Billionaires in New York Boxed Set: Billionaires in the City Books 1-3 by Laura Burton (learn to read books .TXT) 📕

“My brother is getting married in four months, and I was wondering….”

“Oh, Jaqueline. I thought you’d never ask. I’m so happy you’ve come to me and, yes, I will help you.” Emily picked up her purse and rooted through her Gucci wallet.

“What?” Jaqueline stood, blinking as Emily handed her a business card.

“Ask for Candice, she does the best wax. Ask for HD brows and do not use those nasty tanning beds at the mall. Ask for Joy, she’ll do a light natural spray tan.” Emily circled Jaqueline looking her up and down.

“It’s unfortunate you didn’t give me more notice; my hair stylist has a six-month waiting list. Perhaps he has an apprentice who could take a look at you.”

Jaqueline opened and closed her mouth like a fish out of water.

“I didn’t mean––”

Emily placed her hands on her hips.

“You don’t want a makeover and shopping spree? Surely, you’re not getting ready for a wedding without any help?” A hint of a frown appeared on Jaqueline’s face as she stood up a little more upright.

“I am going shopping with my sister next weekend, and my mom is going to do my hair.”

Emily forced a smile. Such a wasted opportunity.

“I was hoping that you could––”

Emily clapped her hands, struck by a sudden epiphany.

“Oh, you need to find a date. Well, I’m not sure it’s something I could do for free, I mean, you’re not a bad-looking girl, but it would take considerable effort on my part to find someone.”

“I have a boyfriend,” Jaqueline said quickly.

Emily stared at her defiant face and pursed her lips.

“My brother is having a small wedding in Hawaii.”

“How romantic.” Emily sighed, her eyes glazed over as she imagined standing on the sandy shores surrounded by friends and family with a string quartet playing “Canon in D” as she looked adoringly at the faceless groom in front of her.

“I need to take a couple of days off.” Jaqueline’s voice was stronger now, she seemed to have found her courage. Emily threw her hands in the air and rolled her eyes.

“Why didn’t you just say that at the beginning?”

“You didn’t let me finish.”

“Yes, sorry, I did get carried away, didn’t I? Well make sure you send me the dates you need off, and I’ll hire a temp to cover you.”

“Thank you, Ms. Stewart.” Jaqueline turned to leave.

“You know, if you change your mind about the makeover, the offer is still open.”

Jaqueline’s smile did not reach her eyes.

“I’ll think about it, thank you.” She vacated the room and closed the door behind her. Emily shimmied along the white desk and looked out of the window at the skyscrapers across the street. Her office was well-placed in downtown New York. Just a hop, skip, and jump away from Tiffany’s – the local hot spot for engagement rings—and a breath away from the Empire State Building—a popular place for proposals. The yellow phone sitting in its cradle sang loudly in the room, diverting Emily’s attention away from the window. Usually phone calls were directed to Jaqueline unless the person had her direct number. With a frown, she lifted the handset and placed it to her ear.

“Find My Companion matchmaking services, Emily Stewart speaking.”

“Good morning Emily, this is Matthew Haines.”

“Matthew. Right… hello.” Emily flipped open her pink diary and chewed the inside of her cheek as she found his name. “Matthew Haines, Investor” was underlined several times. Matthew approached Emily at a business networking event the previous week. She was on the hunt for someone to invest in her business plans and he was the only person who showed any interest.

“A couple of things have come up and the investors have asked me to go ahead with our call alone. I’ll provide feedback to them afterward.”

“Right….”

“I need to move our call to this morning.”

Emily lowered into her large leather chair and crossed her feet.

“Oh, of course, I could move some things around.” She placed the phone on speaker and pressed the buzzer next to her phone. Jaqueline opened the door and Emily motioned for her to remain silent and listen.

“What time are you thinking?” Emily attempted to sound bright and breezy, like this was not the most annoying change of events ever. She scrawled a note on her new pink diary and held it up to Jaqueline.

“I wondered if this might be a convenient time?” Matthew’s drawl had Emily imagining a retired cowboy sitting in a Texan smokehouse, ready to pony up to some beef brisket while catching the game on the big screen. He sounded far too relaxed to be discussing something as important as this. Emily nodded along.

“Absolutely, that will be fine. I’ll just need to put you on hold for a moment while I talk to my assistant.”

“Fine by me.”

Emily looked up at Jaqueline in horror.

“I need you to cancel my nine o’ clock, and tell Mr. Michaels I’ll call him later. Reschedule for this afternoon,” she murmured to her. Jaqueline nodded quickly and left the room. After taking a deep breath, Emily straightened her back and cracked her knuckles.

“I can do this,” she whispered. “Hello again, Matthew, thanks for holding.” She fiddled with the Cross pen in her hands as she spoke.

“You have a cute accent there, don’t tell me you’re a New Yorker?” Emily rolled her eyes and inwardly sighed at the question. Really? After all these years, I still have an accent?

“Well, I’ve been living in New York for almost a decade now,” she began.

“So, where are you from? Tell me about yourself.”

“Really? Okay.” Emily rubbed her palms together and cracked her neck. This conversation was not going the way she had planned.

“I grew up in London.”

“London, that’s the accent!” Matthew’s voice boomed out of the speaker.

“…where I attended Oxford and received straight As.” Emily continued, undeterred. “In addition to my studies, I took on extracurricular activities such as charity fundraising, and I earned a black belt in martial arts.” Emily inhaled and held her breath. The heavy silence from the other side