Page 31 of Vengeful in Love
“Hong Kong?” Natalie had a moment of disorientation. Hadn’t Kerri been talking about Hong Kong just last night?
“Uh-huh. He left early this morning.”
Don’t freak out. At least not in front of Ethan.
“Do you know when he’s coming back?” Natalie was pleased at how casual and even she sounded.
Ethan shrugged. “He said he’d get back when he could.”
“I see.” Actually, she didn’t. She didn’t know what to think. She’d asked him to leave her alone for a while, not disappear off the continent!
Had he known about this trip before he came to her condo yesterday? “I hope it’s not an emergency.”
“Oh no. It’s been on his calendar for weeks.” Ethan handed her one of the folders. “By the way, I want you to work on the new National Security Agency bid,” he said. “I’ll need the final figures by Wednesday morning.”
Alex knew. And he’d never mentioned he was leaving the country.
“…Natalie?”
“Uh…yeah. Got it.” She took the folder from him. “By Wednesday.”
Several coworkers craned their necks as she returned to her desk. It was the same look they’d given her last week when she’d been called into Alex’s office for the first time. Their nosiness irritated her, but she ignored it. It wasn’t the first time she’d been at the center of speculation. Part and parcel of being an influential politician’s daughter, albeit an adopted one.
She shut her office door and checked her email. Nothing from Alex, although she had fifty-six new messages, bringing the unread total up to one hundred and nine. She drummed her fingers on her desk.
Next, she checked her voicemails. There was a new message. Her heart thudded at Alex’s familiar voice.
“Natalie, it’s me. It’s about seven. I should’ve gotten your number, but I forgot and…damn. I need to go to Hong Kong.”
And to think Kerri had suggested she move to Hong Kong to get away from him.
Alex continued. “From what I can tell, the whole thing’s going to take about a week or so. Maybe longer. We need to talk. Call or email me with your cell number, okay?
“And Natalie, let me know if there’s any…ah…well, you know. If there’s anything you want to tell me.”
The voicemail prompt asked her to either save or delete. She put the receiver back in its cradle with the utmost care, not giving in to the temptation to slam it down.
Great. Now that he’d had his fun, he was running off to Asia. For a week for so, maybe longer.
Given her history with men, she’d bet on longer.
And he seemed most worried about a possible pregnancy. Was he afraid she would demand child support?
Her rational side kicked in. Instead of getting angry, she should be grateful he had left before she could become too attached to him. Alex had been honest about what he wanted. He’d never promised her anything except hot sex, and she’d certainly gotten that. Imagine if he’d stuck around and their relationship—did one day of mind-blowing lovemaking qualify as a relationship?—had dragged on for months…even years.
Maybe Louise was right after all: Blood will out.
Natalie’s relationship with Jack at Goldreich had been a total mess. Thank God she’d been able to get out gracefully. Leaving Hong Kong to get an MBA would’ve sounded like the lamest of excuses if it weren’t for the fact that she’d been accepted to Wharton, and she would’ve died before asking Brian to pull strings for her. While her next involvement with Marcus had been less than perfect, at least she’d been smart enough to keep her work and personal lives separate. Now she felt like she’d regressed. She’d mixed business with pleasure again, and the result could get really sticky. Far worse than dating an associate at Goldreich.
Natalie sighed. Alex should’ve told her he was going to Hong Kong face-to-face. Okay, so she’d made it clear that she wanted to be alone, but it wasn’t every day when a man she’d just become intimate with had prior plans to fly halfway around the planet. Even Marcus had stuck around for three years. She didn’t want to admit it, but since Brian’s party she’d been beginning to like Alex. There was something very sweet about him coming to her rescue… No one had done that before. Certainly Marcus never had. He was too caught up in his own political ambitions and fled at the barest hint of scandal.
Everything that had happened between her and Alex had probably just been a ruse to sleep with her. What a fool she’d been!
Determined to forget him, Natalie opened the folder from Ethan and looked at the figures. They didn’t seem all that complicated. Maybe Danielle could work on them instead. She was smart and would be an asset to the company with proper on-the-job training. A few more opportunities and projects would be just the thing to bring her along.
She went to Danielle’s cubicle with the NSA bid folder. It was right across from her office. Ethan was there, leaning over the partition. Danielle was blushing at something he’d said and turned to Natalie with a slightly guilty look.
“Hi, Natalie. What can I do for you?” Danielle adjusted her glasses and rested her hands on her laptop keyboard.
