Finally! (now published, so sample only)

Chapter 6 - Life choices made.

Adelaide

"Oh my God Nate, slow down." I wanted to scream out the words but instead they puffed out in an embarrassing way.

"Honestly Kitty, I'm not even going that fast." Nate answered me in a completely normal voice that only made me grouchier.

"I hate running so much," I huffed as I tried to catch my breath.

"Well, I've been thinking," he said as he scratched at his chin.

"Uh oh, no way! You always talk me into something bad with that face." I shook my head and stepped away from him. I wiped the sweat from my face and grimaced. I would need a third shower today!

"This isn't bad. I just want to do you a deal." His voice was silky smooth and delicious but that only made me extra suspicious.

"What kind of deal?" I asked sounding pained.

"I'll let you give up this week of running," I interrupted him with an unsubtle cheer, before stopping and noticing the rather cheeky gleam in his eye.

"For what?" I needed to know what horrible thing he had thought up instead.

"If you come with me to work tomorrow and help me choose a new P.A."

"That sounds much too easy." I narrowed my eyes at him but he sent me a pleading look.

"That's all you have to do, I swear." He spoke solemnly, and I let out a rusty sounding laugh.

"I would have done that anyway if you asked me, Nate. Now I get out of a week of running." I clapped my hands together gleefully and Nate appeared completely dumbfounded.

"But you've never come to my work," he said finally and I shrugged.

"I know, what's your point?" I asked and I knew that I would have to explain my actions. "I thought it would be hard for you. You're a different person around me, and I thought maybe you wouldn't want your workers to see that." My explanation sounded stupid but it seemed to give him some serious thinking.

"You're always right on the money with the way you see me," He shook his head ruefully. "I'm known as Mr Ryan or Nathaniel to the people I work with. I'm sure most of them only see what they want to see," he mused.

"That's human nature, Nate." I frowned, reminded of the day I had just endured.

"Don't frown, Kitty." He swiped a finger against my sweaty forehead.

"You made me forget my day from hell." I pulled him into a hug, not caring that my sweaty nastiness could be covering him.

"And you wonder why I had an affair!" Stanford's snarling voice intruded into our personal space, and I could only wonder if he was following us.

"How fucking dare you!" Nate roared out the words, sounding fiercer than I had ever heard him before.

He turned to face Stanford who was glaring from the steps of what I finally recognised as Stanford's apartment block. How the hell did we run this far? My distraction didn't last long as I realised that Nate was stalking determinedly towards Stanford and preparing for a fight.

"Nate, don't do this." I tugged on his arm, and he finally turned to me.

"He deserves it." Nate spat the words to Stanford who backed up immediately.

"Yeah, you're right he does. You are a hundred times more important to me than he is. I can't lose you." My voice cracked as I pulled a little harder on his arm, and he let out a grunt.