How to Get Auctioned to a Billionaire - London Casey Page 0,2
that were true, I would have quit on my first day.”
Athena smiled and put up her hand.
That was my warning.
Five minutes to kick off my already planned out day.
I drank coffee and checked emails on the ride to the office.
I used a regular sized car now.
The limo stuff got old and attracted attention.
Once I arrived at the office, it was the same motions as always.
Nodding here, smiling there. The heys and hellos.
Everyone called me Hudson, which I wanted them to do. They all hated it, thinking that my net worth meant they needed to call me Mr. Paulsen. I told everyone that was my father’s name.
A good man who lived large, fast, and took the family business into a corporation. He handed me the keys to the company after his cancer diagnosis and told me to trust my gut and make myself richer than he ever was.
He died.
I did what he said to do.
And here we were… present day.
Athena stood in my office, pointing to my desk.
There was a glass filled with what looked like seaweed and vomit.
“No,” I said.
“Yes,” she said. “We made a deal. Today is the last day. One more green drink and you’re done.”
“And I feel no different.”
“You have an extra pep in your step,” Athena said.
“Yeah, right,” I said. “I’ll drink that crap. Only because you said to drink it.”
“This was your idea,” she said. “Remember? You almost fell in love with that woman who owned a juice bar.”
I growled in my throat.
I had a weakness for women.
Sometimes it got me in trouble.
It was either wasting money on big vacations only to fall for someone while on vacation… or drinking two weeks of green juice that tasted like hell.
“Booker will be here soon,” Athena said. “I have to go work on reports. And make fifteen-hundred phone calls because you don’t like talking on the phone.”
“Hey,” I said. “Thanks.”
“Yeah,” Athena said. “Sure.”
She exited my office and I shut the door.
I locked it.
I grabbed my green juice and walked to the window.
The stuff smelled like fresh cut grass doused in vinegar and garlic.
I took a sip and wanted to throw up.
I thought the woman who owned the juice bar was someone special.
She just turned out to be someone for now.
And for now was over.
I drank the green juice and smacked my lips together.
Maybe I’d find that someone special and have that forever kind of thing.
Or maybe I was better off just indulging my wildest desires with my billionaire bank account…
… and drinking nasty green juice.
I smiled.
“Cheers.”
Chapter One
Hudson
When Athena told me it was a suspenders and bow tie kind of event, I ditched the bow tie, opened the top two buttons of my shirt, and slid a pair of reading glasses into the top of the shirt and smiled at her.
“This is you being a rebel?” she asked as her dark red lips collided together as she spoke.
“Something like that.”
“This is your company, Hudson. Your name. And, you know, you have accomplished what your father wanted so you could just walk away. I mean, you can be on an island right now. Just phone in once in a while to check on things. Or better yet, cash out some of your shares to have enough to survive on for the rest of your life.”
I tilted my head to one side. “You’ve thought this all through, Athena.”
“What?”
“Do you sometimes fantasize about me?”
“What?”
“I didn’t say fantasize about being with me. But you fantasize about being me. Being rich. Running a company. Just so you can cash out and walk away.”
Athena sighed. Ten years older than me and I was well aware any first, second, or third showings of gray hairs were directly and indirectly because of me.
“Do I need to go over what the agenda is tonight?” Athena asked.
“Answer my question,” I said.
“Hudson.”
“Athena,” I said. “This is important to me.”
“Okay,” she said. She put her hands at her sides. Her left hand holding a tablet. Her right hand holding papers. “How can someone not fantasize about being a billionaire? No worries about money? Sign me up. I know there are other problems in life, but if you take away money as a problem, life feels better.”
“I respect that,” I said. “And I agree. It’s fucking great to be this rich.”
“Real nice to say,” Athena said. “You walked me into that.”
“No,” I said. “And for the record, I made a promise to my dying father that I would keep my eyes on this company.”