Sneak Peek
Second Chance with My Billionaire
Chapter 1
Lily
I sigh in exasperation, looking at the pile of papers on my desk, stacked beside it and on the old bookshelf that creaks with every touch. Even my chair—when I'm seated, is old, creaky, and falling apart.
I turn to the man standing in front of my desk with a smile on his face. The smile is supposed to be encouraging, but I feel hopeless.
"There's nothing for me here," I say to my boss, Ethan, the same thing I have been repeating since he walked into my office ten minutes ago with my resignation letter in hand.
I dropped it on his desk, hoping to avoid a conversation. This conversation.
He clicks his tongue and shakes his finger, a gesture I have come to tolerate. When I started working for him five years ago, it annoyed me. Of course, I couldn't tell him, but I gritted my teeth and clenched my fists each time he called me into his office.
"You're the best journalist in this town, Lily.You know this town needs you—it’s where you grew up and got your first job after college. Covering dangerous news…it isn't for people like us. You should be happy living in a small town where the worst crime is maybe petty theft."
I know he's only trying to butter me up because I'm not the best journalist in town. I don't think I can call myself that, as Ethan has made it a point to cover whatever is newsworthy, leaving me to deal with unimportant, trivial fluff.
I don't know why I returned to Glen Valley—or why I stayed when nothing was left for me.
"I'm going to New York," I say firmly. "I'm going to get a job there. All I need from you is one of your glowing recommendations.”
Ethan laughs.
"New York? Do you know how many people try to make it there? How many journalists with dreams end up doing odd jobs that pay peanuts? I know because I tried it. I studied at a good university and moved to New York with all my savings.”
"I stayed for six months without getting any job and then for another two years with a shitty one. That's why I came here to open my own newspaper. You're one of the highest-paid journalists here, Lily. Trust me, you're better off working for me until I'm ready to retire and put you in charge."
Never.
For several reasons, the biggest of them being that I don't plan to be a washed-up, small-town journalist like Ethan.
"I plan to move to New York," I repeat.
"Okay. Fine," he throws up his hands. "You know what? You need a story. A good one—a big one! Then you'll see that Glen Valley is just as exciting as the Big Apple."
I look at him with doubt—both brows creasing.
"You said it yourself that the most thrilling headlines we get here is petty theft? Are you going to stage a crime?"
"No." He clicks his tongue. "But I have a story for you. I would take it because it comes with some risk, and I think you're up for it. There's a man who just moved into town. A wealthy man. I believe his name is Benjamin Hayes, but that might not be his real name.”
"Word on the street," Ethan moves closer to my seat, "is that he's done some shady things that he’s worked hard to cover up. Someone told me he's hiding from the law, and they will owe us big if we find anything incriminating on this guy. Since he's here, in Glen Valley it's our job to expose the truth."
"You think every wealthy person gets rich through questionable means," I remind him. "I don't want to go on a wild goose chase because you have a hunch that belongs to a dead end. Or,” my eyes narrow, "are you doing this because you want me to stay?”
“You want me to chase my tail long enough that I forget about resigning?"
Ethan gives me no reply, and I watch, rolling my eyes, as he walks out of my office.
Six years ago, was the time I should have left Glen Valley. Which would have happened if not for the one unfortunate incident I will continue to regret as long as I live. As regret is the only thing I have. Now, I'm left with no other choice but to trust Ethan's hunch , in hopes that it will lead me to something worth postponing my departure from this town and get me the recommendation I need to move on.
As I step out of the building hours later, I see Ethan trying to start his car. A Chevy Camaro that has seen better days. Ethan owns the Glen Valley Gazette, you would think he could afford a new car, if for nothing else but to keep up appearances.
"Lily!" He calls out to me.
I give him a tight smile in return.
"If you quit, you'll miss out on the biggest story of your life. Don't say I never did anything for you!"
I keep smiling until he looks away, then roll my eyes. Ethan Temple is not the worst boss in town, but sometimes I wish he could read my thoughts and see that the only reason I'm still working for him is because I have nowhere else to go.
***
"You know he's stringing you along, right?" Hope, my childhood friend, and the only person I grew up with who wants to stay in Glen Valley, says as she hands me a glass of wine.
I don't point out that it's only five p.m. because I know she needs it after getting dumped by her fiancé, who told her he wanted to pursue his career outside the country and couldn't handle a long-distance relationship.
"I can't do anything about it," I say sadly. "If I go to some big city newspaper with my qualifications, they'll have me serving coffee and stocking supplies. I need a major headline-grabbing story for my portfolio—something big enough to get my name splashed across the front page.”
Hope shrugs and sits on her old armchair that she refuses to throw out, even though it’s coming apart at the seams and some piece of it needs to be repaired every other week.
She takes a gulp straight from the bottle.
"There's a reason why people come to retire here, Lily. Glen Valley is as safe as it can be. They like their news local and simple. You're not going to get the break you need if you don’t leave this town. We all know there is a reason that Ethan is the one to cover all the “juicy” news.”
"And we all know that he's responsible for instigating half of the petty crimes that happen around here."
"You don't believe that," I reply, giving my usual response to a long-standing argument between us.
Hope is certain that Ethan is crooked why else would a supposedly successful journalist come to Glen Valley to settle. She believes that once he found out there was nothing newsworthy about this town, he began paying people to commit petty crimes.
"I absolutely do believe that. Most of the crimes we hear about happened after he moved here—months later he bought that property and turned it into the newspaper."
I take a sip from the glass and almost spit it out.
Where does she get this wine? Every bottle I've drunk since Hope branded herself an alcoholic has been filled with something akin to grape juice mixed with sewer water.
I place the glass on the coffee table.
"Coincidence."
"My ass. You're only saying that because you work for him, and the second you let yourself see that I'm telling the truth, you'll wish you listened to me."
I raise a brow. "Hope, you’ve got to stop spreading that around. I don’t think even Ethan has it in him to do that just for a story."
She shrugs as though my reasoning doesn't change anything.
"One year is a short time for a town to go from peaceful to crime ridden.”
"Crime ridden? That’s a bit of an exaggeration. There are a few petty thefts," I remind her.
"Might as well be murder, given the lack of crime that happened before and the ones happening now," she says with sarcasm, drinking from the bottle again.
"Why don't you become a cop? If you're so sure that Ethan is behind the crimes in this town, you can catch him and be famous, and then everyone will see that you've been right all along."
As expected, she shakes her head.
"I'm not cut out to be a cop, you know I don’t look good in uniforms. Right now, I only want to stay in my house and drink until I'm tired and sleepy. Then I'll wake up, wish Josiah a painful death, and drink myself to sleep again."
She did try to kill him—sort of. After Josiah informed Hope he was leaving the country, she went on a rampage and slashed his tires. Thankfully, someone saw her drunk ass do it and called it in. It is pretty much the worst crime in Glen Valley’s history.
"You should resign tomorrow, Lily," she says, and I can tell from her lisp that she's tipsy, "go to the city and try your luck. You'll never know what will happen if you keep waiting for your big break here."
Sound advice from a drunk.
"I'll keep that in mind," I reply, "but you should probably lay off the wine. I'm sure you want to live long enough to see Josiah suffer."
She reached for the bottle instead, ignoring my advice. I shake my head, not really worried because Hope is a lightweight, and she'll be out cold before she's finished half the bottle. But before she gets there, I'll have to listen to an intelligible rant about how she thought her future would be with Josiah.
It doesn't take long for her to pass out on the couch, so I put a pillow under her head, cover her up—as always—and quietly leave the house. I get into my car, and it takes three key turns to start, before driving away.
Only one thing on my mind now.
To find out who Benjamin Hayes is, where he lives, and what he’s done. If I'm lucky, I'll find answers very soon, write the story, turn in my resignation letter, and get the hell out of Glen Valley.
There are too many memories here, too much hurt, and a lot I need to put behind me.