CHAPTER 1
THEO
Theo Hillman scanned the crowd of well-dressed men and women, holding cocktails in their hands, with polite expressions on their faces. He was in one of the ballrooms of The Langham, the fanciest and most opulent hotel in Boston. Huge chandeliers hung overhead, illuminating fine art, ornate wall sconces, and huge picture windows. Suited waiters carried trays of champagne, hors d’oeuvres of salmon and caviar, and tiny desserts so beautifully made it seemed a shame to eat them. The room was filled with the sound of clinking glasses, soft piano music from the musician in the corner, quiet voices, and the somewhat fake laughter Theo had come to associate with events like this.
Theo barely noticed any of that. He was here for one reason: to find Charles Ackley, Boston’s foremost industrialist.
“Champagne, sir?” one of the waiters asked.
“Thank you.” Theo took a glass, more out of habit than anything else. The bubbles were cool and refreshing, but he wouldn’t have more than a sip or two. He needed to be at the top of his game when he finally found Ackley.
Theo Hillman was a self-made billionaire, the only one in this room. Everyone else came from family money, a fact no one wanted to let him forget. No matter what he did — cut his blond hair in the short style fashionable among the wealthy, purchase tailored suits from the most reputable establishments, even get a golf membership at The International — everyone knew he wasnew money. Because of that, they tended to look down on him.
“Theo.”
Theo turned to see Lucas Peters, a neurosurgeon from a long line of neurosurgeons, smiling at him.
“Lucas.” Theo smiled, though inwardly he held back a sigh. “Nice to see you.”
“You as well,” Lucas winked. “Though I’m surprised you had heard about this event. How did you get an invitation?”
“From the club,” Theo explained. “The same wayyouheard, I imagine. Anyway, have you seen Charles Ackley?” He needed to stay focused on the reason he was here.
“Charles?” Lucas looked around as though the other man might spring out of the woodwork, then shrugged. “I heard he chose to stay at home with his kids tonight. What do you want with old Charles?”
“I have a business arrangement to discuss with him.” Theo sipped his champagne. In college, he’d started a cutting-edge tech company, Epsilon, that had taken the tech world by storm. Lately, he’d been one of the first to ethically and productively include AI in his macro-analysis engine, which was the product he wanted to speak to Charles about. As the head of the Ackley manufacturing empire, Charles would benefit from Theo’s engine, reducing waste and increasing profits, and Theo wouldearn a huge profit. It was a win-win — if Theo could ever actually find Charles. This was the third event he’d attended specifically to track the man down, and for the third time, he was nowhere to be seen.
“Of course,” Lucas sniffed. “Always… hustling… aren’t you?”
He saidhustlingas though it were a bad word.
“Some of us have toworkfor our money,” Theo frowned.
“Yes, well.” Lucas smiled thinly. “Some of us do. If you’ll excuse me…”
Apparently satisfied with the number of barbs he’d gotten in, Lucas drifted off to talk to a group of older men, and Theo turned away, draining the rest of his champagne. He was annoyed, but he was already forgetting about the interaction. So many of Boston’s wealthy were like this, that it just rolled off his back now.
What stung was that Charles Ackley wasn’t here. Theo had been sure Charles would make an appearance. Yet, once again, he hadn’t shown up. How was that man able to run a successful empire without seeming to do any networking? Theo had tried to make appointments directly, too, but had been given the runaround from Charles’s army of secretaries.
He was pretty much out of options.
Just as he was about to give up and enjoy a few canapés before heading home, Theo caught sight of one of his close friends. Alexander came from old money, but he had attended college with Theo, so the two of them went way back. They’d been roommates for two years and had attended many of the sameclasses. They’d even spent a month backpacking across Europe together before dedicating themselves to their respective jobs.
Theo headed over to where his friend was sitting at one of the tables along the edge of the room, looking at his phone. He sat beside him and held up a hand to tell the waiter to bring them both another glass of champagne. There was no need to be careful when Charles wasn’t even here.
“You made it, I see,” Alexander said, putting his phone away and flashing a white-toothed smile at Theo. “Any luck with Charles?”
“Nothing.” Theo sighed. “I think he’s like everyone else — he’d rather work with someone he summered with on Cape Cod and skied with in Chamonix than take a chance on a newcomer, even if I can offer him something better. Which I can.”
“I know that.” Alexander sat back and ran a hand through his short brown hair. “Listen, you might be wrong about Charles. I don’t think he’s avoiding you because you’re not part of the old guard.”
“Why, then?” Theo took a bite of a thin cracker covered in slices of roasted pumpkin topped with whipped feta and pomegranate gel that the waiter had brought with their champagne. It wasalmostgood enough to make him forget his annoyance.
“I think he’s just a family man,” Alexander explained. “A lot of these guys are. For years, evenIhad trouble breaking into their circles, but when I married Martha and had Chloe, everything changed.” Chloe was his daughter, who was now five.
“You had less time for work?” Theo suggested. “It was more of a struggle to get into the office?”
Alexander snorted. “Sure, but business got easier, too. People seem to trust me more now that I’m a father. We talk about our kids for five minutes at the beginning of the meeting, and then they’re ready to give me their business. Plus, Holyoke Academy’s parent events are a great place to network. Everyone’s there, and everyone has their guard down. Even the drop-off line is basically a who’s who of Boston’s wealthiest. I landed a contract just a few weeks ago while escorting Chloe to her kindergarten classroom.”
