1 Chapter One

Her phone rang. She groaned. It was another stressful day at work. She knew better than to be late, so she rolled out of bed despite the argument going on in her head. Mr Larry might be an understanding man, but he did love his money. She worked in a restaurant where they opened by ten in the morning and didn't close until nine in the evening. Although her shift always ended at two, she knew she had to get there early. After a quick bath and a warmed up breakfast, she stepped into the cold weather and decided to take a cab to work. She was about to hail a cab when a black car pulled up right in front of her. She rolled her eyes. Rich people, always flaunting their wealth. The window came down and a head peeped out.

"Are you going somewhere?" He asked.

"Yeah, I am, but I'm trying to get a cab. If you will excuse me, I need to get one and you're parked right where I can get one!"

"I can drive you to wherever you're going to" he said

"There is absolutely no need for that. I can get a cab"

As she said that, she came across a cab. She got in and smiled to herself. He was cute, she had to admit but she wasn't ready to be with anyone. She got to work and opened up the place. After her cleaning, she got to the part where she dealt with people who were most times very rude and uncouth. She knew that was what her job entailed and she had signed up for it so she had to deal with it. Her shift was about to end when Tracy walked in. Tracy worked in the afternoon while she did the morning shift. She was glad that Tracy came in early enough to take over. Behind Tracy was a man. He looked very familiar. She couldn't remember where she had seen him but she was sure that they had crossed paths. He walked up to the counter

"Hey, can I get something to eat?" He said.

"Yeah, what would you like to eat?"

"Anything!" He said

She looked at him and nodded. He was probably one of those customers that didn't mind. They just wanted something to eat and they couldn't make up their minds on what exactly they wanted. She prepared something simple and not so expensive. She took it to his table and he smiled at her. There was something about him and she wasn't quite sure. She left him to his meal and decided to take out the trash as she normally does on Monday afternoon after her shift. She tossed the trash into the dumpster and was about to turn around when someone held her.

"Hey pretty!" He said.

"Let me go" she said back

"Aww, so soon? You just got here. I was thinking we could have some fun before you head back in" the man said.

"Let me go!" She said.

"You heard the lady! You should let her go before things get really messy!" Someone said.

She looked at him it was the guy that had just ordered something to eat.

"I can take care of myself!" She said as she tried to release her hand from the man's grasp.

"You heard the lady. She can take care of herself so why don't you run along young man before things get bad for you?" The man said.

"Let the lady go! I will not repeat myself!" He said

"And if I say no?" The man said.

He walked up to him and gave him a punch across the face. He dragged her hand from his grasp and pulled her across the alley down to the main road.

"Let me go!" She said.

"I just saved your life. You should learn to say thank you!" He said to her

"If you are out for one, you wouldn't be getting any" she said

He scoffed and walked towards a car, a black car. She remembered him now. He had offered to give her a ride this morning and she had rudely turned him down. Did he follow her all the way here? Was he stalking her? How did he know that she worked there? The clouds started to gather and he pulled up in front of her for the second time in the same day.

"You would probably turn this down again but do you want a ride home?" He asked her.

"No! I would get a cab and I will be fine!" She said.

"It is about to rain and you would...."

"I will be fine!" She said, interrupting him.

He nodded and smiled and drove off, more like circled the building and parked somewhere. It started to rain. He didn't understand why she was so stubborn. She had caught his attention for months now. He had watched her since he first saw her. He knew where she worked. He knew where she stayed, when she had her lights out and when her alarm rang. He was obsessed with her. He wanted to get to know her better and she was obviously unimpressed by his wealth. If she probably got to know him, maybe she would be his friend. He concluded that she had a terrible attitude but he still wanted to get to know her.

It started to rain and he could still see her standing there. He waited a bit and the rain got heavier. He drove by again and pulled up right in front of her.

"Would you accept my offer now?" He asked.

He could tell that she was cold. She was already drenched in the rain and was dripping. She got in and he drove her to her house. He asked for description so he wouldn't give himself away. He didn't want her thinking that he was stalking her although he was. She got down from the car when they got to her house

"The name is Elizabeth" she said

"I didn't ask" he said.

He said as he drove off. She couldn't believe he just did that. Wasn't that what he wanted? She was to tired to let that act get to her. She headed into her house and heated a cup of water. If anything could solve her problem right now, it was a hot cup of cocoa drink. She got into dry clothes and settled on the couch infront of the tv. She didn't have anything else to do than to sleep. She picked up her phone. There was nothing to do on it. She sighed and she decided to make dinner. The thought of calling her mom did come across her mind but she decided to do that later. After dinner, she slept off, hoping the next day would be better than the first.

The next day came quickly and she for ready for work. She was barely out of her house when she heard someone scream her name from across the street

"Elizabeth!!"

She turned sharply to see who was going to ruin her morning. She saw him standing there. She groaned and slapped her forehead with her hand. She locked her door and took a deep breath before walking towards him.

"You are here again. Do I need to call the police?"

"If you want. The name is Adam. Next time you see me, you can yell my name from across the street" he said

"Nice to meet you. What are you doing here?" She asked.

"I came to say hi before you leave for work" he said.

"Why?"

"I felt like. C'mon, I will drop you off" he said, entering the car before she could say no.

She rolled her eyes and entered the car. He drove her and this was their routine for the next three weeks. He was always coming to pick her up and one day, she eventually collected his number. He asked her out to dinner and she said yes. They became friends and from there, he asked her to be his girlfriend and she said yes. Things were pretty smooth for the both of them since they had both decided to keep their relationship private, away from the public. Elizabeth thought it was best that they kept things that way. The had seen a lot of relationships get ruined just because they took things to the limelight. She was happy with having a silent relationship and being seen only when it was necessary. She did go for his parties and dinners but that was all to it. Adam was barely around. He traveled a lot and as the CEO of Breakthrough Technologies, he had a lot in his plate. He had to go for meetings almost every time and most times, the meetings were outside the country. When he was gone, Liz went back to her normal way of living, hoping he would be back soon. This was how they met, how their love story began

*****

She heard his car pull up infront of her house. She knew he was back already. He had been in Egypt for almost six weeks and now he was back. She heard the front door open and she could almost leap for joy. She decided to act indifferent and that was exactly what she did

"Liz!!!" She heard him yell from the living room.

She gave him no reply. Instead, she waited for him to look for her an she did. He found her in her room, in front of the mirror, probably getting ready to go to work.

"I have been calling you for minutes now!" He said as he entered her room

"And I heard you, I just figured that you would come up here so there was absolutely no need for you to scream my name all the way from the living room" She said, still paying no attention to him.

"I don't understand. Did I do something? Are you mad at me for something?" He asked

"I don't think I have a reason to be mad at you!"

"Then what is with the attitude? I thought you would be glad to see me"

"C'mon Adam. I am glad to see you but I have to get to work. I can't be late and you know this. I will text you when I'm done with work and maybe we can talk after. What do you say?" She asked him

"Over my dead body will i let you go out with this hanging around us. I came all the way from the airport and I came here to see you before I decide to head to the office and you're giving me this attitude? C'mon, mama. I can't let you go if you're going to leave with this attitude hanging around us. You either talk to me or call in sick because I'm not letting you leave the house if this is going to happen. You either skip work or you tell me what's wrong" He said

She looked at him and turned back to the mirror, giving him no attention which he found weird. He walked up to her and grabbed her by her waist, hugging her from behind

"C'mon mama. You can't possibly stay mad at me for no reason. Tell me why you're upset and let me make up for it. I promise I will make up for it" He said, apologetically

She turned to face him and she threw her hands around his neck, bringing his face down to hers and kissing him softly before applying a little pressure. He let out a soft moan.

"You were gone for too long. That is why I'm upset!" She said

"You could have just said that you missed me and I am so sorry I was gone for so long. I couldn't cut my trip short and trust me, I did try to but there was no possible way. I finished up yesterday and was on the first flight I could find back to the states. We can always make up for the days we spent apart"

He said as he kissed her. She leaned into him and he lifted her off her feet and carried her to the bed. He dropped her gently on it and slipped his hands under her skirt. Her phone beeped. He groaned in annoyance

"It's work, I have to go" She said as she picked up her phone and kissed him

"I just got here"

"Babe, I can't have this argument with you, not today"

"I don't like you working there. I don't like you working at all!"

"And I am very much aware of that but you know I will not quit, right?"

"Exactly. I will drop you off" He said

"I will drive" She said back

"Liz! what the hell? What exactly is going on?"

"I don't understand you. You just got back from Egypt and you need all the rest you can get. Why is this such a big deal?"

"I said I will drop you off. I don't care if I just got back from heaven. Don't turn down my offer. I understand that we are trying to keep our relationship on the low and away from the media but it is starting to look like you don't even want to be seen with me in public. Is there something I should know?"

"Adam! You are overreacting right now. You want to drop me off? Fine!" She said as she picked up her bag and headed out of her room

Adam sighed. He knew he was overeating. He didn't need to be told that but he didn't want her working. She was the girlfriend of a CEO and he was going to ask her to marry him pretty soon. Was she going to keep working there when they got married? He shrugged, pushing the thoughts away from his mind as he left her house. She was already seated in the car, waiting for him

"Can we talk?"

"Just get me to work please. I am running late and the last thing I need is my boss yelling at me!"

"If he does that again, then you're quitting. I don't care. If you want to work, come to my office and get a position"

"You know I can't do that" She said

"Why? I don't get you"

"C'mon Adam. Everybody would say that I got the job only because my boyfriend is the CEO of Breakthrough Technologies"

"Then let them.You are more than qualified for the head of Laboratories and you know this. I still don't understand why you let the media get to you this bad"

"I have a reputation to protect too Adam. I need to make it out there. I need a name for myself and as long as I work in Breakthrough Technologies, it would never happen"

"And getting shouted at and disrespected will make that happen?" He asked her

She sighed. She was really tired of arguing with him.

"Just get me to work" She said

The ride to her restaurant was a silent one. This was the only topic they argued about. When he got there, she was about to get down when he held her back.

"When you're done here, drop by my office. I want to spend the say with you"

"Sure"

"Take care of yourself really, I love you" He said

"I love you too. I will call you when I'm done here. Are you heading home now or..."

"No, I'm not heading home. I am heading straight to the office"

"Alright then. Take care of yourself" She said to him

"You too" He said

She got down from the car and headed into the restaurant. She found out that it was still locked. It means her boss, Mr Larry hadn't been there yet. She opened up and got to the cleaning. When she was done, people started trooping in, ordering their meals. Her day had started. Tracy came in really early and Elizabeth didn't have to work an extra minutes. When she was done, she picked up her phone and dialed Adam's number. He wasn't picking up. She figured that he was probably in a meeting but that was weird. He never ignored her calls even if he was talking to the president himself. He would always excuse himself to pick it up. She was expecting him to call back but he didn't

"What's wrong?" Tracy asked

"I don't know. He is not picking up my calls"

"Did you have a fight with him or something?"

"Not really. We did have an argument but it is not important enough for him not to pick up"

"Maybe he's just busy. Give him time. If he doesn't call back then he is probably upset"

"He has no reason to be upset! It was his fault we had an argument and it is fault if it results into something bigger than just an argument" She said, raising her voice a little.

She rubbed her forehead. She could tell that she was stressed and worked up over nothing. He was probably busy and he was going to call her back if she was patient enough. She waited for a while and decided to head home when he pulled up at her restaurant. She looked out the door and saw his car parked right in front. She stood up from where she was seated and walked towards the door. When she came out of the restaurant, he was already out of the car

"So you don't pick up my calls and then you pull up at my work place?"

"I don't even know where my phone is. I think I left it at your place"

"Oh" she said

That was a perfect explanation. He couldn't find his phone. She knew that it was very unusual of him not to pick up her calls and then not call back.

"Did you think I was ignoring you?" He asked, surprised that she would actually think that about him.