Nadine strode purposefully into the shiny clean offices of the Zimmerman Group as though it were another normal day at work—even though she had cleverly negotiated a two-week leave of absence barely a few days ago.

Dressed smartly, if not in her usual business suit, she held out her hand as the elevator quietly soared to the higher floors. She admired the gleaming rock on her finger.

She would never take this ring off.

It had been a few days since Ethan’s proposal had taken her completely by surprise. Quiet excitement still bubbled under the surface of her skin; it hadn’t quite left since that day at the park when he had suddenly fallen down on one knee and asked her to marry him.

She knew already that she couldn’t imagine any other life, not one without him. Not any more.

The elevator doors opened and Nadine beamed from ear to ear as she walked down the long hallway to her office. Ethan had gone to see Douglas, his mentor at the Hayward gallery, and, well—what was she supposed to do? They’d come back to the city for a few days, and she thought it would be a good use of her time to deal with important last minute things at work. Just in case anything had come up.

“Nadine?” Melissa’s surprised face welcomed her.

“Hey, Melissa. I know, I’m not supposed to be here, but I was passing through—I thought I’d look over the Noble Vintage specs. I think some of them needed to be signed off.”

Melissa opened her mouth to say something. “Michael already signed them off.”

Nadine looked crestfallen. “He did? Oh, okay, then I’ll just check a couple of things anyway now that I’m—”

Melissa let out a shriek. “Oh my goodness, is that a—you got engaged! Oh my goodness, Nadine. You got engaged!” Her secretary jumped to her feet and leapt over to where Nadine stood.

“I did,” Nadine announced proudly, and held out her hand while Melissa fawned all over her ring. “We’re engaged.”

“When? Oh my god, I’m so happy for you.” Melissa threw her arms around Nadine with excitement.

Slightly overwhelmed by the outpouring of emotion, Nadine turned a little redder. “Thank you.”

“Ethan is just the most perfect, perfect guy for you. You’re so lucky.” Melissa took a hold of Nadine’s hand again and examined the ring as closely as if she were checking for its clarity. “And he’s lucky too,” Melissa added, almost as an afterthought. “When’s the wedding?”

Nadine extricated her hand gently. “No idea. Let me get used to this first.” She beamed, unable to wipe that continuous smile off her face. The smile that had started the moment Ethan had proposed, and they had made up. The moment she just knew that turning down the opportunity to go to Europe was the right decision.

“We haven’t even thought about the wedding. It just feels so…comfortable reaching this far. You know?” She wasn’t sure if she was talking to herself or Melissa as she headed towards her office, just behind Melissa’s desk. No harm in logging onto the company intranet. Seeing that she was already here.

“I can imagine, it would feel right, with the right guy…” Melissa said.

Nadine nodded.

“But you’re crazy for coming to work when you should be out doing something else.”

“I’ll be gone soon. Ethan’s got some things to deal with at the gallery.” She opened the door to her office. “Is Michael in?” She might as well let Michael know of her good news.

“He’s been in meetings most of the day,” replied Melissa, walking back to her seat and bringing up the calendar on her screen.

“Oh?” Nadine usually knew of Michael’s timetable, yet this was news to her. She’d only been gone a few days and already it felt as though lots was going on at work. “Who with?” she asked casually, still hovering around the door.

“He was with the Noble Vintage guys this morning …” Melissa’s voice trailed off as she scrutinized her screen. “He’s in conference room one with Tanya right now. He’ll be free in half an hour if you want to see him.”

Tanya Braun? The woman she had replaced was back? Sandra had mentioned as much before. Why was Michael talking to Tanya and how come she knew nothing about it? Nadine’s throat felt suddenly dry.

“Okay.” She feigned nonchalance, trying to dismiss the clawing thoughts that seized her. “I’m going to check a few things and then I’ll be gone.” She disappeared into her office.

Minutes later, she’d looked through her diary, checked a couple of things on her list and then she walked out, casually strolling past conference room one. With its glassy front wall, it was easy to see who was inside it.

She stopped short, felt her stomach roil. Huddled around the table with intense looks on their faces were Michael Zimmerman and Tanya Braun. They didn’t see her, so deep in talks where they. There was no entry on her diary or calendar of Tanya coming in today.

“Well, well, well.” Nadine’s heart sank as a familiar voice behind her settled heavily over her like a damp blanket. She started to walk away from the all-seeing glass walls, not wanting the people inside to see her. And she especially did not want any scene playing out now.

“Sandra,” replied Nadine breezily, hoping her easy tone would filter through. She half-turned and gave Sandra a welcoming smile—a smile she hoped would imply that she was fine. Just fine.

Sandra’s beady gaze swept over Nadine’s shoulder. She snorted. “Worried?” She sneered, circling around her and facing the glass. “One golden girl replaces another.”

Don’t listen to her.

Nadine pretended to think about it. “Worried? Of course not.” She made to move away.

“The hell you’re not,” said Sandra. “Aren’t you supposed to be on leave or something?”

As much as Nadine tried to steer them away from the conference room, Sandra seemed intent on doing the opposite. She stood in full view, and any minute now Nadine felt sure Michael would look up and see them both.

“I must get on—I’ve got a couple of things to sign off,” said Nadine defensively. She ran her hand through her hair, tried to act relaxed, even if she felt as stiff as a dead body. “I’m taking time out of the office for a few weeks.”

“Then ask yourself why you can’t keep away.” Nadine didn’t have a ready answer for her.

“Is that a ring on your finger?” Sandra asked in a tight voice. She peered at the ring as though Nadine had a big glob of bird droppings on her hand.

“Of course it’s a ring.”

“The escort proposed, did he? Well, well, well.” Sandra’s smile was slow, almost pained, as if it took a great deal of effort to make her lips turn upward.

“His name’s Ethan. Can’t you be happy for anyone, Sandra?” Sudden rage boiled up inside Nadine at the way this witch had referred to Ethan. She suddenly wished she’d taken Ethan’s advice and gone for a pampering day in the city. The only problem was Nadine didn’t do pampering too well. Hence the reason she was  back at work and now taking a verbal lashing from the office Gorgon.

“It’s all downhill from now. Love? Marriage? Oh, puh-lease.” Sandra sneered. “Children? Everything you do, going forward, will suck up your time and drain you.”

Nadine almost shrank back. As nasty as she knew Sandra was, even this onslaught was one she hadn’t been prepared for.

Too shocked to reply, she stood there, letting Sandra attack her.

This time Sandra stood at Nadine’s side, as they both faced the conference room. Michael and Tanya were going through some paperwork and were still too engrossed to realize they were under observation.

“You do understand that you can’t have both, don’t you? It’s either your career or your marriage.” Tsk, tsk, tsk. “I thought you were smarter than that, Nadine.”

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