Chapter 2: Natalie Long

The first time I saw Natalie Long, I was hooked. She had this shy confidence, a quiet way of moving that made everything else fade out.

Back then, I was a department manager at our company in Toledo. Our office was all flickering fluorescents and burnt coffee—the break room fridge always smelled like leftover pizza. Natalie was fresh out of college, bright-eyed, eager, and so obviously out of place it made her even more appealing.

There was something about her—maybe the way she dressed in simple, clean lines, or the way she kept her head down and her guard up. I could almost smell that hint of innocence, and it was intoxicating.

Being her direct supervisor made it easy to keep her close. I arranged for her to work right by my side, giving me plenty of reasons to interact with her—always with a professional excuse, of course.

She was a standout: diligent, sharp, and totally focused on her work. Every day, I found new reasons to talk to her, to see how she handled pressure, to watch the way she bit her lip when she was deep in thought.

Of course, Natalie attracted attention. Within days, guys from every department started circling. Roses appeared on her desk. In the break room, someone always seemed to be offering her coffee. I even caught one guy waiting for her outside in a shiny new Tesla.

She turned every one of them down. They just didn’t get her—too obvious, too shallow. I knew she needed something different, something deeper.

I watched her closely and realized she wasn’t like the other new hires. She never joined happy hours, always wore plain clothes, and sometimes, I’d catch a flicker of sadness in her eyes. I started piecing things together: maybe her family life wasn’t so great.

A girl from a rough background, especially one this pretty—if she was easily swayed by money or gifts, the world would have swallowed her whole by now. But somehow, Natalie still had that fragile air of innocence. I admired that. Maybe she’d suffered, maybe she’d seen the worst of people, but she was still standing, still strong.

All of this played right into my hands. I kept our relationship at just the right distance—close enough to matter, but never enough to scare her off. I showed I cared, but I never pushed too far. I was always there, but never too obvious.

I was waiting for the right moment to break through her walls.

And that chance came sooner than I expected.