She kissed the curve of his shoulder. He turned to see her green eyes smoldering and a hopeful grin filling her face.
“You said we still have time,” she said, moving to kiss him. “Lets make the most of it.”
And so they did.
Holly stood by the door of the lobby, feet frozen in place. Her bag lay at her feet.
“I don’t want to go,” she whispered, looking back at him. “It was such a good weekend.”
Nathan kissed her forehead. “I’ll call you.”
She smiled, but her eyes said she didn’t believe him. Why should she? This was a vacation fling. This wasn’t supposed to be serious.
She picked up her bag. “You’ll look into why Paradigm is moving ECT to San Francisco, right?”
He nodded. “Yes. I will.”
She paused, seemingly looking for any way to prolong leaving. An old beat-up four-door sedan pulled up to the front door. It looked out of place among the expensive cars waiting for the valet. The car didn’t belong here. Just like Holly.
“Thank you for the most amazing weekend,” Holly said. She set her bag down and stood in front of him. “It was like a dream.”
She went to her tip-toes and kissed him softly on the mouth. She still tasted sweet and made his heart race. He closed his eyes, focusing on her taste and the soft scent of her.
When he opened them she was gone. The old car pulled away, rumbling and sputtering into the snow.
“You okay, Boss?” Gregory asked, appearing out of the ether.
Nathan grunted. Gregory understood. That was his natural language after all.
“You just seem...” Gregory searched for the right word. “Unhappy again.”
“Again?” Nathan asked, his eyes going to his bodyguard.
“You were whistling yesterday. You only do that when you’re actually happy.”
“Tell Hal I apologize.” His eyes searched the road for Holly’s car. “It was her.”
Gregory’s eyes followed Nathan’s gaze. “So find a way to get her. You’re rich. You can do it. You should be happy.”
“It’s not that simple.” Nathan rolled his eyes, but Gregory was gone. Back into the shadows. Protecting him from everything but himself.
Nathan sighed. He went back to his room. He could go skiing. He could go swimming. There was an amazing gym on site, but that didn’t appeal to him either. He wasn’t hungry, but he did consider getting drunk. But even that didn’t sound like something he wanted to do.
He shook his head. He shouldn’t feel like this. He knew her for two days. Two days. It was ridiculous to feel like he’d just lost half his body when she walked away. It was crazy to have this ache in his chest.
Yet, there it was.
He stood at the window, staring out at the clear skies and crisp snow on the mountain. The lifts were up and running again, and skiers and snowboarders raced down the mountain. He watched them for a few minutes, his mood continuing to sour.
He needed to change his thoughts. He needed to make himself feel better. So, he did the one thing that had made him feel good since he was sixteen.
He checked his bank account.
When Nathan opened his first bank account, he had a grand total of one hundred three dollars and twenty-seven cents. He’d saved for weeks to buy a decent computer, and from there started building his computer programs. He made money.
Everything snowballed from that first computer program sale. Paradigm had scooped him up. Now there were board members, stock holders, and thousands of employees. With success came more work. But, he’d learned long ago that work meant money. And money was what he craved.
He’d loved starting his company, but somewhere along the line, the money made became more important than creating. Money became the guidepost. Money was the reward, and money was the goal. Money never made him feel worthless or small.