One White Lie: Barrington Billionaire's Series: Book One Read Online Free PDF Page A

What’s done is done.
    One of the things he hated most about winter was the damn cold morning runs. The last few years he’d run religiously no matter what the weather. This morning was far too cold even for him. One day won’t throw off anything. It wasn’t only for the physical activity; it helped burn off any lingering frustrations and kept him clearheaded throughout the day. The lack of a run wasn’t going to have an effect on him as much as it was on his staff. If they were smart, and they usually were, they would quickly pick up on the signals and wouldn’t push their luck today.
    He usually rushed to shower, dress, and go to his lab, but no one was going to be in until nine, so he had plenty of time to catch up on the world news. It would be nice to have my coffee now.
    Lena had been able to handle the calls and his every demand just as Nancy had promised. She hadn’t made one mistake. Brice hated to admit it, but he was impressed with how she’d handled her first week. Not that he’d spent any time with her, but his staff had no problem reporting back. They were extremely loyal and seemed to have the motto: he who finks first finks best. As long as they are only giving me the intel and not sharing mine, I don’t care what they do.
    When he and Lena had been dating, he’d never doubted her capability and responsibility, but she hadn’t seemed quite as focused or driven back then as she was now. Something had changed. Lena was more confident and outspoken than before. Damn it. I’ve gone on with life after her, and have tried to put her out of my mind. Singularly focused on my career. But seeing her again now? It’s as though no time has passed. She’s intelligent, perceptive, and even more beautiful than before. She’s even sexier. Fuck.
    Brice never second-guessed his decisions. Even now he knew the choice to end their relationship three years ago was the correct one. Lena wanted something he wasn’t ready for then or now. The look in her eyes that night had said it all. She was falling in love with me. It was a split-second decision that he’d made that night, but it was the kindest thing he could’ve done. End it quickly.
    He’d known he’d hurt her; the expression on her face had been one of utter shock. But he’d made a decision that had flipped his entire life on its axis, and even though he’d cared about her, he couldn’t have taken the next step if he were worrying about how his choices affected anyone else’s life. It had been all about me.
    He had recently left his father’s company and had needed to focus on getting his own business off the ground. It hadn’t been something that had happened overnight. In fact, had it not been for bumping into his old friend, Asher Barrington, it probably wouldn’t have been as close to going live then as it was today. Yes, he had the chemical engineering background, and the formula was all his. But Asher brought something to the team he didn’t care about, then or now.
    He handled everything in Trundaie, from building the plant to getting all the governmental paperwork, or whatever he called it, taken care of in that country.
    Though he wasn’t his father, he wasn’t sure how far the apple had fallen from that tree. Growing up in a house without a mother figure was difficult, but the revolving door of nannies over the years was more than any of his siblings could take. When the nanny became close to them in any way, she was gone the next day. Six kids were raised by a father who treated women without respect. At least none he’d ever seen. As he thought back to the few women he had seen his father with late at night, they looked more like hookers picked up from a street corner than actual dates. Maybe they were . His father abruptly stopped bringing them to the house when Brice became old enough to question who they were.
    He always wondered why a man with so much wealth couldn’t find a woman to love him. Maybe he was just as abusive to