I wiped at my tears as I walked over to my coffee pot. “Here, let me make us a fresh pot. It’ll only take a second.”
The conversation with the police officer passed in a blur. I told him my side of what happened. I tried to answer his questions to the best of my ability while he filled in the gaps with the story JoJo had apparently fed him and hearing his side of things only served to make me more confused.
JoJo had heard me struggling and his vision tunneled?
It sounded like something out of a movie.
“Well, ma’am, thank you for the coffee. It was delicious.”
I stood to my feet and escorted the police officer to the door. “I’m glad you enjoyed it.”
He turned to face me as I opened the door. “Are you sure there’s nothing else you want to tell me?”
I furrowed my brow. “What do you mean?”
He sighed. “The paramedic that tended to you? I interviewed him as well. He says you’ve got old injuries on the bottom of your tongue. He says he was worried about how you got them. Care to clarify?”
I shrugged. “What does that have to do with what happened in the parking garage?”
“Nothing. Just wanted to make sure you felt safe here in your apartment. Or, you know, at your place of work.”
Shit, shit, shit. Come up with something.“Look, I—Mr. Ryker rides all of his co-workers, but it’s what makes us better. And now that tax season is behind us and all of the documentation is submitted, he’s giving all of us time off. Like right now, I’m taking the rest of the day as well as Monday at his behest. He gets that he’s been hard on us.”
“What does that have to do with your tongue injuries?”
I blinked. “That’s how I got it. Working late, dropped my pen, cracked my chin against the desk.”
“A force to your chin like that on a sharp corner would’ve warranted stitches as well. At least, that’s what the paramedic said.”
Jesus Christ.“Okay, look. I get it. I’m a frumpy, overweight, fuzzy-headed damsel in distress. At least, that’s how you and Mr. Ryker and the rest of this country sees me. But I’m more than that. I’m stronger than that. And when I say that I cracked my chin trying to get to my pen, what I mean is I had been working overtime for three weeks straight up until that point trying to get everything done and I was practically a zombie at that point. I could have crashed through a window and my body would’ve been so limp that it probably wouldn’t have injured me. So, if there’s nothing else, I’d like to go back to feeling like the strong woman I know I am instead of everyone accusing me of covering up how weak they believe me to be.”
He drew in a deep breath. “You’re right, ma’am. My apologies. It’s just that we see so many abuse cases that sometimes we can misinterpret signs that aren’t really signs at all.”
His words settled me a bit. “Never stop doing that. But I’m telling you—as God as my witness—I’m not one of those women.”
His gaze gave me the old one-two before he closed his notepad. “Thank you for your time, Miss Loren.”
I nodded as I ushered him out the door. “And thank you, Officer.”
It was a relief when he finally left my apartment, and I was able to close my door. But, what in the absolute hell did JoJo think he was doing? Why in the living fuck would he call on my behalf and command me to press charges?
If he wanted to torture me so badly, why the hell did he want to keep me safe?
20
Rebecca
As much asI wanted to relax over my long weekend, I couldn’t. If my mind wasn’t torturing me with thoughts of the work I’d have to return to, it kept me up all night long with confusing thoughts about why JoJo kept going so hot and so cold on me in the span of a few hours. I tried to focus on work and while I managed to do it long enough to get all of it done, I still dreaded going back into work on Tuesday in order to turn it in.
And when the day finally came around, I wanted to cry the second I entered my office.
“You’ve gotta be shitting me,” I grumbled.
There, on top of my desk, were at least thirty different files stacked in various positions all across the top. I clutched the files I had gotten done over the weekend close to my chest as I turned on my heels and headed up to JoJo’s office. I couldn’t take this any longer. I’d have to quit if he didn’t ease up on me at least a little bit.
But, as I approached his office, Lexie stood from her desk.
“Miss Becca, you can’t go in there.”
