Page 3 of The Billionaire's Housekeeper

Of course, when it accidently got leaked on the Internet, all hell broke loose. They had to go for major damage control to salvage the respectable name of the Belmont family line. As one may have expected, Giline got back into the limelight and penned a seven-figure book deal after that along with her own reality show. The angle of it was what it was like to be with a Belmont heir, from the long family line of honorable figures in the country’s history, and one of the major contributors to the economic development of the area. Now sex tape co-star.

Needless to say, Giline’s once-failing career in the entertainment biz took off—again.

“Well, you know Aunt Maya does have a point, Chase,” Brandon added.

“She does?”

“Of course. You can always go out to the ranch resort as a worker from the family. No one knows or sees us out there. Just grow your shadow. Once you’re sporting a little beard and maybe dye your hair, you’re good to go. No one would even suspect you’re a Belmont going to work as a maintenance worker. You know your way around fixing stuff, right?”

“Yeah, I guess you have a point. But I’m just not feeling the vibe. The last thing I want to do is hook up with some girl out in the valley.”

“But there you go. You can see if she likes you for you, not what you have or which family dynasty you’re from.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Cole agreed. “You should go for it, Chase. What have you got to lose? That way you can probably make Dad happy in his last days. He said you should at least be in a loving and stable relationship, right?”

“True,” Chase agreed, half-heartedly. He still had an uneasy feeling about the whole darn situation. He loved his father very much, but this over-hype about being in a relationship and married was a bit much, and unnecessary if you asked him. After all, wasn’t his father married four times? Okay, his father admitted to being caught by the family curse because he refused to follow the tradition of putting the boutonniere in the family’s good luck brass bucket handed down from his great-grandfather, Jonah Belmont I, but there must be more to it than that.

Still, looking at how truly on top of the world Brandon and Dane were in their marriages, he could not deny how powerful and magical it had transformed his brothers and turned out so well for them. They’d be talking about babies soon.

Where did that leave Chase?

Would he be destined for a life of loneliness because he completely distrusted women—at least where long-term relationships were concerned? Sure, he’d be up for a physical relationship with them but his plan was never get involved for the long haul, after what Giline did to him. Safe sex, not love had been his motto since then. But could this really work? Did such a dainty woman with no desire to lust over material wealth such as his truly exist?

“Besides, you need to know who’s spreading these rumors about the Belmont land out there,” Brandon added, coolness in his tone. “Better to let people think you’re just a worker going out there, and not management. That way you can see who’s hanging out at the facility and what they’re up to.”

“Sure thing. That sounds like a good way to get down to the bottom of this,” Chase agreed. “Fine, my name from now on, or my code name, will be Chuck.”

Cole burst out laughing almost choking on his drink. “You’re not serious!”

“Well, of course I’m serious. You don’t really think I’m going to go as Chase Belmont now, do you?”

“But come on, Chuck? You can do better than that.”

“Right. Well, I’ll be Chad then. Chad’s closer to Chase than Chuck.”

“Right, Chad. Whatever you say,” Cole teased him. His younger brother seemed to be having fun with this new idea of identity change.

“Oh, don’t worry, little bro,” Chase added. “Your time is next.”

“Me?” Cole said.

“Yes, you. If I meet a girl to settle down with and that’s a big if!” he added, “then you’re going to be next.”

“Oh, no.”

“Oh, yes.”

“Right, Chase. We’ve got to get this thing set up then,” Brandon said. “I’ll get the uniform with your new identity and name tags set up so you can go out there undercover. And in the meanwhile, I’ll look into what’s really going on down there.”

There were clearly advantages to having a big brother who was a security, investigative and espionage specialist. It was a good thing Brandon had the connections to get this gig going. Chase just hoped it wouldn’t backfire on the family or the business. He still had an uneasy feeling about the whole undertaking. But anything for his father.

Chase’s specialty was getting things organized and in shape. While Brandon’s was security and high-tech investigation.

Chase drew in a deep breath. Why did he feel as if he’d live to regret this?

The music stopped playing and Aunt Maya went up to the podium to speak. “Thank you so much for coming, everyone,” she said. “As you know, we appreciate you being here to show your wonderful support for my dear brother, Jonah.”

Everyone was silent for a moment.

“Well, I’m not really much for words, but I’m going to let Jonah speak. He’s much better at it than I am. Jonah?” she called before handing the microphone to Jonah Belmont as he walked onto the stage with his walking stick. Since physio had been seeing him three times a week, he’d gotten much smoother with his gait. For a while he’d regressed but Chase was happy to see days when his father’s health got stronger.

“Thank you, Maya. Everyone, thank you so much for being here to…um…well,” he chuckled, “to see me off, I guess.”

“Jonah!” Maya said, blushing. “You’re making everyone feel uncomfortable.” She tittered with obvious adoration.

“Oh, nonsense, Maya. I’m an old man. What do you think? I’ve lived a full life and done millions of great activities. Which brings me to why I want to speak right now. I’ve learned a lot during my time. Seventy-five is still young but it’s still a good age. Doc has given me six months to a year…I give him six months to see me turnaround and beat this thing.”

Gales of laughter erupted from the guests. Jonah wasn’t one to shy away from his sense of humor at any time, even at the worst of times. Chase always admired his father’s bravery and honesty. He was a good man. Even the fact that he’d had affairs between his four marriages, he sought to find his former mistresses to make sure they were taken care of and if they’d given him any heirs he didn’t know about, like Dane and Brandon, he wanted to make sure he did the right thing by providing for them in his revised will. Talk about honor. The man always thought of others. Even now. That was why Chase wanted more than anything to clear up this crazy disaster waiting to happen out at the Belmont Ranch Resort before the media got wind of it.

“You know, a lot of people look at what the family has; you all know our family history and the township. And many of you have probably read in the media about us living lives of luxury. Well, truth be told, guys, luxury, true luxury, I mean, is having good health because not every has that luxury. So we must take care of it and take nothing for granted. It’s not the wealth, but my health during these years that have made me happy because I was able to do everything I wanted to do. So don’t take the little things for granted like being able to see, hear, get up in the morning without physio helping you up—though I feel blessed to have these incredible people by my side, and being able to smell the aroma of my sister’s god awful coffee in the morning…”

Laughter erupted from the guests while Aunt Maya grinned and rolled her eyes, her arms folded across her chest as she listened to her brother close by on the stage.

“I see a lot of young people here today,” Jonah continued. “The Santigo family, the Bradleys, the Lee family…my God, so many of you have turned up with your growing brood. I remember going to all of your christenings. It’s uplifting to see it. And as many of you are aware, I’ve given my sons a bucket list challenge. Yes, a bucket list challenge. And for my boys, they know the story behind the Belmont family’s heirloom brass bucket that was handed down from previous generations. It’s vital they place their boutonnieres inside for the family blessing on their lives. So far, I’ve got two and I need five from all of my boys.”

“Anyway, we all want to do things before we…” he continued, “well, let’s just say transition to another life.” He coughed. “So, my challenge is not only that my sons do the right thing and settle down to a good life with someone they love and respect, but I see so many workaholics and young and upcoming entrepreneurs here, making their way in life to give back to society but I don’t want to see any of you end up alone because it’s not really money that makes the world go round and this is coming from someone who’s got a lot. It’s love that makes the world go round or at least makes the ride worth it. I’m so very proud of my son Dane and my son Brandon for taking that challenge and not leaving love off the table. Though they were dubious, they’ve found wonderful wives and soul mates. Success is nothing without someone you care about to share it with. I’m very proud of Cole, Leo and Chase, too, but I hope they find someone nice to settle down with soon.”

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