Billionaire's Sweetest Deal, page 1
Billionaire's Sweetest Deal
Beth Gildersleeve
Billionaire’s Sweetest Deal Copyright © 2022 by Beth Gildersleeve
All rights reserved.
No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher or author, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law. Names, characters, and incidents depicted in this book are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of the author or the publisher. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. www.bethgildersleeve.com
Published in the United States of America
Edited by Ink Deep Editing
Cover Design by Michele Hauf
Originally released in 2019 as Josie: A Christmas Romance (Betting on Paris Book 1)
Contents
Welcome to Haven!
1. Chapter 1
2. Chapter 2
3. Chapter 3
4. Chapter 4
5. Chapter 5
6. Chapter 6
7. Chapter 7
8. Chapter 8
9. Chapter 9
10. Chapter 10
11. Chapter 11
12. Chapter 12
13. Chapter 13
14. Chapter 14
15. Chapter 15
16. Chapter 16
17. Chapter 17
18. Chapter 18
19. Epilogue
Preview ~ Love Rehired
Also By
About Author
Welcome to Haven!
There are a lot of hot-and-steamy or clean-and-wholesome romances out there, but this isn’t one of them. Mine are somewhere in the middle, with mild cursing and some physical intimacy. I hope you enjoy the book. Please remember to leave a star rating at the end of the story or head back to wherever you bought it and leave a review.
If you want more, go to my website, where you can see my other books and you can join my mailing list. You’ll get a free Haven novella as a thank-you. .
Are you new to Haven, or has it been a while since your last visit? Here is a quick recap of who they are.
Jackson Hart Wyatt: CEO of Hart Hospitality (a small chain of boutique hotels) and CHART Resorts (family-centered resorts with cabins, canoeing, hiking, fishing, arts and crafts, etc.). He’s also the de facto head of the posse (Haven slang for Jackson and his friends). Married to Emily Potter Wyatt (Love Rehired).
Miller Lynch: Head attorney and partner at Fortress Advisers. Miller is a former underwear model (it paid for law school) who coaches soccer and enjoys pottery—he says it’s cheaper than therapy. He charmed Wren Busch into marrying him (Love in Bloom).
Parker Thorpe: Former globe-trotting, award-winning journalist who now spends his days working for Handi Andi and his nights bar tending at the Galley. In between jobs, he spends his time taking care of his daughter, Charlotte, and planning his and Rica’s wedding (Love in Chaos).
Eric Ball: Real estate agent for his father’s firm, Ball Realty. Eric is a reformed jerk who’s now included in the posse, and he has no intention of following in his father’s shady footsteps. (Love under Construction).
Croix Adams: CPA and partner at Fortress Advisers. Croix has a heart of gold but no filter on his mouth, so you always know what he’s thinking. He loves hiking, fishing, and cheering on the Minnesota Twins and the Vikings.
Gus Peterson: Retired. Mrs. Hart’s partner in matchmaking schemes and saving Haven. He owns some real estate (like the building Fortress Advisers is in and the old mill). He enjoys gardening, scheming with Rosemarie Hart, and eating whatever she bakes.
Emily Potter Wyatt: Special Project Manager at Hart Hotels. She keeps Jackson in line at work and at home. He’d be lost without his fashion-challenged and slightly nerdy recovering perfectionist wife. Married to Jackson Hart Wyatt (Love Rehired).
Wren Busch Lynch: Up-and-coming oil-painting artist and part-time office manager for Fortress Advisers. This former florist hails from Tennessee, where she happily left her ex before putting down new roots in Haven. Her favorite pastimes are keeping sweets away from Miller and keeping his ego in check. Married to Miller Lynch (Love in Bloom).
Rica Palma: Financial Planner, CPA, and partner at Fortress Advisers. Rica likes her world neat and calm—something that rarely happens now that Parker and Charlotte have entered her life. She’s also the proud owner of a rescue dog, DD, but most people think DD rescued her. Without DD, Rica wouldn’t be marrying Parker (Love in Chaos).
Andi Carlson: Owner of Handi Andi, a home remodeling company. Andi devotes her life to work (or so most people think), but when she has the time, she enjoys Friday nights at the Galley with her friends (Love under Construction).
London Banks: Marketing consultant who travels a lot, too much if you ask her or her friends. She has little patience for fools or idiots and likes nothing better than to help her friends in a fashion crisis, but she’s almost given up on Emily.
Krista Dupont: Food and Beverage Manager for Hart Haven. Krista is a drill sergeant with a heart of gold. She loves to play devil’s advocate.
Nelie Peterson: Owner of the Galley, one of the most popular restaurants in downtown Haven. Nelie bought the restaurant from her great-uncle Gus. She’s also known for her incredible desserts—her chocolate Mother Lode cake is always on the menu.
Rosemarie Hart: Jackson’s grandmother and widow of the founder of Hart Hospitality. She’s currently plotting the best way to convince Emily Wyatt to run for mayor. Mrs. Hart likes nothing better than meddling in the love lives of Jackson’s friends. But they forgive her, as long as caramel rolls or chocolate chip cookies are nearby.
1
Josie glanced at the clock above the front door and rolled her shoulders. Jamie should have been here by now. He was always here by this time on Friday afternoons. But today he’d had his six-month performance review at Haven Woodworks. What if it hadn’t gone well? What if Jamie had gone directly to his old haunts and was now perched on a barstool? Should she call his sponsor? Stop it! She ordered herself. He’s just running late. Josie grabbed the spray sanitizer and a rag to scrub the coffee shop’s tables. Cleaning up other people’s messes should settle her mind.
It didn’t. Josie took her role as a bossy older sister to heart, and it was hard not to worry about Jamie. She and her twin, Josh, were ten years older than Jamie. They’d both ruled over Jamie growing up, but their coddling, protecting, and sibling over-lording hadn’t been enough. During his senior year of high school, a new love had replaced Jamie’s old loves of lacrosse and baseball — alcohol. Jamie was smart and clever, though. He’d hidden it from his parents, and he’d always been sober whenever Josie and Josh were home for the weekend.
It had been a several-year downward spiral for Jamie until the night he’d stumbled into oncoming traffic and was hit by a car.
During rehab treatment, he’d tried to explain it to them. He felt like a puzzle piece from a different puzzle, like he just didn’t fit with their family. Jamie’s admission broke their hearts.
Over the course of a long and dreary winter, the Wright family rebuilt themselves. Jamie now felt like he fit in their family puzzle. He’d been sober for over a year, and he loved his job at Haven Woodworks. Josie would do everything in her power to keep it that way.
The bells above the front door jingled and Josie dropped her rag. She grinned as the woman, with an infant strapped to her chest and a preschooler in tow, approached and placed her order. “Go sit down and I’ll bring your drinks to you,” Josie said as she handed back the change. The woman smiled and nodded her head in agreement as she dumped her coins into the tip jar.
Josie watched the small family as she made their drinks. Maybe someday, she thought, but then shook her head in disgust. Who am I kidding? It’s not going to happen. Even if she trusted her heart enough to give love another try, she didn’t have the time or the energy to date. In her experience, men wanted attention. Josie didn’t have any extra of that. Her eleven coffee shops required all her energy and attention. She stopped her dreaming and carried the peppermint white chocolate mocha and the kiddie cocoa to the corner where they’d settled. The baby sat on her mother’s lap, and she smiled and giggled at Josie as she set the drinks on the table.
Too bad I can’t have a family without a husband, Josie thought. Being a single parent was an option for a lot of women, but she couldn’t see herself going down that path. Until Mr. Right slipped into her life, Jo’s Joe was her only baby.
Josie settled in behind the counter. She picked up the rag ready to resume her cleaning, when her eyes fell on her satchel. Aw, crap! she thought guiltily. She should look at the stack of reports instead of cleaning the already spotless bakery case, but she’d successfully ignored the reports all afternoon. A few more minutes wouldn’t hurt. She knew she wouldn’t be able to concentrate on the endless rows and columns until she saw Jamie.
The front door opened, and Josie looked up excitedly. It wasn’t Jamie, but the high schoolers kept her busy making smoothies and warming up cookies. She’d just finished adding extra whipped cream to the top of the last strawberry smoothie when Jamie burst through the front door. If the sun had been out that day, Jamie’s smile still would have outshone it.
Finally, Josie breathed a sigh of relief as she finished waiting on the teens. “How’d it go?” she asked him when he stepped up to the counter. She hoped her tone sounded casual. She didn’t want Jamie to think she was being nosy or concerned. That had been one of his complaints during therapy. He’d argued that he had one mother, and he didn’t need Josie mothering him, too. He wanted a sister. A comrade-in-arms. A partner in crime.
Jamie put his hands on the counter and leaned toward her. “Hey, how’s your day been?” he asked, avoiding her question.
“No complaints. Do you want anything to drink?” Josie grabbed a nearby rag and wiped the espresso machine’s gleaming steam wand. Jamie smirked. Josie’s penchant for cleaning when she was worried was an ongoing joke in the family.
“Hmm. How about a medium, cherry, dark chocolate mocha with extra whip and chocolate shavings?”
“Sounds like a celebration drink,” Josie said, fishing for more information.
“Maybe,” Jamie teased. Josie focused on tapping the espresso into the portafilter. North, south, east, and west, she thought as she pressed the tamper around the basket.
“Milk preference?” she asked.
“Cow.”
“Type?”
“Whole.”
“Livin’ large there, baby brother.” She pulled the whole milk from the under-counter refrigerator.
“Seems appropriate for a celebration, though.”
“Oh? Are we celebrating anything?” Josie played along as she poured the creamy milk into a clean steamer jug.
“Maybe,” Jamie said. Josie relaxed her jaw and wished, and not for the first time, that Jamie was more communicative like Josh. But then again, she and Josh had that weird twin connection where they knew what the other one was thinking. Josie finished making the latte and turned back to Jamie. He’d pulled out his wallet.
“Put that back,” she scolded. “You know it’s on the house.”
“Well, it’s not every day I get a raise, so let me pay today, okay?” Josie heard the eagerness in his voice. This is important to him, she realized.
“Okay,” Josie agreed and smiled as she rang up his order. As she did, he told her about his review. The only complaint the manager, Gabe Kane, had was that he couldn’t clone Jamie. And if Jamie’s next review went as well, they should talk about additional training, either in management or more skill-based woodworking, whichever Jamie preferred.
“But I’ll do whatever Gabe wants me to,” he said.
“Gabe’s a smart man. He knows the best place for an employee is where their heart is. So don’t agree to a management role to make him happy when your heart is in working with your hands. Gabe wouldn’t appreciate it.” Jamie nodded his head in agreement.
She glanced at the clock and her heart skipped a beat as she thought about Jamie’s boss and her friend. Just a friend, she reminded herself. He should have been here by now, too, she thought wistfully as she wiped a smudge off the bakery case.
“I think it’s time I moved out,” Jamie added before taking a sip of his latte. Josie took a deep breath before answering. This would be a big step for him. She knew it, and so did he.
“This seems sudden. Are you sure?”
“Actually, I’ve spoken to both Barry and Tim about this. Several times. They agree. I’m ready for this, and now, with the raise, I can afford something decent.” Josie knew she should be happier for Jamie, especially since his counselor and AA sponsor were on board and supportive of his plans. But she considered their cramped living arrangements since he’d left rehab to be her penance. If she’d been a more attentive sister, she could have kept him sober. Intellectually, she knew it was crap, but emotionally, she was tied to the idea tighter than a double knot.
“When?”
“I think Leesa and I will start looking this weekend.”
“Oh, you’re taking your girlfriend with you?” Jamie and Leesa had dated briefly in high school and had reconnected when Jamie had moved back to Haven after rehab.
“Unless you want to keep her, and I’ll take the TV?”
“Dream on.” Josie rolled her eyes at him. “Take her. I need my bathroom space back. And a quiet night would be good for a change.” Jamie blushed, just as she’d known he would. “Congratulations, Jamie. I’m happy for you and proud of you. You worked hard for this.”
“Thanks, sis.” They stared at each other, wearing identical goofy grins. He took another sip of his mocha and sported a slight whipped cream mustache. She didn’t tell him. He’d figure it out soon enough, and it served him right for springing this move on her.
She wasn’t the easygoing sibling. That was Josh. Josie had planned on Jamie living with her above her flagship store for at least another six months. “I’ll see you later,” he said and saluted her as he turned and walked out.
She reached for the slip of paper tucked into her apron. Her best friend since childhood, who was now her sister-in-law, had given her a daily calendar with mantras. Since she and Elle were both wound pretty tight, Josie hadn’t taken it personally. She unfolded the slip and read today’s reminder: “Let go or get dragged.” Easier said than done, she thought as she stuffed the slip of paper back into her apron.
Josie looked up and frowned as the instigator of her current woes, Gabe Kane, manager and part-owner of Haven Woodworks, walked toward her. From the gray lacing his dark blond hair and the laugh lines around his light brown eyes, she’d put him in his early forties, but his body was that of a younger man, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist. That body had dated just about every single woman in Haven since he’d arrived last January. Except her. Josie didn’t hold it against him. Not too much, at least.
She’d resigned herself to a life in singledom. There were worse fates, like a loveless marriage. She focused on that instead of the cloud of perpetual bliss that floated over Elle and Josh. Sure, she’d love a husband and children, but Michael, Silvano, and Jeff had crushed her trust—in men and in herself. And just like in baseball, three strikes and I’m out, she thought. For now, Josie was done with the game of love. She’d rather be safe and secure than risk it all, hoping for a home run.
“Your usual?” she asked him, ignoring the way her heart sped up as it always did. Gabe Kane was an attractive man. She could look, but she wouldn’t touch.
Gabe nodded his head. “When I walked past the front window, you were all smiles with Jamie, but I’m getting a frown. What’s up?”
“You know how it is when you own a business. There’s always something to worry about,” she said as she started on his usual flat white.
“Tell me about it.” Josie shrugged her shoulders and returned her focus to the drink. “No, seriously. Tell me.”
“I signed a contract with Hart Hotels to provide an exclusive signature blend of coffee for them.”
“Doesn’t sound like a problem to me.”
“I’m not done yet, Mr. Impatient.” Gabe didn’t seem bothered by the reprimand. He just smiled at her in encouragement. “I need a new coffee roaster to handle the increased production. I’ve found the machine I want, we have the down payment, and Elle’s arranged financing for the rest. We’ve even made plans for expedited shipping. But I haven’t found a place for it. It’s big and I need a clean location that is nearby. There are lots of options twenty minutes away, but I’m not willing to compromise yet.”
“I’ve got a spot that would work,” Gabe said as she handed him his drink.
“You do?”
“Yes. Come join me when you’re done with them,” he said, nodding his head toward the teens who had just rushed through the front door. She didn’t appreciate the commanding tone in his voice, but if he had a solution for her, she’d overlook it. Plus, watching him walk away compensated for the tone. He settled into the farthest table. Josie looked at Gabe several times as she dealt with the teens and their sugar-fueled drinks. He seemed off. Not his usual end-of-the-week vibe.
Josie poured herself a cup of decaf and plated a piece of pumpkin rum cake with maple cream cheese frosting for him. She was ready for a break and eager to learn more about the potential space. And to find out what was bugging him. She studied him as she approached, but he didn’t seem to notice. Josie focused her gaze out the large picture window to where he seemed to stare, but all she saw was a gloomy November afternoon. Nothing special and nothing unusual at this time of the year. A few dry leaves chased down the sidewalk. The snow hadn’t yet fallen in Haven, so there was nothing to impede their race. She set her coffee and the cake down on the table, startling him. “Are you sure you want company?” she asked.
