Page 3 of Merging with the Billionaire

It was funny, even with her father as sick as he was, she still wanted his approval. She wondered if she would ever get it before it was too late.

“You’ll be home tonight for dinner, right?” her father inquired. “Are you still running around with that Artie Frankhurst boy? You better not be getting into any trouble with him.”

“No, Dad, I’m coming over for dinner tomorrow night,” she answered, purposely avoiding talking about Artie and the embarrassment she felt over how he’d treated her.

“There you are, Tiffany. I’m sorry I couldn’t get here sooner,” she heard her brother, Roger, say, as he came rushing up to her in the hallway of the office. “Traffic was a nightmare coming from the school.”

“Is that Roger?” Tiffany heard her father yell with excitement through the phone. “Is he there to fix everything with the sales team? Let me talk to him.”

This time, she let out the sigh she had been holding in, and rather than answer her father, she handed the phone to her brother instead. “He wants to talk to you.”

Roger spent the next few minutes convincing his father he wasn’t at the meeting and that he didn’t have anything to do with the original concept or convincing the team to accept it. By the time he got off, he looked as frustrated as she felt.

“Let me guess, he gave you all the credit.” Tiffany crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head in frustration. “I sure wish I had it as easy as you; the golden boy that Dad wanted to take over the family business since he was born. I’m just the accident that came after you, who for added insult, happened to be a girl.”

“Don’t talk about yourself that way, Tiff. None of that is true. Dad loves you and is proud of you. You can’t take any of what he just said seriously. He wasn’t even making sense when I talked to him. The disease is getting worse.”

“I wish I could blame the disease, but he’s been that way with me my whole life. He’s never believed women can do what men can do, and that’s never going to change.”

“Well, I believe in you, sis, and I know you’re doing an excellent job. I couldn’t do this without you,” Roger said, slinging his arm around her shoulders. “Now that we have that settled, I want to make sure your coming to church with us tomorrow morning.”

Tiffany nodded as they walked down the hallway and over to the elevator banks of the office building. She reached out and pressed the button to call the elevator car. “Of course I’m going. I’m glad you invited me to go to Journey Church last week. I knew something was missing in my life, I just didn’t know what until I heard the message by Pastor Greg.”

“It makes days like today a little bit easier,” Roger agreed.

“What’s wrong? Is Marcus still struggling at Marybell?” Concern for her nephew prompted her to probe Roger for details. “I thought putting him into preschool would be good for him, but not if it makes him feel like he doesn’t fit in. Maybe you should consider a private tutor?”

“I don’t think it’s because he can’t fit in, but rather, because he wants to pretend he can’t because he misses his old preschool. He thinks if he does bad, I’ll let him go back. Honestly, part of me wonders if I should.”

“Don’t give up, Roger, you’re doing the right thing. The other school was too far away, and his mother could have gotten access to it. He’s safer where he’s at now.”

Roger had gained full custody of his son, Marcus, but the boy’s mother continued to try to see him, despite the state deeming her unfit to have contact. She’d managed to avoid prison despite her drug charges when her powerful clients intervened, which just gave her all the more time to try to get Marcus back.

“Thanks, Tiff, I appreciate your support.”

“Of course, that’s what family is for.”

2

As Conrad enteredthe reception area of Boswell Oil, he prepared himself to see his enemy. It was going to be hard to pretend to be civil to the man, considering how much he despised Roger Boswell. But pretend he must if his plan was to be a success, and Conrad had put too much time, money, and effort behind it for it not to be the case.

“Good afternoon, sir. How may I help you?” a pretty brunette woman greeted with a friendly smile.

“My name is Conrad Gaines. I’m here to see Roger Boswell.”

The woman clicked a few buttons on a keyboard, then looked up at Conrad with a puzzled look on her face. “I’m sorry, Mr. Gaines, but I don’t see that you have an appointment with Mr. Boswell III.”

Conrad shook his head. “Of course, you wouldn’t. The appointment was set by Mr. Boswell Senior. There should be an appointment on his calendar with the details.”

The woman turned her attention back to the screen, clicked a few more buttons, then looked up at Conrad with a look of surprise. “So, it seems you’re right, Mr. Gaines. Mr. Boswell Senior did indeed make an appointment for you with Mr. Boswell III. I’ll have my assistant show you into the conference room while I let him know you have a meeting with him.”

A short, redheaded woman stood from the other side of the reception desk, saying, “Follow me, Mr. Gaines.”

They weaved through the back areas of the office building, turning down several halls until they reached a large room with glass windows and a large table with over a dozen chairs.

“You can take a seat anywhere. Can I get you any refreshments while you wait?”

“No, I’m fine for now. Thank you,” he said, deciding to stand rather than take a seat. He didn’t want to be caught off guard when Roger entered the room.

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