Page 4 of Billionaire Blaze

The enthusiasm was immediate—from everyone but Kit and Juno. They were the least likely to understand what the joy was about, but neither of them objected. It was a small reminder that neither of them were used to this world. They hadn’t grown up in the New York elite, and they also hadn’t been in it for long. In fact, I suspected it was Kit’s first time with a lot of the people who were around Jack.

I was quick to get an order in, and I made sure there would be plenty of food, willingly footing the bill to make sure it would be here fast and as a priority. It didn’t take a lot to make it happen, and I earned far more than it cost, something I always took into consideration when making a decision.

If it cost me less than I made an hour to pay someone else to handle something for me or give me something I needed or wanted, then I wasn’t going to think twice about spending the money. Especially when I spent most of my time making myself more money. With each week of work that passed, I added more revenue to my portfolio.

In a lot of ways, it had become meaningless numbers. In others, it was the simple ability to use money to make money. I might have gotten where I was now with hard work, and I had worked very hard at the beginning, but I wasn’t arrogant enough to think I only stayed where I was because of it.

Once a person reached a certain level of success, there was always another option to make money. Failures were considered anomalies. And I had reached that level and some on top. I worked hard, but I also knew I was safe.

Sometimes, I tried to imagine what it would be like to start in the current climate the way I had at the beginning. I knew it would be even harder. I would need a lot more luck. Still, I wassurrounded by good people, all of whom were passionate about what they did and why, and that was something I valued more than anything else.

Being with Jack and his friends was easy.

The pizza arrived in less than an hour, and then it felt like the party really started. Juno and Kit both declared they had no idea pizza could be so good, especially takeout. Of course, I knew these guys had a special van that would have kept the pizza at the perfect temperature the whole way here.

Science had come a long way. The place I used prided themselves in being able to deliver decent pizza, as good as you could eat in their restaurant.

And I appreciated that on long work days. To me, there wasn’t much better than good food cooked well as a luxury, and I felt a thrill of pride at the satisfaction as everyone dug in.

Of course, Jack tried to insist on paying for it and handed me some cash, but I waved him off and changed the subject. Before long, it was forgotten again.

“What time are we going to the island tomorrow?” Alma asked as soon as everyone had finished eating. I let her take my plate as we all looked at Jack.

He shrugged, and Juno immediately let out a chuckle and reached for her phone.

“The cars are leaving here at eleven in the morning,” she said as she read off the details. “That takes us to the airport. We’re meeting a few more wedding guests there, and then we’ve got two planes and several boats to get us there. We’ll mostly be together for the journey, although obviously in separate cars.”

Kit gulped, something most didn’t notice, almost as if she hadn’t been expecting all this.

“I thought we were leaving at ten,” Jack replied when everyone else simply nodded and took the information in.

“I told you ten, so there was a chance you’d be ready by eleven,” Juno shot right back, much to everyone’s amusement. Immediately, Kai told a story about how Jack was two hours late to a show once and then got lost on the way into the stadium, too. He’d had to be let in the public entrance through a horde of screaming fans.

I settled back and listened, content and amused. I hated being late and didn’t understand how Jack could be. The very thought gave me anxiety, but it seemed Juno had found her own way around it, and Jack didn’t mind.

CHAPTER FOUR

Kit

I shivered as I waited on the tarmac for the plane to be ready. Our cars had driven us here, and without thinking, all of us had gotten out and stood around waiting. Because we were heading to the island and hadn’t planned to be outside much, no one had warm clothes that weren’t packed already.

On top of that, I was feeling the tiredness from so much traveling. And I didn’t think I was the only one. Jack and Juno had been the only two already in New York at the start of the previous day, and Lukas had flown in with me. I was still trying to figure him out.

Thankfully, it wasn’t much longer before the plane was ready and they let us get on. Because all the cars had arrived and we had been checked through border control and everything else we needed, there was nothing left to do but board. Our luggage was already being loaded into the hold.

I’d clocked that I had one of the smallest suitcases and that Juno and Lukas were the closest to me. I tried not to worry about standing out in this way, and to my relief, no one else drew any attention to it. Juno had warned me that there were somedifferences between the way these people lived life and the way we usually did, but I was noticing them a lot.

She’d dealt with them all already. I knew that much. However, knowing they were there and normal and that it wouldn’t make me any less accepted by Jack’s friends and feeling like I was fitting in with them regardless were two very different things.

I followed Juno onto the plane, still sticking close to her. Thankfully, she didn’t seem to mind that I was becoming her shadow. She’d even invited me into the apartment with her and Jack that morning for breakfast. Alma and Kit had been there as well for a brief moment, and Alma had once again made me feel welcome in the group.

It was a smaller plane than I’d have expected, but the inside was luxurious, with big chairs available on either side of an aisle. While I’d traveled on a commercial plane many times, I had never been on a private plane or one so small that it only accommodated the flight crew and about fifteen passengers.

I wasn’t sure what I’d expected, but it was not bedrooms at the back, even if not enough for everyone, and big TVs to watch, as well as a bar and some kitchen appliances. It blew my mind, and I drank it all in before I realized I must look like an idiot. This was clearly normal for them. Jack and the band were already claiming seats.

He suggested that Juno take the only spare seat next to him, giving me little choice but to head to one of the two behind her. As much as I wanted her company, I wasn’t about to insist she sit with me and not with her partner at a time like this. Only as I sat down and noticed everyone else in this group was in couples and sitting with their partners did I realize who would be forced to sit next to me.

Lukas was not only the person most likely to choose the seat beside me, but he was also the last one to come onto the plane, a phone glued to his ear.

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