Monday morning came too quickly for the couple. They had lived the weekend basically in their own bubble, and now it was time to get back to the real world. They took a shower together when they got up and began getting ready for work. Hayden wore a dark blue suit and a white shirt. Natalia wore a dark grey skirt suit with a pink shirt. Hayden made breakfast sandwiches while Natalia made the coffee. Neither had checked their phones, not wanting anything to interrupt their morning. They were sharing a car to their offices, and as they sat in the backseat, they took out their phones. They both had multiple missed calls, texts, and emails. Natalia groaned when she saw a text from Patrice telling her congratulations on her relationship with Hayden. She shared pictures that had shown up online of them kissing at the restaurant last night. The headline read Did Hayden Sumner thaw the ice queen? She showed it to Hayden, and he laughed. "If only they knew how hot my queen gets." Natal
Hayden walked Natalia to the elevator and gave her a long kiss before letting her go. He wanted to make sure that there was no doubt in the minds of others that she was his. After the doors shut, he walked back to the waiting car and went to his office. Natalia's face was flaming red as she felt the stares of those on the elevator. She loved that Hayden was letting the world know they were in love, but she didn't like being in the news due to her personal life. When she finally got to her floor, she walked off the elevator, and her entire staff was waiting for her with smiles. Everyone started clapping and cheering when she walked in, which embarrassed her even more. "I'm sure you have seen the news. Yes, Hayden Sumner and I are seeing each other. Also, we are going to become business partners. When we come across a company wanting to liquidate, we'll refer them to Sumner Enterprises. When they have a company that wants to be saved, they will refer them to us. We should be getti
Natalia looked at Cliff's post in disbelief. He tried to rape her, and now he's trying to make it look like she was sleeping with him to help her business. She couldn't hold back her laughter when she saw this nonsense. Patrice looked at her in concern. "Why are you laughing?" She asked quietly, thinking maybe Nat had lost it. "It's nothing more than a desperate attempt to get back at Hayden and me for making a fool of him. When he tried to rape me, I kneed him in the groin, as I told you. However, after I left, Hayden went back inside and broke his nose before punching him in the stomach. Report it as fake and put our own counter post stating that Natalia Crawford has never had a relationship with Clifford Judd. Put something about this being a pitiful attempt by a man who tried to force himself on a woman who declined his advances. You're good at wording this stuff correctly, so I'll let you handle it. Let me know if there's anything else." Natalia looked at her compu
Hayden and Natalia were on their way to the apartment when he received a text message. He groaned when he read it, and Natalia looked at him in question. "What's wrong?" She asked. "My mom wants me to go to their house for dinner. She won't let up even though I told her I'm busy." He had no desire to see them and listen to them complain about his relationship. Natalia got a mischievous grin on her face. "Don't disappoint your parents. Do you think they would mind one more for dinner? How about I go with you?" Hayden laughed before leaning down to kiss her. "Great idea. I'll text her back and tell her I'll be there. We'll let it be a surprise that I won't be alone." He quickly sent his text as the car came to a stop. When they got upstairs, they took a quick shower and dressed for dinner. Hayden wanted to go early so they could get back home. He wore a pair of black pants with a white button-up shirt. Natalia was in a dark blue dress that came to her knees. "
Two weeks had passed since Natalia and Hayden had begun their relationship. Hayden and Will were now working out of NC. Natalia had given Hayden an office, and they set up a desk for Will near him. It was working well for them even though they had agreed it would be temporary; Hayden wanted it to be permanent. He liked the atmosphere at NC. Natalia had the respect of her employees, and he could tell they all had her back. That says a lot about a CEO. Being an outsider looking in, it felt more like a family than a boss and employees. When he stopped by his office at Sumner Enterprise to collect some of his items for his office at NC, it felt very stifling to him. He noticed Will also picked up on the differences and seemed more relaxed in their current location. While looking over a contract in his office, he saw a courier with a large manila envelope at the front desk. He didn't think anything about it and went back to work. However, a few minutes later, Natalia came in
Three days later, Hayden and Natalia were packing his belongings in his apartment to move into hers. They had already signed the updated lease that added him as a co-tenant. While placing his knick-knacks in boxes, Natalia found pictures of him when he was a child. She smiled, looking at them and her mind went to the future, wondering if they had children would their son look like a young Hayden? "What are you smiling at?" He came up behind her, looking over her shoulder. Hayden saw a picture of himself playing baseball when he was about eight years old. "I found these old pictures of you. You were a cute child." Natalia wondered where he stood on having kids one day. "I was at a baseball camp in that picture. Those were some of the best days of my life. Anything that got me out of my parent's house was a good time. Do you like kids?" Hayden thought about Natalia walking around with his baby in her belly, and it excited him more than he wanted to admit. He would like
Hayden and Will were almost to NC when they noticed ambulances and police cars everywhere. Hayden tried to see what had happened, but there were too many people. He heard someone say somebody fell into traffic and got hit by a car. As he continued toward the office, he heard something that made his blood run cold. "It was that woman Natalia, something. You know, the one they call the ice queen." Hayden spun around and pushed people out of his way to get near the curb. He froze when he saw Natalia lying unconscious on the street. Paramedics were putting her onto a stretcher. "Natalia? No, please." He yelled as he rushed forward, only to be stopped by a policeman. "Sir, you need to step back." The officer said. "That's my girlfriend, Natalia Crawford. I'm the only family she has. Let me go with her." The officer saw the desperation and tears on the man's face, so he waved him through. "Please tell me she's okay." He cried as the paramedics lifted her into the ambula
Hayden had been sitting next to Natalia for over two hours. Doctors and nurses came and went, but he didn't move. He was not leaving her, no matter what. As he sat there looking at her damaged body, the rage in him was building. He turned when he heard a knock on the door, expecting it to be medical personnel, but it was a detective who he was familiar with. Detective Dennis Barber had been with the NYPD for twelve years. He was known for being thorough on cases when others thought there was no foul play. When Dr. Garnier had called and said her findings were inconclusive on if Natalia Crawford had been pushed or not, it had piqued his interest. Then she added that Hayden Sumner was her boyfriend and stated he may know of people who wanted to harm the young woman. Dennis knew he had to take this case. He had worked with Hayden before and knew he was one of the few good billionaires in the city. "Good evening Hayden. I've been assigned Natalia's case and wanted to talk to you for