Chapter 3 Mr Thorne

Astor Thorne sat at the table looking at everyone around him. He wasn't a fan of events like this. But as part of the turn family he had to keep up appearances and show up for charities like this.

He would rather be in his office working on some deals or be at home working out in the gym than be in a place like this where he had to socialize and smile at people and do a lot of small talk.

"You need to see the look on your face right now," his brother said with a mysterious smile on his face.

His brother, Carson was the cheerful and lively one. They were brothers with the same father and mother but they couldn't be any more different.

Whereas Carson was a very likeable and approachable person who seemed to get along with everyone he met, Astor, on the other hand, was known for his cold demeanor and his stoicness.

He always had this expressionless look on his face which made him seem unapproachable and out of reach.

It was very hard to get a smile or a reaction out of him. The only thing that seemed to bring him joy was closing major deals at work and when he got to release stress at his home gym.

"What look" Astor said looking disinterested.

"Like you want to murder someone. Seriously you need to take it easy."

Astor inwardly rolled his eyes. Everyone knew to leave him alone when he was in a mood. But not his family. Especially not his brother.

"Or are you still thinking about the whole marriage thing?"

"When am I not thinking about that?" Astor said with annoyance. He had quite a big issue.

His company was on the line. And it was all because of his grandfather. The company had been handed over to him by his grandfather years ago but on the condition that he was married by 30 for at least 18 months.

Astor had no intention of getting married any time soon. Probably ever. He had yet to meet anyone that he could even consider being with for life. Maybe it was the fact that he was wealthy, and money attracted gold diggers, not love.

Not that he believed in love anyway. That was a foreign concept to him. He would have gone against his grandfather's wishes but unfortunately, the marriage clause was in the contract he had signed.

He guessed his grandfather knew him so well that he knew it would take something as serious as losing his company to get him to marry someone.

"I find it hard to believe that you still can find a wife," Carson said, interrupting Astor's thoughts. "I mean you must have a lot of options."

"Yeah well none of them look appealing to me," Astor said. All the women in his life were there because of what they could benefit from. The rich lifestyle they could live. If he got married to any of them, there was no guarantee they would let go when it was time.

What he needed was someone who also had something to lose. Someone he could be on the same page with. Who would not let feelings get in the way of everyone getting what they wanted.

"Well, your time is running out. You're going to be 30 in a few weeks."

"Don't remind me," Astor said with frustration in his voice.

Carson laughed. "Grandpa sure has a weird sense of humour. To think the fate of your whole company is banking on you finding a wife."

Astor didn't reply. He picked up his glass of champagne and took a big gulp.

While holding his glass, he looked around the ballroom. He stopped when he spotted one of the waitresses standing some tables away. What caught his gaze was her body, with her long auburn hair flowing down her back. He wanted to see her face.

He took another sip out of his glass, still looking at her.

Carson caught him looking. "See something you like?" He said with a mischievous grin on his face.

Astor shook his head at his brother. He wouldn't mind finding someone whom he was also attracted to. He was strongly against cheating in a marriage. After watching his father cheat on his mother for so many years, he made a promise to himself that he would never be like that.

Getting someone attractive was a plus because he was a man and he had needs. As long as she was on the same page, that is.

The woman finally turned around and their gazes met. She looked flustered. He held her gaze, refusing to back down. He wanted her to be sure that he was interested.

She blushed and quickly turned away. Astor smiled with satisfaction. He liked the effect he had just left on her.

He followed her movements across the room until she finally left. It had been a while since he had instantly been attracted to someone. And he made up his mind that he was going to find out who she was.

Megan gave a sigh of relief as soon as she left the ballroom. The event was finally over. She was disconcerted. A vivid image of those blue eyes was still in her mind. How was it that a simple gaze left her feeling so flustered?

She shook her head and walked towards the serving station. She needed to get it together.

She was tired and her feet hurt after walking around for hours. She was beginning to regret wearing high heels to work.

Anna came out right after her. "I'm so glad it's finally over." She said with a sigh.

"Seriously. I'm used to being on my feet for hours but this was just...." Megan shook her head.

Megan looked at her phone to see a missed call from her sister. She gave out a loud sigh.

"What's wrong?" Anna asked.

"My sister..." Megan replied. "She called me earlier."

Anna gave her a sympathetic look. "I know things look dire right now but I'm sure everything will turn out okay."

They were walking out of the hotel. They hadn't bothered to change out of their waitressing clothes.

"It's just you know... our house is about to be repossessed and I don't have the money for my mother's surgery," Megan said with frustration. It was hard to see just how things would turn out okay.

"Hey Anna!" they heard someone call out as they were walking. Another waitress walked towards them. She was holding a note. "This is for your friend, she said, holding out the note towards Megan.

"Thank you," Megan said. She wondered who the note was from.

Anna was also curious. "Who do you think it's from?" She asked.

"I have no idea," Megan said opening up the note.

It read, "Meet me at the bar for drinks?" It was signed, Astor Thorne at the bottom.

"Astor Thorne?!" Anna exclaimed. "You have to go Megan." She jumped up and down with excitement.

"I don't even know who that is," Megan said nervously. What did this person want? She wondered.

Anna looked at Megan incredulously.

"Uh... what do you mean you don't know who this is? Aston Thorne. One of the few billionaires in Chicago? And he's so handsome too!" she said excitedly.

"I don't know..." Megan said with reluctance.

"If you let this opportunity pass you by, I'm gonna be so mad at you!" Anna said.

"Okay okay," Megan said with a chuckle. "I'll go see what this Mr Thorne wants"

"I want all the details, Megan. Don't hold out on me."

"Alright. I promise"

Megan shook her head and headed back into the hotel. What did he want? She hoped he wasn't asking her out, expecting her to put out. She wasn't like all the women he must be used to.

But she had to admit that she was curious.

Megan got into the hotel and headed towards the bar. When she stepped in, she glanced around trying to see if she could find this Astor Thorne even though she didn't know his face.

As she was looking, she met the same set of blue eyes she had seen earlier. He gave her a beckoning nod.

Blue eyes guy? Really? That was Astor Thorne? Those questions kept running through her mind.

As she walked towards him, she could feel his scrutiny. His gaze on her was so unshakable.

She began to feel nervous. What could one of the richest men in Chicago want from her?

She guessed she was about to find out.