Page 165 of Come Apart
I feel my control give, a silent, almost gentle snap.
I lunge towards him, grabbing his collar and shaking him. "She loves me."
Ryan doesn't move. He doesn't blink. "Believe whatever helps you sleep at night. Though we both know you aren't capable of that either."
I pull my arm back and drive it into his face. It lands with a thud, a crack of bones and flesh.
He's going to hurt as much as I do.
He pushes me back and throws a punch of his own. Pathetic, as usual.
I pull my arm back and unload again, driving my fist into his stupid face over and over. Until everything around me is a blur of flailing limbs and all I feel is the smack of my knuckles against his bones.
* * *
"I'm sorry."
It's Janine, in the lobby, talking to someone else.
It went so fast—Janine screaming, her hands curling around my biceps as she tried to pull me off Ryan. The stupid look in his eyes—like he was glad, like this proved he's better than I am once and for all.
"Should I call the police?"
"No. It won't look good. Even if it would help get rid of him. Besides, I don't want to waste the time pressing charges."
"But Mr. Knight! He attacked you. You shouldn't allow him to hurt you like that."
"It's nothing. Barely a scratch." I almost laugh at that. "Just take him to his office and give him these. He'll calm down. Maybe for once he'll regain his senses."
He handed her a bottle of pills. A prescription with Alyssa's name on it. Some anti-anxiety medication.
Something he used to keep her drugged, so she'd better fit the role he wanted for her.
Did he really think he had that kind of control over me? I shrugged Janine off. "If you're going to kiss his ass, you might as well just offer to fuck him."
She gasped, pretending she was scandalized. But her eyes flashed with delight. She'd been thinking about it for ages. "Mr. Lawrence. I would never..."
"I'll leave when I'm finished with my paperwork."
"Should I call Marcus?"
My law school friend who lives in New York. My supposed emergency contact. I see him occasionally, but there's nothing he could do now.
"Don't call anyone. I'm an adult. I can take care of myself."
She looked at me with pity. A look she learned from Ryan, no doubt. She shook her head, tsk tsking like a teacher scolding her second-grade student.
We settle our disagreements with words, not fists.
But she lost interest as soon as I closed the door. Probably skittered back to Ryan's office to suck up again.
Poor girl has no idea he'd never date his secretary. Wouldn't look right. Wouldn't appear professional.
He deserved this.
But that doesn't matter anymore.
Yes, Ryan is an asshole.
