Page 1 of Securing His Heart

Chapter

One

Billionairess.

That was what she was called now; what the clickbait headlines screamed on the internet.

Billionairess Lindy Jones spotted coming out of Target. What’s she doing at the chain discount store?

Billionairess Lindy Jones looking lovely in Chanel. Looks like she didn’t get that from Target.

She was a fraud.

Truth of the matter was some days she was more comfortable in the discount clothes she bought than the designer clothes her position required her to wear.

The fortune and power she’d inherited when her father died were more of a millstone around her neck than the golden egg others deemed it to be.

Some days she yearned for a job that didn’t have the level of stress her current one did. Some days she wished for a partner to come home to each night so they could talk about their days.

Some days she wished for a normal life.

A life she craved, while others craved the life she had.

Funny how things worked out. Most people would consider her a spoiled brat, especially with the thoughts currently running through her mind. She had more than so many and she was complaining about it.

“Can I get you a refill?”

The bartender’s voice pulled her from her pity party. Grief and the two glasses of wine she’d already consumed had dumped her into the pit of selfishness and had her wishing the fates had given her a different life.

Talk about being ungrateful with everything her father’s work ethic and drive had provided her with.

“No thanks.” If Lindy had one more wine, she’d likely stagger out of the bar and wouldn’t that make the gossip mongers happy. Maybe a little food to suck up the alcohol would help keep her from the headlines. “Do you have a menu?”

She’d gone from meeting to meeting today and hadn’t had much time to eat. Her assistant, Ian, had brought her a sandwich, but a call had gone on for longer than she’d expected, and when the opportunity arrived for her to eat it, the bread had dried out and the lettuce had wilted. Lindy had managed to consume half of it, choking it down with water before yet another meeting beckoned, requiring her full attention.

When she’d worked alongside her father, things hadn’t seemed so difficult. Then again, Dad had taken most of the load of running the large mining company himself.

He’d been preparing her to take over from him. They both imagined it would be another five or so years before that occurred, giving her plenty of time to learn the ins and outs, not to mention handle all the minor details that seem to be tripping her up at the moment.

A drunk driver had another idea, and in a flash her father had been taken from Lindy and her mother.

Now she was struggling to find her footing, but there was no way she’d disappoint her father. Or the legacy her father had handed her. She’d take control of the company and steer it in an upward direction. Make her father proud.

When things weren’t so stressful and Lindy hadn’t been slammed with a dose of grief like at this moment, she loved the challenges her job brought. She loved being able to solve an issue others hadn’t been able to. Truly believed she could live up to her father’s belief in her.

“Yep, here you go.” The bartender passed the menu across the bar top.

She grimaced at the sticky surface when she picked it up. “Thanks.”

Standard bar food. She contemplated ordering the salt and pepper calamari, or did she want a chicken Caesar salad.

The barstool beside her became occupied.

A tangy citrus scent wafted over her, chasing away the stale bar smell for a brief moment. His leg brushed hers, knocking her heel off the small rung.

“Sorry, ma’am.”

The scrape of metal against the concrete floor as he moved the barstool grated on Lindy’s already hyper nerves, and she couldn’t stop wincing even if she tried.

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