Chasing The Billionaire's Heart

Chapter2

Gabby

Again, I lost myself. It was too soon to allow another man into my life, but I could not help the bond between me and the man standing in front of me.

"Um, excuse me, do you need anything else?" I said, girding myself...

"This tastes great," he commented on the drink in his hand, "you made this?"

I blushed for a moment at his comment. This is the first time a higher-up has reviewed my work. A jolt of confidence swarmed over me.

I cleared my throat, tucked my hand into my hair, and lowered my eyes to his shiny diamond-crested, black shoe. "Yes, I did that."

"You are really good, I must say. It tastes like something I would pay a thousand dollars for." He gulped the remaining contents down his throat and asked for a refill, which I obliged immediately.

"You flatter me," I giggled.

"Not every beauty has enough brains to make something like this."

Did he just call me beautiful? Now I felt he had a hidden agenda beneath his smooth chocolate face.

"Thank you, sir, would you want me to get you something else?"

I switched to my professional self immediately. I was not going to mix business with pleasure nor let this strange man into my already shattered life. It is the least of what I needed.

He raised a brow, "Oh I'm fine, I just want to know you." He sipped his refill and set his gaze on me.

Know me? How? My heart stopped for a brief moment that felt like an eternity, I choked on every word that tried to force its way out of my vocal cords. The last man who said that to me became the very demon I ran from. This was too good to be true.

I would not give anyone the power to control my life as they wish, not anymore.

"I also would like to know you more," I said, finally letting something out, which I regretted immediately. His charming aura was just too strong for me.

A smile lit up on his face.

"My name is--"

"Gentlemen, ladies, I would like to call on Mr Alexander Harrington, to give us the tribute speech and officially kickstart the event tonight," the host compere announced, interrupting the man with me.

"That is my cue," the man said, with a brief smile, and emptied the remaining juice in his cup down his throat, "I definitely will care for more when I am done."

He scurried away. My face froze, realizing who I had conversed with for the past ten minutes. The son of the famed surgeon, the late Dr Kelvin Harrington. He is also the CEO of Rubies, a leading energy company.

Foolish me. How could I not have recognized him?

I watched him mount the podium with grace and style. His scrawny figure accentuated the beauty of his black tuxedo.

"Good evening, all," he started, his voice on the speakers resonating through the room, sounding differently in my ears. Unique. It soaked me in ecstasy. "I want to thank you all for being here, to honor my father and his undying desire to save the world in his field. He was a man that sought to put the world first, before himself. His dying desire was to make sure children stricken with cancer get a future, making sure they get the best treatment they can get..." A roll of tears started to trickle down his face, but his voice was still firm and solid.

While he continued his speech and the event progressed, I found myself constantly stealing glances at him. Despite my best efforts to remain professional, I couldn't help but be drawn to his charm and charisma. The entire crowd was stuck in the sweetness of his voice.

"...and as he was often called, The Shadow doctor, by some," a peal of faint laughter erupted among the crowd, "my father, Dr. Kelvin Harrington, at his dying moment, promised to come back from the dead if that is what it would take him to fulfill his dreams. We don't want that, do we?"

He smiled lightly amidst his tears and the crowd thundered in laughter. "After much research and deliberation, a target of two hundred million dollars has been set, the flag of the project and a start to my father's dreams." He raised his glass of champagne, a waiter had come to serve him on the podium, and with a jaunty smile that revealed his features, he made a toast," to The Shadow doctor," he said, and the whole crowd echoed the same.

I walked up to him after he finished the speech, without even knowing why. He sighted me and wrapped up his discussion with one of the guests. We were standing at the foot of the podium where every eye could easily see us, but they were busy doing their kinds of stuff.

"That was an amazing speech," I said, grinning widely.

A flicker of amusement played at the corner of his mouth. "Thank you, miss..."

"Gabby. Gabby Watson," I replied sheepishly. I felt a surge of affection that I could not stop, then I decided to throw myself into it.

"Gabby, that's a beautiful name there." He slowly reached out for my hands, holding them softly in his, he fixed his eyes on me and my heart skipped a beat, "I know this may sound forward, but I feel like there's a connection between us, that I would like to explore. I enjoyed talking to you earlier and I was wondering if you'd like to go out sometime?" He said, his words flowing like a gentle river.

I could not believe my ears. He rubbed my palms like we had known each other for a long time, and I didn't want it to.

"Yes." My breath seized.

"Yes?"

"Yes. I would love to go out with you."

I found it hard to believe that I was already planning my first date with a billionaire, barely a week after my divorce from Richard.

Things moved too fast against my plans: not to fall in love, but I loved it.

As the night wore on, my ears caught a discussion between some of the guests.

"Two hundred million dollars, you think he is gonna do something with it?" One said, sipping his champagne.

"What do you mean?" The other asked, intently fixing his attention on one.

"All this is a facade, can't you see it? Alex Harrington is not who he poses to be, I am sure of it."

"And how did you find this out?"

"I have my ways. Alexander is a monster hiding beneath the skin of a human."

My heart raced to eternity and back.

Maybe this was finally my chance to move on from my past and start a new chapter in my life. However, I feared I might only be walking to a man just like Richard.