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

Smart Natalie screamed at her to abort the mission. The proposal was a very bad idea, and she shouldn't have taken Emily's suggestion about writing what she knew literally.But since she was leaving in three weeks, this was probably the only chance she'd ever get to be alone with Levi in a room, and she desperately wanted to clear up whatever misconceptions he had of her about Paul and their first meeting at The Empress.She knew he'd never want her, let alone love her back, but she wanted him to understand she didn't intentionally put herself in harm's way, and she didn't ask to be beaten up.If after this he still hated her, she was okay with that. But at least she'd tried to reach him.So she shut down her inner critic and paused in front of the window."Noelle has many sides to her, and they all actively influence her day and a large part of her choices. Depending on her choices, different meters will be affected," Natalie clicked through her meters slide.She'd listed three so fa

Halfway through their trip, they topped up on petrol at a desolate fuel station and stopped for an early supper at a sleepy diner an hour away from Smiths Town.Their food was delivered by a bubbly waitress five minutes after placing their order.Martie chatted non stop while they ate. Her coffee tasted far better than the burger and fries special she'd practically bullied them into buying.She asked all sorts of things, happy to have guests from out of town. But her beady eyes narrowed with scepticism, and the smile she'd worn all along quickly vanished when she learned they were in the business of making games."Is that even a job?" she sneered as she shook her head. In her neck of the woods, men had to be out in the sweltering heat building roads and stuff with their hands or in the cold, shovelling snow and chopping wood.With their nice cushy jobs and fancy air-conditioned offices, Levi and Mark were not real men as far as Martie was concerned. She stormed off and poured all her

"Are you kidding me?" Natalie rolled her eyes in exasperation when she drew the curtains, and bright sunlight flooded her room. The dark, heavy clouds that had blanketed the city over the past few days had disappeared overnight. The day was bright, the sky clear. This wasn't how her day was supposed to start.'On the bright side, you'll have a new partner for the three-legged race,' Hopeful Natalie was wide awake, ready to cheer her on as she turned to her closet.There was no way Levi would have kept her as his partner. Not after her disastrous presentation and their unpleasant phone call last night. She was pretty sure he swapped her with someone else as soon as he saw the roster.She spent a long time looking through her clothes, trying to find the right outfit. She had lots of cute dresses, perfect for picnic dates with her imaginary, hot boyfriend. None would work for the mud wading and wall climbing the Internal Comms team had in store for everyone. So she settled on short denim

"If you don't stop making those sounds—" Levi murmured as he pulled her even closer. "I won't be held responsible for what I'll do next.""No!" Natalie suddenly cried as she pushed away from him. "We can't.""We can't what?" Levi asked, a puzzled look in his eyes."This!" she said, waving her hands at the two of them."What's wrong with this?" he asked again, trying to reach for her, but she darted away and held herself away from him, firmly putting her walls back in place."Look, Natalie, we have to talk, and you have to tell me what's wrong.""Why would anything be wrong?" Natalie smiled even though there was a lot wrong, starting with how he broke her heart in his office and how she'd bled for him for thirty days and sent him text messages like a crazy person.She got angry all over again when she remembered how he'd ignored every one of her messages, and now he was smiling at her, like nothing ever happened, like he didn't leave her wounded and almost out of her mind with sorrow.S