His First Christmas: The Lonely Billionaire - A Heart-Warming Romance Novel by Holly Rayner, Lara Hunter Read Free Book Online
Authors: Holly Rayner, Lara Hunter
new thing among billionaires? Hanging out in rustic cabins?
After making her way up a particularly treacherous mountain road, Anna reached the beginning of the long driveway to the cabin. She’d driven through the mountain stretch with her breath held. I can’t imagine how people drive here in blizzard conditions, she thought with a shiver.
After a few more minutes of slow progress up the grand, winding driveway, Anna finally arrived at her destination. Sure enough, the cabin was extravagant; it basically screamed, “rich people live here.” It had picturesque views over the mountainside, was at least four stories tall, and had an entire balcony that consisted of a hot tub. Had Anna not known any better, she would have thought she was at a luxury resort.
Okay, time to get this over with, she thought, parking her car and power-walking over to the front door. There was a heavy, ornate door-knocker which she opted against using; instead giving the wooden door three crisp taps.
After a moment, the door swung open. “Hi Anna, thanks for coming,” Jason said.
Anna felt a pang of surprise that Jason had answered the door himself and hadn’t had some member of staff save him the trouble. She wasn’t sure what she had been expecting, but she was certainly taken aback at seeing the esteemed CEO in a non-office environment. She was surprised, too, by how different Jason seemed out of the office. For one thing, he was addressing her as an actual person, and for another—while she wouldn’t say Jason was glowing with happiness—he didn’t look anywhere near as grumpy as he had done during their last meeting.
Anna blinked as she absorbed what she was seeing, saying “Hello,” just a beat after the acceptable time frame of doing so.
“Come in,” he said, smiling and making room for her. Anna obliged, stepping inside as he closed the door on the cold behind her. Her head had been set reeling by this contrasting impression of Jason, but she cast aside her confusion as she focused on her mission. Alright. Get in, get signed, go home, she thought.
“Do you have the contract with you?” he asked.
She nodded, extracting the contract from a folder in her purse and reaching out to offer it to him. “Just a second,” he said, “I’ll just go find a pen. I’ll be back shortly—make yourself comfortable,” he said.
“Sure,” Anna said. She took a few more steps into the cabin and surveyed her surroundings. For a cabin, it’s not that cozy, she noted. Probably because it’s just so…big. Too much empty space. The ceiling was at least twenty feet above her head.
At least there’s a fire place, she noted. True to cabin fashion, the walls were made of stacked timber and displayed plaques of animal heads. From her spot in the reception area she could see the kitchen, and noted its impressive liquor collection which took up an entire wall.
She was about to take a closer look at the kitchen when Jason came back, pen in hand. As he leaned over the table to finally sign the contract, Anna found herself drawn in by the care and attention he gave his signature; a mix between chicken scratch and curlicue cursive.
Finishing off his signature with a careful flick, Jason looked up at Anna and said, “I’m sorry again for making you drive all the way out here, and for not really providing a reason as to why I couldn’t just drive down to you. It’s kind of a difficult situation…” he said softly, trailing off.
A difficult situation? Anna was intrigued at what he could be referring to, but decided to leave it at that. I just really need to go home.
Jason handed the contract back to her, tenderly. She was about to do the whole “Okay great, bye” dance, but then she remembered something.
“Um… Before I leave, I’d like to say thanks for donating to the fundraiser,” she said, giving him a brief smile.
Jason blinked, seemingly unsure of what
After making her way up a particularly treacherous mountain road, Anna reached the beginning of the long driveway to the cabin. She’d driven through the mountain stretch with her breath held. I can’t imagine how people drive here in blizzard conditions, she thought with a shiver.
After a few more minutes of slow progress up the grand, winding driveway, Anna finally arrived at her destination. Sure enough, the cabin was extravagant; it basically screamed, “rich people live here.” It had picturesque views over the mountainside, was at least four stories tall, and had an entire balcony that consisted of a hot tub. Had Anna not known any better, she would have thought she was at a luxury resort.
Okay, time to get this over with, she thought, parking her car and power-walking over to the front door. There was a heavy, ornate door-knocker which she opted against using; instead giving the wooden door three crisp taps.
After a moment, the door swung open. “Hi Anna, thanks for coming,” Jason said.
Anna felt a pang of surprise that Jason had answered the door himself and hadn’t had some member of staff save him the trouble. She wasn’t sure what she had been expecting, but she was certainly taken aback at seeing the esteemed CEO in a non-office environment. She was surprised, too, by how different Jason seemed out of the office. For one thing, he was addressing her as an actual person, and for another—while she wouldn’t say Jason was glowing with happiness—he didn’t look anywhere near as grumpy as he had done during their last meeting.
Anna blinked as she absorbed what she was seeing, saying “Hello,” just a beat after the acceptable time frame of doing so.
“Come in,” he said, smiling and making room for her. Anna obliged, stepping inside as he closed the door on the cold behind her. Her head had been set reeling by this contrasting impression of Jason, but she cast aside her confusion as she focused on her mission. Alright. Get in, get signed, go home, she thought.
“Do you have the contract with you?” he asked.
She nodded, extracting the contract from a folder in her purse and reaching out to offer it to him. “Just a second,” he said, “I’ll just go find a pen. I’ll be back shortly—make yourself comfortable,” he said.
“Sure,” Anna said. She took a few more steps into the cabin and surveyed her surroundings. For a cabin, it’s not that cozy, she noted. Probably because it’s just so…big. Too much empty space. The ceiling was at least twenty feet above her head.
At least there’s a fire place, she noted. True to cabin fashion, the walls were made of stacked timber and displayed plaques of animal heads. From her spot in the reception area she could see the kitchen, and noted its impressive liquor collection which took up an entire wall.
She was about to take a closer look at the kitchen when Jason came back, pen in hand. As he leaned over the table to finally sign the contract, Anna found herself drawn in by the care and attention he gave his signature; a mix between chicken scratch and curlicue cursive.
Finishing off his signature with a careful flick, Jason looked up at Anna and said, “I’m sorry again for making you drive all the way out here, and for not really providing a reason as to why I couldn’t just drive down to you. It’s kind of a difficult situation…” he said softly, trailing off.
A difficult situation? Anna was intrigued at what he could be referring to, but decided to leave it at that. I just really need to go home.
Jason handed the contract back to her, tenderly. She was about to do the whole “Okay great, bye” dance, but then she remembered something.
“Um… Before I leave, I’d like to say thanks for donating to the fundraiser,” she said, giving him a brief smile.
Jason blinked, seemingly unsure of what
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