Page 45 of Executive Privilege

"He came by my studio tonight. Unannounced, which never happens. Wanted to buy a painting—something dark and abstract that I finished last year. A piece about isolation and self-imposed exile."

My chest tightens. "Diego—"

"He looked terrible, Sadie. Exhausted and angry and hurt. When I asked what was wrong, he said something about maintaining appropriate professional boundaries and learning from past mistakes."

"He doesn't want to talk to me. He made that very clear."

"What he wants and what he needs are two different things. That man has been alone for too long, and for the first time in a long time, he found someone who makes him want to be less alone. That terrifies him."

"So what am I supposed to do? Force him to acknowledge feelings he clearly wants to deny? Force him to couple up with me when he'd rather be alone."

"I don't think he want to be alone, he just chooses to because he thinks it's safer. For him and his company."

"His company? Why would–"

Diego cuts me off, "I shouldn't have said that. There's more to Nicholas than you know. The reason why he is, well, the way he is. It's his story to tell though, not mine."

"All I'm saying is you need to decide whether you care enough about him to fight for him when he's too scared to fight for himself."

The same words Emma used. The same impossible choice.

"He could fire me," I point out. "This could destroy my career."

"It could. Or it could save both of you from a lifetime of wondering what if."

After we hang up, I sit in my apartment trying to decide what kind of person I want to be. Someone who respects clearly stated boundaries and accepts rejection gracefully? Or someone whorecognizes when someone she cares about is acting from fear rather than genuine preference?

Someone who plays it safe, or someone who climbs walls that look impossible?

By midnight, I've made my decision.

Tomorrow, I'm going to show Nicholas Blackwood that some people are worth the risk of falling. Even if—especially if—he's too scared to see it himself.

The question is whether I'm brave enough to follow through, or whether my own fear of professional and personal disaster will make me retreat into the safety of appropriate boundaries and polite distance.

But as I drift off to sleep, I think some people are worth fighting for.

Especially when they're fighting against themselves.

Chapter 12: The Crisis

I arrive at Event Horizons Monday morning with a plan and a coffee from The Grind—the expensive kind Nicholas always brings me, except this time I'm bringing it to him.

A peace offering. A conversation starter. A way to show him that I'm not giving up without a fight.

But when I reach the reception desk, Frankie's expression stops me cold.

"Morning, Sadie," she says, her usually bright smile subdued. "How was Dallas?"

"Good. Productive. Is everything okay? You look..."

"Worried," she finishes. "Yeah, I am. Nicholas has been here since six AM, locked in his office with the door closed. Won't let anyone interrupt him, not even for the Morrison debrief call that was supposed to happen an hour ago."

I glance toward Nicholas's corner office.

"Did something happen? A client emergency?"

"Not that I know of. But Jennifer tried to deliver some reports earlier and said he looked like he hadn't slept. Asked her to reschedule everything and hold all calls."