Masked Heart

Chapter One

Opening the door, Bret sighed when he saw Rain sat at her desk tapping away furiously on her keyboard. She'd been like that for the last four nights; as soon as she got home she'd have a quick bite to eat and then rush up to the office. The pressure that Rain was putting on herself to get this right was ridiculous, but ever since Vince had tasked her with coming up with something fresh and new she'd had this manic approach. He knew she had an idea that Vince would take some persuading for but generally she had the boss' ear and could persuade him to her way of thinking. To think he'd once implied that he was the one that Vince would listen to first! He watched her for a few minutes and then, glancing at the clock which showed the time to be just after midnight, he crossed the room and placed his hands on her shoulders. She barely flinched, though he knew he'd startled her, continuing to type away her proposal for a new storyline.

"Hey, it's after midnight, Cinderella. You'll turn into a pumpkin if you don't switch off now," he said softly, leaning down to kiss the back of her neck.

"Lemme just finish this bit," she said, her words slightly slurred as she was so tired. Bret sighed and stood up straight, but kept his hands on her shoulder to remind her that he was still right behind her. Finally satisfied, she saved her document, emailed it to Vince and then closed it. As soon as she'd done that and he was sure it was safe to, Bret reached across her and shut the PC down. He turned her chair so that she was facing him and looked down at her, concerned. Rain's face was pale and there were dark shadows under her eyes. She looked a little drawn and he knew she'd lost weight, but then she was barely eating. All her time was spent at work and in this office, but when she looked up at him her eyes shone with happiness. This was her absolute dream and part of him understood why she put so much into it.

"Sorry," she said, getting up and looping her arms around his neck. "I didn't know it was so late."

"You don't have to apologise," he said. "But you do need to be looking after yourself sweetheart. I'm worried you're taking too much on."

"I'm fine, honestly. Just really excited. If I can get Vince to go for this it could be epic! And my dad..." She broke off, clearing her throat and Bret saw the emotions flicker across her face. "Well I just want him to be proud of me." He couldn't comment on that; Rain's relationship with her parents was something he could never quite get his head around. He knew they were distant and they hadn't always been as supportive of her as he thought they should, but they were all she'd ever known. Their relationship was better now than it had been but still somewhat strained.

"Well I reckon Vince has had enough of your day now and I know we both have time off tomorrow," he said. She gave him a slightly alarmed look.

"Oh but I was just going to ..." This time he stopped her with a gentle kiss.

"I thought we'd head out to that lake again with the lodges and maybe swim?" Rain chewed her lip, knowing he had struck her weak spot. She had a particular fondness for the lakeside lodges where you could relax and enjoy an indoor picnic before heading for a walk and a swim in the most beautiful setting. She leaned up and kissed him back.

"Ok, you win. I won't work tomorrow."

"And the next day is also the weekend so you'll not be working then either," he said, firmly. Rain rolled her eyes and he raised an eyebrow. "There are occasions when you do need to listen to me, Rain. You'll be burnt out if you continue like this."

"So you won't be working out or attending any meetings for the next couple of days either then?" she challenged and he gave her a sheepish grin.

"Well I have to work out or I'd end up out of shape," he said.

"And I have to write or the ideas just end up going round and round in my head so I can't think about anything else," she countered. Then she looked up at him and he could see mischief in her gaze. "I mean I can't think about eating or sleeping or my gorgeous husband and all the things I might want to do with him..."