Natalie's Valentine

Natalie looked at him incredulously. "That was supposed to spare my feelings?"

Scott looked pissed and gritted his teeth. "This is what I was trying to avoid. A big emotional scene!" he growled, his voice rising.

She glanced across the room and saw the other techs looking in their direction. She made her voice quieter. "I'm not making a scene! I'd just like to know why you're breaking up with me."

Scott rolled his eyes and ran a hand through his hair. "Can't we just say it didn't work out and go our separate ways," he said with exasperation.

"That leaves me with no closure. I'll always wonder if I did something wrong! That isn't fair!" she blurted back at him.

His expression closed up and his eyes went a little cold. "You want to know why I broke up with you?"

"Yes!"

"It was the sex!" he exclaimed and Natalie noticed they had an audience but Scott was too angry to keep his voice down. "You weren't fucking there when we had sex. Physically, sure but it was like your mind wasn't into it and you were just waiting to be somewhere else while we were doing it. If I wanted to masturbate I could have just stayed home."

Natalie stared at Scott, reeling from his hurtful words. Her mouth opened but she couldn't speak. The pain she'd felt before paled in comparison to the injury he'd inflicted now. Clutching her laptop to her chest she leapt to her feet and rushed from the room. She couldn't deal with meeting coworkers in the elevator so she ducked into the stairwell and rushed up to the top floor, the twenty fifth. No one used the stairwells this far up so she had the area to herself.

The tears burst forth and she sat on the steps gasping and sobbing into her hands. Her heart felt like it had been freshly ripped from her chest. His brutally cruel words felt like another betrayal. How she could have contemplated being in love with someone who could willfully inflict that kind of pain! The tears continued until she felt drained. She looked at the time and saw it was close to 6:15PM. She picked herself up and headed back down to the twentieth and went back to her desk. She dabbed at her puffy eyes with a tissue as she checked her messages. She saw two more deliverable items to add to her file repository. She filed them right away and updated her task check list. She sent a note to Sonja letting her know that some of the deliverables had come in already.

She turned back to her design mock up and made some tweaks to optimize the code. She felt her lower lip begin to tremble again as Scott's words echoed in her mind once more. She dabbed at her eyes to catch the unshed tears.

"Natalie?"

She squeaked and jumped when she heard the soft voice behind her.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to frighten you! Are- are you ok?" Sonja asked with a concerned expression in her blue eyes.

For some reason Natalie couldn't stop the tears from coming and she dropped her hands to her lap and hung her head as the tears fell. Her shoulders shook as sobs racked her body.

When Sonja knelt before her and pulled her into a hug Natalie gasped in surprise. Then the flood gates really opened up and she clung to the woman as her body throbbed with the raw agony of her broken heart. Soon though, she began to relax in the warm embrace.

Her tears stopped and she was able to catch her breath once more. Sonja pulled back and Natalie gasped when she saw the tear stains on the shoulder of the woman's jacket.

"Oh my god! I'm so- so sorry I- I got your jacket all w-wet!" Natalie stuttered out in her dismay.

Sonja took her hands in her own and gave them a squeeze. "Don't worry about that. Tears wash right out. I'm not so sure about the salad dressing I spilled on it earlier though," she said with a gentle smile.

Natalie smiled in return. She felt so much better. She composed herself as best she could and Sonja released her hands. "I'm sure you didn't come here to get cried on. What can I do for you?"

"I'm not going to ignore the fact that my star player was sitting at her desk crying. What kind of a human being would that make me much less a boss?" Sonja insisted.

Natalie just shook her head. "It's not important-"

"Hey! Tears like those weren't from stubbing your toe or a paper cut. Don't keep it all bottled up!" Sonja said, her voice calm but firm. Natalie felt the strength of her gaze pinning her in place once more.

"My- my boyfriend broke up with me last night. In a text." Sonja scowled and Natalie nodded sadly. "I confronted him about it to find out why-" Natalie gasped as the pain rushed back. Her throat tightened and she was unable to talk.

Cool, soft fingers gently held her face and tilted it up so she was looking directly into Sonja's eyes. "Take strength in the knowledge that you broke away from a bad relationship. If he could cause you this much pain then you don't need him." There seemed to be an echo of her grief in Sonja's eyes.

Natalie nodded, taking enormous comfort from her touch. Her hero worship just grew stronger.

Sonja paused for a moment then released her face as something flitted across her features. She shook her head and smiled at Natalie. "You- you mentioned you had some deliverables for me to see?"

"Yes! Let me, uh, I'll just send you a copy of the files. If you make any revisions please send the new versions back to me and I'll add them to my repository." Natalie dragged her mind back to work mode. "There is little I can do tonight until I get more of the outstanding pieces. Truthfully, I was just procrastinating as riding the train when you're crying isn't safe."

"I'll be driving you home tonight so you'll be safe," Sonja said and Natalie's hands came up.

"No! You don't have to do that! It's way out of your way!" she blurted in surprise.

Sonja smiled at her flustered look. "How do you know? Where do you live?"

"I'm at the northern edge of the city. Way out in the burbs. In a low rise apartment complex," Natalie pressed.

"It just so happens I'm living in my house north of the city these days as well. So it's on my way," she shrugged.

Natalie didn't know what to say. She really didn't want to face that train tonight so the ride was welcome. She nodded shyly to Sonja who just smiled at her.

"Send me those files and meet me at my office. I'm going to shut down and get my stuff." Sonja popped back up to her feet and strode away to her corner office.

Natalie did as she asked and moments later was standing outside of the president's office with her overcoat on and her shoulder bag in her hands.

As she locked her door Sonja took in Natalie's red coat. "You look really good in that color!"

Natalie blushed and smiled.

"It looks good on your cheeks as well," Sonja teased and her blush just got brighter and hotter.

They took the elevator to the garage in the basement. Sonja obviously had the clout to get one of the coveted parking spots in the building. The car was as beautiful and sleek as its owner and Natalie's eyes showed her delight as she sank into the luxurious leather seat. She'd never been inside such an expensive car and her eyes were taking in all the amazing features of the vehicle.

She caught Sonja watching her. "Sorry! I must seem like a country bumpkin!"

"Not at all. It's truly nice to see genuine enjoyment. You like my car?" the blond asked.

"I don't think I've ever felt a more comfortable seat," Natalie gushed.

Sonja chuckled and got them underway. Natalie noticed the car had a standard transmission and watched Sonja work the gears effortlessly.

"A standard?"

Sonja frowned at her. "You wouldn't cripple a car like this with an automatic transmission!" The twinkle in her eyes showed she was teasing.

They moved quickly and smoothly through the traffic and soon they were on the expressway circling the city. Natalie's face was flushed once more but this time it was exhilaration from Sonja's driving. The blond had a wide satisfied smile on her lips as she enjoyed Natalie's appreciation of her driving skills.

"My soon to be ex couldn't stand my driving!" Sonja shared.

Natalie looked at her boss in surprise. One, she'd shared an intimate and personal life detail with her, something she never did with anyone and two, that Sonja's marriage had failed. Gerry Ellison was a famous surgeon working in one of the major hospitals in the city. He and Sonja met at a fund raiser and had been together for seven years.

"I'm sorry to hear that. I mean about the ex thing- and the driving thing too," Natalie stumbled over her words.

Sonja glanced over at Natalie's innocent but flustered expression and shrugged. "Thank you."

They drove on in silence and Natalie worried that she'd offended her boss in some way. That feeling eased as Sonja began asking directions as they got closer. Too soon they were at the curb outside her building.

"Thank you so much for the lift home and for making me feel better earlier," Natalie said sincerely.

"You are entirely welcome. I enjoyed having a passenger on the drive home!" Sonja smiled. She began leaning towards Natalie but caught herself and sat back. It was her turn to get a little pink in her cheeks. "I'll see you in the morning!"

Natalie saw the blush but missed the reason for it. She smiled and got out of the car. Sonja gestured for her to go inside and didn't drive away until she saw Natalie inside the inner door of her building.

Trudging up three floors to her corner apartment she locked her door and got ready for bed. It had been an emotional day with too many ups and downs. She was exhausted. She hoped tomorrow would be better.

The next three days were incredibly busy and Natalie was able to push back all thought of her break up with Scott as she had so much work to keep her mind occupied. She did fill Linda in on the outcome of her meeting with Scott but restricted her response to say that he felt they were sexually incompatible. When she let herself recall the few times they'd had sex she couldn't figure out what she'd done to make him say what he had. It hadn't been great sex but she didn't recall acting bored.

She worked very closely with Sonja to expedite the approval process and she'd impressed the woman with her design sense and her technical skills on a number of occasions. It seemed Sonja was beginning to feel more comfortable with letting Natalie make some final decisions about the look of the updates.

The entire team had pulled out the stops and sent her the deliverables over the course of the three days. She shared take-out food at the office each night with Sonja as they sat in her cubicle reviewing the latest changes. The update was going to be the best one yet!

Thursday night found them cramming to get the final revisions in place. Natalie had the update queued for promotion to the production servers. It would go live at midnight for a fresh new look for the website on February 14^th, Valentine's Day!

She'd run the promotion script on the staging environment and it worked flawlessly. There really was nothing left to do. But she enjoyed working with Sonja so much she was hesitant to end it.

"We're done?" the blond asked as she looked over Natalie's shoulder at the promotion timer.

"Uh, yes. All files are queued and ready to go. Tomorrow morning people will wake to a whole new experience using our site," she smiled gently. "Our advertising clients will love the new interface as well as it presents their ads in a much more eye trapping way and will give them far better click through."

Sonja sank back in her chair and sighed happily. She looked at Natalie. "I can't thank you enough for all your above and beyond efforts! Can I give you a lift home tonight?"

Natalie grinned at the thought of riding in that luxury sports car again. "Yes please!"

Sonja chuckled at Natalie's enthusiasm as she'd obviously spoiled the girl.

They talked the entire way back to Natalie's apartment though Sonja caught Natalie yawning broadly behind her hand on a number of occasions. The young woman needed to sleep!

"Don't forget to dress for dancing tomorrow! The team is going out for drinks after work and there will be dancing!" Sonja said with a grin which Natalie returned.

As they sat in the car outside of the apartment the air inside the cabin felt strangely electric. Like just before a summer thunderstorm. Neither of them wanted the evening to end but it obviously had to as they'd reached the destination. The impasse was broken by another big yawn. Sonja playfully pushed at the other woman's shoulder as she snuggled deeper into the warm heated seat. With a pitiful whimper and a pout Natalie opened the car door. It was so cold outside!

She rushed into her building and waved at Sonja who drove away. Climbing the stairs she smiled to herself. Her dream job was just that much dreamier.

Valentine's Day! The day love is celebrated with boxes of chocolates, cards, flowers and in some cases romantic dinners for two, hotel stays, and naughty lingerie.

As Natalie made her way to the train she realized she wasn't going to be receiving any of these things today. She stopped in a florist shop on the way and bought herself a big bouquet of red roses to pick up her spirits. She liked flowers and they would look very pretty on her desk. She grinned to herself. They would look even nicer on Sonja's!

She'd confirmed the website had successfully updated and felt a little thrill knowing she'd played such a large role in the new pages and functionality. It really was her baby. She smiled thinking about how happy Sonja had been about it last night.

As per her request Natalie had worn her prettiest dress. The swishy swirling hem made her want to dance along the street on her way to the train.

The ride in felt shorter than usual and she realized her spirits were so much better than they had been at the beginning of the week. She held her nose to the flowers and inhaled deeply, feeling the scent relax her.

"DIRTY FUCKERS!"

Natalie jumped as a voice yelled out to her left. She glanced in that direction and saw an old woman in a dirty winter coat with a full shopping cart had shouted at no one in particular. Natalie realized that was her earlier in the week. As they pulled into her station Natalie handed the woman a rose from her bouquet and saw the woman's face light up in delight. The old woman said something in a language Natalie didn't understand but her smile was universal.

Soon Natalie was entering the office and she marched right up to Linda and handed her a rose as well.

"You're so sweet! Thank you!" her friend gushed as she leaned over the desk to give Natalie a hug.

She made her way back to her desk, took off her coat, and powered on her workstation. She saw several messages from Sonja and discovered they were messages the president had received. Sonja had included Natalie on her replies. Natalie began to read them and discovered they were all complimentary messages gushing about the new website update. Several were from well-respected designers and fashion pundits. Then she noticed that Sonja was giving her the credit for the design. She was stunned by the generosity Sonja had displayed.

Natalie immediately jumped to her feet with her flowers and went to speak with Sonja. When she reached her office the door was closed.

"Looking for Ms. Ellison?" Sonja's personal assistant, Donna, asked her.

"Yes. Do you know when she will be available?" she replied.

"She's not in yet. She left me a message saying she will be at her lawyer's office for most of the day and hoped to get back before 4PM. You might be able to reach her by email as she has her tablet with her."

"Okay, thanks."

Natalie made her way back to her desk wondering if this was due to her divorce. She wanted to personally thank Sonja face to face for the wonderful messages she'd sent out but that would have to wait. Returning to her workstation she immersed herself in her work.

Before she knew it 5PM rolled around and Maggie was at her elbow. She was a solid woman with a full head of red hair so she was difficult to miss.

"Hey worker bee! It's time to party!" Maggie said using her pet name for her favorite employee.

Natalie looked up from her screen and blinked away the blurriness. "Is it the end of the day already?"

"Did you eat lunch?" Maggie griped taking in the empty cookie packet she probably got from the lunch room. She saw Natalie's eyes move to the wrapper as well. "No that doesn't count as lunch!"

The petite brunette shook her head. "I wasn't hungry."

"No drinks for you until you get some food in you! Come on, let's go! They're holding a table for us next door." Natalie grabbed her coat and followed her boss towards the elevators. She'd come back to the office to get her stuff before she went home.

The usual watering hole for the team was just steps from their front door. On the ground floor of the next office tower was a bar/club/restaurant called The Pink Pearl. It used to be a sushi restaurant but the new owner kept the name. Their food offerings were pretty basic, reasonably priced, and tasted... ok. It was certainly no trendy bistro.

"Has Sonja returned?" Natalie asked as they stepped into the elevator.

"Sonja? You're on a first name basis with the boss lady now?" Maggie looked at her with raised eyebrows and Natalie became flustered. "It's cool! Our Queen is pretty private so kudos to you for breaking through her ice!"

Natalie was surprised that she'd been given special permission. She also didn't like the implied insult of Sonja being an 'Ice Queen'. She held her tongue and waited for Maggie to answer her question.

"Right, well, it has been reported that Ms. Ellison will meet us at the bar. She called from the cab on her way in," Maggie continued as they exited the elevator and strode across the lobby.

It was still very cold out so the two quickly made their way over to the bar. Once inside they walked to the back and the other executives were already taking their seats around a long rectangular table.

Natalie noted that spouses and significant others were also in attendance. All of them. It was Valentine's Day after all. She began to feel like a third wheel and it must have shown on her face as Maggie turned to address her after she gave her husband a hug.

"Most of us are only going to be here for a drink or two to celebrate the successful release of the update then we're off to do our own celebrating," she said with a grin, bouncing her eyebrows.

Natalie smiled faintly and snagged a waitress to order a drink. She took an empty seat up next to the head of the table and nursed her drink when it arrived. Conversation rumbled around her but no one really made any effort to include her as this was date night.

Fifteen minutes later Sonja walked into the back room and Natalie immediately saw something was wrong. The energy in those blue eyes was dimmed and her smile looked brittle. As people noticed her entry they cheered and waved and she fixed a broader smile on her lips as she greeted her guests. Once she reached the head of the table Natalie looked up at her and saw Sonja relax a little as they shared a look.

The president stood at the head of the table and raised her hands to get everyone's attention. "Thank you all for coming. I have to say now, I don't know what I was thinking planning a get together for staff on Valentine's Day. I know you all probably have plans so please go have fun and celebrate the day as you want. Before you go I'd like you to know that I am very proud of you. You really pulled together as the top notch team that you are and we have an amazing new site that is drawing raves from our fans, customers, and advertisers alike. There will be a little extra in everyone's paycheque next week as my thanks! Now get out of here you crazy kids!"

More cheers erupted and quickly the group began to disperse.