Binder Full of Women

A Binder Full of Women

Billionaire Binder Series

By Kathleen Miles

www.BillionaireBinder.com

May all your dreams of happily ever after come true

Copyright © 2012 by Kathleen Miles
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

Printed in the United States of America

First Printing, 2012

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

www.BillionaireBinder.com

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Epilogue

Chapter 1

Trent couldn’t have even dreamed up this predicament. Setting down the phone receiver and inhaling deeply, he expelled the air and tried to think of a solution that would still provide the guaranteed results that he needed. This was deep trouble and he knew it.

For not the first time in his life, he found himself in a situation where there was no easy way out. Perhaps there was no way out at all. His legacy depended on it.

Tapping his fingers on his mahogany desk, Trent pushed back his leather office chair. There was no satisfying answer that his mind could comprehend. He had to have a wife within the next month and that was it.

A swarm of energy entered the room and immediately he knew that Rachel must be there. If the energy didn’t give her away the smell of fresh oranges would have.

“Afternoon delivery,” Rachel said her straight, long brown hair bouncing as she plunked a plate of peeled oranges on the desk. It was their afternoon ritual. A mid-afternoon orange and a debrief of the day with each covering their highs and lows.

It was when he did his best thinking and his best ideas always came to him then. For some people it was the morning shower, for him it was the scent of oranges and Rachel.

Today he was going to concentrate on a solution for his life sized problem. This was just what he needed. She would know what to do.

She offered the plate to him and noticed his front tooth tugging at his lip.

“What’s wrong?” Rachel asked. “I could hear your sigh from all of the way down the hall.”

Count on her to always know when something wasn’t right.

Before she entered the office, Rachel immediately knew that something was wrong. Trent only tapped his fingers when there was something bothering him. That noise had developed into a heightened sense of urgency whenever she heard it anywhere. Now that she was in his office she saw the tension in his muscular frame. He was leaning forward in his chair and the hard lines on his face looked even harder - if that was possible.

“I need a wife,” Trent said.

Rachel’s boisterous laugh filled the room. After regaining her composure she asked, “seriously, what is it Trent?”

Ever since they met in college he vowed that he would never marry and never be in a serious relationship. Every woman he ever dated was made aware of this and his motto had never changed. It had never been a problem finding women that agreed to this. Sure some thought that they could change him, but many were still attracted to him simply for his money and David Beckham looks.

A pregnant pause filled the air. Seeing the tension rise even higher in Trent’s body, Rachel knew that whatever his issue was it was huge.

His brown eyes looked across at her. “Rachel, I have never been more serious in my life. Everything that I have worked for, everything that I have ever stood for depends on this.” Looking up to the ceiling he added, “The jobs and each and every one of my employees depends on this.”

Walking across the room, Rachel gently placed a comforting hand on his upper arm. “Trent, start from the beginning.”

How could he admit to her what a fool he had been? Rachel of all people. His best friend. She was practically family to him. Really the only resemblance of family that he had left. There were no secrets though. With Rachel never secrets.

“Don’t judge.”

Raising her perfectly arched eyebrow in question, she asked “Do I ever?”

“No Rach, you don’t. This is brutal though. I was a fool. I told the CEO at Xeron that I was married.”

Continuing on he told her the story of his phone call and how his impulsive answer brought him to this dilemma. Rachel knew that Xeron was the company that he was partnering Pearson Chemicals with to ensure that he kept the business in the black.

With their primary market, manufacturers of paper, dwindling in size so was his company’s revenue. Knowing that the company and its promise of continuous employment to each and every one of its employees was the legacy his grandfather had left him, there was no other choice except to switch markets. Xeron was the sure answer for him and Pearson Chemical’s successful future.

Xeron’s CEO and Trent had met at a TED conference and discovered their likeminded thinking. In subsequent phone calls they had come up with an idea to take the best of both companies. Xeron was going to use Pearson Chemical as the sole supplier for its manufacturing plant that was working on cardboard bicycles. An idea that an Israeli inventor had just introduced to the world.

Pearson chemicals was one of the few companies in the world with the intellectual and manufacturing resources. It was a partnership made in heaven.

That was heaven until he just discovered that Mitchell, the CEO of Xeron, only worked with married men. Trent suspected this meant no women, which he chose not to share with Rachel. It had been abundantly clear that no unmarried men would partner with his company.

To Mitchell, it showed a lack of commitment and he just wouldn’t do that.

“Trent, don’t go through this. Your grandpa would understand.” She placed her hand against his muscular upper arm again and began rubbing it up and down in reassurance.

“Rach, I promised. I promised I would keep the family legacy going. That’s going to be all that is left of my family when I am gone. This company.”

“You think that lying and then marrying someone within a month is what he wanted?”

“Of course not. What he wanted was to keep the promise – employed employees.”

“The burden of the world isn’t in your hands.”

“Not the world. Just my 1,000 employees. They need jobs and I want to provide them.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Damn if I know.”

Walking in with a confident stride, Brett, Trent’s friend walked in. “Damn if you know what? That’s not your typical language.”

“How I’m going to get a wife in the next month.”

Trent retold his story to Brett.

“I know the answer,” Brett said with confidence.

“Do share,” Rachel said.

“We’ll make you a binder full of women.”

“What?” Rachel asked incredulously.

“Yes, a binder of women. There are dozens out there who would marry you for your money and your money alone Pearson. You know that.”

Brett continued on, “I’ll make a detailed summary of all of the women I’ve dated that I know would be like that. Surely we can pull some up from a millionaire dating service too and voila there it is - a binder full of women for you to choose from.”

Also a billionaire, Brett’s biggest annoyance was that women were always after him for his money. It had happened one time where it had hit a little too hard. His fiancé he had loved dearly completely crushed him when he learned that her primary attraction to their future marriage was his money. Luckily he discovered her true motives before it was too late.

Placing her hands on her hips and giving her best “how could you even” look, Rachel said, “That is the most ridiculous, demeaning thing I’ve heard.”

“I concur. There’s no other choice though. Too many people depend on this,” Trent said.

“So you, Mr. I’m never getting married or even having a real relationship with a woman is going to pick some sheet of paper from a binder and marry her?” Rachel said while pointing her finger at him.

The venom coming from her was almost delicious. “No, you are going to help me.”

As she began to shake her head and finger simultaneously, Trent grabbed her hand and held it steady in his. The warmth of his grip engulfed her.

“Just wait. You are going to help me and it won’t be a real marriage. It will be a marriage in name only. There will be a complete understanding between me and this lady. She’ll have access to my money and connections and that’s it. No deception to her.”

Rachel shook her hand free and gave him a questioning look.

“I’ll go start on project binder,” Brett said leaving the room.

 “I can’t let you do this,” Rachel said.

“Yes, Rach I am doing this. With or without your approval this is happening. Preferably with your help.”

One thing Rachel knew for sure was that once Trent had his mind set on something it happened.

If he was going to do it, she might as well be at his side helping him make the best possible biggest mistake of his life.

After all, he had seen her through so much of her adult life. With her parents now living in Arizona, and her in Indianapolis, she really did depend on him.

When she was starting her home staging business, he gave her extremely discounted rent for an office and warehousing. When it came to hiring a lawyer and accountant he provided his time and advice even accompanying her to a few of the meetings. Not because he didn’t think she could do it on her own, but for the support and a second set of ears.

Now that her business was thriving, the most successful staging business in the state, he still gave her advice to help the company growth. There were so many financial aspects that he had natural intuition on while she was more the creative side. Many of her initial clients came to her because of referrals from him.

After all he had done she could help him with this one thing.

Extending her hand for a peace making handshake, Rachel said, “Ok then. Let’s get started on operation binder full of women.”

There was no telling what kind of disaster this would lead to and now Rachel was in for the ride.

Chapter 2

As promised, the next day Brett arrived carrying his binder. His arms were enfolded around a white, heavy duty binder complete with a cover that said, “Women”.

When they sat down at the small round table nestled in the corner of Trent’s office that overlooked a small wooded area, Rachel took a moment to enjoy nature. It seemed to be the only thing real with this crazy wife hunt going on.

Ready to start, Rachel pulled her chair closer to the table, catching the smell of Trent’s woodsy scent. She was never sure if it was his natural smell or the cologne he used.

“I still can’t believe we’re doing this,” Rachel mumbled almost to herself.

Trent reached under the table and gave her knee a reassuring squeeze.

She had been up all night tossing and turning wondering what she could do to change Trent’s mind. Marriage could be such a magical thing. It was supposed to be two soul mates coming together as one. It was not supposed to be a business arrangement. Although that is what her last boyfriend had apparently thought.

Of course she had the advantage of growing up with the luxury of witnessing what a fabulous marriage could be with her parents. She would settle for nothing less than that magic for herself.

In the past when she tried to explain this to Trent he had grown distant, looking lost. Every once in a while she wondered if his mind was focused on another planet.

“What about meeting someone in person? Isn’t there someone you already know? Aren’t there enough women in Indianapolis to meet just one?” Rachel asked as her fingers traced the rim of the binder.

Indianapolis was the twelfth largest city in the U.S. and he had deep roots there. Rachel thought that surely in a large city like this with lots of civic and cultural offerings Trent had to know at least one person that he could accept as a wife.

“It’s just why would you rely on a binder when there are so many fabulous women in the world?” she questioned. “Women who aren’t just after money.”

“Just like all men aren’t after you to connect with me,” Trent said more harshly than he intended.

Rachel shot him a glare. That was a low shot. It still hurt deep inside that someone she thought had loved her was really just using her to get to Trent. That’s what her last love, Bill, had done.

“That wasn’t fair. Sorry Rachel,” Trent said rubbing her back. “There are fabulous women. I’m protecting all of them from me. They need something real. That’s not something I’m giving.” Once again his eyes gave a distanced look.