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Epilogue Part 2
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Billion Dollar Man New Beginnings
Ben“Don’t look so down,” Uncle Dean said. We were at the airport. I had already checked my bags, and my flight was leaving in less than an hour.“I feel like I’m letting him down,” I said.Uncle Dean shook his head. “You’re not. It’s not a crime to live your own dream. Even if that dream looks different than what your father would have wanted for you. He would have been proud of what you’ve done for the company.”I nodded. My dad would have been proud. And it wasn’t like I hadn’t given it my all for the past six years. I had done everything my late father would have wanted me to do. But I hadn’t been happy. I hadn’t grown up dreaming I would be the CEO of a billion-dollar company.“And he would have been even prouder of you for taking your life into your own hands and deciding where you want to go with it.”I looked at Uncle Dean. He had been my dad’s business partner, owner of half of the company I had inherited when my dad and my stepmom had died in a plane crash. He had been there
Billion Dollar Man Gold Digger
BenThe week had flown by, and by Friday, I was officially a fireman. I was confident and comfortable. It was as if I hadn’t ever left Portland.I drove to The Cottage, a quaint family restaurant so popular, it had a waiting list. It was owned by the Castle family.Jerrod Castle had been my best friend since kindergarten, and I was eager to see him again. I hadn’t seen him in six years. The Castles were hosting a party for my return as if I were the prodigal son.The past week had been so busy, getting an apartment, doing my refresher course, and taking care of the small details, I hadn’t seen anyone other than my mom. I was eager to see my second family again.The Cottage had been made up with lights, streamers, and a big banner that read “Welcome Home Ben,” and I laughed when Miranda came to hug me. Jerrod’s mom hadn’t aged a day.“It’s so good to see you again, Ben,” she said. “Come on, everyone is so excited to see you.”They were all there. I went to the bar area, and Harry, Jerr
Billion Dollar Man Ben Is Back
MilaSaturday evening, I sat with Skylar at the bar at my parents’ restaurant, drinking cocktails. We had been friends since she moved to Portland when we were fourteen. She had wild red hair and blue eyes and freckles like the constellations that shifted when she smiled.“You know, we can literally go anywhere in town,” I said to Skylar.“Yeah, I know, but cocktails are free here because of your dad. And we’re not out hunting for guys, so there’s no reason to go somewhere else.”I rolled my eyes, but I was smiling. There had been a time when I had hated sitting at my parents’ restaurant. I’d felt they were pressuring me to take over the place with Jerrod, so I avoided it. I had wanted to be a nurse, and my parents had been disappointed with the path I was choosing. Since then, they had come to accept my direction in life, and I was okay sitting at The Cottage again.“So, Ben is back in town,” I said before taking another sip of my cocktail. I looked at Skylar.“Really?” Skylar grinne
Billion Dollar Man Hero Complex
MilaWhen we sat down at the table, it was like old times almost immediately. Jerrod and Ben bantered back and forth, laughing about something that had happened after I had gone home last night. Skyler was being shameless with her interjections, as always. And I sat back and listened as I had always done. I wasn’t as shy as I used to be, but it was a dynamic that had been created years ago. It was hard to think that six years had passed.We were such different people now. And yet, we were all the same in a way.“I need a refill,” Skylar said when our cocktail glasses had been empty for a while.“I’m getting this round,” Jerrod said to Ben, and he stood up. He accompanied Skylar to the bar, and suddenly, Ben and I were alone.“It’s good to see you again, Mila,” Ben said and smiled at me. His smile was enough to push up my temperature.“It’s good to have you back,” I said. “Jerrod missed you.” I would have said that I’d missed him, too, but that would have been too much.“I can tell,” B
Billion Dollar Man First Day
BenMonday was my first day at the Station. I had waited for this day for years, and I was as ready as I would ever be. I had all my tests and refresher courses, and thanks to a fitness regime back in New York to get my mind off the stress of work, I was in perfect shape too. Captain Kelly couldn’t do anything but hire me to work with the men.When I arrived at the Station, Mike Kelly met me with a grin.“You’ve worked hard for this. Congratulations.”I shook his hand. “Thanks.”“Come with me. I’ll introduce you to the guys, and they’ll do the rest.”We walked up the stairs that led to the living area above the fire station. The smell of something burning greeted us.“It smells like Sam is trying to cook again,” Mike said, pushing the door open with a sour face. Three men sat around a Formica kitchen table. One man stood before the stove, and it was smoking like it was nobody’s business.“If you carry on like this, we’ll have to ring the bell and dispatch the truck to put out our own
Billion Dollar Man Alarm
Ben“But all that money, though? You had to be living the life,” Tyler said.I shrugged. “I guess so, but there’s more to life than just money. And doing something I didn’t like was soul-crushing. Happiness can’t be bought.”“That’s some fortune cookie shit.” Tyler laughed.Less than an hour later, we got our first call. We pulled on our gear in no time and jumped into the truck.Ted was driving. I sat next to Sam with Tyler and Jay on the back of the truck.“House fire,” Ted said as we pulled up. “Doesn’t look too serious.”A woman in her dressing gown ran toward the truck, her face contorted in fear. A small boy tagged along behind her. He looked scared and lost.“It’s a fire in the kitchen,” she said. She was close to tears. “I tried to put it out, but it spread too quickly. It jumped to the curtains.”“You were right to get out, ma’am,” Tyler said. “Please, stay close to the truck. We’ll take care of it.”Sam and Ted assessed the house. Smoke billowed from one window only. It look
Billion Dollar Man ICU
MilaOn Thursday, I was on rotation at the ICU. Both the ICU and the Emergency Room were chaotic at best. It was also where I felt I could do the most. When patients were in mortal danger and we managed to pull them through, I felt like my choice to become a nurse was the right one.“Morning, Mrs. Norton,” I said, walking into an ICU room. Mrs. Norton looked up from her seat next to the bed. Her eyes were swollen from crying and lack of sleep, her hair was a mess after spending one night after the other tossing and turning, and she wore no makeup. It made her look even younger. She was only twenty-one, but with the worry etched on her face, the fading hope, she looked like she was barely out of school.“How are you doing today?” I knew small talk wasn’t going to do much, but I didn’t want to ignore her. She was suffering more than the patient at this point.“I’m all right,” she said with a thick voice. “How is Charlie?”I looked at the patient. He was in a medically induced coma. He h
Billion Dollar Man Emergency
Mila“We have an emergency,” someone called from the nurse's station, and I rushed to help out. An elderly lady was brought in with a mask over her mouth and nose, her eyes closed. Her family tagged behind her looking lost and shaken.“What do we have?” I asked.“Pneumonia. Advanced stages. She can’t breathe on her own. Heart rate is dropping.”I ran with the gurney, pushing it into an open room, and I worked with another two nurses to stabilize the woman while the attending doctor was paged. The family—three men I assumed were her sons—hovered on the periphery without interfering. Bless them.When we finally stabilized her, the extra nurses left. I stayed behind with Dr. Nash.“Are you her sons?” Dr. Nash asked the three men. They nodded. “Your mother is very ill. She has an advanced form of pneumonia.”“We’ve been telling her to come to a doctor, but she’s always been stubborn,” one of them spoke up.“How long has she been sick?” Dr. Nash asked.“Two weeks, just about,” he said. “Is
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- Billion Dollar Man Epilogue Part 2
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- Billion Dollar Man Aching For Him
- Billion Dollar Man All Figured Out
- Billion Dollar Man Lessons Learned
- Billion Dollar Man Have to Fix It
- Billion Dollar Man There For You
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