Page 50 of Decoded
Chapter thirty-five
Anna
I
saw Keaton step out of the conference room about thirty minutes ago looking like he’d gone ten rounds with Rocky Balboa. He and his brother were walking in the direction of Lincoln’s office, presumably to complain about what happened on that call. I don’t know many details about Caruso Enterprises, but I know they’ve been a pain in his ass since day one.
As I finish typing up the minutes I took during a meeting from earlier in the week when my desk phone rings.
“Hey, Anna. I hope you’re having a good day so far.” Chelsea, the receptionist at the front desk, is always so sweet. “I just wanted to let you know that there’s a man on his way up to see you.”
“Oh, well I hope he doesn’t mind waiting. Mr. Fisher is currently in a meeting.”
“He isn’t here to see Mr. Fisher,” she explains. “He clearly stated that you were the one he was looking for. Anyway, I just thought I’d give you the heads up. Have a great day, Anna.” Sheends the call and I hang up my phone wondering who in the hell would be here to see me.
“Hey, sweet girl.” My spine stiffens at the sound of that voice. That name. I look up and standing directly in front of me is Daniel Brenner. “I told you I’d be seeing you soon.”
I want to scream. I want to run away. But fear has me frozen in this fucking desk chair that digs into my sides. “I thought I told you not to block my new number, but you just had to go and disobey orders. Tell me, does your new boss know you’re such a naughty girl?”
Keaton. I need Keaton. I shout his name over and over in my mind as though I have telepathic powers. Why are he and Lincoln taking so long? Why isn’t he here already?
“Have you missed me, sweet girl?” Daniel asks, his voice sending a tidal wave of nausea crashing into me. Memories of being trapped in his office surface and I start to tremble. I shake my head, and Daniel reaches across my desk, running his hand down my cheek and catching my chin, squeezing to stop my motions. His spit lands on me when he says through gritted teeth, “Don’t lie to me, you fat whore.”
“Get your fucking hands off my wife.”
I feel instant relief at the sound of my husband’s voice. It’s going to be okay. He’s here and it’s all going to be okay. But when I see that Daniel has only grown angrier, I should have known better.
“His what?” He roars, then lifts his hand and slaps me across the face so hard that all I can hear is a ringing in my ears.
Pain radiates through my face at the unexpected assault. A flash of dark hair and business attire is all I see before I hear the sound of bones crunching. Needing to know Keaton is okay, I pop up from my seat behind my desk to look down at the violent scene between my two bosses on the ground. There’s blood on Daniel’s face and on the tile floor, so I rush around to the otherside of my desk. I need my eyes on Keaton. I need to know if he’s okay. There’s a river of blood flowing from Daniel’s nose and I can see there’s blood on Keaton’s knuckles, but I can’t make out if it’s his own. The way he has Daniel in a hold and punching him repeatedly makes me think it isn’t. Other than a look of fury that would send Attila the Hun running for his mommy, Keaton appears to be okay.
A few people in the office have gathered to see what the commotion is all about and I hear someone call for security, but my focus is on my husband. He doesn’t need his employees to see him like this. He doesn’t deserve Daniel to wreck his life the way he’s done everything he can to wreck mine.
“Keaton!” I cry out, hoping to gain his attention, but he’s lost to his rage, hitting Daniel relentlessly. “Keaton, please. It’s Anna. Stop. Please.” My voice must finally get through because he releases Daniel’s shirt that he has grasped in his fist, and staggers back. I rush to him, tugging his hair with my fingers, running my hands up and down his arms, trying to ground him so he’s back with me.
“Are you okay? Please tell me you’re okay.” His breathing is heavy, and Keaton doesn’t say a word, but he wraps me in a hug and for the first time in a long time, I feel safe around the bloody mess of a man on the floor.
I cling to Keaton but say nothing, hoping he can feel how much I love that he fought for and protected me. I want him to feel how much he loved me. Everything is silent for a few moments until a villainous laugh bubbles out of Daniel.
“Oh, sweet girl, you really fucked things up. You fucking married him? When you knew you were mine? Knowing that sweet cunt of yours belongs to me.” I flinch at his words and when I look at Keaton, his brows are furrowed in confusion.
When I glance back at Daniel, an evil grin is fixed on his face. “Tell me Anna, does your husband know that I had you first? That I felt you first? That I tasted you first?”
Keaton tenses under my touch before he drops his hands from holding me. Gasps sound from the crowd behind me. Daniel’s crude words make me sound like I’m some kind of workplace hussy. There’s no telling what my coworkers think of me, but there’s only one opinion that matters to me at this moment. I stare up at my husband, but his gaze is averted, looking anywhere but at me.
“Keaton I didn’t. I never…” Daniel cuts me off before I can explain why my former boss knows such intimate details about me.
“Did you forget to tell your husband about how you would wear sweet little skirts just to tease me? How I had you up against the counter in the workroom? And the way I sank myself into you while you stood there in my office?” Keaton backs away, no longer within my reach.
“You didn’t tell him about all those late nights and weekends we spent together? Oh, sweet girl, I can’t believe you hid all that from him.”
My body began shaking at the way he was twisting his words. He knew I didn’t want any of that, but Keaton didn’t. “Daniel, stop. Just stop and leave. Leave now or I’m pressing charges.”
Daniel’s laugh sends disturbing chills down my spine. “Pressing charges? You really are such a stupid, fat fuck. Your caveman of a husband broke my fucking nose. I’ll be the one pressing charges. And you better believe I will take every last fucking cent from him.” Daniel, who has managed to get to his feet by this point, turns to face Keaton. “Be prepared, Fisher. I’ll take your fucking company, and then I’ll take your fucking wife.”
I watch my husband, expecting him to be furious at Daniel’s callous words. I expect him to lunge in Daniel’s direction,tackling him to the ground. I expect him to yell and tell Daniel to get the fuck out of his office. What I don’t expect is for him to do nothing.
He stands there, expressionless. Then, without so much as a glance in my direction, Keaton walks into his office and closes the door.
