Under His Billionaire Roof novel Chapter 1

The email came at 9:47 AM.

*Subject: Termination of Employment - Effective Immediately*

Leighton Hayes stared at her phone screen, reading the words three times before they actually sank in. Fired. They were letting her go. Budget cuts, the email said. Last hired, first fired. She'd only been at the startup for eight months.

Her hands shook as she shoved her few personal items into her bag. A coffee mug Chloe had given her. The succulent plant was already half dead. Her backup phone charger. The other designers wouldn't even look at her as security walked her out.

Twenty-three years old and unemployed. Great.

She sat in her car in the parking lot for ten minutes, just breathing. Trying not to cry. Failing.

Her phone buzzed. A text from her landlord.

*The rent is 5 days late. Please make the payment by 5 PM today, or I will have to start the eviction process.*

Leighton let out a laugh that sounded more like a sob. Of course. Of course, this was happening on the same day.

She checked her bank account. $847.32. Rent was $1,200. Even if she paid everything she had, she'd still be short. And she'd just lost her income.

Her finger hovered over Chloe's contact for a full minute before she finally pressed call.

"Leigh! I was just thinking about you. Want to grab lunch?"

The sound of her best friend's cheerful voice made something crack open in Leighton's chest.

"I got fired," she said, and then the tears came for real.

"What? Those assholes! Leigh, oh my god. Where are you?"

"In the parking lot. And my landlord just texted. I'm being evicted."

"Today? Everything's happening today?"

"Apparently the universe thinks I can handle it." Leighton wiped her face with the back of her hand. Her mascara was definitely everywhere. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have called and dumped this on you."

"Don't be stupid. I'm coming to get you. Where are you?"

"Chloe, you're at work."

"And? This is an emergency. Send me your location."

Forty minutes later, Leighton was sitting in Chloe's car, clutching a coffee she couldn't afford but Chloe had insisted on buying anyway.

"You're moving in with me," Chloe announced.

"I can't ask you to do that."

"You're not asking. I'm telling you." Chloe turned to face her, dark eyes serious. "You're my best friend. You've been my best friend since we were eight years old. You really think I'm going to let you be homeless?"

"I'll figure something out. I just need a few days to..."

"To what? Sleep in your car? Leigh, be real." Chloe grabbed her hand. "You're coming home with me. End of discussion."

"But your place is tiny. Where would I even sleep?"

Chloe bit her lip, a tell-tale sign she was about to say something Leighton wouldn't like.

"Okay, so technically, I don't live in my apartment anymore."

"What?"

"I moved in with Noah two months ago."

Leighton's stomach dropped. "Noah. Your brother Noah."

"Do I have another brother I don't know about?"

Noah Knight. Even thinking his name made her feel like she was sixteen again, watching him from across the room at Chloe's birthday party, too nervous to say more than two words to him.

She'd had a crush on him since she was eight years old. The first time Chloe brought her home for a playdate, eleven-year-old Noah had helped her reach a glass from the top shelf. He'd smiled at her, and she'd been done for.

Fifteen years later, and she still got butterflies thinking about him. Which was pathetic. He probably didn't even remember her.

"I can't live with your brother."

"Why not? The place is huge. Like, stupid huge. He won't even notice you're there." Chloe started the car. "He's barely home anyway. Always working or traveling or whatever billionaires do."

"Chloe..."

"Two weeks. Just give me two weeks to help you find a job and get back on your feet. Please?"

Leighton closed her eyes. She had $847 to her name. No job. No apartment. Pride was a luxury she couldn't afford right now.

"Two weeks," she agreed quietly.

"Yes! Okay, we need to get your stuff from your apartment before your psycho landlord throws it all out."

It took less than an hour to pack up Leighton's entire life. One suitcase of clothes. A box of art supplies. Her laptop. That was it. Everything she owned fit in Chloe's trunk with room to spare.

"Travel light, live free," Chloe said cheerfully, but Leighton could see the pity in her eyes.

The drive to Noah's house took thirty minutes, moving from the city into an area where the houses got bigger and farther apart. When Chloe finally turned through an iron gate, Leighton's mouth fell open.

"This isn't a house. This is a compound."

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