The Billionaire’s Instant Family

Chapter 1

THEO

Theo Hillman scanned the crowd of well-dressed men and women, holding cocktails in their hands, with polite expressions on their faces.

He was in one of the ballrooms of The Langham, the fanciest and most opulent hotel in Boston.

Huge chandeliers hung overhead, illuminating fine art, ornate wall sconces, and huge picture windows.

Suited waiters carried trays of champagne, hors d’oeuvres of salmon and caviar, and tiny desserts so beautifully made it seemed a shame to eat them.

The room was filled with the sound of clinking glasses, soft piano music from the musician in the corner, quiet voices, and the somewhat fake laughter Theo had come to associate with events like this.

Theo barely noticed any of that. He was here for one reason: to find Charles Ackley, Boston’s foremost industrialist.

“Champagne, sir?” one of the waiters asked.

“Thank you.” Theo took a glass, more out of habit than anything else. The bubbles were cool and refreshing, but he wouldn’t have more than a sip or two. He needed to be at the top of his game when he finally found Ackley.

Theo Hillman was a self-made billionaire, the only one in this room.

Everyone else came from family money, a fact no one wanted to let him forget.

No matter what he did — cut his blond hair in the short style fashionable among the wealthy, purchase tailored suits from the most reputable establishments, even get a golf membership at The International — everyone knew he was new money.

Because of that, they tended to look down on him.

“Theo.”

Theo turned to see Lucas Peters, a neurosurgeon from a long line of neurosurgeons, smiling at him.

“Lucas.” Theo smiled, though inwardly he held back a sigh. “Nice to see you.”

“You as well,” Lucas winked. “Though I’m surprised you had heard about this event. How did you get an invitation?”

“From the club,” Theo explained. “The same way you heard, I imagine. Anyway, have you seen Charles Ackley?” He needed to stay focused on the reason he was here.

“Charles?” Lucas looked around as though the other man might spring out of the woodwork, then shrugged. “I heard he chose to stay at home with his kids tonight. What do you want with old Charles?”

“I have a business arrangement to discuss with him.” Theo sipped his champagne.

In college, he’d started a cutting-edge tech company, Epsilon, that had taken the tech world by storm.

Lately, he’d been one of the first to ethically and productively include AI in his macro-analysis engine, which was the product he wanted to speak to Charles about.

As the head of the Ackley manufacturing empire, Charles would benefit from Theo’s engine, reducing waste and increasing profits, and Theo would earn a huge profit.

It was a win-win — if Theo could ever actually find Charles.

This was the third event he’d attended specifically to track the man down, and for the third time, he was nowhere to be seen.

“Of course,” Lucas sniffed. “Always… hustling… aren’t you?”

He said hustling as though it were a bad word.

“Some of us have to work for our money,” Theo frowned.

“Yes, well.” Lucas smiled thinly. “Some of us do. If you’ll excuse me…”

Apparently satisfied with the number of barbs he’d gotten in, Lucas drifted off to talk to a group of older men, and Theo turned away, draining the rest of his champagne.

He was annoyed, but he was already forgetting about the interaction.

So many of Boston’s wealthy were like this, that it just rolled off his back now.

What stung was that Charles Ackley wasn’t here.

Theo had been sure Charles would make an appearance.

Yet, once again, he hadn’t shown up. How was that man able to run a successful empire without seeming to do any networking?

Theo had tried to make appointments directly, too, but had been given the runaround from Charles’s army of secretaries.

He was pretty much out of options.

Just as he was about to give up and enjoy a few canapés before heading home, Theo caught sight of one of his close friends.

Alexander came from old money, but he had attended college with Theo, so the two of them went way back.

They’d been roommates for two years and had attended many of the same classes.

They’d even spent a month backpacking across Europe together before dedicating themselves to their respective jobs.

Theo headed over to where his friend was sitting at one of the tables along the edge of the room, looking at his phone. He sat beside him and held up a hand to tell the waiter to bring them both another glass of champagne. There was no need to be careful when Charles wasn’t even here.

“You made it, I see,” Alexander said, putting his phone away and flashing a white-toothed smile at Theo. “Any luck with Charles?”

“Nothing.” Theo sighed. “I think he’s like everyone else — he’d rather work with someone he summered with on Cape Cod and skied with in Chamonix than take a chance on a newcomer, even if I can offer him something better. Which I can.”

“I know that.” Alexander sat back and ran a hand through his short brown hair. “Listen, you might be wrong about Charles. I don’t think he’s avoiding you because you’re not part of the old guard.”

“Why, then?” Theo took a bite of a thin cracker covered in slices of roasted pumpkin topped with whipped feta and pomegranate gel that the waiter had brought with their champagne. It was almost good enough to make him forget his annoyance.

“I think he’s just a family man,” Alexander explained. “A lot of these guys are. For years, even I had trouble breaking into their circles, but when I married Martha and had Chloe, everything changed.” Chloe was his daughter, who was now five.

“You had less time for work?” Theo suggested. “It was more of a struggle to get into the office?”

Alexander snorted. “Sure, but business got easier, too. People seem to trust me more now that I’m a father.

We talk about our kids for five minutes at the beginning of the meeting, and then they’re ready to give me their business.

Plus, Holyoke Academy’s parent events are a great place to network.

Everyone’s there, and everyone has their guard down.

Even the drop-off line is basically a who’s who of Boston’s wealthiest. I landed a contract just a few weeks ago while escorting Chloe to her kindergarten classroom. ”

Theo sighed. “Good for you, but this doesn’t really help me. It’s not like I can create a wife and kids from thin air.”

“No, but you could settle down.” Alexander flashed him another smile. “Meet a nice woman, get married, have kids…”

“That seems like a very long-term investment.” Theo sighed again. “I need something that’ll get me a meeting with Charles now. Not in five or ten years.”

“A long-term investment,” Alexander repeated with a laugh. “You’re such a businessman, Theo. But even putting aside how they might help your career, don’t you want a wife and kids anyway? Coming home to Martha and Chloe gives my life so much meaning.”

“Sure, and I’m happy for you, but I don’t have the luxury of having a business and a family,” Theo said firmly.

“I only have time for one of the two, and I’ve chosen business.

The last ten years have been all about making Epsilon thrive, and stepping back to — what, date?

— it just wouldn’t make sense. Epsilon is my baby. ”

“Fair enough.” Alexander shrugged. “But I don’t have any advice for you with Charles, other than that.”

“I don’t need a gimmick,” Theo said. “I’m going to find a way to get a meeting with him on my own merits — and the merits of my company. No cute kids or adoring wife needed.”

“And how’s that going for you?” Alexander raised his eyebrows teasingly, and Theo rolled his eyes.

“I’m going to get a meeting. Eventually. But for now, I’m going to head home. I have work to do, and without Charles, there’s no point staying here.”

“Not even to catch up with an old friend?” Alexander called after him, but Theo was already on his feet.

He waved over his shoulder as he exited the ballroom, leaving the gleaming lights and high society behind.

His car was waiting with the valet, along with his driver.

Theo usually liked to drive himself, but since he’d been drinking, he wouldn’t today.

Instead, he slid into the back seat, and the driver guided the car onto the main road that led away from the hotel.

As Theo leaned back in his seat, watching the city lights and old ivy-covered brick buildings blur past, he couldn’t help wondering if Alexander had a point. Maybe a family would make people take him more seriously.

But Theo was right, too. He didn’t have time for a family. And he definitely didn’t have time to start dating now, in hopes that he’d eventually get a meeting with Charles five — or even ten — years down the road.

Theo dated plenty. At almost every event — the ones where he wasn’t trying to win Charles’s attention at least — he arrived with a new woman on his arm.

It was fun. He liked taking beautiful women out to elegant restaurants.

He liked having an open playing field. And best of all, he liked that briefly dating meant he could go on a few dates before returning to work, no strings attached.

Long-term relationships seemed to mean coming home for dinner most nights and spending weekends antiquing or hiking or something, instead of working.

Theo was never going to do that. He cared about his company too much.

He arrived home twenty minutes later with a new resolve. Alexander’s advice was pointless. He needed to win Charles’s attention all on his own. That night, he went straight to his home office and caught up with other work. The next day, he’d find a way to meet with Charles.

“I just need fifteen minutes of his time,” Theo explained. He was on the street in front of his office, pacing back and forth while he spoke on the phone with an Ackley Industries secretary. “Please tell him it’ll be worth his while.”

“Mr. Ackley doesn’t have any availability for the foreseeable future,” the secretary, a young-sounding man with a polite but brisk voice, replied.

Theo sighed. “I’ve tried to call here a number of times, and every time, you or someone else tells me that Mr. Ackley isn’t available. It’s been months. How is it that he never has time? Can’t you at least give me a slot in a month or two?”

He quickly regulated his tone. He’d been starting to raise his voice, and that wasn’t fair. This poor secretary was just doing what he was told.

There was a pause on the other end. Then the young secretary spoke again. “Honestly, Mr. Hillman, your values just don’t align with Mr. Ackley’s. It’s unlikely he’ll ever have time to meet with you. Have a nice day.”

Then the line went dead. Theo ran his hand across his brow in frustration. At least he had his answer — Alexander was right. Charles would never meet with him, and it was because of Theo’s values, whatever that meant. Maybe Charles really would only meet with people who were family men.

Theo blew out a puff of air. If only he could rent a wife and kid for a few weeks — why wasn’t that a service? For the last few years, money had bought him everything he’d wanted or needed, yet his fortune couldn’t help with this.

Nothing could. The thing that had always made Theo the best in his business — his dedication to work over everything else — was now a liability, and there was nothing he could do about it.

Theo was about to head back upstairs and try a new approach, when someone ran into his legs.

He stumbled, his phone flying out of his hand and bouncing against the pavement.

He turned, ready to chew out whoever had been so careless, and came face-to-face with a small, brown-haired boy with huge blue eyes and a superhero T-shirt.