Page 30 of Off-Limits Bad Boy Protector

I quickly stepped into the elevator, my anxiety making me chew my nails. As it ascended to the final floor, my heart pounded in my chest. Leo wasn't okay, and I needed to see him. I deserved an explanation for why he stood me up.

I rushed out of the elevator, surprised to see him walking down the hallway toward his office. He looked like he was walking slowly and heavily, he was trudging more than walking down. “Leo!” I cried running towards him. Reaching him, I spread my arms to hug him, a sigh escaping my lips when my body pressed against him. I had missed him terribly, and I'd been so worried about him.

However, my brows knitted when I realized that he wasn’t hugging my back and his body had stiffened. My eyes darted around and I pulled back, holding his arms."Leo! I’ve been so worried about you. You didn't show up last Saturday, and I tried calling and texting, but got no response. When I checked yesterday, I still couldn't find you. I was really scared something awful had happened!"

There was a cold stare in his eyes, and I stepped back, feeling a little unsettled. Why was he looking at me like that? Eventually, he let out a sigh and rolled his eyes. "You're being very dramatic. It's not like I disappeared from the face of the earth!" he snapped; irritation obvious from every pore of his skin.

I swallowed. I gulped nervously. Feeling both confused and hurt, it was like there was a lump in my throat. His words burst my excitement. They did it like a needle to a balloon. They left me deflated and hopeless.

“Leo! You didn't show up, and all I... I... did was worried about you and make sure you were okay!” I stuttered, finding it hard to speak with the lump in my throat. Leo sighed and ran a hand through his hair in frustration, avoiding eye contact. "I appreciate your concern, but you don't have to worry about me. I can take care of myself."

The hurt soon turned into disappointment and anger, bubbling within my chest. Here I was, trying to ensure he was okay even though he had hurt me. But, he didn’t want my concern and was pushing me away.

"You freak stood me up, Leo!" I snapped, my anger simmering over. "I didn’t even think about that fact, and here I am, caring about you and offering support, and you're throwing me off. How dare you?" My hurt spilled into my voice as I fired off my words.

Leo let out a breath and ran a hand through his hair. He placed a finger under my chin and lifted my eyes to meet his. I swallowed. I hated how easily I melted into his arms, my heart pounding violently against my ribcage.

"I'm sorry, but listen, I can handle whatever is going on in my life. I don't need your so-called concern." I blinked, feeling my heart squeeze in my chest. I took a deep breath and tried to contain the surge of my emotions that threatened to spill out as tears.

"I... I'm not trying to coddle you. I'm just showing that I care about you. I wanted to be there for you if you needed someone to talk to," I stuttered. Tears threatened to spill from my eyes. He rolled his eyes and pushed me backwards. “Go back to your desk. You’re irritating me.”

I blinked, feeling my heart break inside. Why was he being so cold and distant? How could he say such a thing? His words left me feeling numb.“Why would you even say something like that?” I snapped, my voice quivering with both tears and anger.

His eyes narrowed at mine. "Because I don’t need your help or your pity. Because I don’t want you hovering over me. Please!" He hissed, his blue eyes holding so much irritation that I thought I would melt.

My eyes watered, but I swallowed and refused to let tears fall. I bit my lower lip. "I’m not even trying to treat you like a bird. I’m just here trying to care about you," I retorted, blinking to hold back my tears.

He shrugged and rolled his eyes. "Well, I don’t need your care. Thanks." With that, he turned and headed towards the office.

I felt like my heart had broken into a zillion bits. Once more, Lisa was spot on. She always seemed to be, and I was getting a bit annoyed by it. Taking a big breath, I held back tears. I couldn’t lose it here. I could go to my office and cry my eyes out later. For now, I had to keep it together. "Okay," I said, my voice tight. "If that’s what you want."

He never turned back but kept walking towards the mahogany doors.“You don’t have to be so mean!” I yelled as he walked away, my voice shaky, tears ready to spill. He turned quickly, his blue eyes flashing with anger.

I staggered backwards as he walked towards me. I feared for my life for a moment. I imagined he might wrap his hands around my throat and kill me. He wore a smirk that was both mocking and bitter, and his voice was so low, I could barely hear him.

"You think I'm being cruel? You think?" He hissed. "You have no bloody idea what I'm going through, Cassandra, so how about you stop trying to be the best and stay out of this. Go back to work. I don't pay you to stand around and ask stupid questions."

I stumbled back and blinked. So now he didn’t want me asking dumb questions? He used to want me around, but now he can’t stand me. Lisa was right. He was just toying with me. He didn’t really care about me. I blinked, holding back tears.

“You’re right, Leo. I don’t know what’s going on with you,” I retorted. “But maybe it’s because you don’t want to tell me. Maybe it’s because all you’ve ever done since college is hide your problems like they're trophies.”

He glared at me, his anger simmering. “Maybe because I don’t want you all to know. So leave me alone and get back to your workstation, or I’ll get you fired,” he snapped.

He rolled his eyes.

“No more tears!” He groaned and headed towards the doors.

I blinked. He was upset with me and threatened to fire me. Then, he called me stupid for crying, which I couldn't bear. I held my chest, trying to calm my aching heart, and fought back tears. Finally, I wiped away my tears with my wrist.

“Fine,” I choked out, my voice barely a whisper. “I'll leave you, Leo. I'll go back to work so you don't fire me.” With that, I turned towards the elevator, refusing to look back. This was the last time I would care about Leo or anything related to him. I would finally move on. I pressed the buttons and stepped into the elevator. Purposely, I stared at my feet, avoiding meeting his eyes, or seeing him. My heart shattered as the doors closed behind me. Once alone in the elevator, I pressed a hand over my mouth to stifle my sobs and let the tears rack through my body.

Chapter 21

Iput the phone to my ear, biting my lip. I knew one thing: spilling the beans to Lisa about what went down was a bad move. It was kinda silly, but I had to spill the beans to her to let out my feelings. Wrapping the bathrobe tightly around my body, I headed towards the fridge and opened it. I grabbed a can of soda and twisted the cover, opening it to take a huge gulp.

“Can you hear me?” Lisa asked, my voice impatient and holding a tinge of anger. "I'm here, Lisa. It's just that I already know all these things. I do. I just..."

“You just what? You just what?” Lisa fired from the other end. “You don’t know anything! The only thing you think about is him! Who is going to protect you? Who? Now the idiot not only stood you up, but he also called you a nuisance! I need you to decide to cut him off, once and for all!”

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