Loving the Billionaire Owner Doc

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Josh Roman strode down the street, his long legs eating up the distance. He had never been in this part of the Dexington outskirts before.

The rundown houses featured boarded windows, trash littered in street corners, and emaciated rats scurried around. Josh felt like he had been transported to another planet. The thunders that rumbled overhead made for a gloomy outlook, unlike what was expected for spring.

He quickened his pace and wrapped his spring jacket tighter around his body. He was only here because of one place—Wayfare Clinic. He’d heard it operated a similar model to the kind of sports clinic he wanted to open, though its sports section had more or less died off.

But still, it was a good example to learn from, and he could get some concrete advice from its director. And maybe he could even stay back after the discussion to observe how they ran the clinic—the rules and regulations in America would surely be different from those of Spain.

Josh dreamed of establishing soccer clinics all over the country. But right now, it was a pipe dream—it required a huge investment of funds he did not currently have. Yes, he was part-owner of a European soccer team, but the revenue generated was reinvested into bringing the club and its players up to standard. He’d only insisted on donating a small amount to support a soccer clinic in the poorer section of Spain where his club was based, which included maintaining a small soccer facility for the kids, providing two meals per day for each child that attended the clinic, and supplying soccer attire to those who needed it. That was progress, in and of itself, but it wasn’t enough.

His head jerked to the left. What was that noise? It had sounded like really old floorboards creaking, the kind that he had heard in his family’s century-old cottage home before it was renovated. His heart thundered.

Then he saw a set of beady eyes staring back at him from a small gap in the curtained windows of the house across the street. Josh felt a coldness wash over him, and he inhaled sharply. He resisted the temptation to break into a run. He could do this. For the kids and for his dream. He had to. Because he was running out of time.

Josh only had a couple of months before his orthopedic residency was over, and he risked being roped into a fellowship of his father’s choosing. His father—a renowned orthopedic surgeon and the Chair of the Surgery Department at Dexington Medical Center—was very strict and expected Josh to follow in his footsteps. Josh had thought he would be free from his father’s expectations once the residency program was over. But he’d been wrong.

He could already feel the ripples of his father’s influence from behind the scenes regarding fellowship options, and Josh had no choice but to take drastic action. If he had his way, he would skip a fellowship altogether. He was willing to go so far as to sell the house his grandmother had given him before she died—as much as he hated the idea—if that was what it took to start the first soccer clinic. He’d designed each clinic to be self-sustaining and planned to bankroll each new one with his salary as a surgeon. Josh was tired of being shackled to his old man and his expectations, and he couldn’t wait to leave his clutches.

He missed his grandmother. She’d understood and encouraged his dreams, but she had passed away a year ago. She’d been the only one that could rein in his father a little. Now he was left to deal with his old man on his own.

Josh’s face scrunched up. Thoughts of his father always brought bile to his mouth. Sometimes he wondered if he was truly his father’s son, but their resemblance bore testament to their relationship. Nothing he ever did was good enough for his father—Josh’s very existence seemed a disappointment to him.

But there was one good thing. His parents had never pushed for him to settle down. That was the last thing he needed in his life. He was trying to free himself from his father, not get roped into another bondage. Because that was what marriage was—bondage. His mother had to cater to his father’s every whim, and Josh was already exhausted just thinking about having that kind of relationship with someone else. He needed his freedom like he needed air. Besides, he couldn’t imagine bringing any girl into his family situation and subjecting her to the same cloud of disapproval that hovered over him. Marriage was definitely out of the picture.

A fly flew close to his face and he swatted it away. Josh sighed. If only his thoughts could be driven away as easily.

He searched ahead, right then left. Where was the clinic? From what he’d been told, it should be right around here. Then he saw the small nondescript sign, just like it had been described to him.

Josh hastened his steps. He would make this work no matter what it took.

It was time to be free.