FIRST ONE DOWN: A Paul Sutton Novel by R.J. Belle Page A

admire. Meg never seemed to mind being in that glass case; in fact she delighted in being the chosen one, the trophy. Kali admired that quality about Meg; she knew that she could never bear the weight of that responsibility. Kali would break under that type of pressure - being required to do everything in perfect form all the time, no room for error, no forgiveness if she were to make a mistake in her life. But not Meg, she pulled it off beautifully, every single time.
    "I'm excited to watch the race. Are we in the James box?" Kali asked.
    Nodding her head yes, Meg said, "I put a place card on your spot, and I will be up to join you after my girl races."
    "Okay, good luck Meg. She will do great; she has the best trainer in the world." Kali gave her friend a big hug and left the stable, heading to the private box that Meg's family owned.
    On the way up the stairs to the top floor of the racetrack spectator building, Kali felt her phone vibrate multiple times. She opened up her small clutch purse and fished out her iPhone.
    Tell me
    I'm waiting Kali...
    You are not being a very good girl
    Baby, where are you?
    ?
    Kali had known it was Nate before she looked at her phone. Nobody else in her life would send that many text messages in a row. He had sent the first an hour earlier and the others followed when she failed to respond in an appropriate amount of time. Nate was used to getting immediate results, immediate gratification in every aspect of his life. The amount of time in which it took Kali to respond to any communication or request he made of her was no exception. He expected her to respond immediately. Filled with the heaviness that came with the knowledge she had failed in his eyes, she stopped herself and was reminded that she had made the decision to move past this. "Stop it, Kali. Damn it, pull yourself together," she told herself.
    Not allowing Nate to affect her was easier said than done. Unfortunately, her defenses were not as strong as she would like them to be. As a tear fell down her cheek, she pushed the button on top of her iPhone and turned it off. She wasn't going to let Nate steal this night from her. She wasn't going to let him take anything else from her, not ever again. He had already taken far more than she would ever be able to replace or repair.
    Kali found the box and entered to find it impeccably adorned with race day themed trimmings. That was the James family. They did it big or not at all. She found her seat, left her purse on the table, and set out to find the bar. She was ready to celebrate.
    After the race, Meg came up to the box to join Kali and the other guests celebrating her thoroughbred's first victory. Kali could see the relief on Meg's face as she beamed in standard Meg fashion, basking in the shameless adoration of her fans. This was the Meg that Kali was used to seeing - riding high in the glory of being labeled a winner, turning the charm up as high as it could go and lapping the congratulatory chatter up like a woman dying of thirst. Kali watched from afar in awe of how gorgeous her best friend was and how brightly she shined. She felt lucky to have been along for the ride all these years. Meg always kept her on the inside of the circle, and Kali was grateful for that as she loved being a part of the experience.
    Meg spotted Kali standing by the bar and walked over to her, "Hey Sunshine," beaming with a smile wide enough to cover two faces; Meg grabbed Kali and hugged her tight.
    "Great race, Meg. You did it, you produced another winner!" Kali picked up her drink, lifting it to her mouth as if it were a microphone, "Race fans from around the world assembled at the Del Mar race track tonight to witness Meg James take yet another win. With her superior thoroughbred training program, and her knack for one on one communication with these majestic animals, she is sure to continue to set the world on fire by continuously breeding and training winners. Embed her name in your memory banks,