Blind Date with my Billionaire Boss (Blind Date Disasters Book 5) Read online

  Blind Date with my Billionaire Boss

  Blind Date Disasters

  Evangeline Kelly

  Copyright © 2020 by Evangeline Kelly. All Rights Reserved.

  No part of this book shall be used or reproduced in any form or by any means without prior written permission of the author. Blind Date with my Billionaire Boss is a work of fiction. Names, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locations, or people, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. https://www.esv.org/resources/esv-global-study-bible/copyright-page/

  Table of Contents

  Free Book

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Epilogue

  Other Books by Evangeline Kelly

  About the Author

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  Chapter 1

  Easton

  There were a couple of things I looked forward to after a long run. Drinking a cold cup of water was high on the list, along with a hot shower. What I didn’t anticipate was a disgruntled woman waiting for me on the living room couch, her arms crossed, eyes filled with aggravation as if I’d ruined her day. The person in question was Lila, the lady I’d been seeing, and I had a feeling she was about to let me have it.

  I’d made it clear from the start that I was only up for casual dating, but from the look in her eye, we were going to revisit that discussion. I wiped my forehead with the bottom of my gray t-shirt and set foot into the living room. “Didn’t know you were stopping by today.” My jaw tightened, but it wasn’t intentional.

  She flipped her light blonde hair over one shoulder and glared at me. “Seriously? You should check your texts more often.”

  The sarcasm in her voice filled the room with enough tension to make any sane man want to run out the back door and never return, but I’d been in this situation before, and it didn’t faze me anymore. Women always had expectations when it came to relationships, and usually around four months in, they’d start to realize I wasn’t going to meet those expectations. I never initiated the breakups, but my level of investment wasn’t sufficient to keep the relationships alive. Come to think of it, we were at the four-month mark.

  “That’s probably true.” There was no apology in my tone, but then again, there never was. “I should have gotten back to you, but I’ve been busy. You know how it is with work.”

  “I don’t deserve to be treated this way.” She stood and stared at me with wild eyes, her fists clenched at her sides like a child ready to have a full-blown tantrum. “If you find time to go jogging, you can find time to get in touch with me.”

  That was true, but training for the Warrior Obstacle Challenge was my first priority and everything else would have to take a back seat to that goal. My father tried to get me to sign-up with him a year ago, but I wasn’t interested at the time. He pushed too hard and the stress from work, along with a family history of heart disease, led to a heart attack. My mom came home from shopping and found him on the floor with no one around. She called the paramedics, and they rushed him to the hospital but he didn’t make it. Now, I was taking up the torch and running in his place. In honor of him. It was something I had to do. Needed to do.

  It was the only thing that mattered to me at the moment. Lila didn’t know about the race, so I couldn’t get angry with her for scolding me. Our relationship had slowly dwindled down, anyway, and there was little to say for us beyond fancy dinners at the finest restaurants with subpar conversations about shallow topics I had no interest in. But that was our arrangement of sorts. I showered her with expensive things, and she was there to keep the loneliness away.

  “I’m sorry about not calling,” I said. “I’ll try to do better.”

  “That’s not good enough at this point.” Her bottom lip trembled, and I knew what was coming next. “It’s been four months. If you don’t see a future with me, then I need to move on.”

  “I assumed we were having a nice time together, but you know where I stand on relationships. I’m not ready for anything too serious right now.”

  “I thought I was okay with it,” she said, “but I’m not.”

  Fair enough. “I understand. The last thing I want to do is hurt you.”

  Her eyes brightened, and she stood a little taller as if my statement had given her hope. “If that’s how you feel, Easton, consider taking our relationship to the next level.”

  I shifted and pushed a hand into my pocket, wariness filling me at the pleading tone of her voice. “I can’t…” My throat thickened, and the words refused to form on my lips.

  She stepped closer, and her eyes pleaded with me to change my mind, but nothing would alter my thinking at this point. I’d been this way for as long as I could remember, and after Dad died, it only got worse. I doubted anything or anyone would alter that in the near future, and like it or not, it was just who I was. People either accepted me or they moved on.

  “Please, Easton. I know you’re scared of commitment, but let down your guard. Let me be there for you.”

  There was so much earnestness in her expression that I felt like a jerk, but there wasn’t much I could do. Strike that. There wasn’t anything I was willing to do.

  Yep, that summed it up.

  Change wasn’t embedded in my DNA. Dad learned that very quickly. And now I would have to live with the consequences of letting him down for the rest of my life. Lila was better off without me.

  “I think it’s best if we part ways,” I said. “I’m not ready for anything more than what we already have.”

  She stared at me in disbelief for one hot second, and then she slapped me hard across the face, her eyes flickering with fury. That fury quickly turned to hurt as she stumbled back, tears dripping down her cheeks like rain on a glass window. “You’ll regret this, Easton. One day you’ll be old and alone and you’ll remember this conversation.” Her expression hardened, and she pointed a finger at my face. “By then I’ll be married to someone else, and it will be too late.” She spun on her heel and walked out the door, but not before glancing at me one last time. Her anger slipped for just a moment, and I caught a glimpse of pain there.

  Sadly, I didn’t feel the slightest urge to run after her, and that had to be a sign. Maybe it should have bothered me more, but it was just another day in the life of Easton Radcliffe, and that wasn’t saying much.

  ***

  “Thank you for joining us, Mr. Radcliffe.” Joanna Lynn, the manager of the private foster care agency, Children’s
Commission, stepped forward and shook my hand. “None of this would be possible without you.” She’d pulled her brown hair into a low ponytail and the crows’ feet at her eyes crinkled the slightest bit as she smiled.

  I glanced at my Vacheron Constantin watch and nodded, anxious to get this over with. We were at a designated area for company picnics at Six Flags Magic Mountain, a theme park about an hour north of Los Angeles, and while I was happy to provide the funds for a foster youth event, I had other things on my mind today. “Glad to be here.” The words slipped out of my mouth, smooth and professional, and they weren’t a lie exactly. I did actually care in a manner of speaking.

  Of course, I wanted underprivileged children to have what they needed. Who wouldn’t?

  I just didn’t particularly feel like being here. Not because the kids weren’t worthy of my time. That wasn’t it at all. The real issue was…I wasn’t good at this. Never had been. I was definitely out of my element here.

  Dad had volunteered with this particular agency for quite a while, and once I took over his company, Project Helpers, I felt obliged to do the same. Providing financially for events like this was no problem at all. I’d considered handing over a check and telling Joanna I couldn’t make it, but something told me I should at least show up. I did have basic decency regardless of what others thought.

  “The volunteers are getting ready to start a game,” she said, looking at me as if trying to gauge how interested I was. “I would invite you to join in but…” She glanced at my black business suit and raised an eyebrow. “I don’t think you’re dressed appropriately for that.”

  “Yes, well, I can’t stay long. I have a lot to take care of at the office.”

  “Ah, that’s too bad. Your father always took the day off. We would love your participation.” She met my gaze and then glanced to the side as if not wanting to judge me for my lack of enthusiasm, but I didn’t miss the disapproval in her expression.

  “My father was a great man, and I’m still trying to fill his shoes so…” What you see is what you get.

  Joanna smiled and lightly touched me on the arm. “He was, and we will miss him greatly. I don’t mean to sound ungrateful. The picnic and day at Six Flags are very appreciated. The kids are having a wonderful time.”

  I glanced around as hordes of children played tag or some such game. They were laughing and smiling and basically doing what children did. There had to be at least two hundred people here today, which wasn’t a lot considering how many foster youths there were in California. But Dad had chosen to support a small foster family agency, believing he could make a bigger impact with a more manageable group. And here I was, continuing the effort.

  A man dressed in a clown outfit waddled by in shoes three times the size of mine, and he poked me on my stomach as he passed in an attempt to get me to smile. I glared at him and fell just short of telling him to take his ugly clown hands off of me. He got the hint and moved on.

  “That’s Chester,” she said, trying not to laugh. “He’s harmless.”

  “Chester had better stay away from me.”

  “I’ll make sure he knows.”

  “Please do.”

  “Excuse me for a moment.” She headed in Chester’s direction, and I let out a breath, glancing at my watch again. Joanna had arranged for the picnic to last three hours and then the volunteers planned to take the kids through the park so they could enjoy the rides.

  I took out my phone and typed a quick text to my secretary, Verity Williams.

  Call me in ten minutes and pretend there’s an emergency so I can get out of here.

  She used to be Dad’s secretary, but I kept her on because she was the best at what she did, and I preferred her calming presence over some of the younger admins. In her sixties, she was a force to be reckoned with, and she had more energy than most had in their twenties.

  Her response was short and quick. You don’t pay me enough for these charades. She’d been around for so long that she seemed to think she had more liberty to voice her opinions when it came to me, and I allowed it, but only from her.

  Glancing up, my gaze landed on Joanna, who was heading back after talking to Chester the clown. I sent another text to Verity telling her to “just do it” and then shoved my phone in my pocket, managing a curt smile as Joanna joined me.

  “He won’t bother you again,” she said eagerly.

  “Thank you.”

  “Would you like me to introduce you to a few of the families?”

  I pressed my lips together and frowned, scanning the grassy area. Everyone was having fun, and quite frankly, I doubted they wanted to meet a stiff suit who didn’t look as if he fit in. “That’s okay. I have to get back to the office, anyway.”

  “Oh.” A crease formed at her forehead, and she looked at me with concern. “I’m so sorry you can’t stay.”

  “I only planned to stop by and make sure everything is running smoothly.” I winced, not meaning for it to sound as if I didn’t trust her or her volunteers to do a good job. “You’re doing wonderful work, Joanna.” I turned to leave, not bothering to wait for Verity’s emergency call.

  “Wait!” Joanna reached out as if to touch me but stepped back when she saw my hesitation. “I was hoping to discuss another event we need funding for.” She paused, appearing unsure as to whether she should bring it up. “I thought we would have more time—”

  “Of course. Contact my secretary, Verity Williams, and give her the details. We’ll be happy to accommodate you.”

  I took off in the direction of my car, not glancing back even once. When I got there, I checked the time. Ten minutes. That was all that exchange had cost me. Ten lousy minutes. Way to go, Easton. Dad would have been so proud.

  Truth was, my father had been a better man than me. I knew it, and so did everyone else, but there was no use dwelling on that now.

  Later that evening, I stopped by to see my sister, Charlotte, before heading home. She’d left a cryptic voicemail message saying she had something important she needed to discuss, and it wasn’t a conversation she could have over the phone. Before I even had a chance to knock, the door flew open and she urgently pulled me inside.

  “What’s going on?” I asked.

  “We need to talk.”

  “About what?”

  She directed me to her living room and invited me to sit on her floral couch, the one I hated looking at because it was too frou-frou for my taste. “Lila called me.”

  I rolled my eyes and loosened the tie at my neck, feeling way too hot all of a sudden. “Spare me the details.”

  “Easton, come on.” She crossed her arms and gave me a look she’d mastered over the years. It was an I-know-better-than-you expression even though she was almost two years my junior. “I liked Lila. Mom and I had high hopes for her.”

  “It didn’t work out. Not every relationship progresses past the casual dating stage.”

  “Apparently none make it past that mark with you.” She let out a sigh and turned to face me. “You’re twenty-seven years old, but you’re no better off than when you were in high school.”

  I smirked. “And what about you, little sister? I don’t see a ring on your finger.”

  “That’s beside the point. I’m quite capable of a lasting relationship. I just don’t choose to have one at the moment.”

  “Well, I don’t either.” I started to rise, figuring there wasn’t much more to say on the matter, but she put a hand on my shoulder and gently pushed me back down. Few would have gotten away with that, but she was my little sister so I gave her leeway this time.

  “Look, I think I have a solution to your dire dating difficulties.”

  I laughed, focusing more on the tongue twister than on the concept itself. “I’m sure you do, but I didn’t ask for help.”

  She clapped her hands together and shot me a delighted smile, ignoring my last statement. “Let me set you up on a blind date.”

  I stared at her like she was crazy for five whole
seconds and then turned away, rolling my eyes. “That’s what you called me here to talk about? A blind date?” I scoffed and stood this time, refusing to sit on that awful couch one second longer. “No wonder you wouldn’t share the details over the phone. You knew I’d say no.” I headed for the door, anxious to get home so I could change and order takeout from my favorite Greek restaurant.

  Charlotte ran ahead of me, her dark blonde hair flying through the air. She planted herself in front of the door, arms spread wide as if ready to hold me hostage for as long as it took. “I have to offer a shoulder to cry on every time one of your girlfriends doesn’t work out. It affects me more than you know.” She had a poker face, the kind a negotiator gave their toughest client. “Let me pick the next one.”

  “Not happening.” I shifted impatiently and jerked my head to the side. “Step out of my way or I will physically move you.”

  Her expression turned pleading, and she widened her eyes like she always had with Dad when she wanted her way. “Please, Easton. Just go on this one date. After that, I promise I won’t bother you again.”

  I let out a breath and stared at the ground, shaking my head. “Why do you even care?”

  “Because you’re my brother. I think you need…” She cleared her throat and averted her gaze. “Never mind what I think. It’s not important right now. Just…agree to the date and I’ll get off your back.”

  I thought about that for a moment and then let out a low chuckle. “Fine. One date and that’s it. And when it doesn’t work out—and I know it won’t—you have to promise to leave me alone.”

  “You’ll go?” She lifted up on her toes excitedly, her exuberant smile grating on my nerves.

  “Yes, but I want your word that after this, you won’t stick your nose in my business. Any discussion of romantic relationships will be off the table. Do you understand?”

  She glanced to the side as if weighing all her options and nodded after a moment’s contemplation. “I can live with that.”