I stepped back. “Nobody. I tripped and fell into a door. Now I really need to go.”
“Emmi.” He hissed my name, his eyes lingering on my bruise.
“Excuse me,” I mumbled and made a run for it. I raced outside and down the street, ignoring his calls for me to come back. Walking without a direction seemed like a good idea to get away, but once I ran out of steam, I realized I had gone further than planned. My ribs were on fire and the walk back to the office took me over an hour. I peeked inside to make sure the coast was clear and once I couldn’t hear or see Rhett, I went back inside.
“Where the hell have you been?” Cassie said as soon as she spotted me sneaking back to my desk.
“Out for a walk. It was my lunch break after all.”
“You left us with that angry hulk of a man. He only left because I told him what happened to you. Why didn’t you just tell him?”
“You did what? You had no right. It’s none of his business.”
I was outraged, but at the same time I knew that if Rhett wanted information, he would get it.
Cassie waved her hand to dismiss my concern. “What is he gonna do? You don’t even know Dickhead’s name.”
Unapologetic as ever. If there was one thing Cassie excelled at it was standing by her decisions. A trait I admired. Because I was the master of questioning myself. And she was right anyway. At least it got Rhett off our backs.
“What did he want anyway?” I asked as I settled back at my desk.
“He said he’d sign a three-year contract with us if we contract you out for the time of the agreement,” Cassie said, calm as a pickle.
A three-year contract would be huge. It would set her up for a long time since it was such a big client. She could expand. Use his name to get new clients. This was amazing. And bad. Firstly, because I didn’t want to be contracted out and have to work in Denver. A two-hour commute did not sound appealing. Secondly, I didn’t know shit about the program except for its specs. Claire and Martin were the brains who worked with the clients on implementation and maintenance. And thirdly, just no. It was Rhett. He had an ulterior motive. I guessed he wanted me under his control to punish me for what I supposedly did.
“I hope you told him to stuff it.”
“What do you think?”
“Yup, you told him to stuff it,” I grinned at her, enjoying the fact that somebody told the almighty Rhett no for a change. “I’m guessing that’s why he lost it in your office?”
“That, among other things. But that’s not important right now. What is important is what we’re going to do about your problem. You need to convince Freddie to go to the police. People like Dickhead are not going to just let this go. As our local crime lord, he won’t just take the humiliation.”
I sighed. And then I sighed again. It was a double sigh situation after all. Because she was right, once again. And I knew I had to do something but just couldn’t get myself to make a decision. If I made Freddie go to the police station, she would freak out and never forgive me. If I left it alone, he could show up at our house at any time.
“I don’t know what to do. I keep seeing Freddie on the floor over and over again.”
Cassie dropped down next to my chair and tucked a strand of hair back behind my ear. “Whatever you decide to do, you have my full support. If Freddie doesn’t want to go to the police station, you guys can just come live with me. It will be fun.”
That last part was a lie. Cassie lived in a two-bedroom apartment. It was a nice, swanky apartment. But there was no way we would all fit.
“Thanks Cass, I’ll figure something out.”
“I know you will. Now get back to work, I need you to fix the double-ups for next week. I saw at least three on my calendar.”
“All lies. Your calendar must be confused.”
She grinned at me. “It must be.”
