by Lee, Nadia
“FedEx.”
Her shoulders slumped at the chirpy voice. She opened the door and saw a delivery woman in a uniform.
“Natalie Hall?”
“Yes.”
Matto trotted out, stood between her feet and hissed at the woman. She glanced down and dismissed the cat. “Can you sign for this?”
Natalie scribbled her name on the delivery form and took the box. The address label didn’t indicate the sender, and she didn’t remember buying anything online recently. “Who sent it?”
“If it’s not on the label, I don’t know,” she said with an apologetic smile. “Thank you. Have a nice evening!”
Before Natalie could ask any more questions, the woman disappeared. Natalie sighed and shut the door.
Back in her living room, she shook the box. Something moved, but nothing rattled. Hmmm. She went to the kitchen, heated some water for tea, and grabbed a knife to cut the double layers of tape around the package…then encountered more tape and wrapping.
Just what was inside? A national secret?
The kettle started to whistle, and she poured the hot water into a small teapot. Dried tea leaves began to plump out, a few floating up to the surface. After placing a lid on the pot, she ripped the rest of the packing open. Inside was a beautifully wrapped oblong box. An elegant, dark navy ribbon with gold trim made a festive bow around it. She examined it from various angles, then went carefully through the wrapping paper. No card.
And the brown carton contained nothing inside except bubble wrap. Strange.
She unwrapped it and saw a dark navy velvet box. In the center, a gold emblem gleamed under the kitchen light.
Her hands stilled. It was a jeweler in Hong Kong. She’d seen the logo during her tenure at Goldreich. Her heartbeat accelerated.
She opened it and frowned at a row of exquisite rubies glittering like fat drops of blood. She picked up the choker. It felt icy against her hand. Finally, she found a small, heavy stock card engraved with an elaborate copperplate script:
To Natalie
From Alex
She stared at it for a moment, unbelieving. Then, taking a deep breath, she put the choker back in the box and snapped it shut.
Her hands shook so much she spilled tea on the counter as she poured it into her cup. She gripped the teapot, oblivious to its heat. How could he think that a string of rocks would make everything all right? And that card! Couldn’t he have said something little more personal than “To Natalie”? Obviously, he couldn’t even bother to write it himself. Who’d selected the choker and sent it? Natalie wondered if he’d even seen the gems.
Alex was just like her family, keeping her at arm’s length and sending her money and gifts to avoid having to deal with her. Brian was the only one who had ever occasionally spared an hour or two for her, but even he was usually too busy.
Her sense of betrayal and disappointment was so strong it was almost hallucinogenic. It was as though a strong wind had suddenly blown her off a high balcony, the support under her feet sliding away and disappearing in an instant.
Still, in the midst of her outrage, there was a small voice in the back of her mind asking why Alex’s cavalier treatment hurt so much more than it should.
Chapter Twelve
“Oh, he didn’t!” Kerri said.
“He did,” Natalie said and leaned back in her office chair.
“At least they were expensive rubies.”
“I guess. But it’s not about that.” Was their weekend quantifiable, able to be reduced to a string of sparkly rocks? Expensive rubies, indeed. To someone like Alex, the price wouldn’t mean anything.
“Get a new boyfriend. He isn’t the only one around who can give you multiple Os.”
Natalie snorted.
“Seriously. I wasn’t joking last time when I asked you to join me here. Who needs men when you can have a career?”
“I have a career.”
“Sleeping with the boss? Working for a boring government contractor?”
“Hey, not everyone’s born to be an investment banker.”
Kerri made a rude noise, which was somehow more eloquent than speech. “If you don’t want to be in Hong Kong, fine. Go to New York City. Ignore the tax benefits.”
“Yeah, yeah. You just want to boss me around at work.” Natalie swiveled in her chair. “Unlike you, I actually need to sleep, so banking is out.”
“Uh-huh. Hold on.” Kerri said something to someone in her office then came back on the phone. “So what are you going to do about this…Alex?”
Natalie tapped her desk. “I don’t know. But I don’t want him to think I’m running away.”
“Natalie, you’re always worried about proving something to the people around you. There’s nothing to prove. They either accept you the way you are, or they don’t. Either way, it’s got nothing to do with you. Hold on.” There was another pause with muffled conversation in the background. “I gotta go. You’d think the second-year analysts would know what I want them to do without my having to spell it out. I’ll catch you later.”
The cubicles were deserted when Natalie finally emerged from her small office. She didn’t blame her coworkers. It was already a little after six on a Friday, and even the janitorial staff was gone. One of them had come into her office about half an hour earlier. He’d given her a look, then shaken his head while dumping all the papers from her trash bin into a milky plastic shredder bag. She bet even that old man thought she was insane to stick around when everyone else was enjoying their weekend.
As she walked through the mostly empty parking lot, Natalie rummaged around in her purse. She found her keys, pressed the unlock button. There was the usual electronic chirp, and ahead of her the Audi’s headlights flashed.
“Natalie.”
She turned and saw Belle approaching. She had on a small black dress and a pair of stilettos, but the nervous way she moved reminded Natalie of a Chihuahua. It always had.
“Aren’t you a little overdressed for a parking lot?”
Belle walked right up to her. “I told you to leave Dad alone.”
Oh, for pity’s sake. “Belle. I haven’t seen Brian since the party.”
“I didn’t say you saw him. Stop siccing your nasty boyfriend on him.”
“I really do not know what you’re talking about. If you’re going to accuse me of something, why don’t you do it in writing so we can minimize our contact time? We always fight whenever we’re together.”
“You condescending bitch.”
Whatever bee had gotten under her bonnet must be killing her. Her face was so red Natalie wondered if her sister was going to keel over from a heart attack.
“Don’t you care about anyone but yourself? After what Mom and Dad did for you, this is how you repay them?”
“Belle, either tell me what this is about or get out of my face. I want to start my weekend.”
She glared at Natalie. “I’m warning you. You’ve done enough. Don’t hurt Dad.”
“You mean like the family’s hurt me?”
Suddenly, tears welled in Belle’s eyes, and Natalie blinked. Belle hadn’t cried since they were kids.
“You had everything. You still do.” Belle sniffled. “Fancy European boarding schools. Top graduate in your class. Dad was so proud of you, he gave you everything you asked for. You even got to go to Hong Kong and do whatever you wanted to do. And look at me.” Natalie looked. Belle’s eyes were red, the color stark against her black eyeliner. “I have nothing. I wasn’t good at sports. I wasn’t the smartest kid. God, I’m a stereotype. The dumb blonde of the family.”
Belle looked so small and lost, all the fight went out of Natalie. “Belle… Come on. Louise loves you so much more. That’s why she couldn’t bear to send you anywhere too far from home.”
Tears started to fall from Belle’s eyes, and she wiped them away furiously, smudging her makeup. “Yeah, right.”
“It’s true. Did you know that Louise had problems conceiving? S
he blames Brian for adopting me instead of waiting for her to give him a child of her own. As far as she’s concerned, I represent her failure, while you’re her vindication and revenge.”
Belle stared at Natalie, then gave a short, harsh laugh. “Oh please. You don’t really expect me to believe that, do you?”
“What do you want me to say? It’s the truth. I know I’m not really a Hall, and Louise only tolerates me out of duty.” Natalie shrugged. “Look, I want to go home. You should get going too. I’m sure you have a lot of work to do for Brian’s campaign.”
“Natalie—”
She shook her head. She didn’t want to talk about the loneliness and guilty resentment she’d harbored against her family. How could Belle think her parents loved her less? She was the flesh of their flesh. A real Hall.
Belle hesitated, then turned away. Natalie waited until the golden Mercedes was gone before leaning against her Audi. Her chest rose and fell in a long, shuddering sigh. Something would set Belle off every now and then, but hopefully this would last her for the year. Maybe for the decade.
She was still standing there when a Lamborghini drove up and screeched to a stop next to her. The door opened, and Alex climbed out.
She crossed her arms. This simply was not fair.
“What are you still doing here?” he said, his expression unreadable in the fading light.
Didn’t expect to see me? “I had a lot of work to do,” she said casually. “Ethan is a slave driver. You just get back from Hong Kong?”
“About an hour ago.”
And he’d come to the office first. He hadn’t called her from the airport. Not that she wanted him to call her. God, he looked good in his slightly rumpled charcoal gray suit.
“How was your trip?” she asked, her voice steady.
“Typical. Nothing special.” He reached inside his car and took out a wrapped package. “I thought of you when I saw this. I was thinking I could give it to you later, at your place, but…”
“Another present? For me?” She took it from his hand, put it over her heart and fluttered her eyelashes. “How thoughtful.”
He frowned slightly. “What’s wrong?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” she said, opening her car door.
“No, I—”
She threw the present at him, slammed the door shut and drove off, leaving him behind.
Oh, the nerve of the man! As if he’d done nothing wrong. He’d known he was going away for weeks but never said a word. Why not? If she’d learned about his plans, maybe it would’ve been harder for him to seduce her.
She might have been able to forgive him for going to Hong Kong. After all, he had responsibilities to his company and shareholders. But that stupid choker. And that stupid message.
I thought of you when I saw this.
Yeah, right. Had he expected her to throw herself at him for bringing another present? If so, he wasn’t as intelligent or perceptive as she’d thought.
It didn’t take much time to reach her condo, mainly because she sped most of the way home. She parked and started gathering her things. The Lamborghini pulled into the empty spot next to hers, its headlights dying immediately.
Alex got out of his car, the package in his hand. “Don’t you drive off like that when I’m talking to you. And don’t you dare throw my present back at me!”
“If you’ll wait a minute, I’ve got another present to throw at you!” She spun and marched to her condo.
* * *
Alex was so furious, he couldn’t think straight. He’d worked like a demon to wrap everything up in Hong Kong so he could see her again, and this was the welcome?
Throw his ruby choker back at him… Ha! The damned thing cost a fortune, probably more than she made in a year.
The gift you couldn’t bother to buy for her yourself.
He stomped on the bit of guilty conscience. He’d brought her another gift, hadn’t he?
She unlocked the door and went inside. He followed her in, his big hand flat against the door when she tried to shut it on him.
“You are not invited,” she said coldly.
He ignored her and threw the robe on the couch, the package spinning like a crimson and gold pinwheel.
“Pick that up,” she said. “And before you go, take this.”
She stalked to the shelf where Matto was sitting on a velvety box. She pulled it out from under her cat, who hissed in outrage, and tossed it at Alex.
He caught it by reflex.
“Next time you decide to try to make things right, give it a little more thought. And don’t look so shocked. I know what you’re doing. My family’s been doing it for decades, and throwing money at me isn’t going to win you any points.”
“I’m not your family, and I’m not throwing money at you!”
“Then what do you call that?” She gestured at the box. “One afternoon of sex and suddenly I’m worth tens of thousands of dollars in jewelry?”
Put that way, it did sound bad. But no woman before Natalie had ever complained about his lavish gifts. The fact that she had to be the exception made him angry. And absurdly pleased.
“If I’d considered you a whore”—she stiffened, but he didn’t care what he said at this point—“it’d have been a lot cheaper and easier for me to deal with you. I’ve gotten less than twenty hours of sleep in the past five days so I could come see you, and this is how you greet me? Accusing me of throwing money at you? If I wanted to throw money at you, I’d do this!” He grabbed his wallet and took out a fistful of bills, then hurled them at her. They separated in the air and barely made a noise as they hit her face.
Her eyes widened, then narrowed to a hard glint. “Of all the—”
“And I don’t want to hear about how you thought I should’ve called before I left. I didn’t have your cell phone number, and you made it clear you wanted me to leave you alone!”
“But not leave the continent!”
“Does it matter? I left you a message.”
“And you didn’t call or email me afterward!”
“The only time I could have called would have been three in the morning here.” He raked his hair with his hands. “Did you want me to email you? Isn’t that a bit too impersonal? And using the company network? Anyone in IT could have read it. And why couldn’t you call? You have my private number.”
Her expression hardened. “Well, for your information, the timing’s wrong, and I’m quite sure everything will be fine. So don’t worry about getting stuck with a kid you don’t want.”
Damn, she was dense! Alex let out a breath, trying to regain his equilibrium, and glared at the jewelry box, his hand tightening on it. It was either that or throttle her. This whole situation was a mess. He hadn’t necessarily been expecting a welcome with open arms, but he thought he deserved something more than getting his presents thrown back at him. And being compared to her abominable family.
Natalie’s cat had gone over to the couch and was sniffing the package. He began scratching at the wrapping paper.
“Matto, no!”
She snatched it away from him, but the paper got caught under his claws and ripped open. The silk robe spilled onto the floor. She picked it up before Matto could reach it, and the robe unfurled, the gold fènhuáng vivid against the crimson.
Natalie’s eyes traveled over the embroidery, her lips making small, soundless movements. “Where did you find this?” she whispered finally.
What was this, some kind of trick question? “In Hong Kong,” he said warily.
“It’s…beautiful.”
“I just thought you’d look good in it.”
She blinked rapidly, and Alex frowned. Was she going to cry?
Things were not working out as he’d planned. He felt like he was playing a game of chess where every other move, the pieces changed positions at random.
She launched herself at him, knocking the breath out of him. His arms closed around her automatically.
“That was all I w
anted,” she said, her voice muffled against his shirt. “I wanted you to give me time, not money.”
Having Natalie wrapped around him like this seemed right somehow, like a homecoming… The confusion was still there, but a bit of happiness seeped in and started replacing the anger. He dipped his head and breathed through the fragrance of her hair. “I wanted to give you both,” he murmured. “The fènhuáng just took longer to find.”
Her arms tightened around him, and he wanted to strangle her parents. They must have done a real number on Natalie if she equated extravagant gifts with attempts to buy her off.
A chill crept up his spine. He didn’t want to depend on her for his happiness. He didn’t want anyone to hold that much power over him.
Despite it all, running his hands down her sides, he couldn’t stop himself from saying, “I missed you.”
* * *
He rubbed her lower back, his strong hands stroking her gently, and Natalie sighed with contentment. The clean scent of his cologne and maleness teased her senses, and she trembled slightly.
He kissed her forehead, then her nose. His mouth found hers and shaped itself around her smaller, softer lips. She wanted him right now, but at the same time, she wanted to take it slow, just the two of them and their sweet need.
Their clothes fell in a haphazard trail as they moved to her bedroom. She didn’t know when or how he did it, but her panties were gone, and his clever tongue and fingers were pushing her higher until she was ready to go over the edge. Her skin seemed to stretch tighter over her body and burn as they fell onto the bed. She cried out when he thrust inside, and it didn’t take much for them to cling to each other and lose themselves in the violent maelstrom of ecstasy.
They lay on the bed, panting. She jumped when something cold touched her bare skin. It was the choker.
“Even if you’re mad at me for buying this for you, I think you should keep it,” he said. “It suits you.” He considered for a moment. “Plus, the jeweler won’t take it back. And I can’t possibly wear it.”
Natalie laughed. He put the jewelry around her neck. She kissed him.
“You know…I never had a woman jump my bones over a robe and kick my butt over a bunch of expensive gems.” A faint smile curved his lips. “You are truly one of a kind.”