Page 7 of Merging with the Billionaire

“Roger knows how much I love him. Everyone pales in comparison to him for me. I just don’t want you to work so hard at Boswell Oil that you give up on love. You deserve to find someone to spend your life with,” Celeste encouraged.

“My parents haven’t been a glowing example of a happy marriage. Add to it how Artie treated me, and I don’t even know if I would ever entertain the idea of going down that road myself.”

“You just need to find the right guy, Tiffany, and that hasn’t happened yet.”

“Let’s focus on your wedding, because despite how it started out between you and my brother, the two of you have managed to show me there is at least one good relationship in the world.”

“See, it can happen,” Celeste stated optimistically.

“Sure, but a good relationship is like a flawless diamond, rarely seen. Plus, I’m betting you only get one per family.” Wanting to change the subject, Tiffany asked, “So, how is everything going with the wedding?”

“Good, really good. I’m surprised how involved Roger has been—most men don’t care about wedding details.”

Tiffany quirked an eyebrow. “My brother isn’t like most guys. He’s always liked planning a good party, even as a kid, he went over every detail with my mother for his birthday parties.”

“I do, and I won’t apologize for it,” Roger chimed in, coming up to stand beside them.

“It’s not that; I’m just worried what it means for me. I don’t want to end up in some couture dress I can’t breathe in because it’s the latest fashion from Paris and you insist it’s the must-have for the bridesmaids,” Tiffany pointed out.

Roger shook his head. “Celeste put her foot down when I tried to give my input about the dresses. She said that was strictly women’s territory.”

Tiffany smiled with gratitude. “I see my soon-to-be sister-in-law has my back. I like that.”

“I do. Us ladies need to stick together, especially when we have Roger trying to charm us into something we don’t want,” Celeste teased, looping her arm through Tiffany’s. “Let’s go find a seat before the place fills up.”

Journey Church was in the heart of SoHo and so popular, most Sundays ended up being standing room only in the back. If they wanted a seat, they needed to get in the sanctuary early.

They made their way into the main part of the church, found seats towards the middle of the room. Several church attendees came up and greeted them, shaking their hands and exchanging pleasantries.

The lights dimmed, the music started to play, and everyone stood and started singing. The lyrics of the contemporary worship songs were displayed on the screens to either side of the stage. Each song was better than the last, and by the end, Tiffany was relaxed, her spirit refreshed, and she was ready to hear the message.

Pastor Greg made his way to the middle of the stage and took his place behind a glass podium. He was wearing his usual jeans and button-up shirt along with a friendly smile.

“Good morning, Journey Church. It’s so good to see all of you here this morning. Can you believe the holidays are approaching? I know we all get busy during this time of year, but I want to talk about not allowing your busy schedule to keep you from the most important things in life.”

The pastor spent the next twenty minutes talking about prioritizing God and family above all the other parts of life that seem to take our focus. By the end of it, Tiffany realized that she might be doing that, but she wasn’t sure how to change it. She needed to make the new solar energy division of Boswell Oil a success if she was going to prove her worth. That type of task left little time for anything else, but she felt a nagging in her heart that she needed to listen to what the pastor was saying and make a change.

When Pastor Greg asked if anyone wanted to give their lives to God, without knowing why, her hand shot up. As the warmth of joy in her new decision filled her from the inside out, she realized she had just made the right choice to change her life for the better.

4

Today wasthe day he was going to make progress with Tiffany Boswell. Over the past week, she had kept Conrad at arm’s length, engaging with him when she needed, but halting their progress by second-guessing his every suggestion and opinion.

It also didn’t help that he found her more and more attractive every time he was around her, despite his best efforts to remind himself he wasn’t there to pursue Tiffany Boswell. Every once-in-awhile, he would get a whiff of her intoxicating scent of lavender and honey, and he would swear it was like standing on a mountain top in the middle of spring. She was so pretty, with her baby-blue eyes and golden blonde hair. He often found himself wanting to reach out and touch her locks to see if they felt as soft as they looked.

Though all of that was true, it didn’t help him to be thinking about it. He needed to be focused on getting the merger finished so he could finally get his revenge on Roger, but that couldn’t happen with Tiffany’s constant distrust of him. He had to find a way to get her to relax around him and stop putting up blocks every step of the way.

During his time working with her, he realized she loved coffee just as much as he did. Though the coffee machine at Boswell Oil was adequate, it wasn’t nearly as good as the one he had at home. He figured coffee was his way of getting her to trust him.

“Here you go,” Conrad said, handing Tiffany a cup of coffee he brought from home for her. “I brought this for you.”

Tiffany looked at the cup with disdain as if it was filled with poison. She took it begrudgingly and placed it to the side of the conference table.

“What’s wrong with the coffee I gave you?”

“I don’t drink coffee given to me by men I don’t trust,” she explained. “And you should know, a cup of coffee isn’t going to change my opinion of you.”

“Even if it’s the best coffee in the world? I can guarantee you, it is,” he boasted, picking the cup back up and handing it to her a second time.

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