The Billionaire's Voice

CHAPTER 1

 The Present . . .

One thing she really hated about being deaf was that the only

sounds she could ever hear when she was alone were her own

thoughts.

Tessa Sullivan let out a contented sigh as the hot water from the

shower pulsated over her naked body. Having just finished her morn-

ing run, there was no better sensation than feeling her taut muscles

relaxing as the single jet above her head released a steady spray

of warmth. Even though she'd gotta overheated during her jog. the

cleansing heat still felt glorious.

"I'm out of shape," she mumbled to herself, remembering how

badly she had been patio after her three-mile jaunt. Skipping

some of her exercise routines over the busy summer had really cost

her. Tessa sighed as she realized it was going to take her a while to

get back to her pre-summer distance running.

Strangely, she still talked to herself, even though she couldn't

hear. Old habits died hard, and she'd always chattered away, even

as a child, whether anyone was listening or not.

Maybe she spoke out loud because it made her feel less iso-

lated. Being deaf was lonely sometimes, and even if she couldn't

hear herself speak, her ramblings kept her company.

She soaped her body in silence, letting herself absorb a sense

of peace that flowed over her soul, an experience that was occurring

more than her hearing. Now, she was finally begging to accept the fact 

that voices and noise weren't part of her life. Tessa knew she'd always

miss the sense of sound, but she'd finally realized that being deaf

hadn't changed who she was.

I'm still . . . me. I've just learned how to interpret the world

around me differently.

Every person had a voice, whether or not she could remember

how that individual had sounded before, or even if she'd never met

them before she'd lost her hearing. As she watched a person speak

or sign, she could hear that unique voice, a sound in her head and  a

feeling she identified with a certain individual.

She rinsed her hair leisurely, glad that summer was finally over.

The restaurant that she owned with her brother. Liam would be

slower, but she looked forward to the less frantic pace of the fall in

Amesport. Labor Day had just passed, and the atmosphere of the

Maine coastal town she adored. Summer was fun, crazy, and