Chapter One

The hot air outside the hospital simmered like an oven. Hugo enjoyed the cool breeze his team had set up with air conditioning from a mobile unit on an SUV and fans to discretely keep him cool in his business suit. Finishing his speech about the importance of the new cardiology center Zayne cosmetics had built in the Virgin Islands, the caring the company had for the community, and its commitment to give back, Hugo Zayne posed and smiled for the cameras.

The thunder of applause filled the air. As he used the ridiculously large scissors to cut the ceremonial red ribbon, a face in the crowd of onlookers caught his attention. Something in his chest clenched. He stared, momentarily forgetting what he was doing.

“Mr. Zayne sir, we need a few more shots, and that last one didn’t come out right. Could you turn back towards the camera and smile for us?”

With that quick reminder, Hugo’s attention snapped back to what he was doing. Smiling, he posed along with the dignitaries crowding the platform. Afterward, as he circulated among the official guests in the open reception area and chatted briefly to the most important ones, he shot quick glances back to the spot where he’d seen the face.

The crowd had dissipated. There was no sign of her. Had he really seen Ava Grant in the crowd? And what was she doing here in the St. Thomas with her white lab coat on? Could the noted Cardiologist be working at the island hospital? Seeing her made Hugo long for the relationship and times that had never quite made it to lasting reality. Had she really been there? Something in the crowd of men and beautiful women could have tricked his mind into seeing her there, he reasoned.

Completing his job duties with a short, on the spot interview with the local television station, Hugo stepped into the island hospital on a whim. Confused, his security team scrambled to cover him. Making his way past the busy mix of patients and staff members, Hugo stopped at the information desk.

An older black woman with iron gray hair twisted up on her head sat there, her smooth, teak-colored skin unmarred by age. She nodded and graced him with a polite smile. “May I help you, sir?”

“I’m Hugo Zayne and I’m looking for Dr. Ava Grant. Can you page her for me, please?”

The woman’s dark eyes touched on his hospital badge and momentarily widened in surprise. She quickly covered her astonishment.

Natalie Dunbar's Love and Money series features billionaires in interracial romances. Book one featured African American financial whiz, Aubrey and Carson, a self-made real estate billionaire. Book two features Bennett Zayne, Lady Zayne Cosmetics billionaire, and Mira, mixed race Latina supermodel and aspiring actress.

Sign up now to get the most out of Books2Read

Discover something great at Books2Read.

Thanks for signing up for Books2Read notifications!