Chapter 3 - Above the Clouds
The rooftop of Northstar Technologies was a garden in the sky,
filled with glass walls and the roar of the wind.
I pushed through the heavy door,
finding Nathan standing at the very edge,
his tie whipped around his neck by the gale.
"He came to see you,"
Nathan said without turning around.
"I saw him on the security feed."
"He threatened me, Nathan,"
I said,
walking toward him until I could feel the heat from his body.
"He said he would ruin me."
Nathan turned then,
his face a mask of controlled fury.
"He has been threatening people his whole life,"
he said,
taking my hands in his.
"But he has never had to go through me before."
"Why am I doing this?"
I asked,
looking up at the vast,
unforgiving sky.
"I have spent twenty-eight years being safe,
being the girl who stays in the lines."
"And now I’m standing on a roof with a billionaire,
waiting for a war to start."
Nathan stepped into my space,
blocking the wind with his large frame.
"Because you want a man who sees your heart, Maya,"
he whispered,
his eyes searching mine.
"And I am that man,
even if I have to burn this building down to prove it."
"I don't want you to burn anything,"
I said,
reaching up to touch his jaw.
"I just want to know that I’m not a mistake."
"You are the only thing I’ve gotten right,"
he said,
and then he kissed me.
It wasn't like the movies,
it was better.
It was the taste of coffee and desperation,
the feeling of his hands tangled in my hair,
and the sudden,
electric realization that I was no longer waiting.
My heart,
the one I had guarded so carefully for nearly three decades,
threw its doors wide open.
I felt his heartbeat against mine,
fast and erratic,
mirroring the chaos of our lives.
When he pulled back,
his eyes were dark with a new kind of intensity.
"I have a plan,"
he said,
his voice raspy.
"A way to break the contract without losing the company."
"But I need you to trust me,
even when it looks like I’m walking away."
"How can I trust you when the whole world is trying to pull us apart?"
I asked,
the fear returning like a rising tide.
"Because I overheard your secret,"
he reminded me,
a small,
sad smile touching his lips.
"And I know exactly how much you have to lose."
"I won't let you lose it, Maya."
"I won't be your first regret."
He led me back to the door,
but before we went inside,
he stopped.
"Tonight, there is a gala,"
he said.
"My father expects me to announce my engagement to the shipping heiress."
"I want you to be there."
"As what?"
I asked.
May you like
"As the woman who changed the game,"
he replied.
