Booked with the Billionaire

Chapter Two- Ezra

I woke with a headache that felt like someone had taken a sledgehammer to my skull.

The previous night came back in fragments as I stared at the ceiling. The charity gala downtown. My father and Victoria making their rounds, every inch the power couple, with Lucas shadowing them like an overly eager apprentice. He'd spent the entire evening at our father's side, saying exactly what he wanted to hear and looking every bit like the perfect heir.

And then there was me. The inconvenient extra in their perfect family portrait.

My father's voice cut through the memory.

One day, you’ll wake up and realize you’ve wasted every opportunity I’ve ever given you.

I closed my eyes. Even now, the words stung.

I had left shortly after that. I remembered getting home, pouring myself a drink, then another, and another after that. Everything beyond it was a blur.

With a groan, I pushed myself out of bed. The sunlight streaming through the windows felt oddly personal, as though it had woken up specifically to make my hangover worse.

I shuffled into the bathroom, grabbed the bottle of Advil from the cabinet, and swallowed two tablets dry, which turned out to be a terrible idea. After coughing my way through half a bottle of water, I finally looked at myself in the mirror.

A strange image flashed through my mind. Dark hair. Someone yelling at me.

I frowned, but the memory disappeared as quickly as it had come. Probably a dream.

I looked exactly how I felt; like hell, only in an expensive suit.

Perfect.

Half an hour later, I was dressed in charcoal gray and heading downstairs.

My driver, Martin, was already waiting beside the town car when I stepped outside.

"Morning, sir."

I grunted and slid into the back seat.

Twenty minutes later, I walked into the lobby of Kane Properties and Holdings and immediately knew something was wrong.

People were staring. A few quickly looked away when they noticed I'd caught them, while others weren't nearly as subtle. A whisper followed me across the lobby, then a snort from somewhere near reception.

Interesting.

I kept walking. This wasn't exactly new. Every few months, the internet found something new to talk about when it came to me, and it usually involved a photograph taken at an unfortunate angle or a headline that dramatically overstated how many drinks I'd had at some event.

I pressed the elevator button.

As soon as the doors opened on the executive floor, my assistant nearly collided with me.

"Mr. Kane."

I frowned.

"Derek, you look like someone died."

Derek Foster didn't smile, which in my experience was never a good sign.

"We have a crisis."

"Is it the spokesperson issue?"

"No, sir."

"Then it can wait."

"I really don't think it can."

I stepped around him and headed toward my office.

"Wonderful. Put it on tomorrow's schedule."

"Sir…"

"Tomorrow."

I pushed open my office door, with Derek following close behind.

"Mr. Kane…"

I turned to look at him.

"Derek, I need one minute of peace before this day officially begins."

He hesitated, then nodded reluctantly.

"One minute."

"You're a saint."

I shut the door in his face, and the silence that followed was glorious.

I dropped into my chair and leaned my head back.

My father's words drifted through my mind again.

You've wasted every opportunity I've ever given you.

I exhaled slowly. "Right back at you, old man."

My intercom buzzed.

I ignored it.

It buzzed again.

With a sigh, I pressed the button. "I said one minute."

"I'm sorry, sir," Derek said carefully, "but the board is waiting."

I closed my eyes.

"Jesus f*****g Christ."

"They've all arrived, and your father is asking for you."

I rolled my eyes.

Of course he was.

Emergency board meetings were rarely about emergencies and almost always about my father finding a new and creative way to express his disappointment in me. They also gave Lucas another opportunity to spend an hour kissing my father's ass and working his way around the rest of the board.

"I'll be right there."

I ended the call and straightened my tie.

Experience suggested I was about to be blamed for something, and experience was rarely wrong.

A minute later, I pushed open the boardroom doors.

Every seat around the long conference table was occupied. The entire board had turned out, and at the head of the table sat my father, his expression unreadable. To his right sat Lucas, wearing a smirk that immediately put me on edge.

I slipped into my chair and looked around the room.

"Am I late, or did everyone decide to start early because they missed me?"

Nobody laughed.

"All right," I said, my gaze moving from face to face. "What happened?"

My father folded his hands on the table.

"Do you have any idea what you've done?"

I frowned.

"Several things, probably. You'll need to narrow it down."

The room remained stubbornly silent. Even Lucas had lost the smirk, though the way his mouth kept twitching suggested he was trying very hard to get it back.

I sat up a little straighter.

"What is it?"

My father turned to his assistant.

"Play it."

The large screen at the front of the room flickered to life, and a video appeared.

It had obviously been filmed on a phone.

The video opened on a sidewalk, and a crowd gathered around a familiar black sports car.

My black sports car.

I frowned.

The camera shifted, bringing a bookstore into view. Half of its front window was missing.

I blinked.

What?

Then I saw myself standing outside the store.

And a woman.

Dark hair. Furious expression. Pointing directly at me.

My stomach dropped.

"What the f**k?"

The video continued, and I watched myself speaking, watched the woman shouting, watched the crowd hanging onto every word.

Then came my voice.

"Why apologize for something I can fix?"

Around the table, a few board members shifted uncomfortably.

Someone cleared his throat. No one looked at me.

I stared at the screen, then looked at it again before very slowly lowering my head into my hands.

"Shit."

Across the table, Lucas finally gave up trying to hide his amusement.

"Quite the evening you had, brother."

I didn't even look at him.

"Not now."

"I was only going to ask how the bookstore is doing."

I turned my head.

"Shut the f**k up, Lucas."

The smile slipped from his face, but before he could respond, my father slammed a hand onto the table.

The sound cracked through the room.

"Why don't you ever take anything seriously, Ezra?"

Something inside me tightened. The words were too familiar, too close to what he'd thrown at me the night before, and I had to clench my jaw before answering.

“I take my job seriously.”

“I doubt that, because if you did, you know damn well that you can’t afford to make mistakes like this."

A murmur went around the table, and my father stared at me as though I'd somehow managed to make things worse.

"That's your defense?"

Before I could answer, Lucas leaned back in his chair.

"Apparently, the internet thinks you're a douchebag."

"You must be pissing yourself with excitement."

He smiled wider.

"I am, actually."

I nodded.

"I'll make a note to embarrass myself more often, then. It seems to be the only thing that brings you joy."

He ignored the jab and nodded toward the screen.

"There are others, too. Show him."

My father's assistant clicked a few buttons. The video disappeared and was replaced by an endless stream of comments.

‘What a jerk.’

‘Rich people really think they can throw money at everything.’

‘Someone tell me what company this guy works for so I can avoid it.’

‘Boycott Kane Properties.’

‘This man is a walking red flag.’

‘I hope the bookstore owner sues him.’

I leaned back in my chair.

Well. That was unfortunate.

"You see the problem?" my father asked.

I rubbed a hand over my face. "I see a group of people on the internet overreacting. It'll blow over."

"No, Ezra. It won't."

I lowered my hand. "Then we'll put out a statement."

"You think a statement fixes this?"

"You really have no idea what you’ve done, do you?" Lucas said dryly.

I shot him a look that should have been enough to shut him up. Instead, he looked delighted.

My father pushed back from the table.

"Do you have any idea what this has cost this company in less than twelve hours?"

“I’m sure you’re about to tell me.”

My father stared at me. "Our communications team has spent the entire morning answering media inquiries."

He slid another folder across the table.

"Three investors have already called asking whether this reflects the culture of Kane Properties."

Another.

"Our share price dropped the moment #BoycottKaneProperties started trending."

Silence.

"You didn't just damage a bookstore."

He tapped the folder.

"You damaged this company's reputation."

Silence settled over the room.

"The board is already questioning whether you're capable of leading Kane Properties."

I leaned back in my chair.

"Then stop pretending this is a discussion."

My father's eyes narrowed. "What did you say?"

"You heard me."

The boardroom seemed to hold its breath.

I stood.

"Ezra…"

I didn't stay to hear the rest as I pushed back my chair and walked out of the boardroom, letting the doors swing shut behind me.

Derek hurried after me.

"I really did try to warn you, sir."

"I know."

I kept walking.

"Is it really that bad?"

He let out a quiet breath.

"Sir... It's catastrophically bad."

"Wonderful."

"The communications team is drafting a response, but…"

"I don't care."

"Sir…"

"I said I don't care."

The executive floor fell silent as we passed. Heads lowered. Conversations died.

I jabbed the elevator button.

Derek cleared his throat.

"What would you like me to do?"

"Cancel everything."

"Everything?"

"I've had enough meetings for one day."

The elevator doors opened.

Neither of us spoke during the ride down.

Fifteen minutes later, we stepped out of the front entrance of Kane Properties.

I had just started toward the car when the glass doors behind me swung open.

"Ezra."

I stopped.

I didn't have to turn around to know who it was.

My father strode down the front steps, Lucas a pace behind him.

I let out a slow sigh.

"Oh, f*****g hell."

"You walked out."

I looked at my father.

"I figured we'd covered everything."

"No."

His voice was calm.

"We're not finished."

Lucas folded his arms, wearing the sort of smug expression that made violence seem like a perfectly reasonable solution.

"What now?" I asked.

"You damaged this company's reputation."

"Our investors don't separate Ezra Kane from Kane Properties. Neither does the public."

I rubbed the back of my neck.

"You've made that painfully clear."

"I'm not sure I have."

His gaze hardened.

"You're hanging by a thread. The future of the company is at stake."

I laughed once.

"Then save everyone the trouble."

His brow furrowed.

"Give it to Lucas."

Lucas's grin widened.

"I'm sure his tongue's sore enough from kissing everyone's ass."

"Watch it," Lucas snapped.

"What?" I shrugged. "Did I hit a nerve?"

"Enough," my father snapped.

Silence settled between us.

"You keep assuming there won't be consequences," he said. "Every responsibility. Every opportunity."

"I never asked for any of it."

"No. But you were born into it."

He took one deliberate step closer.

"So listen carefully."

His voice dropped.

"If you embarrass this family again..."

He paused just long enough for every word to land.

"...you are finished."

I met his gaze without speaking.

"You will be removed from Kane Properties."

Another beat.

"You'll lose your position."

Another.

"And every trust, every benefit, every privilege attached to this family name."

The silence stretched.

Beside him, Lucas looked like Christmas had come early.

I glanced between them.

"You done?"

My father said nothing.

"So am I."

I turned toward Martin's waiting car.

"Mr. Ezra Kane?"

I stopped.

Two uniformed officers were walking toward us.

The older one produced a badge.

"State Police."

Something in my stomach sank.

"You've been named in a complaint regarding damage to private property."

He held out an envelope.

"You are required to appear in court."

For the first time all morning, I had absolutely nothing to say.

My gaze dropped to the envelope before drifting to the two officers. Then I looked past them to my father.

He didn't look surprised.

Lucas, on the other hand, had a s**t-eating grin on his face.

I let out a slow breath and closed my eyes.

"Shit."