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CHAPTERONE
Icurse under my breath whenthe curling iron burns the soft skin of my neck. I yank it out of my hair and rub the sore patch it left behind, wincing as it stings.
I toss the curling iron onto the sink counter and look my reflection on the mirror—the girl looking back at me is just as miserableas I am.
I'm not sure why I'm making such an effort to look nice for a man I've never met. It wasn't like I had much of a choice in the matter. In truth, I'd rather not waste my time and simply meet him at the altar.
But my father had ordered me to leave. I'm supposed to meet him and get to know him before we walk out of the church hand in hand, bells ringing above us.
To me, it appears to be a waste of time. In the end, whether I find him charming or not, we're getting married.
My father has always had a funny way about proprietors; deals had to be done correctly or else they were more likely to bite you in the assin the end. His words, not mine.
Regardless, here I am. Getting all dolled up for a man I don’t even know, let alone like.
I give up on trying to fix my curls into something that isn’t a wild, tangled mess and quickly spritz myself with perfume before heading out of the bathroom. I grab the bag hanging by the door and slip my hand inside of it to pull out my phone. I quickly text my driver to tell him to pull around.
In my gut, I know I more than likelywon’tlike my fiancé-to-be. As soon as my father gave me his name, I hopped right onto my computer and ran it through Google, pulling up his entire profile and sifting through every piece of information I could get my hands on.
By all accounts, Ben Thomas isn’t a particularly remarkable man. He’s slipped under the radar like most nepotism babies. He has seemed to stay out of trouble for the most part. The real problem is his father, Edgar.
My phone buzzes in my hand, alerting me that my driver is waiting for me. I head down the hall, weaving through my house, my heels clicking on the marble floors.
I can feel butterflies building in my stomach when I slide into the car, and it isn't because I’m excited. In fact, it’s quite the opposite.
I spend the trip over to the restaurant moving my phone back and forth between my hands, using it like a fidget toy to keep me from screaming. I know what I’m doing is to serve a greater purpose. But the path being laid before me isn’t exactly paved in gold.
My father has been set on acquiring Thomas Industries for one purpose:power.
It’s no secret that the Thomas family is rolling in riches. Their corporation has sway over thousands of brands on the market. As an umbrella corporation, Thomas Industries not only has the money to back them, but the initiative to keep their competition starved.
With so much power and influence over a market that never runs itself dry, my father has been practically gleaning at the opportunity to get in big with them. It seemed like the perfect solution to put our family on the map forever, while making sure the rest of the families in Chicago keep licking his boots.
There was only one problem: my father didn’t have a single thing to bargain with.
Well, until Ben Thomas had expressed interest in me, that is.
The rest is history.
I’ve never wanted to disappoint my father. He’s someone I’ve looked up to all my life and have spent my entire adulthood trying to emulate. I wanted him towantme by his side, to take me under his wing. Just like he did with Enzo, my brother.
Funny thing about that—to him, all I have to offer is what’s between my legs.
As soon as the car stops in front of the restaurant, I hop out without bothering to wait for my driver to come around and open the door. I have no idea if Ben is already here, but I know that the reservation was booked a while ago, so I head up to the hostess’ stand and give her his last name.
“Right this way, miss,” she says and leads me back to one of the tables where a man is already seated.
I’m irked when he doesn’t even bother getting up to greet me or to push in my chair for me as I sit down. He waits for the hostess to leave before addressing me.
“Antonella, it’s nice to meet you.”
I give him a fake smile. “You too.”
I reach for the menu in the middle of the table, only to be thwarted as he snatches it away from me.
“So, I want to get this out of the way before we order anything.”
I frown. What the hell was this?
