Page 8 of Her Billionaire Hero
Patton added, “I helped too, even though I was just sixteen and still in school.”
“I was thirteen and Cohen was eleven,” Warner said. “Our older brothers had their work cut out for them, wrangling us three. But they did it somehow.”
“And you all have achieved so much already,” she whispered as if she couldn’t believe it.
“Yeah, we worked through it.” I’d never thought of us as unfortunate. I’d always felt like our parent’s deaths had served to make us all a lot stronger. “They were alone at the house that morning, since my brothers were at school and I’d gone to my job as a busboy at a resort near our house. I heard the sirens from there. It never occurred to me that they were going to our house.”
“The school nurse came to get me out of class,” Stone said as he looked off in the distance. “She told me that they’d lost their lives in a fire and I really didn’t know what that meant at all. I kept asking where Mom and Dad were. I knew they lost their lives but had no idea that meant their bodies too.”
Warner smiled. “Little goof.”
“I was,” Stone admitted.
Sloan put her hand on his shoulder as her brow furrowed. “No, you weren’t a goof. You were a child who didn’t understand things like death yet. That must’ve been horrible for you guys.”
I barely remembered that time. “It was a blur. We had no home as the fire had completely destroyed it. We only had the clothes on our backs. I’d taken my car to work, so we had that. An old Chevy Nova with no air conditioning. Mom’s and Dad’s cars were in the garage and they burned as well.”
“It’s a miracle that you all have done so well.” Holding her hand over her heart, she cocked her head as she looked at me. “What a great father you must have become to your brothers, Baldwyn.” Respect filled her dark eyes. “What a great man you are,” she said so quietly I almost missed it.
“I just did what had to be done, is all.” I never liked to take credit for being anything other than a responsible human being who knew he had to take care of the only family he had left.
The adoration that radiated off her sure did make me feel super-human though.I bet I could fly right now if I really tried.
Chapter Four
Sloan
Heading back to the office, I had a whole new respect for Baldwyn Nash. “So, taking on the role of father at only nineteen. Wow.”
The way his broad shoulders moved a bit told me he didn’t think it was that big of a deal. “You never know what you can do until you’re put in the position to do it. If anyone would’ve asked me if I could’ve finished raising my four brothers, I would’ve told them there would be no way in hell. But when you’re faced with doing something or handing it over to someone else, something as important as your siblings, then you find yourself doing whatever it takes to make it work..”
“You lost your home too.” I couldn’t imagine losing so much at one time. “What did you guys end up doing?”
“My boss let us stay in the penthouse suite for nearly a year. I didn’t want to be beholden to him, though. I wanted to be able to change employment. So, I took a loan from our Uncle Rob and moved my brothers and I into a three-bedroom apartment.” He said it like it was no big deal.
“I think you’re more of a hero than you think you are. Even when it comes to giving people a shot that most wouldn’t. Like me, for instance.” I felt extremely lucky that he’d seen fit to give me the shot that I hoped would set off my career.
Pulling into the worksite, he just smiled. “You deserve the chance to start your business, Sloan. You made excellent grades in college and had stellar reviews from your internship. They made it clear they would snatch you up themselves if I didn’t hire you. You’ve earned this chance.”
“I have tried.” Warmth spread over my cheeks, as I wasn’t used to being complimented. “I will do everything I can to make you proud that you hired me to build your resort.”
“I’m sure you will.” Taking the bag with the tacos he’d brought for Lisa, he got out of the car and so did I.
I followed behind him, ducking my head as I didn’t want anyone to see the huge smile I wore. Just being in the man’s company made me feel awesome. Although I was deeply attracted to him physically, I wasn’t about to do anything about that. I wanted us to have a professional relationship. I knew people could be friends who worked together—but becoming lovers most often led to bad situations. Plus, I respected the hell out of the man.
Thinking about Baldwyn in a romantic way wasn’t what I was supposed to be doing. And being that it was my first day at work, thatreallywasn’t supposed to be happening.
“I smell Joe’s tacos,” Lisa greeted us as we came into the tiny reception area. Her golden eyes met mine. “I can thank you for this, I’m sure, Sloan.”
“I did introduce him to one of Austin’s best kept secrets. His brothers were introduced to Joe’s as well. All loved the tacos and the insane sauce.”
She took the brown bag from Baldwyn. “Oh, please tell me that you snagged me a bit of that amazing sauce.”
“I did better than snagging you a bit, Lisa.” Baldwyn grinned, proud of his magnificent feat. “Look in the bag.”
With wide eyes, Lisa opened the bag and pulled out a long glass bottle filled with the red sauce that Baldwyn had paid through the nose for after a lengthy battle with Joe. “No way!”
“Yup.” Baldwyn polished his nails on his lapel. “Joe doesn’t sell his sauce, so getting him to give me the bottle wasn’t easy.”
