The Billionaire From Seattle: A Thrilling BWWM Romance (United States Of Billionaires Book 17)

by Simply BWWM

  “Yeah, fine, whatever. Inbox me the pictures you want posted with all the hashtags and captions, and I’ll make it happen.”

  Mickey smiled, the crooked, bemused expression the perfect addition to the tanned face, surfer blond hair, and laidback attitude that Will was certain was the result of a few too many drugs.

  “Great man. Hey, since you’re here, what about a selfie?”

  “There’s no signal here?”

  “Doesn’t matter. I’ll post it now and it will auto post later. Everyone knows that.”

  Something tugged at the back of his mind, but as quickly as it appeared, it was gone again. He smiled for Mickey’s photo, then watched as the man made his post. Once that was done, he gathered the last of his things and started out on the trail that led home.

  “So, why are you out here?” Mickey asked as they walked.

  “I’m doing some research,” he lied. “I can’t really talk about it. I signed a non-disclosure, you know how it is.”

  “I don’t, but I wish I did.”

  “How did you know this was out here? Have you been out here before?”

  “Two years ago,” he said. “I proposed to my girl.”

  “Oh. Well, that would explain why you knew right away.”

  “Yeah. I had the coordinates engraved in the ring I gave to her so our children would be able to find the exact spot one day, you know?”

  “That’s actually really romantic.”

  “I thought so, but it turns out you’re not the only one that thinks I’m a little extra. She said no and left. Something about me just being too much. I couldn’t return the ring so I put it in a drawer. When you posted, I knew that exact location, and it only took a few seconds to find the ring.”

  “That was lucky.”

  “Very lucky. At least one good thing came out of it.”

  “And you haven’t been here since?”

  “I didn’t even want to come here today, but I thought it was time, you know?”

  “I do.”

  “I promise that I’m not a crazy stalker. I just admire what you do, and how you do it on your own like a boss. All these other guys have million-dollar sponsors from the start, or they’re spoiled little rich kids flaunting their wealth. But you’ve got grit, man. You can’t buy that.”

  Will stopped, regarding the man with fresh eyes. From what he could tell, the man sounded sincere.

  “I think I was wrong about you,” he said, offering his hand. “My apologies.”

  Mickey took his hand and shook it vigorously.

  “Accepted. Now that we have come to an understanding, what about this takeover? Maybe we can run an adventure together and post it, like partners or something, then I can branch out and do my own thing and—”

  Will laughed.

  “Too soon, Mickey. Too soon.”

  Mickey turned red and smiled apologetically.

  “My bad. I guess I’m just a little too excited. What are the chances that you would come to this place for your project? It’s like fate, man.”

  Will nodded, then the two of them fell into silence as they hurried down the trail. Will could hardly contain his excitement. He was already counting the money he would make, plus the bonus he’d been promised. It was a huge week for him, and it had ended much sooner than expected. All thanks to Mickey.

  Will almost opened his mouth to offer Mickey a small reward for the information, thought better of it, and decided to wait. Until he had the money in his account, he didn’t want to spend it. He was sure the contract was ironclad, but men like Wittman were powerful and played by their own rules. Will didn’t want to end up giving Mickey ten thousand dollars only to find out that Mr. Wittman was going to stiff him on the rest. It was better to wait, and then, he would surprise Mickey with a little something to get him going—when he was a millionaire, and not a moment before.

  When they were within sight of the parking lot, Mickey’s phone chimed and the younger man stopped, pulling the phone out of his pocket and smiling.

  “See, it just loaded it.”

  “I didn’t know it would sit in queue for that long,” Will said. “What was that, two hours ago?”

  “Just about,” Mickey said. “I guess this is where we say goodbye. I’ll message you my pictures and hashtags. Let me know if you change your mind about a dual adventure. I think it would be fun.”

  “I’ll think about it,” Will lied, waiting for Mickey to get into his own car before he went to his Jeep.

  Not that it mattered—the parking lot was almost empty, and Mickey wouldn’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out which of the three cars in the lot were Will’s.

  Will checked to see if his phone had service, then got into his car and dialed Wittman’s number.

  “I found him,” he said when Wittman picked up the phone.

  Wittman excused himself from whatever meeting he was in, and after a long silence punctuated only by Wittman’s ragged breath as he rushed to his office, he finally came back on the line.

  “It doesn’t sound good. Are you sure it’s him?”

  “He still had his wallet in his pocket,” Will said solemnly. “I didn’t know if I should leave the wallet there so I brought it with me in a plastic bag. I picked it up with gloves on.”

  “Good idea. Did you call the authorities yet?”

  “I didn’t. I thought that I would come to your office and give you the wallet and the GPS coordinates to do with as you please, and I would collect my payment and go.”

  “Right, right,” the man said. “Thank you for letting me be the one to initiate all that. I’ll have your check cut for the full amount plus bonus by the time you get here.”

  “Thank you. I’ll be there in about thirty minutes.”

  “I look forward to seeing you,” the man said, then hung up.

  A chill passed through Will. He couldn’t wait to be done with Mr. Wittman. The man was terrifying, and Will had a feeling that trusting him completely could be a death wish.

  Chapter16

  Shanice breezed into the room, her bright yellow dress leaving little to the imagination, her hair in thick square braids with strands of electric blue woven in. Charity watched Lincoln’s reaction to her friend out of the corner of her eye. When he just smiled and stepped forward to greet her, Charity’s heart swelled.

  That was the best first impression Shanice had made so far.

  But when he stuck out his hand in greeting, Shanice looked at it like he was trying to hand her a snake, then put her hands on her hips and glared at Charity.

  “This isn’t one of those shotgun weddings, is it?” Shanice asked, her loud voice echoing off the vaulted ceilings.

  The judge stifled a snicker, shuffling papers to hide her less than aloof reaction. Charity was used to it and a little amused that no one seemed offended by Shanice’s brash nature. That was a good start.

  “It’s good to see you, too,” she said, hugging her friend. “It was my decision. He asked, I said yes, and we decided not to wait. You’re the only family I’ve got.”

  Shanice narrowed her eyes.

  “Don’t lay that guilt on me,” she said. “I ain’t standing up for this unless I know that he’s the right man for you.”

  Charity sighed and was about to argue, but Lincoln stepped in, putting his hand on her back and standing beside her.

  “Shanice has every right to question this,” he said. “Your ex treated you horribly, and I think it’s sweet that she’s so protective.” He looked at Shanice. “I would be concerned if your best friend didn’t say something, Charity. I’m here to answer any questions, but if it’s going to take a while, perhaps we should ask the judge to reschedule us for a later time so we don’t waste hers.”

  The judge chuckled openly.

  “Don’t worry about me. I have nothing on the books the rest of the day. I’ve got time.”

  Still smiling, she leaned forward and put her chin in her cupped hand and settled in to watch the show.


  “That’s what I’m talking bout,” Shanice said, smiling at the judge.

  Then she turned her attention to Lincoln.

  “What do you do for a living?” she asked without beating around the bush.

  “I have a lucrative vlog and I’m a trust fund baby.”

  “Good start,” Shanice said. “How old are you?”

  “Thirty-four.”

  “Have you been married before?”

  “No.”

  “Engaged?”

  “Just to Charity.”

  “Where do you plan on living?”

  “That’s up to her,” he said. “I can be happy anywhere, and I have enough money to travel if need be.”

  “What about kids? Do you want kids? Charity needs to have babies, she’s so good with them.”

  “I want at least one child,” he said, squeezing Charity’s hand. “Maybe twenty or somewhere in between. I like kids.”

  “Boy quit playin’,” she said. “Twenty, pfft.”

  But Charity knew that Lincoln had her. He was honest and blunt, two things that charmed Shanice much quicker than telling her what he thought she might want to hear. Lincoln had one foot in the door, and that was better than most people did with Shanice in hours. Lincoln had torn down her walls in a matter of minutes.

  The judge was still sitting there, looking bemused and enjoying the show. Charity instantly liked her and was glad that she’d been the only judge available for an impromptu wedding. Another judge might have shut them down over Shanice’s flair.

  Shanice continued her interrogation, and Lincoln answered her every question with complete honestly, no matter how it made him looked. Charity listened quietly, marveling at her friend’s ability to learn more about Lincoln in a few minutes than she had living with him twenty-four-seven for over a week.

  When Shanice finally took a breath, Charity interrupted her.

  “I think that’s enough for now,” she said, smiling warmly. “If you don’t like him by now, you’re not gonna like him.”

  “That’s the truth,” Shanice muttered.

  She regarded him for a long time, then a wide, dazzling smile cracked her face, and she hugged Lincoln roughly.

  “Welcome to the family, Boo,” she said, squeezing him so hard that his eyes seemed to bug out of his skull.

  Charity couldn’t help but laugh, and the judge was done for. There was no way she was going to stop laughing any time soon.

  “We’re ready,” Charity said.

  “Do you have another witness?” the judge asked.

  “No,” Charity said, looking blankly at Lincoln.

  Shanice rolled her eyes dramatically.

  “Oh Lord, I’ll be back,” she said, walking out of the room and returning in a few seconds with a bewildered looking man in a janitor’s uniform. “You belong to the groom, my girl already got her witness right here.”

  Shanice flipped her hair back out of the way and went to stand by Charity. Lincoln looked genuinely shocked as the janitor took his place beside him, but the judge only shrugged as if it were the most natural direction for things to be going after Shanice walked into the room.

  The judge began the abbreviated ceremony, and Lincoln stood beside her, holding her hand in his and leaning over to kiss her cheek several times during the short ceremony. Charity didn’t hear a word the judge said until she addressed Charity directly.

  Charity answered without looking at the judge.

  “I do,” she said as she stared into Lincoln’s eyes.

  Lincoln answered in kind, then the judge pronounced them legally wed, signing the marriage certificate with a flourish, then smiling from the bench when Shanice rounded everyone up for a group picture.

  Just as quickly as it had started, it was over, and they were walking down the courthouse steps together with Shanice hot on their heels.

  “Where have you been?” she asked before they reached the bottom of the steps.

  “I needed to get away,” Charity said.

  “I guess, ‘cause I called you a few times and you didn’t answer.” She looked Lincoln over from head to toe, then winked at Charity. “I guess I can understand why you were distracted.”

  “You’re a mess,” she said to Shanice.

  “And you’re my best friend,” Shanice teased back. “Are you ghosting me again? When am I gonna see you?”

  “Soon,” Charity said. “I don’t know when, but not more than a couple weeks. I just needed to get away after everything with…” she stopped, afraid to even say his name out loud.

  “I gotcha,” Shanice said. “I’ll be around when you’re ready.”

  Charity hugged her friend, tears threatening.

  “You always are,” Charity said. “I love you for that.”

  “Don’t you ever forget it,” Shanice said.

  Charity almost replied, but when she stepped away from her friend, she realized that the last promise had been directed at Lincoln. Lincoln nodded solemnly, then waited for Charity to give Shanice one more hug before he opened the passenger door to the Porsche and helped Charity in.

  “Mmm,” Shanice said. “At least he ballin’.”

  “Bye, Shanice,” Charity yelled out the window as they drove away, leaving her friend laughing as she got into her pearl white Escalade.

  “She’s something else,” Lincoln said.

  “You survived.”

  “Barely.”

  “Thank you,” Charity said, taking his hand.

  “For what?”

  “For not telling anyone about the baby yet. I don’t know what I’m going to say to Shanice, but I’m not ready to figure that out right now.”

  “Eloping was enough for one day. We’ll save the pregnancy for us for now.”

  “You really are okay with all this?”

  “Why wouldn’t I be?” he asked. “Charity, I love you. Everything else is just icing on the cake.”

  “I don’t know what I did to deserve you,” she said, tears threatening.

  “I’ve asked myself that same question more times than I can count. Fate has a funny way of sending us the exact person we need when the time is just right.”

  ***

  Will’s phone rang as he was pulling into the parking lot of the bank, Assistant District Attorney Wittman’s name popping up on the screen for the fifth time in the past half hour. This time, he answered it, holding the phone away from his ear until Wittman was done shouting.

  “Where the hell are you?” Wittman asked, far from calm.

  “I’m at Seattle Regional Finance,” he said.

  “Why?” Wittman said, his confusion momentarily diffusing his anger. “I thought you were coming to the office.”

  “I was,” Will said. “But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I’m putting myself at risk meeting in secret like that with you.”

  “I figured you would understand why discretion was imperative.”

  “I do. Which is why I’ve put the evidence I have for you, including the GPS coordinates you need to find him, in a safe deposit box at the bank. Once the bank has issued me a cashier’s check for the amount we agreed upon, including the finder’s bonus, and I have left the bank, I will let you know where I’ve left the key to the box.”

  “You can’t be serious?” Wittman said, but Will ignored his sarcasm.

  “I put my life at risk to find your son. I’m not about to risk anything else.”

  Wittman breathed out, taking a moment to compose himself before he spoke.

  “It’s obvious that you learned some things about my son I was hoping to keep private,” he said. “I hope that you’ll consider keeping those things to yourself.”

  “I will absolutely keep them to myself,” he assured the man. “I have no desire whatsoever to be associated with you or your family in any way, and sharing what I know would remove my anonymity.”

  “I see,” Wittman said. “Tell me, did you learn anything that might help me with the case?” />
  “Nothing you don’t already know,” he said.

  “I’ll be at the bank in fifteen minutes,” Wittman said, then hung up.

  Will put the phone in his pocket, walking into the bank and going into the second cubical.

  “Can I help you?” asked an Indian woman with a sweet smile and the thickest black hair he’d ever seen.

  “I need to leave this envelope for my friend. Can I tell you the password and leave it here with you?”

  “Of course,” the woman said, putting the envelope in a locked drawer.

  “The password is giggle fruit.”

  Her hand went to her mouth and she stifled a laugh.

  “I’ll remember that,” the woman said. “Thank you for being the best part of Seattle Regional Finance.”

  Will thanked the woman, took a seat near the teller line, and settled in to wait for Mr. Wittman.

  He didn’t have to wait long. Mr. Wittman rushed into the bank as if the hounds of hell were on his heels, giving Will a withering look before walking up to the teller with a check. There was some discussion, but once Wittman showed his ID to the bank manager, things went quickly and Wittman practically tossed the cashier’s check at Will.

  “Where is the key?” Wittman demanded through clenched teeth.

  “I’ll call you when I’ve left the parking lot.”

  “You’ve seen too many movies,” Wittman hissed angrily.

  Will shrugged.

  “I want to live to enjoy the fruits of my labor,” he said. “I’ll call when I’m down the street.”

  Wittman plopped down in one of the lobby chairs, and Will stood, walking away calmly though he could feel Wittman’s angry glare on his back. He got into his car, driving around the block and doubling back to make sure he wasn’t being followed, then driving two blocks to his bank.

  The cashier’s check was deposited in his account without much fuss after the bank manager verified the authenticity with their neighboring bank. Will checked his app to make sure that the money was in his account, then left the bank, almost too giddy to contain his excitement. When he got into his Jeep, he laughed out loud, pulling onto the road and heading for the highway.