The Billionaire Goes For Broke: Book 1: London by Madison Rain Page A

more time in London. I don’t think I’ll be visiting America very often in the coming year, other than for work.” Michael said and noticed the gleam in George’s eyes. He was clearly happy to hear it. Michael knew he was well liked in his new circle of friends, the ones whom George had introduced him to. They were amazed by Michael’s ability to spend money endlessly, that the money was all his, and  that he had grown up in a small one-bedroom apartment with his single mother in Chicago. Michael Castle was a curiosity to his new London friends, someone who could be the heart and soul of the party. He was rich, but he didn’t have qualms of showing up at a regular nightclub in Soho, or walking down Oxford Street and shopping for clothes off the counter. George and his childhood friends had appointed family tailors, never attended a social event they had either not made a booking for or been invited to. Michael Castle was a wild one, for them. They didn’t know what they could expect from the night if he was around.
    “So are you planning on setting up a London office as well?” George asked, pulling out a chair from the circular chair and table arrangement at the corner of the balcony.
    “No. I don’t want any office-duty to have to attend to while I live in London. I have Steve for that. No, my headquarters will remain in Palo Alto; I’ll just conduct meetings remotely from here in case of an emergency.” Michael sat down too, twirling the whiskey in his glass again. It was still a bright sunny day out in London, and Michael could already feel that happy lightness in his head he always felt when he was drinking Scotch. He looked over at George, who was now admiring the flowering vines that had been neatly decorated and designed to cover the walls of the balcony. He had lost Michael’s train of thought.
    “So do you have a garden downstairs too?” George asked instead and Michael nodded.
    “At the back downstairs, yes. I think I’ll host a barbecue tomorrow.” Michael said and George nodded furiously. He liked the idea.
    George was lost in thought again. There was nothing the man liked more, than admiring and studying stunning architecture, a well decorated room and making mental calculations on the net worth of a house. Michael chuckled to himself again, how did he end up here? This was his lifestyle now. How did this happen?
    He caught his own reflection in the French windows he was sitting across from. Tan patent leather Oxford shoes, steel-grey pants made of fabric that felt like butter to the touch. A white shirt that he’ll only wear once, or maybe twice if he could identify it in the long corridors of shirts in his walk-in closet. Yellow crystal cufflinks twinkled at his wrists. His hair was jet-black, wavy and neatly brushed back away from his forehead. His amber eyes were like his mother’s, green on some days, and blue when his mood was dark. His jaw was chiseled and beginning to take on a shade of light gray at this time of the day. He could still see the remnants of his college football days. He had a fullback’s muscular shoulders and wide chest. Under his clothes, Michael Castle looked the same; but right now, he didn’t really recognize himself. When he was a boy, he didn’t know a single person who could even afford the kind of watch he was wearing at the moment.
    Only a few minutes later did he realize that George had been speaking. He snapped himself out of his thoughts and paid attention.
    “You have met Victoria Collinger, haven’t you?” George asked and Michael took another sip of his whiskey.
    “Yes, Victoria. Richard introduced us the other day.” Michael said, watching George’s face break into a smile.
    “She is quite a woman, isn’t she?” George’s eyes were twinkling as he spoke of her. Michael laughed; there were many ways of describing a woman like Victoria, it was hilarious to him that George couldn’t think of any other word than “quite”.
    “She is