Page 3 of The Billionaire and the Runaway

“Storyview Falls,” I state.

“So that’s like only an hour away,” she says after a minute, during which time I am sure she just used her map app to find it. “I’m texting you Daddy’s credit card. Just rent a car, turn off your phone, buy a burner phone, and then drive your ass over there. Text your dad first though and say that you decided to join me on the yacht and the satellite is down, so you won’t be in touch for a few days.” I hear something in the hallway. I walk over to the door and look around, but I don’t see anyone. I walk back over and sit down as Katia keeps talking.

As she lays out this plan, it seems rational. I could do that. What’s the worst that could happen? It’s not like I’m going to fall in love with some farmer. This is real life and shit like that doesn’t happen, ever.

CHAPTERTWO

Eric

I stare out at my farm. My farm. It still doesn’t seem real after all this time.

Shit, I gotta figure out a way to make this profitable. I can’t keep bleeding from my trust fund to take care of it. And honestly, I don’t want to fail. I want to prove to every asshole who stood in my way that I can do this. Mostly though, I want to keep my father’s dream alive. He didn’t want to retire when he did, but Mom forced him. And to be fair, the warmer weather in the Bahamas has been great for her arthritis. And with my sister living in England with her husband and kids, it’s all come down to me. Make it work or sell it to the developers that have been hounding me.

This farm is really all I’ve ever known. Dad sold his microchip company and used the profits to buy this land and build the farm when I was still pretty young. Storyview Falls is my home.

“Eric!” I hear my name.

I walk down to my office that’s attached to the house. Joy, my jack-of-all-trades, is standing in front of her computer.

“What?” I ask as I walk around the desk.

“It’s the damn computer screen. Went black again,” she says.

I take a deep breath and look around the back of the screen. Yep, the end of the power cord is sitting there. I hold it up and Joy gives me a sheepish grin.

“Oops,” she says as I plug it in, and we both watch it come to life.

“I told you it would keep getting knocked out if you had the desk facing the window,” I explain as I motion to the configuration of the room.

“And I told you, I want the view. So, I guess I’m gonna have to remember to check that damn cord,” she mutters.

“Joy, let's add another room on here. Then you could have a better setup,” I argue.

She gives me a pointed look. “Eric, if you want to turn a profit, you gotta stop spending money. I swear, for a boy who has a minor in business administration, you have more heart than business sense.”

I open my mouth to counter her point, but Buck and Earl walk into the office. Earl shoves two coffees toward Joy and me.

“Elisha sent over the latest seasonal latte. I told her we just like our coffee black, no sugar, no cream, just plain old coffee, but that girl was determined to give us some frou-frou drink,” Earl mutters as he looks with contempt at the offending lattes complete with whipped cream on top and something that appears to be cinnamon sprinkled on it.

Joy picks up the coffee and sips it. She moans. “Good God, Elisha is the queen of coffee making. She better never close that café.”

I take a sip of mine. It’s actually pretty good. “Not bad,” I agree.

“Not bad,” Buck says. “This is even better than the one she had last month. If Mr. Curmudgeon over here would just try it…” He trails off and glares at Earl.

“Fine, give that here,” he motions to Joy who passes him her latte. He takes a sip and we all stare at him waiting for the verdict. “God damn it! Why does she have to be so good at this damn coffee-frothing thing? That latte is at least three dollars more than my plain coffee. She’s just trying to upsell me,” he grumbles.

Buck looks up at the ceiling and shakes his head. “She gave us the drinks for free, you piss ant. She made zero dollars. Now, can we take our coffees and go see about that tire on the tractor?”

“Fine, but mark my words, I ain’t paying a penny more for my coffee. I don’t care how good that shit is,” Earl grumbles as the two of them turn and head out the door.

Joy and I watch as they disappear, Earl still grumbling and Buck poking fun at him. I worry about those two. They aren’t exactly young anymore, but neither one would admit it. I won’t fire them, but I do realize I need some younger staff. If I could just get this farm turned in the right direction financially.

“What’s on the agenda for today?” Joy asks as I stare out the window.

“Kingsley is coming by to open the farmstand at noon. I gotta meet with Max about our next seasonal vegetable contract, and I think I got some applications for that social media marketing job that Kingsley talked me into posting.” I turn back to find Joy staring at me with a raised eyebrow.

“So, you actually posted the job?” she says.

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