Page 16 of My Boss is a Billionaire

The town is still asleep, obviously. Even the hotel staff are non-existent.

“Your plane will be ready and waiting, Mr. Jacobs. We should be there in about forty-five minutes. Would you like to stop and grab something to eat before we leave town?”

Harper never told me where she lived. But from overhearing her talking with the others in the office, I assume it must be near the bakery. Though it wouldn’t be open at this hour. “No. Head straight to the airport, please.”

“Yes, sir.”

During the drive, I answer more emails and get a head start on the research for my new project. There’s an old, abandoned furniture factory in Arizona. The location might be ideal for another distribution center. But I’ll need to get somebody down there to scout it out before I’ll consider the investment. The jobs it would create in the community would be significant.

On the plane, I have the coffee I need while I listen to a business webinar. By the time we touch down in Casper, I think I’ve successfully forgotten all about Harper Anderson.

It works until I wrap up things in the office and head to my penthouse apartment later that day.

It hits me once I’ve settled in for the evening, bored because I don’t have a clue what to do with myself. I miss her.

I shouldn’t miss her. I had no plans to miss her.

My goal had been to shut down her articles on me. I did that when I bought the paper. I never intended to run the business, so now I need to decide what to do with it.

I guess I’ll just put Marty Regent in charge.

And then what?

My brain conjures up an image of Harper spread out on my hotel room bed, naked, with chunks of strawberries and pineapple dotting her belly. I remember drinking pineapple juice from her belly button. The strawberry flavor of her nipples.

I glance out the window in time to see the blinking lights of a plane pass overhead. I’m too far up to hear noise from the street, but I never tire of watching the traffic in the sky. Normally, I can sit in my living room or out on my patio with a beer in hand and just gaze up at the sky.

Tonight, the sight only reminds me of how far away Harper is. Not far by airplane, but far enough that I can’t leave the building and walk to her apartment or insist she comes to mine.

I check the time. Seven p.m.

Harper time.

I wonder if she’s even thinking of me.

Chapter9

Harper

Ineeded a distraction, so I invited Sally out for dinner. Sally’s been a good friend since my parents retired and moved to Florida. Single herself, with her own parents in a home, we sort of watch out for each other.

It’s been a week since I’ve seen Liam. A week since he left town, leaving Marty in charge, at least temporarily, and with strict instructions that I do not publish any articles about him.

The council vote is scheduled for next week. I heard he met with the mayor and made a good impression. He said he would even return to do the presentation himself, which I’m told he usually leaves to his project managers. So I’m unsure if that’s because I somehow changed his mind, or if he had a change of heart.

I used my time to research Liam Jacobs, the billionaire. I learned a lot too. And I can admit when I’m wrong.

I won’t admit I’m wrong about Liam, though. All those things I accused him of are true.

In essence.

Sort of.

I may have exaggerated a little.

I discovered that what he told me was true. The companies he purchased were generally already in need of assistance. Some of his takeovers were hostile; those were the ones I focused on because those are the headline grabbers.

But his intentions always seemed fair. I guess I didn’t give him enough credit. He bought businesses or built new ones, but he did it to ensure people continued to have jobs. The new ventures he created appeared successful, even years later.

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