Capítulo 2: Mystery Visitor

Megan looked at the long black car from the shopping plaza that was currently sitting on the loop outside the entrance to her family estate. Who did that car belong to? She had never seen it before today but she kind of wondered if it had been following her. It had to be a coincidence but what was it doing here?

Megan walked into the family home feeling like she was behind schedule. She called out to her family to let them know she was back. Something that had become a family tradition since they were all very young. There was a chorus of voices answering her, mostly from upstairs.

Megan didn't hear father but saw him when he stepped out of his office at the end of the hall. Megan hung her dress bag over her arm and hurried down the hallway to speak to her father.

"Megan did you find what you were looking for?" Ryan Steele asked his daughter.

"Yes father, just as you requested." Megan spoke feeling nervous. She glanced at the partially open doorway to the office. There was a dark-haired man sitting in the room cast in shadow. She felt like he was looking at her, but she couldn't see him. It was odd because the overhead light was on but still there was too much shadow to see clearly. Megan looked back at her father.

Her father placed a hand on her shoulder, glancing back briefly, he turned back to her speaking softly. "I want you to pay special attention to Caden and Mr. Ross tonight."

"Of course, father. Caden and I are good friends. I have taken him under my wing just like you asked." Megan explained to her father.

"Listen, this is important Megan. You must make good choices..." Her father was cut off.

"Mr. Steele, the lady gets it, I'm sure." The mystery man in the office spoke. The voice was rich and deep, and Megan couldn't help but wonder who it belonged to. The voice reminded her of smoke and the way smoke would sometimes curl around an object or a person.

Ryan Steele gave his eldest daughter a tight smile. "Go get ready for the party now, dearest." Megan smiled at her father and stood on her tiptoes to place a light kiss on his cheek.

Megan turned around and raced back down the hall before running up the stairs. The first door she came to she ignored since it belonged to her sixteen-year-old brother Tyler and Megan knew that he wouldn't even be awake yet. She went to the next door which belonged to her sister May who was twenty. The door was ajar, but Megan could hear the shower running.

There was an empty office next in the hallway. The door after that belonged to her sister Nicole who had just turned eighteen. Nicole would make a good match for Caden age wise except that Nicole was too bold and too impetuous for the reserved young man. Nicole was sitting at her vanity table working on her makeup.

"Hey girlie, what's the plan tonight?" Megan called to her sister.

"Bold eyes and sleek hair. You" Nicole answered pausing a moment from her eyeliner.

Megan shifted. "Not sure yet. I guess we'll see where inspiration takes me."

Megan turned to go and nearly ran her mother down. "Mom, you startled me." Her mother's tinkling laugh soothed the residual worries of the day. Her mother was soft-spoken, angelic, and quick witted. She was the family glue and they all loved her immeasurably.

"Sweetheart you had better get ready, you are running out of time." Cloe Steele told her daughter. She was worried for her eldest. Cloe didn't think her daughter was set against marriage. More like Megan was picky and not in a hurry to settle down. Cloe hoped that the situation would resolve itself in a manner that was beneficial to everyone.

Megan opened the door to her room and shut it behind herself as she entered. Megan hung her dress bag on a garment hook at set her bag on the floor by her vanity. She climbed in the shower and washed quickly. Climbing out she dried and mostly blow dried her hair before putting the long wavy locks up into hot rollers.

Megan put her robe on and moved to the vanity to do her makeup and let her hair set. She applied some smokey eyeliner, a little blush, and slightly tinted lip gloss and considered her face good enough. When her hair was finally cool, she unwound the long caramel-colored locks from the rollers. Her hair without the curls fell thick past her hips. Megan ran her fingers through the curls to loosen them up and began pinning them on top of her head. Then she wound the crystal string through it.

Once Megan finished her hair, she checked the time giving a small, startled yelp when she realized she was going to be late. Her father would not be pleased if he found that she was late. She pulled on undergarments and put on her new heels buckling them around her ankles. She hoped they would be comfortable for the entire night. Finally, Megan pulled her dress off the hanger and stepped into it. Managing to get the zipper up she pulled laces tight on her back.

Megan stepped in front of her floor length mirror to visualize the finished product. She thought she looked elegant, like a woman instead of a girl. She was lovely in the dress and looked put together. That is what mattered.

Stepping out into the hallway she walked to the railing that overlooked the foyer below. Guests were arriving and her entire family except her brother were all downstairs greeting them. Suddenly a hand took hold of her and tucked it into his arm. Megan looked beside her at the tall boy.

"Tyler, look who's awake before eight at night. You're practically vampiric." Megan joked with her brother.

"Hardy Har," Tyler snorted. "Do you want an escort, so you look less late or not."

"Actually, that would be great. Starting a party with a lecture about punctuality is such a buzzkill. Shall we?" Megan joked.

"We shall." The pair descended the staircase regally coming to a stop at the end of their family line. Their mother smiled at the pair warmly.

Ryan Steele waved his oldest daughter and only son over to him positioning them on the opposite side of his wife and other two daughters.

The group greeted guest after guest making each feel welcome in their home. A couple of times Megan felt eyes on her from down the hall toward the office but why would anyone be down there? The Ross's entered the family's home and Ryan greeted Micheal Ross warmly and reintroduced Megan to him.

Mr. Ross looked her over in a way that made Megan uncomfortable before Caden stepped forward and the pair greeted each other with smiles. Megan's father nodded approvingly at the duos banter, and she was excused to join Caden in the ballroom.