had wanted.
As wonderful as the night had been, something had gone wrong. They had been finished the moment Nick had walked out of the bedroom without a backward look.
She hadn’t tried to cling to him, but that didn’t alter the fact that watching Nick walk away a second time had hurt.
Or that in a single night she had been willing to sacrifice almost every part of her life to be with him, if only he had truly wanted her.
Elena snapped the paper closed. She could not be a victim again. She had changed her external appearance and now she needed to work hard at changing her actual life.
First up, she would take the new corporate position Constantine Atraeus had suggested she consider. With her executive PA skills, the psychology papers she had done at university and her recent experience of health and beauty spas, she was uniquely suited to reinvigorate the Atraeus spas.
She would be an executive, which suited her.
She was tired of catering to the whims of the megawealthy Atraeus bosses, who had appreciated her skills but who never really noticed her as a person.
A hum of excited possibility gave the future a rosy glow. She would probably need her own personal assistant, although that was a leap.
Two brief calls later, and her life was officially transformed.
Zane wasn’t happy, since he had just gotten used to her taking care of every possible detail of his working day and travel arrangements. However, he was pragmatic. Since Elena had lost weight, his fiancée, Lilah, hadn’t been entirely happy with her as a PA, much as she liked Elena. It was nothing personal, it was just that Lilah had a protective streak when it came to Zane.
“She might relax more after the wedding,” Zane explained.
Elena hung up, a little dazed. She would never have believed it, but apparently she was now too pretty to be a PA.
She walked across to her hotel mirror and stared at her reflection. She looked pale and washed-out, but if Zane Atraeus said she was too pretty, then she was too pretty.
Nick had said she was beautiful.
She could feel herself melting inside at the memory of the way he had said those words, the deep timbre of his voice.
Jaw firming, she banished a memory that could only be termed needy and self-destructive.
Instead of going weak at the knees at any little hint of male appreciation from Nick, she needed to form an action plan. She needed rules.
Rule number one had to be: Do not get sucked back into Nick Messena’s bed.
Rule number two was a repeat of the first.
She would make the rest up as she went along.
Critically, she studied the suit she was wearing. It was pink. She was over pink. The suit was also too feminine, too pretty.
She needed to edit her wardrobe and get rid of the ruffles and lace, anything that might possibly hint that she had once been a pushover.
From now on, red was going to be her favorite color.
She would also make a note to encourage Robert a little more. If she was in a proper relationship, it stood to reason that she would not be so vulnerable to a wolf like Nick Messena.
* * *
One month later, Elena opened her eyes as pads soaked in some delicately perfumed, astringent solution were removed from her now-refreshed eyes.
Yasmin, the head beauty therapist at the Atraeus Spa she had spent the past three weeks overhauling, smiled at her. “You can sit up now, and I’ll start your nails. Can’t have you looking anything less than perfectly groomed for your date. What was his name again?”
“Robert.”
There was a small, polite silence. “Sounds like a ball of fire.”
“He’s steady and reliable. He’s an accountant.”
Yasmin wrinkled her pretty nose. “I’ve never dated one of those.”
Elena reflected on the string of very pleasant dates she’d had with Robert. “He has a nice sense of humor.”
Yasmin gave her a soothing smile as she selected a bottle of orchid-red nail polish and held it up. “That’s important.”
Elena nodded her approval of a color
As wonderful as the night had been, something had gone wrong. They had been finished the moment Nick had walked out of the bedroom without a backward look.
She hadn’t tried to cling to him, but that didn’t alter the fact that watching Nick walk away a second time had hurt.
Or that in a single night she had been willing to sacrifice almost every part of her life to be with him, if only he had truly wanted her.
Elena snapped the paper closed. She could not be a victim again. She had changed her external appearance and now she needed to work hard at changing her actual life.
First up, she would take the new corporate position Constantine Atraeus had suggested she consider. With her executive PA skills, the psychology papers she had done at university and her recent experience of health and beauty spas, she was uniquely suited to reinvigorate the Atraeus spas.
She would be an executive, which suited her.
She was tired of catering to the whims of the megawealthy Atraeus bosses, who had appreciated her skills but who never really noticed her as a person.
A hum of excited possibility gave the future a rosy glow. She would probably need her own personal assistant, although that was a leap.
Two brief calls later, and her life was officially transformed.
Zane wasn’t happy, since he had just gotten used to her taking care of every possible detail of his working day and travel arrangements. However, he was pragmatic. Since Elena had lost weight, his fiancée, Lilah, hadn’t been entirely happy with her as a PA, much as she liked Elena. It was nothing personal, it was just that Lilah had a protective streak when it came to Zane.
“She might relax more after the wedding,” Zane explained.
Elena hung up, a little dazed. She would never have believed it, but apparently she was now too pretty to be a PA.
She walked across to her hotel mirror and stared at her reflection. She looked pale and washed-out, but if Zane Atraeus said she was too pretty, then she was too pretty.
Nick had said she was beautiful.
She could feel herself melting inside at the memory of the way he had said those words, the deep timbre of his voice.
Jaw firming, she banished a memory that could only be termed needy and self-destructive.
Instead of going weak at the knees at any little hint of male appreciation from Nick, she needed to form an action plan. She needed rules.
Rule number one had to be: Do not get sucked back into Nick Messena’s bed.
Rule number two was a repeat of the first.
She would make the rest up as she went along.
Critically, she studied the suit she was wearing. It was pink. She was over pink. The suit was also too feminine, too pretty.
She needed to edit her wardrobe and get rid of the ruffles and lace, anything that might possibly hint that she had once been a pushover.
From now on, red was going to be her favorite color.
She would also make a note to encourage Robert a little more. If she was in a proper relationship, it stood to reason that she would not be so vulnerable to a wolf like Nick Messena.
* * *
One month later, Elena opened her eyes as pads soaked in some delicately perfumed, astringent solution were removed from her now-refreshed eyes.
Yasmin, the head beauty therapist at the Atraeus Spa she had spent the past three weeks overhauling, smiled at her. “You can sit up now, and I’ll start your nails. Can’t have you looking anything less than perfectly groomed for your date. What was his name again?”
“Robert.”
There was a small, polite silence. “Sounds like a ball of fire.”
“He’s steady and reliable. He’s an accountant.”
Yasmin wrinkled her pretty nose. “I’ve never dated one of those.”
Elena reflected on the string of very pleasant dates she’d had with Robert. “He has a nice sense of humor.”
Yasmin gave her a soothing smile as she selected a bottle of orchid-red nail polish and held it up. “That’s important.”
Elena nodded her approval of a color
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