Her Stranded Billionaire Mix-Up
Chapter 1
With a clipboard in hand, Zachary Wolf inspected the aircraft he’d be flying. Well, he was trying to inspect it, but his mind kept wandering. He had so many things to do. This trip to Jamaica to drop off equipment to his friend Matt needed to go off without a hitch.
With a new company looking for a computer parts distributor, it was Zach’s job to convince them to use the Wolf company. He didn’t trust anyone else to do it. The last time he’d trusted someone, they’d nearly cost the company a client and millions of dollars.
His phone buzzed in his pocket, and he pulled it out, sandwiching it between his shoulder and his ear.
“Hey, Zach!”
Hearing his sister’s voice was a relief. “Hey, Britney.” Hopefully, she was calling with news about the fill-in assistant he needed. His current assistant, Nathan, had picked the worst time to call in sick. But Zach really couldn’t complain. Nathan was great and hardly ever missed a day, so he must not be feeling great.
“Getting things ready?” she asked.
“Trying. I keep getting distracted.” He made sure his tone was playful.
“Har har. I guess if you don’t want to know about the assistant, I’ll just talk to you later.”
“You got someone?”
“Yeah, someone’s coming.” He could see the grin on her face. She’d set him up again.
“What did you do?”
“Nothing.”
“Brit,” he said, his tone holding an edge.
“I promise I didn’t do anything. The agency is sending someone with tons of experience, just like you asked.”
“Male, right?”
She was quiet for too long. “No, but she’s older. Like, way older. In her fifties.”
“Why don’t I believe you?”
“Because you have trust issues stemming from childhood trauma due to your parents going through a divorce?”
He took a deep breath and rolled his eyes. “You better not be setting me up. I’m not interested in a relationship.”
“But you need someone, Zach. You’re lonely. I know you are.”
Zach let the clipboard in his hand fall to his side as he took his phone in his hand. “I’m fine. I have friends, and they keep me plenty happy.”
“I know what happened with Mom and Dad was hard, but you’re not Dad. And if you’d give Mom just a second to talk to you—”
He set the clipboard down as his anger bubbled. “No. There is no excuse for the way he treated Mom. And he deserved what he got.”
“He was—”
“No,” he said, his tone so firm it was nearly biting.
Britney stayed quiet a minute. “Message received.”
“Thank you. I don’t want to be in a relationship. Not now, not ever. If I did, I have plenty of options. I don’t need you interfering.”
His phone beeped, and he pulled it from his ear. “Oh, hey, that’s Matt. I need to go.”
“But I need—”
“Sorry, Brit, gotta go.” He touched the screen and answered his friend. “Hey.”
Matt yelled something that Zach couldn’t make out and then said, “Hey, I was calling so I know what time you’ll be here.”
“Before dinner, I hope. I’m waiting on a temp assistant to get here.”
“Another working vacation?”
Zach shrugged. “I can’t help it.”
“You own the company, so that excuse doesn’t fly,” Matt said. He was a good man and an even better friend, but Zach never had a conversation with him that didn’t involve a lecture about Zach’s work habits.
“You know how it is.”
“What I know is that you need a change. I know the way you’re living is stressful, and if you don’t take a break soon, you’re going to run yourself down.”
Zach took a deep breath. No one seemed to understand him. If he could trust people, sure, it’d be great to take a break. Why couldn’t people understand that? His mom, brothers, sisters…none of them got it. “Are you calling to lecture me or to find out about the equipment?”
“Fine. Tell me.”
“It’s a state-of-the-art anesthesia machine.”
Matt gasped. “You managed to talk the guy into it?”
It’d taken so much schmoozing, Zach had nearly thrown up, but he’d managed to convince the CEO of Regent Medical Technology to let him buy their newest not-on-the-market-yet machine. “No.”
“What? No?”
“No, I got two.”
“Two? Oh man, I can get another doctor over here.”
Matt never intended to stay in Jamaica when he first volunteered as a cleft palate surgeon, but the need in the area for a surgeon had been so great that he’d moved there. He’d quickly come back to the States, closed his practice, and returned. Zach respected him for that. There weren’t many people who would give up their life of luxury to do what he did.
“I’ve never kissed up so much in my life, but yeah, I got two of them. I even have more surgical supplies.”
“I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you.”
“You don’t have to. I want to do this. How’s the school going?”
Matt exhaled sharply. “It’s good. It’s been finished since you were here last. Kids are starting to come, and they’re doing so well.”
“Is Heather loving it?” Matt’s wife was a teacher. If anyone could ever convince him that a relationship had the ability to go the distance, it was Matt and Heather. Their relationship was so strong that it sometimes made him wish he hadn’t sworn them off.
Matt chuckled. “Yeah, she’s in heaven. Those kids are so bright. You have no idea the impact you’re having.”
“You should find someone to love,” Heather called out. Matt had him on speaker phone. Great. Now both of them were going to be chewing on him. “There’s a woman out there who needs what you have to offer, Zachary Wolf.”
Zach didn’t respond.
“You know I’m right. Tell him I’m right, Matt.”
Matt laughed. “Okay, she’s right, but that’s not how I would have said it.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Zack said. “Hey, let me get this inspection done or I’ll never get there.”
“You’re a chicken!” Heather called.
“Bye, you two.”
“Bye!”
He ended the call and picked up his clipboard again. The next week would be filled with Matt gushing about the new equipment and Heather arguing with him about his relationship status. Neither of which made him comfortable.
He donated the equipment because of how good it made him feel. That was enough. He didn’t want a relationship, no matter how many people thought he did. Going to Jamaica was great, but Zach was getting tired of the “love” talks.
Love didn’t work. His parents had proven that. Well, no, his dad had proven that with how awful he treated his mom. One day his dad was a loving man who treated all of them like they were valued, and the next, he was someone Zach didn’t recognize.
That’s not what he wanted, and if that’s how thirty years of loving someone ended, Zach wanted no part of it.
* * *
With a long sigh, Harley parked her car and cut the engine in front of the private hangar near the George Bush Intercontinental Airport. The tension between her shoulders was building to the point where she thought they’d snap. It was just another interview—emphasis on another. Three months without a bite was wearing her thin.
Great. When she’d applied for an office cleaning position, she hadn’t expected it to be here. If she had known, there was no way she’d have agreed to the interview. She rolled her eyes as her top lip curled. People with money. She’d learned the hard way that they were people to avoid.
As an assistant party planner to Trixie Tanner, the party planner in Houston, she’d been around her fair share of entitled rich people. The kind who wanted the crusts cut off their sandwiches with gold knives.
It was at one of the first parties she helped plan that she met Samuel Baldwin. He wasn’t just from money; he was from old Houston money. They’d only met because one of the waitresses had an issue with her uniform and Harley had filled in for a brief moment. She’d been carrying a tray of champagne, and Samuel thought she was a server. At the time, she was new to Houston and knew him by name only, not face.
He’d been charming and charismatic as he followed her around all night long. After the event was over, he’d asked for her number. Thinking he’d never call, she’d given it to him. Two days later, he surprised her by calling to ask her out. From that moment on, she’d been smitten. He’d taken her to a fantastically hard-to-get-into restaurant, on a carriage ride, and then took her home. He didn’t even try to kiss her goodnight.
A tear rolled down her cheek, and she quickly swiped it away. Now wasn’t the time to be hobbling down memory lane. She had rent to pay, and she needed a job. If she didn’t need it so badly, she’d be putting her car in gear and testing its speed limit in an effort to get away from another situation involving money-hungry people.
She eyed the hangar again, wishing she wasn’t so desperate. Hopefully, the man who owned it wasn’t a rich snob, but she wasn’t holding her breath.
Why had Trixie fired her? Even with a broken heart and being jilted at the altar, Harley had given Trixie her best, and that last party had been a success, just like all of the parties she worked on.
The day Harley was called into Trixie’s office, just a month after the called-off wedding, she’d expected a raise or a bonus, only to be given her pink slip. It was like the rotten cherry on a melted sundae. It was the second worst week she’d had since moving to Houston.
Man, she wished her grandma was still alive. She’d know what to do. Of course, her grandma would say to ditch the lease, but with it being in Harley’s name, that wasn’t an option. She’d need a good credit score when she got back to Lubbock.
Her plan was to move home and start her own party-planning business, which would take loans to get started. If nothing else, working for Trixie had given her the confidence to know she could be successful doing it.
It didn’t take the sting out of being left at the altar, but Harley was a Wilson, and Wilson women took what was in front of them and made it work. Which is why she wasn’t going to let rich people run her off from this job. Rich people or no, Harley was going to rock this job interview.
With a new company looking for a computer parts distributor, it was Zach’s job to convince them to use the Wolf company. He didn’t trust anyone else to do it. The last time he’d trusted someone, they’d nearly cost the company a client and millions of dollars.
His phone buzzed in his pocket, and he pulled it out, sandwiching it between his shoulder and his ear.
“Hey, Zach!”
Hearing his sister’s voice was a relief. “Hey, Britney.” Hopefully, she was calling with news about the fill-in assistant he needed. His current assistant, Nathan, had picked the worst time to call in sick. But Zach really couldn’t complain. Nathan was great and hardly ever missed a day, so he must not be feeling great.
“Getting things ready?” she asked.
“Trying. I keep getting distracted.” He made sure his tone was playful.
“Har har. I guess if you don’t want to know about the assistant, I’ll just talk to you later.”
“You got someone?”
“Yeah, someone’s coming.” He could see the grin on her face. She’d set him up again.
“What did you do?”
“Nothing.”
“Brit,” he said, his tone holding an edge.
“I promise I didn’t do anything. The agency is sending someone with tons of experience, just like you asked.”
“Male, right?”
She was quiet for too long. “No, but she’s older. Like, way older. In her fifties.”
“Why don’t I believe you?”
“Because you have trust issues stemming from childhood trauma due to your parents going through a divorce?”
He took a deep breath and rolled his eyes. “You better not be setting me up. I’m not interested in a relationship.”
“But you need someone, Zach. You’re lonely. I know you are.”
Zach let the clipboard in his hand fall to his side as he took his phone in his hand. “I’m fine. I have friends, and they keep me plenty happy.”
“I know what happened with Mom and Dad was hard, but you’re not Dad. And if you’d give Mom just a second to talk to you—”
He set the clipboard down as his anger bubbled. “No. There is no excuse for the way he treated Mom. And he deserved what he got.”
“He was—”
“No,” he said, his tone so firm it was nearly biting.
Britney stayed quiet a minute. “Message received.”
“Thank you. I don’t want to be in a relationship. Not now, not ever. If I did, I have plenty of options. I don’t need you interfering.”
His phone beeped, and he pulled it from his ear. “Oh, hey, that’s Matt. I need to go.”
“But I need—”
“Sorry, Brit, gotta go.” He touched the screen and answered his friend. “Hey.”
Matt yelled something that Zach couldn’t make out and then said, “Hey, I was calling so I know what time you’ll be here.”
“Before dinner, I hope. I’m waiting on a temp assistant to get here.”
“Another working vacation?”
Zach shrugged. “I can’t help it.”
“You own the company, so that excuse doesn’t fly,” Matt said. He was a good man and an even better friend, but Zach never had a conversation with him that didn’t involve a lecture about Zach’s work habits.
“You know how it is.”
“What I know is that you need a change. I know the way you’re living is stressful, and if you don’t take a break soon, you’re going to run yourself down.”
Zach took a deep breath. No one seemed to understand him. If he could trust people, sure, it’d be great to take a break. Why couldn’t people understand that? His mom, brothers, sisters…none of them got it. “Are you calling to lecture me or to find out about the equipment?”
“Fine. Tell me.”
“It’s a state-of-the-art anesthesia machine.”
Matt gasped. “You managed to talk the guy into it?”
It’d taken so much schmoozing, Zach had nearly thrown up, but he’d managed to convince the CEO of Regent Medical Technology to let him buy their newest not-on-the-market-yet machine. “No.”
“What? No?”
“No, I got two.”
“Two? Oh man, I can get another doctor over here.”
Matt never intended to stay in Jamaica when he first volunteered as a cleft palate surgeon, but the need in the area for a surgeon had been so great that he’d moved there. He’d quickly come back to the States, closed his practice, and returned. Zach respected him for that. There weren’t many people who would give up their life of luxury to do what he did.
“I’ve never kissed up so much in my life, but yeah, I got two of them. I even have more surgical supplies.”
“I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you.”
“You don’t have to. I want to do this. How’s the school going?”
Matt exhaled sharply. “It’s good. It’s been finished since you were here last. Kids are starting to come, and they’re doing so well.”
“Is Heather loving it?” Matt’s wife was a teacher. If anyone could ever convince him that a relationship had the ability to go the distance, it was Matt and Heather. Their relationship was so strong that it sometimes made him wish he hadn’t sworn them off.
Matt chuckled. “Yeah, she’s in heaven. Those kids are so bright. You have no idea the impact you’re having.”
“You should find someone to love,” Heather called out. Matt had him on speaker phone. Great. Now both of them were going to be chewing on him. “There’s a woman out there who needs what you have to offer, Zachary Wolf.”
Zach didn’t respond.
“You know I’m right. Tell him I’m right, Matt.”
Matt laughed. “Okay, she’s right, but that’s not how I would have said it.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Zack said. “Hey, let me get this inspection done or I’ll never get there.”
“You’re a chicken!” Heather called.
“Bye, you two.”
“Bye!”
He ended the call and picked up his clipboard again. The next week would be filled with Matt gushing about the new equipment and Heather arguing with him about his relationship status. Neither of which made him comfortable.
He donated the equipment because of how good it made him feel. That was enough. He didn’t want a relationship, no matter how many people thought he did. Going to Jamaica was great, but Zach was getting tired of the “love” talks.
Love didn’t work. His parents had proven that. Well, no, his dad had proven that with how awful he treated his mom. One day his dad was a loving man who treated all of them like they were valued, and the next, he was someone Zach didn’t recognize.
That’s not what he wanted, and if that’s how thirty years of loving someone ended, Zach wanted no part of it.
* * *
With a long sigh, Harley parked her car and cut the engine in front of the private hangar near the George Bush Intercontinental Airport. The tension between her shoulders was building to the point where she thought they’d snap. It was just another interview—emphasis on another. Three months without a bite was wearing her thin.
Great. When she’d applied for an office cleaning position, she hadn’t expected it to be here. If she had known, there was no way she’d have agreed to the interview. She rolled her eyes as her top lip curled. People with money. She’d learned the hard way that they were people to avoid.
As an assistant party planner to Trixie Tanner, the party planner in Houston, she’d been around her fair share of entitled rich people. The kind who wanted the crusts cut off their sandwiches with gold knives.
It was at one of the first parties she helped plan that she met Samuel Baldwin. He wasn’t just from money; he was from old Houston money. They’d only met because one of the waitresses had an issue with her uniform and Harley had filled in for a brief moment. She’d been carrying a tray of champagne, and Samuel thought she was a server. At the time, she was new to Houston and knew him by name only, not face.
He’d been charming and charismatic as he followed her around all night long. After the event was over, he’d asked for her number. Thinking he’d never call, she’d given it to him. Two days later, he surprised her by calling to ask her out. From that moment on, she’d been smitten. He’d taken her to a fantastically hard-to-get-into restaurant, on a carriage ride, and then took her home. He didn’t even try to kiss her goodnight.
A tear rolled down her cheek, and she quickly swiped it away. Now wasn’t the time to be hobbling down memory lane. She had rent to pay, and she needed a job. If she didn’t need it so badly, she’d be putting her car in gear and testing its speed limit in an effort to get away from another situation involving money-hungry people.
She eyed the hangar again, wishing she wasn’t so desperate. Hopefully, the man who owned it wasn’t a rich snob, but she wasn’t holding her breath.
Why had Trixie fired her? Even with a broken heart and being jilted at the altar, Harley had given Trixie her best, and that last party had been a success, just like all of the parties she worked on.
The day Harley was called into Trixie’s office, just a month after the called-off wedding, she’d expected a raise or a bonus, only to be given her pink slip. It was like the rotten cherry on a melted sundae. It was the second worst week she’d had since moving to Houston.
Man, she wished her grandma was still alive. She’d know what to do. Of course, her grandma would say to ditch the lease, but with it being in Harley’s name, that wasn’t an option. She’d need a good credit score when she got back to Lubbock.
Her plan was to move home and start her own party-planning business, which would take loans to get started. If nothing else, working for Trixie had given her the confidence to know she could be successful doing it.
It didn’t take the sting out of being left at the altar, but Harley was a Wilson, and Wilson women took what was in front of them and made it work. Which is why she wasn’t going to let rich people run her off from this job. Rich people or no, Harley was going to rock this job interview.
