Page 9 of The Billionaire's Obsession

Uncle Charlie had been my favorite relative growing up. He’d been interesting, full of stories about travel, and he liked to tinker with old tech, which was exactly what I liked to spend hours doing, until I got old enough to program, an obsession that soon took over my life.

He’d always had more money than my parents, but we hadn’t been poor by any stretch. I’d been born and bred in Colorado, only moving to New York for business school, and later, after my parents passed away in an unfortunate accident, I’d moved Uncle Charlie to Napa, the place he’d always wanted to retire. Now, he was getting old, and I felt the connection to the only family I had in the world growing thinner with every passing day, like a frayed thread, about to snap.

I wanted him to think I wouldn’t be alone once he passed, so he could go in peace. I also wanted to get Riley alone.

I waited for her at the private airstrip early that Saturday morning. The small private plane that we’d be taking sat on the runway. I checked my watch, irritation growing, until I spied her bright red head making its way out through the small terminal building that sat just off the private runway.

“Yeah, I know I’m late, but in my defense, I don’t want to leave L.A for this job, so this is against my will,” Riley grumbled when she got close to me. She had a small wheeling suitcase and a bag, which I immediately took from her.

She eyed me warily, like a man taking a woman’s heavy bag without being asked had to be about to attack her.

“Good morning, Riley. I’m glad you’re coming with me. Thank you for agreeing to leave the city.”

She sniffed and gave a half- nod shrug, and looked over my shoulder. “Where’s the plane?”

I followed her gaze. “That’s it.”

Riley paled. “That’s the plane? I thought it was a little machine for cleaning the runway.”

Chuckling, I shook my head. “Nope. Don’t worry, it’s perfectly safe, and uses much less fuel than a bigger plane would.”

“I don’t think I can get in that,” Riley said, looking panicked.

Hefting her bag, I started across the tarmac toward the plane. “Of course you can,” I called back.

“No, I really can’t!”

“Let’s go, we don’t want to be late!”

* * *

Riley grippedthe arms of her chair with dedication and stared ahead.

“Here, do you want a drink?” I wondered, passing her a bottle of water. She shook her head, never loosening her lethal grip on the chair arm.

“You know you’re not keeping the plane up with sheer force of will, right?” I teased her. I couldn’t help it. She was so adorable. She was a tumbling ball of contradictions and I found her increasingly fascinating. She was, in turns, funny and defiant, charming and creative, and stunning all the while. I couldn’t look away from her. I never know what she was going to do next, and I liked it.

“Not big on planes, eh?”

“I don’t mind the big ones that much, but I’ve not flown often. You? I guess you fly around everywhere by private jet?”

“I’ve flown my fair share, but my work keeps me busy and in one place. I don’t actually remember the last time I flew somewhere on holiday, or to do something not-work related when I got there.”

Riley frowned at me. “But you’re a billionaire. You could go anywhere in the world,” she pointed out.

I shrugged. “Being a billionaire means working a lot, believe it or not, they go hand in hand.”

“That sucks. If I was a billionaire, I’d just want to travel all the time.”

“Then you might not be a billionaire for long,” I mused. “Where would you go?”

“Europe, of course. Italy and Greece first…. The pottery…” she shivered with excitement. Her eyes sparked with interest. “I’d travel all over Europe, and go to all the galleries, more than once. Then the Hermitage in Russia, and then head over to Asia.” She let out a long breath. “There’s so much to see.”

“You’ve thought about this,” I observed.

She laughed, her hands finally relaxing on the armrests as she was drawn into the conversation about travel. “More like daydreamed about it endlessly. Not that I’ll ever get to go, but dreaming is free.”

“Why won’t you ever get to go? Life is long, and you’re just young,” I pointed out.

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