Finding His Heart

Chapter One

Karl Thorne

As I sit behind my desk, I know I should be working but instead I think the things that are really important to me. My family. My two best friends, Henry and Kobe. My work. Her. Always her. She’s never far from my thoughts.

In a city the size of Grandview, New York, Thorne Industries is the largest employer. I pushed hard to make it incentivized enough to bring people from the city here. It worked, thankfully. My father and grandfather were content to leave this company in the 1950s. I modernized everything when I took the reins from my dad, who retired early due to his health. About ten years ago, we got large enough to interest a sports team in the form of hockey, thus making us a city. The Ice Hawks bring in a lot of tourists. I am always thinking about the future. Speaking of, I tap the intercom button on my phone.

“Tracy, can you come in here for a moment?” I ask. As the CEO of Thorne Industries, I shouldn’t have been counting down the days until my executive assistant’s granddaughter turned eighteen but here I am, and time is up.

Nina Firth has been the only thing on my mind since I saw her a year ago sitting right outside my office waiting on her grandmother. She had just moved here from Georgia, I later learned. I also learned about her father taking a job in Egypt, taking her mother with him. They left her to finish her last year of high school in a new town a thousand miles from home. In fact, Nina is the only woman who has ever crossed my mind more than once and the only one I’ll ever allow into my bed or my so-called heart. Her southern accent makes me crazy. Just listening to her talk about mundane things makes my cock hard.

When I was younger, my grandfather told me a story about how he met my grandmother when she was six and he was seven. Not even war could keep them apart. My Gran joined the Army Nurse Corp and because they were married, she was able to join his M*A*S*H unit where he was the radio operator. I wanted that kind of love, but it never happened for me. So, instead of giving up, I kept on my path and I waited until the woman I would marry presented herself. I never imagined that she’d be slightly underage when she did finally show up and that I’d have to be patient a little while longer. Without hesitation, for her, I’d bide my time forever.

“Yes, sir?” Tracy asks after opening my office door.

“Tracy, how many times have I asked you to call me Karl?”

“That’s not how things are done, sir. Certainly not how your grandfather and father did it?”

“I’m not them, Tracy,” I say reminding her of that fact.

“That’s for damn sure,” she says laughing. “Fine, Karl. What did you need?” she asks, rolling her eyes. She has worked here longer than anymore. She refuses to retire despite being damn near eighty.

“I’d like to hire Nina as my personal assistant until Henry returns from paternity leave.” Henry has been my assistant since I started working for my father in the finance department right after I graduated from college. He and his wife just had their first baby. I had no problem giving him an extended leave for the occasion, but I didn’t realize just how much he did for me. Speaking of, I need to give him a raise. I’ve managed and let’s be honest, I don’t want Nina to be my assistant, I want her to be my wife.

“That’s a good idea, Karl. I’ll give her a call. She’s been bored since she graduated. Though her birthday party last night was fun. Thank you for coming by the way.”

“No thanks necessary, trust me.” As if I could sit idly by while she parties with teenage boys. I didn’t have much to worry about. I was the only man in attendance under forty. “So, you’ll call her today?” I ask, hoping I don’t sound too eager.

“Yes. I’ll ring her now.”

“Excellent. Have her come in as soon as possible.”

“No problem. Anything else? Lunch perhaps?”

“No thanks. I am good for now.”

Tracy leaves my office giving me the opportunity to think about what I am going to say to Nina. Somehow, I don’t think me grunting “you, me, bed, forever,” like a caveman is going to work on her, but even knowing that, it doesn’t change the facts. It’s exactly what I want.

Impatiently, I wait for her to show up. Like the fucking creeper I am, I pull up her social media. I have been following her since the day I met her. Between that, one long conversation at her grandparents 60th anniversary party, about twenty work parties, and several company picnics, I know everything I need to know about her. She loves the color ecru, which is just white, but it’s that specific shade that’s her favorite. She’s a science fiction aficionado. A Trekkie and a Whovian. I knew what a Trekkie was, but I had to look up Whovian. Thank God for Amazon Prime Video. I binged that show because it was fantastic, and I am about eighty percent sure I could pass some sort of quiz about it. She has no desire to go to college, but she wants to own a bookstore right on main street in Grandview. I took the liberty of purchasing a building with a ton of built-in shelving four doors down my corporate headquarters. Even if it’s not what she was thinking, it’s a good investment. After about twenty minutes, it takes everything in me not buzz Tracy back and see what’s going on.