Rejected Billionaire

Chapter 1丨Rude Awakening

Post-Dragon Era, Year 2000

Kingdom of Golan

Chapter 1

Bright light and the cold of a March breeze made Conor Brantley wince and reach for the comfortable warmth of his blanket, only to discover it was well and truly missing.

‘Where the hell is the blanket?’

He cracked his eyes to discover his wife Jessica holding the stolen blanket while giving him a malicious grin before she tossed a pillow at him.

“Time to get up you lazy turd. You have work today! At a real job, for once! You can thank my father for this one. I must be crazy for putting up with your moping, because I told him I wanted to see if things could work out.” Jessica said, dropping the blanket to the floor and putting her hands on her hips, puffing out a breath to try to blow an errant blonde lock out of her face.

While he wasn’t pleased about the blanket being stolen, he had to admit, his wife was gorgeous, even with her mock displeasure. Her little pout while dressed in her corporate suit simply melted his heart. It had been too long since he had been allowed to kiss those intoxicating lips or had those light brown eyes look at him with the lustful passion of their first year of marriage.

He quickly tried to divert that line of thought as his body started to react faster than his brain could keep up with. Rolling into a seated position, he hid things he knew she wouldn’t act on so soon before she headed to work; he deflected.

“Jess, do you have to be so cruel first thing in the morning? Its, what…” he glanced at the bedside clock, “Not even seven in the morning yet.”

It cut deep to realize she had lost so much faith in his ability to hold a job that she had even gone to her father on his behalf. While she might work in his corporate office, he knew how much it grated on her to need to ask him for a favor, especially for her own husband.

“I understand Jess. But GrizlHut? Have I fallen so far for that to be all I am worth?”

, “Do you have to be so lazy?”

He considered her words, his hands raking across his hair. It was true that his current employment situation was less than optimistic, and she wasn’t wrong in her accusations. Hells, if he was honest with himself, it was shameful that at almost twenty-five years old he was relying far too much on Jessica to consistently pay their rent, and utilities… and food. But he had so many good business ideas that were always just on the edge of being realized…

Another pillow hit him in the face, jarring him back to reality.

“You CAN roll pizza dough, right? You are expected there by nine,” She snapped before storming out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

The mood whiplash was enough to get Conor out of bed and dressed.

Knowing her father, he likely could have just bought the whole store to give one of his kids a job. He was ‘that’ kind of rich.

For Jess to ask that man to get him a job likely meant she had sacrificed even more pride and family capital just so they would have a chance to rebuild what they once had.

The first two years of marriage had been full of fun times, working together to build Celia’s Herbals into a beauty store with handmade soaps and essential oils that was the talk of the town.

Even when his mother had been killed a year into their marriage, Conor and Jessica were able to carry on together for a while. It wasn’t until his business partner betrayed him that things really fell apart. The partner had changed their supplier without him realizing it. Some of the coal and minerals had somehow been tainted, and customers were not happy, and several even got sick.

Many called Jessica and Conor blasphemers for selling such products under the name of Celia. They used the mishap and even his mother's death as proof Celia had abandoned his family. The public turned on him. Over the years, the Cochan mall, the business, and their marriage also began to suffer until Celia’s Herbals finally failed. The betrayal, the business failing and his mother’s recent death all came crashing down on him that year.

Sometime later, Jess had taken to staying in the spare room, which by now was entirely “her” room.

‘Some Marriage.’

Conor didn’t want to blame Jessica for the downward spiral of their relationship. After all, when her father had arranged their marriage, Conor had been a profitable entrepreneur, even owned a store in the Cochan Family mall. Now, well, now he was less than a house husband, a live-in son-in-law with no family, no business, and no connections.

A tear slid down his cheek as he remembered what they had and how it all started to crumble three years ago when he heard news about his mother from the news of all places.

With a force of will, he pulled himself out of his melancholy and dressed for the day. He grabbed a t-shirt and a pair of cargo pants and called it good. He spent a few minutes cleaning up the room and making the bed, because as his mother had taught him, you should always start the day off with at least one accomplishment. Making the bed and cleaning the room counted and put a little bit of order into a chaotic world.

When he stepped out into the kitchen, Jessica was finishing her breakfast, her blonde locks pulled back in a ponytail.

“Hurry up, it wouldn’t do if you are late to your first day. Father has already called the franchise manager to expect you,” she griped.

While she sounded contrite, there was some care in her words that he rarely heard in recent days. The heat was gone from her words and he saw her demeanor softening before she continued.

“Conor, this is our last chance. I had to convince Dad to give you this opportunity. He was not pleased and is just waiting for you to fail again. Your last few ideas for new businesses… just didn’t pan out. Take this time to earn some actual money for once, and, maybe, you will find a real solid job soon.”

Conor grasped on to what he hoped was a lifeline for their marriage. She had said ‘our’.  He nodded, committing himself to take full advantage of this opportunity for a new start for them.

Jessica put her cereal bowl away before grabbing a coat by the door. “You are to meet with the manager, Pops. The old man used to own the shop before Father bought it and merged it into the GrizlHut Franchises, so be nice to him. Anyway, I will be home late.” She said, heading out the door.

He watched her leave, admiring the view of his wife’s back side as she closed the door.  He would have to get his act together quickly if he was going to hold on to that amazing woman. He knew all too well that there were plenty of men who would and had pursued her over the years and if he didn’t shape up quickly, someone else would try to take his place in her life. They likely were already trying, if he had to guess.

May the dragon gods help them. Jessica was amazing, but her family were a headache he wouldn’t wish on his worst enemy. Yet, Jessica was still willing to ask her father for help on his behalf. That in of itself humbled him to the point that he committed then and there to making sure he made something of himself once again, so she would never be forced to rely on her family for anything again.

Sighing to himself, Conor finished his own breakfast. A few minutes later, he grabbed his phone and headed out the door, not wanting to be late.