Natalie snuck out of bed really early on Monday morning, and by the time the sun peaked on the horizon and Green Point stirred to life, she was already in an Uber, halfway across town and on her way to work.Levi called just as she swiped her access card and entered the building."Where are you?" he asked as soon as she answered his call, his confusion dripping through his voice."At Chassis.""How did you get there? And when?""I took an Uber, and I've just arrived," she replied."Why didn't you wait for me? You knew I'm coming in today."Yes, she knew he was returning to work today; he'd told her last night when he came to bed. But she had too many reasons for sneaking out on him, and it would take her the whole day to go through them all, so she settled for the easy one. "I have a tight deadline. Finance is expecting their month-end report by midday.""I see," Levi said. But his tone told her he didn't see at all. "We'll talk about this when I see you."Before Natalie could tell hi
"I'm glad you're on the case," Mark said as he led her back downstairs."Why?""Fresh set of eyes. You'll bring new thinking and a different perspective. Levi and I have been doing this for so long we're kind of in a rut now. You might pick up something we've missed.""You might want to follow up on a party Colleen attended last August," Natalie said and filled him in on her discovery. "I think you guys have been trying to find out what happened to her after October 28th. But maybe you should retrace her movements before that day. Something happened before October 28th, and I'm guessing her disappearance is linked to that party in Glen Eagles.""Did you tell Levi about this?"Natalie nodded. "He wasn't too happy with me. Sometimes I don't think he wants me to help.""He's worried for your safety," Mark said as he grabbed her purse and ushered her out of the door. "It might seem like he's paranoid and unreasonable at times, but Levi has his reasons for not wanting to involve too many p
While Natalie waited for Emily to bring the car around after their 5:00 PM shift, she checked her emails and was super relieved to see that Amber had finally sent the quote for the transplant.Like she'd expected, the estimate had way too many zeros she would never have been able to afford on her own, and she felt awful for saddling Levi with such a hefty bill. Yes, he wanted her client list, but she still felt it wasn't a fair trade, considering all the money he had to shell out just to meet her terms of the contract.Sighing, she forwarded him the cost estimate, and within seconds her phone pinged with a text back from him.'Should I transfer it to Jamie's fund or your bank account?'Natalie read and reread the text a couple of times, trying to make sense of his question.R400K was a ton of money.Was he just going to pay it all right now?In one go?She bit her bottom lip and tried to decide which would be easier to manage, her own account or the fund?Her decision would have to wa
Natalie was about to text Levi to let him know she'd arrived safely at The Castle when the double doors yawned open, and Samuel came out. He beckoned her inside, and she reluctantly left her seat, dread crawling up her tummy all the way to her throat.As soon as she walked into the spacious office, the head of security left them alone, closing the door behind them.The man, in all his imposing presence, sat behind a mahogany desk. When he looked up, it was like being transported thirty or forty years into the future and seeing an older Levi.He had the same smoky eyes, thick eyebrows, wavy black hair smattered with hints of grey and chiselled features that God had certainly taken his time to carve because his face was a perfect example of the golden ratio.Unlike his son, though, there was a coldness in his eyes and meanness in the way his lips curved into a sneer as he threw her an icy glance, his gaze slowly gliding up and down her dark department store pantsuit."Ms Taylor." He nod
Levi was already halfway across town to the Civic Theatre in Forrest Creek for the press conference when he received a text from Natalie informing him of her meeting with his father.He knew whatever his old man had planned wasn't anything good. But as much as his gut told him to cancel the press conference and head straight to Rock Castle to sort this shit out, he couldn't. A herd of press agents was already waiting for him, and he had major damage control to do.And that's what he did.For forty-five minutes, he answered all kinds of inane questions about Speed Freak, confirmed Chassis' plans to branch into mobile gaming and sold a game that didn't exist yet.Liam had spared him two hours from his diary, and he was just as fantastic. Levi would not have expected anything less from his friend, though. After all, they'd attended the same master classes and learned the art of working a room from the time they were eighteen.By the time they wrapped up the briefing, sometime after 7:30 P
All the things that had bothered them, things they'd glossed over and danced around and hoped their passion and desire for the other would cover up, spilt forth.Natalie admitted that aside from her chat with his father, she found his wealth frightening. It made her uncomfortable. She couldn't, wouldn't adjust to his life. She didn't belong in his world, and it was becoming more apparent every day. Her meeting with Leviticus had made their differences all the more obvious."Who closes an entire store for one person?" she asked, bringing up their shopping spree on Saturday. "What about other people? How do you inconvenience other people like that?""I'm sorry, I wanted my girlfriend to have total privacy.""At the expense of other people?""For your safety and privacy, Natalie, I'll always put your needs first!""I'm sorry, but I can't live like that.""Bullshit! We were fine this morning. We were happy the whole weekend. What did my father say to you to make you believe we'll never wor
Levi was all kinds of mad after he left Natalie's place in Beacon Hill sometime after 6:00 AM.Calming down before he confronted his father was the sensible thing to do. But then again, he was never sensible when it came to Leviticus.So he instructed Zachary and Carlos to take him wherever his father was supposed to be that day.Both men thought it was a terrible idea. He should head home first, get some sleep and calm down. But, Levi nicely reminded them he didn't take orders from them.After sitting in traffic for over two hours, they finally parked in the staff parking area at The Castle, and Levi headed inside.As he moved through the lobby and a few familiar faces stopped him to make small talk, Levi didn't even know where he mustered the energy to entertain them when all he wanted to do was to rip everyone's heads off.At last, they all let him be, and he headed straight for the private elevator, where he collided with Bailey Holloway as she was leaving."Levi, what a wonderful
Levi had been at work for over an hour now since Zachary and Carlos dropped him off, but hard as he tried to settle down and focus, he couldn't. To say he was restless from all his pent up rage was an understatement. So to keep himself from going on a rampage and doing something he'd regret, he decided to stay put in his office.He drifted off to the window and gazed at the buildings across. One of them housed a dying, daily newspaper. The other was once a thriving hotel but had now been reduced to cheap accommodation for college students. It had a nice rooftop garden, though— the hotel college—and that was what Levi was staring at now, at the group of boys of around eighteen or so, weed out their vegetable garden when a soft knock on his door pulled him away from the window.Without waiting for an invitation, Angela came in. The sour expression on her face matched the dark pantsuit she wore. She set a macchiato from Rise, his change of clothing and Natalie's backpack on the coffee ta