by Zante, Lily
Table of Contents
The Gift
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
Chapter 19
Booklist
Acknowledgements
About The Author
The Gift
(Book 1)
The Billionaire’s Love Story
Lily Zante
Other books by Lily Zante:
You can find an updated list of Lily Zante books at: http://www.lilyzante.com/books
Lily Zante
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Chapter 1
Screaming children ran havoc in the toy store, their cries of laughter ringing straight through Tobias Stone’s ears.
Not much excited him these days but it was hard not to get caught up in their excitement, hard not to see their joy, hard to ignore their smiling faces and shiny eyes and the wonder on their faces as they played with the display toys and looked with wide eyed wonder at the shiny new boxes that were displayed so enticingly on the shelves.
It made him feel better about himself and made Christmas more bearable to know that he was spreading a little happiness. Or rather, his foundation was. The huge toy store had been closed to the public for the evening while the Tobias Stone Foundation invited children from the city’s adoption centers to visit the store and select a toy of their choice.
But he was also aware that he’d had to miss an important meeting that had suddenly come up. Luckily Matthias was standing in for him but he would need to return to the office soon. His multi-million dollar hedge fund didn’t stop running just because Christmas was coming.
His eyes darted around the place, and he glanced at his watch again, getting anxious and needing to leave. Contemplating his escape he looked towards the exit and saw a child peering through the glass doors.
“I’m going,” he told Candace, his hard-as-nails assistant.
“Not yet, Tobias. It’s barely been an hour. Smile.” She flashed him her false one. “At least make it look as if you’re having a good time.”
“I am having a good time but I’m in the middle of important negotiations, in case you’d forgotten.”
Hosting an evening for children from many of the city’s adoption centers was something that made him feel decent about himself for a change but he had a business to run.
“People need to see your face, Tobias. It’s good publicity for you to be seen mixing with all sorts of people—especially these poor kids at a time like Christmas. It adds credibility to your philanthropy.”
He didn’t mind giving his wealth away. If anything, he thrived on it and there was no way that he was going to get through his millions in his lifetime. He didn’t spend too extravagantly. Even though he enjoyed the finer things in life he worked damn hard and preferred to remain low-key, as much as was possible for a man with his wealth and history. While giving away his wealth made him happy, making money did too.
“If we could just have a few shots of you with the children, Sir,” said the photographer herding a group of children together and leading them towards him.
“What a brilliant idea,” agreed Candace and took his arm. “How about near the tree?” She led him over to a beautifully decorated Christmas tree lit up with warm, golden colored lights.
“Smile, everyone,” the photographer ordered.
“Is this necessary?” Tobias asked, giving the man a tight-lipped smile.
“Smile,” said Candace smiling through her gritted teeth. He obliged as a group of young children, barely reaching his waist, gathered around him as though he was Santa Claus.
“You are so kind, Mr. Stone,” gushed one of the women from the adoption centers as she gave him a dazzling smile. “This is so very generous of you, taking the time to give these children a Christmas present.” He nodded his head at her, barely hiding his look of unease. While he liked giving his wealth away, being thanked for it made him uncomfortable.
“Would you mind if we had a photograph taken together?” She stepped up alongside him. “Vanessa?” she called out to her colleague, another matronly woman who looked as though she’d be more at home baking pies. “Hurry up! We can put this in our newsletter,” she explained to him. “People might be more interested to read it if they see your picture.” She smiled sweetly.
Tobias returned a fast smile, conscious of time slipping away. It would be the morning of the next day in Hong Kong and he was anxious to sit in on the negotiations. “Thank you, ladies, but I must…” he broke away from the group, determined to leave before Candace asked him to do something else. She was like a fiery Doberman, silky, fast, super alert and she made sure he was seen in the right places with the right people at the right time.
“You’re still making the most eligible bachelor lists,” she told him. But he had no interest in these things. He preferred to pay for sex, seeing it as nothing more than a transaction which required payment. There was no emotional attachment that way.
“I’m leaving,” he growled; he’d been here an hour already but as he turned around and headed towards the exit, he saw the same child still peering in. “Has nobody let him in?” he muttered and strode up to the large glass doors of the huge toy store. “It’s a win-win deal, Tobias,” Candace had told him, “You buy those poor kids a toy, and come out looking like a saint.” Tobias grimaced at the thought. He wasn’t a saint. Not by a long shot.
But that wasn’t the reason he’d gone along with her idea of giving Christmas gifts to children less fortunate. He’d done it because for the longest time he’d hated Christmas and had avoided the festivities. Christmas was about being with loved ones and Tobias was alone.
It could have all been so different.
This had been the second year they had run this event, and this year he’d even been looking forward to it. But he was now anxious to return to the office even though it was past eight o’clock. Apart from work, Tobias didn’t have much else to occupy him. His millions couldn’t buy him peace, love or happiness, though whiskey and Naomi made the world tolerable.
He walked up to the door and seeing that child peering through the glass wide-eyed with wonder, reminded him of himself, of how he’d been at that age. He’d been dirt poor once and remembered the time when he used to stare at other kids who had the things he never had.
“Where are you going?” Candace tottered up on her heels behind him.
“I’m letting him in.”
“But we’re closed to the public this—”
“Where the fuck is his mother?” Tobias snarled. The security guard nodded at him, as Tobias flung the door wide open and peered at the child who stared back at him with fear in his eyes.
Immediately his hardness melted. “Do you want to come inside?”
The child’s body language perfectly illustrated his dilemma. One foot was poised as if he was ready to enter but his solemn face indicated no immediate desire.
“Don’t just stand there,” Tobias said. “If you want to come in. Come in.” He looked around for signs of the boy’s parents and saw a woman with her back to the child, talking on her cellphone. She turned around just at that moment, her gaze landing on the child, then at him as she rushed towards them. She stopped at the door
, just behind the child.
The child stared at his mother but said nothing.
“Jacob, we can’t—”
“Can I have a look? Just a look, please Mommy?” Tobias watched the exchange; the woman appeared to waver and then stared at Tobias. “Are you open?”
“Yes.” He pulled the door wide open and moved away.
“Pleeeease, Mommy? Just a look?”
The woman appeared to consider it. And the longer she took, the more the child’s anticipation grew. It annoyed the heck out of Tobias. “Why don’t you let him in and put the kid out of his misery?” He gave her the once over, taking in her scuffed shoes and the huge tear in her tights.
“He’s not miserable.” The woman retorted.
“He doesn’t look too happy to me.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “Ten minutes, Jacob. No more.” The boy smiled so brightly that it brought a smile to Tobias’s tight expression. He remembered that look, and wished he still could feel that level of excitement about anything. Even winning new deals and reaching the next milestone in his business had lost its sparkle. Nothing mattered much, anymore. Christmas, with its gaudy commercialism, packaged and dressed up in dazzling bright baubles and sparkling lights, had lost its allure for him years ago because now it reminded him of the life he could have had. He would still have been insanely successfully, disgustingly rich, but he’d have had someone to share his wealth with.
Now he carried too many memories of the wrong kind.
He watched as the woman—the boy’s mother, he presumed—stepped aside warily and looked around the store. Candace sidled up to him. “We’re not open to the public, Tobias,” she seethed. “You can’t just let any strays in. This is specifically for kids from adoption centers.”
“It doesn’t matter,” he replied, noting that the boy wore a coat that was obviously one size too small for him.
The boy’s mother walked up to them. “Is something going on in the store?” she asked.
“We’re not open to the public,” Candace replied.
“You’re not? I’m sorry.”
Tobias walked over to the boy who was happily sitting on the floor playing with an Iron man figure and a fighter jet.
“You like Iron Man?” Tobias asked, crouching down.
“Who doesn’t?” replied the boy, with the fighter jet in one hand and the figurine in the other.
“Did you write your letter to Santa?”
The boy nodded, his eyes sparkling.
“What did you ask for?”
“Coloring books.”
“Coloring books?”
“Did you know that tonight is a very special night. You can pick anything you want from here and it will appear under your tree on Christmas Day.”
“You’re not Santa.”
“No. I’m not, and I’m sure you’ll get your coloring books from him. But, see all of these children here?” The boy looked around and nodded. “They’re all going to pick a toy and they get to open it on Christmas Day. You can too.”
The boy looked at the floor, as if he didn’t trust him. Just then Tobias’s cell phone rang and he answered it, standing up slowly.
“It’s not going too well.” Matthias told him. “Are you coming back to the office? There are a few things we need to discuss.”
“I’ll be back. Give me twenty,” replied Tobias and watched as the woman rushed over to her son and told him they had to go. He hung up and walked back to Candace. “Why did you do that?” He growled at Candace. “How much trouble is one extra child going to be?”
“If you let one in, you won’t be able to stop the rest. But Tobias was too busy staring at the child. He saw the boy’s face drop, saw him leave the toys he’d been playing with and get up slowly.
“You’re too uptight,” he hissed and walked over to the mother and son. “You should let the poor kid stay.”
“He’s not a poor kid,” the boy’s mother returned. The child was silent.
“Looks to me like he wants to stay.”
“But the woman said—”
“I don’t care what she said.”
“Tobias, let me handle this.” He felt a tightness in his chest as Candace turned to the woman. She put on what he now knew to be her best and most false, over the top persona and explained. “Tonight is a charity event hosted by the Tobias Stone Foundation for a few of the city’s adoption centers. This store is closed to the public for a few hours. Why don’t you come back tomorrow? You can shop all you want then.”
“I saw you on TV,” the boy said, shyly.
“I don’t think you did, honey.” The boy’s mother gave Tobias an apologetic look.
“I did, Mom. He was on TV.” For the first time Tobias tried to hold back a smile. The woman slipped her hand through the boys. “Come on,” she said, obviously not believing a word. “Let’s go.”
“I did, Mom.” The boy turned to him. “You were on TV, weren’t you?”
But the woman appeared to be in a hurry. “I’m sure you did, honey. Come on. We need to get back.” He watched as they walked away and then the woman bent down and pulled something out of her bag then handed it to the boy. When the boy put it to his mouth Tobias realized it was an inhaler.
He glared at his assistant. “That wasn’t necessary, was it?”
Chapter 2
She walked past the glistening shop windows of the blue canopied Tiffany store, her annoyance spreading, almost as fast as the hole in her tights.
The day which had started off badly, had become progressively worse. Savannah stared down at the huge tear which had now spread out to her knee. It had been small and inconspicuous when she’d left home this afternoon to pick Jacob up from school. She’d been hoping it would have held but the more she tried not to think about it, the more she kept touching it, to make sure it wasn’t getting bigger by the millisecond. In doing so she’d turned the tiny hole into a crater the size of her thighs.
“I didn’t get it?” She wailed in frustration at the news that another job interview hadn’t worked out. She stared despondently at the rush of traffic before her. New York, three weeks before Christmas, was both a shopper’s heaven and hell. Money was tight and she couldn’t afford to buy a lot, but she was determined to make this a special Christmas for her boy. But she was still looking for a decent job; a mission she’d been on since mid-November. She traipsed around different agencies handing out her resumes and talking to the smartly dressed tight lipped women, trying to convince them that she had good office skills, and that she’d been an office manager back in North Carolina and was competent with most of the PC software.
She knew she could do better than stacking shelves at the supermarket which had been her job until recently, when looking for a decent job had become a full-time job in itself.
The traffic snaked angrily across the road as she grabbed Jacob’s hand and waited for the traffic lights to change. She’d been hopeful of getting some holiday work but it was proving to be difficult. An office job in the city would be better than working in the supermarket near where she lived. While it was ideal for its location and proximity to her cousin Kay’s apartment and Jacob’s new school, working in the supermarket didn’t pay enough. She needed a decent job that paid decent money. Kay still paid the rent on her apartment because she still needed a place to come back to, and her company was providing accommodation for her in Hong Kong. But Savannah still had to buy food and pay the bills. And she hadn’t considered just how much more expensive things in the city would be compared to what she was used to.
It had seemed like a brilliant idea at the time, when Kay offered her the use of her apartment in Sunnyside for one year while she worked abroad. Savannah had jumped at the chance, having spent last Christmas with her cousin here and she and Jacob had moved in over the summer when Kay left.
New York was a world away from the small town where she grew up in North Carolina. She’d left that behind, her parents too, and ventured out here, via a sh
ort stint in Pennsylvania where she’d stayed for a few months with Kay’s mom.
She’d come all the way here, not for the bright lights of New York—that dream from her childhood was gone—but because she hoped to make a fresh start and her cousin thought the city would be good for her. She had responsibility now; she had Jacob to take care of. The boy had seen enough pain during his short years and she wanted to put a big distance between her and her ex-husband. Now that the divorce was final, she wanted to forgot the ugly past and make a fresh start.
“Jacob!” She turned around, horrified to see her son standing in the entrance to a fancy big toy store, lit up like a firework. With its shiny decorations and shimmering window displays it looked like a set from a Disney cartoon. Leading children in like a Pied Piper.
She’d tried to steer Jacob away from these kinds of shops, knowing she couldn’t afford anything inside them. They were a child’s dream come true but a parent’s worst nightmare.
That was why she’d taken him to the tree lighting ceremony at the Rockefeller Plaza, where they had waited with thousands of others. It was a free event, full of Christmas spirit. She couldn’t afford to take him to the Winter Village at Bryant Park, no more than she could take him ice-skating, even though she loved ice-skating and Jacob had started to learn back when they were in North Carolina. She’d almost had a heart attack when she saw the prices to hire skates.
She had assumed that a visit to see the tree lighting ceremony would have been enough, and buying him a thick, creamy hot chocolate from one of the stalls at the Christmas market along the way, would seal the deal.
But she’d been won over by the magic and splendor of the streets and had made the mistake of turning onto Fifth Avenue. Glittering Christmas lights and sparkling snowflakes, purple, silver and blue danced along the storefronts. It was a magical, mystical, fantastical wonderland, and both she and Jacob were caught up in its shimmering spell.
