Brian’s POV

I get to the restaurant, and, as I’d imagined, the guys are all waiting for me. I’m still thinking about what I saw back at the office, though. I can’t help but wonder if I made the wrong decision by leaving.

“Good, you’re here. Now we can eat!” Jimmy says, as I approach them, waiting for me outside of the building.

“Gee, thanks, Jimmy. I’m glad you weren’t concerned for my safety, or anything.” I say, in return.

“Oh. Well, I’m glad you made it here safely. Now, let’s eat!” He says, grabbing me by the arm, and practically dragging me inside the building.

After we are seated, I decide now would be as good a time as any to tell them what I saw back there. I’m trying to think of the words I should use, though. I don’t want to make it sound like I’m being biased, by automatically assuming the worst of Elody. After all, I barely know this girl. But, I also don’t want to make it sound like I believe Liam would hurt Elody, at the same time. This process is more difficult than I thought it would be. Oh well, here goes nothing…

“So, I have something to tell you guys.” I say. They all look up, in unison, and stare at me, waiting for an explanation.

“Nothing bad, I hope.” Matt says, continuing to peruse the menu.

“Well… As I was leaving the parking lot of the office, I saw Elody standing there, looking out. She looked sad. Then, I saw Liam approach her, and wrap an arm around her. I saw her expression change. She looked fearful for her life, like someone on a scary movie, trying to run from their killer. Liam closed the blinds, before anything else happened. I can’t help but feeling like I should’ve went back up there, seen what was actually going on.” I explain to them. Matt looks back up from his menu.

“You’re saying that you think Liam is actually the bad guy, and not Elody?” He says.

“I’m saying that I don’t know what to think. I believe that she might be in trouble, though. What if Liam did lie to us? I’m not saying he must have, but what if he did? What if that story he told us was just something he came up with overnight?”

“I’ve never really thought of us as gullible.” Zacky says. “His story seemed awfully believable.”

“Or just plain awful…” I say.

“Why would he spend his time coming up with a lie like that?” Johnny asks.

“I don’t know. Maybe because, deep down inside, he is the terrible person we thought he was, when we overheard him in the hallway.” I respond.

“I don’t know, Bri. This seems like a lot to assume, when we are just going on an expression on someone’s face.” Matt says.

“I can’t tell you he’s the bad guy, but I can’t tell you Elody is either. Maybe we should try talking to her, and get her side of the story, too. What if we are actually doing business with a really good con artist? Or what if he’s actually embezzling our money?”

“Like Zacky said, I can’t see us falling for that much shit. But, part of me also can’t help but wonder if you are right.” Matt looks around the table, at each of us. “I know this may be harsh, but I say we end this deal for good, and take our business elsewhere. I don’t want us to risk losing what we have made. What do you guys think?”

“I guess I agree.” Zacky says.

“Well, I think maybe Brian is right about Liam being the rotten egg in this story, so I’m going to go with ending the deal. Final answer.” Jimmy says, and I smile. He always lightens up these kind of situations.

“Agree.” Johnny says.

“Then, it’s settled. We will end our deal, when we’re done here.”

--

After we eat, we get into our cars, and head back to the office. Once there, we head upstairs to tell Liam what we’ve officially decided on. I can’t wait to tell this guy where he can shove it, I just hope I’m not wrong about him lying to us. But, let’s be honest, he hasn’t exactly showed that we can trust him. He can’t even control himself around his secretary.

When we get to the level, it’s dreadfully silent. We look around, trying to spot Liam, or Elody somewhere, but no one appears. I’m starting to get this terrible feeling, like something is really wrong. All of a sudden, a banging noise is heard from the office down the hall, and something falls to ground. We start to walk toward it, when Liam appears in the office doorway. He looks disheveled, his hair is messed up, his tie is loose, and his shirt is untucked from his pants. He has a small glass in his left hand, which, I’m assuming, is holding some kind of liquor.

“Gentleman.” He runs a hand over his head, to smooth his hair down. “I’m so sorry you are seeing me like this. I’ve just been so busy working lately, I thought I’d let my hair down for a bit, have a drink, ya know.” He laughs. “I must look like a wreck.”

“We need to talk with you, about our deal.” Matt says.

“Sure, sure. Let’s go in here,” He walks forward, and gestures to the meeting room. “and we can talk it over.” He ushers us in, and follows behind, closing the door. “So, what is it that you need to discuss?” He asks, as we sit down.

“We decided to take our business elsewhere, after all.” Matt speaks. “We are terribly sorry for any inconvenience this causes you, but we found a better deal, and we took it.”

“Oh.” He looks mad, suddenly. “Well, you have already signed the papers, it would be a shame to run away now, you haven’t even seen how truly great my business could be to you.”

“We realize we signed the papers, but we want out.”

“I’m sorry, but since the papers have already been signed, you can’t back out, unless you’re willing to pay.”

“Then we will pay.”

“Well, if you’ll excuse me then, I’ll retrieve the termination papers.” He gets up from his chair.
“Why don’t you just have your secretary get them for you?” I ask him, as he goes to leave. A look of anger washes across his face again, but this time it’s gone, as quickly as it appeared.

“I sent Ms. James home for the day.” He says, walking out of the room.

“That’s a lie.” I say to the guys, as soon as he’s gone. “Her car is still in the parking lot.”

“Why would he lie about sending his secretary home?” Johnny asks.

“Unless he is hiding something.” Zacky says.

“Alright. Here are the papers.” Liam returns to the room, and lays the papers out on the table, for us to begin signing. “I’ll just need you to sign the bottom of each paper.”

“Is there a restroom I could use?” I ask him.

“Umm, yes, down the hall, to the left.” He says, pointing down the hall.

I get up from the table, and start to walk down the hallway like I’m going to use the restroom. Instead of continuing down the hall, I decide to take a left toward the office Liam came out of earlier. It’s a good thing his gaze is on the papers, as the rest of the guys sign them, otherwise this plan wouldn’t have worked out.

I make it to the office, and step inside the doorway. I look around. This must be Elody’s office space. The background on the computer is a picture of her and what looks to be her father. I can’t help noticing how happy she looks in that picture. Since I’ve known her, which hasn’t been too long, she hasn’t really smiled at all.

I walk around, to the back of the desk, and suddenly stumble over something. I catch myself, before I fall, luckily, and look down to see that I tripped over Elody. She’s laying on the ground, unmoving. I hurriedly lean down to see if she’s breathing. She is, but she’s unconscious. There’s blood pooling around her head. I stand back up, and start to freak out, a little. What do I do now? Should I call 911? Should I go back to the room, and kick Liam’s ass? It’s obviously his fault, there is no one else in this office that could have done this to her. I pick up the phone, and dial 911. I tell the operator the address and the scenario, and hang up. I’ll let the EMT’s handle her, when they get here, they know what they’re doing, better that I do. I stand back up, and head back to the meeting room.

“Wow, that took a while. Were you fixing your hair again?” Johnny snorts.

“I’m not the one that should be fixing his hair.” I say, turning my gaze on Liam. “Or his alibi, for that matter. Do you want to explain to them what you’re trying to hide, or should I?” I ask him.

“I can assure you that I have no clue what you’re talking about.” He responds.

“Really?! You have no clue, that, as we speak, your secretary is lying on the floor unconscious, bleeding from her head?!”

“What?!” Matt gets up from the table.

“Please, gentleman, stay calm.”

“Don’t fucking tell me to stay calm! You’re a criminal.” Matt spits at him. “What did you do to her?!”

“You know how woman are sometimes.” Liam tries to pretend like we’re just like him. “They get out of hand, and we have to put them back in line.”

“Excuse me?!” Matt yells, his voice growing louder.

“She deserved anything she got.” Liam says, standing up from the table. Zacky, Johnny, and Jimmy, decide to do the same, and gather closer to us.

“You are going to deserve everything you get!” Matt yells. He brings his fist up, but I stop him.
“Matt, I already called the cops. They’re on their way.”

“Good. He deserves to rot in Hell for what he’s done.” He looks back to Liam. “You’re a piece of shit. How dare you hit a woman!”

Sirens are heard, from outside, and soon enough the police arrive upstairs, with EMT’s trailing behind. They question us about what happened, and take Liam into custody. The whole time they’re dragging him out of the building, he’s yelling at us, telling us we are going to pay for ruining his business.

We decide to follow the ambulance to the hospital, so we can check up on Elody, when she wakes up. At the front desk, the nurse asks if any of us are related to Elody, and we respond that we aren’t. She refuses to let us in her room, so we sit on chairs in the waiting room, for what seems like a lifetime, until one of the nurses approaches us.

“After explaining to her what happened back at the office, she is requesting to speak to you all.” The nurse explains, and shows us to Elody’s room. When she notices us, she sits up, and ushers us over. “Elody, you need to lay back, and relax. I’ll be back soon to check in on you.” The nurse says to her, and leaves the room.

“I’m sorry that you guys had to see me like that, like this. I’m also sorry for dumping coffee on you, Brian.” I laugh. “But, I wanted to thank you for saving me. I don’t know what would’ve happened if you guys hadn’t showed up, when you did.”

“I’m sorry for what you had to go through. I wish we could’ve helped you get out, before this had happened.” Matt says.

“There’s nothing you could have said, that would’ve changed my mind. I just don’t know what’s good for me, I guess.” She responds, and lets her head drop a little.

“Do you want to tell us what happened? We only know that he left you there on that floor, bleeding, where Brian found you.”

“It’s hard for me to say it aloud.”

“You don’t have to, if you don’t want. I was just asking.”

“No, it’s okay… I just don’t know who I can trust anymore, you know?”

“I know it probably doesn’t help, and you probably won’t believe me when I say it, but you can trust us.”

“I want to believe that I can trust you guys. After all, you did save me from Liam. It doesn’t really matter what my story is, though, no one is going to believe me over him. He’s a wealthy, well-known business man, and everyone loves doing business with him. Why would anyone believe the secretary that cried rape?”

“He raped you?” I speak up, and her head drops in shame.

“Yes.” She says softly, and starts to cry. “You know… I thought that he might love me, that he would someday leave his wife to be with me. I thought that we would live out a happy life together, after his divorce went through, and we could finally be seen together in public. I hate myself for sneaking around with my boss, a married man, behind everyone’s backs. I hate that I let him in, under my skin, and let him control my life for so long. I thought everything would change, but it never did. Up until a couple of days ago, when you guys showed up, and Brian saw us in the office together, I hadn’t realized just how in over my head I was.

“Liam caught me outside of the meeting room, yesterday morning, and, after I expressed my wanting to leave the office, and be done with him, he told me he would blackmail me, if I tried to leave. Then, after you had left, he got upset with me again. I smarted off to him, being my usual self. I told him I was going home, but he wouldn’t let me leave. He grabbed me, before I could get away, and threw me up against the wall. He raped me, and then left me on the ground, like a piece of trash.

“Once I sort of composed myself, I got up, and went home. I barely slept a wink last night. I had nightmare after nightmare about what he had done to me. I debated with myself, this morning, on whether I should even bother coming back. I decide to show up, because I couldn’t risk him blackmailing me, and not finding another job. I couldn’t risk losing the job I had.
“I came in and basically tried to pretend nothing had happened. Once you guys left, again, however, he came in to my office, and tried to get me to have sex with him. He wouldn’t take no for an answer. I struggled against him, so he tried to throw me to the ground, but my head hit the desk, and apparently, knocked me out. That must’ve been when you guys showed up, because now here we are in the hospital.

“I’m sorry to throw this all on you guys at once. I don’t really like talking about it, but I guess it’s best that at least some of us know the truth.” After explaining all of that, she looks drained.

“Please do not be sorry.” Matt says.

“You shouldn’t be sorry, Elody. It isn’t your fault.” Zacky says.

“Don’t worry, I’ll kick his ass for you, when I see him again.” Jimmy says, and she smiles a little.

“I’m so sorry.” Johnny says.

“I’m sorry, too, Elody. You didn’t deserve any of that, I’m sure. I think you need to rest now, though, so we should go.” I say lastly.

“Will you come back later?” She asks. “I don’t really have anyone else, besides Juliet, and I don’t want her to know about all of this…”

“Sure. We can come back later.” I say, and smile at her. The guys walk out of the room, and I follow after them.

“Brian?” She says, and I turn around.

“Yes.”

“I think I was wrong about you.” She smiles, and turns over on the bed to rest. I smile to myself, as I walk away. I’m glad I could save her, maybe she’ll be the one to do the same for me.

Notes

Alright... here's a new chapter.
I hate it, but I spent two hours typing, and I'm not going back now.
Let me know your thoughts!