“Wait, there’s something…” I let out a gasp when our lips finally part.
“I know, I’m being a very bad girl by visiting you at work.” She smiles and her hand moves to my cock, then she lifts up to silence the next thing I try to say.
In my head, every word that needs to be said spills across my lips. But that doesn’t happen. Instead of saying the words, my body reacts to our touch, and I kiss her one more time. My hands move to her hips. She’s so fucking amazing. I wish I could just hold her all day. I feel myself slipping into the same swirl of desire that consumed me last night. No, I can’t…
“What the fuck!?” A voice startles me, a voice I recognize as well as my own—the voice of a very confused father.
“Mr. Brooks, you can’t go in there. Oh my god!” Joanna’s voice is next, and while I assumed that she knew after Kiana’s arrival, it’s clear she didn’t put every piece together.
Everything seems to move in slow motion. Kiana’s lips jerk away from mine. Her eyes fill with panic, and I’m sure mine reflect the exact same thing. I turn in time to see the look on Lawson’s face shift from confusion to rage while Joanna continues to look like she’s just witnessed a murder. That may be exactly what she’s going to witness—fuck, why did I let myself get so consumed and distracted.
“Dad! What are you doing here!?” Kiana’s eyes fill with tears.
Lawson doesn’t respond to her. He walks toward me. Kiana shatters in an instant. It overwhelms her. Then she runs. Away from me, away from her father, and she nearly knocks Joanna down when she bolts from my office. I turn my attention back to Lawson in time to see his fist coming.
I could dodge.
I could block it and break his arm if I wanted.
But I don’t.
I take the punch I deserve. It crashes into my jaw so hard I’m sure I feel something crack. I spin and don’t try to keep myself steady. I go down in a heap. Several kicks come next. Into my back, into my ribs, and one hits my kidney.
Absolute chaos.
Lawson screams with rage.
Motherfucker. Bastard. Son of a bitch. He hurls every insult as he continues to attack me. I could’ve avoided it all if I had just told Kiana—if I had just turned Lawson away when he came to me for help. But I didn’t. This is my reward.
The beating stops. I open my eyes enough to see security in the room. Lawson is tackled, but he doesn’t stop screaming, even when they finally drag him away. I put a hand on my desk and see blood pooling on the floor. It’s dripping from my face, probably my nose or my mouth, but it doesn’t matter. I’d bleed for Kiana every day of the week if I had to.
“Mr. Ward! Oh my god! You need to go to the hospital!” Joanna rushes to my side and tries to help me stand.
“I’m fine!” I push her off and catch a glimpse of my reflection in my office window. I’m a fucking mess. “Just leave me alone!”
Joanna’s concern turns into compliance. Security drags Lawson away, and Joanna slowly backsteps until she reaches the door. Behind her, I see a room full of people who are thoroughly confused. They heard the commotion and came running, then they witnessed a nightmare.
There is one more sigh of concern from Joanna before she pulls my door closed.
My head is pounding, and my entire body hurts, but the only thing on my mind is Kiana. I fumble around in my pocket until I pull out my phone and grimace when I see that the screen is cracked. I try to turn it on, and it flickers a couple of times before it dies. It must have broken when I hit the floor, or one of Lawson’s kicks finished it off. Either way, it isn’t working. I don’t even know Kiana’s number—it was programmed into my phone.
Maybe she went back to my place. It’s wishful thinking, but I have to try.
I take a moment to clean myself up with a few napkins from lunch, and then I leave my office. I can feel every eye on me. All of my employees, they probably think the worst of me; office gossip doesn’t take long to spread. It isn’t that hard to put the pieces together.
“Mr. Ward, should I call someone for you?” Joanna stands as I walk past her desk.
“No, I’m fine.” It comes out like a bark with a tone much harsher than she deserves. I’ll have to apologize later.
My face is on fire. My body feels like it has been stomped into the floor. Fuck it, the pain is good for me. It’s a physical reminder of the hurt I’ve caused by being careless. There would have been a time when Kiana and I had to eventually tell Lawson about our relationship. His reaction might not have been much different, but at least it would have been a little more controlled.
Kiana doesn’t have the best relationship with him, but she definitely didn’t want him to find out like this. I know that, even if we’ve never discussed it.
Everything could have been avoided if I had just told her the truth last night—or this morning. I allowed myself to get drawn into temptation until the inferno I feared was bellowing around me, and it may have consumed everything we had.
I pray that isn’t the case. I don’t know where we go from here, but I’m not prepared for it to end. Not like this. Not ever.
I can’t lose her…
The elevator takes forever. It feels like a descent into hell with uncertainties hitting me like harsh realities I don’t want to face. I finally make it to the parking garage and fumble for my keys. I normally don’t fumble like this. Did Lawson’s punch kill a few brain cells in
