The moment Levi was alone, he went on a rampage, hurling everything from his shelves and desk across the room, papers and files scattered in the air, glass pieces shattered on the floor, accolades of years of hard work attesting to his greatness destroyed in an instant.His laptop and computer screen didn't survive the carnage either.By the time his partner and Angela came in, there was nothing left to salvage.Mark dealt with the aftermath, starting with Angela. He asked her to cancel all Levi's appointments and ensure no staff came to the tenth floor.He got the first aid kit and joined Levi on the floor amongst the broken glass and his shattered dreams."Oh, God!" Levi clutched his chest, blood gushing from his palm. His heart ached so much he thought he was dying. "Mark, what do I do?""Steady there." Mark pressed his hand tightly to stop the bleeding. "Shit was bound to happen. It's better you found out now before you got in too deep."They stayed on the floor until two bottles
Thirty days passed in a blur for Natalie.She buried herself in her work, and her life returned to the way it was before Levi. She avoided all the places she knew she'd likely run into him—the staff canteen, Rise and Lennie's.For thirty days, she dressed up elegantly, did her hair and went on dinner dates and attended events with men—and women—she had no interest in. She'd talk, dance, laugh and smile when all she wanted to do was fall to pieces.For thirty days, she made enough money to pay off Aunty Viv's debt and put some away for Jamie's medical expenses.For thirty days, Natalie went through all the stages of grief.Denial lasted the longest. She held out hope, prayed and wished Levi would finally calm down and reach out to her. But when her text messages, pleading with him to give her a chance to explain everything about Paul and the assault, went unanswered, she quickly moved on to anger.How dare he judge her choices?How dare he make her feel unworthy of love and happiness s
The doctor called Natalie as soon as Amber hung up with some bad news.Unfortunately, her blood type wasn't compatible with Jamie's. So even though she was relatively healthy—but on the underweight side—and as much as she wanted to, she couldn't donate her kidney.Since Amber was a match, though, their brother's chances had improved considerably. Over the next few weeks, her siblings would have to go through a few more tests and meet with various specialists to prepare them for the transplant, which still largely depended on their finances.Natalie was already crunching the numbers while the doctor brought her up to speed; the various specialists he'd mentioned and the transplant team sounded very costly.She was still reeling from the doctor's call, and her eyes still red from crying at Amber's news when she walked into the meeting she normally wouldn't sit in. But Norah had asked her to represent the office support area and take notes for her since she had a clash in her diary.All
"What have you done now?" Emily asked, and Natalie shrugged.She was pretty sure it had nothing to do with any of her reports. They always went to Angela first before she passed them on to the relevant executive committee member. So if there was something wrong, she would have told her.Would she, though, Scared Natalie wanted to know.It was hard not to get used to the many versions of herself. They all popped up every so often, influencing her day one way or another.She took the elevator instead of the usual stairs. Common sense was in abundance today. Stupid Natalie seemed to have perished in the Battle Royale with Levi last month. She hadn't made an appearance since, and Natalie was okay with that.Angela showed her in after they'd exchanged polite greetings and exhausted all small talk about the horrid weather and the upcoming team-building outing.The first thing Natalie noticed was the luggage—a dark brown leather duffel bag sitting just inside the door. A messenger laptop bag
"She's right," Mark said from the window when Levi turned back to his desk. "Your fifteen minutes of barking and growling at her could have been a simple email, you know."Of course, he knew. The whole game proposal was a sham, a way to save face for giving in to his compulsive need to see her, especially after Angela had handed him that bullshit resignation letter.He'd read somewhere it took ninety days to get over someone. Thirty was the longest he could go without Natalie. Anything over that was enough to send him to a white padded room."I'm just saying—" Mark carried on.Levi shot him down with a snarl as he roamed his eyes on the laptop. "Don't say anything!"He didn't know what was worse. Natalie making suggestions about how he should manage his time. Mark's know-it-all attitude. Or the jumbled up mess on his desktop."Fucking hell!" he growled. His files and documents were still syncing from the cloud, making it impossible to find what he needed.Mark sprung from the window a
Natalie was about to head to bed when Aunty Viv called."I knew I was right about you, doll," her boss was almost bursting with excitement when she picked up. "But I didn't think it would happen so soon."Still pissed at her confrontation with Levi earlier in his office and disappointed at the fact that he didn't call her in to patch things up like she'd secretly hoped, Natalie couldn't exactly share Aunty Viv's excitement. But she did feign some interest in a gratingly false voice. "What's happened so soon?""You've been offered a girlfriend contract!"There was a long pause on Natalie's end following the other woman's announcement as she tried to figure out which of her thirty clients would even consider offering her a girlfriend contract after spending just one evening with her.She may be new in the business, but the past month had taught her a lot. She'd made it a rule not to see the same client more than once in the space of a few weeks to avoid forming attachments, and since sh
Immediately after their breakfast, Levi and Mark set off for the studio where Crystal was shooting her lingerie ad. It was ten minutes away from their hotel, and they made it on set just as the crew began setting up for the day."Over there," Mark made her out from a troupe of lingerie-clad models huddled in the corner.She looked up and smiled when she saw him wave at her.Crystal was almost as tall as them, and she wasn't wearing heels. Big and imposing, she reminded Levi of an Amazon. She had a raspy voice and a booming laugh to match her larger than life personality.They exchanged introductions and hugs.She was a hugger and believed one could tell a lot about a person from how they hugged.Crystal led them to an empty dressing room and sat down, not in the least self-conscious about her state of undress."Why are you looking for Jewel?" she asked, her eyes growing suspicious for the first time since they met.Mark explained she was missing and they needed to find her."I get tha
Natalie spent the whole weekend recovering from her terrible cold.Her couch, the medication Emily had dropped off for her Friday evening and the TV was just what any doctor would recommend for a quick recovery.By Sunday evening, she felt well enough to start plotting out ideas for a game proposal she had no interest in. But the procrastinator in her chose to watch all two seasons of 'You' on Netflix, and she had no regrets.Her head still foggy from Joe's crazy obsession and stalking shenanigans, her eyes gritty, like someone had poured sand into them, from lack of sleep, Natalie dragged herself to work at the crack of dawn on Monday, arriving when the building was still cloaked in darkness.Her tan stilettos sinking into the plush carpet barely made a sound as she strolled to her cubicle, the motion sensor lights coming on one after the other, following her progress.She had never thought of herself as a scaredy-cat, but something about being alone in an empty office really freaked