Billionaire by Design (A BWWM Romance) Read Online Free Page A

Michael was only one year older than her, and they’d become chummy since he began working at Family Burger a year earlier. When he wasn’t shouting out order numbers, he was rather soft spoken and extremely nice, despite his menacing appearance. One hundred pounds overweight and tattooed-up with a long, thick beard and facial piercings, he was the poster child for never judging a book by its cover.
    “What’s his story? Not every day we get a suit like that in here,” he asked as he looked over her shoulder at the business card.
    “I told him I was going to school for graphic art and he asked me to design him a logo,” she shrugged as she stuffed the card back in her pocket.
    “Think he’s legit?” Michael questioned. He headed back to the sink to wash his hands with Jenna following behind him.
    “Didn’t you see his limo parked out front?” she replied.
    “Gee, I guess I must have missed that. Sorry the grill doesn’t have much of a view,” he joked as he reached for a paper towel to dry his hands. Jenna felt silly for asking such a dumb question. Of course Michael couldn’t see the limousine parked out front from his station in the back.
    “Well, it was out there. Between that, his suit, and his business cards… I think it’s safe to say that, yeah, he’s probably legit.”
    “Rich guys don’t typically eat at Family Burger, Jenna,” Michael reminded her with a chuckle.
    “True, but I’m pretty sure he only came in because his car died. I watched it get towed and some other car picked him and his driver up a few minutes later,” she recounted.
    “His driver? How fancy,” Michael scoffed, then added, “So, you going to give it a shot?”
    “Eh, I don’t know,” Jenna sighed. “I mean, I want to, but his company looks pretty major and I’d probably wind up looking stupid. I’m sure he’d look at my designs and laugh.”
    “Oh, knock it off,” Michael snapped back. “If the guy’s really on the up and up, you’d be dumb to miss out on such a good opportunity. Aren’t you almost done with school? You’re going to need a job and this sounds like a good in.”
    Conversations like this were why she respected Michael and valued his friendship. She knew he had feelings for her since he’d confessed them to the same coworker who was also her roommate.
    The news had quickly made its way back to her, but she didn’t want to make the workplace uncomfortable or jeopardize their friendship by discussing it with him. He never once made a move on her, never attempted even the slightest flirtation, and always showed her the same level of selflessness that he showed everyone else.
    He could have easily dissuaded her from pursuing this opportunity in a selfish ploy to keep her working at Family Burger longer, but he simply wasn’t wired that way. He truly wanted what was best for her, not what was best for him, and she appreciated that tremendously. Her manager, Juan, was much the same way.
    “True,” she agreed after some deliberation. “Maybe I’ll mess around with a few ideas and see what I can come up with. He wants something by next week. That should be more than enough time.”
    “Yeah, seriously, especially with how fast you work!” Michael nodded reassuringly. “You got this.”
    With Michael’s confidence boost, she finished her shift and made the short drive home to find her roommate, Leigh, relaxing on the couch with the television on. They’d met and immediately hit it off at Family Burger four years prior, and had lived together now for almost as long.
    Leigh’s previous roommate had abruptly moved out, and needing somebody to help split the bills, she had invited Jenna to take the open room. Jenna, who had been alternating between her car and a seedy motel, jumped at the opportunity.
    They’d managed to remain close, despite not seeing each other as often as they used to. Leigh had begun taking evening classes at Pima Community College, and had switched her schedule around