I lost it.
My fist flew back and geared up and drove straight into his nose so hard his head snapped back and his body crumpled to the floor like a cheap suit. My brother's head lolled to the side, eyes shut and mouth agape and I heard a gasp from the door and looked up.
"Sir," Penny said, staring at me like she'd seen a ghost.
"Tell security to get this piece of crap off my office floor whenever they finally show up, and cancel everything the rest of the week." I stepped over him, feeling the pulse of my heart beat in my temples. Then I grabbed my jacket and stormed out past her.
I had to be out of this office when Veda walked in. I didn't want to see her when I was this angry, and maybe never again.
If what Clayton said was true and everything Veda had done was a lie aimed at snaring me in some scandal, then I didn't know who I was anymore.
"Sir," Penny called after me but I was gone, already inside the elevator waiting for the doors to close.
My entire body throbbed with unspent adrenaline. I knew I should stop and call Robert or Mike, or any number of men from AA who could help me. But not a single one of them could take the last nine weeks of my life and undo them or make them right.
The woman I fell madly in love with had lied to me about everything. My own brother had conspired against me to not just get me fired but to break me mentally until I was nothing but a shell of a man. And my life felt like a cruel joke fate had played to ensure I felt the weight of every mistake I'd ever made, every sin I'd ever committed.
I stormed out into the chilly air with my jacket draped over my arm and no destination in mind. I just had to get away from wherever Clayton was and wherever Veda would be.
And after no more than ten steps I saw Murphy's, the bar I would drink at in the evenings for months after Emma died.
So I turned that way.
No one could change the facts of what was happening, and no matter how hard I tried to be okay with life, it kept kicking me. I might as well indulge and drown my aching heart.
It was as good as dead anyway
26
VEDA
My head was throbbing as I rushed through the doors of the office. I had no way to check the time thanks to my bright idea to smash my phone, but the normal work crowd was huddled by the elevator. I let them take the first car and waited on the second one. I had no desire to be caged in with a bunch of my coworkers while I was this flustered and nauseous.
When the second car arrived I stepped in with one other woman who was absorbed in her phone and paid no attention to how breathless I was or the state of my hair. I hadn't done anything with it short of brushing it out in my rush to get out the door and in here to Asher. Clayton had a fifteen minute head start too, because I had to shower and dress before I could get out the door.
Now pacing toward Asher’s office the whole vibe of the building felt off. Penny stood outside his door with her arms folded, chewing on a nail, and two security guards stood inside the office, visible through the windows. As I approached, Penny looked up at me and frowned hard.
"What's going on?" I asked, and her eyes narrowed at me as her lips drew into a thin line.
She turned and sighed hard, and for a moment I thought she wouldn’t speak to me, but her shoulders dropped. "Mr. Locke left very upset. His brother is in there."
"What happened?" I asked her, touching her arm softly. I got a sick feeling in my stomach that rivaled the morning sickness. Penny never looked this distraught.
She stared at where my hand touched her, so I pulled away as she said, "You'll have to ask Mr. Locke himself, Ms. Porter."
Her words felt like a slap. I stepped back with a chill shooting through my veins. Penny hadn't called me Ms. Porter since the first day I started here, which meant Clayton had done exactly what he said he was going to do and it wasn’t just Asher who heard it.
"I'm sorry," I muttered but I reserved the real guilt and shame for myself. I'd known better from the beginning but I went forward with it because I saw dollar signs and a potential for a better life. And it wouldn't ever matter to anyone in this office why I had done what I did. They all loved Asher. They would all see me as a horrible person. Because I was.
Penny didn't stand around waiting for me to say anything else. She turned to walk back to her desk so I stormed into Asher's office where Clayton sat on the couch with a blood-soaked tissue pressed to his face. He looked up as I walked in but all he could do was glare at me while he nursed what looked like a very broken nose.
"What did you do!" I hissed, ignoring the fact that two security guards stood over him watching him mop up a mess. If Claytonlooked this bad, it gave me very little hope that Asher looked much better. It terrified me. He could be anywhere right now and my worst fear was that this would all send him into a spiral or make him go on a bender.
"Go away," he grumbled, pulling the tissue away to fold it over and press it back in place. In that short time, more blood poured from his nostril, dripping to Asher's carpet below.
"What did you do, Clayton! My god!" Besides the panic I had over Asher drinking again, my heart was shattered.
My entire life was in upheaval now. My coworkers would never look at me the same again. I'd be forced to quit now. And I had no doubt that if he followed through on this, he'd also follow through on suing me.
