Leashed
883 Words
CHAPTER 7: Leashed
He was mid-conversation on a Zoom call. Some virtual boardroom lit up his screen, all sharp suits and sharper voices. He didn’t even flinch when I kicked the door open like a woman possessed. His eyes flicked to me once. Calm, unreadable. Then returned to the screen.
"Push the quarterly back by two days. I want clean numbers before the board sees them," he said smoothly into a sleek headset. "We’ll pick this up later."
He clicked out of the meeting, removed his headset, and leaned back slowly.
I stood frozen, seething, barely keeping my rage from combusting. My chest heaved. My hands trembled.
"You mentally sick bastard. Where is my brother?! You had no right. No f*****g right to kidnap him."
Adrian said nothing. Just tilted his head slightly, observing me like I was an exhibit behind glass.
"Do you even understand what I went through today?! I thought he was dying or already dead! I tore through that hospital like a lunatic while you played God. Who do you think you are?!"
I couldn’t hold it in. I was unraveling. My voice cracked under the pressure of everything I’d held together for too long.
"If anything happens to Eli…"
He finally spoke, and his voice dropped like a blade.
"If you keep up this little performance, you’ll never see him again."
The words knocked the air from my lungs.
"What?"
"He’s in transit. Headed to a private medical facility in Europe. Full oncology team. Private suite. Around-the-clock care. The kind of treatment your little journalist salary could never provide." He met my gaze flatly. "So unless you want that plane turned around and your brother returned to substandard care or worse I suggest you sit down."
My knees buckled beneath me. I sank into the leather chair, heart pounding, head reeling.
"This wasn’t part of the deal," I whispered.
He stood, closed his laptop with measured calm, and walked around the desk like a professor preparing to deliver a lecture.
"You’re far too loud for someone who’s completely powerless."
My fingers curled into fists.
"Let me be clear, Reina. This is how things will work moving forward."
He paced in front of me like a warden dictating the rules of my confinement.
"Rule one: You don’t barge into my workspace unless you’re summoned. This is not your domain, and your theatrics are not tolerated."
My jaw clenched.
"Rule two: No wandering. No snooping. You go where I say, when I say. Your Curiosity isn’t charming. It’s a liability."
He stopped and looked me dead in the eye.
"Rule three: You speak to me with respect. No barking. No shouting. You don’t get to challenge me. When I speak, you listen. When you respond, you choose your words wisely."
His tone darkened as he took a final step closer.
"Rule four: Everything you do from now on, every single choice you make you make with the knowledge that your brother is in my hands. And if you ever forget that—"
He leaned down until our faces were inches apart, his voice a breath of ice.
"—he disappears."
My whole body shook, whether from fury or fear, I couldn’t even tell anymore.
"You’re disgusting. Using a sick kid as leverage? That’s low, even for you."
He didn’t blink. Didn’t flinch. Just stepped away and moved back to his desk.
"I told you to stay quiet and he’d be taken care of. That hasn’t changed."
"This isn’t care. This is control. You’re holding him hostage!"
He didn’t respond. Just opened a drawer and pulled out two envelopes.
"You’ll be resuming work tomorrow morning at Veltrix Technologies."
I blinked. "Excuse me?"
"Public Relations department. Report to Mrs. Hart. 8 a.m. sharp."
A bitter laugh escaped me. "You’re insane if you think I’m quitting my job to become your employee."
He slid the first envelope across the desk.
"Already taken care of."
I snatched the envelope, ripped it open and froze.
My resignation letter to Metro News. Typed, printed, and signed.
By me.
Dated today.
"This is forged! You forged my signature!"
"You’ll find I’m capable of many things," he replied coldly. Then he slid the second envelope across.
My hands trembled as I opened it.
An official offer letter from Veltrix Technologies.
POSITION: Entry-Level – Public Relations Department
REPORTING SUPERVISOR: Miss. Helena Hart
START DATE: Immediate – July 6th
PROBATIONARY PERIOD: 90 Days
"You can’t just—"
"I can. And I did."
My mouth opened, but I had no words.
"You’ve got fire, Reina. But no leverage. And fire without control burns out quickly. The sooner you understand that, the less painful this becomes."
"You forged my resignation. You’re blackmailing me. You’re a monster. Do you think you own me?"
He looked at me like he’d already won. Like my resistance was laughable.
"No, Reina. I don’t think I own you. I know I do."
I wanted to scream. To hit him. To tear that calm off his face with my bare hands.
"I hate you."
He didn’t blink.
"You’ll still show up tomorrow. Be early. Lateness isn’t tolerated."
He turned back to his laptop, dismissing me like a file he’d already closed.
And that was when I knew
This wasn’t a deal anymore. It was war.
- Writer
