Her Forbidden Millionaire

“Yes, get the money. We should definitely be handling that estate,” Bobby said, rubbing his hands together.

Phoebe shook her head. “I told you about plotting greediness in my presence. The probate court and lawyers will handle the estate and if they decide to bring us in for a consult, I will not turn them down. My main concern is Mrs. Aimsley. Her kids live across the country and I just want to be sure she’s okay going through everything here alone.”

“You’re so sweet,” Bobby said in a surprised tone.

Phoebe took offense. “You said that like you didn’t know I was compassionate.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” He waved off her attitude as he turned to look at the television. They were running the piece on Lincoln Gold’s failed business again.

Phoebe sighed. “I still can’t believe his financial team let him start that business.”

“He doesn’t have one,” Bobby said nonchalantly.

“What do you mean he doesn’t have one? He’s a multimillionaire, right? Why doesn’t he have any financial advisors?”

“Well, the ones he used to have were the ones his parents hired, but I’m not sure if you know, but he won emancipation because they were all bleeding him dry and embezzling all kinds of money. I think because he’s found it hard to trust people so he just does whatever idea he thinks sounds good.”

“That’s a horrible way to do business,” Phoebe exclaimed with a chuckle.

“I know that, and I’m sure he’s starting to figure that out by now.” Bobby smiled.

“Warner or even you should go take him on. Take one of these interns with you and show them how to land a client. How to reel in the big fish. Show them you two still got it.” Phoebe nodded, loving the sound of her own idea.

“It’s actually funny that you say that because he is in the market for a firm. As of right now, his attorney and his accountant have been keeping tabs on things but they can only do so much without understanding how to get his money back to working for him. So I received a special invitation to a brunch,” Bobby informed her with a grin.

“A brunch? So you guys have to go to breakfast to woo this child actor trying to be an adult?” Phoebe burst out into laughter at the ludicrous idea of negotiations with someone who thought cotton candy flavored corn dogs in a bag was a great idea.

“It’s not that funny,” Bobby told her in a stern tone. “Especially since you’re the one we’re sending.”

Phoebe coughed and choked a bit on her giggles. “What in the where? Who sending who to do what?!”

“You know you’re our best but the premise of the brunch is for a group of the best firms to send in one advocate. You put your proposals together without any company insignia or names on them. He will go over them and choose the best one like that, without prejudice. I guess you’ll go in drop the file and then have a discussion. I wasn’t exactly privy to the content of the exact itinerary, but we can count on you to go in there and reel in the big fish, right?” Bobby chuckled at the expression on Phoebe’s face.

“I’ve been putting out fires all morning, but what I need to do to get that Lincoln Gold guy back on track.” She paused. “I can’t even fathom. Do we have anything to go on? What are we preparing our proposals off of? I hope not that news blip. This is absolutely ridiculous and I don’t want to have anything to do with any of it, honestly.”

“But you just said Warner or myself should go land him,” Bobby regurgitated her words back to her.

“I know what I said, Bobby,” Phoebe snapped. “I just have a feeling he’s going to be one of those celebrity pain in the asses. And if he has any more people leeching off of him, I’m not soft-handed when it comes to situations like that. I rip them off like Band-Aids! I can’t dedicate my time, knowledge, and patience to someone who isn’t going to appreciate it.”

“He doesn’t have to appreciate it, Phoebe. He just has to pay us for it, and he’s going to pay through the nose. I’ll have Jill bring you the file and invitation so you can get to work and if you do, by chance, happen to land him… He will be your personal client,” Bobby stated. Phoebe didn’t like the tone in his voice. He was pulling rank on her in that moment, and no matter how cool they were, he was still her boss.

“Fine, I’ll land him, but when he gets here, I’m handing him off to George or Donna. I don’t want to be bothered with the headache or any kinds of foolery he has going on. That’s not what I’m about. That’s not what I represent, and that’s not the image I will portray as a representative of this firm,” Phoebe said, rolling her eyes. She knew Bobby wasn’t done.

“Absolutely not,” Bobby said with a twinge of frustration. “You know I hate to do it to you but if you let anybody else handle this, they won’t be as diligent. They won’t be as strict getting him back on track. You’re the best her right now, and I gotta pull my boss card. If you land him, you take care of him personally. The same way you did the Aimsleys, the same way you did the Johnsons, the same way you do all of your clients. No exceptions. Now I’m going to leave you to work on it.”

Phoebe grumbled but didn’t respond. She was done with Bobby and that entire morning. She couldn’t believe she got sucked into this Lincoln Gold brunch. After spending most of her day planning out her proposals, she couldn’t wait for the clock to hit five. Drinks at the Red Room with her best friend were calling her name.

Pam had the perfect face for television. At least, that’s what Phoebe thought, especially when she walked into the bar. Pam’s honey complexion glowed under the spotlight near the bar. There was such a joyous aura around her friend, everyone could feel it as soon as they stepped in the room. Her smile radiated happiness, but as soon as Pam’s green eyes connected with Phoebe’s her smile faded.

“Oh honey.” Pam walked over to her with open arms, “You look like you’ve had a day. Bartender! Get this girl a shot of tequila!”

“I just need to sit down,” Phoebe said, plopping down on the stool next to Pam. “You’re never going to guess who I’m supposed to go pitch.”

“Who?” Pam asked, curious as to who could get her friend so off her game.

Phoebe huffed a growl as she stared up at the red ceiling light. “Lincoln Gold.”

“Get the fu*k out of here! Are you serious?” Pam exclaimed. “That’s amazing! When do you get to go see his fine ass?!”

“I have a few days to prepare a proposal that’s supposed to win him over to Warner Waters,” Phoebe told her. “I really don’t want to do it.”

“Why? What’s wrong with landing a millionaire as a client? Girl, you better get your money!”

Phoebe chuckled. “Everything in this world isn’t about money. I guess I’m just nervous. I don’t know what to expect and I’ve heard such horror stories from other advisors when it comes to celebrities. I’m not in the mood for bullsh*t. I’ve worked too hard to move backwards.”

“Who said anything about moving backwards? Do you even know who Lincoln Gold is? Do you have any idea how many shades of fine that man is and has gotten since we were kids?” Pam was excited just talking about him, but Phoebe couldn’t see what the big deal was. Pam showed her. In a few swipes on her phone, Pam pulled up every single social media platform Lincoln was on. Phoebe had to admit that he was very attractive.

A single black man, millionaire, handsome, with no kids was like finding a needle in the haystack amongst the types of men she was attracted to. She was starting to see what all the fuss was about. Maybe having him as her client wasn’t going to be so bad after all. But then with anyone that sexy, they were bound to come with problems. That had been said about her before, but Phoebe’s only problem was that she loved working more than most people. Her relationship was with her office and her clients. That’s all she ever made time for, but maybe Lincoln might be the one to change that. But, first things first, she had to land Lincoln Gold.