Chapter Four: Distraction... Or not.
833 Words
Bryan's POV
I slammed my office door so hard that it made Marcus look up from his desk across the hall.
"Rough day?"
"Shut up."
"That bad, huh?"
I ignored him and sat down. I opened my laptop. Stared at the screen without seeing anything.
All I could see was her standing there with water dripping down her skin and that towel barely holding on.
Her eyes wide and how her lips parted.
I had only tried calling her to sort the files with a rival company, and when she didn't pick and I could hear the ring from where I was at home, I had decided to go check. But now, that scene can't just leave my head.
"Damn it," I muttered and rubbed my face.
This was bad, really bad.
No, I didn't do this, I didn't lose control. There is absolutely nothing wrong.
Especially not her.
She's my stepsister and the daughter of the woman my father married six months after promising he'd never remarry.
The girl who showed up with her fake innocent act and her big eyes and...
"You're thinking about her again."
I looked up and Marcus stood in my doorway, with coffee in hand, and that annoying smirk on his face.
"Get out."
"Nope." He walked in and sat down.
"You've been weird for two days. Ever since she started."
"I'm not weird."
"You called her phone fourteen times today."
"She wasn't answering."
"And you never call anyone fourteen times. Not even me, and not even your father."
I glared at him.
"Do you have a point?"
"Yeah. You like her."
That word sounded extremely funny to me and I laughed for like a minute or two.
"Did you day-drink again?" I had asked Marcus, obviously disgusted.
"You hate her?"
"Yes."
"Liar." He took a sip of coffee.
"You want to hate her. But you can't, and it's driving you crazy."
I stood up.
"I have work to do."
"Fine. Run away. But you know I'm right."
I grabbed my jacket and left.
The elevator ride down felt too long as I needed air and space.
When the doors opened in the lobby, I walked fast toward the exit, and ran straight into someone.
Papers went flying everywhere.
"Oh my God, I'm so sorry!" I heard a woman's voice and when I looked down. Isabelle was on the floor, scrambling to pick up documents.
Of course. Of course it was her.
"Watch where you're going," I said, my voice coming out harsher than I meant.
She looked up. "You ran into me!"
"You were in the way."
"I was walking! You were..." She stopped. Took a breath. "Never mind."
She kept grabbing papers and I should have just walked away and left her there, but I didn't.
I instead bent down and started helping.
"I don't need your help," she muttered.
"Just take it."
Our hands touched when we both reached for the same paper and she pulled back like I burned her.
We stood up at the same time and I handed her the papers.
"Thanks," she said quietly, not looking at me.
"You're welcome."
Just as I was about to go, she called me and I turned to look back at her.
"Can I ask you a question l?" She had said.
"What's that?"
"about Sarah Chen?"
My whole body tensed as I immediately got agitated.
"Who told you that name?"
"Someone. Doesn't matter. What happened to her?"
"Nothing."
"Mr. Mark..."
"She quit. That's all."
"Why?"
"Because she couldn't handle the work."
"That's not what I heard."
"What did you hear?"
"That you destroyed her."
I laughed, but it wasn't funny.
"People say a lot of things about me. Most of it's not true.
"So nothing happened?"
"Nothing that concerns you."
She stared at me. "You're lying."
"I'm not."
"Then why won't you tell me?"
"Because it's none of your business!"
My voice came out too loud and the people passing by looked over.
Isabelle left immediately after that
I don't know what was going on but one thing was sure, I don't like her and never will, not after everything that has happened. I admitted that my s*x life has been low and maybe I just needed to go out more often.
A part of me was scared as everyone I cared about left. Mom died, Sarah quit and disappeared.
If I let myself care about Isabelle, she'd leave too.
Better to push her away now before I get attached.
Before I did something stupid.
My phone buzzed and it was the security calling.
"Mr. Mark, we have a situation."
My stomach dropped.
"What kind of situation?"
"Someone broke into Miss Carter's car. The one we just got the new tires on. They left something on the driver's seat."
"What?"
"It was a dead rat. And a note. It says 'Last warning.'"
My blood went cold as I quickly asked
"Where is she now?"
"Still in the building. We're trying to locate her."
- Writer
