Finding the Billionaire - Macie St. James

1

Missing Billionaire Has Silicon Valley Buzzing.

Renee Forrester skimmed the article on her smartphone screen for a long moment before returning her attention to the scene outside her window. She’d promised herself a screen-free week, just enjoying her favorite inn on her favorite island off the coast of California.

Yet Silicon Valley seemed to have followed her here.

“Can I top you off?”

That came from a server named April who had stopped by here no fewer than seven times in the past fifteen minutes. Renee was the only customer, probably because everyone else was at work. It was one of the few perks of suddenly finding herself unemployed.

Renee nodded, and the server poured some coffee into the giant mug on the table in front of her. “You picked a great week to visit,” April said as she stepped back, holding the coffee pitcher in front of her. “The busy season starts up in two weeks.”

“I’m sure the storms are keeping a few people away.” Renee nodded at the window in front of her, where dark skies loomed over a choppy ocean.

“Yeah, we get a lot of traffic from boats. Not too much boating going on this week, I guess. But with all the cancelations, you pretty much get the inn to yourself.”

Nodding, Renee picked up the tiny creamer container and filled her coffee mug the rest of the way. “I didn’t really check the weather when I left. Just got in the car and drove to meet the ferry. I guess I was lucky I came in last night when the weather was still good.”

Halfway through that last sentence, it became clear that Renee was talking to herself. April’s attention had drifted to the general direction of the entrance to the dining area. Renee didn’t bother to turn to look as the server scurried off to greet the person. If someone else was staying here, she didn’t need to know about it. She wasn’t here to make friends. She was here to rest, recharge, and figure out what she was going to do with the rest of her life.

“Table for one, please.”

The deep, masculine voice almost tempted Renee to turn around. Almost. She didn’t take the bait, though. She closed her eyes as the memory of her boss’s voice came back to her.

We’re going in a different direction. It’s nothing personal. It’s just the nature of the business.

Renee had expected to be fired eventually. She was a TV news reporter, after all, and it was an industry where even the most talented, hardest-working women were often replaced by someone twenty years younger. But she was only twenty-seven. She’d been keeping her highlight reel up to date in the hopes that she’d be the one someone hired as that younger replacement reporter.

“Do you have eggs Benedict?”

Great. The guy’s voice sounded way too close. This was a fairly big dining room, too. Did the server have to place him right behind her?

“It’s a continental breakfast,” April explained in a voice that sounded a little too apologetic for the situation. “Muffins and pastries. We do have oatmeal and granola if you’d like that.”

“I’ll just have coffee,” he said.

The server scurried off and Renee took a deep breath, planning to resume her relaxation. Mr. Deep Voice had other plans.

He didn’t speak. Instead, he rustled around, moving his silverware, coughing, shifting in his seat. Somehow, he managed to make even shifting in his seat noisy. Astounding.

“Here you go,” April chirped a couple of minutes later. The sound of liquid being poured followed.

“Looks like a pretty fierce storm’s coming this way,” the man commented.

“Renee and I were just talking about that.”

Renee squeezed her eyes shut at the sound of April bringing her into the discussion. She picked up the phone, deciding the best course of action was to pretend she was so distracted, she hadn’t heard the mention of her name.

“Renee?”

So much for that. The man was saying her name.

Now the server’s voice again. “This lady right here. Looks like you two are our only guests right now.”

As much as Renee wanted to hide from the world right now, there was no denying her curious nature. It was what attracted her to being a reporter in the first place. She had to turn around and take a look.

She already had her greeting ready to go before she saw him. But as the words spilled out, she caught a glimpse of the man seated there.

Yes, he was gorgeous. Breathtakingly so. He had dark, short-cropped hair and an intense stare. There was