Page 132 of The Thing About My Secret Billionaire
And apparently I’m already used to not only having a boyfriend, but a boyfriend who’s best buds with three world-famous people who’re standing in my barn while a bunch of visitors hang around taking pictures of them.
“And now I’m starving,” Leo continues, “because it meant we had to cancel lunch. And Oliver was so worried about getting here quickly that he wouldn’t stop to pick up food.”
“Oo.” I pull away slightly from Miller. “I’ll go get you some pastries and coffees.”
“Hold on,” Miller says. “No point in these guys coming all the way up here for nothing.”
He turns to the crowd, rubbing his hands together with purpose. “Okay, folks.” His voice is raised to reach the back. “Let’s get everyone outside enjoying the fun. And there’s a new attraction. Have your photo taken with a donkey and one of my three friends here. For a donation, of course. They’ll also sign anything you want for another donation.”
Leo glares at Miller. “Will I have to touch them?” he mutters.
“The people or the donkeys?” Miller’s comment gets a laugh from the people at the front who’re close enough to hear.
“I promise you,” Miller continues. “You’ll get used to them quicker than you think.”
Oh my God, pictures of the donkeyswith Prince Oliver, Chase Cooper and Leo Johanssen? They’ll blow up our social media.
That will definitely give me something good to talk about in my interview for VP of digital marketing when I get back home.
Oh.
The VP job.
And Chicago being “home.”
Those two things suddenly feel utterly meaningless.
And so utterly not me.
CHAPTER FORTY
THREE WEEKS LATER
FRANKIE
“I can’t believe I won’t get to see you every day anymore.” Paige’s damp cheek presses against mine amid a hug so tight it could only be administered by a slightly drunk person.
The emotion that’s been rising in my throat all evening at my going-away party at the Orange Parasol in downtown Chicago finally cracks now all my other coworkers have left.
“I never thought I’d quit a steady job,” I say.
And I really didn’t. All my life, I thought what I’d wanted was to work my ass off to climb the corporate ladder until I had a secure salary dropping into my bank account every month that was an amount which meant I’d never have to be stressed about money. I never wanted tobe a multimillionaire—I just didn’t want to be overworked and underpaid like my parents.
I didn’t want to worry about paying the electricity bill, or what I would do if my car needed a new muffler. I just wanted to be able to buy groceries without checking which can of beans was the cheapest, to not have to put on another sweater in the winter so I didn’t have to turn up the heat, to not go a year between haircuts because visiting the salon felt like an indulgent waste of cash.
But I reached that point a long time ago. And never patted myself on the back for it. Never saw that I’d attained my goal. Never paused to enjoy my comfortable life and the free time it should have bought me.
Nope, I got caught up in the corporate whirlwind of ladder climbing until my money was piling up in the bank because I had no spare time to spend it. Because with every job came more striving for the next, more proving that I could work longer hours than anyone else to set myself up for the next promotion.
I’d ended up being worse off than my parents in many ways. Mainly because there was no love in my life. No time to love anyone. Not family, not friends, certainly not to have a relationship, which felt like it would be the biggest waste of time of all.
And that’s why I turned down the VP of digital marketing position when they offered it to me. The second I’d proven to myself I could get it, I didn’t want it anymore.
It took my grandpa’s double knee replacement and a revenge-seeking billionaire pretending to be a volunteer donkey sitter for me to see the error of my ways.
And now I’ve chosen my own new adventure.
Christmas music jingles around us in the bar as I ease out of Paige’s arms.
