Chapter 2
Nathaniel Donovan prided himself on his composure. He had been subjected to a lot of scrutiny over the course of his young life and he could manage his emotions quite well publicly. His composure, intellect and looks were things that he prized most. He had light brown hair, deep green eyes, a chiseled jaw and full, pouty lips. His lightly tanned skin helped show off his physique. He was a regular at the gym and his body reflected that; he was lean and extremely muscular, although he could stand to build up his calf muscles a little more.
Today, he was making an appearance to give money to charity. This 15 minutes would help his reputation immensely; he was an insufferable bachelor and had no interest in changing that. So, he donated money, got a tax write-off and a reputation boost.
He moved to get out of the car as he noticed Alex, his head of PR and the person responsible for him being here this morning, walking towards someone. His gaze wandered in that direction and his breathe caught in his throat. His heart started beating rapidly. All he could do was get out of the car and move in the direction Alex was headed.
The first thing that he noticed was her long, curly, espresso colored hair. She was dressed in colorful, modern business attire. She seemed pretty short, but had heels on, so he didn't know her exact height. Her skin was like ivory and he could tell that she worked out by the toned forearms that were peeking out of her jacket as she played with her hair. As he got closer, he could see her features more clearly. She was breathtaking; that's why he struggled to breathe when he caught a glimpse of her. Her hazel eyes with specks of the most exquisite green, plump rosebud shaped lips, high cheekbones and perfectly arched eyebrows made her look like a heavenly goddess. He felt inexplicably drawn to her.
He tried to play it cool and walk over causally, his two personal assistants trailing behind him like shadows as always. His legs felt wobbly. 'Is she some kind of a witch or siren? What the hell is wrong with me? I have never had any kind of symptoms like this with any other woman in my life. Yes, she gorgeous, but I've slept with models and actresses. I must be coming down with a cold or something.'
"Rhonda," he stated coldly to his female assistant, "schedule a video visit with my physician today."
"Sir, you don't have any openings in your schedule today-" she started but he interrupted her.
"Reschedule anything low priority. Make room. Also, cancel whatever dinner plans I had. Jamal, make sure I am somewhere private whenever the appointment occurs," Nathaniel stated with zero emotion in his voice.
"Of course, sir," he heard from both of his assistants simultaneously.
He could hear her talking to Alex, or rather, Alex talking to her but he couldn't make out the words. He heard his name called and continued his approach. Every step felt strange; it was as if his body was automatically moving and he wasn't in control.
Finally, he was next to Alex. He stared at the woman before him with an unreadable expression and then noticed something else; he was getting hard! 'What the fuck?! Think of anything else! Quick, recite the alphabet or the national anthem. Or both!' he thought, regaining his composure through recitation in his head.
"Hello, I'm Paige. It's a pleasure to meet you. Thank you so much for your generous donation to Second Chances," she said as she smiled brightly.
Paige was trying her best not to let her rage ruin the opportunity for the shelter. They had waitlists for some of their programs and this donation would allow them to expand their services exponentially. But, she was feeling weird at his approach. Her heart was racing, but she attributed this to nerves. She was only going to accept the check in front of the media and Haley would be giving the tour and answering any questions. That, plus now she was nervous that she would blurt out how much of a jerk she thought this guy was.
It didn't help that he was attractive. She hated to admit it, but he was. He was very fit and tall. Well, most people were tall to her, if she was being fair. He had a nice, strong face, hazel eyes and brown hair. He had a blank expression on his face. She zeroed in on his lips, waiting for him to say something back. There was a marked pause before he finally spoke.
"Hello, Paige. My name is Nathaniel Donovan, but you can call me Nate or Nathan, if you'd like," he said. Paige thought he said it seductively, as if he was teasing her. He seemed determined to make her hate him. That type of behavior was really unprofessional.
Nathaniel was trying to be his normal self, but he blurted out the last part of his introduction, which was not normal. His mother and close friends were the only people allowed to call him nicknames. He never asked business associates or even women he wanted to sleep with to call him anything other than 'Nathaniel' at best. Normally, it was 'Mr. Donovan'. For some reason, this woman was endearing herself to him without even trying, which caused his brain to malfunction or something. What was happening to him?
Paige looked at the shocked faces of the 3 people surrounding Mr. Donovan. She guessed that he normally behaved more professionally in his business dealings, or at least that's what she hoped. She decided to try and occupy him with some other task so he'd stop staring at her and making her have goosebumps.
"Nice to meet you, sir. As I said, we're very grateful for your generosity. Would you like a tour of our facility?" Paige's voice was angelic. Nathaniel thought he was going insane. Everything about this woman was attractive.
"Yes, I would very much like a personal tour from you"