Again and again and again.
Thirty-One
Ava
I’m forced into the office on Thursday to fill out some paperwork for the Fox Industries project, mostly as a form of decorum. Dagen has already taken care of things and my team and I already have the marketing plan ready to go once the algorithm program is fully incorporated into it. Felix is busy checking for bugs in the system so after I’d stopped to pick up my coffee order he’d already had waiting for me, he’d stopped messaging me. I’d nearly died when an old school joystick had been delivered to my door this morning and had flicked the finger to the cameras. I could just imagine his chuckle as I’d placed the joystick in my bedroom and left for work.
Goliath is just as busy as always, but when I come into work, there are a few flickering looks of jealousy toward me. I haven’t had to come into the office for a few weeks since Dagen had requested we work in his building. My team has been busy at work in our new office, and it feels almost surreal to be coming back into Goliath instead. Clearly, some of our coworkers are jealous of our current set up, but this is the first time I’ve had those looks border on malicious. A win for Goliath is a win for us all. Or so I’d thought.
The paperwork doesn’t take long, maybe only an hour, before I knock on Mr. Gary’s door to let him know.
“I’m done with all the papers. Is there anything else you’d like me to handle while I’m here?” I ask.
He looks up with a bright smile. “Ava! No, that’s all.” He stands and comes over to clap me on the shoulder. “Dagen Fox has been singing your praises, girl. Keep up the great work. You’ve already increased our profits by thirty percent in the time you’ve been here, so I can’t complain at all about losing you and the team from our office for a while.”
I flush under the compliment. “Thank you. He’s certainly easy to work with. And my team has made all of this possible.”
“And I know that for the lie it is,” he laughs. “Fox Industries is notoriously hard to please. But I appreciate the humbleness.”
Someone shouts in the office and both of us frown at the sudden commotion, turning to try and find what’s going on. The Goliath office is a pretty calm place, characterized by gentle music and low chatter typically.
“Hey! You can’t come in here!” someone yells. “Get out!” An animalistic growl echoes through the office. Mr. Gary beats me to the door, his brows furrowed as he looks for the source of the problem in his company. It’s only when I appear behind him that my eyes widen with horror.
“Where is she? Where is that bitch?” a voice I recognize shouts and my stomach drops.
Fighting against a few of the guys in the office, Ric tries to push past them, his teeth bared. They’re trying to kick him out, since he clearly came in here with ill intentions, but they’re having a tough time holding him back. His eyes find mine when I appear and he grins, but there’s something so evil in the look, I physically take a step back, the urge to hide so strong it makes me want to vomit.
“Count your fucking days, Ava,” he threatens, pointing his finger at me despite the men pushing back against him. And then he stops struggling and lets them push him back toward the elevator. They don’t have to force him into it now. He goes willingly, as if he’d done what he’d come here to do. The elevator doors shut on his grin, leaving me with the image, his eyes on me the entire time.
I brace myself against the doorjamb, my heart so loud in my ears, I worry for a second that I’m going to pass out. The panic attack dances at the edges of my awareness, but I manage to hold it back.
I’m safe. Elsie is safe. I need to let Dagen know.
“What the hell was that about?” Mr. Gary demands as he whirls on me. “Ava?”
“I’m sorry,” I croak, my voice watery with unshed tears as I realize just how bad that looked. This is my work and I’d just brought drama into it. Again. “I didn’t?—”
“Hey, hey, hey,” he interrupts when he realizes I’m about to cry, switching into comfort mode rather than the aggression Ric had stirred. “It’s okay. I’m just looking for an explanation. I’m not accusing you of anything.”
“I’m so sorry,” I rasp. “That’s so unprofessional of me to have drama like that showing up. Oh my god.”
“Ava,” he says, drawing my attention away from the elevator doors. “Shit happens. I’m not blaming you, but an explanation would be nice.”
I press my hand against my forehead and take a deep breath, trying to gather my senses. “He’s my ex,” I whisper.
His brows shoot up. “The COO of Aria Tech is your ex-boyfriend?”
I wince. “Husband. We’re separated but. . .”
I’ve never had a boss actually care like this man does, but it still surprises me when his eyes soften in pity. “I’m guessing he was abusive?”
My eyes widen. “How did you know?”
“You’re covered in scars, Ava,” he points out. “Even had I not noticed them, Ricardo’s reputation proceeds him. It’s well known what a bastard he is. The few times I’ve run into him at tech events haven’t been great. But. . . I didn’t even know he was married.”
“Yeah,” I murmur. Few people knew outside of the business dinners I’d been forced to be a silent accessory at. I was his best kept secret apparently.
“Why not take out a restraining order?—”
