by Lee, Nadia
* * *
Alex checked the parking lot again. Natalie’s car was missing, and her condo was dark and empty. Nobody from her family knew where she was. To make matters worse, her cell phone had been disconnected, and there didn’t seem to be a new number. Alex resisted the urge to kick something as the sun began to set. It would’ve been satisfying but definitely not helpful.
Still, he kept the option in the back of his mind as he started to pace. It was difficult trying to predict her moves. There was a For Sale sign on her unit, which obviously meant that she was planning to relocate…but also meant that she hadn’t gotten rid of the place yet.
So she had to come back eventually, didn’t she? Maybe he should buy it, force her to meet him that way.
He rehearsed the speech he would make when she showed up. It needed to be sufficiently groveling, given what he’d done to her. Hopefully, she would forgive him. No, no. She had to. He was crazy about her, and he knew the feeling would never go away.
He paused as a sudden thought struck him. Had she gone to China to find her biological parents? That would be insane. He hadn’t been able to discover their identity despite all the money he’d spent.
A familiar convertible lurched to a stop in one of the parking spaces, and something inside him loosened when he saw Natalie in the driver’s seat.
* * *
Sitting in the parking spot, Natalie gripped the steering wheel so tightly it started to shake. Was that really Alex? God, how could he show up here again? What did he want? Hadn’t they said everything that needed to be said last time?
She considered driving away. It was extremely tempting.
Don’t be ridiculous. This is still your home. Maybe he would ignore her. He’d made his contempt for her clear.
When he trotted toward her, her stomach knotted. So much for wishful thinking. She braced herself and looked straight ahead, her thoughts racing.
“Natalie.”
One heartbeat. Two. Finally, she glanced at him. She was thankful for the jet-black sunglasses she had on.
“You cut your hair.”
She almost raised her hand to touch the short tips that brushed her neck. But there was no reason for her to finger-comb it. She no longer had to play the proper daughter of a powerful U.S. senator—and she had no reason to try to impress Alex.
“Can we talk?”
Alex’s voice was gentle, and absurdly, it made her want to cry. It held the warmth that had never failed to make her insides melt. But that warmth had been a lie, hadn’t it? To keep her in the dark while he was plotting behind her back…to set her up for something she hadn’t done. Something she’d never even considered doing.
She took a deep breath and got out of the car. The four-inch dress sandals she wore added to her height, and she was thankful she had taken so much care with her appearance that morning. She knew she looked good. Eat your heart out, she thought. Now all she had to do was keep it together in front of him.
“I thought we were done.” Her voice was steady. Her gaze was steady.
Steady.
Alex reached out and gently took her wrist. “No.”
The contact seemed to burn her skin, and she almost cried out. What was he up to now? Hadn’t he done enough?
“Let go.”
He kept his hand where it was. She could feel the heat and intensity of his gaze even through the sunglasses.
“Ethan turned in his resignation.”
She laughed. “And…what? You want me to fill his position?” God, she had to get away. A moment longer and she would crack, cry like some pathetic loser. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction, even if it killed her to hold everything inside.
“Natalie, I was wrong. I know you weren’t spying on us. It was Danielle. She was the one who gave the numbers to Charlie Rodale,” Alex said quietly.
Natalie’s lips parted. She hadn’t suspected her mousy assistant even knew Charlie.
“Why?” she said before she could stop herself.
Alex shrugged. “Apparently, she’s in love with him.”
“What?” Charlie could be very charming when he wanted to be. Still, how could he have used Danielle like that? And for her to betray Natalie’s trust…
Suddenly, all emotion drained from Natalie. Why should she care about them? She was going to leave all this behind soon.
“I’m sorry,” Alex said.
The simple apology surprised her, but it was too little too late. “Well.” She tugged until he let go of her wrist. “It doesn’t matter. Thanks for letting me know, but it doesn’t matter now. If that’s all, I think you should go.”
She walked to her condo, and he followed. She turned to him at the door.
“I’m not going to invite you in.”
He nodded silently but kept looking at her steadily with those beautiful, unreadable eyes. Was there more to his visit than an apology?
She straightened her spine. She didn’t know what it was about him that made her do it, but she found herself saying, “I’m moving. Someplace far from here.”
“Natalie. You can’t go.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Oh, I can’t? Just watch me. I don’t have a job or a family. The people I thought were my friends here are only out to use me. The man I thought I was in love with”—she stiffened as he inhaled sharply—“doesn’t trust me.”
Something was tearing inside her, but the pain drove her relentlessly to end it on her terms. She wouldn’t break down in front of him like last time and humiliate herself all over again. This time she would at least keep her dignity. “It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that I have nothing to hold me here.” She shrugged. “I want to start over. It’s as simple as that.” She turned her back to him and inserted the key into the lock.
“I’m in love with you.”
That stole all the air out of her lungs. She gripped her key hard.
“Don’t,” she whispered.
Life kept chopping at her, and she was tired of standing on her own. She leaned slightly toward the door until her forehead rested against its cool wooden surface, but that wasn’t enough to stop her from trembling. Her heart hammered against her ribcage. “Just…don’t.”
He embraced her from behind. Despite all her resolve, she melted against him.
“I’m so sorry, sweetheart. Let me make it up to you. Please.”
“I can’t start over with you,” she cried out and put a hand over her mouth. God, it hurt so much. If Alex hadn’t been holding her, she would’ve doubled over. “I can’t start over with you.” Tears pooled into the curves of her dark lenses.
She wrenched herself out of his embrace, pushed the door open, and stumbled inside, trying to get away. From him or from the weakness that threatened to make her beg him to stay with her, she didn’t know. She almost tripped over a box half-full of her things. Her sunglasses fell off, the tears that were in them making small dark spots on the carpet.
Alex followed her in and held her close, his arms going around her waist to steady her. She turned around and tried to push him away, but this time he was ready.
“Natalie…Natalie,” he whispered. “I’m so sorry. If I could undo it all, I would. Let me make it up to you.”
The kiss he gave her then was all she needed to release the pent-up emotions of the past ten days. She buried her face in his chest so he couldn’t see her tears and beat his shoulder with a tightly clenched fist. All the mixed-up feelings she’d had—the things she hadn’t been able to articulate, not even to herself—gushed out.
Alex didn’t try to defend himself. He held her tighter and let her pound on him until she went limp.
“I’m so sorry. Don’t cry,” he said, his voice ragged.
They stood quiet for a time. Finally Natalie pushed herself away. “I’m fine.” Wincing at her hoarse voice, she wiped the last of her tears. “I want you to leave, Alex. I appreciate the apology, but this isn’t going to work.”
He went rigid. “Don’t you love
me?”
“It’s not that.”
“Then what?”
She took a deep breath and gathered herself. “To you, revenge is more important than what we have together. You have this relentless drive for vengeance…and it ruined everything!”
“Natalie…”
Taking a step back, she shook her head. She had to get everything out without letting him touch her. Physical contact with him still had the power to undo her, and she wouldn’t give in. Not this time. “I should’ve come first, Alex. Me. Not your revenge, if you were truly in love with me. You…used me to get back at Emily. I can’t be with a man who’s incapable of forgiveness, incapable of letting something go. I deserve better.”
Alex’s throat worked, but he didn’t say anything. Finally he nodded and walked out, closing the door softly behind him. All the tension left her body, and she collapsed on the floor. Even as she told herself she’d done the right thing, she started sobbing again.
After a few moments, Matto padded over and began to lap at her tears.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Three days later, Alex watched Emily walk up the corridor at DDE toward him. The woman was dressed in an expensive royal blue silk dress and the smell of Chanel No. 5 preceded her. A few people glanced up curiously, but kept their mouths shut. Everyone was keenly aware of the boss’s recent less-than-upbeat mood.
She marched into the conference room and took an empty seat, crossing her legs and settling back into the chair. Alex shut the door without bothering to offer her anything to drink.
“Well,” she said. “If you’re intending to make an offer on Rodale International, the answer is no.”
“I don’t care about the company.”
“Then what would we have to talk about?”
“A truce.” To be more precise, Alex wanted to find a way to forgive Emily and let the whole thing go, just like Natalie had said. How could he ask her to forgive him if he couldn’t do the same for others? She’d been right about everything. He’d been so focused on revenge that he’d been willing to let it kill their love.
Hopefully whatever blow it had been dealt wasn’t fatal. He wanted to believe—no, had to believe—he could save their love. And this was a necessary first step.
Emily arched an eyebrow. “I didn’t know there was a war on between us.”
“Let’s set some ground rules.” Alex glared at the woman he’d hated all his life. “First one: no bullshit. You know what’s going on as well as I do.”
“This…conflict, shall we say, has always been one-sided—yours. I’ve never tried to attack your company.”
“You ruined my family.” Alex’s hands tightened into fists. “I’m trying to forgive you here.”
“Forgive me? But I’ve done nothing wrong. Your father was supposed to marry me, especially after having gotten me pregnant.”
Everything seemed to freeze around Alex. “What?”
“You did want honesty, didn’t you? I’m telling you the absolute truth. I became pregnant. By your father.” She raised her chin and regarded him. “But he refused to leave your mother for me. Categorically refused. I had to scramble to save myself and secure the kind of future I needed, both personally and for my child. I married not out of love but out of necessity. Oh, how I regret passing off your father’s son as my husband’s. My husband deserved better. He was a good man.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“Charlie, of course. He’s your half-brother. Surprised?” Emily said when Alex’s jaw slackened. “Natalie couldn’t believe it either. But again, it’s the truth. What I took from your father is nothing more than what I was owed. What his first-born son was owed.”
So it hadn’t just been simple greed? Still… “You destroyed my family and drove my father to death.”
“I did no such thing. His wife left him because he lost his wealth. If she had been the right woman for him, do you think she would’ve abandoned him over something as inconsequential as his net worth? Everything that happened was his own fault…a consequence of his own choices. He could’ve lived for you, his son, but he chose differently. Is that supposed to be my fault as well?” Emily’s face twisted. “You give me too much credit. If I had such power, I would’ve made him leave your mother and marry me the moment I found out about Charlie.”
“Is that how you justify your actions? That it was all Dad’s doing?” Alex demanded tightly.
“No. It’s what I tell myself to avoid feeling too much sorrow for the way your father died.” Emily sighed. “Even after everything, I still love him.”
“Ah, jeez.” Alex rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t know how you could’ve hurt him if you loved him.”
“It was precisely because I loved him. If I hadn’t I wouldn’t have cared. But I did, and the betrayal was too much to bear.” Emily sniffed. “I even let that affect my relationship with Natalie.”
“In what way?”
“I asked her to spy for me. She refused. Then I tried to get her to do it by offering something I shouldn’t have.” She gave Alex a hard stare. “You shouldn’t have told her the truth about her adoption.”
“Why? To protect the Halls?”
“No. Knowing the truth has cost her her innocence. She always tries to see the good in people. Even someone as dreadful as Marcus.” Emily shuddered delicately. “I told her he was a terrible choice, but she dated him anyway.” She sighed. “Did that cat of hers urinate on you?”
“Did he—?” What the hell? “No, of course not. We like each other.”
She finally cracked a smile. “You might just do, then. She seems to have chosen better this time.” She inclined her head slightly and rose. “Now, if we’re done here I have another appointment. You may see me out.”
* * *
Natalie lay on her couch and held her tablet. Being jobless was sort of nice. She got to wear her favorite ratty old UVA T-shirt and hot pink yoga pants, while her feet were left bare and her hair unstyled. Nobody cared. On the screen Kerri—spectacularly put together as always—was scowling, her Bluetooth headset looking oddly futuristic against the staid bank background. And not even she was had mentioned Natalie’s less than perfect appearance.
“So…what?” Kerri said. “You’re through with your crappy family?”
“Pretty much. And with my job too.”
“Are the two related?”
Natalie’s gaze drifted to the coffee table. On it were twenty-one flowers. Alex had knocked on her door every evening for six days—bringing one blossom the first day, two the second… She’d never answered, but he’d kept coming around, leaving different flowers every day, always with a hand-written card that simply read: Forgive me. I love you.
A large part of her wanted to do exactly that—forgive him. But as much as she loved him, she couldn’t be with a man who was consumed with vengeance.
“Well?” Kerri demanded.
“Sort of. It’s complicated, and I don’t know if I can explain it.”
Kerri sighed. “If you’re out of job for all the wrong reasons…if it has anything to do with your hottie boss…you need to sue.”
“Sue? For what?”
“Wrongful termination? Sexual harassment?”
“But it wasn’t like that.” If Natalie wanted to be vindictive, wrongful termination could work, but she didn’t want the job back or rub it in to Alex that he’d made a big mistake. He knew. Or at least she hoped he did.
“So what does this mean? You’re coming out to Hong Kong to join me, is that it?”
“Actually…I might.”
“Do it,” Kerri said. “Think of all the fun we can have.”
“You mean working?”
“Hey, work is fun.”
“Says the workaholic.”
She glanced at the clock on the wall. Alex would be here in an hour to leave flowers and another card. A full week… If she refused to open the door for him again, would he stop coming by?
Did it ma
tter? She turned back to her conversation with Kerri with a single-minded focus. She needed to stop waiting for seven o’clock. It would be just like Alex to be doing this on purpose to get her to anticipate his arrival.
As if on cue, the doorbell rang. That’s odd. It was too early for Alex to show.
“Natalie, open up,” came Belle’s voice. “I know you’re in there.”
Natalie groaned. “Oh, no.”
Kerri’s eyes narrowed. “Is that your fake sister? Tell her to go away or you’re calling the cops for trespassing.”
Natalie sighed. “No, I have to do this. She’s not going to leave unless she says whatever she’s here to say. Call you later?”
“Anytime, girl. I’m here for you.”
Dumping the tablet on the couch, Natalie opened the door and said, “Wha—?” then stopped short. Louise was standing next to Belle. Both of them were dressed in conservative blouses and slacks and standing with their hands folded in front of them.
“May we come in?” Louise asked.
After a moment, Natalie stepped aside wordlessly and crossed her arms. Belle and Louise might be on her turf, but they were a team. Always had been.
Thankfully, the ever-loyal Matto joined her, regally curling his tail around her ankle. “Would you like to sit down?” Natalie said. The good manners that had been ingrained in her since her earliest childhood dictated that she at least ask.
“Thank you,” Louise said. She and Belle took the couch, leaving Natalie the lone armchair.
Natalie settled there with Matto on her lap and tucked her feet under her. She didn’t have to wait long.
Louise pressed her lips together then spoke. “I’m here to say…” She blinked and shook her head. “I just wanted you to know that I’m truly sorry.”
Guess she hadn’t believed Natalie’s assurance outside her home. There was no other reason for Louise to be doing this. “I told you, you don’t have to bother. I’m not going to do anything to ruin Brian’s campaign.”
“It’s not about that. Actually…he plans to withdraw his candidacy.”
“What?”
“Please keep it quiet for now. We haven’t made it official yet. But under the circumstances, we don’t think accepting another term in public office is a good idea.”
