  Jenna

  It was strange, having the day off from work in the middle of the week. I think the last time that had happened, I was an undergrad. However, knowing that I had the day off, I made sure all of my alarms were off and tried to sleep in for a little while.

  It worked, kind of. I slept a little later than I normally did, but my internal clock was so programmed that any variation was nearly impossible. I rolled over and lay in bed, staring at the ceiling for a moment, trying to remember how to truly relax. I sighed and felt a sneer spread across my features, nestling my head deeper into the pillow.

  Right when I closed my eyes and thought that I might actually have a shot at catching up on about three years’ worth of much-needed sleep, there was a knock at the door.

  My eyes popped open and I sat up, suddenly terrified that in my moment of relaxation, I had forgotten something crucial. I looked at my phone but hadn’t missed any calls, so I relaxed a little.

  “Just a minute!” I called, making sure I was decent before I answered the door.

  “Good morning, Aunt Jenna!” Kassie exclaimed in a burst the moment I opened the door.

  I grinned at her. “Good morning, Sweetie,” I answered as she ran into my arms. Hugging her and picking her up, I looked at my sister. “What brings you here so early?”

  Michelle laughed. “This is early? Ha! I’ve already put in half a day. Did you just wake up?”

  “Yeah. For the first time since undergrad, I was able to shut off my alarm.”

  Again, Michelle burst out in genuine, albeit sardonic humor. “Right. Well, enjoy it. I have a four-year-old as my alarm and there is no turning her off!”

  “I love you, Mommy!” Kassie giggled as she leaned her head back with a wide grin spreading across her face.

  “I love you too, baby.” Michelle grinned, moving in close, kissing Kassie and tickling her. We all went inside as Michelle reclaimed her toddler, who was still laughing hysterically.

  “Speaking of undergrad…you live like a professional college student.” Michelle commented, looking around the house as she put Kassie down.

  “And you wonder why I never have Mom and Dad over here,” I retorted. “And besides, it’s only me – who do I have to impress?”

  “I wish you’d get somebody to impress because I feel like the next time I come here, I am going to have to wade through piles of canned cat food and litter boxes.”

  I turned and narrowed my eyes, self-consciously picking up the throw that was bunched up on the corner of the couch and laying it over the top, trying to make it look neater. “Michelle, I don’t even have time for cats.”

  “That’s a relief, because you are an old maid, creepy
cat lady in the making, if I ever saw one.”

  “You’re getting a kitty?” Kassie exclaimed as her eyes grew wide with excitement.

  “No, sweetie,” I answered. “But if you really want a kitty, I’m sure Santa can arrange it for Christmas this year.” My grin was wicked as I glanced at my sister.

  “No. Santa can’t get you a cat, sweetie.” She glared back at me with a look that assured me she would kill me.

  “Don’t worry, Kassie, Mommy doesn’t own Santa.”

  “Yay!” she exclaimed, running into the kitchen, as Michelle yanked me back.

  “If the fat man knows what’s good for him, he will keep anything living out from underneath our tree, or so help me…”

  “Relax,” I teased. “She’ll forget about it.”

  “And if she doesn’t?”

  “Then, I guess it will be me wading through litter boxes when I come to your house after the holidays,” I responded quickly, raising my eyebrows as my lips curled upwards with the sweet assurance of victory.

  With narrowed eyes, she growled under her breath, but let the conversation go. I knew she was hoping that this would be the end of it and if she was nice, maybe it would be.

  I followed Kassie into the kitchen and grabbed cereal. Again, her eyes lit up with excitement. I offered Michelle a bowl, but she scoffed at it. I didn’t even have to ask Kassie to know she would want some.

  “I think you got your wonderful taste from me, Kassie. Mommy is boring,” I teased.

  “Mommy is healthy. Aunt Jenna isn’t gonna have teeth by the time she’s thirty.”

  Kassie looked back at me with horror. I quickly consoled her. “Trust me, I’ll be fine and so will you.”

  “She knows what she’s talking about, Mommy. Aunt Jenna’s a doctor,” she insisted with confidence as I passed her a heaping bowl. I knew Michelle wanted to say something about the amount of food I gave her, but instead, she simply rolled her eyes.

  “Oh! Did I tell you, I have a date tomorrow night?” I replied as I took a spoonful of my own cereal, mentally lamenting that I will probably miss my show this morning.

  “What?” Michelle’s eyes grew wide with interest. “With?”

  “Tim Meck.” I proceeded to tell her the story of how the date came to be and how that lead to me having the rest of the week off. The deeper I delved into my story, the bigger Michelle’s smile grew.

  “This is going to be great!” she exclaimed when I was finished. “But, before you go on that date, you have a lot of work to do!”

  I narrowed my eyes. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  Michelle simply grinned, so I looked at Kassie, who only shrugged her shoulders at my confusion. She looked at her mom.

  “Didn’t Aunt Jenna say she’s off from work?”

  “Just leave it to me!” Michelle insisted and even though I had no idea what she meant by that, I was fairly certain I wasn’t going to like it.

  Three hours in, I realized I had underestimated the disdain I was going to have for Michelle’s evil plot to make, “A princess out of a frog that smells like antiseptic,” as she put it.

  To which I replied, “At least I’m a sterile frog.”

  Michelle wasn’t amused.

  Kassie was enjoying the pampering, having fun getting her nails done, but I was not. I didn’t understand why I needed to go through all this trouble for a guy.

  “It’s not like I’m going to go through this every week to keep him!” I insisted, to which Michelle insisted it was her treat, so I needed to shut up.

  Growing up, getting pampered had been Michelle’s idea of fun. I had been too busy looking for the nearest candy shop.

  While I had found a happy medium as an adult, this was far too much plucking and prodding for one day. However, the stop we made after the nail salon, the hair dresser’s, and the mall was way too much for me to handle. I already looked like a Barbie. I didn’t want pain on top of feeling like plastic.

  “Kassie, cover your ears,” I insisted as we pulled in and waited for the toddler to comply before I glared at my sister. “No fucking way.”

  “Yes, fucking way. This is something that you desperately need!”

  “I said okay to the eyebrows, and I even said okay to the haircut, and you know how much I like my long hair, but this? No.”

  “Do you want to look like Sasquatch if he takes you home?”

  “Again, I am not going to do this every week, so if he doesn’t like me the way I am, then screw him!”

  She sighed and thought about how to make her point in a way that I would understand. “Okay, so while you might not need to do this every week, you do need to maintain your allure. You can’t look like a banshee and expect to get any, no matter how long you’ve been together. Right now, he’s got to cut through that with a machete.”

  “Get to your point because I’m about to walk home.”

  “My point, dear sister, is that right now, you need some major reworking on your womanliness. Once you get that work done, you will have to maintain it. Like cleaning…oh wait, your house needs an entire makeover, too.” She groaned. “Please, do not let that man near your frat house.”

  “It’s not a frat house! I’m the only one who lives there!”

  “Guys!” a tiny voice yelled from the back, making us both look back. When we had Kassie’s attention, she yelled, “Can I listen now?”

  I laughed, completely forgetting she was back there and Michelle nodded. “Sorry, sweetie. We were having an adult conversation about how your Aunt is being a big baby!”

  “No, I’m not!” I hissed in outrage.

  Michelle rolled her eyes and got out of the car. “If you want to make good on your threat to walk home, then go for it, but I’m going inside.”

  I crossed my arms and made a big deal about not going in, but when I realized that she wasn’t paying me any mind, I huffed, groaned and went inside. “Dare I ask why we’re here?” I asked her, standing next to her at the counter.

  “Brazilian wax,” she answered. “I told you, you look like Sasquatch.”

  “You have no idea what I look like there,” I narrowed my eyes.

  “True but when you’re going on a hot date and you’ve never had a Brazilian wax, the insinuation is there. That’s all I’m saying.”

  “I’m not doing that,” I insisted.

  “Yes, you are.” She shoved me toward the booth. The experience was one of the worst I ever had. It was worse than I thought it would be.

  Michelle saying that childbirth was way worse didn’t help at all because I wasn’t going to have a child to impress a man. So, why the hell should I do something that was even on the same wavelength of pain?

  Through fits of laughter, Michelle tried to apologize, but it didn’t seem all that sincere. I hung out with her for a little while longer, but when she left, I wasn’t begging her to stay. I was in pain and hoped that the redness would go away before my date.

  I could be uncomfortable, but if she thought I looked bad before, he would run the other way if I tried to turn on the charm with this literal example of a fire crotch!

  That night, I was happy that the day was over. As far as days off were concerned, this was definitely one of my least favorites. I would rather have worked a double shift than gone through the Brazilian wax again. Ewww!

  However, when I laid down in bed and tried to fall asleep, I found my mind drifting to the idea that I did, in fact, have a date the following evening. I felt my nerves start to bubble and my head spin slightly. I knew from experience that at this time tomorrow night, I was either going to be thanking my sister, or wanting to kill her for wasting my time.

  My only hope now was that I could sleep tonight instead of anticipate and obsess over whatever was to come.

  Chapter 15

  Tim

  I arrived fifteen minutes early outside of Jenna’s house. I knew she wouldn’t be ready yet – no woman ever was.

  However, for the next ten minutes, I did what
I always did, either for a date of some kind, or a business meeting. I checked my hair, my breath, my suit, and my shoes, ensuring that every bit of me was in-sync with the look I wanted to portray.

  As I had left the house, my father was quick to point out that I looked like I was going to score a client, not go on a date. He expressed that girls around here want a real man, not an expensive façade.

  “Or have you forgotten that?” he quipped.

  I’d ignored him.

  After all, for me, dating was, in essence, a form of a business transaction. There was certain protocol to be followed and while the currency was fleshy instead of monetary, the concept was the same. If I did well, I received what I came for and we were mutually satisfied. If I didn’t, then I would be politely declined…but that rarely ever happened.

  I always closed my deals. That was part of my charm.

  At five minutes to six, I got out of the car and walked up the steps. The ranch was small, especially for a doctor, but I figured she was too busy to care. To my surprise, before I knocked, I was met by the door opening.

  When my gaze rested on the figure behind the door, my mind refused to assist me in making any kind of comment. For once in my life, I was completely lost for words.

  Jenna was gorgeous – I would even go as far as to say that she had taken almost as much care in what she wore as I had.

  Her hair was done up, simple but with an elegance that was commendable, exposing her neck and allowing my gaze to slope down to her cleavage, which was tastefully robust. Her light skin was accentuated against the dark, satin dress that hugged her perfect form with a tantalizing promise.

  Her hour-glass figure curved in all the right places, and her long, powerful legs teased me, peeking in and out from a majestically placed slit on the side of the dress. Her high heels showed off manicured toenails that matched her fingernails. Grasped in delicate, steady hands was a small purse.