Page 1 of Her Big Fat Hunky Billionaire Boss

Chapter 1

Damian scrolled through the photos in the online matchmaking service feeling more frustrated as he went. Why did he sign up for this thing? His CFO convinced him PrivilegedSingles.com was the way to go, but after a few weeks of looking through the profiles, he realized Chuck just got lucky when he found his wife. The women on Privileged Singles were horrible. They all looked plastic. He blew out a breath and closed the website, not sure why he even bothered. He was damaged goods.

He scrubbed his face with his hand and picked up his double-short low-fat no-foam latte and took a sip. The liquid warmed his throat. The Twitchy Bean always made his coffee just how he liked it. Some people called him particular. He simply knew what he liked and how to get it. Nothing wrong with that.

Enough stalling. He clicked back over to the spreadsheet he had been working on and sighed. Pleasant Hollow Times. Another month of barely scraping by. The stupid newspaper was a thorn in his side. Not that Warren Industries couldn’t take a loss. They were a multi-billion-dollar company. But that small-town newspaper made no sense. Warren Industries mostly owned tech companies.

He’d asked his father why he owned it, but every time he tried to get answers, his father would brush him off. He wouldn’t talk about it which made Damian insanely curious. And irritated.

And who even read the newspaper anymore? Everyone got their news online. Why had his father made him promise he’d keep it?

Damian shook his head. The real question was, why was he still honoring his father’s wishes? He’d passed away a year ago. There was no reason to keep the tiny newspaper business on the books. His father was gone and Damian was in charge now.

He stood from his office chair and walked to the large windows overlooking the city, the morning sun shining. He could see his reflection in the glass as he walked. His limp was more pronounced today. Stress did that to him. He’d have to do some of his exercises.

What he really wanted to do was go to Pleasant Hollow, Wisconsin and find out why his father bought the newspaper in the first place. Maybe there was some hidden value in the building that he’d see if he went there. Or maybe his father was just sentimental, hanging onto it because it represented a time gone past.

His secretary beeped in. “You have a call on line one.”

“Who is it?”

The intercom clicked. “Your mother.”

Oh, no. He didn’t want to deal with her right now. Damian grabbed his coat and pulled it on, then pushed the intercom button. “Actually, hold all my calls. I’m going to be out of the office for a few days.”

His secretary paused. “A vacation?”

Damian scoffed. “You know I don’t believe in those. This is work related.”

“Yes, sir.”

He’d go to Pleasant Hollow and look around. If he didn’t find anything, he could shut down the newspaper without feeling like he was betraying his father. He’d sell the building and finally get the strange failing business off the books. He picked up his briefcase and coffee and left the office.

As he stepped into the elevator his phone buzzed. He cringed before pulling it out and answering it. “Hello, Mother.”

“Why have you been avoiding me? I have dinner all set up for tomorrow and I don’t even know if you’re coming.”

Oops. He’d forgotten about that. “Sorry, I’m heading out of town.”

“Whatever for? I told you I wanted to set up something special on Friday night.”

The elevator doors opened and he stepped out into the underground garage. “I know what your ‘something special’ means, and I’m not interested.”

His mother sighed. “How do you know you’re not interested? You don’t even know what I’m talking about.”

Damian rolled his eyes and started toward his Lexus. “Who is she?”

“Well…I…”

“Mother. I don’t want to be set up.” He clicked his key FOB, the chirping noise echoing off the concrete walls.

“She’s lovely. You’ll like her.”

“How do you know her? Are you setting me up with a total stranger?”

“She’s Terry Johnson’s daughter.”

His mouth dropped. “Priscilla? Mom, we dated last year. Don’t you remember? She’s the one who talked non-stop about the Kardashians.” And then she dumped him when she saw his leg. But he held that last bit in.

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