Page 26 of Heart of Stone

At first she looked shocked, but then her expression changed to one of angry betrayal. I felt like I had just taken a solid blow to the head. I couldn’t react if I tried. It was if time was literally standing still.

It wasn’t until the elevator doors closed, that I realized what the scene must have looked like to her. I disentangled myself from Justine’s hold.

“Christ, what has gotten into you? You have no patience! And your timing sucks,” I bit out irritably, turning to go back into my office. Justine followed me and I closed the door behind her, sparing the office staff from a screaming match. I could tell that she was itching for a fight.

“Come on, Alex! You wanted your secretary to reschedule me – me of all people! And I think it’s terrible that I had to make an appointment to see you in the first place,” she whined.

“Sorry. It’s been a busy week,” I muttered, taking a seat behind my desk. Justine gracefully sat down in the seat across from me and folded her arms in a pout.

I fired up my computer and opened my inbox. I started sifting through emails, deleting what wasn’t needed and sending off quick responses. I wasn’t going to put much consideration into Justine’s petulant attitude. She would get to her point eventually, and I didn’t want to have some long, drawn out brawl in the meantime. It was a waste of time – time that should be spent chasing down Krystina.

I came across the email from Stephen that had Krystina’s information in it. I opened the file to reread it for the fourth time that day, hoping to find some piece of information that might help me to defuse the time bomb that I had unintentionally set.

“So what have you been so busy with? That pretty little thing that just ran out of here?” Justine taunted.

“That’s enough,” I said impatiently, silencing her with my hand. I closed my eyes, and took a deep breath. When I opened them, I looked pointedly at her, warning her not to challenge me. “That woman was an interview. A very important interview that you interrupted. Believe it or not, I do have a company to run.”

I didn’t elaborate on what else she interrupted. Justine would go ape shit if she knew that I had practically sexually assaulted a potential employee. Her interruption was most likely the best thing that could have happened, as much as I begrudged her for it.

“I know that you’re busy, and I’m so sorry to come barging in like this. It’s just that…this is important and I didn’t know what else to do!”

The anguish in her voice caught my attention, forcing me to take a closer look at her. As always, she looked impeccable, which I’ve come to expect nothing less of her. The allowance I gave her every month was more than enough to purchase her designer cloths, high-end cosmetics, and perfectly manicured nails. However, I was among the few people in her life that could see through the smokescreen. And her makeup.

Although she did a good job of covering it, I could still see the subtle puffiness under her eyes, and the faint redness around their rims. She had been crying before coming to see me.

“What is it, Justine?” I asked, adapting a gentler tone, even though I already had suspicions about what might really be upsetting her. This wasn’t about a few unreturned phone calls.

It’s probably her scumbag ex-husband again.

“It’s Charlie,” she told me, her eyes welling up with tears. She tried to blink them back.

I called that one right…

“What’s the bottom feeder up to?” I asked irritably. I had zero tolerance for the gambling addict that used to be Justine’s husband. He was a despicable waste of a human being.

“It’s bad, Alex. He’s been making threats.”

“What do you mean? What threats?” I hissed through my teeth, instantly fueled with rage at the thought of him hurting her again. She had already been through enough. “I’ll kill the fucking bastard if he touched you again!”

Justine winced. My tone was menacing, which I knew she hated, but I couldn’t help it. She brought out every protective instinct that I possessed.

“No, he didn’t hurt me – at least not in the physical sense. He’s been calling… a lot. I thought about just having his number blocked, but I was afraid to because of what he’s been threatening. It affects both me and you,” she told me.

Fear shone through her tears and she started to shake, the tremble causing her legs to visibly bounce. I hurried over to her side and pulled her up into my arms. I held her tight and stroked her long hair.

“It’s alright. It doesn’t matter what his threats are. He can’t do anything to me. And I already told you – I won’t let him hurt you anymore,” I tried to assure her.

“No, no! You have to listen to me, Alex!” she shouted, shoving me away. She inhaled deeply, attempting to regain some of her composure. “Damn it! This is why I’ve been blowing up your phone. He’s threatening to expose us – our past!”

I felt all the blood drain from my face, a pit settling in the depths of my stomach.

“And how would he know about our past, Justine?” I asked, my voice low.

“Because…cause I told him!” she hiccupped, a fresh wave of sobs making her lose it all over again. “I had to tell him. It was part of my therapy a long time ago. And now, all these years later, I’ve barely made peace with everything myself. The last thing I want is a media circus. I couldn’t handle it, Alex. I just couldn’t.”

My hands tightened into fists. It took every ounce of will power I had not to smash something in the room.

“Fucking shrinks,” I cursed under my breath. I never could understand why she put so much faith in those head nutters. I moved around to the backside of my desk to get her a linen handkerchief from my desk drawer. “Is it safe to assume that Charlie wants you to buy his silence?”

---