Chapter 1 - The Ice Queen

Four Years Later

  Natalia looked at the table of people in front of her. They were all eagerly waiting on her answer after they gave her the contract to look over. It was a business that wanted to make her a partner in hopes they could save their company from closing. She smiled before speaking.

"You have a deal." Natalia signed the contract, and everyone in the room breathed a sigh of relief. They'd heard that she was hard to deal with, but their interactions with her had been encouraging. She even met the people working for them and seemed to care about them keeping their jobs.

Natalia got up from the table and gave the contract to her assistant to finish the rest of the transaction while she went to her office. She had spent the first six months in New York soaking up as much knowledge as possible before branching out independently.

    Her first year in business had been rough, and she'd had to use some of her inheritance to make ends meet. Eventually, she clawed herself up and made a name for herself. Now she is the CEO of NC, one of the top five merger and acquisition companies in New York.  

  In the past four years, she'd seen several men casually. She was still not in the market to give her heart away. She wasn't given the name ice queen for nothing.  

  Those who worked for her would laugh when they saw her name in the paper under the title The Ice Queen Does it Again.  Only the men who competed with her for a contract or had their sexual advances deflected called her by that name. Those who knew her saw her as warm and caring. That's why she saved businesses rather than selling them for profit. If the companies she merged with did well, they all did well.

  "Hey, Nat. Did you want me to set up a date for you for the banquet tonight?" Her assistant Patrice asked as she stuck her head into her office after completing the contract signing. She was tall and thin, with short red hair and a face covered in freckles.  

"No need. I'm going alone tonight. How can I keep my nickname if I don't?" She smiled at Patrice, who shook her head and laughed.  

  "Alright, if you change your mind, I have a list of eligible bachelors who would love to be your arm candy." Natalia laughed as Patrice left. 

  She dreaded attending these functions where everyone bragged about money and how they screwed someone out of a deal. She went to them because she sometimes picked up leads on struggling businesses. Natalia would swoop in and make an offer the company couldn't refuse before the sharks came and disassembled it.

  That evening she was dressed in a long black sequined sleeveless gown with a slit to mid-thigh on one side. She wore four-inch designer heels and carried a small clutch with her phone and lipstick. Natalia looked in the mirror and straightened her hair that fell just below her shoulders in waves.  

  She was now living in a high-rise building with a fantastic view of the city. The main reason she had chosen this building was because of the security. Natalia had a few scares in her prior apartment with break-ins. After the fourth one, she decided it was time to move somewhere she wouldn't have that problem. Living on the twenty-first floor gave her a sense of safety.  

  She looked at her phone as it pinged. Her car service had arrived to take her to the banquet. Natalia was not afraid to flirt with the men she met, but she drew the line to anything more. The men that she had casual hookups with were not in her world. They were blue-collar and had no idea who she was.  

  As she walked through the lobby of her building, she looked straight ahead, ignoring the stares of others. She winked at the doorman and gave him a tip as he held the door for her. Albert chuckled to himself as she slipped the money into his hand. He knew she was a sweetheart and the nicest tenant in the building. 

Natalia sat in the backseat of the car as it drove through the city. She took a couple of deep breaths as they pulled up to the large building. The banquet was for a retiring investor who had been in the business for many years. After she got out of the car, she walked into the building with her head held high. She heard the whispers as she passed others. 

  "Look, it's the ice queen." It took everything she had not to laugh.  

___________

  Hayden Sumner stood at the bar in the banquet hall, dreading making small talk with these money-hungry idiots. He was also in the merger and acquisition business and was the CEO of the number one business in the game.  

  At the age of thirty, he was one of the youngest to move up the ladder so quickly, other than the ice queen. He had heard a lot about her but had never met Natalia Crawford. It seemed they never went to the same functions, but rumor had it she would be here tonight.  

  Hayden was tall at six foot four with thick black hair and piercing green eyes. He had no problem getting any woman he wanted, but he was tired of those that wanted him for his money. He wanted a meaningful relationship with a woman who challenged him. Hayden wouldn't admit it to anyone if they asked, but he wanted to fall in love. That's the one thing he was missing in his life.

As he held his vodka on the rocks, he looked around the room, ignoring the frivolous young women trying to make eye contact with him. His hand with his drink stopped halfway to his mouth as he saw a vision walk through the door. She was a tall blonde with a body that made his knees weak. Hayden noticed she was alone, and everyone started whispering as she walked through the room.

  "The ice queen is here."

  When Hayden heard this, he smiled. He had heard she got this name because she was ruthless in business and refused every man that approached her. He hadn't expected her to be so young and beautiful in person. The pictures in the newspapers didn't do her justice. Hayden almost dropped his drink as she made her way to the bar.  

"White wine, please," Natalia said to the bartender, ignoring the man beside her who was openly gawking at her. She admitted he was handsome in his black suit open at the collar with no tie. Attractive or not, she could almost smell the money coming off him in his expensive cologne. After she had her drink in hand, she leaned against the bar.

  "It's not polite to stare." She said without looking at the man as she sipped her wine. 

  Hayden was speechless when she spoke to him. Her voice sounded warm, sultry, and breathless all at the same time. She didn't sound icy to him. He realized he was still staring and hadn't said anything.  

  "I'm sorry, I don't think we've met. I'm Hayden Sumner." He held his hand out to her, and she looked at it before meeting his eyes. Eventually, Natalia took his hand and shook it quickly.

  "Natalia Crawford." Hayden's heart skipped a beat when she put her hand in his. She had the softest skin he had ever felt. It may have only been for a second, but it was the best second of his life. He decided then she was going to be his. Now he had to figure out a way to convince her.  

  "It's nice to meet you. I'm impressed with everything you've accomplished in such a short time." Hayden gave her his most charming smile, but she didn't return it.

  "So I guess you've also heard my nickname. Don't waste your time on flattery; I'm not interested. I don't come to these things to hook up. I come because I'm the CEO of NC, and it's expected to play nice." Natalia didn't spare him a glance as she walked away.  

  Hayden was left speechless. No woman had ever spoken to him like that, and rather than upsetting him, it made him even more determined. He had wanted a challenge, and it looked like he had found one. He would make the ice queen melt. It was only a matter of time.