The Secret (Billionaire Secrets Series, #1)
The Secret
Billionaire Secrets Series, Volume 1
Lexy Timms
Published by Dark Shadow Publishing, 2018.
This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.
THE SECRET
First edition. February 7, 2018.
Copyright © 2018 Lexy Timms.
Written by Lexy Timms.
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Copyright 2018
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to an actual person, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
All rights reserved.
The Secret
Billionaire Secrets Series # 1
Copyright 2018 by Lexy Timms
Cover by: Book Cover by Desi
gn
BILLIONAIRE SECRETS SERIES
The Secret
Freedom
Courage
Trust
Impulse
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The Secret Blurb
USA TODAY BESTSELLING Author, Lexy Timms, brings you a billionaire with a past he pretends didn’t exist and a private life he doesn’t want to share with anyone—except with one girl from his past that doesn’t remember him.
The SECRET of happiness is FREEDOM. The secret of freedom is COURAGE.
The reason people find it so hard to be happy is that they always see the past as better than what is was and the present worse than it actually is.
Billionaire CEO, SIMON DIESEL, owns one of the largest companies in the U.S. Little is known about him—he keeps his personal life out of the media despite their efforts to try to find out who the single, handsome billionaire is. He graduated out of Stanford with top honors, and while there invested in an online company that turned into a fortune. No one knows he was just a regular kid growing up and got into Stanford on a scholarship. He’s determined to prove to himself that he can do it.
He never expected that the girl he lost his virginity to would show up in his office, looking for a job. He also never anticipated that she wouldn’t remember him. Now he has to hire her, just to prove he’s the same kid from high school—just a whole lot richer.
Contents
BILLIONAIRE SECRETS SERIES
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The Secret Blurb
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
Happiness Book #2 Blurb
Billionaire CEO SERIES
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Chapter 1
Simon Diesel had never had to personally fire anyone.
Until today.
Five years as the CEO of Technologies, and he’d managed to keep his hands clean. It wasn’t as if anybody on staff had never been fired. They had been. Not many, since he ran a tight ship, but when it did happen someone else did the dirty work.
Unfortunately, not this time.
He tapped his foot impatiently, waiting for the elevator to get to the right floor. When the elevator finally came to a stop and the doors slid open, he hurried out. Glancing around the open concept office where all the engineers had gathered to start the week, he trained his gaze on one employee in particular.
“Linda!” he barked.
His media relations officer, Linda Schaffer, jerked her head around to focus on him. Her eyes widened, her graying hair disheveled. Linda always looked a bit frazzled, but this morning she had an especially exhausted air about her.
Not that Simon could blame her. Firing someone out of the blue like this wasn’t exactly conducive to the type of cool, calm culture he’d been trying to foster at Dover, Inc. all these years.
“Simon?” Linda’s voice shook. “I mean, Mr. Diesel?”
Good. If Linda was nervous this morning, that meant the rest of the staff was liable to fall in line. And he needed them to fall in line. Needed them focused. Because if any of them so much as thought of double-crossing him, Dover’s future, and the future of thousands of people, would be in jeopardy.
“In my office,” he commanded. “Now.”
The engineers all trained their eyes to him. Every one of them looked like a deer caught in the headlights. Fine with him. He’d tolerated far too much. That ended today.
He spun around on his heel and marched into his office.
His personal assistant, Xander, was already inside, serving coffee to Simon’s lawyer at the table on the far side of his expansive office.
Xander looked like a wreck. Pale as a ghost. And his hands were trembling as he handed the coffee cup over to the lawyer.
“Good morning, Xander,” Simon said icily.
Xander didn’t meet his gaze. Merely nodded and said, “Sir.”
Simon narrowed his eyes. He was caught somewhere between anger and a strange sense of loss over such a betrayal. Bitterness rose within him. Pushing it all aside, he headed over to the table and took a seat. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to trust anyone ever again.
Linda appeared, with one of Dover’s senior executives in tow. “Is everyone here?” she asked.
“Yes.” Simon gestured for her and the executive to sit down.
Better to get this over with quickly. The press had already called him for a statement. A statement he refused to give until he got this matter settled. Reporters had been calling non-stop all weekend and all this morning. It had gotten so bad the frenzy had forced Simon to do something else he’d never done. Turn his phone off.
Linda took a seat beside him. Meanwhile, Xander sat down across from him and started typing away on his laptop.
“Has everybody heard the news this morning?” Simon found it impossible to keep the dangerous edge out of his voice.
Nobody said a word. Everybody trained their eyes on something other than him. Linda cleared her throat loudly, her discomfort evident.
Simon arched an eyebrow. “Linda? You expect me to believe you haven’t heard today’s news? Aren’t you my media relations officer?”
Linda turned bright red. “Of course, I heard. You called me with the news on Saturday.”
“That’s right,” he muttered. “I did. Do you know why I called you with the news before the story broke, Linda?”
“No,” Linda replied, her voice a squeak.
“Because I know you wouldn’t take so much as a paper clip from Dover. Because I still trust you.” He paused for emphasis. “For now.”
“I’ve been at Dover since day one, and I would never do anything to hurt this company,” Linda said desperately.
“Since Linda has so vigorously defended herself,” Simon went on, “would the rest of you like to take a stab at today’s news? Any thoughts on the insider trading that’s been going on at Dover?”
Another uncomfortable silence. He didn’t have time for this. If nobody was going to come out and admit what they had done, he had no choice but to throw them out of his office.
“Never mind,” he bit out harshly. “You’ve been given a chance to come clean and refused to do so. You’re all dismissed.”
“But Simon—”
“I’m not going to repeat myself,” he growled through clenched teeth, cutting Linda off.
Typically, he had a good relationship with his staff, especially Linda, but now wasn’t the time for sentiment. If he was going to protect the thousands of workers who depended on him, he had to lay down the law. It was the only way to maintain respect and keep control. He was the CEO. The tough decisions were up to him to make.
They all jumped to their feet and one by one started scurrying out of the office.
“Except for you, Xander,” Simon said in a menacing tone. “There’s something we need to discuss.”
The office emptied almost immediately, with him and Xander left behind. Reluctantly, Xander resumed his seat, his eyes darting aro
und the office.
“I’m not going to beat around the bush here,” Simon said. “I know you did it, Xander.”
His assistant’s face was the picture of panic. “But, I didn’t—”
“Hand over your key card, your company ID, and your company-issued phone and leave immediately.” Simon got to his feet. “If you refuse to go quietly, I’ll have security here in less than sixty seconds.”
Xander sighed heavily. “How’d you figure out that it was me?”
“You’re joking, right?” Simon glared down at his assistant. “Think about who you’re talking to.”
It wasn’t arrogance to remind the people around him that he was more than likely smarter than them. Ever since he was a child, he had been the smartest person in the room at any given moment. That had started off as a curse but ended up paying off in high school. Then it had paid off even more through college and after, when he helped Dover Incorporated go from a tiny little start-up to one of the biggest tech companies on earth.
“I’ll go quietly,” Xander said, holding up his hands.
“That’s the smart play,” Simon said with a hard nod. “I don’t know why in hell you would hand over private information about my company shares to one of our biggest rivals.”
Xander crossed his arms. “It seemed like a good idea at the time.”
“You know what the rules are,” Simon reminded him. “That kind of information is confidential. Not to mention revealing it to someone you know would act on it is illegal. You deliberately told someone about my private financial information to help them game the system.”
“We all do what we have to.” Xander stood up, tossed his key card, ID, and phone onto the table and glowered. “I’m looking out for my best interests.”
“What I don’t understand is why you did it,” Simon said. “Your salary’s far higher than the going rate. Your benefits are incredible. Why put a job like this in jeopardy?”