The Doctor and His Billionaire Read online

  The Doctor and His Billionaire

  CJ Turner

  Copyright © 2021 by CJ Turner

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, by any electronic or mechanical means, without the written permission of the copyright holder, except in case of brief quotations and within critical reviews and articles.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  Spoiler Alert:

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Epilogue

  Bonus Epilogue

  Message from CJ

  Sneak Peek

  Chapter 1

  Also by CJ Turner

  Spoiler Alert:

  “The Doctor and His Billionaire” has a BONUS second epilogue available for free.

  Simply go to this link ( https://bit.ly/3bx0cDa ) and the second epilogue will be emailed to you.

  The BONUS second epilogue contains spoilers.

  Chapter 1

  Chase

  “Wow,” murmured Chase. He gawked at the luxurious surroundings, taking in the sweeping snowcapped Rocky Mountains, the floor-to-ceiling windows that admitted the view, and the chandeliers that graced the ballroom. Outside, at the right-hand wall of glass, a sparkling waterfall fell into a pond. In the venue proper, round banquet tables held more crystal than the high-end Denver mall department store. Raised the son of blue-collar parents, Chase found such extravagance foreign.

  Guests in pricey attire stood in groups chatting. Chase glanced down at his four-hundred-dollar blue suit bought for his cousin’s wedding and dragged from his closet. It didn’t cut a fashion statement in this heady crowd. A waiter walked by sporting glasses of champagne on a silver tray. He snagged one, but for the cachet of holding the champagne flute, hoping it would make him appear more worldly. Chase didn’t drink.

  Dr. Owen Chase, Chase to everyone that knew him, stood in the giant white pavilion located at a hotel high in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains. He had traveled an hour to get here because his hospital’s administrator begged Chase to represent their facility at a fundraiser for Caribbean Hurricane Relief hosted by Alister Grant. She emphasized it was a matter of duty to the hospital. Alister Grant had graced the Mountain View Hospital with a generous donation after his brief stay there and, Sarah, the administrator, had insisted Chase attend.

  Alister, since he arrived in the Denver area, had carved out turf as the Colorado branch of the Long Island Grant family. Before he had met Alister, as a patient, Chase had not heard of the Grants, a family ancient by American standards and a hundred times as wealthy.

  “Oh, there he is,” said a singsong male voice.

  Chase recognized it. He turned and smiled at his host. Three men trailed after Grant, one a mountain of a man and who seemed familiar, but the other two he had not met. One blond stood shorter than a lean, taller man with black hair, and they casually held hands. Chase tore his gaze from those entwined hands and focused on his host.

  “Mr. Grant.”

  “Please, call me Alister. You’re not my doctor now, though that’s a pity. And you’ve met my fiancé, Manu Martin, and these are my very best friends in the world, Theo Collins and Lennox Sewell. They’ve come from the East Coast to give me moral support while I put on this soirée.”

  “Alister, you didn’t need support. You were looking for donations,” said Theo with mock exasperation.

  Alister effected a shocked expression and then fanned his face. “Oh, dear, found out. Anyway, Dr. Chase, don’t listen to him. We grew up together, so Theo’s always been the fake, annoying older brother.”

  “Fake?” said Theo with the same mock indignation.

  “But we’re having a wonderful time,” jumped in Lennox. “So, thank you for twisting Theo’s arm. This is a gorgeous place.”

  “Wait until we hit up the whiskey bar later. Awesome. Have you been? We were there last night, and it was incredible,” Alister trebled his voice on the last word.

  “That is not what you said this morning,” said Manu. “The words ‘never again’ crossed your lips as I handed you an ice bag.”

  Alister shot Manu a warning glance, and then he turned his attention again on Chase and flashed him a big smile.

  “You must come on one of our tours,” said Alister. “Manu runs a mountain tour business, Dr. Chase.”

  “Sure,” said Chase. He vaguely remembered that detail from when he met Alister.

  “We’re setting up overnight moonlight tours in the spring. You should come and bring your sweetie.”

  Chase looked away and shook his head. “I don’t date much. My job is insane.”

  “It’s crazy how you have to treat total strangers in an emergency room. But you’re terrific at it. I’ll never be the same.”

  Manu put his arm around Alister. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you had a crush on the good doctor.”

  “I’m taken, not dead, sweetheart. Of course, I will look. And his Southern accent is to die for. But my eyes will always wander back to you.”

  Chase had a strange moment when he briefly considered what it would be like to be so casual and free with a lover in public. Sure, it was the 21st century, but in the Louisiana backcountry he hailed from, being gay was still the subject of outrageous gossip. You can take the man from the country, but you can’t take the country out of the man.

  Manu’s mouth twitched, and he did not appear appeased.

  “Don’t worry, Manu,” said Chase. “Patients often find their doctors attractive. It has been a problem since ancient times. That’s why we vow not to seduce our patients when we take the Hippocratic Oath.

  “Oh, the burn,” said Alister. He fanned his face once again. “I never had a chance.”

  “Good,” said Manu. “Because I have no intention of raising our children in a broken home.”

  “Children?” said Theo with surprise.“What is this? Are you holding out on me, Alister?”

  “We’re talking and considering our choices. We’ve discussed adoption and surrogacy and haven’t decided. But we’re not in a hurry. It’s not like our biological clocks are ticking.” He fanned his face again.

  Theo and Lennox both snorted. “The things you say, Alister,” said Theo.

  Alister pressed his hand against his chest. “It’s why you all love me.”

  Theo shook his head with disbelief written on his face. “You. A Father?”

  “And why not? With the options available, it’s not a thing anymore. You’ve seen that married interior design couple with the two children on TV? They found surrogates who gave them two beautiful children. I think my mother would be pleased her son decided to reproduce. Only, unlike my sister, I needn’t suffer stretch marks.”

  Theo smirked. “That’s not the issue. Does Manu want another child to raise so soon after acquiring you?”

  “Brat,” said Alister. “Just for that, you are paying for the whiskey bar tonight.”

  “As if I weren’t already.”

  The men laughed at what sounded like an ‘in’ joke, and Chase searched for a graceful exit from this cozy group. The venue and the guests were far above his pay grade. When Chase donated to the cause, he’d slip away and rendezvous with the
cold pizza in his refrigerator. “Um, who do I give my contribution to?” he asked.

  “Aren’t you adorable?” said Alister. He waved his friends away. “Go. Dr. Chase and I have personal business to discuss.”

  Manu chuckled. “You’re in trouble now, Chase. Come on, folks, let’s find more champagne.

  What did Manu mean that Chase was in trouble? Alister wrapped his arm around Chase’s.

  “Is there something about you that puts my life in danger?” said Chase.

  “Manu exaggerates. You’re in no danger at all.” Alister spoke with such innocence in his voice that Chase got an inkling that Alister didn’t invite him to this event for a bit of cash.

  “That’s good,” said Chase. He didn’t believe what he said for a second. He got the sensation that the hammer would fall on him soon.

  “You see, Doctor, what St. Croix needs now are doctors. They are terribly short-staffed, and things are an utter shambles there.”

  “Sorry to hear.”

  “And you can help. I’ve checked with your administrator, and she told me you hadn’t taken a vacation in two years. I shouldn’t have pried, but men like you aren’t happy unless you are working. What would you think of a four-week working vacation in lovely but hurricane-ravaged St. Croix?”

  “I couldn’t. My job—”

  “But you can. I cleared it with that lovely Miss Grace. She’s agreed to move the schedule around to accommodate this humanitarian cause.”

  Chase groaned inwardly. Whatever arranging she did meant working double shifts when he returned.

  “Isn’t this a little outside the scope of a fundraiser?”

  “We own a home on the island, but neither of us can get away to check on the property. I would consider it a personal favor if you stay there and tell me what repairs it needs.”

  Chase sighed. He could see it was impossible to say no to Alister Grant.

  “But,” said Alister, “you have another reason to go to St. Croix.”

  Alister tugged on the hook bracelet on Chase’s wrist. It had belonged to Chase’s father, who, along with Chase’s mother, passed two years ago.

  “Pardon?” said Chase.

  “Didn’t you tell me that you promised your parents to spread their ashes in St. Croix where they met?”

  Did he? What presence of mind did he lose to speak about his personal life with a patient?

  “You haven’t spread their ashes, yet. Have you?”

  “No. I didn’t expect—”

  Alister smiled. “You’ll do us a HUGE favor if you check out how our house fared. And the people there would love you forever.”

  “Mr. Grant—”

  “Alister.”

  “Your offer is generous, but—”

  “But nothing. I refuse to take ‘no’ for an answer.”

  One week later, due to Alister Grant’s indomitable will and his ability to play a situation to maximum advantage, and an administrator who didn’t understand why he wouldn’t drool over this trip, Chase stood in the Denver airport. He waited to get through one of the half dozen security checkpoint lines that seemed choked to a crawl. Chase checked his watch, concerned about the slow-moving line and the long walk to the boarding gate to catch the flight to Miami. There he’d take a connecting flight to St. Croix.

  This would be a worthwhile trip. Seeing a different part of the world and lending a helping hand had to be good karma, right?

  Flying was not his favorite activity. He didn’t hesitate to grab a man’s heart in his hands to resuscitate it, but sitting in a tin can to fly to a destination gave him pause.

  Peering at his watch again, Chase scanned ahead of several people in the line to spot the holdup. There were too many fliers trying to get through the same bottleneck.

  “Oh, for heaven’s sake,” said a rumbling voice behind him. Then the man bumped into Chase’s back.

  Chase glanced over his shoulder and sucked in a breath to find a broad-shouldered brunet dressed in a business suit and staring ahead in annoyance. Impeccably dressed in a charcoal gray suit and cranberry tie, the man’s eyes were the color of smoke. He was on his phone, perhaps making one last call before boarding his plane. For an unfathomable reason, Chase found the curl of the big man’s hand around his phone supremely sexy. Chase tried to breathe and found he couldn’t. The ground under his feet no longer seemed solid.

  “Sorry,” said the man offhandedly in a gravel-wrapped-in-honey voice. Chase swallowed hard as the timbre of the man’s voice strummed through his body.

  He blinked as his heart hammered in an unexpected reaction to this man behind him. Chase shook his head in disbelief at his inappropriate response.

  “No problem,” said Chase. But the man had already turned away as he spoke into his phone.

  You need to get a life, Chase. Maybe if you dated, you wouldn’t be undressing a total stranger with your eyes.

  Yeah? And who would you date? Someone at work? No. A person you pick up a bar? Double no. As a doctor, Chase was all too conscious of the different diseases a stranger could pass on. Not that he was a germophobe, but he wouldn’t dive into personal contact without some assurances the activity was safe.

  And if Chase were honest with himself, following his natural attractions would irredeemably label him as gay, and he was on the fence about assigning that label to himself. But it was true that except for one ill-fated relationship with a girl in college, he hadn’t dated. And he did find men more attractive than women.

  Chase, all too aware of the man he found fatally attractive standing behind him, swallowed hard and tried to ignore the stirring in parts south.

  Hurry, he thought. The sooner he moved away from the gorgeous man, the better.

  Chapter 2

  Brad

  Oh, good Lord, thought Brad as he juggled his ringing phone and his carry-on luggage while standing in line at Security. The last thing he needed was his father calling him while in transit to his flight from Denver Airport. Brad eyed the non-existent line for PreCheck, wishing he had remembered during the year to sign up for it. But he rarely traveled since his father needed him at the Denver headquarters of Hunt Industrials twenty-four seven. And the rum distillery, a subsidiary of Hunt Industrials that Brad headed as CEO, needed minor oversight until recently.

  “Terry is beside herself,” his father said.

  This is why he called? A flush crept up Brad’s throat, and he covered his eyes with his hand. He did not want to discuss his breakup with his fiancée, well, ex-fiancée now. Or ever, though he supposed, it was inevitable.

  “Dad, that’s between her and me,” said Brad. He hated speaking to his father like he was a teenager defending some stupid thing he did. He pivoted to face away from the blond-headed man as if that would give him a measure of privacy.

  “Son, I see Terry as a daughter. How long have you two been engaged?”

  Two years. And Brad’s father knew it. It was he that pushed Brad to pull the trigger on asking Terry the big question.

  “Two years.”

  “And you were dating a year before that. Why throw all that away?”

  Brad sucked in a breath through his teeth.

  “What was that?”

  Brad took a step backward and then bumped into a solid body. He pivoted, and then his eyes lighted on a gorgeous man. About six feet tall, with blond hair and green eyes, he couldn’t weigh over one hundred eighty pounds, dripping wet. Brad closed his eyes. Imagining a lean male body dripping wet was entirely the problem, both with his failed engagement and the impending meltdown with his father.

  He opened his eyes and caught those emerald eyes with a sexy glint, staring at him in a kind of wonder. No. Brad fantasized desire in the man’s eyes, just as he had imagined he could wish an everyday life with a wife and 2.4 children into existence.

  Brad wanted to explain to his father that he, too, experienced disappointment in facing who he was. Not that he despised himself. That wasn’t it. He had plenty to be proud of. He l
oved children and wanted his own, which was a driving reason for the engagement.

  “I don’t understand why this trip is important now. You should wait a week or two when the island has things in better shape there. In the meantime, you and Terry can—”

  No. Terry and he could not. It was during pre-marital counseling that he realized how massively unfair his marriage scheme was to Terry.

  “Love is never constant, son. Just because you might not be feeling it now—”

  The problem was he could never ‘feel’ it, not the way a husband should for his wife. Terry might not see it now, but this was the best for her and him.

  Brad tugged his tie open. Why wasn’t there enough air here?

  “Dad, we haven’t heard word one from Delacroix since the hurricane. We should check on the distillery, as well as our cottage there.” Brad didn’t want to mention the problem with the books, where an audit had shown a shortfall. Plus, Delacroix’s wife, Imelda, was a second cousin on his father’s side, which was how the Hunts got involved with rum production in the first place. He desired the truth of the situation before throwing shade on a man related by marriage to the Hunts.

  “Neither of these things are our biggest concern.”

  Maybe his father wasn’t sentimental about his distant relations, but Brad had visited several times. Delacroix’s young daughter even called him Uncle Brad.

  He pinched his lips together. Sure, Hunt Crucian Rum was a tiny part of the Hunt megacorporation, but it was Brad’s slice to manage as he saw fit. But to be honest, Brad was glad for the crisis. It allowed him a reason to put distance between his messy breakup with Terry, and his family.