Found A Homeless Billionaire Husband for Christmas – Episode 01
Luis called him boss, and the word brought back a life Simon Jones had spent six months keeping out of sight. Here on the street, nobody ordinarily addressed him that way. Most people barely addressed him at all.
The investigation was over. His uncle was finally in prison, and there was no longer a reason for the nation’s richest man to remain disguised as someone without a home. Luis had come to bring him back.
It was time to return to the Jones Group. Simon listened, feeling the weight of that name settle around him again. The company belonged to a world of decisions he knew how to make.
“Thanks, Luis.” He should have been ready to leave. Instead, he looked toward the place where Victoria usually appeared, reluctant to go before seeing her once more.
“There’s one more thing I need to take care of.” That business could not be handled by an assistant. For once, his position offered him no advantage at all.
Victoria Barron knew him as the man on the street. She brought food and supplies with an ease that had never made him feel he was being inspected for gratitude. She had no reason to expect anything in return.
He wanted her to know who he was. More difficult was the admission of what she had become to him. Six months of secrecy had not prepared him for a simple, honest conversation with her.
There was a hurried warning that she was coming. Simon turned toward her approach, setting aside the world Luis had just offered back to him. The confession would have to begin with the man she recognized.
“Hey, Simon.” Victoria held out a cheeseburger. “I brought your favorite.” She remembered what he liked, as though bringing lunch to him were the most ordinary thing in her day.
He accepted the food, aware of how many times she had done this. To him, the price was negligible. From her, it was a gift of money, effort, and the attention other people refused him.
“Thank you so much, Victoria.” Looking up at her, he tried to give the words their proper weight. “Honestly, you’re the only one who’s been nice to me the entire time I’ve been here.”
The admission sounded stark once spoken. He had watched people turn away without a second thought. Victoria had kept returning, never knowing that he noticed the difference every time.
“You’ve been bringing me food and supplies. I just appreciate it so much.” Gratitude was the safe part of what he needed to say. He could offer it without changing anything between them.
The rest required a choice. He could let her walk away with the same impression of him, or explain why he had accepted kindness while withholding the truth. He had waited for her; he should not waste the chance.
“I do have something I need to tell you, though.” His attention stayed on her face. “I…” Her phone rang before the next words could come.
“I’m so sorry. I’m getting a call. Hang on.” Victoria glanced at the screen and answered warmly. “Hey, Mom. How are you?” Simon stayed beside her with his explanation unfinished.
Her mother’s news changed the conversation. The doctor did not think Grandma would live past Christmas, and her greatest wish was to see Victoria in a wedding dress. A holiday had become a deadline the family could not postpone.
Could her mother tell Grandma to expect a wedding that Christmas? Simon waited while the question reached Victoria. He had been preparing to tell her what she meant to him; now he did not even know what her answer would mean for them.