Uncontrollable Bachelor (Bachelor Tower Series) Read online

  Uncontrollable Bachelor

  Jeannette Winters

  An original work of Jeannette Winters, 2020.

  All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, places, events, business establishments or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Dedication

  This book is dedicated to all those who take the time to brighten someone's day. A smile and a laugh is priceless.....

  And also thank you to Jade Webb at https://meetcutecreative.com/ for another amazing cover!

  And to my readers. You continue to challenge me and I love it. Please keep those emails coming!

  Contents

  Jeannette Winters

  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

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Also by Jeannette Winters

  By Jeannette Winters & Lena Lane

  Jeannette Winters

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  Uncontrollable Bachelor

  A fun addition to Ruth Cardello’s Bachelor Tower World

  This was supposed to be so easy. All I needed to do was go to dinner and smooth talk Shannon to get some inside information regarding the Bachelor Tower. Instead I never even brought up the subject because I got lost in her gorgeous green eyes and lips that begged to be kissed. Did I mention she was my one regret from years ago? Seeing her again brought back all the feelings, good and bad.

  I’ve never forgotten the last time I saw her. I had been young and wanted to marry her. Her father’s response was to kick my ass with his thousand dollar shoes as he reminded me I came from the wrong side of tracks. That lesson molded me into the successful, yet uncontrollable bachelor I am today.

  Shannon isn’t the quiet girl she was either. She’s confident, and sexy as hell and haunting my every thought. She’s becoming a sweet distraction, but a complication I can’t afford. Am I going to let one hot night with her again bring me to my knees?

  All I need to do is sign the contract and the apartment is mine. Bachelor Towers provides the lifestyle I have busted my ass for. I’ll have topnotch business connections and women at my fingertips. It’s everything I wanted. Or at least it was.

  How do I convince her I’ve had a change of heart when I don’t deserve a second chance?

  Chapter 1

  Jace

  I’m so fucking pissed. Anyone looking at me wrong right now is going to pay the price. The word “no” isn’t something I’ve been able to accept since I was eighteen. Back then everything I wanted was ripped away from me by that simple two-letter word.

  Being young, I had thought a “no” meant I couldn’t win. The fight in me hadn’t developed yet and I ended up walking away. Bitter? No. In fact, that brutal rejection had a huge impact on molding me into the man I am today. Heartless? Ruthless? Couldn’t deny either. There’s one thing I know for sure: nothing stops me from getting what I want. When I’m told “no” now, I smile and accept your challenge. It’s like you’re begging me to show you what the fuck you can do with that refusal. It doesn’t matter if you’re friend or foe. Everyone gets the same treatment.

  Over the years my actions made some enemies, sure, but at the age of thirty, I’ve gained the respect of my peers. My software knowledge combined with busting my ass is why I now own a billion-dollar business. Not bad for a kid who grew up never knowing his parents and hopping from foster homes faster than anyone could unpack. Even now I refuse to have a business partner, because life has shown me the only person I can ever really trust is myself.

  Could I be wrong about what I need to bring my business to the next level? Possibly, but I highly doubt it. The Bachelor Towers would be my next residence, one way or another. What I failed to anticipate was how fucking long the waiting list was.

  The walk back from the meeting at the Bachelor Towers hadn’t done anything to cool my temper. It was only a few blocks, but each step seemed to fuel my anger further. As I got off the elevator and headed to my office, my blood was boiling and low words growled out. “Who the fuck do they think they are?”

  Unfortunately, my secretary seems to have supersonic hearing. Then again, eavesdropping must be her specialty since she knows everything going on with my employees even before I do. “Mr. Goldstein, is everything all right?” Betsy Brown asked smirking.

  Betsy had worked for me for three years. By now she should know better than to provoke me when I’m obviously not in the mood to talk. It’s almost like pushing everyone’s buttons is her favorite pastime. Not a smart thing to do to the person who signs your paycheck. Betsy either hadn’t figured that out yet or didn’t care. My colleagues have suggested I fire her, but she is fierce and no visitors or calls ever make it past her without my approval first.

  I walked by her desk with a glare. “Not today.” My look alone should’ve ended it.

  I was a foot away from my office when she started again. “I told you, you’re going about it all the wrong way.”

  I spun around, unable to hold my tongue. “Do your job and leave me to mine.”

  She had no idea what getting into the towers meant to me, and why should she? It was none of her business, which meant she should keep her so-called advice to herself right now. But that wasn’t the Betsy Brown way. The one day she had ever been quiet, it’s because she was ill.

  Betsy never flinched. She was used to dealing with me. “You know where to find me,” she said, rolling her eyes. As I turned back towards my office, I heard her mutter, “When you get tired of being shot down.”

  Tolerating her snide remarks normally isn’t an issue and I’m not going to let it be one today either. I know her game. She hoped if she pushed hard enough, I might actually divulge information to her. There was no fucking chance of that happening.

  If she was this damn outspoken and bold in the office, I’d hate to see what she was like with her husband and friends. But I make it a point not to know anything about my employees’ personal lives. It makes cutting ties and firing them so much cleaner, easier.

  Clenching my fist, I entered my office, closed the door behind me, and headed for the bar. It wasn’t even noon, but fuck, I needed a drink. I poured myself a scotch, downed the contents, and placed the empty glass back on the bar. I was keeping it handy, n
ot sure if I would need another shot. Getting a buzz on might ease my tension, but wouldn’t necessarily help me think any clearer.

  Sitting in my leather chair, I opened the top left drawer of my mahogany desk and pulled out a Cuban. Usually I only smoke these when I have something to celebrate. Today I smoked one for medicinal purposes. I swiveled to look out the large glass window of my office.

  There’s something to say about being on the fourteenth floor in the financial district of Boston. It’s a status and a view that comes with a high price tag, but money is not an issue when it comes to getting what I want. I wish it was as easy as buying my way into the towers. But they’re invitation only, and only when there’s a vacancy.

  Reaching over, I crushed my cigar out in the ash tray. Actual work was waiting for me, but my mind was still two blocks away. This was ridiculous. My gut was twisted in a knot. It’d been a long time since I wanted anything this badly. Granted, I was next on the list, but how fucking long would that be? A month, a year? Maybe five? Patience wasn’t a virtue I possessed. And now I got to sit in my office and stare out the window with a view of the Bachelor Towers only two blocks away. “Fuck!”

  It was bullshit. My only chance to get in was if someone bit the bullet and fell in love. Women could accompany the men upstairs but were not allowed to live there. If someone did have a serious relationship, his girlfriend wouldn’t stand for that shit too long. Eventually, the poor bastard would need to move out of heaven, which meant a vacancy.

  But in the tower, most men were of like mind. Wives? Girlfriends? Both were a distraction that demanded more time than they were worth. These men worked hard and played hard. Hate to wish it on any of them, but right now I needed one of them to fall victim to the oldest trap in the world. Love.

  Would that happen? Eventually, yes. But I’m not one who sits back and lets things happen naturally. You can’t guarantee results that way, and time that is lost can’t be recaptured.

  If I ever doubted my stance on never asking for help, it was reaffirmed when I met Gary F. Brockton, a man I had much respect for. He left a legacy to be proud of. Those are footsteps I want to follow.

  I met Gary at a fundraising event and was impressed with his business ethic. He was pure genius. As the founder of the Bachelor Towers, I had asked him how he’d come up with such a fucking brilliant idea. Gary had told me it was by not letting anyone interfere with his vision because no two people ever truly saw things alike.

  The haven Gary created at the exclusive Bachelor Towers co-op not only provided a network of some of the top Forbes 500 businessmen, but amenities that were equally impressive. After a long day in the office, the tower was the next best thing to a vacation. I could start my day at the gym and end it with the company of a beautiful woman who understood that all I’m looking for is a night of decent conversation and mind-fucking-blowing sex. Damn, I could use that right now to relieve some of this fucking frustration.

  It wasn’t as though a man couldn’t have all that outside of the towers. Hell, I had no real complaints about my apartment now. But I made a promise to myself that one day I’d live there, and nothing was going to change my mind.

  I’d been to the towers a few times to visit colleagues of mine. Once to meet for dinner in the private fine dining restaurant and another time in the scotch bar where men could smoke their imported cigars and not have to hear any bitching about it. Both times as I had waited in the lobby, I couldn’t help but notice the beautiful women, not for hire, but with hopes that they’d be lucky enough for an invitation to accompany one of the men upstairs, even if for just one night.

  It would be a change for me, because I didn’t allow women to into my home for any other reason than housecleaning. My theory is if I don’t ask them in, I don’t have to tell them to leave. That might change when I get into the towers, because the ladies all understand the rules there. But it’s a moot point until I’m offered a place.

  I know there’s another way. There always is. All I have to do is fucking find it.

  My intercom buzzed. Damn it, Betsy, get the fucking hint already.

  She was more like me than I’d care to admit. When her mind was set on something, she wasn’t going to quit. We had gone head-to-head on several occasions. Not once had she won.

  “Won’t be any different today,” came her voice over the intercom.

  I pressed the button. “If you’re not busy enough, I’m sure I can find plenty more for you to do.”

  Her annoying, high-pitched laugh echoed through my office. “I was just thinking”

  “Don’t. Just do as I asked, and we will both be happy.” Unless she was about to inform me the Bachelor Towers just called with a vacancy, there was no chance of a smile crossing my face.

  “Smile already. I have great news for you,” she said her voice filled with over exaggerated enthusiasm.

  I rolled my eyes, dreading the bullshit that I was about to hear. “Make it quick.”

  “I have a friend. You have to talk to her. She’s the”

  “I’m not interested in being hooked up with any of your friends.” Betsy was always hinting that I needed someone in my life and to settle down like her. I feel bad for Betsy’s husband. He probably never gets a word in. And I can only imagine what her friends are like, too. Hell no. All a woman would be right now is a distraction I don’t need. I pressed the disconnect button and she buzzed again.

  “What the fuck!” I ignored it and opened my laptop. No matter how good she was, if Betsy started pestering me with needless things, I might need to reconsider her employment status.

  As I keyed in my password, there was a quick knock and the door briskly opened. That pissed me off all over again.

  “You really want me to fire you today, don’t you?” I snarled.

  Betsy said, “I know you don’t want to hear what I have to say, but if you would just let me finish you might be glad you did.”

  I highly doubted it, but it didn’t seem like I was going to get anything productive done until I heard her out. “Don’t bother sitting, because I have work to do. I’ll give you thirty seconds.” That was more than I wanted.

  Betsy grinned in victory and I growled internally. Fuck.

  “My friend is the daughter of someone who works with the Bachelor Towers.”

  That wasn’t anything important. Hell, the person who delivered the US mail at the office was the same person who delivered to the towers. Neither was going to get me in. “Thanks. Now can I get to work?”

  “You don’t understand. Her father handles all the vendors that go there. I mean, from the cleaning staff to all the food that gets delivered to the restaurant. Nothing goes in without his stamp of approval,” Betsy explained. “So, if anyone was thinking about moving out, he would be the person coordinating everything.”

  I hadn’t considered that. Of course, there was no reason why he would divulge such information to me. It would most definitely cost him his job if he did.

  “Thanks. Now if you don’t mind”

  “You don’t understand. She lives with him. When he comes home, he talks about work and then maybe if you’re lucky, she’ll talk to you about it, too,” Betsy grinned. “Of course, you might need to be a bit nicer to her than you are to me. She’s not as…thick-skinned as I am.”

  “You want me to do what? Ask this woman to dinner and hope she wants to spend the night talking about her father?”

  “Yes, kind of.”

  “I don’t know any woman who’d ever do that.” If I did, I would’ve ended the date early and found company elsewhere. What Betsy was proposing wasn’t a horrendous idea, but if I thought I was an asshole now, dating someone to get close to her father wasn’t going to help improve my reputation. Besides, it would take time to earn her father’s trust. Move too fast and her father would hate me anyway. Too slow and I could probably have gotten the same information elsewhere.

  “Thanks. Not interested.” I looked back at my laptop, but she continued.


  “I guess it’s for the best. Shannon isn’t like me at all. You might scare her with all your barking and snapping,” Betsy said, and sighed.

  “Shannon?” I asked. It was a name he hadn’t heard in a very long time and one that had been hard to forget. No way could it be the same person. And if it was, her father would never share any information with me. If he despised me back then, he’d probably want to throttle me now.

  The thought of getting back at that old man appealed to me, but I wasn’t sure I could use Shannon to do it. Not after what she’d once meant to me.

  “Her name is Shannon Hamel, but I doubt you two run in the same circles. She’s not in the business world,” she explained.

  My gut twisted in a knot. It was her. The last time I’d seen Shannon was the night her father threw me out of his house after I asked permission to marry her. Granted, Ralph Hamel had made a few good points -- we were too young and I wasn’t financially able to support a family, but there was a hell of a lot more to it. Ralph said that no amount of money would ever make me good enough for Shannon. He had said I had no drive, no ambition. I’ve spent my life trying to prove how fucking wrong he was. I’ve achieved riches and power beyond what Ralph probably ever would. I could easily throw his words back in his face. But as time went by, I realized Ralph had done me a favor. If I had married Shannon all those years ago, I wouldn’t be where I am now. It was Ralph’s “no” that made me who I am.