The Billionaire’s Mistress by Georgia Somers

I
     
    Reyna Barnes shivered beneath her flimsy, black coat, as she walked down the long, asphalt driveway toward Thorne Manor.   She lugged behind her a small suitcase filled with most of the clothes she had.  Reyna pulled her jacket collar tighter around her neck as an icy wind blew in her direction.  She sighed deeply, looking at the large stone-faced mansion in front of her.  She was surrounded by rolling green hills, beautiful rose bushes, and the backdrop of a magnificent castle in perfect solitude, in the heart of the Evergreen State.  Reyna trudged on toward the front door, thinking of everything that had brought her to the place she now stood. 
    The sixth daughter of a mechanic and a maid, Reyna grew up in exceptional poverty in the heart of sunny Santa Fe.  She was a whizz with numbers, a mathematics star, but had been barely able to finish high school when she was forced to work to help support her family, all her own hopes and dreams lived in the shadow of long forgotten childhood.  Now she was here, in Washington, in the home of one of the richest families in the country.  She had recently received a phone call, notifying her that one of the two maids at Thorne Manor had recently left, and the vacancy needed to be filled as soon as possible.  The salary was more than anything she could have dreamed of, and even though she would be living on the property in a state far from her family, it was a sacrifice she was willing to make.    Reyna assumed she had gotten the job because she had been a maid since she was sixteen, and now at the blossoming age of thirty, she knew what she was doing.  Reyna had worked for many families over the years, mostly in middle class suburbia.  She had encountered countless personalities, from the plain noxious and naïve to the lecherous and lascivious.  From what she had heard about the Thorne family, she assumed she would only encounter them on rare occasions, and that was fine with her.  Her purpose was to get the job done, and receive a paycheck at the end of every month to send home to her family.  Slowly, Reyna made her way up the marble steps of the entrance that led to a magnificent oak door, and gently pushed the doorbell.
     
    Grayson Thorne rolled his eyes as he heard the doorbell ring for the third time.  Violently he pushed himself out his leather office chair and stomped out of his den.  “Does no one work here?” he yelled into the empty halls as he marched to the main foyer where the ringing was coming from.  Heatedly, he pulled open the front door, an angered look on his face.  His expression immediately softened as he took in the beautiful woman in front of him.  The cold afternoon sunlight shone through her shoulder-length brown hair, highlighting its various shades of gold and making her amber eyes stand out vividly.  She was breathtaking.  “Can I help you?” he asked, swallowing his earlier rage. 
     
    Reyna inhaled deeply, a sudden warmth flowing through her shivering body.  This must be Grayson Thorne , she thought, as she looked at the handsome man standing in front of her.  Only in his early forties, Grayson had made a fortune for himself by becoming the biggest oil tycoon in the country.  Reyna’s cheeks flushed as she watched herself follow the line of his strong jaw and settle on his lips.  She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out.  Grayson looked somewhat amused, a twinkle in his eye.  Suddenly a flurry of activity in the house caught their attention, as a middle age woman scurried toward the front door, a harried expression on her face. 
    “ Mr.  Thorne,” she whimpered, a heavy German accent rolling off her tongue, “I am so sorry, I was on the other side of the Manor and did not hear the bell.  James is off this afternoon, I am so sorry.”
     
    Grayson shook his head, his anger completely gone by now, “It’s alright Ivana.” 
    The blonde woman looked at the guest and smiled, “You must be