“You blaming Alan for that condom ad?You don’t even realize how ungrateful you sound.”His voice is smug, like he’s got a point.
“Shut the fuck up!”Jessy roars, drawing even more eyes.“Go, Fen, upstairs.I’ll deal with this asshole,” he says, shoving me forward.
“Finally, you’re talking to me again,” Mike sneers.
I groan, shove past, and storm up the stairs.I don’t know what the hell Mike’s ranting about, but clearly it hit something with Jessy, and I’ll pry it out of him later.Right now, Laird and Alan are all that matter.
The third floor is too quiet, only Alan’s office door hanging half-open.I hurry straight to it, bursting in without thinking.
“My, my, what a sick bastard you are,” Alan’s voice drips.
Something so shocking knocks the air out of my lungs.It’s worse than Tom naked with his secretary.Alan’s got his hands gripping the back of Laird’s head while Laird’s fists twist in Alan’s collar, and their lips—God, their lips are pressed together.
The world stops.My heart pounds so hard it aches, blood roaring in my ears, and my hands fly up to clamp over my mouth.
No.This can’t be real.
Laird freezes too, but only for a second.He shoves Alan off and smashes his fist into his face.“Get the fuck off me, you psycho!”
Alan stumbles, twisting down onto the sofa, chuckling like a maniac.Laird doesn’t stop, and doesn’t even blink.He grabs Alan by the shirt and slams him again, another punch cracking across his jaw.Then another, then another.
“Stop!Stop this, both of you!”I scream, my body shaking so hard I can barely move.
Laird halts, his chest heaving, and his eyes flick to me.He drops his grip.“Fenella,” he rasps, but my sobs drown it out.
“Don’t!”I shoot up my finger, trembling so bad it barely stays steady.“Don’t you say my name with that mouth.”My lungs seize, panic crashing over me, and I glare at him with all the rage I can scrape together.
“I’m so fucking done with your jealousy, with your moods, with having to babysit your feelings while you’re wrecking my heart.”My fists clench so tight.
Alan laughs.
“And you!”I whip around, pointing a finger at him.“What the hell do you want from me?You trying to wreck my life?”
I’m screaming like a mad woman.My body shaking, breath tearing raw from my throat.
“You want revenge, Clark?”My voice cracks.“Are you really Clark Thomson?”
Silence slams down.The ringing in my ears is unbearable.Alan freezes for a second before he straightens his shirt, and clear his throat.His eyes flash with something that looks a lot like fear.
Jessy’s voice cuts weak from behind me, his breath hitching.“Oh my God.”
Alan swallows hard, then forces a shaky calm “Fenella, hey, relax, alright?”
11
Calling an Angel
Fenella
“How could you do this to me?Goddamn it!”I scream.
Both hands claw at the air as my eyes lock on Alan.My whole body’s shaking.Curses rip out of me like I can’t stop.He swallows hard, like he can’t breathe under the weight of everything I’m throwing at him.
“Fenella, baby,” Jessy murmurs, sliding his arm around my shoulders and squeezing tight, anchoring me, keeping me from flying off the edge completely.
“Tell me, Clark, what the hell makes you hate me this much?”I drag my fingers through my hair.Tears stream hot and relentless down my cheeks.My chest hitches like I can’t even control my lungs.
I never imagined the man I thought was always helping me, my boss, would turn out to be my old schoolmate—the one I rejected, the one Amy used to bully, and now somehow part of Amy’s family.
