his dream, he’d brought her to his house. As he walked with her up the stairs, she had suddenly turned into the weird leprechaun man. The odd little man in knickers tried to tell him about the right road to be on.
Rolling his eyes, Thomas snorted a laugh. It was his own fault for dreaming like that. He blamed it on the combination of no sleep, the embarrassing loss of money on one roll of the dice, and the gorgeous camerawoman.
After a quick trip to the bathroom to splash water on his face and run a brush through his hair, he hurried to his laptop and called into the office.
“There you are,” Darion Powers scolded in his very familiar fatherly tone. “You missed another board meeting. I’m tired of this, Thomas. What is it going to take to make you more responsible and dedicated to the winery?”
“My phone wasn’t charged,” Thomas lied, hating it when his father made him feel guilty. “So, remind me. Who are we talking to again?”
“Joseph Dawson of Dawson Tanks. They are the manufacturers of the wine tanks we buy. They have a new tank and we need to discuss the pricing.”
“Then let’s get on with it. I’m hungry.” Thomas yawned.
The next hour went longer than Thomas wanted. He was not in the mood to talk business, but he knew it must be done to ease his father’s mind. After hanging up the phone, he grabbed his lounge robe and adjourned to the kitchen. His maid had started the coffee and left some muffins and fruit on the table. The pounding in his head hadn’t lessened since he opened his eyes. He was sure the hour long conference call had made his headache worse.
He sat on the stool by the counter, and the newspaper was lying on the polished marble. He pulled it over and scanned the front page while sipping his coffee. He popped a couple of Excedrin pills into his mouth before taking a bite of his muffin. He flipped the pages to the business section. It was his habit to check the stock prices. Powers’ Winery in Napa Valley were still holding strong. He flipped over to the entertainment section to see what idiot was being slammed this time.
Headline: Billionaire Thomas Powers loses $20K at Craps table.
Groaning, Thomas leaned his elbows on the counter and rubbed his throbbing forehead. Had the mystery woman at the casino been the one to give the newspaper her pictures? The photo was of him at the gaming table, mere seconds after he’d rolled a six and a five. Thankfully, he’d been covering his face during this embarrassing moment.
Thomas grumbled and pulled out his phone. He typed a quick text to his friend Cole, knowing his friend could help him find the camerawoman. Hey. I need your help. How can I find the lady who took pictures at the casino the other night? She leaked them to the press.
After a few moments, a return text came from Cole. I’m surprised you’re awake.
I was hungry. Thomas shook his head and added in the text, lunch on me at the Country Club. 11:30.
I’ll be there.
Thomas had known Cole for most of his childhood. Cole came from a wealthy family as well, but he wasn’t at billionaire status like Thomas was. For years, beautiful women followed them around, which was why Thomas referred to them as the groupies. It was nice to be popular with the ladies since he didn’t have to worry about where to find his next date. Thomas loved the attention, and he loved spoiling women – at least once a week. There was no need to love one girl when he could have many.
Love. Thomas chuckled. He’d tossed that concept away a year ago. One lady, whom he’d thought would be his special one, ZoAnn, had turned out just the opposite. The beautiful blonde with a curvy body had been interested in magic, so, being the wonderful boyfriend that Thomas was, he introduced her to his magician cousin, Aaron Powers, who lives in Surprise, Arizona. ZoAnn had quickly become mesmerized by Aaron, and within days, she dropped Thomas like a water-balloon from a balcony. His heart shattered all over the pavement as he watched in agony as his girlfriend became Aaron’s woman.
Thankfully, the woman got what was coming to her when Aaron discovered she had only wanted him because of his money. Aaron was the one doing the dumping then. And, to add a special bonus of