The Clandestine Billionaire

Charles arrived early at the celebratory lunch. They were meeting in a large conference room that had been decorated with glittering stars that hung from the ceiling. The black tablecloth also glittered, as though millions of stars were sprinkled all over it, but he couldn’t enjoy it when all he felt was regret. Charles had watched Bev walk away, and he had done nothing to stop her. But how could he have? Everything he had said, she’d turned it on its head and made him into the bad guy.

When he had said her homelessness didn’t matter to him, he hadn’t meant that her experiences weren’t important. He had only meant that he didn’t care if she was a billionaire, or a kindergarten teacher. Or even homeless. It was the money that didn’t matter to him. But he was never able to explain himself. Bev had been so angry, he