Chapter One

"wow i was just about to leave" a petite platinum blonde haired girl named Gigi said as she walked over to the red headed bombshell dressed in an armani pants suit with her hair tightly pulled back in a bun, her name was natalie..

"I told you i was coming" Natalie began as she shook her head.."i was just held up" she continued..

"Uh huh, its that damn tyrant of yours" Gigi shook her head in disapproval as she looked her friend over..

" he is my boss" Natalie said sarcastically..

"Boss...tyrant, to me he is just a big" Gigi began...

Natalie cut her off, she knew how her friend felt about her boss and her job for that matter and she honestly didnt want to spend this time arguing over it.."How about that drink" she quickly headed to the bar..

Gigi sighed heavily as she followed her friend.."You know i just worry about you"

"and i have told you a million times Gi, im fine, ok...better then fine" natalie said as she ordered two drinks and that wasnt a lie. Her life had been turned around just two short years ago. She had literally gone from being a housekeeper to this, basically the life of luxury even though it did have some what of a cost, but she loved her life and she appreciated all she had now.. She wouldnt of changed any of it for the world..

Two years prior..

No one said growing up on the harsh streets of Atlantic City would be easy and it definitely wasnt for Natalie Marie Balsam. She had been born and raised here, her mother Roxy was quite known in the casinos which left her out more often then not. At the tender age of only sixteen years old natalie had found herself not only taking care of herself but also of her younger and rambunctious thirteen year old brother Rex.

Natalie was the one who did all the cooking, cleaning and making sure that not only she went to school but rex as well cause god knows if it was left to their mother then they would not only starve but be without an education as well.

It seemed the older that natalie got the more responsibility that was handed her way. Once she had dreams of leaving this god forsaken town but by the age of twenty two that was becoming less and less of a dream.

She began working straight out of highschool, full time working that is cause as soon as she was sixteen she was working part time wherever she could find work. She use to have dreams of going off to college and fulfilling her dream of becoming a police officer but those dreams were shattered quickly. If she would of left AC then no one would of been there for Rex and she couldnt have that and so she stayed and she put her dreams on hold, her life essentially to take care of the young boy who would much rather be out drinking then busy with school.

She had started working various housekeeping jobs in the city and on this particular night she had been sent off to the richer part of town, the town she only saw through a passing bus window, this place was definitely the life of the rich and famous, a life that she would never be fortunate enough to live herself but she was happy just to get the small paycheck to pay the rent and put food on the table for her family.

It was by a fluke that she was going to be working on this side of town tonight, one of her most bestest friends, Gigi Morasko had begged her to cover her shift at the luxurious twenty floor building of McBain Electronics. The place was massive and why wouldnt it be, the company was known for its high tech advances made in modern electronics, this is where the rich of the rich went to get their highend devices, and here natalie wasnt even lucky enough to have a cell phone because the bill was just not in her budget.

So she did the best she could, she vacuumed and dusted, pretending if only for a night that she lived this sort of life, the life that dreams were made of, god how she hated to think that all the people who worked here probably didnt even think twice about what they had, but she wouldnt be like that, she would be grateful, appreciative..

She made her way from room to glorious room, this place was like a damn palace and the furniture alone looked like it could pay for most peoples homes and she was sure it could.

It was nearly 9pm as she made her way around the twentieth floor, now this floor was even more remarkable then the others, not that they were just as awe-inspiring but this floor was different cause the man himself stayed on this floor. The same man she had seen on billboards on the city streets, AC's youngest and hottest entrepreneur John McBain..

He was only twenty six years old, just a few years older then Natalie and he owned this building and many more like it, the idea was unimaginable to her...He had taken over his fathers business at the young age of 18 and it had made headlines all across town, everyone knew who this man was. He had single handedly turned his late fathers business around in a little under a year and here Natalie was hoping to make the rent on time and praying the electric didnt get shut off..

She got towards the last set of rooms, her music blasting in her ears as she opened the two large double doors only to stop dead in her tracks when she saw two faces turn and look at her. At that moment she froze in fear..

"You know what, if you cant give me an answer then...then... she will" Natalie blinked in shock as she came face to face with the man from the billboards, John McBain himself and honestly he was even better looking in person if that was even possible.

He had the looks of a bad boy yet dressed in a pressed black armani suit with a dark blue tie that matched his blue dazzling eyes.. His hair was long and dark, looking somewhat in shambles at the moment as he stared at her and she didnt know if she should stay or run..

"Sir im more than capable" the older man in the room with him said as natalie began to back up as she popped one of her ear buds out..

"Im done talking with you" John said matter of factly to the man as natalie stood there like a deer caught in the headlights.."which one of these brings more appeal" he said towards natalie as he pointed to two large poster boards across the room, they apparently were some advertising thing..

"Sir honestly" the older man continued..

"did i ask for your opinion, now dont be rude to the young lady here" John continued.."which one would you pick" he asked her again..

"Oh, i um" she began to ramble, she felt the sweat begining to cover her body as she stood there looking back and forth between AC's most elgible batchelor and this grey man who looked completely pissed..

"sir with all due respect" the older man said with a shake of his head but John ignored him as he walked over to natalie and she felt her heart race, she knew she should just walk out now, run possibly...

"dont pay attention to Rogers, he hasnt been laid in months" John grinned as he came right up to her.."Now which one is it, the right or left" he asked sweetly, god his voice was like molten chocolate on a fudge brownie..

The older man rolled his eyes as he stood there, apparently not amused with this..

"or is it both of them need to be trashed" John continued as Natalie swallowed hard..

"Um" she couldnt find any words, she hated that at this particular moment in her life she couldnt find any words..

"they both suck, they do" John began as Natalie blinked again..

"You cant really just" the older man began as John spun and looked at him..

"Listen if you cant get your shit together then what the hell do i pay you for" John said in short clipped tone.."Now this young lady here thinks that both of your ideas suck and im right with her.." he said as Natalie gulped and the grey haired man looked at John in shock..

"I mean i wouldnt...i um" she began to ramble as sweat covered her brow..

"no worries, i hated the idea to start with" John said with a grin as he looked at her.."and your name is?" he asked with a smile..

"Im um...I um...It's uh N..Natalie" she stuttered her words..

"then we have it, Natalie here thinks it sucks, so redo it and have it on my desk by tomorrow morning" John said as he walked back over to the older man and natalie took the opportunity to get the hell out of there..

"But...but..." the older man said in shock..

"do i stutter, now go" John barked at him and then he turned and looked for the red head.."where did she go" he said as he looked around..

"I do believe she ran off Sir" the older man said with agitation..

"why are you still here" John snapped at him and the man shook his head and then he was leaving..John walked over to his door and looked out down the large hallway but she was gone..

Natalie had never moved so fast in her life, she had literally ran out of there with her vacuum in tow,she couldnt believe what had just happened and she didnt want to stay around to see how it would end..

By the next day she couldnt help but laugh it off, i mean seriously no one would ever believe her and so she decided to keep it to herself, i mean what were the odds of something like that happening..

John spent the majority of the next day trying to track down this mysterious Natalie woman, he hated that she had just run off like that, he hadnt even gotten a last name from her..

"Sir im sorry i just dont know what you want me to do, there are over five hundred employees here and without a last name" the young intern in front of him said nervously as John ran a frustrated hand through his hair..

"Ok maybe i am not making myself clear enough to you" John said as he stood up now and the young kid gulped noisily.."You can check the database and find this girl or you can leave your resignation at the front desk" he said adamently..

"yes sir, im on it sir" the kid said as he began to scramble his words..

"I run a high tech company, it shouldnt be that hard to find her" he said with annoyance..

"yes sir, your right sir, i will find out sir" the young kid said as he took off and John walked over to his large floor to wall window that overlooked the city, he wasnt use to not getting his way and he was gonna make sure now wasnt any different.

Natalie was in a better mood then normal as she bounced around the small kitchen of the equally small two bedroom apartment that she shared with her brother Rex. She prepared the eggs and bacon as she danced around..

"Ok who are you and what did you do with my sister" rex said as she jumped and spun around, her face red with embarrassment..

"You know you should of gotten up hours ago" she said with a roll of her eyes as she continued to cook breakfast..

"what has you in such a good mood" Rex said as he went to grab a piece of bacon and she slapped his hand as he began to rub it..

"cant i just wake up in a good mood" she continued to cook the food..

"sure if it means i get breakfast" he grinned as he took a seat..

"Your going to school today, right" she said warningly to him as she shot him a look..

"yes mother" he said sarcastically.."Im up aint i" he huffed..

"Listen Rex if you ever want to get out of this town then you need your education, i wont be here forever" she began as she put the eggs on a plate..

"why not, your always here" he shrugged his shoulders..

"You know one day i would like to have a life, like a normal one" she said sarcastically as she put two plates on the table..

"what are you talking about, you have a life and we have this sweet ass apartment" Rex said as he began to dig into the food..

"we have a shitty apartment on the lower south side Rex, dont you want to head over to the east side in a highrise apartment with a view" she began as she sipped her coffee..

"why would i want that, nothing but snobby up tight people over there" he said honestly..

Natalie rolled her eyes at him, of course he would think that.."yeah well im tired of barely making it by" she sighed..

"we have food to eat and a roof over our heads, i would say that is pretty damn good" he said as he continued to eat.."which reminds me can i borrow ten dollars"

"ten dollars? for what" she said with annoyance and he didnt answer.."dont tell me that your betting again rex" she said as she looked at him and he shook his head in that guilty way that made her huff.."Rex i told you about that, seriously havent you learned anything from Roxy" she shook her head..

"You know you can call her mom every once and awhile" he said sarcastically..

"yeah well she lost that title a long time ago" she said bitterly.."I told you no more gambling"

"Jesus Nat its not like im asking for a hundred dollars" he snapped now..

"Great and that is suppose to make me feel better" she sighed..

"Hey you werent complaining when i made fifty dollars last week" he stared at her..

"actually i was and if i remember correctly you blew it all and then asked to borrow more money" she huffed..

"You now what screw this" Rex said as he pushed himself up off his chair and it screeched on the floor..

"rex just sit down and eat" she snapped at him..

"Your not my mother ok" he snapped back at her as he grabbed his jacket..

"Your lucky im not cause if i was you would be out on the street" she yelled as she got up and he stormed to the door..

"Yeah well i remember when you actually use to be fun to be around" he said as he swung open the door..

"Yeah well its hard for me to be fun when i have to work my ass off all day long" she yelled but he had slammed the door as she stood there.."Damn it" she yelled again as she stood there and then she ran to the window in the livingroom and opened it quick, rex was just leaving the building.."and you better take your ass to school" she yelled as he kept walking down the street and she sighed as she stood there, it was mornings like this that she wished she could just walk away from it all, walk away and start over but this was her life, like it or not!

John looked over all the files and reports on his desk, it wasnt easy having the responsibilities he had. When his father had passed and left him this failing company he knew he had to do something, anything to help his mother, he couldnt just let the company go under and watch her suffer. He had began to rebuild his fathers legacy, he threw out all of the tired old ideas and looked to the future. Then nearly a year later he had made the first cellphone GPS tracking application and from there it was smooth sailing. He went from making cellphone apps to creating some of the most hightech surveillance equipment that the united states government had ever seen and he had gone global.

He had been able to finally take care of his mother and his younger brother who had just finished off his final year in med school. He had things only guys his age dreamed of. He had the house, the cars and just about any woman he could ever desire but his life was consumed with this company and his friends were few and far inbetween, see when he had this much money and this much power it was hard to trust anyone around you and so he spent an awful amount of time alone but alone was good and it was all he had..

A knock on the door snapped him from his thoughts as he ran a hand through his hair.."i said to hold all of my calls" he barked with agitation and the door cracked open a little bit and he saw the face of the intern from earlier and he perked up some.."what did you find out" he stood now..

"well i um, Sir...I uh..." the nervous intern said as he stood there shaking slightly..

"Oh just spit it out" he snapped..

"I checked the database sir and...and" he began to fumble his words as John walked over to him, towering over this poor kid.."there is no natalie working here"

"are you...calling me a liar" John said to him with wide eyes..

"No sir...im not..im...im just saying" the kid rambled nervously..

"i know what i heard, her name was natalie and your telling me that you couldnt find not one god damn woman in this building named Natalie" he snapped at the kid who visibly shook..

"Im..im sorry sir...its just.. i mean you said it was nearly 9 pm, right?" the kid gulped loudly as john stood there with an unamused look on his face.."the only...the only people here that late would of been the um... the cleaning crew" he finally spit out..

"the cleaning crew?" John shook his head..

"yeah and um...there um isnt...there isnt " he continued to ramble..

"Look again" he said with annoyance..

"But" the kid said in shock..

"i said do it" he snapped loudly as the kid jumped and then spun for the door..John began to walk back to his desk..

"sir" the kid said as John stopped by his desk but didnt turn to face the man.."what is so important about this girl" he asked nervously..

"do you like your job" John answered him and slowly turned to face him as the kid stood there all doe eyed.."do you" he said louder as the kid stood there..

"Y-y-y-yes sir i do" he stuttered..

"then dont ever question me again, just do as i say" he said in a short clipped tone and then the kid was running off..John stormed over to his desk and pressed a button on the phone on his desk..

"Sir" the voice on the other end of the phone said..

"Charles i want the security video from last night" John said as he paced his room..

"security video Sir?, was there an issue last night" the man began..

"why does everyone have so many questions" he snapped a bit obnoxiously..

"Sir im not...i mean of course i will get the security tapes for you" the man said as John disconnected from him. John ran his hand through his hair again as he stood at his desk, he needed to find this girl, he needed to find her more than he needed anything in his life.

Natalie made her way into downtown AC, she was about to start her first job of the day which was bartending at a local hole in the wall. She had been working there for the last six months and even though it was as shady as it came, well it helped to pay the bills. She made her way to a local coffee shop, this was her routine everyday, she would grab a large coffee to go and spend the rest of the morning drinking it at work. As she got to the counter of the small mom and pop coffee shop she put in her order as she stood and waited patiently.

Her mind kept on going back to last night, she was literally toe and toe with the richest man in AC and he was asking her for advice, granted she had a feeling that he was highly annoyed with the grey haired man in the room but still, he was inches from her and all she could do was mumble, she shook her head with embarassment..

"that'll be two fifty" the guy at the counter said as she looked up and pulled out a few dollars, she then grabbed her coffee and left..

Randy's bar was slow as usual, it seemed to only have the same regulars. She cleaned off the bar as the jukebox played in the background. She wondered if this was what her life was going to be consumed with. Serving drinks to alcoholics everyday, working a dead end job at night, barely sleeping, she sighed as she closed her eyes..

"Penny for your thoughts" a familiar voice made her eyes snap open and very much to her surprise she was face to face again with those oh so blue eyes, attached to the one and only John McBain..

It took her a moment to realize that she wasnt dreaming, that he, John McBain was standing at Randys bar and smiling at her.."so you are definitely one hard person to find Natalie Balsam" he continued as he sat on a stool and she still couldnt believe her eyes.."How about a drink, whats the best scotch you have" he smiled that dazzling smile and she gulped..

"Im sorry, um...what?" she finally said, he knew her name, her whole name and he was looking for her, what the hell?..

"or just a beer" he grinned...

Natalie turned from him quickly, she literally was about to hyperventilate, possibly the worlds most richest man had been looking for her, but why.."tap or bottle" she finally said as she stood there, her heart was racing so fast she didnt know what to do..

"surprise me" he said and she quickly grabbed a bottle of beer and spun to him, she nearly dropped the beer as she looked at him and he leaned over the bar and removed it from her hand.."i cant remember the last time i had a bud" he said as he brought it to his lips and took a sip..."do you drink natalie?"

"Um...no, i mean yes, i mean not at work" she fumbled with her words..

"its a nice little bar" John said as he looked around and then back at her.."How long have you been working here?"

"I dont know, like six months or so" Natalie swallowed hard as she stood there..

"and you also work at night?" he asked..

"Im sorry um" Natalie fidgeted with her hands some.."How do you " she began..

He cut her off.."Know so much about you?" he raised an eyebrow.."You left last night before i could formally introduce myself" he put his hand out..

"I...I know who you are" she swallowed hard as she shook his hand.."and i just want to say that last night" she began...

"Last night was amazing, it was just what i have been looking for" he smiled at her as they released their hands..

"what?" she said with confusion..

"You...your exactlly what i have been looking for but more importantly i have a job opportunity for you and i am hoping you will accept" he grinned..

Back to present day..

"You know i think it really sucks that i need to basically beg you to come and see me" Gigi said with a huff as they sat down at a nearby table..

"You know i have been busy" Natalie began as she sipped her beer..

"More like babysitting" Gigi said sarcastically..

"He's not so bad you know" Natalie said honestly..

"of course you would say that, look at your clothes they cost more than my apartment and car combined" Gigi shook her head as she took a sip..

"Gigi i did what i said i would do, i got out of this horrible town" Natalie sighed..

"You became McBains little bitch" Gigi rolled her eyes..

"did you ask me here just to insult me" Natalie stood up now and so did Gigi..

"No" Gigi sighed..

"cause i mean i came here to see you cause i missed you" Natalie said softly..

"I miss you too, its just weird seeing you like this" Gigi said softly..

"Im still the same person Gi, that hasnt changed" Natalie walked over to her now.."Im just trying to do the right thing here"

"he's a grown man, i just dont get it" Gigi looked at the ground..

"he's complicated" natalie said honestly.."he doesnt have many people he can trust"

"But he trusts you? I mean he barely knew you and he offered you all of this" Gigi waved at natalie..

"i really just wish you would give him a chance, he isnt like what you think" Natalie said as her phone began to ring and she looked at it..

"Let me take a guess" Gigi said sarcastically as natalie quickly answered..

"Im having an emergency, you need to get to my place asap" he said almost frantically..

"what kind of an emergency" she said as she turned from gigi..

"what does it matter, where are you" he sounded like a spoiled child..

"Im..im on my way" she said quickly as she hung up, she didnt even want to face Gigi at the moment..

"its fine, i know you got better things to do" Gigi spoke before she could..

"its not like that, its just..." Natalie began..

"complicated...i know" Gigi finished for her..

"I will call you, i promise" Natalie hugged her tight.."You could always come to the party tonight"

"no thanks, i'll pass" Gigi said dryly as they pulled back,...Natalie's phone began to ring again and she looked at it, it was John again..

"I gotta go" she said as she answered the phone again and spun for the door.."im on my way"