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32|Good Horse
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Save Him 33|L'Appel du Vide
Her arms outstretched, and her face turned to the sky, Natalie screamed, her mournful howls carried by the gentle wind echoing endlessly.Emily joined her, and they alternated for a while, only stopping when the events company showed up to start setting up for the Inner Circle.Natalie ignored the activity around her, refusing to move away from the ledge. She'd read about scream therapy but had secretly thought it was just another fad. The magazine article had proven her wrong.She wasn't entirely okay, of course, but she didn't feel as unhinged as she had earlier."We're not allowed to be here. We should go," Emily reminded her, shooting cautious glances in her direction.Two years ago, Zahid, one of the office support guys, ran up here and tried to jump off the building after receiving his annual bonus and increase letter following a less-than-ideal performance appraisal. HR had since forbidden everyone from accessing the rooftop for any reason other than Inner Circles.It was way be
Save Him 34|Deny, Deny, Deny!
When 2:00 PM rolled around, Natalie watched with envy as her colleagues scrambled to the rooftop. She would have loved nothing more than to follow the herd and numb herself with music and free booze. But rushing off to the Inner Circle before it started would screw her over even more. The backlog of reports and proposals that had crept up overnight was one of the many reasons she never played hooky from work."Come on, Nat, we're missing out on all the fun. There won't be anything left to drink at the rate you're going!" Emily crossed her long legs and pouted in her seat."What happened to you never drinking again?" Natalie asked, arching an eyebrow, reminding her of the promise she made Friday night when she'd puked her guts out on the side of the road."Me? Why would I speak such untruths? I must have been wasted!" Emily snorted and tried yet again to convince her to ditch her work."Okay, okay!" Natalie said just to hush her up. "Let me finish this first. I only have a few more slid
Save Him 35|Prison Break
Maybe it was the meds, the free-flowing booze, or sheer exhaustion from the weekend, but the more time Natalie spent on Emily's doppelganger idea, the less absurd it sounded.She could pull it off. She just had to make sure she never ran into the man, which should be easy enough. She was at the bottom of the company's food chain, and Levi was right at the top. There was zero chance they'd ever run into each other. The execs hardly ever came to the lower floors, anyway.Come to think of it, besides her direct manager, Norah, Natalie hadn't met any other senior executives."I still don't see what the fuss is. He's a low six for me." Emily's lips curled with distaste as she glared at their boss. But she instantly perked up when their waiter finally emerged with their long-awaited cocktails.In a different life, Levi would have been a high nine for me, Natalie thought as she took a hesitant sip from her Mason jar. The intoxicating smell of rum went straight to her head as the smooth liquid
Save Him 36|Vanished
Noelle had vanished by the time Levi made it to the other side, and he stared at the place he was certain she'd occupied just moments before.He knew he had not imagined her. Her light floral scent, the same one he'd fallen in love with on the balcony and when he'd held her in the car, still lingered in the air.He looked around him, scanning the place for any hint of her. A surge of relief rocked his body when he found her inside the building, hovering near the elevators.He quickened his pace, frantically pushing through the crowd. He couldn't let her get away again. Not when he'd just found her."Levi, how was your sabbatical?" Someone stopped his progress yet again, momentarily blocking his view of Noelle."It was fine!" Levi growled and pushed them aside. He had one goal in mind. If he allowed himself to be distracted again, Noelle would disappear again.He made it inside the building just as the lift doors slid shut."Fuck!" he cursed as he watched the elevator race to the ground
Save Him 37|Options-Part 1
The hand-me-down microwave had finally given up.It was already in a pretty sorry state when Natalie inherited it from her landlord. But there was a very real chance it could have been one of the many casualties of her meltdown when she went on a warpath and trashed her place.It was hard to believe it was just yesterday. It felt like a lifetime ago.Natalie didn't remember touching it, though. No way she would have had the strength to pick it up. But then again, she was high on meds, rage and adrenaline, so anything was possible. Hell, she ran down nine flights of stairs without pausing to think what it would do to her already battered body.And now, as she watched Emily pour two glasses of red wine, she wished she'd listened to her when she warned her against taking the stairs. Her midsection was on fire. The blinding pain was unlike anything she had ever felt before. If she was dying, she wished it would happen quickly."Nat? Are you okay?" Emily asked as she looked up from the kitc
Save Him 38|Options-Part 2
Alone in her cramped living room, Natalie pulled the blanket closer, curled herself into a small ball and absently watched the show, her mind racing over her chat with Emily.If her friend had made 15K just by allowing a client to suck her toes, then maybe Dreams was her lifeline, after all, and the only way out of her financial hole. Depending on what she did, she could raise all the money she needed for Jamie within six months, and then she'd get out.But what would she have to do?How far was she willing to go?How much was she willing to give up for Jamie to have a fighting chance?Would she take another beating?Worse, what if she vanished like Paul's previous companions?No. Natalie mentally shook herself. She couldn't—shouldn't—go there. She'd just had a very real, hair-raising incident with the man and was very lucky to have come out of it with her life still intact.Besides, she argued, Amber would never forgive her. Jamie, too, would never be okay with taking money she'd made
Save Him 39|Push Her Too Hard
The email popped up in Levi's inbox at 2:00 AM.Lounging in the situation room in his penthouse and contemplating all the clues littered on the whiteboard, he almost fell back from his chair when he saw the sender and subject line."No fucking way!" he whispered as he read the message.Natalie Taylor was so grateful for his donation, and because of him, they could cover Jamie's treatment for a couple of months. Maybe more. She was almost positive Jamie would love to come to Rock Union to see the Ravens play. She thanked him again for his kindness and wished him well.He still didn't have Natalie Taylor's personnel file, but his gut told him she was Noelle—his Noelle. The woman he wanted to take home to meet his mom. His future. His love.His heart felt lighter at the thought, as if someone had reached deep inside his chest and pulled out the heavy rock he'd carried around since Noelle—no, Natalie—ran from him on the rooftop.Her email didn't require a response, but he sent one anyway,
Save Him 40|Impulse
Amber had always warned her against making decisions when she was tired or angry. But after reading Levi's last email, Natalie was tired and furious.For a while, she just sat in her chair, simmering in her anger, unable to believe he'd tried to use his boss card on her.Sure, they desperately needed his money, but she didn't appreciate how he had tried to back her into a corner and force her to cancel her lunch engagement with Lennie.Levi's sense of entitlement to her time simply because he'd donated a ton of money to her brother's fund did not sit well with her.His pushiness had killed the last shred of warmth her traitorous heart had still held onto, even when she knew nothing would ever come out of her silly crush.Not pausing to think about the consequences of her actions, Natalie hit the refund button, bitter disappointment burning hot in her throat as she watched the balance in the fund drop back to five thousand.They were back to square one. But it was better this way. The
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