Page 1 of Lily and the Billionaire Prince

1

Lily crept into Mr. Elir’s suite. The room lacked the usual sounds of the resort chain owner’s phone conversations or the discussions with his daughter or members of the hotel staff, which told Lily one thing. Either he was out—unlikely—or he was sleeping.

Mr. Elir lay resting, his hands pressed to his chest, in the portion of the office suite that had been adjusted to a sort of bedroom. His breathing was labored, and his eyes remained closed. He showed no signs of hearing her approach, so Lily considered not waking him and letting him sleep. Still, he needed food. She placed the food tray on the table beside his bed as quietly as she could. He could eat when he awoke.

Turning away, she accidentally bumped the table, causing the silverware to clink against the plate. Mr. Elir cracked an eye open.

“Lily?” His voice was weaker than it had been for some time.

“Hi, Mr. Elir. Sorry to wake you, I was just bringing you some dinner. If you’re not hungry, I can send it back down with Stella.”

“It’s fine. Thank you.” He attempted to sit up. His body was weary, and gray lined his hair more than usual. He’d been doing more radiation therapy, which had helped in the past, but his body could only take so much. Lily knew Aaliyah, his daughter, was worried, and for good reason.

He eyed the clean room and the view of the Florida coast out his window before his gaze settled on the tray. The smell of chicken Cordon Bleu and steamed vegetables taunted Lily’s stomach, and she hoped it did the same for him. Her boss had become so much thinner in the past few months.

“Didn’t you order a tray for yourself?” he asked.

“No, sir. I was about to head home. My work for the day is done. If you’d like me to stay, though, I can arrange that.” Lily’s neighbor, Snow, was usually good to step in and check on Lily’s pets if she needed her to.

He gave her a feeble smile. “No, no. You do so much already. Go home and feed your furry friends. I’m sure they are eager for your company.”

Lily smiled back. She’d told him several times about her various animals, some picked up at pet stores, others taken from friends and still others picked up as strays. Lily’s dog, cats, fish, bird, and turtle had all kept her better company than humans had lately, present company excepted.

“They’ll be all right a little longer, sir, if you need anything from me.”

A knock sounded and the door to his suite in the Elir Clearwater resort opened. Aaliyah and River entered, walking hand in hand, with Aaliyah leading the way. River was a handsome man with bronze skin and black hair, and Aaliyah beamed at him before he released her to sit on the chair in the suite’s sitting room area. Lily noticed he often kept to himself unless he was specifically asked for, and she suspected it was his way of showing respect for his wife and father-in-law’s business dealings.

Though they shared greetings in passing, Lily hadn’t spoken with Aaliyah since she’d dashed off in her fancy Lamborghini to throw herself at River’s feet, and her efforts had paid off. The two had recently married in the Cancun Elir resort. They’d been living in New York for a while, but recently Mr. Elir’s fading health had drawn Aaliyah to return to Clearwater.

“Hey, Papa,” Aaliyah said. She wore a yellow-striped sundress with a beige, decorative belt that accentuated her small waist. Her dark hair hung in ribboned curls down her back. “How are you doing this afternoon? Did you get some rest?”

“I did,” Mr. Elir said. “Lily just brought me some dinner. You and River should order up and we can all eat together.”

“Sounds good,” River called before Aaliyah could answer. “I’m famished.”

Mr. Elir and Aaliyah chuckled, and Lily suppressed a smile of her own. “Of course, I was hoping Lily would join us as well.”

“Perfect,” Aaliyah said. “There’s something I need to talk to you about that involves her, too.”

Lily’s desire to slip out and leave the family to themselves faded in place of renewed interest. “Oh?” From the messenger bag hanging over one shoulder, she pulled out her device where she kept tabs on Mr. Elir’s schedule and the various tasks he wanted her to handle.

“Yes,” Aaliyah said. “Do you want to tell them, or shall I?”

“Go ahead,” River said. “You’ve already got a head start on me.”

Aaliyah pushed her shoulders back as if readying herself for a presentation. “River overheard some news today and I need Lily to verify if it’s true or not.”

“What news?” Lily held her stylus, ready to take notes. Even though Aaliyah wasn’t officially working for her father anymore, Lily had learned early on to write as the Elirs spoke because when she’d first started as Mr. Elir’s executive assistant, she hadn’t written things down as he’d spoken, and he would often leave the room before she got the chance to ask him to repeat things. He also didn’t like repeating things, which he’d made clear to her in a kind but firm way. So she’d learned to keep her stylus ready.

“And where did you overhear it?” Mr. Elir added, adding a small cough to the question. He reached for his water glass. Aaliyah moved to slide it closer to him.

“I was sitting in the lobby restaurant during lunch today and in the booth behind me, a couple was speaking in low tones,” River said.

“Ah, so you were eavesdropping.” Mr. Elir’s eyes twinkled.

“You could say that,” River said.

“What did you hear? Now I’m extremely curious.”

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