Disillusioned Billionaire: Clean Billionaire Sweet Romance (The Irish Billionaires Book 3) Read online

  Disillusioned Billionaire

  The Irish Billionaires

  Jill Snow

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  Copyright © 2018 by Jill Snow

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Chapter 49

  Chapter 50

  Chapter 51

  Chapter 52

  Chapter 53

  Chapter 54

  Chapter 55

  Chapter 56

  Chapter 57

  Chapter 58

  Chapter 59

  Chapter 60

  Chapter 61

  Chapter 62

  Chapter 63

  Chapter 64

  Chapter 65

  Chapter 66

  Chapter 67

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Also by Jill Snow

  Chapter 1

  “Zoe. You’re late. Again,” her dad’s voice called to her.

  Zoe shot out of bed so fast, she tripped over the sheet and landed with a thump on the cold wooden floor. “Ouch,” she groaned as she picked herself up, realizing she’d been dreaming again. For a few seconds she wanted to lie there and pretend the dad she adored was still here to call her to get up in the mornings. She touched the alarm button on her clock to stop it from going off at 7 a.m. Grabbing a towel, she headed for the shower.

  Once showered and changed into her overalls, she knocked on Dominic’s door. “Come on sunshine, breakfast in ten.” She checked to make sure he had heard her before heading downstairs. She had to be at the garage by eight. Dominic would have to get himself out to school this morning. Again.

  She poured two glasses of orange juice and made some whole wheat toast with scrambled eggs on top. Her mom had always made her eggs when she was going to school; she insisted they were good for the brain.

  Zoe’s eyes lingered on the photo of her mom and dad. They were smiling and looking carefree. It was a reminder to Zoe that nothing good ever lasted.

  “Zoe, you woke me screaming. Did you have nightmares again?” Her little brother walked into the kitchen rubbing sleep from his eyes.

  “Sorry Dominic. Yeah I got that one about the witch from the Wizard of Oz,” she lied. Dominic didn’t need to know how worried she was that social services would take him away. If she lost their house and her job, she couldn’t support him. She didn’t want to leave Cloudy Bay. Some people preferred the nearby larger town of Davenport or Scotts Creek Beach but she loved it here. She loved living near the sea and going for walks to watch the whales and dolphins swimming was a highlight of her day. It was hard to imagine they lived so close to Silicon Valley yet their little town had seemed to escape the concentrated building boom other towns had suffered. As far as she was concerned that was the way it was going to stay.

  “You’re funny. Imagine an adult being scared of witches. My teacher says it’s only make believe.”

  Zoe smiled at her brother. She wouldn’t let social services take him away from her. No matter what it took, she would keep a roof over his head and food in his belly. She would keep her promise to her dad, Dominic would inherit the garage. She ruffled his hair.

  “I got to go now, Dom. Do I need to sign your homework or anything?”

  “Nope you did it last night, remember? When you were at the table looking at all those figures. I’m good at math, want me to help you tonight?”

  “No thank you darling. I have it under control.” She smiled, hoping her voice sounded confident. Under control, that was laughable. Dominic would take one look at the accounts and he would see the books didn’t balance. He was coming up on eleven but he was in the gifted program at school. Made her wonder how they could be related.

  “Have a great day at school.”

  Her brother was biting his fingers again. He did that when he was nervous. Her stomach roiled. Was he in trouble at school?

  “You okay?”

  “Zoe, can I try out for the basketball team?”

  She smiled with relief. She should have known he was thinking about a game. He was sports mad. “Sure. You’re good and you certainly practice enough.”

  The smile on her brother’s face widened.

  “You’re the best sister ever. If I get through, Coach says I’ll need new sneakers. A new ball would be good too.”

  “Good luck with it,” Zoe called as she walked through the front door, her fingers crossed. She was horrible for wanting her brother to fail. If he made the cut, even thought the school would cover the cost of transport and his kit, she had no way of paying for new sneakers. At least not the expensive ones Dominic said were needed to play at his best.

  Chapter 2

  It didn’t take long to arrive at Clark and Sons, traffic wasn’t a huge problem in their little town unless it was tourist season. Despite the early hour, Jim was already there.

  “Morning Jim, how are you this morning?”

  “Zoe, have you not paid the Lyons account yet? They’ve left messages threatening to turn off our credit. We can’t run the garage without supplies.”

  She wished Jim didn’t keep repeating the obvious. She may only be a girl, but she had a brain. “I’m sure I sent them a check. I’ll deal with it.”

  She cut off his response by walking into her dad’s old office and closing the door behind her. It had been her office since her father had dropped dead of a heart attack five years ago, but she hadn’t changed a thing. His mug, although clean now rather than half full of milky coffee, was still sitting on the table. Putting down her purse and the accounts folder she had been working on last night, she switched on the computer. Keeping her fingers crossed, she hoped she would be able to persuade a few of her debtors to pay their bills. Then she could transfer cash to Lyons.

  Sometime later, after numerous calls, she had gathered a thousand dollars. She would use that to pay to Lyo
ns if she could get a week more on the deadline. They had already phoned three times, but each time she told Jim to say she was out. She dialed the number waiting for Chris to pick up.

  “Christopher Lyons.”

  “Hi Chris, it’s Zoe Clark. Sorry for missing your calls this morning. Been busy. How are things with you?”

  “Cut the bull, Zoe, you owe us five thousand dollars. That check you gave me last week bounced better than my kid’s basketball. I want payment. Today.”

  “Chris, I’m so sorry about the check. You know what us women are like. So forgetful,” Zoe twittered on in her girlish voice. She’d learned the hard way. Chris Lyons and men like him hated women who believed they were equal. So if she wanted him to give her some time, she had to play his game. “Listen, I know you’ve been extra nice and so patient. Thank you. I have a thousand in cash I can get to you by the end of the week. And I’ll—”

  “No can do Zoe. I want the five thousand today or the account is closed.”

  “No, you can’t do that.” Please don’t do that, she prayed. I need a chance. A final one.

  “I think you’ll find, I can do anything I want. You didn’t keep to the terms of the credit.”

  “I know, I’m sorry. Things are just a bit tight right now. Listen, how about I pay you a thousand today and the balance by the end of the month? If I don’t pay, I won’t try to stop you from closing the account. Deal?”

  “Two thousand today and the rest by month’s end. I am doing you a real favor here, Zoe.”

  Zoe wished there was another way than to have to take a favor. He wouldn’t be at any loss, not with the interest and late payment penalties he would charge. But she had no choice. The bank wouldn’t lend her a dime and she had to keep the garage open.

  “Thank you, Chris. I really appreciate it.”

  “I’ll be there in two hours. Maybe we can do lunch? We could talk about a more acceptable credit arrangement going forward.”

  Zoe cringed. She didn’t want to spend a second in Chris’s company. Despite being married, he flirted with every woman he came across.

  “Oh it’s my turn to volunteer at Dominic’s school today, but Jim will be here. He’ll have the cash. Oh, customer waiting, got to go. Thanks so much, Chris.” She hung up before he could respond.

  Two thousand dollars, where was she going to get that in two hours?

  Chapter 3

  She pulled up her accounts records again. One customer owed three thousand. She phoned him, getting straight through which was unusual.

  “Hi Mr. Stone, it’s Zoe Clark from Clark’s and Son. I’m calling about your outstanding balance.”

  “I’ll pay it at the end of the month, as usual.”

  “I’m sorry but the account is now overdue by sixty days. We need the balance to be paid in full today.” She aimed for a firm tone rather than demanding. She didn’t want to come across badly. Stone, although always a late payer, was a long-term client. One she couldn’t afford to lose.

  “No can do, sweetheart. I got a business to run.”

  Fuming, Zoe struggled to keep her cool. Her dad had always said the customer was always right even when they were wrong. It was the way of small businesses. They had to keep the customer happy.

  “Don’t we all.” She laughed as if she were joking. “Look Mr. Stone, you’re busy and I’m busy. Why don’t I just drop over and collect the money from you this morning? Then it will be out of both our minds.”

  “You seem in a major hurry there, Zoe. I tell you what, I’ll give you twenty-five hundred and we call it quits.”

  Zoe almost gave into the impulse to scream but she couldn’t. She knew he wouldn’t have had this conversation with her dad, but dealing with a woman was different in his eyes.

  “Sorry, can’t do that Mr. Stone. The accountant will fire me. So is 11 a.m. a good time for me to drop in?”

  “If you want your money today Zoe, I will give you twenty-eight hundred and that’s my final offer. Otherwise you wait until the end of the month.”

  She waited in silence, hoping he would take the hint but he didn’t. She wanted to say no, but she couldn’t. If they lost the credit at Lyons, she would have to shut up shop today.

  “Okay, but I’ll only take cash,” she said firmly. He had screwed her over but she wasn’t going down without a bit of a fight.

  “Zoe! That’s not how it works and you know it. ”

  “Come on Mike.” She purposefully used his first name as her dad had done. “You made an offer, I accepted. But the condition is cash. I will call to your office at 11 a.m.”

  He actually laughed. She wanted to put the phone down, but she bit her lip and said nothing.

  “Lovely doing business with you Zoe. Wish everyone I had to deal with was as pretty as you.” And he hung up.

  Zoe stared at the phone. Mr. Stone wouldn’t have spoken to her dad like that. But then, her dad would have arranged better terms with Chris Lyons than she had. He would never have given a customer the impression he was desperate for cash. As Jim kept telling her, her dad had real business brains.

  She fired off an email to Chris Lyons to tell him the money would be dropped off at his office before 1 p.m. That way she could avoid him coming here. The balance she had recovered would pay Jim’s wages and give her enough money to cover the balance of the mortgage. Whether she had money to cover the arrears would depend on what the business produced over the next few days.

  Her phone rang again.

  “Morning, Clark and Sons.”

  “Hi honey, you don’t sound too cheerful. Everything okay?”

  Well that depends. She’d just kept the family business open for another week. That was a kind of success, wasn’t it?

  “Yes, Kathy, everything is fine. I’m just distracted. How are you?”

  “Great darling. Listen I need a favor. I have to go to Conor’s wedding and I need you to come with me.”

  “Me? Kathy, you know I hate weddings. Can’t you take one of the girls?”

  “No, they’re too young. It’s for over 18’s only. I have to go, no I want to go. Conor and Emily changed my life. But, I can’t go alone. Please Zoe.”

  “I’m sorry, I—"

  “You are such a sweetheart, thank you so much. I’ll see you on Wednesday. You and Dominic are still coming over for dinner, aren’t you?”

  “Yes we are, but Kathy, I don’t have anything to wear to a wedding like that.”

  “Course you do. Stop making excuses, I’ll see you Wednesday. Bye darling and thank you.”

  Zoe couldn’t believe it. How did her aunt think she had anything suitable in her wardrobe to go to a Billionaire’s wedding? The only dress she owned was the black one she’d worn to her dad’s funeral. She couldn’t wear that. She’d have to talk her aunt out of it at dinner. But if she were a betting woman, she would end up at the wedding. Her aunt didn’t often take no for an answer.

  Chapter 4

  The wedding venue was exquisite. No expense had been spared but it didn’t look like some events which screamed money and no taste. This one was understated but glamorous. He could see Emily’s personality coming out. He stared out of the floor to ceiling windows onto the exquisite gardens outside. He could picture his mam asking the gardeners for advice on growing such amazing flowers. His mam loved gardening even though her own backyard was only slightly bigger than a postage stamp. He wished his parents would let him buy them a bigger house in Dublin.

  Declan Malone sipped champagne, looking around at all the smiling couples, who seemed to glide rather than walk around the gardens, champagne glasses in hand. He spotted Emily talking to various guests. She had looked stunning when she walked over the small bridge to reach the garden fountains where Conor had been waiting for her. The expression on both their faces had quite a few ladies in tears. He’d even spotted the odd gentlemen having to squeeze their eyes shut quickly to keep the tears at bay.

  What was it about weddings? Everyone at them seemed to be head over h
eels in love, as though one couple’s feelings could amplify those of everyone around them. With one exception. Him.

  Lord if anyone could read his mind, they would think he was jealous of Conor. He wasn’t. Conor had been his best friend for years and he was thrilled he and Emily had found each other. Conor and his extraordinary ability to find and develop investment opportunities was part of the reason for Declan’s financial success. There were plenty of wealthy actors in Hollywood but few billionaires.

  Maybe he was a little bit jealous. He had never been close to getting married. His relationships, if you could call them that, barely lasted a month. He had a hard time believing girls wanted him, rather than his bank account. Before he had become famous, no girl had looked twice at him.

  “Least you could do is look happy for me, Dec.”

  Startled, Declan glanced at his friend. “I am Conor. Emily is a lovely girl.”

  “But…”

  Declan looked his friend in the face. “I don’t know. I just…I guess I’m bored—not at your party—but just, you know, in general,” he admitted. That was it. There was no excitement in his life. After working so hard for years, now what should he do? He had achieved his goal. He was one of the highest paid actors in Hollywood. But it didn’t give him what he thought it would.