Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 107

"I think so," she said. "I didn't plan for this, Marcus. It's just that so much has changed for you so quickly. You have all this money, and you bought out the company. You made me head of the department, and then we almost started dating. We went from really good friends to making out in my office, and...

Again, Natalie didn't finish her thought, but she didn't need to. I understood what she was getting at. Every other woman in my life right now was throwing themselves at me. I never stopped to think that most of them were either paid to be in my life, desperate to lock me down, or just plain crazy. Natalie was a level-headed woman that didn't fit any of those categories. It made sense that she shied away from whatever was happening between us.

"I get it," I said.

"You do?" Natalie asked.

"Yeah. I don't like it, but I get it."

More silence followed. After about a minute, Natalie sighed and pushed herself off the wall she was still leaning against. She fidgeted with her fingers, looking up at me with a puppy-dog expression. "Are we going to be okay?" she asked.

I stared back at her, not knowing quite what should say.

Would I still want to be friends with Natalie after getting a taste of her? Could I see her every day and be okay when I knew I almost had her if it wasn't for...

"What's his name?" I asked.

"Tyler," she said reluctantly.

Tyler. I suddenly felt an irrational hatred for the name. Maybe I could have Tyler killed. I had the money for it.

Wait... could I actually have him killed?

I finally shrugged one non-commital shoulder at her. It wasn't fair to either of us to lie.

"I don't know if we're going to be okay," I said, pushing off the wall and stepping toward the door. "I need some time."

"Okay," Natalie said. It was obvious that wasn't what she wanted to hear but didn't protest further.

With nothing else to say, I opened the door, stepped into the hallway, and headed back to my office without looking back.

The first thing I noticed when I entered my office was the faint odor of Bobbi's sex, but that was the only evidence that she had been there. As instructed, she had gathered all her belongings and left. That was good. I felt so sour that I probably would have made good on my promise of putting her out on her ass if she had still been here.

I dropped in my seat, feeling a pang of bitterness that was dulled by disbelief at how close I'd come to getting what I wanted, only to have it whisked out from underneath me. I'd been crushing on Natalle for the better part of a year and had come so close to seeing my long-time unrequited affection returned. All the money in the world, and I couldn't buy a way to reverse time.

Needing something to occupy me while I tried to process what had Just happened, I pulled my phone out of my pocket. I hadn't looked at it since arriving at the Dunbar building and found myself staring at a full inbox and over thirty unread messages - normally an unwelcome sight, but a bunch of unanswered messages was exactly what I needed right now.

The first one that caught my eye was a message from my brother, Jacob. It stated that he saw me on the news, was proud of me, and wanted to meet up since he would be in town this week. That meant he needed money. Jacob wasn't a bad guy, but he had never really been able to crack the code to a normal life. He couldn't hold down a nine-to-five job to save his life and was always chasing some scheme promising him six figures in a matter of months.

Starting with Jacob, I texted him back with a noncommittal response before moving on to the next one. The remainder of my afternoon was spent catching up on messages, talking to friends and family, and managing my new life in the public spotlight as one of the wealthiest men in the world.

Monday, 10:45 pm

After catching up with my messages, I spent about half an hour downstairs with my old co-workers. Gerald was unusually chatty, filling me in on the latest gossip. He told me that Bobbi had been on her best behavior, and Natalie was already making some stellar changes around the office. I was glad to hear some good things had come out of decisions I'd made out of selfish desire. I seemed popular among my old plebians, which wasn't surprising. I'd

always been liked by most of my co-workers, but giving them all substantial raises had apparently generated extra goodwill.

Working through the initial shock of Natalie's news, I found myself In need of releasing some steam and decided to pay Bobbi a surprise visit. At some point in the afternoon, Chloe switched out with a different security agent, and I had him drive me to her hotel Just down the street. After working out a lot of pent-up aggression, I told her that she was done living in hotel rooms. She was to take tomorrow off and move into my apartment.

Now I was back home and starting to wonder if that was the wisest decision. This was quickly becoming my sanctuary, and I didn't want something to mess up the tranquility. It was strange how peaceful the middle of New York could feel when you lived six hundred feet above everyone else. Despite dwelling in a city of 8.5 million people, from this height, I could barely hear anything other than the occasional stray noise from below.

Walking through the small garden on the roof of my building I gazed at the cloudless sky through the garden's canopy. Thanks to the light evening breeze, the leaves rustled and completely drowned out any remaining artificial sounds. I found an expensive bottle of Mckellen in my office. Grabbing that and a glass, I decided that after a day like today, it was a good time to sit beside my pool, drink, and do some soul-searching.

Most people would see my fortune and immediately envy me. They would have rolled their eyes at my naval gazing and scoffed at any attempt to see my inheritance as anything other than a blessing, but aside from Bobbi, Gina, and Jessica, I liked my life. I enjoyed my friends, where I lived, and even my job when left to my own devices.

When I first inherited my money and took Helen to bed, I assumed life would be rainbows and blowjobs from that day on, but it hadn't. The money came with an empire, and an empire came with responsibilities. The money had also come with a lot of attention - wanted and unwanted. Last but certainly not least, it had come with a price - Natalie. One could argue that the loss of Natalie was on me, but I couldn't help but wonder where we would be right now if I hadn't received that call from Karl.

I rounded the final corner of the little garden path and stared at the pool. I wasn't alone.

Chloe sat on one of the chairs with a small table pulled between her legs. Pieces of something were strewn across its surface, and

she had one piece in her hand, polishing it. In the background, I could hear a voice drone on from what I assumed was her phone, It sounded like some news program or podcast.