Love in Paradise Read Online Free PDF Page A

compulsion to please her partner. It had simply...happened. In spite of that, absolutely nothing else could happen here. Nika was a practical and realistic woman. There was a world that she needed to get back to, and she was determined to escape the island chain. Perhaps next time she would try something a bit more domestic.
    She continued walking through the house, surprised that she did not encounter Onur. Even as she reached the front door, the only person she ran into was the guard from West Seattle. He quietly led her around the exterior of the house to a waiting golf cart that would carry them to Onur’s private airstrip. Not to Nika’s surprise, the boy from the taxi service sat in the behind the wheel, but his usual cheerful demeanor was absent today. Nika sat in the back of the cart, and the guard from West Seattle took a seat up front.
    The cart proceeded down a dirt road for about ten minutes before it reached the private airstrip. It was about as Nina could have expected, a cement strip with a bit of a parking lot. A hangar stood to the left, open, and the private jet was being fueled on the runway.
    Once again, Onur was nowhere to be seen. Though her heart sank a bit, Nika was secretly grateful. If she had to see him, then she might, might just feel bad for leaving him behind. Perhaps if she could imagine he didn’t care, it would not be so hard to leave. It was a long shot, but if she didn’t have to see his face, it would be that much easier.
    The sky was overcast, filled with gray clouds, as if it were signaling and end. Nika thought she saw lightning flashes here and there behind the imposing clouds but she couldn’t be sure. She walked briskly toward the jet, wanting to get this over with as quickly as possible. She reached the portable metal staircase leading to the open door, her foot on the bottom step when she saw him standing near the hangar.
    He made no move to approach her, he simply watched. It was at this point that Nika understood she had a choice. She could either board the plane and be on her way, or she could take the other option. For now, she took option two, walking slowly toward the hangar. It was a fairly short walk but it seemed to take forever, and Nika’s feet moved as if they were immersed in mud. They met in the middle, though standing more than five feet away from one another.
    “Without love, we are nothing.” Onur repeated.
    Nika nodded. “I can’t stay with you.” As she turned and walked toward the plane, she thought she heard him say that he loved her.
    * * *
    Nika sorted through a pile of papers on her desk. She was looking for one specific set of documents, and when she failed to find it, she simply used her arm to clear the entire desk. She slammed both fists on the wooden surface and pressed page button on her PBX phone.
“Maria!” She said, rather irritably. “Where’s the damn Sian folder?”
    Maria’s voice came through the speaker: “Nika, I’m your boss, want to tone it down a little?”
    Nika took a deep breath. “I’m sorry...I’m sorry...I just need the--”
    “It’s in the file cabinet beside the water cooler -- I’m not sure why you want to read it NOW of all times.” Maria replied.
    Nika closed the line and walked out of her office. Sojourn was a basic travel agency, albeit with a slightly larger budget than most were privy to. In the main area there were six desks, each with one agent. They typically did not deal with clients face to face, in fact most interaction was done over the internet these days.
    As she walked past each desk she could hear snippets of conversations. Each agent was helping someone plan a beautiful vacation or romantic getaway. A few weeks ago none of this would have bothered her, but now she could only concentrate on what she had left behind. When she reached the file cabinet she yanked the second drawer open, nearly pulling it off the track. She flipped through the file folders, all the way to S, and eventually