Julian fumed as he sped back to his office. How dare she react like that, like he was some loser she wasn’t interested in? Didn’t she know what a catch he was, how women threw themselves at him just to get his attention? She should feel lucky, privileged even, that he wanted her, that he was even paying a second’s thought on some coffee shop espresso slinger.

His knuckles were white on his steering wheel. He would not be turned down. He would not be denied. Julian Kane was a name that got what it wanted. No amount of money would stop him, and in this case, no little boyfriend would.

At the same time, her turning him down had him so hard he was throbbing. Why was it that not getting what he wanted made him want it more? Now he was on a mission. He had to have her. At any cost. Whatever it took. He would win her over. He would make her his.

As he stormed to his office, he called out to his assistant. “Aiden! My office. Now.”

He slammed the door behind him and threw himself into his chair as Aiden came in.

“Yes sir?”

“The woman you looked up for me, yesterday, Leah Johns. She has a boyfriend. I want you to find out who he is, and get me everything you can on him.”

“Absolutely.”

“As soon as possible.”

“Of course. Can I get you coffee or anything else?”

Julian’s eyes involuntarily twitched. “No coffee.” Coffee made him think of her, and that got him fired up all over again.

Aiden left the room and Julian got up to pace. He needed to clear his mind, to focus on work instead of obsessing over this girl. It would take time to get answers, no matter how fast Aiden worked. Until he knew something of the boyfriend, he’d have to wait.

Aiden knocked just a few minutes later.

“Enter,” Julian said.

“This isn’t a complete profile by any means, but I thought you might want something right away.” Aiden handed him a few sheets of paper and left again.

He could kiss that man for his fast and efficient work. Maybe he needed another raise for all he did.

Julian sat down and looked at the pages from Aiden. Apparently, he had gone to Leah’s Facebook page and found the link to her boyfriend through her relationship status. He would have thought to do that himself if he hadn’t been so distracted by his anger. And if he ever wasted time on that social media junk. He flipped the page and saw a familiar face.

That man that was always working with Leah. Caleb. Caleb Watson according to his Facebook profile. She was dating that loser who worked in the coffee shop with her?

He looked at the photos and laughed out loud. This was his competition? This college drop out loser? No way. This would be easy. Almost too easy.

He studied the photos and read over the posts back and forth between them. He seemed, from his gushing words, that he genuinely loved her. They looked happy together. Carefree and young, all that freedom and time a person thinks they have until they hit thirty and get serious. What did this Caleb know of life? Julian was 32 now and remembered his 22-year-old self. He’d known so little then. Of course, he’d still managed to become a millionaire by twenty, but when it came to knowing how the world worked, how people ticked, he’d been clueless. He hadn’t known what would make him happy. Or what happiness even was. He’d gone through countless women trying to find out.

That made him pause for a moment. Was he repeating old patterns? He didn’t know Leah. He’d seen her and knew a few things about her, but he didn’t really know her. He stopped to review his list of moral objectives that he’d decided were necessary in a woman.

First, she had to be gorgeous. He couldn’t fathom looking at someone for the rest of his life or even a long period of time if she wasn’t. And she needed to look good dressed up or down. Second, she had to be smart. Third, she had to not be high maintenance or materialistic. She had to have drive, and she had to support his. So far, everything he’d seen of Leah matched up. Now he just had to find out how smart she really was.

A few hours later, Aiden him a thicker folder. This had exactly what he needed. Caleb was not only a loser. Not only a college drop out. Not only would he drag Leah down with him. He was also cheating on her. And Aiden had gotten proof.

The next call he made was to a private investigator. He needed current, active proof. He wanted photos, text messages, emails, location tracking, everything he could get to show Leah what she really had in Caleb. Then he’d swoop in and pick up the pieces.