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42|Two Broken Pieces
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Save Him 43|Ruined Me
Long after Levi left the third floor, Natalie was still in the meeting pod, replaying their chat.She thought she knew heartbreak in the backseat of Paul's car, but whatever that feeling was, it didn't come close to the searing ache in her heart.As she looked through the contents of the bag Levi had left her, she felt like someone had plunged a knife deep inside her chest and twisted her heart out.Each item in the bag had been carefully chosen— from the OTC medication to the Band-Aids and sweets and chocolates. Nobody had ever shown her the level of attention and care Levi had put into his version of a self-care bag.How could she have been so wrong about him?Could her run-in with Paul have twisted her sense of reality about all men?From the moment she met him, Levi had been nothing but kind to her. But she'd repaid his generosity with lies and arrogance, and self-pity.He never found her pitiful, not even once. Well, maybe not until she made herself pathetic in his eyes.She brea
Save Him 44|Open Wound
Forty minutes after leaving Natalie on the third floor, Angela knocked on Levi's office door, pushed it open and lingered on the threshold.He looked up, snapped his laptop shut and beckoned her closer."So?" he asked, an expectant look in his eyes as he leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers."She finally left the meeting room, sir," she reported, dispelling all the tension from his body with her announcement.Immensely relieved at his assistant's words, Levi picked up his now cold coffee and drained it in one go before throwing the empty cup in the bin under his desk.He was still so angry— no—he was beyond fuming with Natalie. But the last thing he wanted was to hurt her. So when Norah called him minutes after leaving the third floor, demanding to know why the star of her department was a mess in the meeting pod, Levi had made Angela check on her every ten minutes.Still worried he may have said too much and pushed Natalie too far, Levi asked his assistant, "has she stop
Save Him 45|Unholy Thoughts
The chat exploded for another day.No one knew what went down between the big boss and the girl from the office support area. After all, the blinds were closed for a large part of their meeting. So all they could do was speculate.And speculate they did.The longer Natalie remained mum, the more ridiculous the gossip and theories became.Someone suggested her brother had died, and Levi had come to the third floor to break the news to her.A few people didn't buy this, though, insisting that wasn't the case at all. It turned out Natalie had embezzled company funds to pay for her brother's treatment. Levi, being so kind-hearted, had given her the option to resign quietly.Natalie siphoning money from Chassis seemed to be the most plausible story, and it held steady for a few hours until someone claiming to be in the know came up with the juiciest explanation. Natalie and the big boss were in a secret relationship, and the fight in the meeting room was their first lovers' quarrel.Natali
Save Him 46|Welcome To The Taylors
Leaving Rock Union was a nightmare.Traffic lights were out for a few blocks, causing cars to move at a snail pace for over an hour. At some point, they came to a complete standstill, and with nothing else to do, Natalie cranked up the volume, Emily lowered the roof of her car, and they sang along and danced to the music, their arms in the air.A red Jeep pulled up beside them, and two guys around their age stuck out their heads through the passenger window and blew kisses at them.Natalie and Emily flirted right back, and just for those few minutes, they were like any normal kid their age, happy and carefree.Then a slow jam came on, something about misunderstandings and running away. Natalie melted in her seat and sighed, thinking about Levi.Was he still at the office, working hard?What did he actually do?Attend a bunch of meetings, then maybe play golf and go on dates?The thought of him going on dates with a woman who wasn't her upset Natalie deeply."Are you okay, kiddo?" Emil
Save Him 47|Hurricane Levi
Levi's reign of terror began when one of the devs from the R&D team picked up a bug during a beta run of the new game, causing a crash to desktop seconds into startup.The devs tried to sort it out themselves in the basement. But by the time the news of the bug hit the tenth floor, they were already swimming up shit creek with no solution in sight.An unexpected bug and an incompetent team of developers were the perfect outlets for Levi's rage, which had been brewing quietly since his confrontation with Natalie.He grabbed his laptop, raced to the basement and announced everyone would work through the night if they had to. Nobody was allowed to so much as scratch themselves until there was a fix in place.He took up residence in one of the meeting pods and joined the fray.Angela came in a couple of times to check on him, leaving behind a cup of coffee each time. By the time he looked up from his screen, there were six or so lined up on the table and two unopened sandwich packs.He ya
Save Him 48|Home
Natalie had barely turned her key in the lock when the front door burst open, and her siblings ran out, squealing their joy, "Nat, you're home!""I told you not to wait up for me!" she scolded them but still allowed them to smother her with hugs and kisses before they turned their attention to Emily.Both fell in love with her friend instantly, but for very different reasons.Amber liked Emily's weird sense of humour, and she couldn't stop gushing her gratitude—and relief— that Natalie had someone looking out for her back in the big bad city.Jamie had hearts in his eyes every time he looked at her friend, and Natalie was pretty sure it had very little to do with the collection of past game copies of Speed Freak—all signed by the lead developer—she'd brought him.After a few minutes of catching up, Amber ushered them to the back of the house, where a modest breakfast spread awaited them in the kitchen.Natalie and Emily were ravenous since the last meal they had was at the first bus st
Save Him 49|Like June
Sparrow Beach was so small it took tourists a little over an hour to cover it in its entirety, and that's how long it took Natalie to show Emily around."So why is it called Sparrow Beach? I haven't seen a single sparrow since I've been here?" Emily asked as they paused in the town square, and she snapped photos of the statues of the founding fathers.Natalie shrugged. She'd spent twenty-four years of her life here but couldn't remember seeing sparrows either. There were lots of gulls, though. "I suppose it sounded better than Gull Beach?"The sun beat down on them hard as they walked around the square, sipping their lemonade. Natalie fanned herself with her hand to drive away the unyielding heat. The humid weather all year round was probably the only thing she didn't miss about this place.She took her friend to Long Street next, the longest road in town and the only way to get in or out. It was also home to the grocery store, pharmacy, butchery, barbershop, pub, coffee shop, bakery
Save Him 50|Gave Up Gracefully
Natalie stopped at the pharmacy to fill out her script before she joined Emily at Joe's. She found her playing pool with Casey, surprised they were getting along like old friends."Looks like you guys have met," she said as she placed their drinks at a nearby table.Casey lost interest in the game as soon as he saw her. He rushed to her side and caressed her cheek. "Natalie Taylor, how I've missed you.""Casey Landon, it's always good to see you!" Natalie touched his hand gently and smiled.A light flashed in their direction, and they turned to see Emily taking photos."God, Em. I'm starting to feel like I'm at the zoo here. How many pictures have you taken so far?""Not nearly enough! Now cuddle closer!" she instructed them, and Casey was only too happy to do her bidding and pose for a couple more photos.Natalie pulled away from Casey when her phone chimed incessantly with notifications, immediately wishing the world would open and swallow her up when she looked through the messages
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