❦ ❦

I could feel the slow throbbing of a headache building behind my eyes as I went through the stacks of documents on my desk that needed my approval. By the time I finished signing the last one, my head felt like it was about to explode.

Leaning back in my seat I closed my eyes, rubbing my temple in an attempt to ease the pain. I hadn't slept at all over the past two days and the exhaustion was finally catching up on me.

"You look like shit, you know that?"

I opened my eyes to find Nathan standing in front of me. I was so engrossed in my thoughts I hadn't even heard him walk in. "You should try looking in a mirror."

"Ah, you wish you looked as good as me." Grinning he headed to the wet bar. "Want a drink?"

I shook my head even though I desperately needed a strong drink. I had a meeting in thirty minutes and needed a clear mind for that. It was with the short-listed candidates for the managerial position of the Bali Hotel. I always played an active role in the recruitment of all my senior staffs and the final interviews were conducted by me. The other interviews were done by my HR manager, who was currently in Bali, recruiting staff for all the other positions. Once that was completed, everyone would be given extensive training for one month so that they would be able to deliver the high-quality service that the hotel chain was famous for.

Nathan grabbed a beer and took a swig before sitting back. "So how are you holding up?" His grey eyes were filled with concern as he studied me.

"I've been better but I'll live." I admitted with a shrug, hating myself for sounding so pathetic. It had been two days since Kate broke up with me. Two days without talking to her, without seeing her face, without touching her and it was driving me crazy. I missed her - so fucking much. She was always in my mind.

My whole body ached for her, craved her in a way that was physically painful and I knew that if I gave into it, it would destroy me. So I had buried myself in work, punishing myself with long hours for the past couple of days, hoping that it would help me take my mind off her. But it hadn't helped. Whatever I did she was always there in my mind. There was no way to block her out.

I had a scheduled meeting with her the following day. She would be giving me the final updates about the hotel project before flying out to Bali next week. Part of me was counting the seconds till our meeting but the other part was telling me to cancel it. Seeing her and not being able to touch her would be torture and I didn't think I could handle that.

But I reminded myself that it was business. I never let my personal life interfere with the business and I wasn't going to start now. The only way I could go through with the meeting was thinking of her as my interior designer and not as the woman I loved.

Nathan was silent for a moment, his expression thoughtful. "You're not thinking of letting her walk away, are you?"

"She already did, man. It's over."

He gave me an incredulous look. "So that's it? You're just going to sit there feeling sorry for yourself?"

"I'm not..." I broke off with a curse. There was no use denying it. For the first time in my life I was in love. And for the first time in my life I'd been rejected. Kate had hurt me badly. She made me feel like a failure. So, yes, I was feeling sorry for myself. I dragged my fingers through my hair in frustration. "What the hell do you want me to do?"

"Fight for her, dammit. You love her. You can't just give up so easily."

"Look, I've done everything I can. I poured my fucking heart out to her, basically begged her to give me a chance but she didn't change her mind. I can't force her to feel something for me that she obviously doesn't."

He sighed in exasperation. "I saw the way she was looking at you that night. As if there was nothing else in the world for her but you. You must be out of your mind if you think she doesn't love you. "

"She doesn't. She's made that very clear. All too clear."

He regarded me silently, drumming his fingers lightly on his knee. "

When he opened his mouth to speak I cut him off. "I don't want to talk about it anymore."

Before he could say anything, my intercom buzzed

"Yes, Andrea?"

"Mr. Valiente is here to see you, sir."

Nik had called me earlier that morning and told me that he would stop by sometime before noon. "Send him in. And please push back my next meeting."

"Yes, sir."

❦❦❦

"We've had a break in the search for the man in the sketch." Nick went straight to the point without wasting time. "We circulated the sketch in Kate's neighborhood and a woman working in a nearby coffee shop said a man matching his description came in there a couple of days ago. She was able to remember him because he stayed there till closing time."

He opened his briefcase and pulled out a file. "He paid for the coffee using his credit card and we were able to identify him using that information. "

"Do you have a name?" I asked trying to be calm.

"Michael Rider."

Nathan's face registered the same shock and disbelief that I was feeling. "Michael Rider?"

"Yes. I understand he went to the same high school as you. We ran a background check on him and he came up clean. Never any trouble with the law." Nick handed me the file. "Here, take a look at this. We have gathered all information we could about him."

The file contained Michael's address, credit history, employment history, educational background, passport and driving license copies.

"Son of a bitch." Nathan muttered under his breath.

"Are you sure about this?" I asked still unable to believe that Michael was the one behind everything. Even though we weren't close friends, we used to hang out together. We both played on the school football team so had the same circle of friends. Even after the incident involving Kate, where he went and told her about the bet he made with me, I was civil to him.

Nik nodded. "He is the one. I've already shown his picture to Ricardo Soto, and he said he is the guy who paid him to plant the bomb in the hotel."

Nathan cocked an eyebrow at Nik. "Who is Ricardo Soto?"

"He is the one who set the bomb off in the Chicago hotel." I said pulling out a photograph of Michael from the file. It was an enlarged shot of his passport photo. I realized why I hadn't recognized him from the sketch. He had changed a lot in six years. He had gained weight and his hair had thinned and receded on each side. He looked like a totally different person.

Pressing the bridge of my nose, I angled my head to face Nik. "So what now?"

"Now we do everything we can to find him. His listed address and phone number are no longer valid. He doesn't even have a vehicle registered to his name and he is currently unemployed. So, it's not going to be easy to track him down."

Nathan frowned. "What about his family and friends? Surely you can track him down through them?"

"We are already on it. Two of my agents are on their way to talk to his family in San Antonio as we speak. We have also put traces on his credit card so the minute he uses it anywhere we'll find him."

Nik must have seen the frustration on my face because he gave me a reassuring look. "I know this investigation has been dragging but that's only because we didn't have a solid lead before. But now we have a name so it's just a matter of time before we catch him."

I nodded knowing Nik was doing everything he could. A couple of years ago Cheryl was targeted by a stalker and Nik and his team had caught the guy in less than a week. His company provided security detail to many high-profile clients and was one of the best private investigation firms in the country so I knew how capable his team was.

"At this point in the investigation we have several questions but those can only be answered when we catch Michael." Nik said gathering the contents of the file and putting it in order. "For instance, I checked his travel history. He has never been to Bali. And he wasn't on the cruise when you and Kate were. So that means the pictures of you and Kate that were taken in these places couldn't have possibly been the work of Michael."

Picking my pen off the desk I twirled it in my hand as I mulled over his words. "So you think he has an accomplice?"

"I'm certain of that. And I think this accomplice is the same man who attacked you in Bali and he must have been on the cruise too. So now I just need to find out if there is anything that link Michael to anyone who was present onboard the ship during the time that you were."

I got up from my seat, unable to sit still. The throbbing in my head was still there and I pressed my thumb against my thumb as I paced restlessly. "Kate is leaving to Bali next week. She will be staying there for a month."

Nik nodded knowing what I was about to say. "I'll arrange to have Alex accompany her."

"Nothing should happen to her, Nik." I held his gaze as I said that. "Your first priority should always be keeping her safe."

"I understand. As long as Alex is with her you have nothing to worry about."

The next half an hour was spent answering all the questions Nik had about Michael. I told him everything that happened between us in school.

After Nathan and Nik left, I stood at the floor to ceiling wall of my office looking out at the wide open view of downtown Los Angeles spread before me.

For a brief moment, I thought of asking Andrea to cancel all my meetings for the day but then pushed that thought away. Despite how exhausted I was, work was the only thing that was keeping me sane.

There was an aching hollowness in my chest that refused to disappear. An emptiness that could only be filled by the one who was the cause of it. I knew I should be feeling happy about the new break in the investigation but it failed to raise my spirits.

Thrusting one hand in the pocket of my pants, I ran the other over my face. As much as I resisted I couldn't stop thinking about Kate. I missed her so much I had no idea how I was supposed to keep going. It had never occurred to me before that I was capable of loving someone so deeply.

Absently, I rubbed my chest trying to ease dull pain that seemed to have taken place there ever since she walked away. I realized what people said about love was true. It had a way of bringing even the strongest men to their knees, made them weak and vulnerable.

I wondered about what Nathan said. He wanted me to fight for her. There was nothing in the world I wouldn't do to have her by my side but how could I fight for a one-sided love? Like I said, I couldn't force for her to feel something she obviously didn't.