Page 3 of A Billionaire Abroad

She snatched up her messenger bag and sat at the round, glass-top table. Sterling joined her there. He pulled out his phone. She opened her laptop.

“First,” she said, “have you changed anything about what you’d like this event to be?”

He shook his head. “A memorable event to, basically, seal the deal with Meta, Google, Amazon—all the big players.”

She looked over her laptop at him. “They’re all headquartered here?”

He nodded. “And they’re not the only ones.”

Dublin really was a tech hub. No wonder he’d come here. “How soon do you want to have this event? I’ll need a couple of days to narrow down locations and caterers, if needed. Entertainment. That kind of thing.”

“A few days will be fine. End of the week, maybe,” he said. “I know you’ll manage your usual miracle.”

She smiled broadly. It was one of the nicest things anyone had said to her since she began working as an event planner. It was complete trust. She appreciated that.

There was a knock at the door. “Strange,” she said. She wasn’t expecting another visitor.

“That’ll be Conall,” Sterling said, not at all surprised. He rose and made his way toward the door.

“Who?” she asked.

“Conall Malone.”

That name wasn’t familiar. Sterling opened the door and motioned someone inside. Keighley eyed the doorway with curiosity and a bit of annoyance. A guy stepped inside, probably not much older than she was. While his hair wasn’t truly red, it leaned that way. He was handsome—she couldn’t deny that—but in a quiet way. Different from Sterling. Even people who had no idea that Sterling Westcott was a billionaire with influence and importance took note of him. This Conall Malone wasn’t like that.

Conall nodded in her direction. “Keighley Ainsworth.” Definitely Irish.

She leaned back a bit in her chair, quirking her brow upward. “Have we met before?”

He shook his head, even as a bit of a lopsided smile tugged at his mouth. “Mr. Westcott told me about you.”

“What, exactly, did he tell you?”

Conall crossed to the table where she sat and, quite at ease, dropped onto a chair as well. “He told me you and I share a profession and, for the next week, we’ll also share an assignment.”

What?She looked immediately to Sterling. “I don’t understand.”

“There is a lot to get done in only a week, and you have never been here before. Someone local will speed up the effort. He knows people and venues. It’ll be helpful.”

Only a moment ago she’d been thinking how great it was that Sterling had total faith in her. Then this Conall showed up: the billionaire’s plan B.

She recovered her equilibrium quickly, though. Sterling apparently didn’t know how capable she really was. They hadn’t done enough events together. And she was unproven overseas. But that would change in the next week. He would see.

She opened her mouth to insist she didn’t need Conall to hold her hand as she made connections and scouted locations in Dublin, but Sterling had already boarded the gratitude train, telling Conall how glad he was to have him working on the event.

Keighley kept her growl of annoyance silent. Sterling had total control over this job and who worked it. She’d simply have to show him—and Conall—that she could manage on her own. Sterling valued hard work. So did she.

Here was her chance to remind him of how good she was. And maybe, just maybe, they’d have a chance to find out how good they could be together.

Chapter Three

“So, your boss, is he wanting a fancy do or something more casual?” Conall asked.

Keighley didn’t roll her eyes, but she was tempted. “As I’ve explained before, he’s not my boss.”

“He hired you, yah?”

“Yes.”