One In a Billion Read online

  One In A Billion

  Belinda Williams

  Contents

  ONE IN A BILLION

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  Dear Reader

  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

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  NOAH’S STORY IS NEXT… CRY BABY

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  Also by Belinda Williams

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  ONE IN A BILLION

  Pierce Brothers #3

  Making a deal with a billionaire is risky business…

  Victoria Verity is on a deadline. In less than two months, she’ll be thirty and out of a job unless she can turn her journalism career around. Her solution is to gain an exclusive interview with Australia’s newest tech billionaire. Except there’s one small hitch—he’s notoriously private.

  Seth Pierce can’t stand it when people make a big deal about his billionaire status, but he knows it’s time for him to appoint a media adviser. When the perfect candidate walks into his office for all the wrong reasons, Seth is determined to make her an offer she can’t refuse.

  Victoria will do anything to land the story, although she draws the line at mixing business with pleasure. But she’s about to discover that billionaires don’t give up easily. Especially when they’ve found something—or someone—they want . . .

  One In A Billion is the third book in the Pierce Brothers series. Each book can be read as a standalone and features four brothers who are equally nice as they are naughty.

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  Dear Reader

  This book is set in Australia, so I’ve used UK English instead of US English.

  This means if you’re one of my US readers, you might notice some differences in spelling: colour instead of color; towards instead of toward; realise instead of realize.

  You may also notice other differences like my characters’ tendency to call their friends “mate” or “mates”. Hopefully the Australian colloquialisms are self-explanatory, but if you come across any that you don’t understand, feel free to get in touch via the contact form on my website: https://belindawilliamsbooks.com/contact/

  I’ve tried to refrain from using Aussie slang because this can seem like a language within itself! But if some usage has slipped in, I’ll cop it . . . whoops, see? That means I’ll take responsibility for it.

  I hope you enjoy One In A Billion.

  Happy reading,

  Belinda

  Chapter One

  Act like you’re supposed to be here, Victoria told herself as the lift doors opened on level seventeen.

  An expansive reception area greeted her. The minimalist design was understated, yet impressive. An overabundance of clean crisp white featured in the marble floor tiles, the sleek curve of the reception desk and the stark walls. It was balanced by the black accents of the windows, doorframes and leather lounge for waiting visitors.

  ‘Can I help you?’ the young woman sitting at the desk asked. Her name tag read “Candy”, which seemed at odds with her businesslike appearance. She had elegant Asian features and brown eyes that examined Victoria from behind thick black frames. Her gaze was neither interested nor disinterested. More a practised sort of professionalism.

  ‘I’m here to see Seth Pierce,’ Victoria said.

  Unreserved confidence was Victoria’s strategy for this meeting. Not that there was actually a meeting scheduled with Seth. Oh, no. Requesting an interview with Seth was akin to convincing leading sceptics of the existence of little green men from outer space—near impossible. And believe her, she’d tried. She almost felt sympathetic towards alien conspiracy theorists now.

  Not that Victoria was going to let the small issue of not having a meeting stop her. Not with her looming deadline. It might be self-imposed, but it was still looming. And now that she’d told her friend and co-worker Amy about it, there was no going back. Imaginary or not, a deadline was still a deadline.

  ‘You’re going to quit a perfectly good job if you don’t get the promotion by your thirtieth birthday. Isn’t that a bit, I don’t know, extreme?’ Amy had asked. ‘Especially in this environment.’ It wasn’t as though Victoria needed reminding about the depressing rate of unemployment for journalists in Sydney.

  No, what was extreme was only having worked in the one role since completing her degree. Writing the same mind-numbing, dumbed-down, quasi-newsworthy online articles that were supposed to be aimed at the modern woman but instead made Victoria want to give up on being a feminist completely.

  So, Victoria’s thirtieth birthday was D-Day.

  And getting an interview with Seth was her best chance of succeeding.

  While Victoria’s professional life flashed before her eyes, Candy consulted her computer. She flicked another glance across the counter, her dark gaze appraising Victoria’s black pantsuit.

  Victoria tried not to squirm. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d worn a full business suit. Had it really been seven years ago when she’d been an eager journalism grad keen to land her first job? Victoria’s current office attire mainly consisted of smart jeans paired with an array of fashionable tops, scarves and jackets she could head to the pub in after work—and frequently did.

  Despite Victoria’s hidden discomfort about the suit—and her imposter status in the building—the receptionist nodded once.

  ‘Kim Brown? You’re early, but we’re grateful to the agency for sending you. Take a seat, and Seth will interview you shortly.’

  Holy shit. Victoria had just been mistaken for someone else. Right about now would be the appropriate time to correct the receptionist’s mistake, except whoever Kim was already had an appointment with Seth. And Victoria did not.

  An opportunity like this was almost too good to be true. Never mind that she’d most likely burn in hell for it. But even the prospect of an eternity in hell couldn’t deter her. She was certain other journalists in her position would do the same—Seth Pierce was that notoriously private.

  ‘Thank you,’ Victoria managed, and attempted to walk calmly in her black heels over to the waiting area. She lowered herself onto the shiny leather seat, her mind whirling.

  Kim Brown. Agency. Interview.

  Well, it was obvious she wasn’t Kim—to her, at least. But to the woman behind the desk, she was a candidate of some sort.

  Victoria cleared her throat and decided to let some of the nerves she was currently feeling show. At worst, Candy would assume that she had pre-interview jitters rather than her being a journalist who wasn’t particularly well-practised at deception.

  ‘So, ah, are there many others
going for the role?’ Victoria asked her.

  A smarter person would have just kept their mouth shut, but Victoria couldn’t resist the opportunity to obtain more information. Any information would be good.

  Candy typed something without looking up. ‘I’m not going to lie, there’s been a lot. But I’m guessing the agency told you that, after the first few rounds of interviews, we’ve been forced to reassess. Now we’re just wanting a temp to fill the role for a few months until he finds someone more permanent down the track.’

  ‘They did.’

  Not.

  Victoria swallowed and wished like hell she’d thought to throw a bottle of water into her oversized handbag this morning.

  What exactly was the role? That would be helpful to know, seeing as she was about to be interviewed for it. If they’d conducted more than one round of interviews with no success, surely the job had to be for a specialist. Victoria seriously hoped they weren’t after a technical IT person.

  She should just stand up right now, explain to Candy there had been a misunderstanding and that she was a journalist here to interview Seth.

  And promptly be thrown out.

  No, she would wait here, and try to get in front of Seth while praying that the real Kim didn’t turn up anytime soon. Then, once she was in his office, she’d come clean. She’d probably still get thrown out, but by that stage she would have tried to get him to agree to an interview in person.

  ‘I guess it’s difficult finding people with the right level of experience,’ Victoria tried again, hoping she didn’t inadvertently put her foot in her mouth. Despite the risk, the appeal of gleaning more information was too strong.

  Candy frowned slightly. ‘Not really. I mean, there are plenty of executive assistants in Sydney. Finding one who has never heard of Seth before, on the other hand, that’s the difficult part.’ Candy’s brown eyes locked on Victoria’s. ‘Please tell me they briefed you on not making a big deal about who he is.’

  ‘Oh, of course. As far as I’m concerned, he’s just another guy who happens to have an important job. All I’m interested in is getting some work,’ Victoria said, improvising. She experienced an instant sense of relief that she wasn’t about to be interviewed for a technical role she wasn’t remotely qualified for. This position was still a stretch, but at least it was believable.

  One of Candy’s dark eyebrows rose. ‘You’ll be the first, but the agency assured me temps are different, so that’s good to hear.’ Candy leaned forward, resting her elbows on the desk. ‘Whatever you do, don’t mention his billionaire status.’

  Victoria shook her head. ‘I wouldn’t dream of it. Like I said, I’m here for a job.’

  Candy nodded and settled back into her seat. ‘Are you single?’

  Victoria tried not to frown. This conversation was becoming more intriguing at every turn. ‘Yes. Why?’

  ‘Better if you’re in a relationship.’ Candy returned to her typing.

  ‘I didn’t realise it was a job requirement,’ Victoria said slowly.

  ‘Oh, it’s not. It will just make Seth feel more at ease. Women throwing themselves at him irritates him.’

  ‘That sounds extremely unprofessional to me,’ Victoria said primly.

  A female employee seeking her male boss’s affections was beyond poor behaviour in Victoria’s books. And not remotely in line with her feminist ideals. For the first time, Victoria wondered if maybe the introverted Seth Pierce had an ego after all. It seemed a bit conceited to her that he was worried about his female staff showing a personal interest in him.

  Candy snorted, her professional image slipping momentarily. ‘Wait until you meet him. It’s hard not to.’

  ‘It must be possible. You still have a job, don’t you?’ Victoria pointed out without thinking.

  For the first time, Candy smiled. ‘Exactly. He catches you off guard, so be warned. If you think he’s going to be some sort of boring tech guy, you’ll be surprised.’

  Victoria’s reporter instincts were buzzing. So, Seth had more personality than he was letting on to the public. Surely it couldn’t hurt to fish for more details. She was here, wasn’t she? And employee opinions on Seth were like gold. It would all help when it came time to write her profile piece on him—if she managed to convince him to do the interview.

  ‘I’ve never been into tech guys,’ Victoria said casually.

  Candy leaned forwards on the desk again. ‘Me neither. But seriously, he’s not like that. Byron wears the suit and represents the business, but Seth hates all that stuff. Between you and me, he’s happy being considered the brains, except he’s not really shy at all. He’s just a normal guy, you know? I think that’s what makes him so attractive.’

  A normal billionaire. Victoria wasn’t convinced there was such a thing.

  ‘I’m really only interested in securing some work,’ Victoria said.

  It was a complete lie, but it sounded like something a temp would say, and she was starting to build a rapport with Candy.

  ‘Here comes Angie now.’ Candy nodded at the glass window next to what appeared to be a door that led to the rest of the office. ‘Angie is Seth’s current PA. She finishes in one week, and it’s down to you and only a few others at this point. Good luck.’

  Victoria stood and nodded, smoothing her skirt with clammy hands. ‘Thanks.’

  She was going to need it.

  Chapter Two

  Seth glanced at his calendar reluctantly. Actually, reluctantly wasn’t the right term.

  Dread. Disdain. Fear. Resignation.

  Honestly, when would the torture end?

  They must have interviewed all the available executive assistant candidates in Sydney. Surely they were moving on to people outside of Sydney by now.

  The thought sent a fresh wave of horror through Seth. Dear God. If the latest applicants were travelling hours to his office for an interview, it meant they already knew who he was.

  Seth resisted dropping his head into his hands and reminded himself what Angie had told him earlier. These new interviewees were temps. Which meant they were used to filling in for staff on a last-minute, short-term basis. Hopefully, they wouldn’t know who he was. Better yet, they wouldn’t have a clue.

  He was grateful for his success. He really was. He only wished it didn’t have to be quite so publicised. His ongoing presence on BRW’s Young Rich List was well known, particularly since his net worth had recently ticked over the billion-dollar mark. Add in his Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award, and it was becoming harder and harder to focus on his job. Now dealing with the media was part of his role, and he hated it. He’d rather just get on with what he was good at—developing software.

  With a deep sigh, Seth leaned back in his seat. The stress of Angie leaving must be getting to him. For close to seven years, she’d kept his life running smoothly, and the thought of her being gone wasn’t a good one. Until now, she’d dealt with all the unappealing media enquiries with professionalism, but it wasn’t really part of her job. They said no one was irreplaceable, but Angie damn near was.

  To say he was disorganised was an understatement. He regularly wouldn’t know where he was supposed to be if it wasn’t for her.

  It didn’t mean he couldn’t run a business though. Far from it. He thrived on working with his team to refine their software products and cherished the interaction of collaborating with other smart people to build something useful for their users.

  His people. That’s how he thought of his staff.

  That was probably why filling this executive assistant role was proving to be such a headache. He needed to find another one of “his people” and he wouldn’t know who that person was until he found him or her.

  Well, he was off the hook for the moment, at any rate. A temp could fill the role for a few months until they found someone better suited, and he’d just have to make do. It was preferable to the alternative which involved watching his life descend into chaos when Angie was gone. As for the c
onstant media enquiries, he’d have to convince Pip that someone in the marketing and comms team could take care of it.

  As though he’d summoned her, Angie strode into his office purposefully. ‘Seth, Kim Brown is here for the interview.’ Angie finished her sentence with a meaningful rise of her eyebrows.

  This meant Seth was supposed to stop being so fussy and select one of the four candidates they had lined up for the afternoon. In Angie’s words, “they are called temps, because they are temporary”.

  Fine.

  Seth pushed back from his desk and stood up. Then stopped. Stared.

  Angie eyed him suspiciously, giving him her best “do as you’re told” look. If anyone else in the organisation apart from Byron or Pip had given him that look, he would have taken them aside for a quiet word. Angie had special privileges on account of the fact she ran his entire life.

  Seth raised a hand without taking his eyes off Kim. Because he was unable to.

  Kim stood in the doorway, her eyes observing his office with interest. He supposed the space was kind of huge. And not particularly in keeping with that of a CEO. The gaming console, plush leather sofa, giant flatscreen television and ping-pong table were all indulgences, Seth knew. But hey, if the staff common room had an air hockey table, exercise balls, yoga mats and pods for napping, Seth could enjoy his own office.