Danielle Roberts, affectionately called Dani by most was living a life of luxury.  She had a fabulous job that paid her well, she worked with fabulous people and she was doing what she loved.  However, she knew that’s what was missing in her life.  Love. How does a woman of her status get to be 27 years old and single? Every time she went to visit her family that’s all she heard, “Why aren’t you engaged?” or “When are you going to settle down?” or her favorite, “Are all the men in homosexual?” Dani didn’t know or didn’t care.  She was smitten with one of her co-workers, Chad Collins.  He was gorgeous, smart and funny.  He was a southern gentleman tried and true.  Whenever they went to lunch or dinner, he held doors open for her and pulled out her chair.  Whenever they had office meetings he always sat next to her and he always smelled of sandalwood and citrus.  When he was deep in thought his blue eyes took on a cerulean color.  When he was tickled about something his nose crinkled.  Dani had been studying him.  He was just genuine.  She wouldn’t say that she was in love with him, but she was developing a serious crush.  He was the all –American boy next door. 

            Chad Collins was a 28 year old 6’8 250 pound former basketball player at UT.  He grew up in Music City, better known as Nashville.  His mother was a former country music singer and his father was a record producer.  He had two older brothers and a younger brother. Growing up in a home with three brothers, taught him how to fend for himself and to be confident.  If he wasn’t confident around those guys, he’d have drowned a long time ago.  After finishing college and knowing that basketball was just a means to an end, a free education, he decided to get his MBA from the University of Georgia. He went from being a Volunteer to a stinking Georgia Bulldog. But, he wanted to go to one of the best schools in the Southeast to accomplish his goal.  After getting his MBA, he pursued his dreams of working in the sports industry as a Business Development Manager and agent.  He played a dual role.  He was young, single and getting rich.  Life couldn’t be better. But, when his frat brothers were getting married left and right and his own brothers were becoming dad’s and husbands, he started to think that something was wrong with him.  Chad had been in a serious relationship once or twice in his life.  But since the age of 25, his love life had become hit or miss.  His last serious relationship ended when she decided she’d rather sleep with a prominent Nashville attorney.  The woman had gone on to become Miss Tennessee and she ended up being the runner up to Miss America.  She was now a reporter for E Television.  Every now and then they would hook up for random sex, but that was getting old and he wanted what his brothers had. Since he’d been living in Atlanta, there was no shortage of women. He was straight which immediately increased the ratio for him.  He could have two or three dates every night if he chose to, but there was only one that he wanted to date, Dani.

            She was gorgeous, flawlessly beautiful, brutally honest, caustically sarcastic and everything that he could ever want in a woman. Dani epitomized femininity to him. When she was in serious mode her brown eyes darkened to the point where it seemed as if they were blacked, but when she was tickled about something her eyes sparkled like amber discs.   She was the kind of woman you’d be proud to call your own.  The problem was, she seemed immune to his charms.  He’d pulled out all the stops, opening and closing doors for her.  Taking it slow with lunches and working dinners, on the weekends he would send her funny little text messages hoping that she would see she was on his mind.  It didn’t seem like any of it was working.  The last time they had been alone together, they’d gone to eat dinner at Paisano’s Italian.  Things seemed to be going in the right direction finally, but as they were loosening up, their boss, David Kerrington walked in and decided to join them at their table for dinner.  Chad’s plans for seduction and at the very least a chaste kiss goodnight, were foiled. There was an issue with their relationship before it could even take off.  They had signed a “no dating” clause in their contracts. David Kerrington was really serious about “the clause” as it was known around the office, because early in the business a secretary had accused one of the vice presidents of sexual harassment after she ended their consensual relationship.  David settled out of court, but had everyone’s contracts redrawn and everyone had to re-sign them.  Because of “the clause”, employees who decided to date had to then decide if the relationship was really worth it.  Taylor Fleming, Dani’s predecessor and Matt McKenzie, Chad’s predecessor had gotten married and was considered an epic casualty of “the clause”.  They had gotten married and had beautiful twin girls.

            Chad wanted to walk down the same path.  The McKenzie’s were totally happy and in love.  Whenever Taylor came to the office, she would bring the girls with her.  They were bubbly and precious little packages of dynamite.  They were 18 months old and walking all over the place.  Chad’s idea of a happy family was two kids, preferably a boy and a girl, with a dog and a cat and a nice sized house in the ‘burbs.  He hoped that he’d get his wish soon.