The Dom's Hostess

2. Astor

2

Astor

I gazed down into the sparkling azure waters of the Aegean Sea as I leaned against the balcony railing. Coming to my office in Athens, Greece, always feels like coming home to me. I’ve been traveling for business for the better part of the year, and my family was pestering me to take some time for myself. I was finally contemplating doing just that.

Mama and Papa had no idea how much time and hard work it had taken to become the wealthy man I was. At thirty-three years old, I’d probably put in more hours than most retirees. Traveling took most of my time, meetings with investors and partners negotiating deals took the rest of it.

All that work left no time for Astor to play.

In my younger years, I’d be deep in the b**m scene, taking on submissives to help me relax after a hard day’s work. After all, there was nothing like great s*x to help blow off steam. But my business grew as I made more and more connections all over the world. My time became too precious to spend molding young females into prime submissive partners.

In the end, I let it all go by the wayside. The last few years had been filled with new endeavors to distract myself—one being the construction of an entirely new resort in the Caribbean. My good friend Galen Dunne, who I’d partnered with in many other business ventures, had bought himself a private island. After spending a couple of years on the island alone, he wanted to make it into a resort.

Galen wasn’t like most people—few people who achieved such success were. Being a genius who could make money doing almost anything, Galen didn’t want a typical tropical island resort. No, my friend wanted the best of the best. And only people with a similar lifestyle to his would be invited.

One great thing about being friends with Galen was that between he and his friends, no money would ever change hands at his resort. Instead, we traded work for our time on the island. I’d done my part by having the swimming pools and various waterscapes built for the island. Five of the most outstanding pools I’d ever designed went a long way toward making the place he’d named ‘Paradise’ the most beautiful place I’d ever seen. And I’d seen more than my fair share of resorts.

Marble mermaids leapt out of a cavernous waterfall to greet guests as they walked up the pathway to the main building and lobby. Other waterscapes featured a giant squid, seashells, and even a sailboat. My team of builders had done me proud by the end of the project. Galen agreed that he’d never seen such beautiful work.

It had been a few months since I’d been on the island. Once we’d finished the work, I had other things to tend to. I’d been in China after that for a little while, and now I’d finally had a chance to come home to Athens for a bit.

My parents lived in a palatial estate that I’d bought for my family after I’d secured my first huge contract. My father had made his living as a butcher in Athens, and we’d grown up in a modest home in a neighborhood full of working class families.

When I made my first million, I told him to retire and to come live in the large home I’d bought for them. They’d all gushed over the home, a six-thousand square foot masterpiece of architecture that one of my new colleagues had designed and built in his younger days. He wanted to sell it as he’d built his family a new, larger home.

When I made my first billion, I told them I wanted to sell the house they’d grown to love. Amidst the grumbling of my family, only Mama trusted me. “You all be quiet and let your brother speak. He’s never let us down before. Why should we think he would now?”

When I took them to the new home, a sprawling mansion with the first swimming pool I’d ever designed right in the middle of it, they all forgot about the other home and instantly fell in love with the new one. The looks on their faces had made it all worthwhile. That’s one of the reasons I worked as hard as I did.

The other reason was that I gave my everything to making money. Well, I simply loved it. I loved the excitement of making deals: haggling to get the best price, the best cut of meat, the best materials—you name it. I wanted the best of it. And I became damn good at bargaining to get the best.

It brought me so much satisfaction, being able to save money on behalf of the people I’d invested in. It made it possible for them to get the best materials they needed for their projects at the best prices. The savings always funneled back into other parts of the projects, often allowing them to do the best work of their careers.

So yes, I worked hard so I could provide for my family, but I did it for me as well. By working alongside my father at the butcher shop, I paid my way through a business degree, not wanting to burden him with the cost. As the oldest of six children, I saw it as my responsibility to help my family out—and that meant all of them.

Throughout the years, both of my brothers had married and moved their wives into the home. Nieces and nephews soon began to fill up the massive halls. My three sisters, younger than my brothers and I, waited a few years before marrying. But all of them had. And all of them had moved out to live with their husbands, letting their men provide homes for their families.

As a Greek man, I knew that my brothers-in-law had pride that would never allow me to provide for the families they’d made. But I gave my sisters and their children extravagant gifts that ensured none of them would ever do without anything they ever wanted.

I could see how happy my siblings were with their families, but I knew that that life just wasn’t for me. Married to my business, I’d made peace with the fact I would never settle down and become what my brothers had grown into: loving husbands and devoted fathers.

I loved women, but most of them—other than a submissive—thought me too stern to be a suitable romantic partner. And I agreed. I didn’t care about romance, didn’t have time for love. And certainly no time for all that sappy love-talk I’d heard from my brothers and brothers-in-law at times.

No, that didn’t come naturally to me. I’d always been a man who got to the point. If I wanted a woman, I let her know. If she didn’t care for my way of speaking or acting, then she let me know fairly quickly as well. If she liked my stern ways, that was easy to determine as well.

No need to complicate things with pretty words or emotion. That’s how I liked it.

As I took in a deep breath of the salty sea air, I thought about what I wanted to do next. So many projects were on the table; it was a daunting task to decide which one to go for next.

When the phone rang and I saw Galen’s name on the screen, I swiped to answer his call. “Galen, hello! It’s nice to hear from you.”

“Glad to make your day, Astor,” he spoke with an Irish accent. Being from Dublin, Galen had made quite the name for himself on the Emerald Isle he called home before moving on to the rest of the world. “I’m callin’ to invite ya to Paradise. Next week we’re having our first guests, and I want ya to be one of them.”

“Next week?” I asked. “So soon?”

“Yes, so soon.” He laughed the hearty way only he could. “Leave your business behind ya for the summer, lad. Ya deserve the break. I’ve got chefs comin’ from all over the world to cook for us this summer. And the staff has been preparing for our arrival, too. Prepare to get pampered, my boy.”

“Pampered,” I echoed him. “Not something that happens too often to me, Galen.” The thought of taking the entire summer off had my blood running hot with enthusiasm. “But spending the days lazing in the sun, swimming in the crystal clear waters of the Caribbean does sound pretty wonderful...”

“And invigorating,” he added. “So, when can I expect to see ya?”

“I’m not sure.” There were always loose ends that needed to be tied up before going anywhere. “I think my assistant has papers for me to sign and then there’s a meeting I should attend in New York. I think that’s in a week or two...”

“Nonsense. Tell them all you will see them in August. Your May, June, and July are taken up with other things.” He let out another laugh that sounded as if it came straight from his belly. “Things like relaxing on the beach, drinking exotic potions my bartenders are coming up with as we speak, and maybe even a woman or two.”

“Women?” I asked as I laughed. “I doubt I’ll find anyone to have a fling with. Who else have you invited?”

“A handful of people. There will be plenty of eligible women in Paradise, you know. After all, what would paradise be without them?” he asked.

“It’s been so long since I’ve had a fling, I don’t know if I remember how to flirt.” I’d never been big on flirting anyways. Flirting didn’t get to the point quick enough.

“Well, the drinks will help ya with that chore, Astor the Greek. I’ll make a note that I’ll be seeing ya on the first day of May in Paradise. Be there or be square.” He laughed at his old joke.

Even though I’d yet to decide whether I’d be going or not, the man had me laughing, something I didn’t do often enough. “You know what? I think I will take you up on this offer, my Irish friend. I’ll see you on the first day of May.”

“I’ll be waitin’ for ya with a cold drink in my hand,” he said. “Or, better yet, I’ll have a beautiful lass waitin’ for ya with a cold drink in her hand. I’ve given each of my esteemed friends their own personal host or hostess. And I’ll pick out just the right gal for you, my friend.”

“Don’t go trying to be a matchmaker, Galen. And don’t have any drink ready for me, either. I’ve given up alcohol and sugar per my personal trainer’s advice.” I also worried he might be offended if I refused the woman he picked out for me to use while on his island. “And I like to pick out my own women, if you don’t mind.”

“Oh, I don’t mind a bit. You can pick out of any of them ya like. I just want to give my guests the star treatment by giving them a host or hostess to make sure they get to experience all Paradise has to offer. I don’t want anyone of you to miss out on a thing. There’s so much to do and see—you’ll need a hostess to see to that.”

He’d settled my mind, and now I felt nothing but excitement at the idea of my impending vacation. “You know what? I think this might be just what I need. Thank you, my good friend. I can’t wait to get to Paradise for the summer.”