Page 6 of Wanted By The Billionaire

We finish our lunch and Dalia stands to leave. “I’d better get a move on chasing Carlos.” Carlos is our glass artist. “He’s a bit slack on deadlines. Thanks for lunch Bree.”

“You’re welcome, Dalia. Let me know if you need me to send him a reminder email as well.”

“Will do.”

The exhibition is in two weeks and being my first one since starting at the Century Gallery, I need everything to go off without a hitch.

Chapter 3

Jordan

I’m driving into the parking lot of the Century Gallery for Grant’s exhibition when my mother’s call comes in. Due to the heavy traffic, it took almost two hours to drive down from Manhattan.

“I keep telling you Mother, it’s just not possible.” I slowly circle around the crowded lot, scanning for an empty spot.

My mother asks me at least once every three months to join the family business. Apex Energy is an oil, gas, and renewable energy company that has been in by the Farrington family for over a century.

“Jordan I know you haven't forgiven your father, but this is beyond you or him. What about the five and a half thousand employees across the world? And all the generations of Farringtons you’re letting down?”

Agnes Farrington is nothing if not dramatic.

I chuckle. “Mother, you can’t possibly hold me responsible for six thousand lives. I don’t have to be involved in the company to make their lives better. What about one of my cousins. Or Merry?”

My sister Meredith is twenty-four and six years younger than me. By the time I was her age, I was fully trained to take over the company should the need ever arise.

“Don’t be silly. Brendan will set the company ablaze before letting any of his sister's children become CEO. Besides they don't have the Farrington name. And your sister who does, isn't the least bit interested." She sighs, "Heavens, I wonder where I went wrong with you children."

I should feel like a heel for wanting to laugh right now. I don't. Grateful she can't see me, I stay silent while trying to contain my amusement.

She continues."Jordan you were specifically groomed for this. For three good years."

And while the knowledge I gained in those three years has proven extremely useful in my other business ventures, it's still a no.

“Look Mother, to say that my hands are full would be a huge understatement.”

“Yes, with your Spacecraft thing.”

She does this on purpose. “It’s called Acercraft and it's hardly a 'thing'. It's worth billions of dollars.”

She scoffs. “So, you’ll throw hundreds of years of your ancestors' blood, sweat, and tears away over some fad you stumbled upon four years ago?”

“Precisely.” I hear a crash, then cursing in the background. “Where are you?”

“Oh, I’m just at the therapist’s, waiting for my session. I thought I’d borrow their phone.”

What’s wrong with your phone? I want to ask. Instead, I say “You know I love you Mother, but Father needs to stop putting you up to this." And face me like a man.

It's been four years since I've spoken to my father.

“He’s so not putting me up to this Jordan dear. If he wanted you in the company right this minute, you know he has his own special way of making it happen.”

Eight years ago, I wanted nothing more than to work with Apex Energy. I spent three years learning from the top executives of the company and was shadowing the company's Chief Operating Officer, Tim Hadfield, at the solar plant when I met Bree.

And promptly got my heart smashed into a million tiny pieces.

Afterward, everything went to shit and I suddenly started loathing the life my father had carved out for me. The life, it would seem, I was destined for.

Out of a desperate need to escape the path I no longer wanted to tread, I enlisted in the US Army. Four years of service later, I left with clarity and a deeper appreciation of simple things like life and freedom.

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